Qifi / 0 /,, 0? "THE FARMER IS THE FOUNDER OF CIVILIZAT10N."-WEBSTER. mM^m^^MmM^AM^^M^MMAM A MONTHLY NEWSPAPER DEVOTED TO AGRICULTURE AND HORTICULTURE, PRACTICAL ENTOMOLOGY, DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND GENERAL MISCELLANY. EDITED BY PROF. S. S. RATHVON VOLUME XVI.-1884. SIS V- He LANCASTER, PA : JOHN A. HIESTAND, PUBLISHER, 1884. /-r " ^„ _:„.:^-ii?/-i:i^:3^^^^K^^ CONTENTS OF VOLUME SIXTEEN, EDITORIAL. January, 1 To Contributors, 1 1883 V8. 1884, 1 Korewaruinfr and Forearming, - The Rabbit Hot, 3 The Acquisition of Knwleilge, '■> An Entomological Phenomenon, 4 Intense Cold. 4 Excerpts, 4 Give or Take— A Kablc, ("> February, 17 "An Open Winter," 17 Ourself, and Our Uelations to Spe- cial Inquirers, IS High Water— Forestry 18 Big Jaw Curable, 18 A Remarkable Caterpillar, 19 Very Cold Weather, 19 The Poultry Exhibition, JO A Rare Fowl, 30 Excerpts, 20 Leaving the Farm, 22 March, 33 More of the Ground Hog, Si J. B. G., 33 San Jose Scale, 34 Excerpts, 35 April, 49 About Dogs, 49 "The Beautiful Snow," 49 May, 65 The Farmers' Institute, «5 The "Black-Knot," 65 Excerpts, C6 June, 81 Entomological Notations, 81 The Soldier Beetle, 81 The Cold Wave, 82 The Coming Agricultural Fair, 82 Grape-Leaf Flea-Beetle, 82 Plant-Lice, 82 " Corregiendum," 83 Excerpts, 83 July, 97 The Farmers' Institute, 97 Tlie County Fair, 97 The Midges, 98 Bark Louse or Scale Insect, 98 Water, 99 The Kind of Ice We Use, 100 Excerpts, 100 August, 113 Maple Scale Insect, 113 Poultry Exhibition, 113 Plumed Thistle, 113 Trumpet Galls Found on Grapevines, 113 About Hair- Worms, 114 Clover Midge, 114 The King Bird, 115 The English Sparrow, ll-'i Tornadoes, 115 The Fire Worm, 116 Maple Tree Pests, 117 Excerpts, 118 Lancaster County Agricultural Fair, 120 September, 129 " Petticoat Hadisbes," 129 The Lancaster County Fair, 130 Nature's Equilibrium, 130 The " Seed Drill Regulator," 130 A Plea for the Robin, 131 Entomological-The Blight Beetle, 131 Sack- Bearer, 132 Excerpts, 132 October, 145 Juglandacese, 145 The Cigarette "Wutvil," 146 Report on Condition of Crops, 147 Excerpts, 147 November, 161 Insect Parsites, lUl The Sack Worm, 162 Saddle-Back Moth, 162 Tachina Flies, 163 " Adam and Eve," 164 Excerpts, 165 December, 177 Annual Greeting, 177 Polysolve, 177 Our Corresnondents and Contributors, 178 Mammals of Lancaster County, 178 Carpet Moths, 179 The Peach Borer, 180 Excerpts, 180 KNXOMOLtXilCAI.. Striped AppIe.Tree Borer, ■5() Florida Whip-Tail, .50 Insect Larvic, 51 The Seventeen-Year Locusts, .52 Avoiding the Hessian Fly, 52 Excerpts, 53 CONTKniUTIONS. Fungi— C. Gish, 0 Laying Out Roads, 23 The Peach Scab, 33 Is Wheat a Paying Crop? 23 Currant Worms, itc, 37 Fanncis' Institutes, 37 from Brookville, Ohio, Plant Small Fruits, 53 Poultry Raising, 68 Employment for Women, 08 Communication from Ohio, 68 Observations on the Crops of 1884, 131 How Farmers Should Live, 121 Owning Land, 133 Taypaying, 166 Shoeless Horses, 181 KSSAYS. The Best Method of Wintering Horned Stock, 6 The Best Method of Wintering Horned Cattle, 7 Labor Saving Farm Implements, 23 The Culture, Manufacture, Trade and Consumption of Tobacco, 37 Commonplace Experiences in Natural History, 84 EntODiological Essay, 181 The InHuence of Agricultural Socie- ties, 183 A Singular Phenomenon, 184 SELECTIONS. Report of Committee on Fruit Culture, 7 King Tobacco, 8 Farm Notes, 9 Sugar to be Made Everywhere, 9 Poultry, 9 Night Air, 11 Statistics, 11 Care of Swine in the West, 11 Is the Process of Cooking a Knack, 11 Farm Drain.age, 11 Superphosphate, 24 How to Clean Stump Lands, 25 Rust in Wheat, 25 Trueness o£ Breeding, 25 The Red Ant, 26 A Web Spining Insect, 26 Where do Houseflics Come From ? 36 The Canker Worm, 3(i Some Habits of Spiders, 26 A Peculiar Fish, 26 Indian Corn— Its Value in the Ration, 27 Spreading Manure, 27 A Beetle Parasitic on the Beaver, 27 Distribution of the Occident Ant, 27 Parasitic Enemies of Spiders and Spiders' Eggs, 27 The Im[)roved Creamery Process, 38 The Next State Fair, 39 I The Cabbage Fly, 39 I Barn Yard Economy, 39 I Manual Arts in Farming, 40 ■ Havana Seed, 40 Protection Against Floods, 41 Avoiding the Hessian Fly, 41 Home Comforts for Farmers, 41 Tsetse, or Poison Fly, 41 Building Material, 42 Farming Does Pay, 42 How to Cook an Old Hen, 42 The Codling Worm, 42 The Fly's Nose, 42 To Cause the Horse to Follow You, 43 Tanning and Tawing, 43 Commercial Fertilizers, .54 TheTwoCatalpas, 54 Bad Butter Again, 55 Selecting Shade Trees, 55 The Opinion of a Dairyman, .55 .Mating of Fowls, 56 Ornamental Trees, 56 What Grasses Shall I Sow, 56 The Milk Supply of Cities, 57 Sources of Trichina;, 57 The Industrious Hens, 58 Individual Ownership of Forests, 58 The Summons of the Rain, .58 Great Milk Producers, 68 Imitation Butter, 69 Cheese in General Cookery, 69 A Fruit all May Raise, 09 The Value of Soiling Crops, 70 Dairy Notes, 71 Why Eggs Do Not Hatch, 71 Danger in Barbed Wire, 72 Experiments in Potato Planting, 73 Handy Remedies, 72 The Disappearance of Game, 73 Foot and Mouth Disease, 73 The Speed of a Flying Duck. 73 My Eight-Acre Farming, 74 Spare the Toads, 74 How to Cook an Old Hen, 74 The Use of a Dry Well, 74 Preserving Salt Meat, 74 In the Hay and Harvest Field, 75 Improving Farm Houses, 75 Ivy Poisoning, 75 A Dish of Strawberries, 75 Country Roads, 88 The Movements of Liquids in Living Plants, SS About Forestry, 89 The Grasses, 89 Root Crops for Cattle, 89 Cultivating the Orchard, 90 New Silk Industry, 90 Diseases of the Summer, 91 Green Peas, 92 Vermont Sheep, 102 Tobacco as a Medicine, 102 Rust in Wheat, 103 Lawns, 103 Seeding, Propagating and Covering, 103 Make the Kitchen Pleasant, 104 Recuperating the Soil, 104 Backhanded People, 104 A Tree Pest, 104 Rag Carpet, 105 A Thrush Whips Three Sparrows, 105 How to Make Shad Soup, 105 Soil Exhaustion by Various Crops, 105 Ravages of the Clover Worm, 106 Varieties of Food for Stock, 106 Culture of Roots, 106 On Horseback, 107 Transplanting Trees, 121 Drying Tomatoes, 132 An Agricultural School for Girls in Normandy, 122 Why People Take Medicine, 123 How to Grow Currants, 123 Fighting the Cutworm, 123 Destruction of Small Birds, 133 Vitality of Weed Seeds, 1-34 The Good Well, 134 Green Manuring, 135 Cause and cnre of Constipation, 135 Condition of the Barn at Milking Time, 135 Clean Dairies, 135 Canada Thistles, 136 Cheese for Home Use, i:!0 A Novel Swindling Scheme, 136 The Cabbage Fly and its Relatives, 137 Ice in the Dairy Must Go, 137 American Wonders, 138 Curing Cheese, 138 Weevil in the Cigarette, 148 The Culture of Carp, 149 Is Cold Water Injurious to Plants, 150 About Fruit Trees, 150 Habits of the Burrowing Owl of Cali- fornia, 151 Outlook of the Crops, 151 Getting Rid of Stalks, 152 Feeding Cornstalks, 152 Utilizing Straw and Stubble, 152 A Chapter on Flies, 1.53 Superphosphates for Wheat, 1-54 Facts About Irrigation, 154 Feeding Hay, 154 Self-Binding Reapers, 154 Raising Small Fruits, 168 A Chapter on Flies, 107 Raspberry Culture, 168 Experimental Pear Orchard, 108 Grape Culture, 109 Setting Out Fruit In the Fall, 169 A Querist In a Fruit Garden, 170 Good October Crops, 170 Building Farm Houses, 170 Sending Plants by Mail, 171 Carpets, 184 Sorghum as a ProUtablc Crop, 185 Milk as an Absorbent, 185 Cell arc, 185 Sick Animals, 186 Increased Duration of Life, 180 Bread-Making, 186 OlFK LOCAI- ORGANIZATIONS. Lancaster County Agricultural and Horticultural Society, 12, 28, 44, 59,76, 124, 138, 1.55, 171,187. Poultry Association, 13, (iO, 110, 139, The Fulton Farmers' Club, 13, 28, 45,60,77, 138,1.55,171,187. Linnaean Society, 13, 29, 45, 00, 77, 92, 109,156,171,188. State Agricultural Society, 29 Tobacco Growers' Association, 45 Farmers' Institute, 77, 93, 107. Premium List of Lancaster County Fair, 139 a<;ricui-ture. Seed Crop, 14 Theory of Crop Rotation, 14 Top Dressing Meadows, 14 Agriculture, 14 Onion Culture, (11 Potato Culture, 61 The Kitchen Garden— Hot Beds, 61 A Hillside Orchard, 01 Have a Corn-Marker Ready, 81 Harrowiug Winter Grain in Spring, 01 IIow Much Seed Shall I Sow ? 62 Composition Manures, 78 Soiling, ?8 Recuperating the Soil, 95 Fodder Corn, 95 Varieties of Sweet Corn, 95 Ploughing too Early, 95 Ensilage Extracts, 95 Pennsylvania Crops, 110 Potato Seed, 110 What Shall the Farmer Sell, 142 A Little Farm Well Tilled, 142 A New Requirement in .Vlodern Farm- ing, 142 Feeding Depleted Soil, 142 Experiments in Corn Culture, 172 Nuggets from New Jersey, 172 Purchasing Commercial Fertilizers, 173 HORTICrl/nRE. The Orchard, 14 Young Trees, 15 Raspberries for 1884, 15 Storing Potatoes, 15 IIow to Support Fruit Trees, 15 The Age of the Orange Tree, 29 Cultivating the Wheat, 29 Something about Persimmous-ReBalts of Cultivation, 30 Cucumber Culture, 30 How to Keep Flowers, 30 For Constant Mignodette, .30 I Growing Nuts, Hi Solanum, 46 I Pruning— How and What, 4« I Protecting Raspberries, 02 I Dwarf Celery, 62 Early Apples, 63 Early Pears, 63 I Tomatoes, 62 I Root-Habits of the Strawberry, 78 ! I'runing the Grape Vine, 78 Raising Potatoes by the Straw Pro- cess, 79 How to Get Early Potatoes, 79 Fertilizers for Strawberries, 90 Making Sugar from Beets, 95 The Profits of Fruit Growing, 95 Cultivation of Currants, 95. Preparing Ground for Grapevines, 110 Look at the Young Fruit Trees, 110 The Care of Fruit Trees, 110 The Strawberry Bed, 110 A Big Watermelon Patch, 124 Seeds Buried too Deeply, 134 A Large Truck Farm, 135 Kill the Weeds Before Planting Seedi, 125 iv INDEX. A Timely Suggeetion, 125 Cabbage Fleas, 125 Notes from s Suburban Lawn, 125 Watering Newly Set Trees, 142 Setting Strawberry Plants, 143 Grape Vines Growing on Trees, 143 Best Method with Celery, 143 Shorten the Canes, 143 Hints on Berry Culture, 172 Shaffer's Colossal, 173 Flowers Grown from Seed, 173 Frost on Strawberries, 173 The Father of the Concord, 173 Russian Mulberry, 173 TheJLe Conte Pear, 173 Planting a Nut Grove, 173 Watering Newly Set Trees, 174 Manuring Fruit Trees, 174 A New Orchard, 174 HOUSKHOLD RECIPES. Jealousy Puffs, 15 Orange Cake, 15 Nut Cakes, 15 Flirtation Cakes, 15 Scotch Cakes, 15 Rich Plum Pudding, 15 Icing, 15 Gipsy Pudding, 15 Mock Turtle Soup, 15 Sauce for Pudding, 15 Hard Sauce for Plum Pudding, 15 Force Meat Balls, 15 Mint Sauce, 15 Macaroni, 15 Wine Sauce, 15 Scolloped Potatoes, 15 Rice Croquettes, 15 Baked Egge, 15 Corn Bread, 15 Carrot Pudding, 15 Tapioca Pudding, 15 Suet Pudding, 15 Huckleberry Pudding, 15 Breakfast Rolls, 15 Cherry Cobbler, 16 Bird's Nest Pudding, 16 Snow Pudding, 16 Monday's Pudding, 10 Fried Chicken, 16 Potato Balls, 16 Omelette, 16 Graham Gems, 16 Berry Pudding, 16 Queen's Pudding, 16 Apple Butter Pudding, 16 Tomato Soup, 16 Baked Fish, 16 Spaghetti, 16 Scotch Buns, 30 Oatmeal for Family Use, 30 Rice Waffles, 30 Canned Mushrooms, 30 Maryland Pie, 30 Little Boy's Porridge, 30 Chocolate Whips, 30 South Carolina Patter Pudding, 30 Pink Jelly, 31 Poach Eggs, 31 Turnip Soup with Rice, 31 Lemon Dumplings, 31 Cream Pie. 31 Corn Meal Muffins, 31 Trifle, 31 Luncheon Cake, 31 Washing Potatoes, 46 Feeding a Baby, 46 Court Plaster, 40 Bedsteads, 47 The Ironing Blanket, 47 Oatmeal Wafers, 47 Broken Needles, 47 Brightening Tinware, 47 Cecils, 47 Ciumbed Haddock, 47 Celery Mayonnaise, 47 Bread Cakes, 47 Lemon Pie, 47 Boiled Indian Pudding, 47 Baked Indian Pudding, 47 Indian Loaf Cake, 47 Mrs. Brown's Cup Cake, 47 Crullars, 47 Waffles, 47 Mrs. Moulton's New England Baown Bread, 47 Pop Overs, 47 A New Way to Cook Chickens, 