1521 
New York State Agricultural Society 
The annual convention of the New York State Agri¬ 
cultural Society will be held in the Assembly parlor at 
the Capitol in the City of Albany on January IS and 
19, 1910. There will be sessions during the forenoon, 
afternoon and evening of both days. I he committee is 
planning to close the convention with a banquet on the 
evening of the 19th. The program is not yet fully 
completed, but a very strong list of speakers has been 
secured, and the exercises promise to be the most in¬ 
teresting and instructive in the history of the associa¬ 
tion conventions. A partial list of the speakers and 
subjects to be discussed is as follows: 
Pasteurization of Skim-Milk and IN hey for Calves 
by Prof. V. A. Moore. Advertising a State’s Products, 
Geo. B. Batten. Growing and Marketing Potatoes, 
Daniel Dean. Agricultural Education in the High 
Schools and Common Schools of the State, Layton S. 
Hawkins. A Cooperative Creamery, John M. Ham. 
The Lower Cost of Living, Marcus M. Marks, Borough 
President of New York. City Markets, Geo. W. Per¬ 
kins. National Marketing Problems, lion. Hatton W. 
Sumners. Shall Department Bureaus Eliminate Intel¬ 
ligent Housewives’ Organizations?, Mrs. Julian Heath. 
Progress of the Land Bank, B. G. Parker, President. 
National Marketing of Farm Products and its Prob¬ 
lems, Wells A. Sherman, Specialist in Market Surveys. 
Potato Growing Organization, F. E. Embree, Maine 
State Board of Agriculture. The Vital Issue in Farm 
Organizations, Kenyon L. Butterfield. Preserving 
Farm Wastes, Mrs. Frank Taber. 
Tentative acceptances have been received from Gov¬ 
ernor Whitman, Hon. Myron S. Herrick. 
Invitations have been extended to several other nota¬ 
ble speakers, whose names and subjects will be an¬ 
nounced later. 
In addition to the above there will be several valu¬ 
able reports from chairmen of committees. The an¬ 
nual election of officers will take place on the 19th. 
Co-operation for New York Farmers 
Responding to the request of Commissioner Wilson 
about 100 farmers, educators and others interested in 
agricultural subjects met at the Capitol on Dec. 10th 
to discuss suggestions to be made to the next Legisla¬ 
ture in revisions or additions to the agricultural law. 
In the forenoon the conference divided into five groups, 
the consideration including animal husbandry, plant 
industry, foods, feed and fertilizers, commercial rela¬ 
tions and education. The members met in a body in 
the afternoon and either approved the recommendations 
of the committee or referred them to a general com¬ 
mittee which was composed of one member from each 
group. Mr. L. L. Morrell, Kinderhook, N. Y., who 
presided at the meeting was chairman. 
Most of the recommendations related to technical 
revisions of existing agricultural laws. There was a 
recommendation, however, for standardization of milk 
content and for an official test when the price of milk 
was passed on the fat content. It was recommended 
that the apple grading and branding law remain as 
it is, and an appropriation be made for its enforce¬ 
ment. 
A brief report indicated that there had been rather a 
lively time in the educational committee, and while 
all the members seemed to have come out with whole 
skins, Chairman Cook intimated that the general com¬ 
mittee would better let the subject rest, and his coun¬ 
sel prevailed. 
An apparently very well-matured plan to pigeonhole 
effective cooperation work in the State by putting the 
work exclusively in the bands of men who opposed it, 
also created some lively discussions in committee. 
Messrs C. W. Burkett of the American Agriculturist 
and M. C. Burritt of the Farm Bureau framed a reso¬ 
lution to omit all initiative by the State in cooperative 
organization work, and to assign experts from Cornell 
and agents of the Bureau to sections where the de¬ 
mand for their help originated with farmers. It was 
made plain in the discussion that the bureau for the 
promotion of cooperation in the State was opposed, and 
the resolution proposed to abolish the work on the 
ground that some of the operators of the bureau had 
not been efficient or successful. 
