. 16« 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
December 17, 
mg to relish it more than they do the better grades 
of Herd's grass and Red-top. There is another reason 
why sheep are profitable kept with cows, as they eat 
berries, leaves and “five-finger” greedily, and hay that 
otherwise would be wasted. They like to be with 
the cows, and if given plenty of exercise, turned out 
whenever the weather and the bare ground will per¬ 
mit, they will get their own dinners and will be all 
the better for the outing. 
Dogs of course are a great obstacle to sheep farm¬ 
ing, but in Connecticut, at least, the dog law is en¬ 
forced to the letter; all dog owners being obliged to 
pay an annual tax of $1.15 for a male dog and $5.15 
for a female, with a yearly tag for the dog of 10 cents 
extra. This law largely does away with the keeping 
of sheep-killing dogs, for owners of dogs mean to 
keep them within bounds. Owners of sheep receive 
pay for all sheep killed by dogs from this fund, but 
they should receive pay for the damage done to the 
(lock also; for if half of the flock is killed by the 
dogs receiving pay only for the sheep that were killed 
is not very satisfactory. It is very discouraging to 
see your work and property destroyed in one night by 
dogs. But when New England farmers realize that 
the sheep is and always has been the most profitable 
addition to the farm, and that damage done by dogs 
is promptly paid by the towns, our rugged hillsides 
will once more be blithe with the bleating of lambs 
in the Spring time, and the snowy fleeces will once 
more pile high on the old barn floors in June. The 
old-time shearer is no longer here to shear, but in his 
place has come the modern machine that leaves the 
sheep clean and smooth and happy in a few moments; 
and leaves the farmer happy also, when lie thinks 
of the back-breaking work he has escaped. I have 
based this paper simply on personal experience, and 
have written solely on the side of sheep farming that 
I have practiced in 10 years’ experience. I have al¬ 
ways found them profitable and would like to see the 
industry generally extended. susan j. howe. 
Connecticut. 
DRY ROT IN POTATOES. 
Through this section the potatoes are rotting with dry 
rot. I have the following explanation from farmers. 
They tell me that potatoes planted early and whose vines 
were ripe before the first frost, did not rot, while the 
late ones where the vines were green when the frost 
hit them rotted. They think that the frost drove the sap 
from tiie vines into the root or potatoes, and so caused 
the rot. E. E. L. 
Honeoye Falls, N. Y. 
Two types of dry rot of potato occur frequently 
in the United States. Both are caused by fungi which 
first attack the tops. It is not strange, therefore, that 
the practical grower finds difficulty in distinguishing 
between them. The first fungus ( Fusarium ) invades 
the water-conducting vessels, especially of the roots 
and base of the stem, in the latter part of the Sum¬ 
mer, and so causes the tops to wilt, and such hills 
soon die. If tubers are already set the fungus in¬ 
vades these from the stem end, following the vessels, 
which soon blacken and die. In the early stage there 
may be no signs on the surface of the tuber, but if the 
stem end is cut across, the disease shows as a black 
ring. Later in storage the disease slowlv progresses 
and the tubers die and dry out, first about the stem 
end, and finally the entire tuber may be thus destroyed 
by dry rot. In the later stages, especially if the stor¬ 
age cellar is moist, toward Spring the fungus growth 
appears as white tufts the size of shot or small peas 
on the dead surface of the tubers. This disease is 
propagated primarily in seed, and care should be 
taken to avoid infected seed. It will persist in 
the soil, hence, rotation is important when it ap¬ 
pears. Disinfection and spraying are, however, use¬ 
less. This disease is widespread, but worse in the 
Middle West and South. 
The second type is caused by the late blight fungus 
(Phytophthora ). 'ihis disease is also widespread, 
but occurs most frequently in New York, Northern 
New England and Canada. It is this which caused 
the rot described by your correspondent. The fungus 
blights the leaves, especially after the cooler nights 
and heavier dews begin in late August and Septem¬ 
ber. Hence, the early crop usually escapes, as de¬ 
scribed. The spores are washed from the blighting 
leaves through the soil and carry the disease to the 
tubers. The tubers nearest the surface are therefore 
affected first and worst. The rot begins most often on 
the upper side of the tuber as it lies in the soil, per¬ 
haps at several points, but with no preference for 
the stem end. These areas are at first discolored 
purplish-brown, then as they die they darken, dry out, 
and become slightly sunken. If the soil is wet, “soft 
rot” follows. If, however, the soil is drier or the 
crop dug and put in cool, dry storage, the disease con¬ 
tinues as a dry rot, spreading through the surface of 
the tubers to a depth of one-fourth inch, more or 
less. This disease also is apparently carried in the 
seed tubers, and only healthy seed should be used. 
