1914. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
81» 
Monroe County Drainage Demonstration. 
ECOGNIZING that the drainage of low wet 
areas is one of the great farm problems of 
Western New York, county farm bureau manager 
Toan arranged for a demonstration of drainage 
machinery and methods at Webster, on May 23rd. More 
than 500 people, chiefly from the vicinity of Webster, 
but also from all parts of Western New York, attended 
this demonstration, which was on the whole very suc¬ 
cessful. 
While the Farm Bureau arranged for the demonstra¬ 
tion and was responsible for advertising and organizing 
it, it could not have been successfully carried out had 
it not been for the hearty cooperation of the local 
Grange and of Prof. E. O. Fippin of the State College 
of Agriculture at Cornell, together with the State Drain¬ 
age Association. The local committee from the 1* arm 
Bureau and the Webster Grange deserve great credit 
for their work. The actual demonstration of drainage 
methods was in direct charge of Prof. Fippin, assisted 
by B. B. Bobb and W. W. Warsaw, also of Cornell. 
The demonstration was made possible by the offer of the 
land for this purpose of Mr. Feet, on whose farm the 
demonstration was held. Both Mr. Peet and his son 
contributed very much to the success of the dem¬ 
onstration. 
The Buckeye Traction Ditcher Company had a new 
machine in charge of their superintendent on the 
grounds. This machine dug a few rods of ditch in a 
very satisfactory manner, but because of the crowd and 
the wrong kind of buckets on the elevators, the dem¬ 
onstrator in charge declined to complete the ditch, much 
to the disappointment of many persons present, es¬ 
pecially those who came late. A Cyclone ditcher was 
also on the ground. The motive power to operate this 
machine was supplied by a “Leader” gas tractor. While 
the tractor itself is apparently a very satisfactory ma¬ 
chine for some kinds of work, it did not go well with 
the “Cyclone” ditcher, as the spread of the wheels was 
not right for straddling the ditch and because where 
it had to cross the ditch in turning at the ends it re¬ 
filled part of it. The Cyclone did not. therefore, have 
a fair trial and some dissatisfaction was expressed 
with this. 
The Du Tout Powder Company gave the best dem¬ 
onstration of the day, blowing up about 50 feet of 
underbrush in a strip three or four feet wide. It 
showed its adaptability for work in rough land and in 
opening ditches through woods. 
There were six types of ditching plows on exhibition, 
most of which were drawn by horses to show what 
small tools could do in this line. In addition to this 
there were many kinds of hand ditching tools, supplied 
by the hardware company in Rochester. The Drain¬ 
age Department of Cornell also had two or three dif¬ 
ferent drainage levels on the ground, together with 
an exhibition o.f drain tile. Many questions were an¬ 
swered and a great deal of information was obtained 
j'y farmers on the various kinds of drainage machinery 
and methods which cannot fail to be of great value to 
the community and to this section of the State. 
As far as interest was concerned, this occasion could 
not have been more successful. Between 30 and 100 
automobiles were lined up on the road and in the lane 
near Mr. Feet’s farmhouse. Some estimated the at¬ 
tendance as high as G00 people. Because of the fact 
that few of the demonstrators realized the interest in 
drainage, nor believed the prediction of Farm Bureau 
Manager Toan that he would have from 500 to 500 
people present, the demonstrations were not altogether 
satisfactory. As a matter of fact a demonstration of 
this sort is probably more effective when a smaller num¬ 
ber of people are present than when the crowd was as 
large as it was on Saturday at Webster. it. c. n. 
Pheasants and New Game Law. 
N the corresjondence with A. B. Katkameier 
published on page 717 Commissioner Iluson is 
apparently in error. The Conservation Law as 
published by the Conservation Commission for 
1913 says in Section 190, page 39: “The 
owners or occupants of inclosed or occupied farms 
and lands or a person duly authorized in writing 
by such owner or occupant may take except by 
use of ferrets in any manner at any time and in any 
number varying hares and cottontail rabbits which are 
injuring their property.” If this means anything it 
permits the use of traps and makes it possible for any 
farmer to protect his young trees or nursery stock from 
rabbits. Rabbits almost never trouble trees until deep 
snow comes, and in a normal Winter they can be ex¬ 
terminated or so reduced in numbers as to be prac¬ 
tically harmless long before that. 