Before the matter came to a vote it was pointed 
out that every Department and Bureau of the State 
would be abolished if subjected to a similar test. The 
committee was also reminded that the Farm Bureau 
had already directed its agents to refrain from taking 
any part in commercial cooperation; that the salary of 
agents of the bureau was often in part supplied by in¬ 
terests not connected with agriculture, such as cham¬ 
bers of commerce, railroads, etc., and that wherever 
these interests had expressed disapproval of the acts 
of the bureau agents in promoting commercial co¬ 
operation the bureau had sustained the complaint. The 
justification of the bureau was not under discussion, 
but it was contended that the invitation of the mana¬ 
ger to take over the functions of the cooperative work 
under the circumstances was to say the least astonish- 
No purpose can be assigned to it except an in- 
TII IS RURAL NKW-YOKKEI-t 
while other States were moving rapidly forward. The 
resolution was finally voted down and a recommenda¬ 
tion made for a suitable appropriation to promote co¬ 
operation and marketing in the State. 
To Establish the Price of Milk 
A CITY CREAMERY.—The plan proposed by the 
New York State Department of Foods and Markets, to 
regulate the distribution of milk in New York State, 
and to standardize the price of milk to the producer 
and consumer under the law of supply and demand, 
provides for a large creamery in the City of New York, 
to take up the milk surplus, In addition to the cream¬ 
ery, and in connection with it, the plan provides for a 
wholesale depot where milk will be sold daily in an 
open market to anyone who wants it, thereby establish¬ 
ing a wholesale market price. The creamery and the 
wholesale depot will be under the supervision of the 
State Department of Foods and Markets, and the grade 
and quality of milk and creamery products will be 
guaranteed by the close inspection of the Board of 
Health. It is intended that the creamery will handle 
both milk and cream. Many farmers prefer to ship 
cream and keep the skim-milk at home to feed calves, 
pigs and poultry. In addition to the cream shipments, 
the creamery will utilize daily any surplus of milk not 
absorbed by buyers at the morning sale. The cream¬ 
ery will probably have an immediate demand for its 
entire products in Sweet or unsalted butter for city 
trade. The large Jewish element in New York City 
create a big demand for this butter. They pay a pre¬ 
mium for it. They prefer it fresh from the churn daily. 
There is also a large demand for fresh salted butter, 
at not less than five cents a pound above our present 
top quotations. The hotel and restaurant, club and 
institutional trade now pay in excess of this estimate. 
In addition to butter, the creamery will have a large 
trade in cream, fancy fresh cheese, buttermilk and ice 
cream. It will standardize New York creamery butter 
which is now discriminated against in the market and 
in quotations, and it will give producers an increase of 
two to six cents on every pound of high grade butter 
produced in the creameries of the State, without any 
additional cost to the consumer. 
THE MILK TRUST AND PRICES.—With the 
daily public sale of milk, there could no longer be any dis¬ 
pute about the price of milk to the producer; and this 
question that has disturbed the State for a half century, 
will be settled. If there is no trust, there will be no 
one to oppose this plan. If there is a milk trust, the 
public sale of milk will break it. From the report of 
the milk investigation conducted in 1910, by the Hon. 
Edward It. O’Malley, Attorney-general of the State of 
New York, we quote the following extracts: 
1. “If an independent dealer, not a member of the 
Association, attempted to sell milk at a lower price 
than that established by the Association, what was 
known as the ‘dead’ wagon was started after him. The 
peculiar duty of this ‘dead’ wagon was to go around to 
the customers of the independent and offer them milk 
at a lower price than that at which the independent was 
selling. The ‘dead’ wagon was maintained and sup¬ 
ported by the members of the Milk Dealers' Protective 
Association. If the operations of the ‘dead’ wagon 
were not successful in putting an independent dealer 
out of business, an attempt was usually made to cut off 
his supply of milk by coercion, threats or influence, ex¬ 
erted upon the party who was supplying him with 
milk, sometimes as high as .$1,500 being offered to the 
party supplying the independent with milk, if he would 
break his contract with the independent or send him 
sour milk for a few days. If this mode of procedure 
was not successful in putting the independent out of 
business, he frequently found that his horses were mys¬ 
teriously poisoned by parties unknown.” 