47 Crackers, 47 Salem Pudding, 52 Carrie's Apple Batter, 62 Sunderland Pudding, No. 1, 62 Sunderland Pudding, No. 2, 68 Madam P.'s Pudding Sauce, 62 Mrs. H.'s Berry Pudding, 62 Baked Plum Pudding, 62 Mrs. C.'s Pumpkin Pie, 02 Cottage Pudding, 62 Cookies, 62 Soft Gingerbread, 62 Cream Cake, 62 Doughnuts, 63 Soft Gingerbread, 63 Gold Cake, 63 Silver Cake, 63 Mrs, R.'s Cup Cake, 63 Lady Cake, B3 Cocoanut Cake, 63 Comoosition Cake, 63 Spice' Cake, 63 Cream Cake, 63 Gingerbread, 63 ■ A Philadelphia Sponge Cake, 63 Cider Cake, 63 Soda Cake, 63 White Cake, 63 Whigs, 63 Wedding Cake Pudding, 63 Indian Baked Pudding, 63 Cocoanut Pie, 63 Mince Pies, 63 Pineapple Pie, 63 Fanuie's Cake, 63 Laura Keene's Jelly Cake, 63 German Pulls, 63 Mrs. Meacham's Boiled Indian Pud- ding, 63 Poor Man's Pudding, 63 Apple Saeo Pudding, 63 Dedham Cream Pie, 63 Jane P.'s Lemon Cream Pie, 63 Carrot Pudding, 63 Green Corn Pudding, 63 Augusta's Lemon Pies, 63 Ink Stains, 03 To Clean Decanters, 63 Cut Glass, 63 To Restore Crape, 63 An Ant-Trap, 63 Omelette, 79 Sugar Biscuit, 79 Molasses Pies, 79 Cocoanut Tarts, 79 Parlor Potatoes, 79 Fish Toast, 79 Nut Cake, 79 Mock Lemon Pie, 79 Fish Pie, 79 A Rich Dish, 79 Eggs on Toast, 79 Delicious Fig Candy, 79 A Good Recipe for a Loaf Cake, 79 Minnehaha Cake, 79 Delmonico Cake, 79 Fairy Cake, 79 Watermelon Cake, 79 Orange Pudding, 79 Velvet Pudding, 79 English Plum Pudding, 79 Milk Toast, 96 Milk Toast with Eggs, 96 Oatmeal Crackers, ' 96 Strawberry Blanc Mange, 96 Strawberry Salad, 96 Strawberry Ice Cream, 96 Strawberry Water Ice, 96 The Ideal Ice Cream, 96 An Appetizing Salad, 96 Mrs. Babcock's Company Cake, 96 Fruit Jumbles, 96 Cream Pie, 96 Strawberry Cheesecakes, 96 Strawberry Fool, 96 Sardines, 96. Fried Potatoes, 96 Chicken Toast, 90 Potato Soup, 96 Apple Snow, 96 Apple and Orange Pie, 90 Imitation Apple Pie, 96 Fresh Mackerel, 111 Boiled Tongue, 111 Duchesse Potatoes, 111 New Potatoes, 111 Strawberry Shortcake, 111 Choclatina Ice Cream, 111 Asperges aux Pettis Pois, 111 Delicious Rhubarb Jam, 111 Strawberry Jelly, 111 Sweetbread Salad, 111 Rhubarb Mold for Dessert, 111 Rhubarb Jelly, 111 Stewed Apple Pie, HI Apple Custard Pie, 111 Lemon Cream Pie, 111 Good and Cheap Pie Crust, 111 Pie Crust Glaze, 111 Puff Crust for Pies and Tarts, 111 Apple Pie, 111 Biscuit, 111 Bread, 111 Graham Rolls, 111 Waffles, 111 Muffins, 111 Strawberry or Peach Short Cake, 111 ^umford Johnny Cake, 112 Gingerbread, 112 Rumford Yorkshire Tea Cakes, 112 Crumpets, 112 Rice Muffins, 112 Beef Tea, 125 Chicken Panada, 125 Chicken Broth, 125 Nutritious Jelly, 125 Irish Moss Jelly, 125 Wine Whey, 125 To Mull Port Wine, 135 Refreshing Drinks in Fevers, 125 Graham Bread, 125 Mutton Broth, 125 Calf's Feet Broth, 125 To make Gruels, 125 Oatmeal Gr'uel, 125 Barley Gruel, 125. Flour Gruel, 125 Boiled Flour, 125 Belladona Anodyne Ointment, 125 Sulphur Ointment, 125 Slippery Elm Poultice, 125 Mustard Poultice, 125 Poultice for Strains and Bruises, 125 Carbolic Acid Gargle, 125 Gargle for Ulcerated Sore Throat, 126 Orange Tonic, 126 Balm Tea, 126 Infusion to Produce Sweating, 126 Dandelion Alterative, 126 Atlee's Nipple Wash, 126 Beach's Remedy for Ulcers, 126 To Mend Crockery Ware, 126 Fine Paste, 126 Strong Glue, 126 Magic Liniment, 126 Itch Ointment, 126 Emetic, 126 Carbuncle, 126 To Stop Bleeding, 126 Mumps, 126 Cure for Neuralgia, 126 Quinsy, 126 Atlee's Cure for Whooping Cough, 126 Remedy for Worms, 126 Diarrhfea in Infants, 126 Simple Remedy for Dysentery, 126 Fits, 126 Sick Headache, 120 External Remedy for Piles, 126 Remedy for Suppressed Menstruation, 126 Fine Smelling Salts, 126 Enamel Powder, 126 Cold Cream, 126 Rose Glycerine Cream, 126 To Remove Freckles, 126 Cream Cake, 143 Rice Cake, Very Delicate, 143 Delicious Cookies, 143 Lemon Marmalade, 143 To Preserve Plums, 143 Pickled Peaches, 143 Spiced Currants, 143 Pickled Crab-Apples, 143 Governor Mixture, or Sweet Tomato Sauce, 143 Aunt .Maria's Tomato Preserves, 143 Fruit Fritters, 143 Mrs. Roberts' Boston Brown Bread, 143 Pancakes, 143 Rice Griddle Cakes, 144 Muffins, 144 Rye Cakes, 144 Apple Fritters, 144 Astor House Corn Bread, 144 Pan Doddlings, 144 Sally Lunn, 144 Mrs. H.'s Flap Jacks, 144 Mrs. H.'s Muffins, 144 Mrs. Barnes' French Rolls, 144 Barrington Rusk, 144 Indian Meal Puffs, 144 French Tea Biscuits, 144 Mrs. Gaubert's Coffee Cake, 144 Mountain Cake, 144 Jumbles, 144 Ginger Snaps, 144 A Small Sponge Cake, 144 Poor Man's Cake, 144 Fruit Cake, 144 Cup Cake, 144 Delicate Cake, 144 Sugar Gingerbread, 144 Old Colony Cake, 144 Removing Spots, 144 Chicken Corn-Pie, 144 To Prevent a Felon, 144 To Remove Mildew from Linen, 144 Purgative Ball for Horses, 144 Cider Jelly, 1.58 Sweet Apple Pickes, 158 Marmalade, 1.58 Apple Tappioca, 158 White Cake, 158 King Cake, 158 Poverty Cake, 158 Cup Fruit Cake, 158 Chicken Salad, 158 Cococanut Cake, 1.58 Charlotte Russe, 1.58 Fricasseed Oysters, 158 Lunch Biscuit, 158 Stewed Beef, 158 Stewed Potatoes, 1.59 Green Corn Oysters, 159 Currant Wine Sauce, 159 Lemon Sauce, 159 Cream Sauce, 159 Peach Sauce, 159 Fruit Cream, 1.59 Veal Loaf, 159 Cream Cake, 159 London ConfectiOii Cake, 159 Spanish Cream, 1.59 Tea No. 1, 174 Tea No. 2, 174 Coffee No. 1, 175 Coffee No. 2, 175 Parisian Egg Chocolate, 175 Chocolate, 175 Iced Tea, 175 Crust Coffee, 175 Epps' Breakfast Cocoa, 175 Cocoa Shells, 175 Cape Noir or Black Coffee, 175 Cracked Cocoa, 175 Dandelion, 175 Chicory, 175 DOMESTIC ECONOMY. Baskets of Paper, 157 Eggs and Coffee, 157 Is Baking Powder Heaithy, 157 Food for'Dyspeptics, 158 To Make a Fish Napkin, 158 How to Keep Cider Sweet, 168 Wash Out the Buttermilk, 158 Teaching Girls How to Cook, 158 Repairing Children's Stockings, 158 Rag Carpets, 158 Open Grates, 158 LIVE STOCK. The Food of the Horse, 31 As to Clipped Roadsters, 31 Cross Breeding— Grading Up, 31 Stock Notes, 31 Exercise for Stallions, 63 The Evil of Check Reins, 64 Shropshire Downs, 64 How to Milk, 120 Fallacy of Milk Escutcheons in Cows, 126 Kindness Profitable, 126 Advice to Young Horsemen, 127 The Largest Yields on Record, 127 Feeding Colts, 127 June Butter, 127 Overstocking Pastures, 127 Lice on Stock, 127 Interfering Horses, 127 Feed Young Pigs Often, 1.59 Selecting the Breeding Ewes, 1.59 Dutch Cattle, 1.59 Feeding Stock, 159 Unprofitable, 1.59 Crossing on Merinos for Wool and Mutton, 175 Can Horses Travel Unshod ? 175 Cruelty to animals from a Veterinary Point of View, 170 Weight of Sheep, 176 Working Horses Without Shoes, 176 Remove Warts, 176 POULTRY. Hatching Time, 47 Fowls for Eggs and for Market, 47 Fowls Must Have Green Stuff, 48 Coal Ashes for the Dust-Box, 48 Poultry Raising for Young Men, 48 Points about Raising Turkeys, 80 Fowls Must Have Green Stuff, 80 Change the Food, 80 Poultry Keeping for Women, 80 Breeds for Laying, 112 Successive Crops of Poultry, 112 Effects of Poultry Manure, 112 Fowls Must Have Green Stuff, 127 How to Pluck Poultry, 138 Eggs vs. Eggs, 128 Building Material, 128 Food for Young Chickens, 128 Will a Hen Lay Two Eggs a Day, 138 Laying Qualities of a Leghorn, 128 The Dark Brahmas, 159 Sorgo for Chicken Cholera, 160 Successive Crops ot Poultry, 160 To Prevent Chicken Cholera, 160 To Langshan Breeders, 160 LITERAKY. Literary and Personal, 16, 32, 48, 64, 80, 112, 188, 144, 160, 166. ONE DOLLAR PER ANNUM-SINGLE COPIES 10 CENTS. CONTENTS OF THIS NUMBER. EDITORIAL. January 1 To Contributors 1 1883 vs. 1884 1 Forewarninfi and Forearming 3 The Rabbit Bot 3 The Acquisition of Knowledge 3 An Entomological Phenomenon 4 Intense Cold 4 Excerpts 4 Give or Take— A Fable 6 CONTRIBUTIONS. Fungi— C. Gish 6 ESSAYS. of Sunsli The Beet Method of Wintering Horned Cattle 7 SELECTIONS. Report of Committee on Fruit Culture 7 King Tobacco 8 The Scare Tobacco — Farmers Urgred to Plant Havana .Seed.— The Manufacturers' View of It.— The Local Market. Farm Notes 9 Sprouting T-otatoes for Planting. — The Red Aatrachan ~ - ■ ■ -Stumps Sugar to Be Made Everyvvhere 9 Poultry 9 A Few Interesting Facts About the Different Kinds and Qnalities.— Chickens; Their Supply and Prices. Preparing for Market. — Incubators at Work. The Supply of Turkeys.— Scarcity of Geese and Ducks. Night Air 11 Statistics 11 Care of Swine in the West 11 Is the Processof Cooking a Knack 11 Farm Drainage 11 OUR LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS. Lancaster County Agricultural and Horticultur- al Society 13 Crop Heports.— The Sumatra Question.— Competitive Essays,— Election of Ofllcera.- Referred Ques- tions.—For Next Meeting. Poultry Association 13 The Fulton Farmers' Club 13 Interesting Exhibits.— Asking and Answering Ques- tions.— Afternoon Session. 13 -Donations to the Library. AGRICULTURB. Seed Crop 14 Theory of Crop Rotation 14 Top Dressing Meadows 14 Agriculture 14 HORTICULTURE. The Orchard 14 Young Trees 1^ Raspberries foi 1884 ^^ Storing Potatoes "' How 'o Support Fruit Trees 1'^ HOUSEHOLD RECIPES. Jealousy Puffs !•'' Orange Cake 1-^ Nut Cakes 15 Flirtation Cakes 15 Scotch Cakes 15 Rich Plum Pudding 15 15 1.5 Icing Gipsy Pudding Mock Turtle Soup 15 Sauce foi Pudding 15 Hard Sauce for Plum Pudding 15 Force Meat Balls 15 Mint Sauce 15 Macaroni 15 Wine Sauce 15 Scolloped Potatoes 15 Rice Croquettes 15 Baked Eggs 15 Corn Bread 15 Carrot Pudding 15 Tapioca Pudding 15 Suet Pudding 15 Huckleberry Pudding 15 Breakfast Rolls 15 Cherry Cobbler 18 Birds' Nest Pudding 16 Snow Pudding 16 Monday's Pudding 16 Fried Chicken 16 Potato Balls 16 Omelette 16 Graham Gems 16 Berry Pudding 16 Queen's Pudding 16 Apple Butter Pudding 16 Tomato Soup 16 Baked Fish 16 Spaghetti 16 Literary and Personal ' 16 WIDMYER & RICKSECKER. UPHOLSTERERS, And Maiiufaclurcrs ol FURNITURE i^ND CHAIRS, WAREKOOM.S: 102 East King St., Cor. of Duke St. LANCASTER, PA. DOTBH BOLBSI IN GREAT VAKIKTV, OUR OWN IMPORTATION FROM HOLLAND, DIRECT. All of the finest quality, true to name. Hy- acinth, Glasses, Crocus Pots, Ttrra-Cotta Window Boxes, Plain and Fancy Flower Pots all size.s and styles. TERRACOTTA VASES, Terra Cotta and Rustic Hanging Baskets, Rustic Settees, Chairs, Tables and Flower Stands, Green House Syringes and Puraps, Pot and Plant Labels, Garden and Pot Trelli- ses, Requisites for Garden and Green Houses, &c. Prices low, wholesale and retail. g^-CATALOGUES FREE. Address D. LANDRETH & SONS, Nos. 21 & 23 South Sixth Street, PHILV1)EI,PHI.\. BEST MARKET PEAR. 99,99!) PKACH TKKKS, all tin- best varieties of S»H and QUI STKAAVHKUKIKS, C'l'KKANTS, GKAPl-is, HASPBKKKIKS, i-lc. EARLY (JLLSTKR KLA( KliKRRY, New, Karly, Hardy, (ioi.d. Sinnle hill virlded 13 quarts at one plrkiiii;. Si.-iid for FKKK (atalngue. .1. S. COI.I.INS, •Hiioreslown. N. .T. fTREES Fruit, Shade and Ornamental Trees. ■ for i.r thiH climate. LOUIS C. LYTE. Bird-in-Hand P. O., Lancaster cc, Pa. at Rmoketowu, six mtleH east of Lancaster. WANTED.-CAN-VAS.SER.S for the LANCASTER WEEKLY EXAMINER In Ever>- Township in the County. G,mi] Waccs cat made. Inquire at " ^ THE EXAMINER OFFICB No. 9 North Qi , Lancaster, Pa THE LANCASTER FARMER. PEJfNSYI.VASriA R/tll.ROAD SCHEnri-F. On and after SUNDAY, JUNE M, 1883, trains leave the Depot in this city, as follows : Harrisburg. 2:55 a. m. WE TWARD. Pacific Express' News Express* Way Pasaenger* Mall Traill via Mt. Joy* . . Mail No. 2 via Columbia.