The case of the pheasant is somewhat different and 
more confusing. We have heard many reports of great 
damage to cornfields and apple orchards near the woods, 
but have seen none of it on our own land. The only 
pheasants whose stomach contents I have seen had been 
eating grasshoppers and marsh plants, with a few ker¬ 
nels of wheat left in the field after harvest. One had 
3.0 or more largo hoppers in the crop, besides those 
that had passed on. The law does not permit us to 
kill pheasants because they have been eating our crops, 
but the now law signed by the Governor about April 
first apparently makes it possible for the farmer to get 
some money out of them by going into the business of 
raising game birds, etc., either as a main crop or as 
a side issue. The farmer is apparently also better pro¬ 
tected against trespassers, and it may be that many 
will find that the loss of a few hills of corn is repaid by 
the gain to be made from the birds. 
I say these things are apparently so because the 
printed set of game laws for 1914 is not yet available 
and a reading of the new law in connection with the 
old sections may change the apparent meaning of some 
parts. ALFRED C. WEED. 
Wayne County, N. Y. 
New York State News. 
ONVICTS AT WORK.—Convicts have already 
been set to work on some of the highways of the 
State. There are at this writing five convict 
squads on the roads and three of these are in 
Clinton County, two in Warren County. By the pro¬ 
visions of the new law convicts can be engaged in 
roadwork outside the former 30-mile radius from the 
prison where confined, so that now they may be em¬ 
ployed in any part of the State. They are glad to get 
out of doors and are keen for the chance of work, and 
the results of their labors thus far are said to be satis¬ 
factory in the improvement of the highways. As there 
will be a large percentage of the roads of the State that 
will not be touched by the funds appropriated for the 
highways by the State, it is proposed to have the dirt 
roads worked by the convicts. 
A LONG SERVICE.—A complimentary dinner was 
tendered George L. Flanders, counsel to the Depart¬ 
ment of Agriculture, by Commissioner Iluson on the 
evening of .Tune 1, on the completion of 30 years’ ser¬ 
vice in that department. In 1884 the State Dairy 
Commission was organized; later it became the State 
Department of Agriculture. Mr. Flanders was con¬ 
nected with the Dairy Commission and for three de¬ 
cades has served the interests of agriculture in the 
State in connection with the Agricultural Department. 
About 50 guests assembled and a letter was read from 
Gov. Glynn of a congratulatory nature. The occasion 
was also the anniversary of 25 years in office of J. J. 
Caughlin, Deputy Commissioner in charge of the Buffalo 
office. 
GRANGE MEETING.—The .Tune meeting of the 
Columbia County Pomona Grange will be held at the 
Berkshire Industrial Farm, at Canaan. Columbia 
County on June 20. There will be addresses by Dean 
II. E. Cook of the Canton Agricultural school and John 
Sloan of the State Grange Purchasing Agency of Glean. 
The Berkshire Industrial School now has about 100 boys 
enrolled and is doing a fine work. There will be a 
large attendance and visitors will find an inspection of 
the farm, farm building and school most interesting. 
THE HICKORY BARK BEETLE.—A bulletin 
from the State College of Forestry at Syracuse asserts 
that the hickory trees in the State are doomed as shade 
trees and from a commercial standpoint, unless active 
work is done to check the ravages of the hickory bark 
beetle. This small insect lives between tin* inn r bark 
and the sap wood and cuts off the flow of sap to the 
upper part of the tree. Dr. M. \V. Blackman of the 
college would be pleased to have reports on the work 
of the beetle in any part of the State and he will give 
suggestions on combating the pest. 
THE CATERPILLAR PELT.—While all is being 
done that can bo, in some sections of the State, in the 
attempt to carry out the order of Commissioner Iluson 
to destroy the nests of the tent-caterpillar, the added 
spur of the law to this desirable end came a little too 
late, it is feared, to be of great avail. The Commis¬ 
sioner is reported as desiring to enlist the assistance of 
the State highway patrolmen in destroying the tent 
caterpillar webs along the State roads. Reports from 
sections in St. Lawrence County, particularly, are to 
the effect that the caterpillars are more numerous this 
year than ever and apple, maple and other trees are 
denuded of leaves. The worms hang in festoo: s from 
trees and pedestrians in village streets avoid passing 
under the trees so decorated, and in some of the worse 
infested sections the houses have been almost literally 
covered with the pests. 
