1914. 
TH El RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Digging and Storing Potatoes. 
ELLAR STORAGE.—The late varieties of pota¬ 
toes are comparatively easy to keep in cellar, but 
with early varieties, like Irish Cobbler, which seem 
in a great hurry to get started to grow, more care 
is necessary where stored for seed, if one wishes to 
keep them dormant. A large unventilated bulk of pota¬ 
toes stored in cellar, even though they are well ma¬ 
tured and put in dry, will sweat, and potatoes on top 
of pile will show dampness. As this continues all 
through the Winter regardless of low temperature and 
ventilation, the early varieties begin to sprout badly 
down underneath, by mid-Winter sometimes, and by 
Spring, unless attended to. one finds them in poor con¬ 
dition. When the cellar is partitioned off into narrow 
bins, with well-ventilated sides, this trouble is avoided, 
but in putting in 2,000 to 3.000 bushels of one variety, 
all in one pile or bin, we hav^ been able to bring 
through in fine condition, by simply leaving boards 
against the walls and then placing old berry crates, 
peach carriers, or broken % truck baskets, frequently 
through the pile, standing them on end and reaching 
from cellar floor to top of pile. Our aim in keeping 
seed potatoes dormant, has been to keep them cool, as 
safe and as dry as possible. We prefer to have them well 
below 40 degrees much of the time. We are following the 
same plan now in storing late potatoes we are holding 
for better prices. 
SOIL ACCUMULATION.—One does not realize the 
amount of soil carried from the field to cellar on po¬ 
tatoes, even when handled in dry weather. This makes 
but little difference where pile is built from the side, 
but where large quantities are poured down from over¬ 
head, in one place, the accumulation makes trouble, 
and in such places potatoes sprout badly. Where this 
method of filling cellar is followed, the potatoes should 
be dumped above first and then forked into the hole, 
leaving most of the dirt separate, but at best the plan 
is a poor one. As it is not always possible to select 
dry weather to handle the potatoes, as one writer sug¬ 
gests, especially during such a Fall as we have been 
having this year, at such a time, the wet potatoes 
should be spread on barn floor or other safe place tem¬ 
porarily. and then stored when dry. 
LATE DIGGING.—Late potato digging has been 
hindered here this Fall by cold wet weather recently. 
One grower tells of working all day in bad storm and 
then allowed a load of 50 or 60 bushels of the wet 
potatoes to stand exposed to cold, that were frozen so 
stiff the next morning it was impossible to dislodge 
them from the crates when thrown from the top of load 
to the ground. Being so wet and dirty they froze to¬ 
gether very easily, but apparently without much injury, 
as but five bushels out of the load were rejected at the 
car when thawed out. but would not care to be the 
buyer at the other end of the deal. 
DIGGING METHODS.—Trucker. Jr., mentions dif¬ 
ferent methods of digging potatoes. Potato growers 
know only too well the difficulties to be met at times in 
getting the big diggers to work under unfavorable con¬ 
ditions. such as wet soil, crabgrass (in New Jersey! or 
injury to immature tubers in early d'gging. We un¬ 
derstood that buyers here this Fall refused to take dig¬ 
ger dug stock early in season, and it was a common 
thing to see men digging by hand while their big ex, 
pensive diggers stood idle. Diggers all have their ad¬ 
vantages and likewise points that are otherwise. We 
ran upon a plan that might interest growers who wish 
to dig seed by hand, selecting hills as they go. also in 
digging before ripe enough to handle with the digger in 
the usual way. We have one of the cheaper, simpler 
makes of diggers, and we simply remove the shaker 
entirely under such conditions, running the blade under 
the row, like a tree digger, which lifts and loosens the 
soil leaving the hill intact, and very easily and quickly 
removed with ordinary potato hook, or if digging is 
done early, while tops are green, potatoes hang to the 
vines and one can more easily and more quickly remove 
by hand than by the common method of “scratching 
out” by hand behind the plow, as has been so much 
practiced in New Jersey, when dug for early market. 
Any of the cheaper makes of diggers so built as to run 
blade under the row should answer for this work, by 
simply removing the attachments intended to separate 
the tubers from the soil. Aside from the labor saved 
in selecting hills, when dug for seed, and the better 
condition of the potatoes when dug early, the labor 
saved in gathering the potatoes into baskets is quite 
an item, where two or more rows are thrown together. 
In scratching out by hand behind the plow I think the 
Jersey growers who follow this plan early, will admit 
that there is much gain in picking over that of follow¬ 
ing the digger excepting under the most favorable con¬ 
ditions. 
