842 
Finishing Poultry for the Market. 
A Statement of New York Conditions. 
Paht IY. 
EXPENSES OF SHIPMENT.—The expense of 
handling dressed poultry consigned to New York is 
very great; freight rates are extremely high. For il¬ 
lustration, a carload of packed boxes of frozen poultry 
shipped from Chicago to New York carries a freight 
rate of 75 cents per 100 on the gross weight. This 
frozen poultry is like pig iron, with any decent care it 
arrives in prime condition. Not one claim is tiled 
against the railroad company on frozen poultry once 
a month. In the same train carrying this frozen poultry, 
a car of fresh beef carries the rate of 48 cents per 100. 
The fresh beef shipper pays for icing, and this would 
add to the cost about four cents per 100. Thus we 
find the poultry shipper paying for the same service 
that the beef trust pay for having their beef hauled, at 
least 23 cents per 100 or $4(5 per car additional freight. 
The beef is shipped by a strong organization which 
profits by the low rate. The poultry is shipped by in¬ 
dividuals or firms who buy of the producers, who ul¬ 
timately pay the freight. If it were not that the ex¬ 
tra rate can be shifted on the producers by the deal¬ 
ers, they would probably organize a complaint, and in¬ 
sist on having the? same rate given beef. The complaint 
should be put up to the Interstate Commerce Commis¬ 
sion by farmers. Freight rates on dressed poultry from 
all sections of the country are exorbitant. 
CARTAGE AND HANDLING.—After arriving in 
New York City the poultry consigned to the commis¬ 
sion merchants is carted to Washington Street as a rule 
where a lot of old-fashioned, nondescript rookeries of 
buildings fit only for bats and rats, are used as com¬ 
mission houses. This haul is only for a few blocks, 
vet the cartage rates are as high as $40 on a carload of 
broilers or other poultry packed 12 to the box. The 
poultry is unloaded on Washington Street and then 
sold to jobbers and hotel supply men, when it is again 
carted at a very high rate of cartage to its second 
dealer’s store. Here it is again unloaded, piled up and 
finally reloaded onto wagons or automobiles and carted 
to the stores, hotels or steamships, where it is made 
ready for its final distribution. Commission merchants 
charge 5% for handling the dressed poultry, the job¬ 
ber must make from 5% to 10% in order to make his 
expenses and a profit, the hotel, restaurant and people 
who also supply the steamship lines figure to make from 
15 to 20% on their sales. Even if the commission mer¬ 
chants always treat fairly and honestly the shipper, we 
still find a vast amount of unnecessary expense in the 
handling of dressed poultry. 
EXTENT OF THE TRADE.—The volume of 
dressed poultry coming into New York City amounts to 
$30,000,000 annually. If we were to consider the jobbers’ 
profit alone at 5 per cent., a saving of $1,500,000 could 
be saved by eliminating them and selling direct to the 
retail trade. Add to this a most conservative estimate 
of $500,000 for extra cartage and labor and we have a 
conservative estimate of $2,000,000 of an annual sav¬ 
in the distribution of dressed poultry in the city of 
New York. Of course, the saving that would result 
from the elimination of dishonesty, manipulation, se¬ 
cret combinations, cannot be estimated in dollars and 
cents with any degree of accuracy, but it would run into 
astonishing figures in actual practice. The Department 
of Foods and Markets of the State of New York ex¬ 
pects in the near future to see proper terminals built 
where this poultry will arrive, and where there will be 
ample facilities for cold storage, and otherwise to make 
it possible to have the poultry sent direct from these 
terminals to the final distributors, the retail butchers, 
the hotels and steamship companies. The purpose is 
to do away with secrecy and manipulation of the mar¬ 
kets; to receive the goods from the shipper and to sell 
it to the retail distributors on an open market at prices 
regulated by the supply and demand. 
About Soil Acidity. 
THE NEW METHOD.—That The R. N.-Y. should 
devote the front pages of two recent issues to this 
method certainly indicates its importance. We have 
tried this method and can corroborate The R. N.-Y. 
statements. We believe it is when properly used 
the most practical method in determining acidity 
for field work that has yet been suggested. Great 
credit is due its inventor. We have used this method 
and find first: It is a sure test for acidity. In cases 
where the soil was not acid no color was imparted 
to the lead acetate paper. In every instance where 
the soil was acid a color did appear on the lead 
acetate paper even when only 200 pounds of burnt 
lime was required per acre. It gave a fairly definite 
idea of how much lime was needed. Compared with 
the colors on Prof. Truog’s color chart (Wisconsin 
Bulletin No. 249) we found the five colors given 
meant that the following amounts of burnt lime per 
acre were required: 
(Marked) Burnt Lime 
1. Very slight acidity. 200 lbs. 
2. Slight acidity . 1.000 “ 
3. Medium acidity . 2,000 “ 
4. Strong acidity .4,000 
5. Very stroug acidity . 8,000 “ 
■•it would seem, however, that this method is a 
one-man method rather than an every-farmer 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
method. A trained observer could best interpret the 
meaning of the colors obtained. The R. N.-Y. cer¬ 
tainly hit. the point when in the last paragraph of 
the article it recommended the method for farm 
demonstrators. It is primarily a county farm dem¬ 
onstrator method. 
