1914. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKBR 
1033 
THE WAR AND COMMERCE. 
EFINITE price advances have now 
been made in a large number of sta¬ 
ple products. Flour is up $1.35 per bar¬ 
rel ; wheat, 15 to 20 cents per bushel; 
corn, 15 cents (part of this rise being due 
to drought damage) ; sugar $1.60 per 100 
pounds; beans, $1.50 to $2 per 100 
pounds; coffee, two cents per pound; and 
tea, four cents. There is a general rise 
in the price of chemicals. Many of them 
come from Germany, and that source is 
entirely cut off. Others are used in ex¬ 
plosives, for which there is increased de¬ 
mand. Carbolic acid is 25 cents per 
pound higher; benzoate of soda, 15 cents 
per pound; menthol, $1.50 per pound; 
saltpetre, two cents higher; and potash, 
used in glass making, 13 cents per pound 
advanced. 
Domestic meats are all two to three 
cents per pound higher, partly owing to 
the alleged scarcity which the “meat 
trust” is continually harping on. It is 
difficult to. understand how a two cent 
advance in price can increase the supply 
of meat, but that is the way it works 
with products that are kept in secret 
storage. 
Our supply of Egyptian cotton, used 
in making high-grade yarns, is getting 
short; raw silk is scarce, and the same is 
true of some grades of foreign wool. Do¬ 
mestic cotton is low, because of the for¬ 
eign demand being dead, and there has 
been practically no change in price of the 
home wool crop. 
The war has as yet made no appreciable 
change in butter and egg prices at New 
York. Canada reports a higher market 
on both of these staples. Horses and 
mules suitable for war purposes are ex¬ 
pected to advance heavily. 
Great efforts are being made to move 
wheat to Europe. Ships for British and 
Belgian points are expected to renew 
sailings soon. Belgium has offered to in¬ 
sure wheat shipments sent there. Ger¬ 
man ports are closed and will doubtless 
remain so until the war ceases or Ger¬ 
many wins a naval victory decisive 
enough to make the North Sea and waters 
adjacent to the Atlantic safe for her 
merchant vessels. At present nearly 120 
merchant vessels of commercial import¬ 
ance are tied up, among them the im¬ 
mense Hamburg-American and North 
German Lloyd lines. In the loss of rev¬ 
enue from all this shipping, and the stag¬ 
nation of business in many lines, the in¬ 
dustrial world is paying its allotment for 
the horrid luxury of war. 
NEW JERSEY HORTICULTURAL MEETING. 
RCIIARDSIDE, the home of Mr. and 
Mrs. John II. Barclay, was the goal 
for the members of the New Jersey 
State Horticultural Society and their 
friends from Pennsylvania and Maryland 
as well as New Jersey. The threatening 
weather of the early morning delayed, but 
did little else in hindering the getting 
together from all points in the State in 
one of the largest Summer meetings so 
far held. The farm was in its best trim, 
with barns filled to overflowing and grain 
in a score and more of well-made stacks, 
a fine field of potatoes waiting for the dig¬ 
gers to get busy, which all told of the suc¬ 
cessful work of the season. But to men¬ 
tion the Barclays always brings to mind 
the blue ribbon apples we have been see¬ 
ing at Trenton, New Brunswick, Free¬ 
hold, in our own State, to say nothing of 
the boxes sent to Rochester, Pittsburgh 
and other State meetings. To see the 
trees on which this fruit has been grown 
so successfully and to see the young 
orchards just showing what they will do 
in a few years was the great attraction, 
and the loaded mature trees, propped and 
thinned, well repaid the journey by rail, 
trolley, and auto. 
President Hendrickson called on Mr. 
Barclay first, and he cordially welcomed 
the assembled guests and told them the 
farm was for inspection for their benefit, 
and that he was ready to explain all he 
could, that might need some explanation. 
As the promised speakers failed to arrive, 
Prof. Blake entered at once into a dis¬ 
cussion of some of the leading peach 
questions of the hour, again emphasizing 
the importance of thinning the heavy 
crops of this year. Packing the carriers 
was then fully treated, and men were 
there to show how they should be filled. 
