Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 36, Number 114, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 September 1904 — Page 7

FARM AND GARDEN

Buff Plymouth Rock. While the Buff Plymouth Rock is no better than the well-known barred, it has proved Itself tjetter than the white sort, and, as a breed for fanciers, has become very popular. As a practical fowl, we consider It not as good as the barred, for with us it has shown some weaknesses that the older strain ‘does not have. It must not be inferred, however, that this is likely to be the case with all of them, for many breeders consider them even better than the barred. They are similar in size and form, lay well, are good mothers and the carcass is quite like the bar-

THE BUFF PLYMOUTH ROCK.

red. The breed is attractive because of its genuine Plymouth Rock form and size and the beautiful plumage. The Manure Spreader. This department is in>t for the purpose of advertising tools or implements, and no such article that is sold is ever mentioned by the manufacturer’s name. There are implements and conveniences, however, made by different manufacturers which should find a place on every farm, and one of them is the manure-spreader, of w'hich there are several good makes. No one can appreciate the value of this Implement until he has used it. It is not only a labor-saver, but it spreads the manure in any quantity desired, and spreads it evenly. All of Its operations are controlled from the driver’s seat. The work of manure spreading should be in operation from now on more or less through the winter, and no farmer can make a better Investment than to have this implement. It will give him added years of life in the labor it will save him, and enable him to grow better crops. —1 Gate that Will Not Sag. The accompanying illustration represents a form of farm gate, which is cheap, durable, easily made, easily operated and will not sag with years of use. The gate shown in the illustration Is 14 feet long, but may be made any reasonable length desired. The top bar is a twenty-four foot stick. The bar is fast«ned to the gate post by means of a pin on which the gate turns. The box shown on the free end of the top bar is filled with sufficient field stones to almost balance the gate. The frame of the gate consists of a stiff wooden structure strapped and bolted at the corner. On this barbed, plain or common wire is fastened. It is well to drive a ring over the top end of the large gate post to keep it from

CHEAP FARM GATE.

■wearing or splitting, and also to attach an Iron plate to the underside of the top bar where It rests on the post. The Marketable Hog. Hogs to be marketable at the highx est prices must be largely of a uniform type or at least the types must approach In unlforinlty. The buyers in the great markets of the country carry In their mind’s eye the style of the bog they think will make the most salable pork. The tendency to gravitate toward one type Is, therefore, marked. The buyer is Inclined to be arbitrary. He cannot tell why ha prefers a certain type, but sticks to It that that type is the kind he wants. This varies also in different markets, both at home and abroad. The English buyer who has been buying bacon hogs for many years has in his mind a very different type from the type of the inan that In the Chicago market has been buying lard bogs all his life. This variable type the raiser of hogs has to consider i sad Jt both hinders and helps him In Improving his herd. It helps him in Improving his herd. It helps him while his animals are far below that type, but it hinders him as soon as he has reached the type of hog In the mind of the buyer, for he cannot progress beyond it except at loss to himself. This fact has been the greatest obstacle in the Improving of the bone and stamina of hogs raised In the corn belt. —St. lamls Republic, To grow potatoes easily the grower should be supplied with all necessary machinery. In addition to the plow, a spring-tooth harrow, roller and twohorse cultivator, with which almost every farmer is supplied, should be used; It Is also essential to have a planter, digger, wseder, smoothing harrow, low wagon with platform and a pumber of bushel crates. A four row

barrel sprayfer is very useful for spraying potatoes, to prevent “blight and to kill bugs, but can be dispensed with and the work done with cheaper machinery. Home-Mixed Fertilizer*. There is no question but that the ingredients for fertilizers can be more cheaply bought and the mixing done at home than to buy the fertilizer already mixed; but whether It will pay depends upon several things. If one knows pretty well what the crops he proposes to grow need and understands something about the home mixing of fertilizers, having the necessary help to do the work, it then pays, provided one also has the necessary cash to pay for the material. . Then, again, there is probably a greater profit in the low-grade fertilizers than in the high-grade article, and hence «l 'corresponding profit; so it follows that the saving would be greater in mixing the low-grade or more complete fertilizers. They are alsp easier to mix, the ammonia per cent being smaller and less likely to escape in the mixing. As a matter of fact, it is one of those things w’hich must be largely determined by the farmer to suit his own conditions, yet, on the other hand, is one of the things that it will pay to experiment with to a greater or less extent.—lndianapolis News.