2. “General competition amongst dealers as to the 
price at which they will furnish the consumer with milk 
lias ceased. They all put the price up at the same 
time to the same amount and all, with the exception of 
nne company, put down the price to the same amount 
at the same time. The consumer is at. the mercy of 
the dealer; he must buy milk at the price established 
by these dealers or do without it.” 
'3. “The testimony shows that, on account of these 
conditions many farmers have stopped producing milk, 
and that there are many abandoned dairy farms 
throughout the State. If this condition continues and 
the producers continue to go out of business, it will re¬ 
sult in a milk famine. Provision should be made now 
to prevent just such an event. It is the duty of the 
State to see to it that an adequate supply of milk at 
reasonable prices is available for all its inhabitants.” 
FINANCING CREAMERY AND MILK DEPOT.—- 
The State will be asked to issue serial bonds in suffi¬ 
cient amount to build and equip this creamery and 
milk depot to be operated by a cooperative association 
of producers and consumers. Out of the earnings of 
the business, the Association will pay the interest on 
the bonds and two per cent, extra to amortize them so 
that the bonds will be liquidated in about twenty years. 
This will not add one cent to the State appropriation, 
nor one cent to the tax bill of the State. But, on the 
contrary the prosperity of the farmer will increase the 
value of his chattels and of his lands. These new 
values will add at least a billion and a half dollars to 
the assessed value of our farm lands. This estimate 
will not then equal the present prices of isolated and 
less fertile lands of other States, but the increment of 
value resulting from this and other market facilities 
will be an asset to the State, and the source of new 
direct revenue to it, that will annually pay for the total 
cost of the improvement many times over. Under this 
plan, prices would be made daily in the open sales, and 
there would be no meaningless schedules of prices an¬ 
nounced six months in advance as now. 
THE NECESSARY LEGISLATION.—This cream¬ 
ery plant has been discussed with Governor Whitman 
and to say the least, he is not indifferent to it. Natur¬ 
ally he will want to know that there is a real broad de¬ 
mand for it from farmers themselves; and farmers must 
inform him. To insure the success of the plant, it will 
be necessary for producers to: 
1. Write approval of it to the Department of Foods 
and Markets, for the information of the Governor and 
the Legislature. 
2. Agree to furnish milk or cream to the creamery, 
either direct or through their organizations. The 
creamery will be equipped to handle a volume of milk 
and cream equal to 25 per cent, of the New York City 
consumption. 
3. Make it clear to Senators and Assemblymen that 
their influence and vote are demanded in favor of the 
measure, and that if they do not favor it other men 
will be sent to the Legislature pledged to it. This 
must be no bluff. Producers must be ready to fight if 
necessary as one man, irrespective of party, for this 
measure; and they must make it plainly known to their 
law makers that no excuse will be accepted for failure 
to support it. 
The Department invites criticisms or suggestions in 
regard to the plan from producers or consumers every¬ 
where. JOHN .J. DILLON. Commissioner. 
New York State Dept, of Foods and Markets. 
204 Franklin St., New York. 
mg. 
tention of giving the work an anaesthetic that would se¬ 
cure it a long and undisturbed sleep. The progress of 
other States in cooperative work and its influence in 
securing access to the markets of New York State to 
the exclusion of our own products were briefly dis¬ 
cussed in the argument, and it was insisted that the ef¬ 
fect of such a resolution would be to set back the hands 
of progress in the State of New York for 15 years, 
The 
ported 
Notes from the Auction 
International Apple Packers’ Association re- 
on December 1st that there were on that date 
in storage in the country 289,963 barrels of apples over 
and above the number of barrels stored one year ago. 