THE LABOR BUREAU.—On August 1 the new bu¬ 
reau of employment of the State Department of Labor 
will be put into operation. The principal office will be 
in New York and there will be two sub-offices, one in 
Brooklyn and one in Manhattan. There will also be 
branch bureaus in seven of the larger up-State cities. 
There will be one director who will act under the super¬ 
vision of Commissioner Lynch and who will draw a 
salary of $4,000. Each branch office and sub-office will 
be in charge of a superintendent whose salary will be 
$2,000. Some of the things that the new bureau will 
undertake to accomplish will be to prevent the ex¬ 
ploitation of labor, especially among the foreign born; 
tin* investigation of the causes of unemployment; the 
application of a remedy for the same; and the super¬ 
visions of private employment bureaus. 
SUPPLYING FARM LABORERS.—The Onondaga 
Farm Bureau has been helping the farmers to secure 
laborers for the season and has placed about 40 on 
various farms in the county. It is said that about 200 
men have called on the bureau for employment. A good 
hand gets about $30 a month and if married $35 to $40, 
has a tenement house without rent, firewood, milk and 
other things from the farm. The farm bureau will 
look after the matter of marketing farm products for 
its members with particular reference to milk for the 
city of Syracuse. It is possible that the question of 
public market facilities may have the attention of the 
committee in charge of marketing. 
CROPS IN WESTERN NEW YORK.—The secre¬ 
tary of the Western New York Horticultural Society is 
quoted as saying that the reports on fruit crops that he 
has received from different sections of Western New 
York are to the effect that there will be a large apple 
crop, barring possible damage to it by storms or cold. 
The trees have bloomed heavily and progressive orchard- 
ists, as those of the apple country are known to be, 
have sprayed carefully so that insect injuries are not 
anticipated. Peaches will be a very light crop with 
best outlook in the vicinity of Lake Ontario which may 
have prevented some losses from the freeze. Cherries 
blossomed heavily and have set well. Pears and plums 
will be a good crop. Strawberries blossomed heavily 
and there will be a large crop. j. w. n. 
Estimating the Apple Crop. 
H OW shall we estimate a prospective apple crop? 
The members of the New' York Fruit Growers’ 
Association will soon be asked for their opin¬ 
ions. How do we know when we have an exact 
100 per cent yield or an exact 50 or 40 per cent, yield? 
These questions may seem nonsensical, yet they are 
quite important. Of course it is, and must always be 
very much a matter of guesswork, but cannot there be 
evolved some more accurate or scientific way for bas¬ 
ing an opinion on a growing fruit crop? I would like to 
see this matter freely discussed in The R. N.-Y., and 
to know the ideas of fruit growers on this subject. 
For myself, I wish to call a normal yield for an or¬ 
chard or locality a full crop or 100 per cent.; anything 
above or below what I consider normal to be estimated 
as nearly as I may be able at over or under 100 per 
cent. There is rarely, or perhaps never a year when 
an orchard or group of orchards in a locality is produc¬ 
ing a full crop on every tree. Such a condition, if it 
occurred, would clearly be regarded as an overflow* crop 
and might properly be called a 200 per cent. crop. It 
is my belief that when we have what we call a normal 
crop, all varieties included, not many over 50 per cent, 
of the bearing trees are really producing fruit, owing 
to the habit that most varieties have of only bearing on 
alternate years. 
Now for your opinions; are we to call such a 50- 
percent. crop or 100 per cent, crop? For this season I 
estimate that 35 per cent of the apple trees of this lo¬ 
cality were in full bloom and 20 per cent, more were 
in partial or scattered bloom. The conditions have 
been ideal; lots of moisture in the soil, lots of sunshine 
and warmth, fruit setting well and grow'th is very rapid. 
My own crop promises to be larger and finer than ever 
before. Trees in splendid health, and up to this date 
no aphis or other annoying insect. w. s. teator. 
Dutchess Co., N. Y. 
Massachusetts Grange Activities. 
nE lecturer of the Massachusetts State Grange, 
Mrs. Geo. S. Ladd, has announced a Bird Field 
Day for July 23, at the farm of J. II. Noble, 
Pittsfield, Mass. The State Audubon Society 
and the State Ornithologist will cooperate with the 
State Grange lecturer in the program for this meeting. 