CHANCE FOR EXPERIMENT STATION.—As 
the farm demonstrators are comparatively few this 
method would not solve the problem for the great 
majority of farmers. Why can't the experiment 
station help? Free seed tests are made by the ex- 
periment stations. Why not free lime requirement 
tests? To know how much lime to apply is as im¬ 
portant as to know that the soil is acid and needs 
lime. Often no results are obtained from liming 
because not enough was applied when perhaps only 
a little more lime applied would have meant results. 
The amount to apply is important. Free lime re¬ 
quirement tests should not be as expensive to the 
experiment stations as free seed tests. By the new 
(Truog) method one man can run 75 samples a 
day, about 400 a week—20,000 a year. So one 
man should be sufficient. The apparatus would be 
far less than that required for seed analysis. The 
advantages to be derived from free lime require¬ 
ment tests are: 
1. Farmers would realize that the experiment 
stations were of some good. 
2. They would learn how to use the experiment 
stations. 
3 . The person devoted to this work conhl prob¬ 
ably improve this method or discover a still more 
practical one. 
4. The experiment station would obtain a record 
of the State’s soils, putting it in a better position to 
give advice. 
As a rule the feeling of the farmers is that the 
experiment stations are ‘’no good.” The soil is one 
of the greatest problems, and if a farmer sends a 
sample to the experiment station lie is informed that 
no soil tests can be made. Hence there arises the 
question "'What good is the experiment station?” 
Machine for Sifting Bermuda Grass Roots. Fig. 309. 
True, a soil analysis cannot lie made because it is 
too expensive. But what about lime requirement 
tests? Truog by his new method makes them inex¬ 
pensive. Is this not a chance for the experiment 
station to show its worth? L k. wilkins. 
New Jersey Exp. Station. 
Transplanting Bermuda Grass Roots. 
ANY of our eastern readers do not realize how 
farmers in the Southwest make use of Ber¬ 
muda grass. There has come to be a regu¬ 
lar business in States like Oklahoma in digging and 
selling the Bermuda roots. This grass is not usual¬ 
ly propagated from seed iu Oklahoma, but the roots 
are used for obtaining the start. A circular from 
the Oklahoma Station at Stillwater gives a good 
account of the methods used to produce a permanent 
pasture of Bermuda grass. The roots are planted 
from March to June. It requires four to five two- 
bushel sacks of roots to plant an acre and these 
roots generally cost about $1 a sack. To obtain the 
roots a plow is worked through the sod, breaking 
the roots off. Then with a pitchfork or spade they 
are shaken free from dirt, well moistened and 
packed into sacks. The crude machine shown at 
Fig. 309 is used for shaking the dirt from these 
Bermuda roots. The soil is plowed about three 
inches deep, the sod thrown into this machine, 
which is then turned about until the dirt falls 
through the slats. 
When the roots are received for planting they are 
soaked in a tub of water for 10 or 12 hours. Then 
they are chopped in pieces about a foot long and 
planted in rows, these rows being three feet apart, 
with the root pieces 2% feet apart in the row. In 
some cases the ground is plowed and the roots are 
dropped into every third furrow, the ground being 
then well harrowed. One way of planting consists 
of preparing the land as for corn; then the roots 
are loaded into a two-horse wagon. A boy drives 
this, and two men follow behind dropping the roots 
in the wheel tracks, and covering them with their 
feet. With this crude planting the roots start and 
grow, covering the entire field, and giving a rich 
Summer pasture for that hot and dry country. Of 
course, the growth of Bermuda, like that of any 
June 26, 1015. 
other grass, will depend upon the fertility of the 
soil. One authority in Oklahoma claims that land 
which will produce one-quarter of a bale of cotton 
per acre would give Bermuda pasture for one cow. 
One-half bale yield would feed two cows, and a 
one-hale yield four cows. This handling of Bermu¬ 
da grass would he of no value whatever to the ma¬ 
jority of our readers, as the crop is not suited to 
our Eastern conditions. Now that there is to be a 
trial evidently of transplanting seedlings of Al¬ 
falfa, it is a good thing for us all to realize that 
farmers in other parts of the country resort to this 
transplanting in order to obtain a pasture or a sod. 
Hoisting Hay With An Engine. 