Winter injury is still with tne peach 
growers, and some trees are going this 
Summer. The newer varieties were 
shown from the Vineland orchard, giving 
us a chance to see some of the widely 
advertised kinds that sometimes prove 
old friends under new names. After ex¬ 
tending a cordial invitation for the next 
Winter meeting to be held in the new 
Agricultural building at New Brunswick, 
he told of the crowded condition of the 
Agricultural courses and needs of the 
young men of our State, who should be 
taught in New Jersey what they will 
need to practice here to be successful. 
He made an earnest appeal -to the farm¬ 
ers, present, to see that these wants are 
properly looked after. 
I>r. Cook told of the rapid increase in 
the inquiries received by his department 
and the great number of complaints of 
diseases of farm crops; 135 complaints of 
different diseases were received last sea¬ 
son. It shows that the work of the Ex¬ 
periment Station is being recognized by 
the farmers, and the necessity of having 
enough men at New Brunswick to investi¬ 
gate these diseases and learn how to 
combat them promptly. 
In answer to numerous questions along 
his line. Dr. Ileadlee again told of the 
great efficiency of “Black Leaf 40” in 
fighting lice of various kinds. If proper¬ 
ly used he thinks we need fear but lit¬ 
tle from these attacks. Keeping the 
trunks clean on our pear trees and using 
Black Leaf 40 at the proper times, he 
thinks will keep that great pest pear 
psylla in check. It looks now as if we 
would find a help against the peach borer 
in a soft grade of asphaltum that has 
shown no injury after being on the tested 
trees a year. There were many less boi'- 
ers where the tree trunks have been cov¬ 
ered from early .Tune till October, but the 
knife must still be .used. For greenhouse 
work '.-a ..stronger solution of., nicotine has 
been found' . . . and- wojarei told-'that 
a leacfing nursery firm , has kept the lice 
from their roses wiih orie ':ri'ijdieatroh.' ! rof 
an extra strong'"ivieo'tino, solution... To 
overcome the bark beetle that injures the 
trees weakened -by Winter injury, careful 
trimming: out of all-dead wood and- keep¬ 
ing tie* trees vigorous as possible was ad¬ 
vised. . After lunch the crowds separ¬ 
ated and .were seen in all parts .if the 
farm as’well as* enjoying "the social ^oppor¬ 
tunities.'; not':.the least valuable part of 
these SjiiiVmefymeetings, as..we get better 
acquainted with" our individual l’others, 
and perhaps cariy aid a' fellow grower in 
solving'some trouble.'" h. g. t. 
— 
EVENTS OF THE WEEK. 
OMESTir.—William II. Cooper, the 
convicted head of the New York Cen¬ 
tral Realty Company, was sentenced 
by Judge Grubb in the United States Dis¬ 
trict Court. August 7, to serve three years 
in Atlanta penitentiary for fraudulent 
use of the mails in the sale of about 
$500,000 of the bonds of his company. 
Cooper was indicted with Claude J. Van 
Slyke, James A. Robinson and Ernest 
Sharp. Van Slyke and Robinson pleaded 
guilty and turned Government witnesses. 
New Jersey factories are beginning to 
feel the effects of the European war in 
their shortage of raw material. Hat fac¬ 
tories in the Orange Valley get all their 
supplies from Europe, and are said to 
have only enough on hand to last through 
the Fall. Electrical works, pharmaceu¬ 
tical supplies, dyers, and textiles, includ¬ 
ing silks and towelings, are seriously af¬ 
fected. 
Under the ordinance passed by the New 
York City Board of Aldermen June 23, 
ail horse-watering troughs in the city 
have been closed. The Society for the 
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is in¬ 
stalling faucets so that drivers can fill 
their pails. Every commercial vehicle to 
which;;a horse is atta.jmd-'must' m.w tJe 
provided with a'jpail, under penalty.""of 
line or imprisonment. This order is * due 
to the prevalence of glanders!- . 
To reestablish the* salmon fishing in¬ 
dustry on - the New England coast, the 
Federal Bureau of Fisheries has begun 
the work of j introducing the humpback 
salmon of the. Pacific Coast into the lit¬ 
toral waters, of Maine. This native sal¬ 
mon of Ne.w England has become very 
scarce, and, realizing the impossibility 
of ever; reestablishing the species, the Bu¬ 
reau has selected the humpback as a sub¬ 
stitute; In 1913 the humpback run in 
Puget; Sound was valued at $4,000,000. 
