Cortland Semi-Weekly Standard, Friday, July 22, 1898.
DESTROYING FORESTS.
A New Pest Working East of McGrawville Near Maybury’s Mills.
Last week Superintendent J. S. Bull of the Erie & Central New York R. R. noticed that the maple leaves in a forest of about forty acres along the line of the railroad near Maybury’s mills east of McGrawville appeared to be all eaten off. He could not imagine what was doing the work. The effect seemed much like the work of the appletree worms upon an orchard and day by day as he passed back and forth between Cortland and Cincinnatus the appearance of the forest grew worse. So far as he could decern no other maple trees in the vicinity were faring the same and the work of the pest, whatever it was, seemed to be confined to this one forest.
On Friday he wrote the facts to Prof. I. P. Roberts, director of the Agricultural Experiment station at Cornell university. On Saturday Prof. M. V. Slingerland, assistant entomologist of the station, visited the forest in question and made an investigation. The results of that visit and his subsequent study on the subject Prof. Slingerland has embodied in the following letter to Mr. Bull, which will be of public interest:
Dear Sir—Yours of the 13th inst. to Prof. Roberts has been referred to me for reply. On Saturday last I visited the devastated forest near McGrawville you mentioned. The damage was done by the forest tent caterpillar (clisiocampa disetna) which is first cousin to the common apple tent caterpillar. Until within the past two years, this forest tent caterpillar has been a scarce insect comparatively in our state. Our investigations on Saturday showed that its enemies had put in a good work and a large percentage of the caterpillars will never transform through to the “millers” which would lay the eggs for another horde next year. Thus, I feel quite sure that next year few, if any, of the trees which were stripped this year, will suffer noticeably. The millers are now emerging and will soon lay eggs which will not hatch until next spring. The caterpillars will always conform their work to trees and other field crops are in no danger. I shall try and publish a short account of the insect during the coming year.
It would be a very difficult matter to control the pest in a forest. But I believe nature is already getting it under control so that it will not be nearly so serious next year as this year’s damage shows.
AFTER MANY YEARS.
Charles H. Allen Finds His Brother and Will Go to New Hampshire.
Charles H. Allen, for the last four years a resident of Solon, but who for the previous sixteen years had lived in Cortland, has within a few weeks found his brother whom he had not seen in forty-two years and of whom he had lost all track. It was in 1856 when Mr. Allen left his native place at Sugar Hill, town of Lisbon, N. H., and went West to enter the regular army. For two years he served the government, taking part in an expedition to Utah at the time of the Mormon troubles. For the next six years his home was in Iowa. It was there that he was informed by a man from his own town whom he met by chance, of the death of his mother which was said to have occurred in 1861 and from whom he had not then heard in a number of months. His father had died years before and the children were scattered, so that after he received this news he made no further efforts to keep track of the others.
For fourteen years his home was in Philadelphia. Then he came to Cortland and lived here till four years ago last spring when he bought a farm in Solon. On the evening of June 21, 1897, while returning home from McGrawville Mrs. Allen was killed by being thrown from their wagon in a runaway accident. Since that time Mr. Allen has been alone, their only child having died in infancy, and his thoughts have gone back again and again to his boyhood days and to his brothers and sisters.
A few weeks ago he wrote to the postmaster of Sugar Hill, his native place, to inquire if any of the Allen family lived in that vicinity. The reply came back promptly giving him the address of his older brother, Frank H. Allen at Sanbornville, N. H.
A letter was at once sent to the brother and Mr. Allen received a reply by return mail saying that their mother had not died until 1894, and that it was their aunt who died in 1861. The brother himself has the responsible and lucrative position of chief inspector of repairs on all rolling stock on the Eastern division of the Boston & Maine R. R., and he is well off in this world’s goods. He has a family of six children, one son being named for his brother Charles. He urged Charles to settle up his affairs here at once and come on to New Hampshire and make his home with them. He himself had repurchased the greater part of their own home place at Sugar Hill, and what was in their boyhood days a quiet place is now in the heart of the fashionable district of the White Mountains. Two large summer hotels crowded with summer guest now stand in their old hill pasture. Years ago they had tried to get trace of him but failed and gave it up, supposing him dead.
Mr. Allen has received letters from several of his nephews and nieces and one from a grandniece all urging him to come. He is almost beside himself with joy. He had thought himself alone in the world, but finds instead that he has many relatives all eager to see him He is almost counting the days before he can get things settled up here so he can go on to his friends.
GRANGE DAY
At the Cortland County Fair Will Be August 24.
There is an increasing interest being manifested in the coming county fair, August 23-26, on account of the liberal $100 buggy offered by Keator, Wells & Co., carriage manufacturers of this village, to the fortunate holder of a family season ticket costing $1. This enterprising offer backed by many other valuable special prizes has already created an inquiry as to when tickets will be placed on sale.
