Ikt RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1049 
Crops and Farm News 
Countrywide Situation 
CROPS FAIR TO GOOD; GENERAL OUTLOOK 
MORE CHEERFUL; APPLE, POTATO AND 
MELON PROBLEMS ; LATE POTATOES, 
ONIONS AND CABBAGE CROPS ABOUT 
AVERAGE ; PLANTING MORE CELERY. 
The July line-up of the crops shows 
fruit, truck crops and hay good, grain 
fair, corn backward, potatoes and cotton 
medium. Lateness and weediness of most 
fields is the common complaint. 
Trice continue low for most farm prod¬ 
ucts except cotton and wool, but grain 
is selling better and the grain region is 
more cheerful on the ground that price 
is more important than yield. The weak¬ 
ness of live stock and dairy products is 
one of the worst features of the situa¬ 
tion. It results from heavy production 
and the slackened demand caused by 
warm weather and business depression. 
However, each month prices of some 
things the farmers buy come down a lit¬ 
tle. Farm labor is in fair good supply. 
Even the blue and broke Northwest is 
rather more cheerful. 
Late crops may be short, but there is 
plenty of early stuff, at the rate of 25,- 
000 cars a week of fruits and vegetables; 
almost a record volume for late Summer. 
Lateness of the season resulted in bring¬ 
ing too many shipping sections into the 
market at the same time. 
Everything went lower the middle of 
the month, with prices in distant produc¬ 
ing sections even below_ cost of produc¬ 
tion. As compared with a year ago, 
Virginia potato growers got $2.50 per 
bbl. against $5; Georgia peach growers. 
$1 a basket against $1.50; and melon 
growers. $50 a carload against $100 to 
$175 last vear. Of course, the low prices 
of southern truck have depressed the 
whole market and there is not much in 
it for northern gardeners, although they 
save on freight and other items. 
MORE APPLES EAST AND SOUTH 
The apple outlook is beginning to take 
shape. The July estimate shows 2.000,- 
000 barrels or 6 per cent less of the mar¬ 
ket crop than last season. There are 4,- 
000.000 less in the western boxed apple 
region, and a million and one-half less 
in the Middlewest, but the East and 
South have three or four million bushels 
more than last season. There were large 
gains in the great apple States of New 
York and Virginia. On a whole it looks 
like another year of busy competition. 
The East and Far West will crowd the 
aople markets of the Middlewest with a 
considerable surplus. Foreign markets 
which last year took about 10 per cent 
of the market crop are not likely to take 
so many this season because the crop out¬ 
look in Europe is good. 
PLENTY OF FRUIT 
Apple shipments are only about half 
the volume of a year ago, owing to late¬ 
ness. but practically every early State is 
represented, showing that the early crop is 
not a failure anywhere. Cantaloupes 
have been coming in tremendous quan¬ 
tities from California. It is one of the 
few crops which have held up in P r '<'P- 
despite heavy supply, amounting to 2.000 
to 3.000 cars a week. California inspec¬ 
tors keep out the poor melons. Custom¬ 
ers find themselves practically sure to 
get a good one after the first of the sea¬ 
son. and they find the product of desert 
sunshine and* mountain water attractive. 
Arizona cantaloupes sell still bettei. The 
dwer and hotter the climate, the sweeter 
the irrigated fruit. For. all that, some 
eastern cantaloupes are just as good as 
western, but it is harder to pick them out 
because the packing systems at many 
shipping points are not very. strict. 
The total grape crop is estimated a lit¬ 
tle below last season with, the decrease 
mainly in California, while the East 
shows a larger yield than last season.. 
The early peach markets are being 
fullv supplied. Georgia had over 7,000,- 
000‘bushels available for eastern markets. 
Texas. Oklahoma and Arkansas together 
had about as many for Middle M estern 
cities, and the northern crop is more mod¬ 
erate. New Y r ork’s estimated production 
will be about 50 per cent larger than last 
season, but the other Northeastern 
States have about the same as in 1923. 
Still there will be plenty of late peaches. 