Referring to your inquiry for experience in hoisting 
hay with gasoline engine, I submit the following: Four 
years ago I bought an engine mounted on a truck, on 
one end of which was a regular hoist. This has put 
all hay in barn since, besides doing numerous other 
jobs, such as pressing straw, loading ice, etc. As soon 
as haying commences, the engine is conveniently placed 
outside barn door, and stays there until all is in. As 
1 have hut one man, who is with me the year round, we 
work as follows: A load is brought in the barn. Jeff 
stays on it, while I get down and start engine, lift two 
or three forkfuls and dump them. We then get in the 
mow and place this, and repeat till load is off. Usually 
the last load is in around five o’clock : the horses are 
at once put in stable; .left' goes about liis chores while 
I unload alone. If too late that night, then in the 
morning, Jeff takes the horses with the mower and cuts 
sufficient for that day; and by the time he returns I 
am ready for him with the empty wagon. Of course, 
this means several trips for me up and down from the 
load and the mow, which I have provided for by hav¬ 
ing a good ladder fixed for the mow and a small light 
one for getting on and off the load; thus making it 
nearly as easy as walking on the ground. It will thus 
be seen the hay-fork and engine enable me to put hay 
in a mow alone that could by no possibility be done 
without the aid of three other men. w. TRTJEMATt. 
New York. 
Apple Situation Ends Well. 
One of the surprises of the apple situation this 
Spring has been the remarkably strong tone of the 
market on the last lap of the season. Wayne County 
growers and dealers who yet hold stocks are finding 
flattering offers in every direction. Everyone prophe¬ 
sied that when the oranges came on the apple market 
would become fickle, and soon lag; that dealers would 
be glad to clean up on any price. The result of the 
orange debut lias produced an exact opposite condition. 
Apples have been soaring in price in active compe¬ 
tition with oranges of the new crop, and the prospects 
are good for the balance of the holdings to pass oft 
at attractive prices. Baldwins are quoted at from $•! 
to $5 per barrel, an unusual figure at this season of the 
year when other fruits abound. Ben Davis of good 
pack command from $2.50 to $4, Northern Spy from 
$3.25 to $4.50, and other varieties from $2.50 to $3.50 
per barrel. 
In the evaporated apple market quotations range 
from 8 Vi to nine cents per pound for fancy stock; 
choice evaporated from 7% to eight cents and prime 
from 7Vi to 7V 2 cents per pound. Sun-dried, accord¬ 
ing to quality, is quoted from four to six cents. Oil 
futures, seven cents is quoted f.o.b. State points on 
stock for October-November delivery. Chops and waste 
are dull and quotations seem entirely nominal. Late 
reports indicate that the Baldwin crop, which was 
light in the bloom this year, has been damaged also by 
the heavy freeze the last week in May. Other varieties 
seem to have weathered well in the immediate lake 
district between Webster and Red Creek. Crop pros¬ 
pects are excellent for nearly all varieties of fruit. 
The sour cherry yield may drop from first expectations, 
as a cold rain* came on during the setting period, yet 
the outlook is fair. Peaches also did not set quite as 
expected, but the trees were so fully blossomed that, 
the growers could only hope for a small part of the 
bloom to form into fruit. 
The tent-caterpillar is giving practically no trouble 
on well cared for farms, but in some of the neglected 
orchards it has made serious inroads, particularly in 
the eastern districts. In the State at large the pest 
has become so threatening that Commissioner Wilson 
of the State Department of Agriculture has issued a 
bulletin on the subject. 
For the first time in 20 years Wayne County Pomona 
held its June meeting in Huron the first week in June. 
Delegates were present from all parts of the country. 
Dinner was served by the ladies of the Presbyterian 
Church and each visitor was presented with a souvenir 
badge. As Huron township is an inland town automo¬ 
biles conveyed the guests of the day from the railway 
stations at North Rose and Wolcott. A. n. P. 
It is an exceedingly difficult thing to give a brief 
fruit crop estimate in Michigan at this time. There 
was a hard frost on the night of May 27. and the dam¬ 
age that was done at that time was exceedingly spotted. 
Some vineyards in the grape region around Lawton and 
Paw Paw that have always escaped hard frosts, were 
injured this time. Also some lower vineyards in some 
cases were not injured while those much better located 
as far as air drainage is concerned, were injured. The 
frost reduced the cherry crop in the Traverse City 
region from 200 to 100 cars, according to the last esti¬ 
mate. The greatest injury, of course, was to straw¬ 
berries and small fruits although in many cases apples, 
peaches and plums were injured. H. J. Eustace. 
Michigan Exp. Station. 
There is prospect for a very fair crop of apples here, 
although the setting is not in proportion to the amount 
of bloom we had. Cherries were a very heavy crop 
last year as were also plums, and will he rather light 
this season. There is very good prospect for grapes 
and small fruit. In the Ottawa County peach district 
there is promise of a good peach crop but further east 
along the lake there are reports of some injury. In 
the Ohio River apple district Washington County prom¬ 
ises to have a fair crop of apples, probably not as 
heavy as last year, while Lawrence County reports a 
full crop. The Station is almost daily receiving letters 
regarding winterkilling of apple and peach trees four 
years old and under. eatjl tiiayek. 
Ohio Exp. Station. 