Another announcement of interest is that the management have just received from Washington, D. C., reliable advices that J. H. Brigham, assistant secretary of agriculture, will deliver an address upon the grounds at 2 P. M. on Wednesday, Aug. 24, which date has been set apart by the society as Grange day. In this connection Beard & Peck, furniture dealers, have offered a master’s chair to the grange receiving the highest number of votes pro rata to their membership. Value $15. Second highest, $10, secretary’s chair, every grange member in Cortland county in good standing being entitled to a vote at a designated booth on the grounds.
BREVITIES.
—Clement Millette of 5 Hyatt-st. was Monday sentenced to six months in Onondaga penitentiary for public intoxication.
—Many freight crews on the Lehigh Valley are putting in extra time. The freight business is much heavier than usual at this season of the year.—Ithaca Journal.
—The Marathon Independent says that the sale of the property and effects of the late Mrs. Martha Copeland of that place, who forged so largely before her death amounted to about $1,000. The amount of her forgeries is about five times that sum.
—It is rumored at Geneva that a company of New York capitalists are negotiating concerning the idea of putting on a line of new steamers to ply on Seneca lake between Geneva and Watkins. It is said that the line will be run in connection with the New York Central railroad.
—As soon as the United States flag is hoisted at Honolulu, and that fact is communicated to the postoffice department at Washington, the postmaster-general will issue an order reducing the postage, and a 2-cent stamp will carry a letter to Hawaii the same as to any other part of the United States.
—Mailing Clerk E. J. Hopkins calls attention to a new regulation that went into effect July 1, stating that mail of the second, third and fourth classes shall not be returned to the sender or remailed until the postage has been prepaid. The ruling says: “In all cases where undelivered matter of these classes is of obvious value, the sender if known shall be notified of the fact of non-delivery and be given the opportunity of prepaying the return postage.”
MCGRAW.
Breezy Items of Corset City Chat.
Mr. and Mrs. E. W. Leonard, who have been visiting friends here for several weeks, left Monday for South Framingham, Mass., for a visit before returning to their home in the West.
People who leave on vacations or change their residence should remember that now no papers or packages can be forwarded unless postage is prepaid. Letters and postals alone can be forwarded without additional postage.
Sunday while Will Totman, who lives on the Steven Totman farm in Solon, was unloading a can of whey from his milk wagon, he slipped and fell with the can of whey on top of him. Drs. Hendrick and Forshee called and found a broken thigh and dislocated knee as the result of his injuries.
Mrs. George Nelson and sons Earl and Dewey Maine Nelson of Oriskany are guests of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. D. L. Maine.
The champion cherry pickers of this section are James C. Muir and George Pudney. Their record of Monday was thirty-seven quarts in forty-five minutes. They were their own time-keepers.
Mr. and Mrs. George Mathews of Winstead, Conn., are guests of Mr. and Mrs. George Olds.
Mr. and Mrs. Walter Jollies of Passaic, N. J., are guests of Mr. and Mrs. H. C. Chaffee.
Mrs. Chester Card and two children left Saturday for a week’s visit at Georgetown, N. Y.
Will Clark of Cleveland, O., a former resident of this place, is guest of his brother J. D. Clark.
Mr. and Mrs. J. Eckert and Miss Cora Clark of Lafayette and Mrs. F. A. Park of Cortland were recent guests of Mr. and Mrs. J. R. Rowe.
Mr. J. J. Cowles was in town Monday. She returned to Tully lake early Tuesday morning by overland route.
J. P. Hobart has just received a crate of the finest peaches seen for a long time. They were from his son Fred J. Hobart, and the sample enjoyed by your reporter tasted as good as it looked.
Wednesday morning a caravan with C. B. Maybury as pilot started for Otisco, N. Y. Among the passengers were George Palmer, A. L. Palmer, Bertie Palmer, H. C. Johnson and W. F. Rogers. They will remain a week unless ordered to Porto Rico.
Mr. and Mrs. H. T. Nowlan of Newark Valley, Miss Edna Wood of Groton and Mrs. L. M. Isaacs of Cortland spent Sunday at F. G. Isaac’s.
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| Sir Julian Pauncefote and family. |
PEACE NEGOTIATIONS.
Several Powers Are Urging Spain to Sue for Peace.
LONDON, July 21.—A dispatch from Washington received at the United States embassy here but not from an American source, says the British Ambassador Sir Julian Pauncefote is active in the negotiations.
It is also admitted that several of the powers are urging Spain to ask for peace, the main reason being fear that Commodore Watson’s appearance [at coast of Spain] will lead to complications.
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