* Niagara Express Hanover Accommodation, Fast Line' Frederick Accommodation Lancaster Aecomniod'n. Hari'isburg Accom Columbia Accommodation.. Harrisburg Express . . Western Express. . EASTWARD. Mail Express* Philadelphia Express Fast Line* Harrisburg Express Columbia Accommodation. Seashore Express 6.25 a. m, 6:30 a. m. 9:30 a. m. 1:45 p. 2:30 p. 5:20 p. 7:3()p. 1 Day Express" , Harrisburg Accom | The Frederick Accommodati* ter with Fast Line, wpst.at 1:^r; Jo°y! l';ii/.',l"'l'h'l-" na'.Ml m"i'MI vest, connects at Laucas- 1.. and runs to Frederick, connecting at Lancaster 1. will run through to NORBECK & MILEY, PRACTICAL kmm M\\k% Cofnef of Dyke and Vine Stfeets, LANCASTER, PA. THE LATEST IMPROVED SIDE-BAR BUGGIES, PH.ETONS, Carriages, Etc. EDW. J. ZAHM, AMERICAN AND FOREIGN WATCHES, SOLID SILVER & SILVER PLATED l^ARE, CLOCJKS. JEWELRY ITABLE CUTLERY. Sole Agent for the Arundel Tinted SPECTACLES. Repairiug strioUy atteuded to. North Queen-st. and Centre Square, '[Lancaster, Pa. ESTABLISHED 1832. G. SENER & SONS, u.ud de;Uere in all kinds of rough : i.X7IM[B]e:r., SHIWGI.es iu the cout oors. Blinds, Mouldings, & PATENT 0. G. WEATHERBOARDING OFFICE AND YARD : Northeast Corner of Prince and Walnnt-sts.. 1L.ANCA.SXKR., PA..' 79-1-12) Prices to Suit tlie Times. REPAIRING promptly attended to. All work guaranteed. Address Stinsom * Co., Portland. Maine PRACTICAL ESSAYS ON ENTOMOLOGY. NOXIOUS AND INNOXIOUS m^ INSECTS, aud the best remerlies for tlieir exiiulsion or extermination. Bv S. S. RATHVON, Ph. D. LANCASTER, PA. This work iTill be Highly Illustrated, and will be put in proob (as soon after a sufficient number of subscribers can be obtaiued to cover the cost) as the work can possibly be JOS. DELLET, Cigar Box Manufacturer, 49 "West Lemon Street, LANCASTER, PA. OFFICE 9 North Queen Street, LANCASTER, PA. THE OLDEST AND BEST. THE WEEKLY LANCASTER EXAMINER One of the largest Weekly Papers the State. Published Erery Weddnesay Morning, Is au old, well-establislied newspaper, aud contains just the )iew8 desirable to make it an iuterestiug aud valuable Family Newspaper. The postage to subcribers residing outside o^Laucaater couuty^s paid by the publisher. Send for a specimen copy. sxrBscuirTioi^ : T^vo Dollars per Annum. THE DAILY LANCASTER EXAMINER The Largest Daily Paper in the county. Published Daily Except S nday. The dally is published every evenin It is delivered in the City and to surr cessible by railroad aud d^Uy stage 1 a weeK. during the week, aes, for 10 cents JOHN A. HIESTAND. Proprietor, No. 9 Nort'A Qneen St., LANCASTER. FA.. For Good and Cheap Work go to F. VOLI.MER'S FURNITURE WARE ROOMS No. 309 NORTH QUEEN ST.. (Opposite Northern Market), £Alw>, all kind! of picture framei. nOT-ljr The Lancaster Farmer. Dr. S. S. EATHVON, Editor. LANCASTER, PA., JANUARY, 1884. Vol. XVI. Ho. 1. Editorial. JANUARY. " And first there came a stalwart man Dressed in an ample garb, Around him clung- the nor-wcst winds, His features, cold and hard. Hie mantle lined with ermine, His siull-cap edg'd with fur, His beard was white and priclvly as The autumn Chestnut bur. And though his eyes the index were Of an imperious sway, I yet essayed a near approacli My humble court to pay. But, ah ! his freezing proud repulse Threw me in a quandrary, I learned his frigid nature, lor His name was January." This mouth was dedicated by tlie Komaiis to Janus, an old Italian mythical Deity, who was represented with two faces, looking in opposite directions, indicating that he took cognizance of the futiue as well as the past. The term " .lanus-faced" is reproachfully ap- plied to those who are guilty of practicing duplicity. Some authors are of opinion that the two faces of this mythical deity allegorize Noah and his sons, who looked back on the world before the Hood, and forward on the world after the deluge had abated. This is very poetical, but as apocryphal as poetical. A temple was erected to Janus in Rome, the doors of which, accordirg to Rev. Dr. Brewer, in his " Dictionary of phrase and fable," were thrown open in times of peace, and closed in times of war. Or. Noah Web- ster, however, in his quarto illustrated Dio tionary says, that the temple of Janus " was never closed except in time of universal peace." There is a looking two ways here with a vengeance ; let those reconcile it who can. At this remote distance from the origin of the name January — which has become the first month of the year according to the present computation of time — it might be well to consider whether this name may not have been derived from St. Januarhts, the patron saint vif the Napolitans, who suffered martyrdom A. D. 30.5. It is said that two vials of his blood are preserved in the cathedral at Naples, and on the 19th of Sep- tember every year (the anniversary of his martyrdom) the blood aforesaid liquefies, which is about as poetical as the conjecture above named. It is, however, more than probable that the man took his name from the month, especially since the Latin name Janu- arius is said to have been derived from Jamts the Italian god of the sun and year, to whom the month of January was sacred. The French name of this month is Janvier ; tne Prussian Janner ; the Italian Genuajo; the Portugese Ja?!ei>o; the Spanish Enero. The Capitol city of Brazil— Rio de Janiero— in plain English, is River of January. Perhaps no one month could be fixed upon as a proper beginning of the year over the whole world, but it is very certain that Janu- ary is not meteorotogically nor physically the proper opening of a New Year in our latitude. The vernal equinox, or even the month of April, would be far more appropriate. Practi- cally January is mid-winter, and when it is u.shercd iu it finds the year old, and sometimes for two or three months it remains old, de- criped and gloomy. But when the vernal suns begin to shorten the nights and lengthen out the days, and -'showery, llowery, bowery" April makes its advent, then are we really admonished of the beginning of a brij,'lit and resuscitating Mew Year. Custom, however, admonishes us that when the festal season is over, we have advanced upon the threshold of a new year, and we habitually look forward to its ultimation in the advent of balmy spring ; and, that the interval is a time of anticipation and prepara- tion. There is an invisible revival of all nature, to some extent, in the month of Janu- ary, which only needs an elevation of the temperature to manifest itself visibly. "When we get over the winter solstice the Rubicon seems to have been passed, and hence forward the winter gradually succumbs. "When there is a heavy snow upon the ground during the month of January, of course, little or no outdoor work can be done on the farm, save, perhaps, the necessary at- tention to stock, opening roads and paths, and making things comfortable around the dwelling. But within doors there may be much to be done, and the thrifty farmer knows when and how to do it. Throughout the month of January the nights are still long— too long to be all occupied in sleep- affording the husbandman and his household an ample opportunity to store their minds with useful knowledge, or to make a record of their domestic experiences and prepare them for the local press. Now, in this month of January, is the time to "turn a new leaf," and to cultivate that method through which the intelligent and progressive farmer may be enabled to write a practical paragraph every day, every month, or every week during the year. After he accomplishes this he will wonder why he hesitated so long to do a thing so easy and simple. TO CONTRIBUTORS. There is no valid reason why half a score of practical agricultural writers in Lancaster county should not every month contribute a like number of short essays, or paragraph-^, to the columns of the Lancaster Farmer, on subjects relating to Agriculture, Horticulture, Sylviculture, and domestic economy. This is not merely our opinion, but it is the opinion of Agricultural editors, farmers, and writers, wherever the Lancaster Farmer is known. There is not an editor or conductor of an agri- cultural journal in the country who does a' knowledge that it is the intelligent contri- butors who do more to build up the reputa- tion and usefulness of such a paper, than any other influence that can be brought to bear upon it. It is true that many of them can afford to comjiensate their contributors, but there are thousands who contribute volun- tarily, gratuitously, and from a love of use. Nothing would aflbrd us more delight than to be able to compensate our contributors, but under our present circumstances, we can only accord "the will for the deed." In this con- nection we also desire to return our sincere thanks to those who have contributed to our columns during the year that has just i)assed away, and to respectfully solicit their future favors. Practical views and experiences, on any subject relating to the welfare of the himian family, are not without a compensa- tion, if it even never results in money value ; because, every line a man or woman writes on what they kiww to be good and true, is a stone laid in the superstructure of mind and soul, as well as that of matter. It is a neces- sary adjunct to mental and moral culture, and cannot be taken away from him who once truly possesses it. It is one of those things which can be freely and liberally given away, and yet remain with its original possessor Its ac- complishment involves exercises that are emi- nently human ; as it saves life from " rusting out," which is far less honorable than "wear- ing out." It is therefore for your sake, and the publics' sake, more than for our sake, that we indulge in these importunities. "We desire the Far.mei{ to be a reflex of the prac- tical thowjht of the farmers of Lancaster county, for their mvii and thccounty'' ssake. 1883 vs. 1884. " While systems change, and suns retire, and worlds Slumber and wake, Time's ceaseless march proceeds." In the language of a local cotemporary, the year that ended on the 31st of Decem- ber last was "fraught with many calamities and physical disturbances of nature. As early as January destructive floods on the Danube and Rhine, in Europe, were reported, and February saw the Ohio river at its highest point, and the cities along its banks flooded. The earthquake at Ischia, by which 2,000 per- sons perished, came in July, and the month following saw the Java volcanic eruptions, and great losses of life and property. An earthquake in Asia Minor and death-dealing tornadoes in the South and "West in our own country added their mites to the physical hor- rors with which the earth was visited. Apart from these disturbances of nature an unusual- ly large list of disasters have taken place, such as the Tivoli e.xcuision and Brooklyn bridge calamities, losses of life by fire, vessels sunk in mid-ocean and other ills to which flesh is heir. War has also raised its grim visaged head. France has had trouble in Madagascar, and still maintains a warlike attitude towards China in the Tou(iuin dispute. El Mahid has knocked the Egyptian power iu the Soudan into a, cocked hat by the destruction of the army of Hicks Pasha. The government of Ireland is still a thorn in the side of Great Britain, and Russia adds her portion to the THE LANCASTER FARMER [January- year's horrors by the loss of life and property that attended the fierce persecution of the Jews within her realm. Altogether 1883 ranks well with 1666, which gained the name of ' annus rairabilis ' from the many disasters crowded into its small compass." We cannot tell what 1S84 may bring forth. "We were already, on the second day of the New