Potatoes as Hoar Feed. Potatoes are quite largely fed to hogs, but it is found advisable to boil them. In the New England States they are fed extensively, being boiled in milk and mixed with meal in a barrel. Frequently several bushels are boiled at a time, and when mixed with cornmeal make an appetizing mess. The only fault to be found with this combination is that it is badly out of balance. The potatoes are rich In starch and so is the corn. To such of our readers as are still following the old practice we would advise the substitution of bran or of ground oats for the cornmeal. This would make a fairly well-balanced ration. The Canadians say that potatoes have a good effect on the quality of bacon produced. There is probably no better use to which small potatoes may be put than this. —Exchange. Combined Hoe and Rake. In hoeing of any kind one generally feels the need of a rake as well as the hoe, and the little tool here described is a happy combination of both that any one handy with tools can readily

HANDY COMBINED TOOL.

construct. Select a piece of hard wood eight Inches long, one and one-half inches thick and three Inches wide. Bore an inch hole in the center of it into which to put a handle. Then take six six-inch spikes or ten-penny nails and drive into this strip at equal distances apart. To make the hoe take a portion of an old cross-cut saw blade, or have the blacksmith fashion a piece of iron for you, bend over one edge an inch so that It may be riveted to the piece of wood. Then fasten the handle in the hole and your tool is ready for use. The Illustration plainly shows how the details are perfected.

Farm Note*. High and gravelly soil is the best for fruit trees. The farm work should always be kept in advance of the season. The profitable culture of the soil depends upon its ighneea. Good stock will lot sustain its excellence long if it Is not well cared for. The nature of farm life is, in no small degree, conducive to economy. Premature cooling of the milk before setting will injure the butter yield. A pedigree I* simply a certificate of character, and unless it shows a good character it is of no practical value. Fill the vacant places with young trees, unless the orchard is old, then it is better to plant a new one. Sheep should not be allowed to run In muddy yard* or be driven through the mud to and from the field. Every farmer should have a few colonies of bees, enough at least to supply the table with pure, fresh honey. It is much belter to use for breeding animals of average size smooth, round, plump and Intensely active and vigorous. Clean up the farm, and it* value will be increased, mid when it is cleaned and cleared it will cultivate more easily and cheaply. Afi unfruitful orchard may often be brought into bearing by a heavy application of good stable manure scattered broadcast In purchasing a cow for butter and milk do not be carried away by the breeding of the atdmal, but see that she has individual merit. A wet place in a field can often be drained out with but little trouble and expense, but if thiu Is allowed to go undone will spoil tbe field and ruin the crops. It is essential that a cow's udder be entirely (reed from milk at each milking for if any milk is left in the udder from auy cause the secretions are checked and the cow will soon go dry If this method of wrfWng becomes a common practical

