874 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
July 3, 19151 
EVENTS OF THE WEEK 
DOMESTIC.—An aeroplane plunged 
to earth, with three men at Quincy, 
Mass., .Tune 18, killing two of them. 
George IT. Hersey, .7i\, a mechanician, was 
killed instantly. William T. Ely, Jr., who 
was receiving instruction in flight from 
Harry M. Jones, the operator of the ma¬ 
chine, sustained injuries from which he 
died on the way to the hospital. Jones 
escaped serious injury by falling on the 
bodies of the others. 
The American Red Cross has com¬ 
pleted arrangements to send carloads of 
corn, beans and flour for the relief of 
4,000 employes of the United States 
Smelting Company who are threatened 
with starvation at Pachuca, Mexico. 
The employes have been unable to pur¬ 
chase food from local sources and have 
appealed for American aid. Several car¬ 
loads of grain and provisions, contrib¬ 
uted by large packing houses, have been 
shipped for the relief of famine-stricken 
non-combatants in Northern Mexico. 
The American Consul General writes 
that he is feeding about 15,000 half fam¬ 
ished Mexicans with American Red 
Cross corn. Food is also scarce at Sal- 
ina Cruz. A reliable message from there 
states that no immediate relief is in 
sight, and adds that locusts are destroy¬ 
ing all crops in the vicinity. 
Fifteen lives were lost, a score of per¬ 
sons were injured and property damage 
estimated at $250,000 was done by a 
wind, hail and electrical storm which 
centered in Missouri and Kansas, June 
18-19. The heavy fall of rain—ranging 
from two to five inches—turned many 
small creeks into turbulent streams and 
the rivers into torrents. Sixty-five cars 
were blown from the ’Frisco tracks in 
the yards at Fort Scott, Kan. One was 
a work train, in which ti’ack laborers 
were living. Three were injured. The 
home of J. T. Wood was blown over in¬ 
tact, carrying the occupants with it. No 
one was hurt. Several farmhouses and 
many small buildings north of Fort Scott 
were blown away. Wheatfields suffered 
heavily and many miles of i-ailroad tracks 
were swept away. 
The Yaqui Indians of Mexico have de¬ 
clared war against Germany and the 
United States. Since the Spaniards first 
set foot in Mexico the Yaquis have never 
been conquered. Against all authority, 
colonial or national, they have rebelled. 
When the new national government tried 
to impose taxes on them, in 1S25, they 
rose, and under a banner fabled to have 
descended to them from Montezuma drove 
every soldier of the republic from the 
western provinces. 
Honest advertising will be enforced by 
law in Missouri from June 18. The 
prosecuting attorneys of the various Mis¬ 
souri counties are charged with the en¬ 
forcement of the new law, which provides 
penalties for misstatements of fact in 
any kind of advertising. 
As a result of the Federal investiga¬ 
tion into the Lusitania affidavit scandal, 
Gustav Stahl, German reservist and 
affidavit maker, was indicted for perjury, 
June 18, by a Federal grand jury be¬ 
fore Judge Russell in the Criminal 
Branch of the United States District 
Court in New York. Stahl made an 
affidavit that he saw cannon on the 
Lusitania. 
Huge waves and treacherous currents 
drowned seven bathers and a fisherman 
at Atlantic City, N. J., June 20. An¬ 
other swimmer has not been accounted 
for. Panic prevailed on the beach and 
police reserves were called out. Life- 
savers and other risked their lives in 
rescue work and eighty-two exhausted 
swimmers were brought to shore. 
In two opinions read by Chief Justice 
White, .Tune 21, the Supreme Court of 
the United States declared that the so- 
called “grandfather’s clause,” a test for 
voters prescribed by an amendment to 
the Constitution of the State of Okla¬ 
homa, and a statute in the State of 
Maryland were invalid because they were 
repugnant to the Fifteenth Amendment 
of the Federal Constitution. Nearly 
every Southern State had prescribed this 
test for electors, which has operated in 
most cases to disfranchise a large per¬ 
centage of the negro voters. The Okla¬ 
homa amendment prescribed an educa¬ 
tional test as well and the court held that 
this was a valid enactment when stand¬ 
ing alone, but that being associated with 
the “grandfather’s clause” enactment it 
was void, as the two were not separable. 
A fire which threatened to destroy 
Lewis Nixon’s $200,000 guncotton plant 
at Metuchen, N. J., June 21, did approx¬ 
imately $20,000 damage before it was 
got under control through the efforts of 
the Metuchen fire department, aided by 
one company from New Bru^wick, sev¬ 
en miles away. Five employes received 
burns, but were not seriously injured. 