This included boxed as well as barreled apples, the 
boxed being included on barrel basis. It was also es¬ 
timated that the holdings in the growers’ hands on 
December 1st of this year, were 25,000 barrels, while 
the holdings on the same date last year were estimated 
at 50,000 barrels. This was something of a surprise 
to many men in the trade, both growers and dealers, 
as the early indications seemed to point to a smaller 
crop this year, and the high run of prices this year was 
accepted as an indication of a smaller crop. 
The Price-Currents of December 14th last year quoted 
fancy Baldwins as high as $2.75, the top notch. This 
year' the same authorities on the same date quote the 
same class of Baldwins at $3.50. This would be a dif¬ 
ference of 75 cents per barrel on this variety in favor 
of this year over last year, and it has been a matter of 
daily observation in the market that prices have been 
ruling from 75 cents to $1 a barrel above the level oi 
last year. Just why a larger crop this year, when there 
is no export trade, should sell for a larger price per 
barrel than a smaller crop last year, when there was 
a large export trade, remains to be explained. A bet¬ 
ter local distribution might account for it. It is doubt¬ 
ful if all minds will agree, but as far as New York 
City is concerned it cannot be denied that while the 
wholesale prices have been better than last year, the 
retail prices to consumers have been lower. The in¬ 
fluences leading to these results are open for discussion. 
The receipts of apples for the last week in New York 
City have been larger. Prices for the good stock and 
for fancy grades have been firm. There is considerable 
stock yet in the hands of growers held in common stor¬ 
age, and some in cold storage. It would be a wise 
policy to ship this stock right along in regular ship¬ 
ments from now on. There may be slight variations 
in prices from day to day, and week to week, caused 
now by one condition and again by anothf 
ments coming right along will reach a fair 
the grower will fare better in the end tlv 
hold and manipulate for the high market 
One car reached the market frozen, and of course 
sold low on that account. From now on shipments 
should be made only in refrigerated cars. 
Sales at the auction market for two days last week 
were as follows: 
APPLES.—106 bids. Baldwin $2.30; 26 Spy $2.75; 
7 Russet $2.60; 1 Seek $2.35; 1 Stark $2.65; 1 Stark 
$1.95; 2 Greening $2.30; 1 Waldridge $2.05; 27 Green¬ 
ing $2.90; 30 $2.40; 3 $2.05; 5 $2.35; 1 $1.85; 7 
$1.90; 9 King $3.30: 3 $2.90; 1 $2.80; 2 $2.55; 11 
boxes $1.25; 27 Baldwin $2.75; 1 $2.70; 16 $2.10; 3 
Spv $3.35; 1 $3.80; 11 $2.10; Greening $2.80; 1 
$2.35; 1 Russet $2.60; 2 $2.15; 2 Spitz $2.70; 1 Wag¬ 
oner $2.50; 2 Mann $2.20; 1 French Pippin $2.70; 10 
Ilubbardston $2.70; 32 $2.65; 3 $2.20; 3 
$2.35; 2 Limbertwig $2.95; 9 Jonathan $3 
Greening 
6 $2.60; 
15 Bald- 
$4.15; 1 
1 Ben Davis $2.75; 2 $2.05; 1 Sutton $3.25; 
win $3.45; 4 $3.25; 6 $2.50; 1 Unknown 
$3.45; 2 Mann $2.70; 17 $1.95; 1 Snow $2.90; 1 $2.70; 
1 Ben Davis 85c; 3 cloth top $1.95; 11 Wagoner 