All kinds of bird houses will be on exhibition and there 
will be, either at this meeting or one to be held in 
Worcester or possibly both, a Bird Pageant. Speakers 
for the day will tell many things about the birds that 
every member of the Grange, and others as well, should 
know. In July there will be held at the Massachusetts 
Agricultural College a New England lecturers’ confer¬ 
ence when it is expected that the National Lecturer, 
Geo. W. F. Gaunt of New Jersey, and Miss Jennie 
Buell, lecturer of Michigan State Grange, will be pres¬ 
ent. All subordinate and Pomona lecturers of New 
England will be invited to bo at the conference, as well 
as the State lecturers from the New England States. 
The conference will be held on July 30; July 31 will 
be known as Homemakers’ Day and August 1 will be a 
State Grange Field Day. On May 20 a Degree Rally 
took place at Faneuil Ilall, Boston, when four States 
and GS Granges were represented. Two degrees were 
exemplified by a men’s degree staff of Waltham, Mass., 
and one by the ladies’ degree staff of Shrewsbury Grange, 
comprising 51 people, all the degrees being illustrated 
by appropriate tableaux. The Subordinate Granges of 
Massachusetts are many of them entering heartily into 
the competition for prizes offered by the State Grange 
for best community service during the year. Much 
valuable, constructive work is being done this season 
by the Bay State Granges under the leadership of the 
efficient State lecturer. j. w. D. 
National Grange Matters. 
T HE legislative committee of the National Grange 
spent a week in Washington recently going over 
the compromise Farm Credit bill presented by 
Congressman Bulkley. This bill is somewhat 
similar to the Bathrick measure in that it recognizes 
Government aid. The bill was reported favorably by 
the sub-committee and it is believed that there is a 
majority of the joint committee in favor of the measure. 
National Master Wilson says that the Grange is given 
the credit for killing the Moss-Fletcher bill through the 
active response made to the appeal to Granges through¬ 
out the country to support the Bathrick bill. The Na¬ 
tional Master will address fhdd meetings in Colorado, 
Wyoming, Kentucky, Ohio, Delaware, Rhode Island, 
Maine, Missouri, besides looking after the work in his 
own State, Illinois. j. w. D. 
Government Cotton Report. 
T HE condition, May 25, was 74.3 per cent, of nor¬ 
mal. compared with 79.1 in 1913, and 78.9 in 
1912. The average for 10 years past is S0.4. 
Percentages by States are as follows: Texas, 
65; Oklahoma, 68; South Carolina 72; North Caro¬ 
lina, 76; Arkansas, 79; Georgia and Tennessee, 80; 
Florida and Louisiana, 82; Virginia, 83; Alabama, 85; 
Missouri, 80; Mississippi, 87. Drought has hindered 
the plant in the Carolinas and Florida and it has suf¬ 
fered from excessive rains in parts of Mississippi, 
Texas, Arkansas ad Oklahoma. 
Foreign Crops. 
Rains have improved the wheat crop in Germany 
and Roumania. In Hungary the wheat prospect is 
poor, but corn is starting well. Wheat sowing is rap¬ 
idly progressing in Argentina and Australia. A five 
per cent, acreage increase is reported in the latter coun¬ 
try. In India the outlook is generally favorable. In 
France wheat looks badly. The prospects in Italy are 
favorable, except in the southern part. Good rains 
in the lower Volga regions of Russia have improved 
conditions there. 
Wheat is being cut in Southern Oklahoma, the crop 
being about 97 per cent. Dry weather is needed for 
the harvest. 
Spring wheat in North Dakota is a week to 10 days 
late. Soil conditions and weather favorable. 
Clement & Curtis report Winter wheat condition 5.2 
points under the Government report, indicating a yield 
of 622,312.000 bushels; Spring wheat 94.1; total wheat 
prospects, 877.000.000 bushels. Oat acreage, 98.9 per 
cent, of last year. Condition 85.5, indicating crop of 
1.165,454.000 bushels. 
The Nebraska June report gives Winter wheat con¬ 
ditions 98 per cent, of last year, and acreage 103 per 
cent. In Nenama and Richardson Counties fly has don<* 
30 to 50 per cent, damage, and a number of fields have 
been plowed up. Corn planting has been completed un¬ 
der favorable conditions, 40 per cent, being up. The 
area is a trifle less than last year. 