Owing to the fear of German vessels 
being seized until peace had been restored 
in Europe,, no more potash will be 
shipped to this country. The Kali Syn¬ 
dicate: controls 53 potash mines in Ger¬ 
many, which furnish the potash to the 
world. Over one million tons of potash 
are shipped annually to the ITiited States. 
The Bank- of. England has made .'plans 
to send shipments of gold to Ottawa, 
Canada, to be deposited with the Treas¬ 
urer-General to the bank’s credit. The 
plan, in the opinion of persons best in¬ 
formed as to the situation, will cause a 
speedy reduction in the rate of exchange 
and resumption of commodity shipments 
to England. It will also cause the ship¬ 
ment to Canada of at least $5,000,000 of 
the $10,600,000 gold brought back by the 
Kronpriuzessen Cecilie. Such a step will 
not only strengthen the reserves of Eng¬ 
land’s great financial institution but will 
also tend to liquidate the enormous debts 
which this country now owes on the 
other side of the Atlantic, owing to the 
extensive security liquidation of the last 
few days of trading in the stock market 
and the swinging against this country of 
the balance of trade. Such a step will 
also reduce the exorbitant rates existing 
in foreign exchange, according to high 
authorities, and will undoubtedly open the 
way for shipments of American grain and 
other commodities to England at least, 
and perhaps France. The Bank of Eng¬ 
land can issue notes against a supply of 
gold placed to its credit in the \.ailts of 
the Treasurer-General at Ottawa just as 
well as it could against gold in its own 
vaults in London. Not only does the 
Bank propose to have gold from this 
country placed to its credit in Canada, 
but it has laid all plans for the establish¬ 
ment of another depositary in Soutfc Afri¬ 
ca. This will further increase the re¬ 
serves and actual gold supply of the 
Bank, in that it will have at its command 
all the gold it wishes from the gold mines 
of the Transvaal. The depositing of gold 
from this ebuntry in the vaults of the 
Canadian Government at Ottawa to the 
credit of the Bank of England is also 
considered as a strategic move on the part 
of that institution to prevent its having 
to assume war risks on the precious 
metal. 
WASHINGTON.—Instructions to col¬ 
lectors of customs regarding foreign 
bound vessels were issued August 8 by the 
secretaries of the Treasury and Com¬ 
merce, following a conference of depart¬ 
ment officials, the most important order 
bearing on the European war being to 
the effect that any vessel “whose char¬ 
acter as a merchant vessel is established 
to your satisfaction is entitled to clear¬ 
ance, no matter what the character of her 
cargo or what her destination.” Another 
order is that the collectors shall not re¬ 
fuse clearance to merchant • vessels, 
whether of the United States or other 
neutral power, or whether of a belligerent 
power, “solely on the ground that the 
cargo contains - contraband of war.” 