LATE CROPS ARE DELAYED. Danger in Northern Section Increased by Low Temperature. The weather bureau’s weekly summary of crop conditions is as follows: While the weather conditions of the week were generally favorable for gathering crops in nearly all districts, low night temperatures in the more northerly portions have delayed the maturity of late crops, and some suffering from drouth is reported from the Ohio and lower Missouri valleys and portions of the Southern States. Frosts occurred as far south as Oklahoma and Tennessee, but little or no damage resulted except to tender vegetation in the central valleys and to immatured crops in Wisconsin, Minnesota, the Dakotas and Montana. An unusually severe rain and wind storm caused considerable damage on the 14th and 15th in portions of New England and the middle Atlantic Stites. The conditions were generally favorable in California, but drouth was injurious in Oregon, and no rain fell in Washington. Late corn is maturing rapidly in the western portion of the belt, but the crop is ripening slowly in the eastern and central sections and needs ten to twenty days- of favorable conditions to be safe from frost. While damaging frosts occurred in portions of the upper Mississippi valley and a considerable portion of the crop was damaged in Wisconsin and some on low lauds in parts of Minnesota and lowa, the aggregate frost damage in the last-named State was not serious. Cutting is now general in all sections. Spring wheat harvest is practically completed except in the northern portion of North Dakota and thrashing is well advanced in Minnesota and South Dakota, half done in Washington and nearing completion in Nebraska, but delayed by rain in eastern North Dakota. Complaints of cotton shedding are still received from the eastern section and the northern portion of the western section of the cotton belt, but reports of rust are not so general. Except in North Carolina the staple is opening rapidly In all districts, in some localities prematurely, and picking is general, although delayed by rain in portions of Texas, from which State, as well as from Georgia, a scarcity of pickers is reported. Dry weather is causing injury to late cotton generally in the central and eastern sections, while worms and caterpillars are causing injury in Oklahoma, Louisiana, Alabama and South Carolina. In Texas the boll weevils continue damaging. Good progress has been made in cutting, hou ’ng and curing tobacco, and a large portion of the crop has been secured in good condition. A light and inferior crop of apples is Indicated in a majority of the States of the central valleys, but in Michigan and Ohio and the northern portion of the middle Atlantic States, as well as in New England, this fruit is plentiful, especially in the last-named section, where a large crop of fine quality is promised. Some late potatoes were damaged by frost in VVisconsin; rot is increasing in Pennsylvania and portions of Minnesota and causing some damage in New York and New England, while blight continues in Michigan. Otherwise the outlook for potatoes is promising. Plowing for fall seeding has been delayed by dry soil in the Ohio and lower Mississippi valleys, Nebraska, Indian Territory and Georgia, and rain is needed in Michigan for germination. Elsewhere plowing is well under way. Some of the early sown wheat is beginning to show green in Illinois,

CRIME RECORD SHOCKS GOTHAM

Police Figure* Show 444 of Worst Felonies Wince Aug. 1. According to the police records, 444 felonies of the worst grades of crime were committed in New York since Aug. 1. Police Commissioner McAdoo, aroused by public clamor, has had the police blotters searched to get a correct idea of the riot of crime, and admits that he is shocked by the showing. Here are the figures presented to him for the time from Aug. 1 to date: Crime*. Arrest* Homicides 24 21 Robberies 68 67 Felonious assaults 37 67 Burglaries 238 #T Arrests wer* made in less than half of th* felonies reported. The records of the department show that th* burglaries exceeded eight a day. This i* the record from the police blotters. Lt doe* not include *corM of burglaries that were not' reported at all, for, a dispatch says, there are *ectlons of the city that are burglar •courged, and th* inactivity of th* police has *o disgusted the victims that they refu** to go near a police station. Loe I. Jeffrie* died at Cincinnati from wound* sustained when he was shot by Mr*. Gsrtrsde Langley.

VACATION IS OVER.

PETER CROWNED KING. Ceremonies Conducted Without Hostile Demonstrations. Peter Karageorgevitch was crowned King of Servia Wednesday. There were no hostile demonstrations and no attempt

from the royal palace and the garrison King Alexander’s murder was at least outwardly forgotten. As King Peter entered the metropolitan consecrated him and more artillery salutes were fired. The King then took up his position under a canopy and the metropolitan, assisted by many bishops and other clergy,-commenced the solemn service. It was nearly three hours before the service was concluded and the ritual of the church complied with. King Peter afterward signed the coronation document, which was witnessed by the metropolitan, the premier, the cabinet ministers and the other heads of state. Wearing the crown on his head and fully robed, the Kiug left the cathedral, remounted his horse and rode through the crowded streets to the palace. There in the grand festal hall King Peter received the congratulations of the diplomatic corps and others, ascended the royal throne and once more took the scepter and orb in his bauds. The ceremony of rendering homage was then performed.