The contract of 1909 between the 
Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Rail¬ 
road Company and the coal company of 
the same name was declared by the Su¬ 
preme Court, June 21. to be in violation 
of the commodities clause of the inter¬ 
state commerce law. Under this contract 
all coal mined by the railroad company, 
except such as it used for operation, was 
sold at the mouth of the mines to the coal 
company, which sold it to consumers, 
transporting it when possible over the 
lines of the railroad company. The gov¬ 
ernment contended that the contract by 
which the coal company alone purchased 
th« railroad’s coal was monopolistic and 
an evasion of the commodities clause, 
which was intended to divorce railroads 
from the coal business. In the United 
States District Court for New Jersey 
the government’s suit was dismissed. It 
was this decision which was reversed by 
the Supreme Court. 
Thomas Taggart, Democratic National 
Committeeman for Indiana; Mayor Jo¬ 
seph E. Bell, Chief of Police of Indian¬ 
apolis, Samuel V. Perrott and 125 others 
were indicted by the Marion County, 
Ind., Grand Jury, June 22, charged with 
conspiracy to commit felonies in viola¬ 
tion of election laws, bribery and black¬ 
mail. 
June 22-23 sharp earthquake shocks 
caused the death of about a dozen per¬ 
sons in the Imperial Valley, California, 
and across the border in Mexico. Much 
anxiety was felt as the great irrigation 
system engineers reported that an¬ 
other shock as severe as the one which 
upset the little cluster of towns in the 
valley undoubtedly would wreck the 
works. A break reported in Alamitos 
Canal, one of the waterways of the sys¬ 
tem, can be repaired without great dam¬ 
age. The shock caused damage estimated 
at $1,000,000 in the valley’s little cluster 
of towns. El Centro suffered more than 
any other town. While scientists de¬ 
scribe the shocks as “the resultant of un¬ 
known forces,” they also agree that it lay 
along the line of what is known as the 
San Andreas fault in the earth’s forma¬ 
tion, which was involved in the North- 
Central California earthquake of 1906. 
Complete ruin of the irrigation system, 
it was stated, probably was averted be¬ 
cause of the loose formation of the earth 
in the valley and the great depth of silt, 
which took up the shock. 
FARM AND GARDEN—Prepara¬ 
tions are under way for a cattle show at 
New York State Fair, which is expected 
to include more State cattle than ever 
before. Officers of the State Fair Com¬ 
mission and the Department of Agricul¬ 
ture are agreed that with the State again 
entirely free of the hoof and mouth dis¬ 
ease, and the strict application of the 
quarantine regulations in all shipments 
of cattle, there is little danger of the 
Fair suffering from lack of entries. The 
entire premium list has been revised that 
it may appeal more strongly to owners 
of dairy cattle. Likewise plans are un. 
del* way in the sheep and swine depart¬ 
ments and officers of the Fair confident¬ 
ly predict that the exhibits will be as 
numerous and as interesting as in the 
best years of the exposition. 
The great Inter-State Fair at Tren¬ 
ton, N. J., opens as. usual the last Mon¬ 
day in September. A number of new at¬ 
tractions are promised. 
Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, of 
the United States District Court, who once 
assessed a fine of $29,240,000, against 
the Standard Oil Company, imposed one 
of two cents against Henry Johnson, of 
Barrington, Ill., June 19. Johnson, with 
a shotgun, drove a government agent 
looking for cases of foot and mouth dis¬ 
ease off his premises. 
Two hundred million pounds of col¬ 
ored oleomargarine have been sold to 
American housewives as pure creamery 
butter since 1902, according to figures 
given out by the Treasury Department, 
June 20. On this immense quantity of 
oleo the government has been defrauded 
of the tax of 10 cents a pound imposed 
on colored oleomargarine. On 185,000,- 
000 pounds the manufacturers paid the 
uncolored oleo tax of one-quarter of a 
cent, but on the other 15,000.000 pounds 
no tax at all was paid. Mixed with a 
small percentage of real butter it was 
sold as the pure creamery product. In 
both cases, howevei*, the retailers are be¬ 
lieved to have dealt in it as genuine but¬ 
ter. According to estimates submitted 
to Secretary of the Treasury McAdoo by 
Internal Revenue Commissioner Osborn, 
the government has lost at least $27,000,- 
000 in stamp and special taxes through 
the frauds since 1902. There has already 
been recovered by Commissioner Osborn, 
according to his report, $S51,000, with 
a prospect of further large collections. 
Forty-two violators have been convicted 
since January 1, 1915, 29 of whom have 
been sentenced to terms in prison rang¬ 
ing from 30 days to three and one-half 
years. 