Totatoes, melons, peaches., tomatoes, cu- 
cumbers, cabbage and onions are other 
items swelling the market total. Even 
strawberries came in considerable quan¬ 
tities for late in July. 
FEWER LATE POTATOES 
The main northern potato crop is likely 
to make a better showing in the market. 
The July estimate shows only about , an 
average crop of the total potato region. 
The forecast would look like a short crop 
except for the Southern States, which 
will be out of the market after August. 
The IS principal Northern States are 
estimated likely to produce 37,000.000 
bushels less than last season. Michigan, 
one of the half dozen leading States ,is 
one-fifth short. Part of the potato trou¬ 
ble is the result of lateness and may be 
overcome. It is not safe to make many 
plans on a July estimate of potatoes in 
a backward season. Nobody in the main, 
ootato States can tell in July how many 
potatoes will be dug from his field in 
September, but by the time of the es¬ 
timate in August conditions will be clear¬ 
er. As it looks now, there will be no¬ 
where near so many potatoes for the 
Fall and Winter markets as during the 
past two seasons. 
CAUSE OF MISSING HILLS 
Not all the missing potato hills can 
be blamed on the weather. Several fields 
in Northern Maine were gone over last 
month and the vacant spaces dug into and 
examined. It ,was found that many 
spaces had been skipped by the machine 
planter. Some seed pieces had no eyes 
and others were cut wholly from the stem 
end of the potato with no eyes strong 
enough to sprout. Fertilizer in the drill 
killed some, so did cutworms and rhizoc- 
tonia and too strong a mixture of the scab 
din used on seed potatoes. Of course, 
many rotted in the ground from cold and 
moisture. Bearing these causes in mind, 
some growers will select, treat, cut and 
plant with more care next season. It 
does not pay to plant wet, cold soils too 
early. Fertilizer broadcast and harrowed 
in seems to give considerably better 
stands than when drilled in with the seed. 
Onion prospects are about the same as 
last year, which means a crop of about 
average size. California has less, and 
the middle States more than last year. 
A little less land was set to late cabbage 
this year, but the season has been favor¬ 
able. Celery planting shows oue-eightli 
increase, mostly in the three leading 
States—New York. Michigan, and New 
Jersey. Acreage has increased steadily 
since 1921 and threatens to pass the pro¬ 
fitable limit, although demand is also in¬ 
creasing rapidity. G. B. F. 
Notes from the Ox-team 
Express 
When we reached Madras, a small town 
in Oregon, population 300 to 400, it was 
about 3 p. m. Our cattle had plugged all 
day, up grade every foot of the way, over 
arid land, no water or feed, except a grain 
ration at noon, which we were packing 
along, so they did look a little hollow 
amidships. Our Jersey ox, Fawn, is a 
lanky, rawboned fellow, at best, and when 
his sides are shrunk in from hard work 
and scarcity of feed, he does lo.ok rather 
thin. This was the case when we arrived 
at this town. We were not parked long 
on the main street (it is only about two 
blocks long), when a dame came up and 
gave us the once-over. “Oh, my, what 
poor cattle,” was her just remark. No 
one seemed to notice her, so she raised 
her voice somewhat and said: “They 
ought to be arrested for driving such cat¬ 
tle.” Still no one made comment. She 
turned to several people, I presume those 
she knew, and being on speaking terms, 
made various remarks about our cattle, 
and again I heard her say: “Someone 
ought to arrest those people.” By that 
time I began to feel my collar get warm 
around my neck, but kept my temper and 
acted as though I did not hear her, but a 
couple of farmers stood close by. I told 
them of an incident which happened when 
we arrived at Denver, Col., and I spoke 
loud enough so the woman on the side¬ 
walk at Madras could hear me. When 
we reached Denver in the Fall of 1922 
we had been traveling for several weeks 
through the western part of Kansas and 
Eastern Colorado, where feed was scarce 
and sagebrush plenty ; also water was a 
problem. We parked one day on Cali¬ 
fornia Street. A lady and gentleman 
came in sight. There was a big crowd 
standing around the caravan, and as this 
particular lady was passing she re¬ 
marked, “It’s a wonder they don’t feed 
those cattle.” Of course she knew me 
not. so I wheeled around and said, “Lady, 
I caught that one. Now. if I make a 
comparison between you and the gentle¬ 
man by your side I should say a square 
meal might fit you well.” Those who 
heard it snickerd and laughed. The lady’s 
face turned crimson, and the man took 
her by the arm and hustled her up the 
street. I thought the woman at Madras 
would take the hint, and give up, but not 
she. She still insisted someone should 
arrest us. I said to the same two men : 
“Don’t you know there are a lot of people 
in this world that go about attending to 
other people’s affairs? If they would use 
half the energy attending to their own 
affairs they would wear silk stockings in¬ 
stead of cotton with holes in them,” and 
at the same time I turned my optics to¬ 
ward her shoetops. She seemed to wense 
that I was telling tales on somebody as 
she took a peek at her feet, whirled 
around and went up the street towards 
'the courthouse as fast as she could. I 
expected to see the whole courthouse min¬ 
ions of the law down to take us in, but 
nothing happened. The town was so poor 
agriculturally there was not a bale of hay 
to be got in the place; our only salvation 
that day was to drive out a mile or so 
where we found a hillside with a lot of 
bunch grass, and the cattle and old horse 
got their fill that night. 