THE CROF.—It has been a very favorable season 
here for potatoes and the crop is much heavier than 
usual. Potatoes generally very large and coarse where 
grown in hills, many of them hollow. < )ne buyer, we 
understand, has eight bushels taken out as too large, 
about 30 potatoes to the bushel crate. Rot is very bad 
in some places. One grower took a load to car of 
about 50 bushels and buyer accepted only seven bushels 
cut of the load at 30 cents per bushel. We hear of 
their selling at one station at 15 cents per bushel a few 
weeks ago. Thousands of bushels are being stored. 
Livingston Co., N. Y. Isaac c. Rogers. 
The Apple Grading Law. 
MY ENACTED.—Chapter 41S of the Laws of 
1014, commonly known as the Apple Grading 
Law, was enacted for a very definite purpose. 
Buyers of apples in large quantities usually 
were obliged to purchase them unopened, with the ex¬ 
ception of a few that were inspected as samples. They 
frequently found that the goods contained were not as 
represented. Occasionally the fault would consist in 
inserting cull apples in the center of the barrel, while 
those at the ends would be of the quality indicated by 
the marking on the barrel. But more frequently, while 
the apples would be of about the same quality through¬ 
out the barrel, the whole was quite inferior to what 
was to be expected from the marking on the barrel. It 
was for the purpose of eradicating these two evils and 
of standardizing the apples of New York that the Legis¬ 
lature passed this new law. Under it the buyer will 
feel safe in purchasing barrels of apples without open¬ 
ing them, because he will know that if they are not 
of the quality and kind indicated by the marks on the 
barrels, which marks are well defined under this statute, 
the packers of the apples can be prosecuted. The 
packers of apples who head up their barrels and con¬ 
sign them for shipment to distant markets will realize 
that no carelessness or ignorance will be tolerated by 
the State, and that they must pack their goods so that 
the public cannot be deceived by the stencil marks on 
the barrels. Improper markings on the part of the 
packer will involve not merely the paying of a fine but 
may also brand him as a criminal. It is of the utmost 
importance, therefore, for the packer to know at what 
point the first step is taken which calls into operation 
this new statute. 
ORCHARD PACKING.—In Western New York the 
apple growers have been under the impression, fostered 
by subordinates of the State Department of Agricul¬ 
ture, that all apples packed in the orchard must be 
packed according to the provisions of this new statute. 
A careful study of the statute, however, leads to the 
conclusion that it does not apply necessarily to opera¬ 
tions in the orchard. Experience shows that barreled 
apples, to be shipped or stored properly, must be w T ell 
packed, which includes facing, sorting, shaking down 
and properly heading. This packing makes the barrel 
a closed package within the meaning of the statute. 
Does the statute mean that all barrels so packed must 
be marked in accordance with the terms of this statute? 
Many orehnrdists place such barrels in their own cel¬ 
lars partially for family consumption and partially for 
sale later on. Thousands of barrels that are placed 
in storage are never sold as originally intended. They 
may spoil, they may be used for cider or they may 
be evaporated. It may safely be said that all barrels 
of apples placed in cold storage and kept there over 
two months must be reopened and many of them re¬ 
packed. This is due to the fact that even the best ap¬ 
ples in the best cold storage will deteriorate and that 
one apple becoming bad infects all the rest. It is due 
to the fact also that occasionally in even the best 
cold storage plants the temperature gets either too high 
or too low, injuring the apples. Such mishaps are sel¬ 
dom discovered until the barrels are opened and the 
condition of the contents disclose the cause of the trou¬ 
ble. None of these barrels, therefore, can be said 
strictly to have been packed for sale; they were really 
packed for storage with mental reservation on the part 
of the owner to determine later what disposition should 
be made of them. 
SCOPE OF THE LAW.—The Legislature never con¬ 
templated such barrels as constituting the evils com¬ 
plained of. and for which the State sought a remedy, 
consequently, the Legislature never intended that the 
statute should apply to such barrels. There are vari- 
icus steps in the process of sale; they include, accord¬ 
ing to the statute, the packing, the transporting or 
other distribution and the offering or exposing “for 
sale”; each and all of these expressions defining esich 
step of the process, must be understood as qualified 
by the words “for sale.” If the barrels are packed for 
storage, for gift, or for home consumption they do not 
come within the statute. 
STORAGE APPLES.—In great commercial opera¬ 
tions in which apples are taken from the orchard to 
storage houses, to be held until a rising price later on 
brings them into the market, the statute does not apply 
before the apples reach the storage, unless they are 
packed in the orchard by the grower and then sold to 
a jobber. If, as has heretofore been the custom, large 
buyers purchase in the orchard and have the fruit 
packed under their own supervision, they may pack 
and mark them, if for storage, according to their own 
desires. But when later on the barrels are opened 
preparatory to repacking for immediate transporta¬ 
tion to market, then the statute intervenes and the 
packing and marking must be done strictly according 
to its terms. 