The Austrian ambassador Iras called 
'the attention of the State Department to 
the_ inconvenience, loss and trouble which 
woiiM -result because < > f the interruption 
of ilireuf mail shipping between the 
,->.Unked. SSfstites' "dh the one band and Aus¬ 
tria and Germany on the other. If given 
to English lines, the Austrian Ambassa¬ 
dor said, tlie mails to Austria and Ger¬ 
many would ' be held in England. The 
Pd.stmaster-General .-replied that the'-'-De¬ 
partment.- had already issued orders that 
, a|l " mail going to Austria-Hungary.' and 
Germany, addressed via Rotterdam, be 
despatched by Dutch liners', unless - it 
could be more expeditiously, sent' by other 
liners. Since_.the declaration of war be¬ 
tween Germany and Great Britain neith¬ 
er German nor Austro-Hungarian mail 
has! beeiijsi-nt on British; ships.- 
\ Two measaires- designed particularly;'to 
aid the COCTOmpt'Suucers" of tin- South in 
the emergency brought about by the Euro¬ 
pean war were introduced in the Senate, 
August 11. One amended the banking 
and currency act so that emergency cur¬ 
rency may be issued upon notes, drafts 
and bills of exchange, secured by staple 
agricultural products, having not more 
than four months to run. It provides 
that such securities shall be ckissed as 
“prime commercial paper” within the 
moaning of the act and that emergency 
currency may be issued against them to 
the extent of 75 per cent, of their face 
value. The other measure authorized the 
Secretary of the Treasury to withhold 
from the banks of nine cotton growing 
States—North Carolina, South Carolina, 
Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louis¬ 
iana, Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas— 
50 per cent, of the emergency currency 
which could be issued to them. The Sec¬ 
retary of the Treasury is further auth¬ 
orized to advance upon notes secured by 
warehouse receipts for lint cotton in bales 
for a term not to exceed twelve months 
Treasury notes to an amount equal to 50 
per cent, of the emergency currency to 
which the banks of these States were en- 
• titled under-the law. b - • "■ 
THE EUROPEAN WAIL—August 8 
it was reported that Great Britain had 
seized German! colonies - in Africa, Port 
Lome on the Gold Coast, and South 
Togolaud, where a high-power wireless 
station had been established. The Ger¬ 
man forces entered the town,'of Liege, 
Belgium, but the forts were still held by 
the Belgians. The German losses at 
Liege were very heavy, but reports as to 
number were contradictory, some going 
as high as 31,000, others 8.006 or less. 
British troops were landed at Calais 
August 9, and were, reported. August 12. 
to be entrenched at Namur, Belgium 
August 9-12 French troops were in con¬ 
tact with the Germans in Upper Alsace, 
but were checked in their invasion of 
that province. Very little was known 
as tq British naval movements, but the 
Canadian Government announced August 
11 that the North Atlantic was safe for 
Canadian shipping, and sailings were 7 to 
be resumed without delay. August 11 
the British Admiral announced that the 
North Sea was closed to merchant ves¬ 
sels; having being planted with contact 
mines by the Germans, the British in¬ 
tended to mine it further. No reports of 
the British naval forces were given out. 
except that the cruiser Amphion was 
destroyed with 136 men by a mine, after 
sinking the German mine-laying vessel 
Konigin Luise. Italy and Holland re¬ 
main neutral; Portugal lias announced 
herself as an ally of England. Both 
England and France announced war Au¬ 
gust 13 with Austria. It was announced 
August 12 that the Russian invasion of 
Austria had begun. It was reported that 
the Austrians had been driven out of 
Servia, but Servia and Montenegro had 
united against Bosnia, while Roumania 
was siding with Austria. It was believed 
August 12 that Japan was preparing to 
attack the German port at Tsing-tao, 
China. It was evident. August 12, that 
Holland feared German invasion, as a 
state of war was proclaimed in the pro¬ 
vinces of Limburg, North Brabant, Zee- 
land and Gelderland. 
HARVESTER TRUST DECISION. 
—The International Harvester Company 
was declared to be a monopoly in re¬ 
straint of interstate and foreign trade, 
and was ordered dissolved by a majority 
decision in the United States District 
Court, August 12. Unless the $140,000,- 
0<)0 corporation submits a plan for the 
dissolution of the combination into at 
least three independent concerns within 
ninety days, or in case of appeal within 
ninety days of the issuance of an appeal 
mandate from the United States Supreme 
Court, the decision announces that the 
court will entertain an application for the 
appointment of a receiver for all the 
properties of the corporation. The de¬ 
cision of the court was given by Circuit 
Judge Walter I. Smith, of Iowa, with 
which Judge William C. Hook, of Kan¬ 
sas agreed, and from which Judge Walter 
A. Sanborn, of Minnesota dissented. The 
majority opinion held that the Inter¬ 
national Harvester Company was from 
its organization in 1902 in violation of 
the Sherman law. The original corpora¬ 
tion. formed of five concerns, violated the 
first section of the Sherman act by re¬ 
straining competition among themselves. 