Field Meeting N. J. Horticultural Society. 
On June 9 I was present for a short 
time at the Summer meeting of the New 
Jersey Horticultural Society. This 
meeting was held at the Seabrook Farms 
near Bridgeton. And such a gathering! 
It was just like a neighborhood picnic 
or family reunion. All available space 
about the building was jammed with 
automobiles. There must have been 
nearly 500 of them. At a conservative 
estimate this represented an investment 
of at least half a million dollars. They 
were mostly farmers’ cars. The crowd 
was estimated at close to 3,000 people. 
The welcome extended to all was a 
hearty one. The Seabrooks are certain¬ 
ly to be congratulated and have the sin¬ 
cere thanks of all for the privilege of 
viewing the greatest example of over¬ 
head irrigation to be found in this coun¬ 
try. About 110 acres are under irriga¬ 
tion. It is the practice of the Seabrooks 
to give heavy fertilization, intensive cul¬ 
tivation and frequent irrigation. A va¬ 
riety of crops are grown, and anyone 
could see that tremendous yields are 
made. 
Three of their most profitable crops are 
strawberries, lettuce and potatoes. A lit¬ 
tle pamphlet given out as a souvenir 
contained the .statement that the aver¬ 
age income per acre since the original 
installation was as follows: Strawberries 
$965.50 per acre; lettuce $944.72; pota¬ 
toes 560 bushels. Gross sales from farm, 
1914, $81,913.72. 
Besides the crop mentioned above one 
could see fine fields of cabbage, onions, 
lettuce, parsley, etc. The strawberries 
were by far the most interesting. I did 
not learn the exact acreage, but would 
judge there was betwen 20 and 30 acres. 
Practically all were the Chesapeake va¬ 
riety. They were in restricted matted 
rows three to 3% feet apart. And such 
berries! It was well worth a 150-mile 
trip to see them. They were just ready 
for the first picking. Practically all of 
the berries that come from that farm 
will grade as extra fancy. Some on 
exhibition showed nine berries filling the 
top layer of a quart box just right. One 
could go almost anywhere in the fields 
and with very little trouble find 30 ber¬ 
ries that would fill a quart box. Not a 
weed was to be seen. The space be¬ 
tween the rows was covered with a thin 
layer of salt hay. This kept the berries 
clean. If anyone gets high prices for 
berries this year the Seabrooks should. 
How was it possible to get these fine 
berries? First of all they had a splendid 
variety. A well-grown Chesapeake has 
firmness, can stand irrigation and has 
the quality that goes to make up a first 
class market berry. Then too these ber¬ 
ries were on naturally good strawberry 
ground that had been previously well 
manured and fertilized. In addition they 
were giv'en the very best of care in the 
way of cultivation. But that was not 
all. They had water last Fall just at 
the time they were preparing fruit 
crowns for this year’s crop. That I be¬ 
lieve is one of the important things often 
overlooked in considering irrigation for 
berries. Another thing, many of those 
plants were set out late last Summer. 
Without irrigation not a plant would 
have lived. With irrigation they had 
made a bed of plants just about right 
and here they are now with a tremendous 
yield of fruit just about 10 months or 
less from planting. They did not oc¬ 
cupy the ground practically two seasons 
before giving a crop. Without irriga¬ 
tion this would not have been possible. 
This though was not all there was to 
the meeting. There was a splendid dis¬ 
play of fruits, flowers and vegetables; 
greenhouses to look over, luncheon to be 
eaten (served right on the ground) ; and 
a splendid list of speakers to listen to. 
My time being limited I could do little 
more than look over the fields. I was 
sorry to have missed the speaking. How¬ 
ever I came away feeling more than re¬ 
paid for the visit to the farm, and with 
a very grateful feeling in my heart for 
such a splendid exhibition of intensive 
farming. trucker, jb. 
Coming Farmers’ Meetings. 
Fourth annual Summer School, under 
auspices of Washington State College, 
Puyallup, Wash., June 21-July 30. 
Texas State Florists’ Association, an¬ 
nual convention, Fort Worth, Texas, 
July 6-7. 
International Milk Dealers’ Associa¬ 
tion, San Francisco, July 8-9. 
International Viticulture Congress, 
Panama-Pacific Exposition, San Francis¬ 
co, July 12-13. * 
National Fertilizer Association, annual 
convention, Hot Springs, Ya., July 13-14. 
National Negro Farmers’ Congress, 
San Francisco, July 14-17. 
Ginners’ Association of the Cotton 
Belt, Atlanta, Ga., July 23-24. 
