Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-04-22
FEATURES OF TRADE.
A Larger Acreage Planted BY Gar
denerS and Farmers of
THIS SECTION THAN FOR YEARS.
Seed Onions and Potatoes Very High, but in
Active Demand.
COAL SUPPLIES NOT Up TO DEMAND
THIS SECTION THAN FOR YEARS.
COAL SUPPLIES NOT Up TO DEMAND
OFFICE OF P1TTsBURG DISPATCH, Z
TUESDAY, April q.


TUESDAY, April q.
Seeds and Agricultural Tools.
Seedsmen and dealers in agricultural i'm
plements are now in the midst OF their busy
season. In general, prices OF seed are much
higher this season than for number of
wears past. Potatoes and onions for planting
purposes are particularly high. The best
seed potatoes on the market are from Can
adiau provinces, Prince Edwards Island
being prominent source OF supply for par
ticularlv fancy stock. The best are selling
at 81 per bushel, or So per barrel, and 1t is
all dealers can do to meet demand for the
best. These prices are iuliy double
the rate for the average season. Seed
onions are scarcer than they have
been for a dozen years or more.
JobbinE prices are now SO per bushel, which is
FULLY double the price of year ago, and. at the
high price, supply is not up to demand. The
home raised stock of seed onions was long ago
exhausted, and now it seems that stock from a
distance is no longer forthcoming.
A week or two ago seed onions were coming
in from Erie, but for the last few days that
source of supply has been dried up.
said a Liberty street produce commission
merchant yesterday: Everybody wants onion
sets at this time and nobody has them We
could sell much more than we can get, even at
The high prices"
Another Scarce Article.
Another article in the seed line which is
scarce and higher than for the past 10 years is
blue grass. As will be seen by reference to our
domestic maI ket column blue grass of the best
quality is selling at 81 per bushel, price double
that of year ago. at this high price there is
q great difficulty securing all needed to meet
orders Notwithstanding high prices in seed
lines, the demand is active and volume OF trade
this season SO far is unusually large II is
clear that laI ger acreage than common Will
be planted bv gardeners and farmers of this
vicinity. The trade in agricultural implements
has opened up well.
Prices are practically the same this season as
last. Manufacturers in former seasons pur-
sued the cut-throat policy of every man Tor
himself which meant the old Harryfor all.
Now that margins have become very narrow,
they have come to an understanding and
prices are uniform. Said representative OF
one of our leading firms: I'VE have done
much better business both in seeds and agri-
cultural implements than we had done at this
stage last year. Our sales for the month of
April, 1891 are nearly double what they were
for the corresponding period OF 1890 If the
amount of seed purchased is any sign, the
yield Of garden and farm products in the dis
Trict of country tributary to Pittsburg, will
this season eclipse all former seasons"
The Coal Trade.
The wane of natural gas has very much
stimulated the trade in coal, which for the past
TWO years OF more has been under a cloud All
dealers in the old reliable fuel report better
trade the past winter than since the advent of
gas for heating purposes
A gentleman who is at the head of one of the
leading coal mining companies of the CHARTERS
Valley, in an interview yesterday had this to
say OF the trade: There has been time for
a year last when We were able to meet all the
demands for our product. We employ close to
100 miners who work an average about i've
hours per day, and would gladly put many
more 10 work if we could yet them. In all The
coal mining districts around PlttSburg, reached
by railroads, it has been impossible 10 secure
as many miners the past winter as were wanted.
Our trade with the upper lakes has been almost
wiped out because We were not able TO fill
orders from that region. Pittsburg's coal ship
ments to the lakes has not been more than To-
600 tons the past season, while Ohio's trade to
the same region has been 10000 tons in the
Same period.
The Point of the Difficulty.
Our coal is superior to the Ohio coal, and is
preferred in the upper lake region, but we
could not furnish the goods. A few years ago
the Pittsburg district sent four times as much
coal to the lakes as it has done the past year.
A strange and rather funny feature of the
labor complications is that coal miners should
strike for eight hours day when statistics
prove that the miners of this district have
worked the past year on an average hours
and II minutes daily. The company l repre-
sent would be mighty glad If they would put
in hours out of The q, for then would be
better able to fill orders We could sell all our
output III PIttsbUrg alone. The present price
paid our miners is 79C per ton, and three
ions per day is good average, while some
take out four tons and even more.
If the elght-nour rule were adopted, and it is
a poor rule that won't work Cor both sides. the
average output would be greatly increased"