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EPARTMENT OF AG SCHEME SECTION OF SPENCER SEEDLESS J5, REPRODUCED FROM SPEN CER CATALOGUE. rs, hut in magazines and scientific aals. ?lans for Sinking Money* aw turns out that th$/Spencer apple, jfli -gylts being a a», valuable production is con ed, isHfifentire fake, and it would ar that the plan is more of a stock bond selling proposition than a .ery stock raising one. The seed and corelesB apple is almost as old istory. Pliny, the/tfoman natural described it \wo' thousand years Hundreds of references appear in oks of horticulturists about this the whole story having been de by Professor Bailey of Cornell it •. he ifleen years ago. The bad faith [Spencer apple people is shown aeir circulating a partial quotation i Professor Bailey written about seadless apple years ago, and hav no reference to the so-called Spen seedless apple. ie reason now appears for the care educational work done among the spapers last year. The Spencer Hess Apple Company of NewYork been organized with, alleged nur es in Niagara County, has issuel a jiiflcent catalogue with a full cot lithograph of the "Spencer seed apple," and also showing cross se& s of the apple with no semblance of i or seed. Newspapers Which Bit. his catalogue contains numerous ex ts from papers all over the country ling the Spencer he Seedless M)ple Fraud of Uncle Sam's duties, anil It is remely important one, is snowing .nd where possible, slopping and fakes and preventing the from being mulcted /of their s. Through its issuance of orders" the Postofflce Depart trevents millions of pilars every rom being squandered on worth irojects and fak0' schemes ex 1 through cuiuiing advertlse- The vigilance of the Govern against lottery concerns is an instance. So much is done now clever advertising that officials ome to be very chary about giv leir indorsement to any schemes Have not been pretty thoroughly out. e Spencer "Seedless" Apple. ise in point was the efforts of the ido seedless and coreless apple n, headed by a Mr. Spencer, attempted last year to secure the seedless apple al- to the skies. The truth is, tha. e of the most conservative papers e successfully roped in and unc°?" usly published articles specially tten for them by the propagandists nselves, and theBe very papers are quoted In the catalogues distrib 1 by the company. Sl^h 1 e™J°e°t les appear as the New York Times, Buffalo Inquirer, both of 7^®? enthusiastic editorials, the Amerl- Inveotor, the New York Parmer Scientific American, the Buffalo nmercial, the New York Herald, the :ional Nurseryman, the Denver aes and a score of others. The Public to Pay thiM»roflt» Chls New Yoik apple ot the subildlMy oompaaJw^th parently til* rlfht to (CULTURE DENOUNCES lS HUMBUG OUT ELAOTT MITCHELL. OGRAPHS OF "SEEDLESS AND CORELESS" APPLES FURNISHED DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE BY THE SPENCER COMPANY. sement of the Fruit Division of )epartment of Agriculture. The men of the Department were ex ily doubtful of the claims made r. Spencer that he had evolved a :ss apple which would revolu e the apple industry of the coun nd they were wise in refusing to :t indorsement. Colonel Brackett, Pomologist of the Department, slates that the seedless and core pple propaganda is apparently one e most carefully considered and igently worked out schemes for igi and defrauding the public i has ever been attempted along ultural lines. Taking advantage e remarkable results of fruit and improvement made by Luther ank and other wizards of plant ce, the statement was sprung upon nsuspecting newspaper press ana that a wonderful seedless and ess apple had been discovered Ireds of columns of newspaper de tions of this fruit have since ap in not only the daily and weekly either paper stock or nursery stock, in New York State. The attractive plan proposed by the parent Spencer company, as learned at the Department of Agriculture, is that these subsidiary or local seedless apple companies may be formed in the vari ous States. The local company is to pay a cash bonus to the mother com pany and also issue it 51 per cent, of its stock—a controlling interest. The public is to be let in on the remainder, 49 per cent. To facilitate the sale of this stock Assistant Pomologist W. A. Taylor says that the company some time ago issued a statement to the bt feet that the retail price of trees will be held up to $3 each, while the cost to the local company will not cxceed 50 cents, and it is estimated that on a local investment of $5,000, $60,000 could be quickly rounded up. "It seems," said Mr. Taylor, who in speaking of the matter appeared to be entirely convinced of the shadyness of A feature of this incident was the ceremony connected with the cutting of two apples which