It has never been shown to live over in the soil, and 
crop rotation is probably not so important, but this 
point is not fully settled. Bordeaux Mixture has 
proved an almost perfect remedy and, by checking 
the blight, prevents the rot. In our experimental 
work at the Vermont Station the yield was often 
doubled, or even trebled, by two or three sprayings in 
seasons when this disease was bad. Thus one season 
the gain was 09 bushels per acre unsprayed to 291 
bushels per acre sprayed. We also learned that if the 
tops were blighted in late Autumn the crop should 
not be dug until at least a week or ten days after the 
last of the tops were dead, except in very wet soil 
or seasons. i,. R. jones. 
Wis. Agricultural College. Plant Pathologist 
EXPRESS COMPANIES AND EGGS. 
The following clipping from the New York Tribune 
gives four reasons against parcels post. We have 
had some experience with one of these reasons and 
think that if the U. S. Government would take and 
operate the express business all four of these reasons 
would disappear: 
A correspondent asks you why this country, in common 
with most other civilized countries, cannot have a parcels 
post. A member of I'ongress, being asked for the reasons, 
replied that there were four, and only four, reasons: 
1. United States Express Company. 
2. American Express Company. 
3. Adams Express Company. 
4. Wells, Fargo Express Company. 
Perhaps, now that we are to have a Democratic Con¬ 
gress. these reasons may not apply. We shall see! b. 
Norfolk, Conn. 
We have had some rough experience with the 
American Express Company this year. On February 
25 last we shipped 30 dozen eggs to one of our hotels, 
bill amounted to $13.50. Owing to a new steward not 
understanding the order we had from the proprietor 
the eggs were refused and we were so notified by the 
express company. We at once got the steward on 
the wire and explained who ordered the eggs, and 
he said, “Send them back.” It was a mistake on his 
part. We notified our express agent and had him 
wire the company and tell them to deliver those eggs 
to the hotel, as it was through a misunderstanding 
that they were refused, and all this was done inside 
of one hour after we received notice from the express 
company. We heard no more about it, and supposed 
the eggs were delivered until our bill was refused 
payment by the hotel; they claimed they never re¬ 
ceived the eggs. When we made a claim the express 
company refused payment, claiming they sold the eggs 
for 2D cents per dozen and offering us $6 for a crate 
of fancy eggs in February. We claim they sold those 
eggs, probably to one of themselves, before they sent 
us any notice, and we have been fighting them ever 
since, and suppose we will have to take it to the court 
to get it. Now, what is the matter with the Govern¬ 
ment running the express companies’ business with 
the post office? white & rice. 
New York. __ 
A SUPREME COURT DECISION. 
Iu these days of adverse criticism of the Supreme Court 
of the United States, a report is in circulation that at 
one time one of the judges changed his mind over night, 
and thus reversed the findings of the previous day. The 
inference is that lie was seen and was financially bene¬ 
fited Is there anv truth in this statement, and can you 
verify it. giving name of the .fudge and the circumstance? 
Montana. °- B - 
We assume that the case you refer to was the in¬ 
come tax decision of the U. S. Supreme Court in 1S94. 
The court stood four to four, with Mr. Justice Shiras 
undecided. We understand he first gave the other 
members to believe that he would hold the tax con¬ 
stitutional. At the last moment he weakened, and 
voted the other way, thus throwing the income tax 
'out. This case is found in volume 457 of U. S. re¬ 
ports, page 429. It is known as Pollock vs. Farmers’ 
Loan & Trust Co. Chief Justice Fuller wrote the 
opinion holding the law constitutional and Justice 
Field also wrote an opinion on the same side. Jus¬ 
tices White and Harlan opposed. 
Mr. Cleveland was then President, and a Demo¬ 
cratic Congress had passed the Wilson tariff bill 
which became a law without the President’ signature 
It was a “tariff for revenue” measure and provided 
that part of the revenues were to be raised by an in¬ 
come tax of two per cent on incomes of over $4,000. 
It was held that this income tax was in conflict with 
that provision of the U. S. Constitution which states 
that “Congress shall lay no direct taxes except they 
be in proportion to population.” The question before 
the court hinged on the word “direct.” As finally de¬ 
cided the majority held that the income tax would 
be a “direct” tax, while the minority held that the 
constitution’s definition of “direct” ta,xes means real 
estate or capital taxes only. The decision was not 
made on political lines, as the court divided so that 
Democrats and Republicans were on either side. In¬ 
come taxes have been collected at different times in 
our history, but this decision over-ruled previous opin¬ 
ions and no income tax has since then been seriously 
considered. Washington and Lincoln both favored 
income taxes and they were collected during their 
terms of office. Thus one man changed the whole 
history of this nation by changing his mind over 
night! There is little question that if the income tax 
had been permitted to stand both the tariff and the 
trust questions would have worked out differently. 
THE HOME MARKET. 
I have taken great interest in reading in The R. 