Year, admonished of a dreadful railroad disaster which occurred in Canada, destroying the lives of twenty-seven people and wounding thirty others, some of them considered fatally. These things are almost universally regarded as accidents; and, by way of eminence, una- voidable accidents ; but it might be profitable to look a little farther and consider whether they do not occur in pursuance of the laws of cause and effect — the same laws which rule the universe in general. In the present "pell- mell" and "helter-skelter" progress of the world, its habitants, in the realms of Chris- tian civilization, have not time to ponder causes or appreciate effects, and perhaps no two persons could be found whose views would exactly harmonize on either phase of the con- tingent problem. Whatever weals or woes betide us during 1S84— which is yet in its pristine infancy — let us not forget that two solid physical sub- stances of the same size and density, cannot occupy the same vacximn at the same time and place. And this law does not 'only govern matter, but correspondingly, mind and soul also. The same violations of moral, physical, and civil law which now characterizes humanity, would run the universe "into the ground," if perjietrated there, and plunge the suns, and worlds, and stars, into a vast mass of undis- tiuguishable chaos. There is a spiritual at- mosphere as well as a physical one, and the convulsions of the latter are but reflexes of the former, which is a constitution of the ad- verse spheres which are carried over from this "wanton, woeful, wicked world." There will be no tranquility /leje, until there is tran- quility there, and there will be none there until it is initiated and perfected on this pro- bationary plane ; and we had better believe it and shape our courses accordingly. There are those who disparage resolves, and turning over " new leaves" in our books of conduct, but these disparagements ought to be regarded as mere moral eructations, left to dissipate themselves in ambient air. There is virtue in a firm and rational resolve — there is wisdom in turning a new leaf. From the cradle to the grave, man's life is a physical and moral struggle, and none know it better tlian those who are parties to the conflict. We should have a goal, and keep our energies and our aflections airected to that, and if we fall a thousand times, it is better to press onward and upward, than make no attempt to rise again. Be not discouraged ; let this be the ruling principle of the present New Year. Come now — come as you are — " If you tarry till you are better You will never come at all." Come out of that damaging atmosphere which ever suggests, I will do this, that, or the other thing, at a " more convenient season" — the prolific projenitor of that pro- crastination, which is so eminent^ the "thief of time." It does not require any special amount of brains to do this, for it relates more to the af- fectional or will principle, than to that of the understanding. Of what avail is an enlight- ened intellect, if the affections are corrupt, but to multiply the pains of perdition ? Time at its best, and its longest tenure, is only the threshold of eternity, and all that men feel, and think, and do, ought to relate to that as an end ; because all aims, ends and objects have their final culmination there, whether we see it or not— believe it or not— heed it or not. However vaulting our ambition, however high our hopes, and however earnest our aspi- rations, young 1884 is only the harbinger of possihilities. More may be realized during its advent than is anticipated, but the chances are at least equal that we may realize less ; but, iu any event, we should not withhold our co-operation because things have not transpired according to our wishes. Our de- sires may be wrong, dwarfed and selfish, in which case our moral success may be best sub- served by their " ganging aglee." We are not mere animals, whose highest function is mere- ly to thrive and grow fat; nor are we inde- pendent factors in creation's plan ; we are in- tegral parts of a grand, social, civil, and eco- nomic whole, and there is a use for every one ; and the object of the most worthy culture is to discover that use and perform it. We may not be better than we were a year ago, we may be no better a year hence, nor may we be worse ; that fact furnishes no reason for an abatement of human effort. The farmer tills his soil, scatters his seed, and cultivates his crops. If they bring forth sixty or a hun- dred fold he rejoices. If they yield nothing he tills, and scatters, and cultivates again. The example of the farmer in this respect is one of the noblest that obtains among men. It is different with the manufacturer ; as soon as his profits diminish he "shuts down," just as if the world had come to an end, and had no further need of him. and he no further need of anybody else— Anally, The pains, the penalties, and the external restraints of 1884 may suoordinate us to the powers that be — may drive the devil back into the secret recesses of our souls ; but there will never be a reform in human aflfairs until each individual begins with/wmself or /jerself, and in "freedom according to reason " drives the devil out. That all our patrons and readers may en- sage in this moral and " civil service " during the pending year, and take courage from the declaration. " Behold ! I make all things new," is the very summit of our wishes, and the very best " recipe " we can suggest to secure a Happy New Year. FOREWARNING AND FOREARMING. Of course, no one is particularly annoyed just at this time by "horseflies," " cater- pillars," " rose-slugs" and "curculios;" but just "wait-a-bit." These "fellers" are "laying low" at this season of the year, ap- parently dead, but only conveniently sleei)ing the while. On half a dozen occasions, and from half a dozen different localities, within the past two or three weeks, we have had the follicles of the "sack-worm" (Thyridiypteryx ephemcereformis) sent to us, and in each par- ticular case the question has been asked "What is it?" "What shall we do to get rid of it?" "What is its history?" etc. " One thing we know about it, and that is, it defoliates our trees and shrubbery, and especially our arborvitses. " Just so, and that is enough to know about it to suggest its un- qualified destruction. There is not a more accessible and easier vanquishable insect enemy than the' sack-worm, if it is approached at the proper season, and that season is from now on to the leafing of the trees and shrubs in the spring. Many of the follicles now dangling from the twigs and branches contain nothing— they are the emjbty habitations of the males of last season, and vegetation would sustain no farther injury by letting them re- main. But, unfortunately for the careless or indifferent husbandman, many of these spindle shaped follicles are but the nests of the last years females, and shelter the possihilities of from one to three hundred young sack-worms, that will, if permitted, make their appearance about the twenty-fifth of May next. This insect has a considerable geographical range in the United States, and its history and habits haye been more thor- oughly "ventilated," perhaps, than any other of the noxious kinds ; and it is, there- fore, rather astonishing that the question should still be asked, "What is it?" and that too by those who are neither ignorant nor illiterate. Let us admonish all who are interested in arborculture and horticulture — whether they know its history and development or not, or whether they ever know it— that in one thing they cannot go far wrong, and that is, its un- qualified destruction, whenever, or wherever they may encounter it ; but, there is no better opportunity presented for its destruction than the winter or early spring season, before trees and shrubbery put forth their foliage ; for then these follicles become conspicuously visi- ble on the naked branches, except iu the case 01 evergreens. Our attention was first called to this in- sect in the summer of 1849, by a gentleman then residing in the city of Lancaster. He had for a year or two previously noticed some- thing wrong with the foliage of a fine apricot tree that stood near his dwelling in a back yard. The leaves were brown and crisp, and hung in small bunches, which did not fall in autumn and winter, as in other trees, and each return- ing summer showed a rapidly increasing num- ber of them. After observing these bunches of dry leaves for a short time, we found they moved slowly from place to place, and occa- sionally would let themselves down by a flue silken cord, and then draw themselves up again. About the same time we observed that a Linden tree near the side of tne house was similarly infested, only more numerously, and as some of the infested branches hung close to a third story window, we took pos- session of the window and there studied the animals for two or three years, before we were enabled witness all the phases of their development. We published our observa- tions on it in the Pennsylvania Farm Journal, ihen published in West Chester, Pa., and named it Oiketieus j^ennsyhanicus. This was we think in 1851 or 1852. Our observations had been long previously in manuscript ; 1884.] THE LANCASTER FARMER. and. about the time they were running through the press, Dr. Harris contributed a paper on tlic subject to a journal published, we tliink, at Kocliester, New York. He named it Oihtinis coniferum, because tlie specimens sent to liim were found on cone-bearing trees. We had found it on the apricot, tlie linden, tlie apple, the plum, the cherry, the locust and a number of other trees, before we ob- served it on the arbor ritrp, for which, how. ever, it seems to have a partiality. Subse- quently it was discovered that Dr. Walker had previously described it under the long "jaw-breaking" name it now bears. It seems unfortunate that such a long and almost un- pronoimcable name sliould be bestowed upon such a very common insect, because the pub- lic will never familiarize themselves with it under that name. But this is only one case ; there are num- bers of other worms, or the eggs that produce them, that need attention between now and spring. THE RABBIT BOT. "In the throat of a rabbit sold in Louis- ville, the other day, was found a worm nearly an inch long and tliicker than a tobacco worm. This intruder was nearly black, wore ridges, and was apparently dead. The rabbit seemed perfectly healthy, and there were no signs that the worm had injured it. Perhaps the rabbit was an early rabbit." The foregoing paragraph may have been copied into half a dozen newspapers before it reached the columns of a local daily, never- theless there is nothing at all wonderful in it— indeed it is a very common occurrence in resrard to rabbits during the summer season, In our boyhood there was hardly a boy— who knew anything about rabbits at all— who did not know that rabbits were "wormy" in the summer. For that reason a sensible boy would not hunt or kill rabbits in summer— they were "no good," they were wormy. But the object found in the " throat" of the rabbit at Louisville was not a worm, hence its dark color, and the "wore ridges," whatever those words may mean. It was the jmpa of a certain large species of fiy, allied to the genus CuUrebra, the larvu of which live beneatli the skin of various animals. One species, the Oiiterebra anasculator, passes its larvae period in the scrotum of the gray squirrel. Some years ago Mr. Geo. Hensel, of Lancaster city, had a " ground squirrel " (Tamais striattis), which was infested with these subcutaneous bots^ and towards the end of the summer tliree large wliitish worms issued forth from the groin of the squirrel and burrowed into the ground, and in due season the flies evolved^ which were pronounced by Osten Sacken (Russian Secretary of Legation) to be Calere- hra buccxtta. A notion obtained among old squirrel liunt- ers, from our earliest recollection, that the red squirrel was guilty of emasculating the gray scinirrel. Science ha", however, demon- strated that the act of emasculation, when it occurs at all, is performed by the "squirrel bot." The horse hot is the Gastro- philus equi. The "Gad Fly" (Hi/pnderma bovis) infests cattle, and the (E.