The combined organization also tended to 
monopolize trade in contravention of the 
second section of this law. The decision 
declares that while the International 
Harvester Company and its selling or¬ 
ganization, the International Harvester 
Company of America, control from 80 
to 85 per cent, of the trade in agricul¬ 
tural implements manufactured by them, 
their treatment of smaller competitors in 
general has been fair and just. The 
court finds fault with the actions of the 
corporation, aside from the technical 
violation of the Sherman law, for only 
two actions. The opinion declares that 
there was no excuse for the advertising 
of the products of D. M. Osborne & Co. 
as independent for two years after it had 
virtually entered the International Har¬ 
vester Company. This advertising was to 
induce purchasers, the court fiuds, from 
those who were opposed to buying from 
the combination. The other act cen¬ 
sured by the decision was the manner in 
which the five original concerns were 
turned over to the International com¬ 
pany by William C. Lane, a New Y'ork 
banker, who contended that he had pur¬ 
chased the properties. 
GOVERNMENT CROP REPORT. 
The growing condition of the various 
crops on August 1, expressed in percent¬ 
ages of their ten-year average (not the 
normal) on August 1. 
Wheat . 118.7 
Apples . 113.3 
Lemons . 105.4 
Grapes . 104.7 
Raspberries . 104.7 
Barley . 103.9 
Kaffir corn . 103.8 
Sugar beets . 103.4 
Alfalfa . 103.4 
Hay (all) . 103.3 
Peaches . 102.9 
Oranges . 102.2 
Beans (drying) . 101.8 
Cantaloupes. 101.2 
Millet . 100.8 
Hops. 100.6 
Broom corn . 100.0 
Buckwheat . 99.7 
Pears . 99.7 
Flax . 99.4 
Rice . 99.1 
Oats . 98.1 
Peanuts . 97.1 
Cotton . 95.5 
Cabbages . 95.2 
Potatoes . 95.1 
Tomatoes .. 93.5 
Onions . 93.4 
Timothy . 91.6 
Blackberries ... 91.4 
Sorghum . 91.4 
Pastures . 91.3 
Corn . 91.3 
Clover . 91.2 
Lima beans . 90.9 
Sweet potatoes . 87.3 
Sugar cane . 85.3 
Hemp . 82.2 
Tobacco . 81.6 
The average price to producers of the 
United States of important products on 
dates indicated were: 
Product— 
Aug. 1, 
1914 
Aug. 1, 
1913 
Corn, bush. 
. $0,768 
$0,654 
Wheat, bush. 
.765 
.771 
Oats, bush. 
.367 
.376 
Barley, bush. 
.451 
.508 
Rye, bush. 
.610 
.607 
Buckwheat, bush. ... 
.812 
.724 
Flax, bush. 
1.51 
1.19 
Hay, ton . 
. 11.52 
11.16 
Potatoes, bush. 
.871 
.692 
Sweet potatoes, bush.. 
.975 
Cotton, lb. 
.124 
.115 
Butter, lb. 
.237 
.249 
Chickens, lb. 
.128 
.124 
Eggs, doz. 
.182 
.172 
Product— 
July 15, 
1914 
J uly 15, 
1913 
Hogs, 100 lbs. ...... 
. $7.72 
$7.S1 
Beef cattle. 100 lbs.. . 
6.38 
3.98 
Veal calves. 100 lbs... 
7.80 
7.46 
Sheep, 100 lbs. 
. 4.75 
4.20 
Lambs. 100 lbs. 
6.55 
6.05 
Milch cows, each. 
. 59.67 
54.80 
Horses, each . 
. 137.00 
143.00 
Wool, unwashed, lb... 
.185 
.159 
Honey, comb, lb. 
.135 
.139 
Beans, bush. 
2 22 
o oo 
Clover seed. bush. . .. 
8.12 
9.78 
Timothy seed. bush.. . 
o ao 
• _. • > _ 
1.94 
Alfalfa seed. bush.. . . 
6.92 
8.20 
Cottonseed, ton. 
. 22.80 
21.40 
Broom corn, ton . . . . 
. 87.90 
56.60 
Cabbages, 100 lbs. .. 
2.66 
2.64 
Onions, bush. 
1.70 
1.02 
Tomatoes, bush. 
1.67 
1.61 
Apples, bush. 
.91 
.S6 
Peaches, bush. 
1.20 
1.30 