I found the queen bee of a meddler 
when we reached the end of the journey- 
my friend at Central Point. Ore., who 
was primarily the cause of us making the 
trip, because of his ardent boosting of the 
wonderful climate and 'the beautiful scen¬ 
ery of Southern Oregon and the Itogue 
River Valley; I determined to explore it. 
myself. For 12 years he had been urging 
me to come out, so I came, but not just 
the way he expected, ho after deciding I 
would visit him I thought up a little joke 
I would put over if possible. I planned 
for three years that I would get within 
25 or 30 miles of his place and then park 
the outfit in safety for 24 to 36 hours, and 
either walk or by stage or train close 
enough so I could get the proper location 
of his farm and then walk up and beg a 
meal from him, or seek a job. We had 
not seen each other for about 12 years, 
so to play the part as a hobo I put on 
the shabbiest clothes I could find, an old 
elouchy hat with holes in it. and let my 
beard grow for six weeks. I often posed 
before the mirror to get the proper facial 
expression and act the part as a good 
actor should school himself. Everything 
worked fine. I found the ideal place to 
park. When I told the rancher of my 
plans he co-operated with me. lie sug¬ 
gested to move the wagons behind his 
house where they could not be seen froiq 
the highway. I surmised as it was Satur¬ 
day my friend might drive out towards uh 
on Sunday, as they were no doubt posted 
as to our whereabouts from the local 
papers, because the reporters in each 
town would write up a little story about 
us. In that way we were always adver¬ 
tised in the towns ahead, as highways are 
scarce out here. I finally got within 
shouting distance of his ranch and, to 
make sure of the exact location I made 
inquiry at a house which happened to be 
'the ranch adjoining my friend’s place. 
The rancher pointed out the place. I pat¬ 
ted myself on the back, thinking how 
nicely every detail was working out. 
When I reached the rear entrance ami 
was about to knock I heard a lot of com¬ 
motion inside. When Mrs. Bushholz came 
to the door in answer to my knock she 
addressed me by name. The rancher who 
directed me had telephoned that I was 
coming. This spoiled my three years’ 
work and plans. The neighbor told them : 
“The man driving the oxen across is on 
the way to your house; he in the same 
man we Haw at. Klamath Falls; he has 
whiskers, but he wore a cap; he now has 
on an old hat.” I hope the Lord will for¬ 
give meddling people—I never shall. 
J. C. BERRANG. 
the 
farmer 
A' 
GOOD MANY 
cars have come 
into our part of 
the country dur¬ 
ing the past two 
years equipped with 
Fisk tires. 
u Their owners tell me 
that they are getting un¬ 
usual service from them; 
dealers say they are made 
by one of the largest and 
most reputable concerns 
in the business; from ex¬ 
perience I know for our 
roads it is the best tire I 
have ever used.” 
Time to He- tire 
Get a Fisk 
TRADE MARK REG. U. 8. 
PAT. OFF. 