N.-Y. the articles as they have appeared from time to 
time on the producer’s share of the consumer’s dol¬ 
lar. As I have noted how small this has been in 
many cases, it has made me feel all the more con¬ 
tented to stay where I am on a rocky New England 
farm, near enough to market for me to do my own 
peddling, selling direct to the consumer. Where we 
live here in the northeast corner of the Wooden Nut¬ 
meg State we can heard from all around us the bells 
or whistles from eight or nine villages, including one 
small city, ranging in distance from one to eight miles 
away, so we have not far to go to find the hungry 
people; and the factory people as a rule are good buy¬ 
ers. In considering the home market, however, in 
such a place as this care must he taken not to go m 
too heavily on any one crop, for the consumption is 
limited, and there are other farmers all about who 
are also supplying these same villages, and if a man 
starts in with big ideas be is liable to overdo the 
thing and produce more than he can dispose of. It is 
perhaps the farmer’s first business to consider whether 
or no he is willing to peddle his produce, and raise 
such things as will be salable, or whether he will raise 
such crops as he can better dispose of at wholesale. 
A neighbor of mine, from whom 1 buy some produce for 
peddling, once said be would rather be whipped than 
try to peddle, and this is as it should be. for if every¬ 
one should want to peddle where would there be the 
market, and who would do the other kinds of farm 
work? So for the good of all it is best that tastes 
should differ, but for me, however, peddling is as a 
rule a pleasure and I enjoy starting out with a good 
load of stuff. My particular market is a large factory 
village about 2J< miles from my home over a hilly 
road, and I use two horses and a covered wagon. This 
wagon is one I built myself, having two decks, as I 
call it, the lower floor holding milk cans and the upper 
one the boxes of vegetables, fruit, etc. The cover 
makes it very desirable in hot or stormy weather, and 
in Winter I carry an oil stove so as to keep the pro¬ 
duce from freezing, and it is very comfortable, riding 
with no coat on while outside it may be cold and 
windy. 
I make two trips each week on regular days, and ex¬ 
cept in very stormy weather, or for some unavoidable 
hindrance, T do not skip a day. If one’s customers learn 
to depend upon him and feel reasonably sure of hav¬ 
ing him come at a regular hour, they will refuse to 
buy from some other peddler who may come along. 
But if the peddler is not regular and cannot be de¬ 
pended upon the people will not wait for him, and he 
runs a good chance of taking some of his load home 
again. One advantage of having a home market is the 
fact that a small amount of any one thing may be dis¬ 
posed of at full market price, whereas if it had to be 
shipped to a commission house nothing less than a 
decently good-sized lot of a kind could be sent. I 
keep a small dairy, setting my milk in a deep can 
creamer, using ice, and in this way the skim-milk and 
cream keep for several days. I carry for a load my 
morning’s milk as new milk and then cream and 
skim-milk, butter and buttermilk, eggs, fruits and 
vegetables and whatever I can raise, besides buying 
in some other produce. What cream I do not sell 
comes back and is churned, so there is no waste and 
it gives a variety to my load. T am trying to raise 
different sorts of small fruits and vegetables, a few of 
a kind, so as to have a good variety all the time, but 
every season finds us with some things short or miss¬ 
ing altogether, and we make new resolves to do bet¬ 
ter in the future. 
Peddling is not, however, a “cut and dried” arrange¬ 
ment. One day you may have a great run on some 
particular thing, and it would seem that the people 
could not get enough of it, and the next time they 
won’t look at you. So one must use his judgment in 
putting up his load and go even then prepared for an 
occasional disappointment. Sometimes the best sales 
on some one thing are soon after it has been n glut 
on the market, for other peddlers have got sick of 
bringing it and then is your time. Another thing I 
am working into is canned goods—pickles, preserves 
and sauces, putting up in glass fruit jars and getting 
my jars back again when empty. Thus after the first 
cost the jars do not a-dd much to the expense of put¬ 
ting up, and the profits are that much more. It is 
only in a small way that we are doing this, but it is 
proving a valuable addition to my other stuff, and we 
are hoping to make a success of it. Of course many 
farmers feel like going into some few crops more ex¬ 
tensively, and so cannot think to peddle what they 
raise but prefer to do this way, selling at wholesale 
to the stores and markets or other peddlers. So it all 
resolves itself into the evening up of demand and 
supply, and T should not advise everyone to rush into 
peddling without knowing what his market will take. 
For the man who likes it and is willing to start in on 
a small scale and work up, I know of no way in 
which he can realize so much on his produce as in 
catering to the private trade. The fundamental prin¬ 
ciples, if I, a comparatively young peddler may be 
allowed to give them, are honesty (even for the sake 
of policy), regularity, fairness, firmness, pleasantness 
,or cheerfulness, even when they do not buy, and sym-t 
pathy for those who are in hard circumstances, and 
withal, having the goods. I may say in closing that 
I never start out with a load but that I ask the Lord’s 
Blessing for guidance and prosperity. j. baker. 
Windham Co., Conn. 
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