-itrus m-i^ tha sheep. Even the reindeer is infested by a bot {Hypoderma tarandis). Tlie species that in- fests the rabbit belongs to the genns' (Estro- myia, and they all belong to the family OisTKiD^E, commonly called "Bot-llies," "Gad-flies," "Breeze-flies," &c. In rabbits the worms are usually found back of the ears, in the neck, or the batik, and they are so very large that it is a wonder such small animals as rabbits and squirrels can survive them. In the above quoted case doubtless the worm was obstructed in its egress Irom the body of the rabbit, and jiupation took place there instead of under ground. It may have been (lead, but it does not really follow that it was dead merely because it "appeared so." One case came under our observation in wliich the worm did not burrow into the ground at all, but pupated above ground. But this was abnormal ; they usually pupate under ground and come forth a fly, ready to deposit its egg or eggs on a new victim in the spring. THE ACQUISITION OF KNOWLEDGE " Knoidcdge is power." This saying is trite and popular, and withal, true ; but do people generally reflect how very slowly, and through what devious avenues real knowledge is ac- quired, and the quality of the power it con- fers y Abundant illustration is furnished every day of the exceeding feebleness of those who are entirely ignorant upon subjects that are as familiar to others, as the A, B, C of the expert schoolboy. We do not allude to professional, mechanical, scientific or theo- logical knowledge, in which one may be ail expert within the line of his specialty, and yet be as obtuse as an unlettered pagan outside of that specialty— and reasonably so, because it cannot be expected that " one small head" could possibly hold all that is worth knowing upon all subjects. In any event, therefore, knowledge is power, so far as it goes in any direction, and in any behalf, and especially so when it is thorough knowledge. But do we consider rationally, liberally and sympatheti- cally the slow and gradual progress that is made in the acquisition of knowledge ? See the "whining school-boy," with what trial, trouble and vexation he acquires a recognition of his A, B, C's — their sounds, their forms, their import, and their relations to syllables, to words, and to sentences. Of course some become familiar with those sub- jects in a much shorter time than others. It not infrequently requires a whole year for an urchin to familiarize himself with the names, the powers, and the import of the alphabet alone. It seems to the parent a very small amount of learning for tlie great amount of money that has been expended to effect such a small and dubious result. The boy spends ten long years— from six to six- teen— at school, and the outlay for tuition, books, slates, boarding and clothing, besides a score of etceteras, seems enormous, when compared with -a mere High School card of graduation. It is conceded that some piogrcss has been made, be it. "more or less," but then, after all, it is only " the beginning of the end" of knowledge ; and the youth him- self, in the very first practical step in life he attempts to take may painfully realize that he knows nothing. Not that he really is al- together ignorant, but that he becomes sensi- ble of a vast difference between theory and practice. He feels that the goal of knowledge is farther on in the race of life, and that to roach it, will cost more time, patience, labor, vexation and money. The item of boarding alone at the low average rate of one dollar per week, would in ten years amount to over S500. Clothing at, .say ten dollars a year, would add JlOO more, to which add books, paper, slates, pencils, pens, &c., not less than $50 or more, and then the boy would be merely on the threshold of knowledge. Five years more at college, at an additional cost of SlOO a year, making in all, including S50 for contingent expenses, .SI, 200, which, doubtless, many people, if they had so much in hand in ad- vance, would rather let their cliildren grow up in ignorance than to purchase a rudi- mental education at such an enormous price. But this pecuniary aspect of the (piestion is the smallest factor in it. Without brains, without industry, and without perseverance, the boy may still be an uninstructed donkey, a learned fool, or an impractical consumer ; and, even if possessed of good common sense, he may have made little progress in useful knowledge. Now all this goes to show that knowledge is not acquired through the means by which a fortune is acquired, but that it is acquired through laborious co-operation with the means that are employed to disseminate it, and that thorough knowledge, like the develop- ment ot a plant or a physical body, is slow and gradual, and not too dear at almost any price. It is the same in the aeciuisition of any of the natural sciences. They have their rudimental, or A. B. C. state, their a-b-ab state, and a thorough knowledge of these comes, "here a little and there a little ; line upon line, and precept upon precept," and at every step seems to "cost more than it comes to ;" but this is only an appearance, and a fallacious ap- pearance too. When a seed is put into the ground, does any one reflect upon the im- mense labor, time and expense the develop- ment of that seed will cost before it is pro- duced again through the energy and develop- ment of the plant. And yet nature is never dicouraged, never shocked at the immense expense, but goes on slowly and silently re- producing, as if the energy, labor and ex- pence were a matter of course, which it surely is. What makes a pound of iron, which may be procured for twenty cents, yield a product the value of which may be eventually worth two hundred and twenty dollars? What but the labor and expense ; because every hour of productive labor costs vitality, physical en- ergy, time and patience, as well as pecuniary outlay. Let any man, totally ignorant of the games of billiards, backgammon or chess, stand from morning till night, and be a mere "looker on" of these games, and very likely he will be as ignorant of them in the evening as he was in the morning, and that may not be all of it, he may also come to the conclu- sion that those engaged in these games may know as little about them as he does for all that he can see to the contrary. But, let him essay a hand along with others who under- stand these games, and ho will soon learn something, if he has any brains at all ; if noth- ing else, he may be made conscious of his blunders ; and everj' blunder apprehended and corrected is a step forward in the acquisition of knowledge. THE LANCASTER FARMER [January, It, is the same in any of the specialties in human knowledge. By energy and persever- ance one may attain to a position in which he is almost certain to be underrated or over- rated by those who are altogether ignorant of those specialties. A man often attains dis- tinction, not because he kuovcs so much, as because his judges may know so little. Beal knowledge does not come suddenly, simply because it is more experimental than theoret- ical. A knowledge how to swim, is worth a thousand essays on swimming, when a practi- cal test of swimming is required. An ornithologist may be voted an igno- ramus because he cannot tell the name of a bird that is in " the habit of sitting upon the top-rail of a fence and jerking up its tail,' without being informed of its size, color, and outward contour. The spirit of these cogita- tions is, that experimental knowledge is ac- quired slowly, more or less laboriously, and to all expensively ; and tlie man who labors therein is worthy of adequate compensation ; but, because one cannot " box the compas" in human knowledge, it does not follow that he therefore knows nothing. If the farmer would condescend to look back to the periods of Xenojjhon and Pliny and Columella, and scores of others strewn along the interval between their days and ours, he would discover how very slowly pro- gressive agricultural knowledge has been de- veloped in the world, and what an immense sum it has cost. And, peradventure, he might be impressed with the conviction, that nothing is, or ever has been accomplished without expense, either mental, physical or pecuniary — and perhaps never will be. AN ENTOMOLOGICAL PHENOMENON- During a thaw about the income ot the the present month (January 18*^4), Mr. F. A. Beates, near Willow Street, Lancaster county, found a large number of a "peculiar worm" running very nimbly over the snow ; and al- though the snow had melted considerably the day previous, yet on the morning when he first discovered the worms, the ground was still covered with a shallow crisp sheet of it; and as the field in which he found them con- tains wheat, he felt some misapprehensions in regard to them, for they were so numerous that they attracted a behungered colony of crows in the neighborhood, which gobbled them up as precious morsels. These worms are fully one inch in length in their present expanded condition; of a dull whitish color; the head, the dorsal portion of the thoracic and abdomenal segments, and the caudal ap- pendages are shining brown in color. Indeed the sutures are so much expanded that each segment presents a transverse subquadrate spot, or scale. Underneath each segment has seven brownish shiny spots of different sizes.