California State Fruit Growers’ Con¬ 
vention. Leland Stanford University, 
July 26-30. 
West Coast Potato Association, Palo 
Alto, Cal., July 30. 
California State Bee Keepers’ Asso¬ 
ciation, San Francisco, Aug. 5-7. 
Society for the Promotion of Agricul¬ 
tural Science. Berkeley, Cal., Aug. 9-10. 
Highland Horse and Colt Show, High¬ 
land, Md., August 14. 
American Rose Society, San Francisco, 
Aug. 17-19. 
Society of American Florists, San 
Francisco, Aug. 17-20. 
American Gladiolus Society, Annual 
show, Newport, R. I., August 18, 19, 
1915. 
Warren County Farmers’ Picnic, Bel- 
videre, N. J.. August 18. 
American Pomological Society, Berke¬ 
ley. Cal., Aug. 23-25. 
Cambridge Valley Fair, Cambridge, N. 
Y„ Aug. 23-27. 
New York State Fair, Syracuse, N. Y., 
September 13-18. 
Genesee County Fair, Batavia, N. Y., 
September 21-25. 
Trenton Inter-State Fair, Trenton, N. 
J.. Sept. 27-Oet. 2. 
Farmers’ National Congress, annual 
meeting, Omaha, Neb., September 28-Oc- 
tober 1. 
International Dry Farming Congress, 
Denver, Colo., Oct. 4-7. 
Chrysanthemum Society of America, 
annual show, Cleveland, Ohio, November 
10-14, 1915. Special show, San Francis¬ 
co, Cal. 
Berks Corn Contest, Reading, Pa., 
Dec. 2-4. 
Reading Pigeon and Poultry Associa¬ 
tion, annual show, Dec. 6-11. 
Annual Corn and Grain Show, Tracy, 
Minn., January 3-8, 1916. 
When you write advertisers mention The 
Rural New-Yorker and you’ll get a quick 
reply and a “square deal.” See guarantee 
editorial page. 
Free Box of Samples 
sent to your station charges prepaid. 
Delivered prices quoted on request. 
All sizes, 2 inches to 20 inches. 
THE E. BIGL0W CO., New London, 0. 
D RAIX ~F> ipe 
Light Weight, Low Hauling and Installation Costs. 
Sold m carload lots. Interesting Prices. 
The Fibre Conduit Co., Orangeburg, N. Y. 
*« M LARGE ** 0 
Friend 
Make your own Fertilizer at small cost ■with 
Wilson’s Phosphate Mills 
From 1 to 40 H. P. Send for catalogue. 
WILSON BROS. Sole Mfrs., Easton, Pa. 
AT FAI FA clovers, vetch, peas, beans 
rtLl n and Other Craps—Get a BIG TIELB— Inoculate with 
NITRO-GERM ?e n r ly ac 5 r°e 
Cheapest in the world, guaranteed perfect. Send for circular. 
The Standard Nitrogerm Company 
Glen Ridge, N. J„ Dept. 11 
\ Vi 200,000 customers testify to qual- 
•4 |i ity of Galloway-built good a. Our 
i'll engines made hi our factories. 
JjJ Modern design. Built for long, 
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BOOKS FOR 
BOYS 6 GIRLS 
We have made arrangements to supply a series 
of good, wholesome stories for beys and girls, 
well printed, nicely bound. 
THE RANCH GIRL 
SERIES, by Margaret 
Vandercook, include 
The Ranch Girls at Rainbow 
Lodge. 
The Ranch Girl’s Rot of Gold. 
The Ranch Girls at Boarding 
School. 
The Ranch Girls in Europe. 
THE CAMP FIRE, 
GIRLS SERIES, by 
Mar gar etV andercook 
include 
The Camp Fire Girls at Sun¬ 
rise Hall. 
The Camp Fire Girls Amid 
the Snows. 
The Camp Fire Girls in the 
Outside World. 
The Camp Fire Girls Across 
the Sea. 
THE THREE 
LITTLE WOMEN 
SERIES, by Mrs. 
Gabrielle Jackson 
include 
Three Little Women. 
Three Little Women at 
Work, 
Three Little Women’s 
Success. 
Three Little Women as 
Wives. 
YOUR CHOICE OF ANY OF THESE BOOKS 
WILL BE SENT DELIVERY CHARGES PRE¬ 
PAID FOR 
ONE NEW YEARLY SUBSCRIPTION TO THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER or 
TEN 10-WEEK TRIAL SUBSCRIPTIONS or 
TWO YEARLY RENEWAL SUBSCRIPTONS 
(one of these may be a renewal of your own 
Subscription). 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
333 West 30th St. New York City 