THE STATE’S JURISDICTION.—The State is 
concerned solely with the public sale of such products, 
and only where the first step is taken toward such pub¬ 
lic sale does its jurisdiction apply. It would be in¬ 
tolerable in such a country as this for the government 
to interfere in the management of an individual’s pri¬ 
vate affairs to the extent of directing how they must 
box or pack provisions for their own use. The line 
must be drawn strictly, and it is only where the State 
can show clearly that the individual is engaged in 
public operations, that it has the slightest pretext 
for interfering. The storage of fruit by an individual 
is not such a public operation; no one is interested 
in it except himself and no one can be imposed upon 
or exposed to loss until a sale is attempted. It is only 
when the closed package is intended finally for sale, 
with no expectation of reopening it. that the statute 
applies. CHARGES J. HERRICK. 
The Law About Glandered Horses. 
UR neighborhood is quite stirred up over a report 
that there has been a law passed by the State of 
New York or State of New Jersey or both, re¬ 
quiring all horses to bo examined by somebody, 
and a health certificate given, otherwise owner or 
driver are liable to arrest. Can you inform us about it? 
New York. . w. E. H. 
The law referred to relates to glanders, and Commis¬ 
sioner Calvin J. Iluson, Commissioner of Agriculture 
of the State of New York has issued the following or¬ 
der : 
“State of New York, Department of Agriculture. 
Notice and Warning Against Glanders or Farcy. 
Albany. N. Y., May 28, 1914. 
To Whom it May Concern; 
“Pursuant to the provisions of Section 91 of the 
Agricultural Law, I. Calvin J. Iluson, as Commissioner 
of Agriculture of the State of New York, hereby give 
notice that the contagious or infectious disease known 
as Glanders or Farcy exists or recently existed in that 
portion of the State of New York known and desig¬ 
nated as the City of New York. Therefore in accord¬ 
ance with the authority conferred and duly imposed 
upon me as such commissioner by the provisions of 
Article 5 of the Agricultural Law as amended, I hereby 
order and direct as follows: 
“1. That no person or persons shall remove or assist 
in removing from within the said City of New York 
any equine animal to any point or points outside of the 
said city during the pendency of this notice and order, 
unless such person or persons shall have first received 
a permit duly issued by the Commissioner of Agricul¬ 
ture of the State of New York authorizing the re¬ 
moval of such equine animal or animals from said city. 
“2. Nothing in this order shall be construed to forbid 
the transportation by common carriers of equine ani¬ 
mals from points without the State to their points of 
destination within the State, or to such equine animals 
transported from points without the State to points to 
other States; nor shall it apply to healthy equine ani¬ 
mals in the performance of their daily work. 
“This notice and order and regulations issued there¬ 
under will continue in full force and effect until form¬ 
ally withdrawn. (Signed) Calvin j. huson. 
Commissioner. 
No such law to my knowledge exists in New Jersey. 
I raised the question with Commissioner Iluson as to 
whether this ruling applied to work horses plying be> 
tween New York and New Jersey, since it would seem 
that Section 2 clearly admits common carriers. Dr. 
134b 
II. D. Gill, Yeterinarian in charge writing under date 
of September 28th w’rites me as follows: 
“Your interpretation of our quarantine notice that 
horses in the course of their daily work are exempted 
from the mallein eye test is wrong. Quoting from 
the_ quarantine notice, ‘nor shall it apply to healthy 
equine animals in the performance of their daily work,’ 
I desire to call your attention to the word ‘healthy,’ 
signifying that the animal must be free from disease. 
Glanders being the disease affected by this quarantine, 
and the several mallein tests being recognized as posi¬ 
tive diagnostics, we must be satisfied that all equine 
animals are mallein tested for glanders before permis 
sion is given to take them in and out of our State.” 
It would seem to me that the word “healthy” is a 
joker. Animals might be unhealthy, and still not af¬ 
fected with glanders, therefore, why not test them for 
every other disease? I have written to the Commis¬ 
sioner, asking if the law is to be enforced as thus in¬ 
terpreted. and if it will be necessary to have all work 
animals subjected to the mallein test. A definite reply 
has not been received at this date. f. c. hinkler. 
N. J. Experiment Station. 
New York State News. 
TATE HOP EXPERIMENTS.—The State Experi¬ 
ment Station at Geneva, will conduct experiments 
in hop growing on a farm at Milford, N. Y. Six 
acres of land have been leased for a term of 1(3 
years on the farm of P. R. Bennett. The work will be in 
charge of J. F. Barker and four assistants. The land 
is to be divided into sections of one tenth of an acre 
each and the wire trellis system will be used. 
TO ORGANIZE CATTLE CLUBS.—Otsego County 
is feeling the effects of having a live farm bureau man¬ 
ager. The farmers are awake to the needs of organiza¬ 
tions of different kinds and it is proposed to form a 
county Holstein club, at Richfield Springs November 
6 and a county Guernsey club at Oneonta November 12. 