- The antenna are four-jointed, the mandables toothed on the inner margin, and the caudal appendages alluded to, consist of a proleg be- neath and two slightly bristled filaments above, on the whole, there is no doubt in my mind that it is the larva of a species of CaraBid.e, a family of predacious "Ground Beetles." In- deed, on turning to page 50 of Pruf. Riley's 1st Report on the noxious and innoxious in- sects of Missouri, I find he has this very larva described and illustrated; and that too, in the act of capturing aud devouring the larva of the curculio; aud he refers it to the genius Haijjalus. As Harpalus ^ensylvanicus is very abundant in Lancaster county, and especially in the southern portion of it, it is, very proba- bly that species. My first impression was that it belonged to the Elaleridce or Lampy- rWw— "Click Beetle," or "Firefly"— but, out of the alcohol and under a magnifier, soon re- vealed its character, and I can assure Mr. B. that he need have no anxieties about this in- sect depredating upon his wheat. The only thing to be regretted now is that the crows destroyed so many of them, for their absence next summer may allow the multiplication of some noxious species upon which they feed. Even had they proved the larvae of fireflies, there would have been nothing to be alarmed at, for these too are carniverous in their habits. Although many of the "Click Beetles" are wood borers, yet some of them— popularly called "wire worms" — are sometimes destruc- tive to wheat, corn and tobacco. The most remarkable phase of the subject is that these insect larva should be found running about upon the s::r)w. At no time since the ground has been covered with snow (some days before Christmas), has the temper- ature been suflnciently genial to tempt insects to come abroad— except it might be "snow fleas"— and yet, according to the observations 6f Mr. Beates, there were hundreds, perhaps thousands of them at a season of the year, and under circumstances which usually pro- duce torpidity in the insect world. On Saturday the l-2th inst., Mr. A. H. Summy of Oregon, Lancaster county, brouglit me some snow fleas and reported that millions of them were on that day scattered over the snow for miles in his neighborhood. Possibly during a temporary elevation of the temperature these Harpalidan larvce may have been forced abroad in search of food, and it would have been interesting to know wheth- er any snow fleas were abroad in the same locality. They might have been very easily overlooked, especially when a larger and more formidable insect was present; and one too of whose habits Mr. B. was suspicious, and to which his attention was wholly directed. It is a great pity that farmers in general do not take sufficient interest in entomology to learn to distinguish between noxious and in- noxious msects; it would be a great help to them in solving the problem of insect depre- dations. INTENSE COLD. The following, clipped from the columns of a local journal, so far as it goes, eclipses the experiences of tlie "oldest inhabitant." It is always so, during " snaps " of intense cold or heat, until some old litefary rooter ex- humes something "to the contrary notwith- standing." " Saturday night aud Sunday morning, January 5th and 6th, 1884, were the coldest felt throughout the VVest and South for many •years. Temperatures were reported of 27 de- grees below zero at Chicago ; 32 below at Du- buque ; 24 below at Des Moines, Kansas City, and Indianapolis ; 48 below at Jamestown, Dakota ; 39 below at Bismarck, Dakota ; 20 below at St. Paul, Minnesota ; 20 below at Louisville, Kentucky ; 23 below at St. Louis ; 14 below at Cleveland, Ohio ; 20 below at Cin- cinnati, and 5 below at Pittsburg. The effect of the cold in Chicago and other Western cities was to continue the paralysis of busi- ness caused by the setting iu of the frigid spell. In Chicago several plate glass windows were cracked by the frost, and near St. Louis a number of mules, in transit by rail from Texas, perished in the cars. The cold wave extended to the Gulf, the temperature at Mo- bile on Saturday night being 20 above zero. Many orange trees were killed, and it is believ- ed the whole crop of spring cabbages in Mobile county, numbering nearly 4,000,000 head, and valued at five hundred thousand dollars, is lost. The temperature in the Northwest and and West was rising on Sunday, and in the even- ing the thermometrical records were as fol- lows : Fort Garry, Manitoba. 18 below zero; Bismarck, Dakota, 12 below; Morhead, Minn. 10 below; Cleveland, Ohio, 3 above; Cinciu- natti, 5 above; Eastport, Me., 1 above ; Bos- ton, 14 above. The maximum cold of the season was reached on Sunday morning in portions of New England. The weather at Vergennes, Vermont, was the coldest experienced in ten years, registering 36 degrees below zero; at West Randolph it registered 3"^ degrees below; Brattleboro, 20 to 25 below; White River Junction, 25 below; at Jonhsbury, 40 below; Barre, 42 below; Woodstock, New Hampshire, 36 below; Hanover, New Ha.npshire, 28 to 35 below. At Charleston, South Carolina, at 4 o'clock on Sunday morning it was 13 above zero, the coldest weather recorded there in 135 years. At Petersburg, Virginia, on Sat- urday night it was 5 below. EXCERPTS. The New York World is authority for the statement that the plantain, if not permitted to go to seed for two years, will die out. Mow previous to seed time two years in succession. In several States there are local and rural agents of societies for the prevention of cruel- ty to animals. Farmers who are cruel to their animals should be complained of. Sometimes farmers are arrested on the street for driving sick horses but whoever heard of a farmer be- ing complained of for ill-treating his dog or cat? In the streets of New York the society's agents look at passing horses in the thickest crowds, and take a sick or galled one out of the shafts and compel the driver to care for it. The agents have the same power by law, that is possessed by a policeman. One of the most promising trees for forest culture, where the conditions favor, is the American chestnut. It grows spontaneously from New Hampshire to Carolina, and from the eastern slope of the Alleghenies to the Western prairies. Not only is the tree valu- able for its nuts, the production of which be- gins in a very few years from planting, but the timber is very valuable for fencing; it is admirable for house-finishing, the color and grain of the wood being very attractive.— C/ii- cago Inter-Ocean. • As long as this country is compelled to im- port annually large quantities of eggs there need be no fear that raising poultry will not prove profitable.— C/iicaj/o Tribune. TSK4.J THE LANCASTER FARMER. Celery is good for headaclie and is an ex- cellent brain food. — CVii'cayo Tribune. All extra mat, an old one, should be placed in the hallway on a rainy day. An exact number of acres of every (ield should be known to the owner. E. L. Stuetevant says the great draw- back to obtaining satisfactory yields of corn conies from .slovenly culture, not only in oper- ation in the field, but from careless planting by the fai'mer. — Ti-oy Times. The supposition that the introduction of farm machinery would cause a displacement of farm laborers has not been borne out by facts, as at no period has there been a greater demand for liuman labor than at the present. Farm hands are always scarce in some sec- tions.— Prairie Farmer. Farm and Garden says an acre will iiroducc five or six times the amount of strawberries it will wheat. ArPETiziNU dressing for fowls is made of mashed potatoes, well seasoned; for ducks or for wild game a flavor of onions is desirable; herbs also may be added.— iV. Y. Post. Breed up the cows; bring them to as near perfection as possible. Weed out the unpro- fitable, though you give them away and set your standard at not less than a day per cow for at least eight months in the year.— CVifet- go J(Htrndl. CR.\XBEl!ltY pudding is made by pouring boiling water on a pint of dried bread crumbs; melt a tablespoonful of butter and stir in. When the bread is softened add two eggs, beat thoroughly with the bread. Then put in a pint of the stewed fruit and sweeten to your taste. Bake in a hot oven for half an hour. Fresh fruit may be used in place of the cranberries. Slices of peaches put in lay- ers make a delicious variation. — Boston Post. Cows which are to give milk through the winter, says the American Agriculturist, need to be fed with special care. If i)Ossible, the flow of milk must not be permitted to decrease. Mangels and sugar beets are excellent cut in slices and sprinkled with bran. The rule that good feeding brings good maimre, should be kept in mind in a judicious care of farm ani- mals during winter. Good feed in abundance is not enough ; it should be given with regu- larity. Home-made oatmeal crackers are so nice, and it is really so little trouble to make them, that almost any mother or cook, can get time to try this rule : Wet one pint of fine oatmeal with one gill of water ; after mixing as well as you can take it out of the dish ou the knead- ing board, on which you have scattered plenty of the dry meal ; roll out and cut in squares with a sharp knife. The crackers should be rolled very thin ; these should be baked in a slow oven, and after you are sure they are done leave the oven door open to allow them to dry. Salt should not be omitted.— A^. )'. Post. To remove specks of dirt from the eye, im- merse it in cold water, then roll and wink it rapidly, still keeping it in the water till the desired result is accomplished. In cases of slight inflamation or dryness of the eye, this bath has a good eflect. Use tepid, slightly s.ilted water, instead of cold. — 'The Household. Cottonseed oil is largely used for adulter- ating butter and cheese. The finest peaches in Centre county came from the College Superintendent's farm. The Crown is the largest land owner in liussia, po.ssessing more than one-half of the eutire empire. Fruit men all say the best way to treat trees infested vvith borers is to remove the earth about the base of the trunk. Fill up the hollow after freezing weather is well under way. The hogs in the West are growing slowly, cause, soft corn. The early frost made a short crop and imperfectly ripened grain, and this means blue beef and skeleton poultry, as well as light pork of inferior quality. Sixty thousand of the Swiss pcojile an- engaged in the silk industry, most of them in their own houses. Zurich alone has 3000 power looms and 53.000 looms, all told. The silk production of the country reaches S17,- 000,000, of which something less than one- third comes to thisjcountry, and pays an ad- valorem duty of 50 per cent. Ak Indiana farmer who raises many turnips harvests them late and stores in trenches. The trenches are two feet deep, about a foot and a half wide, and of any desired length. He puts the turnips in, filHng the trenches about half way to the top, then puts on a light covering of soil. As the weather becomes more severe he adds more covering until the trench is iaW.— Chicago IVibune. In many localities, where the potato bug has been very destructive, it has done little or no damage the past year. This may be partly owing to the peculiarities of the .season, but is probably also in part to the increase of in- sects which prey upon the potato beetle and its larvffi in various stages. — Chicago Times. The Cuuculo Smoked out at Last.