Gorman is to direct the Democratic campaign in the East and Taggart in the West. Former Vice President Ad lai E. Stevenson will make several speeches this campaign. Walter Wellman says the Republicans of New York State now are solidly behind President Roosevelt The Indiana State Republican committee has made Warren Bigler of Wabash chairman of the finance committee. The Populists of Tennessee met h State convention at Nashville. Presidential electors were chosen and a platform adopted. Col. John J. McCook in an interview in Indianapolis said President McKinley once expressed the desire that Senator Fairbanks succeed him. Alton B. Parker will take the stump and personally answer some of President Roosevelt’s questions, according to National Committeeman Johnson of Kansas. The New York State committee of the People's party, meeting as a convention, has eelected Alfred J. Boulton as candidate for Governor. He is a prominent labor union man. Speaker Cannon spoke In Terre Haute, Ind., to a big audience. He scoffed at the Democratic argument that thejcountry was in danger of militarism and urged the necessity of a great navy. Republicans of Colorado in convention renominated Gov. Peabody, indorsed his policy during the strike in the mining camps and pledged tbe party to put down lawlessness in the State wherever it is found. National Chairman Thomas Taggart presided at a Democratic “harmony” meeting in Indianapolis at which many former gold Democrats wer* present. He urged all faction* of th* party to join in carrying the Stat* for Parker. An audience of several thousand persons, despite a driving rainstorm, turned out in Saratoga, N. Y., to hear Senator Fairbanks. Republican candidate for Vice President, speak at the semi-centen-nial celebration of the party in New York State. Walter Wellman writes of the nomination of Frank W. Higgins for Governor by the New York Republican convention, and says this action marks the final passing from power of Thomae C. PlatL who for year* was undisputed “boss" in hia party in the Empire State. Gov. Odell now bold* th* leadership.

to carry out the numerous threats against the new King's life. In the solemn ritual of the Greek church and in the elaborate state procession which preceded and followed the coronation the tragedy of Servia’s previous ruler found no echo. Amid the thunder of the saluting guns

KING PETER.

The Political Pot.

FAIRBANKS ACCEPTS.

VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE DISCUSSES THE ISSUES. In Hia Letter of Acceptance He Ha* Praise for the President and Dwells on Hia Party’s Record Commends Action in Panama. Senator Charles Warren Fairbanks, Republican nominee for Vice President, has formally accepted the honor in a letter addressed to Elihu Root of New York, who was chairman of the notification committee. The Senator heartily commends the principles of the party as voiced in the platform adopted at the Chicago convention and says of parties and their proqunciamentos: “It is not alone what they say, but what they will do which should weigh in determining their capacity to administer public affairs.” With this prelude he plunges into a discussion of the issues. In their order Senator Fairbanks discusses public economics as illustrated by the expenditures, revenues and retrenchments of the last two administrations; the foreign policy as it relates to the European and Asiatic countries and to the treaties which have been made during the last seven years; of the government’s neutral attitude to the l>elligerents in the Orient; of tariff and tariff revision; of reciprocity and the treaty consummated with Cuba, and of the efforts made to cement a reciprocal tie with the Dominion of Canada; of the trust question and of legislation to reduce to a minimum the evils following illegal combinations; of sound money; of the Panama canal and the President’s part in negotiating the Panama treaty; of the Philippines, and finally of irrigation in the arid West and the disappearance of sectional differences. Concerning the administration’s record in public economy, the Senator says that “we have pursue] no parsimonious policy on the one hand nor indulged in extravagance on the other. We have measured the public expense by the public necessity.” He declares the foreign policy of the administration ‘4ias been conservative, just and firm, aqd has made for the advancement of peace.” He continues: Thirty treaties have been concluded and proclaimed and stand to the credit of the administration. Some of these are of farreaching Importance. Among the number are the llay-J*ami<M>forte treaty, superseding the Clayton-Bn!wer convention, which stood In the way of the construction of the isthmian canal; the Panama Canal treaty, the Alasknn boundary treaty, and commercial treaties with China and with Cuba. Of Russia and Japan the Senator says: At the beginning of the war between them they assented to the suggestion made by- the administration limiting the zone of hostilities. Tills tends to preserve the open door in the- Orient, so important and so much desired in the expansion of our commerce. Senator Fairbanks declares for the settlement of international difficulties by appeals to reason rather than to arms, and recalls that President Roosevelt first invoked the aid of The Hague tribunal in the settlement of the Pius fund cases. He - says: , Our relations with the world wore never better. We have avoided entangling alliances, and, in the language of the eminent Secretary of State, “We are without an ally and without an enemy.” Taker Up the Tariff. „The Senator asserts that, «o far as tbe tariff question is concerned, the difference between the two great parties “is radical and fundamental.” Of tariff revision he says: A revision of duties should be made only when conditions have changed so that pul’>lle Interest demands their alteration, and they should be revised so as to preserve and not destroy the protective principle. A revision and reduction by those who regard the tariff as a robbery must awaken serious api>cehenrflon among nil whose capital is employed or who are engaged at labor in the various enterprises throughout the country which depend In large measure upon the maintenance of the protective system. A revision of the tariff along revenue lines means the Increased importation of the products of foreign manufacture which comes into competition with our domestic production. It means a loss to the American wage earners and to American capital. The Senator declares that during the period when protective tariff was maintained “labor has received its largest rewards and capital has been most profitably engaged.” He disposes of reciprocity in a few paragraphs, asserting that “commercial reciprocity with foreign countries ‘consistent with the principles of protection’ has long been one of the well recognized policies of the Republican party.” He dwells upon the efforts made by Presidents McKinley and Roosevelt to negotiate a treaty with Canada and of the failure of the same because of the disagreement in the joint high commission on the Alaskan boundary matter. Of Cuba he declares: 1 The present administration In the face of serious Democratic opposition, secured a treaty of reciprocity with Cuba which promises to give us control of a large share of the commerce of that Islam!. Of trusts and combinations the vice presidential nominee writes more extensively. He tells the people the administration has enforced the Sherman antitrust law and that the hist Congress enacted legislation which aimed to expedite the hearing and determination of antitrust suits;-that Congress also created the Department of Commerce and Labor and amended the interstate commerce law so as to abolish “the pernicious system of rebates under which large shippers could crush eut their smaller competitors.” Senator Fairbanks declares sound money “is so vital to our welfare, so important to our industrial development, that we should let its open enemies or negative friends know that we algite nothing of our determination to uphold' and defend it.” He alludes to the Democratic view on this subject somewhat satirically. / 1 When Democratic candidates epnnot hope to win preferment In a national convention without Industriously concealing their monetary views, and when Democratic.national and State conventions dnre not declare their faith In the virtue of the gold standard, the hour has not arrived when tbe forces of sound money should disband and leave the field. The Senator says the President’s course in Panama merits most general approval. A brief history of the negotiations leading to the Panama treaty la given, and Senator Fairbanks adds: When tbe Insurrection occurred upon the Isthmus the President safeguarded American Interest*. He *cted promptly but deliberately; prudently, not rashly; firmly, not aalawfully. He usurped no authority.