$1.70; 1 $1.30; 4 Sutton $1.60; 3 King $1.55; 4 $1.65; 
10 Seek $1.50; 4 $1.15; 4 Baldwin $1.10; 5 70c; 13 
Ben Davis $1.85; 1!) $1.45: 16 Spitz $1.30; 1 Swaar 
$1.90; 1 Paragon $1.75; 16 Pound Sweet $1.40; 4 
Bunker Hill $1.80; 33 Greening 90c; 7 Baldwin $2.75; 
1 $2.45; 6 $1.50; 1 $1.75; 2 Ben Davis $2.40; 2 
$1.75; 3 Ladv Sweet $2.25; 1 $1.90; 1 Baldwin $3.40; 
2 $2.85; 6 $2.50; 3 $2.40; 2 $2.15; 2 Grimes $2.20; 
1 $1.85; 14 King $2.65; 1 $2.50; 5 $2.20; 2 Grimes 
$2.35; 1 $1.90; 9 Cranberry Pippin $2.75; 1 $2.40; 20 
$2.25; 9 Jonathan $3.85; 1 $3.30; 5 Cranberry Pip¬ 
pin $2.65; 8 Greening $2.75; 1 Ben Davis $2.35; 1 
$2.30; 1 $2.70; 61 Baldwin $3; 2 Spitz $4.45; 35 Spy 
$3.45; 2 $2.45; 1 Baldwin $2.80: 3 Jonathan $3; 1 
Jonathan $3.10; 3 Bellflower $3.40; 3 $2.85; 2 Bald¬ 
win $2.70; 1 Greening $2.40; 1 King $4.25; 1 Spitz 
$2.40; 1 Seek $.3.15; 35 Baldwin $2.80; 1 Spitz $2.80; 
41 Baldwin $2.50; 8 $2.15; 60 $2.05; 2 Greening 
$2.35; 2 Fallawater $1.75; 14 Greening $2.50; 13 Bald¬ 
win $2.30; 10 Ben Davis $2.50; 8 $1.75; 17 Stark 
$1.85; 3 Unknown $3.60; 21 N. W. Greening $2.15; 
7 Greening $2.05; 16 Newtown $1.70; 33 Newtown 
$1.85; 30 Newtown $1.70; 7 $2.15; 2 Baldwin $1.90; 
3 Baldwin $1.80; 2 Ben Davis $2.25; 2.$2.35; 2 Bald¬ 
win $2.40; 1 Spy $2.15; 3 Spy $3.10; 2 $2.45. 
PEARS.—15 boxes Sheldon $1.50; 34 half boxes 
Clairgeau $1.70; 43 bbls. Kieffer $1.75; 9 $1.55; 2 
bkts. Sheldon 80c; 5 Clairgeau $1.20; 4 boxes Seckel 
30c; 9 Anjou $1.40; 1 85c; 36 Clairgeau 80c; 9 75c; 5 
$1.15; 2 Lawrence 45c; 1 bkt. Seckel $1. 
New York State News 
STATE FAIR COMMISSION.—At the meeting of 
the State Fair Commission in Syracuse Dec. 13 the 
question of appointing a successor to S. C. Shaver as 
secretary was informally discussed but on account of 
the absence of three of the commission the matter was 
put over until the next meeting. One of three things 
can be done, combine the offices of secretary and 
treasurer, make Treasurer Brown secretary or appoint 
a new secretary from outside the commission. It is 
quite likely that the offices will be combined and the 
secretary-treasurer be given an assistant. The sum of 
$175,000 for improvements on the fair grounds will 
be included in the budget to be submitted by the State 
comptroller to the legislature. No specific requisition 
was made for a new building and it is understood that 
should the appropriation be allowed that it may be 
devoted to any purpose. The commission has returned 
to the State the sum of $5,035.72. 
ONONDAGA WINS APPLE MEDALS.—Onondaga 
County in general and Grant G. Ilitchings in particu¬ 
lar, are just a bit proud of the fact that Mr. Ilitchings 
won the gold medal at the Panama Pacific Exposition 
on Northern Spy, Pound Sweet, Twenty Ounce and 
Wolf River varieties. He took silver medals on Alex¬ 
ander and Wealthy and a bronze medal on Tompkins 
County King. Every apple growing State in the Union 
had exhibits at San Francisco and the competition be¬ 
tween the New York and the Far West was keen. New 
York won the grand national sweepstakes gold medal 
for apples. 