— Some time since, we announced that the Ken- tucky Horticultural Society had ottered a premium of five hundred dollars for a cheap, and eflectual remedy against the curculio. Several have already been proposed, of which the following published in the Louisville Jour- nal, has the merit of cheapness and simplicity at least, and is said to be effectual. Here it is, with the proposer's specification: I take an old tin pan that is worn out or unfit for other use, put some coal from the fire into it, and lay on strong tobacco and smoke the tree and young plums well. One nail through the bottom of the pan into the end of a stick or pole five or six feet in lencth is sufficient, so that it can be raised handily and carried about the tree through the branch- es. Care must be taken not to have a blaze. This should be repeated about once a week for three weeks, after the plum is formed from the blossom. Tiios. T. Glenn. Niks, Berrien county, Mich. A WRITER in the Country Gentleman recom- mends the soaking of the wood composing a summer house in crude petroleum, saying it will make any common wood nearly or about as durable as cedar, imparting to it a rich brown color. It would be an excellent idea to apply the same preservative to trellises, etc., on lawns. Henry Stewart notes in the New York Times the fact that some varieties of potatoes seem to be more distasteful to Colorado beet- les than others, and instances Wall's Orange and the Dakota Red as two sorts which with him required no attention, while others grown near were given daily pickings. There is a vast difference in the flavor of eggs. Hens fed on clean, grain and kept on a clean grass run give much finer flavored eggs than those that have access to stable and manure heaps, and eat all kinds of filthy food. Hens feeding on the oily species of fish and onions flavor their eggs accordingly, the same as cows eating onions or cabbage or drinking offensive water impart a bad taste to milk and hutU'V. — Chicago Herald. The Jefferson county Union thinks that farmers must meet the hog-butter trouble by learning how to make better butter from cream. CoL. Richard Peters thinks that stock farming pays in Georgia. This year he has sold Sli^OO worth of butter, $4000 worth of Angora kids, $s00 worth of yearling Jersey l)ulls, $550 worth of Essex pigs, $1,500 worth of wheat, besides an un.sold increase of flocka and herds amounting to at least $5000. His farm grows richer year by year, and the basis of its improvement is clover ploughed under, roots and tops. The crop report for November places the yield of buckwheat at 11.7 bushels per acre in New York, and 11 bushels per acre in Penn- sylvania, the two States which produce two- thirds of the country's crop. In the West this crop is grown in a small way only. Maine produces twice as much as Illinois, in the South it is not grown at all. About 11,000,- 000 bushels will be the product for the year. It would have been 13,000,000 but for the September frost, which caught the late sown grain. The making of cider is one of the important industries of France. There are now in that country more than 4,000,000 cider apple trees, which, if planted side by side, would line a Boulevard 15,000 miles long. The average annual product is more than 220,000,000 gal- lons. The best cider is made in Normandy. It is dark brown in hue, and is mixed with water for drinking or bottling. The second best quality is made in Brittany. It is of a l)right amber color, and is also esteemed too strong to be drunk "straight." The rinderpest, or cattle plague, which is prevalent in Southeiistern Russia, has ap- peared in Silesia. It has leai)ed across the Europeau Continent, following the course of the plague of seventeen years ago. It is now within three days' jouruey of Hull and the Northeastern ports. Assuming that this rinderpest is identical in subtlety and malig- nancy with that of ISCO, when inflicted a colossal loss on the agriculturists of England —in Cheshire alone it was about £1,000,000— it is the obvious duty of the Crown authorities to instantly adopt the extremest precautions to prevent the introduction of it into the ports of Great Britain. If there has been colder weather for a long series of years in the Western country than that of Friday and Saturday the united mem- THE LANCASTER FARMER. [January ories of all the oldest inhabitants fail to recall the time. We are told from one point in Dakota Territory tliat the mercury was down to forty-eight below zero. This is eighty degrees below the freezing point, a degree of cold seldom found below the Arctic circles. That was the severest temperature repoited ; but the mercury was very low down through- out Miuuesota, Iowa, Kansas, Western Mis- souri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. From as far eastward as Cincinnati tlie report came of twenty degrees below zero, which is fifty-two Ijelow the freezing point. We got a breeze from off this Arctic wave, but it was only a whiff compared with the Western article. GIVE OR TAKE— A FABLE. A bull and an ass one day, By chance met in a narrow way, Where each against the rock must squeeze, If they would pass along with ease. The bull, though of an iron will. With deferential air, stood still. And said, " Now half of the road is thine, And half the space by right is mine; So let us choose the friendly plan, And move along as best we can." " Not BO," the stubborn ass replied, Who blinded by his foolish pride, Mistook the traveler's civil air For evidence of craven fear : " The right of way is mine alone. And you must back, while I move on ; Or else I'll stand here, as you see. Till you shall starve or yield to me." Now, angered at conceit so great. The bull at once cut short debate. And bowing low his massive head, He tossed the braying quadruped So far upon his airy road, A spreading oak received the load. The ass found all his efforts vain To disengage himself again ; And there he would be hanging still, A mark for crow or raven bill, But then there chanced, from miles away. Some kindly market-boys, that day. To be just where, up in tree. The foolish animal they could but see. They got him down ; and thusly did advise : " Jt's never best to be more nice than wise. The right of way is never yours alone ; Yield ahmys unto others that which is their own. — Bulex and Journal. Contributions. Brookville, O., Jan. 15, 1884. Editor Lancaster Farmer.— Sir.- In the matter of the Fmuji, which annoy the farmers, Mr. Linnville, did well to invite the attention of them to the origin of smut. The study of cryptogomous plants, is of immense importance to the farmer. There is no species of plants, but what is liable to be the pablum of some one variety of these minute plants. The study of mycology should be in- troduced into every school, where boys are taught with the view of their being farmers. It is one of the most recondite of sciences : more than 150 varieties of smut have been enumerated, and many varieties have not yet been noted. Moulds, mildews, mushrooms, toadstools, rusts, smuts, and bunts belong to the cryptogomous family of plants. Stale bread, and old cheese, and old leather in damp weather, are sometimes covered with these moulds. Eusts and smut of cereals be- long to this family. Different parts of the same plants are affected by different varieties of rusts. The stems of the cereals have one kind and the leaves another. Potatoes in the ground are liable to be affected by varieties of moulds— in fact, all the field and garden crops are liable to be, more or less, rusty from this cause in damp weather. I have never heard of their being any smutty wheat in this coun- try. I therefore have had no opportunity to study the natural history of this parasite, but) I think, it is exceedingly doubtful whether wheat becomes smutty from smutty seed ; however, there is one variety of this parasite, whose spores are taken up into the plant In the water absorbed by the roots. If it is true as some writers on this subject aver that the spores of some varieties, insinuate themselves into hard wood and other hard substances, then we might understand how the smut spores could penetrate the chaff surrounding the wheat grain, and make a lodgment on the gram.— C. 6ish. ESSAYS. *THE BEST METHOD OF WINTERING HORNED STOCK. The farmer whose stock will come out best next spring has made preparation months past to that effect ; he has prepared himself with an abundance of first quality hay, and will, or has, put up his fodder in thi' best condition. Being prepared thus far, it is very import- ant that the change from green to dry feed should not be sudden, but, as autumn ap- proaches, stock should be fed mixed feed, i. e., green and dry, and if some succulent food, such as roots, or possibly ensilage, be secured for winter, all the better. In the absence of green food, the next best thing is to scald or soak a fair proportion of the food, so that stock will have no occasion to drink too great an amount of cold water, which in cold weather will chill any animal. Where stock is watered from a well or spring near the stable and well sheltered from cold blasts, the above precaution is not so important, but still I consider it preferable to too much drinkins; but where stock has to go or be driven a dis- tance to drink, and from frozen streams or ponds at that, it is of vital importance that as large a proportion of water should be taken with the food as is consistent with feeding. Careful Attention. In these days of sharp competition in stock raising as well as in other business, it is im- portant that it should be conducted with as much economy as possible. Any animal that will require the summer to recover the flesh it lost during winter, does not pay its owner for its keeping, yet many animals may be seen every spring that will correspond with said picture, and many more nearly so. The most economical method of raising horned, or any other stock, is to keep them in good growing condition from birth to maturity, and from thence in a good normal condition during winter as well as summer. For such whose stock is generally afflicted with hollow horn, or wolf in the tail, the fol- lowing is not only a remedy, but an infallible preventive : Feed regularly with proper food, and once a day take what is left in the manger and rub it over the back of the animal. A very small amount of such surplus feed is even better than too much. A hint to the wise is sufficient. Feed Heat Producing Food. For winter a much larger proportion of carbonaceous food is required than during summer, and in this section of country we grow nothing that will answer the purpose equal to corn, which is not itself a perfect food, except for fattening, but with a proper proportion of bran, shorts or linseed meal and hay and corn fodder, proper rations may be prepared and such changes made as will keep up a regular appetite without a surfeit. The intelligent feeder will know how to propor- tion rations so as to produce the desired re- sults, whether for milk, butter, fattening, or simply a good healthy growth. Feeding at proper and regular hours is an important matter. Good warm stabling with proper ventilation is another, and it must not be for- gotten that lumber is cheaper than corn, even at present prices, for the purpose of retaining animal heat. Grooming pays as well on cat- tle as on horses. A sufficiency of bedding should always be given. Value of Sunshine. During warm or moderate days stock may be out the greater part of the day, but as the cold increases the time for out doors must be shortened to a period simply long enough to water and for bedding. Instead of the prevailing custom of cleaning the stables once a week it should be done once a day, and to keep stock clean as it should be the droppings must be removed at least twice a day. Tlie large proportion of stock, including milk cows, otherwise well fed and cared for, coming out of winter quarters annually with dung on them from hoof to hip, presents a very unsightly appearance, besides question- ing the cleanliness of the dairy products dur- ing such period. Kind treatment adds largely to the comfort and thrift of animals. Although self-interest should prompt own- ers of stock to treat such humanely, the re- verse is in too many cases the rule, for instead of providing comfortable winter quarters, their animals are exposed to snow and storms with only the warm side of a fence or a straw stack for protection, or, if housed, the stabling is in many cases so open and [filthy as to be unworthy the name of stable. The latter extreme does happily not hold good as a rule in our county, where farmers generally have good and comfortable quarters for their stock ; at the same time they are too many cases (if not in our county) at least in our State and country at large, that a strict application of the law for the prevention of cruelty to animals would find more guilty than should be found in this enlightened age. We should at least all be law-abiding citizens, but I seriously question any person's religion who does not treat his animals at least humanely, and I have no doubt but that mis- sionaries could find a wide field for operations on this subject. Our late issue of the Farmer this month was owing to incontrolable contin- gencies. 