SCHOOL GIRLS PERISH IN VAULT

Mine Dead and Mor* Than a Score of Others Escape Same Fate. During the forenoon recess Friday of the PJeoaant Ridge school, seven miles north of Cincinnati, nine school girls were suffocated in a vault, while more than a score of others narrowly escaped the same horrible death. During the rest of the day the suburb was wild with mingled excitement, sorrow and indignation and those openly charging the calamity to official negligence made serious threats, among them being many women. When the recess was given about thirty of the smaller girls, all from the primary grades,.were in the outhouse assigned to them, when suddenly the floor gave way, precipitating them into a vault twelve feet deep and walled up with stone like a wall. There was four feet of water or filth, that would have been over the heads of the girls falling in it singly, but those falling foremost filled up the vault so that others were not entirely submerged. The girls fell eight feet from the flooring before striking the filth an<f the struggles of those who were on top kept at least nine underneath until they were dead. The frame sheds over these vaults were about twenty feet square, without windows and with only one narrow doorway so that only one little girl escaped from the door. She ran into the school building and told the teachers what had happened. Principal T. L. Simmerman and the other teachers rushed to the rescue. The women gave the alarm about the vicinity, while Principal Simmerman secured a ladder on which the drenched girls climbed but, most of them fainting as soon as they reached the surface. The •creams of the girls were dimly heard while within the vault, and they were most of them unable to speak when res- ■ cued. The teachers were soon re-enforc-ed by the entire population of the town, the police and fire departments rendering most effective service. Those able to climb out on the lad-> ders themselves were rescued by Principal Simmerman, who finally fainted. Then others went into the vault and kept bringing out dead bodies until the vault was cleared. The firemen drained the vault so as to be sure that the rescue was complete. Those engaged in the rescue work recite the most ghastly experiences. Even those rescued alive presented such an appearance as to make many in the crowd of spectators faint, but the sight within the vault beggared all description.

BLAMED FOR HORROR.

Ignorance and Lack of Discipline Caused Slocum Disaster. A long report has been made public concerning the investigation by the New York board of steamboat inspector* of the General Slocum disaster, which occurred in the Bast river last June and cost nearly 1,000 lives. The report 1* signed by James A. Dumont and Thoma* H. Barrett,’ and is addressed to Supervising Inspector Robert 8. Rodie. It concludes by announcing the revocation of the licenses of officers aboard the Slocum as follows: William H. Van ScKalck, master and pilot; Edward Van Wart, pilot, and Benjamin F. Conklin, chief engineer. Briefly summarized the principal point* in the report are: That the life-preserving appliances in the vessel were adequate, but that had the Slocum been supplied with double the number not another life would have been saved because of the ignorance and incompetence of the crew. That there was absolute lack of discipline on the part of the crew because of the negligence of the master and of the pilot. , That fire drills had been neglected and that had the crew been trained as the law requires such a disaster would have been almost inconceivable. That one of the crew, in his ignorance, added to the incipient flames by throwing thereon an empty bag which had contained charcoal. That the chief engineer was grossly negligent when notified of the fire in that he did not see that the hose had been connected and the water turned on. Under the law the board took up only the conduct of tbe vessel’s licensed officers. The other phases of the disaster were investigated by a special commission apjiointed by order of President Roosevelt and consisting of Gen. Wilson of the army and Commander Winslow of the navy. This commission has not made public its report.

LABOR NOTES

The New York Central will aid in the harvesting of the apple crop in New YoYk State by an offer of 1,000 men to relieve the scarcity of help in the apple belt. The total amount disbursed in wages in Massachusetts in all industries for 1902 was $ 198.920,047, and in 1903, $210,070,163, an increase of 111,149,516, or 5.01 per cent. Among the strikes vfon in Chicago th* past year are: The painters went out for a wage increase from 40 to 50 cents an hour and won at the end of three weeks. Th* canworkers in the plants of the American Can Company went out to resist a wage reduction and won at the end of two months. The bakers, went out in seven shops and won an increase of $1 a week for foremen nt tbe end of a week in all except two shops. The cigarmakers went out for a new bill of price* and practically won in a few days, but later the employers brought about a lockout and the fight lasted for six week*. It resulted in a victory for the men. The brickmakers were out at only a few plants on a technical violation of the working conditions and won in thre* days. 1 With a total production of over $12.000,(XX) viil a*. 10,658 men were employed lu mines in the province of Ontario, Canada, in 1903. and $4,222,386 paid In wages. Compared with 1899, flv* year* ■ go, there is an increase of 53 per cent in metallic output. There is a gold mine in Australia which is 3,000 feet deep, and the various tunnels are so hot that celd water has to be continually sprayed ever the miner* working the lode. Th* temperature la usually about 108 degrees, and the men have to work almost naked In order to aland the heat.