brought the largest prices—namely, $15. A number of dis tinguished British horticulturists were present, the apples were taken from cold storage cases, and everything was proceeding beautifully until the knife was applied, then it was found that the appl«B were neither seedless nor core less and the indignant purchasers, Messrs. Shearn, demanded their money back. Must Make the Fakirs Smile. A somewhat amusing feature, as re lated by Colonel Brackett, is the con I THE the scheme, "that all of the people con nected with the general company, with the exception of the president, or al leged discoverer of the new apple, are men entirely unknown to the horticul tural world." Reckless Statements The company appears to be well or ganized and has apparently engaged ex cellent legal talent. "The statements in all the literature issued by the com pany are very skillfully worded," said Mr. Taylor, "the statements made through the public press, for which the company cannot be held accountable, and which are influencing the people, have been recklessly misleading and untrue." The shrewd method by which this apple was advertised in England and again readvertised in the United States shows that a master brain is en gineering the promotion of the scheme. Having prepared the British public through numerous articles, for some thing startling, a specimen of the seed less apple was sent to King Edward, inclosed in a plush-lined jewelry box. The English papers commented widely upon the occurrence and several addi tional apples were sold at public auc tion for enormous prices, and the pro cially well written encomium on this happening and on the value of the apple was innocehtly transmitted by the American Consul to our Depart ment of Commerce and through its ad vance consular sheets distributed to every newspaper in the United States. Courtesy Ibryu*' Weekly. THE BELLES or THE SEASON- cern which this tremendous advertis ing is causing our principal competi tors in the export apple trade. The Tasmanian government council -has in stitutedan official inquiry whether this new development is likely to so revolu tionize the character of the fruit which we export to Europe, and which is in competition with them, as to ne cessitate their securing and growing this seedless variety. Colonel Brackett states that thus far no tree or scion of this alleged remark able apple has been placed in the hands *of any disinterested experimenter, and it is significant that there are not as yet any trees or Bcions for sale, al though it is stated that several million PHOTOGRAPH OF "SEEDLESS" APPLES SOLD TO MESSRS. SHEARN FOR 30 SHILLINGS APIECE. trees are being grown in New York, Iowa, Utah and Colorado. It is questionable whether the Fraud Order Office of the Postofflce Depart ment will be able to bar the use of the mails to the company owing to the skillful preparation of its literature, though such action, it is stated, would be sustained by all reputable fruit men and nurserymen. The wonder of the whole story is that in the face of such lamentable failures where the promoters have con sented to exhibit their apples the work still goes forward of successfully fool ing the people. It is not denied that there is an apple which may be called seedless and with an imperfectly de veloped "core but it is a freak and worthless, and, moreover, is thousands of years old. Wherever the Spencer apple has been exhibited it has been a fizzle. One claim made by the company is because the apple is bloomless it offers no opportunity for the codling moth to lay its eggs, that, therefore, the apple cannot be wormy. One of the apples reluctantly submitted by the Spencer people to Colonel Brackett, the Pomologist of the Department, con tained, when cut, a good, fat codling moth worm, while all the apples sub- THE "SEEDLESS" APPLE PRESENTED TO KING EDWARD. mitted to the Department and to the St.. Louis Exposition apple judges con tained either seeds or cores. The apples were, moreover, small and in ferior but the newspaper account of these events tell a different tale. Farm Bulletins. The great demand upon the Depart ment of Agriculture for some of the Farmers' Bulletins, which are distrib uted free, has necessitated the reprint ing of quite a list of these valuable lit tle pamphlets. Among others of gen eral interest which are available are: (No. 41) Fowls Their Care and Feeding. (No. 44) Commercial Fertilizers Their Composition and Use. (No. 63) Care of Milk on the Farm. 1 (No. 64) Ducks and Geese Standard Breeds and Management. (No. 113) The Apple and How to Grow It. (No- 121) Beans, Peas and Other Legumes as Food. (No. 32) Silos and Silage. (No. 154) The Home Fruit Garden Preparation and Care. (No. 33) Peach Growing for Market. (No. 34) Meats Composition and Cooking. (No. 