Two cow-testing associations have been organized each 
having 26 dairymen as members and 1.400 cows are 
represented. Claude Whipple is president of the Coop- 
erstown association and Floyd Hooker, of Cherry Val¬ 
ley, of the Springfield and Cherry Valley association. 
STATE CONFERENCE ON COUNTY AFFAIRS. 
—November 13 and 14 the New r York State Confer¬ 
ence for better county government will be held in 
Schenectady. It will be a kind of clearing house for 
ideas concerning more efficient and economic county 
government. Among the speakers announced are Gov. 
Glynn, Otto G. Cartwright, secretary of the West¬ 
chester County research bureau; V. Everit Macy of 
the same county; Henry J. Cookingham, county at¬ 
torney of Oneida County; Geo. S. Buck, auditor of 
Erie County; Herbert Harley of the American Judica¬ 
ture Society; Ernest Cawcroft of Albany. Assistant 
State Treasurer; L. K. Rockefeller of the State Comp¬ 
troller's office. 
NEW COW TEST ASSOCIATION.—Farmers in 
the vicinity of Attica have organized a cow testing as- 
soc'ation with E. II. Waite as president, and Henry 
G'or, secretary and treasurer. Similar associations 
have been formed at Perry, Warsaw and Java. 
GOOD POTATO CROP.—E. C. Gleason is a farmer 
living near Malone, N. Y., who grew r , this year, 43 
acres of potatoes in one block. On this tract there 
were 12,363 crates of tubers or a total of about 11,000 
bushels, and they were all dug and delivered to the 
station in 12 days. They were of excellent quality. 
PROGRESSIVE GRANGE WORK.—The Grange 
in Suffolk County is accomplishing things. We do not 
know of a more progressive, constructive work being 
done anywhere in the State by the Grange than this 
of the Pomona and several subordinate Granges in the 
county named. Among some of its chief works is the 
selection and breeding of seed corn. Three judges were 
required to visit the members’ cornfields this Fall to get 
yields, make measurements, examine the corn and gath¬ 
er all the information needed to report to the meeting 
of the Grange when prizes were awarded. At the same 
meeting 40 candidates took their first degrees. The 
corn exhibits after being judged are displayed in the 
store windows of the town. This Grange" and most 
others of the county, cooperate with the new Long Isl¬ 
and School of Agriculture, and take advantage of the 
< xtension work afforded by the school. There are 14 
Granges in the county and 10 had exhibits at the county 
fair this Fall. Each contributed to the Pomona ex¬ 
hibit, which covered a space of 400 square feet which 
was not large enough. The first prize went to Matti- 
tuck Grange. The Granges have been doing a consid¬ 
erable business in a cooperative way, especially in seed 
potatoes, fertilizers, lime and other farm supplies. The 
bureau of information and markets is a distinct evi¬ 
dence of the worth of the work being done by the Suf¬ 
folk Pomona. The main object of this bureau is to 
enable farmers to find better markets, largely with the 
ultimate consumer. j. w. D. 
Lyle’s Grain Figures. 
SCAR LYLE, the grain expert, makes the follow¬ 
ing statements of conditions and outlook of the 
leading cereals at this time: 
Farmers’ holdings November 1, 1913.... 137.972.000 
Crop, 1913 . 2.446,988,000 
Supply .2.584,960.000 
Remaining March 1. 1914 . 866,392,000 
Disappearance, four months, November 1. 
1913, to March 1. 1914.1,718,568,000 
Crop, 1914, estimated .2,676,000.000 
It is in general belief the acres seeded to winter 
wheat will be largely increased over last year, when 
36,506,000 were planted. Of this. 1,119.000 acres were 
abandoned and the harvest was from 35,387,000 acres. 
Average yield was 19.1 bushels per acre and crop esti¬ 
mated 675.500,000 bushels. 
Average abandonment, taking many years, is over 
10 per cent. Should we increase acreage seeded to 40.- 
000.000 and abandon but five per cent, we would have 
38,000,000 for harvest in 1915. An average yield of 
15.6 on this acreage would be 593.000.000 bushels. It 
is not likely the winter wheat crop, equal the phenom¬ 
enal crop of 1914, will be raised in 1915. 
RUSSIAN CROPS. 
1914. 1913. 
Wheat . 779,000.000 956.000.000 
Oats .1,560.000,000 1.950,000.000 
Rye . 870,000,000 970,000.000 
Russia’s annual requirements of wheat about 560.- 
000.000. 
The wheat crop of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Al¬ 
berta in 1914, estimated 148.000.000 bushels, compares 
with 209,000,000 last year and 204.000.000 two years 
ago. Oats crop, estimated 174.000.000, compares with 
242.000.000 last year and year before. 