192) Barnyard Manure. (No. 200) Turkeys Standard Varie ties and -Management. (No. 214) Beneficial Bacteria for Leguminous Crops. Proper Seasoning of Farm Imple* menlB. It is ..full time that all mowing ma chines, harvesters, and other horse implements should be left out in the field to obtain the benefit of the fall weather. Plows and harrows will, of course, be needed yet, and these will be kept under cover for awhile, but can be left out later after the fall plowing. This practice of fall weath ering of implements is quite general in many farming sections and is encour aged from year to year by a large class of farmers. It insures thorough weathering of the wood and produces in the metal parts of the machinery a fine brown color. The practice is an entirely satisfactory one to the implement sellers as a class.. Pickles and Babies. An exchange made an unfortunate error in its "Answers to Correspond ents" recently. 'Fond Mother" wrote in to i}ad out what she should do for her children who had the whooping cough. In the make up the compositor got some items transposed and the answer read: If not too young, skin them thoroughly immerse in scalding water, sprinkle plentifully with salt: and leave. for a week in strong brine." Hbrrors! He misplaced the answer to "Anxious Housekeeper's" query for a pickled onion recipe. Everything JFas the Same. A young Oxford student one day re ceived an unexpected visit from his pretty sister, and was very indignant that she came without a chaperon. Look here," said the young man, "I will not have any of the fellows see you in my rooms, so if anyone knocks at the door you just get behind that screen." In a few minutes a knock was heard, and the girl ran behind the screen as her brother went to open the door. An old gentleman stood on the threshold, who, after profusely apolo gizing for his intrusion, said: "I am just home from Australia, and many years ago I occupied these rooms would you allow me, sir, to look at them once again?" "Certainly," said the ""student, "come in." "Ah," ex 1 claimed the old man, "everything is just the same. Same old table, same old fireplace, same old screen." Then, catching sight of the girl "By jove, same old dodge." "Sir," exclaimed the student, "that is my sister." "Gad, sir," was the rejoinder, "same old story." A Few Afterthoughts. The Chinese women are being wean ed from the old custom of binding their feet, and it is stated that the practice now obtains only among the American women. There is no authority for the state ment that the railroad companies would seriously object if Congress spends the entire session discussing the tariff and reciprocity. 'I reflect with sorrow over the justification of the claim you make of having lent me your constant sup port," says Lord Curzon, the viceroy of India, recently deposed at the instance of Premier Balfour. If the Premier understood just what Lord Curzon indicated, and had the nerve, he probably called back, "you'r anoth er." The customs officials are alarmed at the apparent fact that there are more Havana cigars In the country than Is warranted by the imports of Havana tobacco. They have proba bly omitted to calculate to include the hickory and cabbage-leaf crop. The King of Spain is again touring the European courts, looking for some body who will accept him.. The idea that the scarcity of ser vant girls is due to their-all having become writers of novels, Is probably suggested by the quality of current fiction. Germany and France have' reached an agreement over Morocco that is Entirely satisfactory to both parties." How about the feelings of the third party? Helen Bertram has been np before a New York magistrate for failure to pay her debts. At the same time, her husband la igal Son." s playing In "The Prod- A Trial by Telephone. Robert Willard, a farmer living near Elkhart, in Logan county, Illinois, up on being arrested by Constable Pettit on a charge of Intoxication and dis orderly conduct, pleaded guilty by tele phone. When he was Informed of the $14 fine by the justice in Lincoln, he agreed to send the amount by mail. The case Is unique In central Illinois jurisprudence. v The constable found Willard busily engaged in a cornfield and read the warrant to him. Willard agreed that it was all right, but potat4d to the work that he was doing and declared that he could not possibly lose a day or two by driving to Lincoln and wait ing for trial. He suggested the use of the telephone, and when the constable somewhat dubiously acquiesced, the two repaired to the farmhouse. Fi nally they got connection with Justice Rudolph, In Lincoln, and over the wire the unique trial was held. The justice received a totter later with the in* enclosed. 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