1884.J THE LANCASTER FARMEK. THE BEST METHOD OF WINTERING HORNED CATTLE,* As tlie tcnu in tliis hilitiuk' during wliich cattle must be fed on dry rations, lasts from five to six months, it is a matter of groat im- portance to know how our stock cau be best and most economically wintered. The first requisite is good and sufficient food, and next shelter. As our winters are cold it requires a largo amount of food to keep up the animal heal even when the stock is warmly stabled. Feed rich in carbohy- drates is the proper thing to sustain intense combustion and also to fatten the animal. Corn is such a feed and fortunately is raised here in as great perfection as in any part of the world. Tiie animal's nervous and muscu- lar and bony structure must be maintained also, and to have symmetrical and healthy de- velopment must have phosphorus and nitro- gen. Bran, shorts, clover, hay and linseed cake contain the.se elements, and in addition to corn make a perfect ration. Science indi- cates that a mixture of two parts, by measure, of corn and one part of bran would be a good proportion for fattening cattle, and corn and bran half and half or corn and oats for dairy cows or young growing stock. The experi- ence of practical feeders and stock growers confirms the theories of the chemist. Animals like a change of feed, too. Corn- fodder and hay may be given alternately, and an occasional feed of potatoes, mangolds or even turnips is much relished. These roots are from ninety to ninety-five percent, water, and yet the avidity with which cattle eat them in winter would indicate thai they are useful for a change, and probably assist in the diges- tion and assimilation of dry feed. Of course all animals should have water at least once a day. As regards the value of ensilage for stock I have not had any practical experience, but am inclined to think it will be a means of keeping a large number of Mninials through the winter months. Any one who has been watching the discussion of the ensilage ques- tion in the agricultural papers cannot help but see that the advocates of the system are invariably those who are using it and can speak authoritatively and the opponents are o.lmost invi;iriably mere theorists. Chemists who are reiterating their assertions that well cured hay contains the same elements as grass viinics the water, ought to know that cows fed on grass only will make a much larger quantity of butter and of better quality than the same cows fed on hay only. Every farmer knows that cows changed from dry feed to grass immediately increase the production of milk and butter and vice versa. I cannot see why properly preserved green feed may not produce the .same result. Mo.st of the cattle feeders in this county give their steers a ration of meal at noon, but I have not known dairymen to feed meal to their cows more than twice per day. It is all important that animals should be fed at stated times. When the time comes they arc rest- less until fed and consequently do not thrive. All the best feeders with which I am ac- quainted curry their steers daily, and the animals enjoy it greatly and, I have no doubt, »Rend before the Lancaster Couiitv .\Bricult\ir»l and Horticultural Society, January 7, 1884, by John U. Lin- vUle. tlirive better for it. ]{epeated experiments, however, at an eastern station would .seem to show that fattening cattle lay on the fat faster w ithout currying. It is best on mild days to let stock of all kinds have at least an hour or two to sun themselves. Sunshine is as essential to ani- mals as to plants. I have not mentioned the old English system of "pit feeding." I think it has never found favor in this country. A pit is dug large enough to permit the animal to turn around and no more. The steer to be fattened is then lowered into it. Bedding is thrown m every day, and feed and water lowered as often as necessary. The depth of the pit and the daily allowance of bedding are so proportioned that when the animal is fat the pit is full of manure of the best quality. In this way the beast is kept in perfect quiet and is said to increase in weight very rapidly. I would not advise any one to attempt this mode of feeding here, lest he should be re- ported to the society for the prevention of cruelty to animals. Selections. Fruit culture, in its broadest sense, em- braces so many topics that it is impossible even to refer to them all, in a short report. Its importance to the human family, however, is scarcely second to any other of earth's pro- ductions. From a pecuniary standpoint the real value of fruits embraces millions of dollars — from a health standpoint their value can hardly be estimated, and fiom their general beauty it is evident that the Creator intended that man by nature should be attracted by them. There is scarcely a healthy child that will not as na- turally take and eat fruit as a duck will take to the water, and if custom and habit would not make man abnormal, fruits would consti- tute the larger proportion of his diet, Assuming the foregoing as facts, is there not a wide field for the display of our energies trom both pecuniary and philanthropic stand- points ? Since we of the east can no longer success- fully complete with those of the west in grain- growing, stock-raising, or dairying, why not embark more extensively in horticulture? Since fruits and vegetables are more per- ishable than the general farm products, they almrst invariably, in fresh and good condi- tion, find a ready market at remunerative prices at home. The dependence of our great State upon her neighbors for so large a proportion of horti- cultural products, is at best humiliating, and more emphatically so, while it has soil, cli- mate, capital, muscle (and we had almost said brains) enough to be an exporter instead of an importer of said products. Why should our State not supply its own cities and towns with berries, grapes, peaches, pears, apples and other products iu the same line, when it is evident that it can be done? As evidence, after such a severe winter as the past, small fruits have done admirably, and need not necessarily be a total failure in any season. While the peach crop was cut unusually short in the bay States as well as in the Keystone State, yet not a few orchards, properly located and well attended, in our State, bore fine crops at remunerative prices. Grapes were quite a fair crop, pears a full one, and many apple orchards, (although the ofl' year) have fair to abundant crops. At the same time, the unusual heat and drought have caused premature falling and decay. It is therefore demonstrated that our State has the capacity of being at least imUpendent, if it cannot claim a monopoly in horticulture ; for the same causes will produce the same effects under the same conditions. For in- stance, if one strawberry patch will yield a good crop, any other patch with similar soil, location and management, will bring similar results ; — the same with peaches, pears, ap- ples, or any other crop. It must not be forgotten, however, that success in horticulture, like any other occupa- tion, requires judgment, close observation, and attention. A proper selection of soil and location, and choice varieties of fruit is of fir.st importance ; planting must not be done in a slipshod man- ner ; pruning and training itroperly is not child's i)lay. The common notion and prac- tice of trying to produce full fruit and field crops from the same ground at the same time, for a succession of years, without replenish- ing the soil, is simply ridiculous. Neither must the study of entomology be neglected, for there is hardly a tree or crop, wheiher of fruits, vegetables or cereals, that is not subject to the ravages of some insect. Diseases of a fungoid nature have also be- come very destructive to plant life. The above array of drawbacks seems so formidable, as to discouaage many who might otherwise be inclined to engage in horticul- ture. Thanks, however, to a kind Providence who has, at the same time, given to man the means of counteracting said drawbacks, pro- bably for the good of man, for were he not continually stimulated to exertion, he would lapse into indifTerenco and laziness, from which his mental capacity and highest enjoy- ment would greatly suffer. We claim further, that man can, to a cer- tain extent, have control of the seasons; for a well-drained soil, properly located, will suf- fer less in a wet season than soil of a reverse nature. During a hot and dry season like the present, mulching at the proper time will often secure a crop that would otherwise prove a failure ; even frequent stirring the surface of the soil during the drouth is a great benefit to growing crops. Trees which suffer from the effect of cold dry winds, and in many cases die, might be siived by thorougly satuiating the soil as far ;is their roots ex- tend, before winter sets in. Therefore, continuous vigilance is the price of success in this as well as in other enter- prises. When we are apprised of the resources of our great State, and the means at our hands to develop them, it seems to us almost crimi- nal neglect to permit them to lie dormant, especially when we see some of our sister States, with horticultural resources not supe- rior to ours, pocketing tens of thousands of dollars annually from us, for fruits and vege- 8 THE LANCASTER FARMER. [January, tables, which we might as well pocket our- selves. The foreign demaiul for winter apples has increased amazingly since the late war, the exports amounting to many thousands of dol- lars annually, and the demand (both home and foreign) for fruits evaporated by the newer processes has increased even in greater ratio. There are in our State large areas of waste lands, besides thousands of acres which scarcely pay for cultivation, that may be made remunerative to their owners by judi- cious planting of fruits, and their proper man- agement. Persons wishing to plant fruits should ob- serve closely what kinds and varieties succeed well in their own vicinity, and on similar soils, and plant only such in quantity. At the same time other popular kinds should be planted, a few each for testing. By following \such a course, no one will go far amiss in his selections. The new and improved fruits which are continually being brought out for dissemination, should, indeed, stimulate to more extensive planting. To grow fruits for profit their successful production is not all that is required, for some seasons a large proportion is left go to waste, therefore their proper utilization is of vital importance. The improvements in fruit-preserving houses, improved methods of evaporating, converting into jelly, canning, besides other methods to utilize fruits, should certainly stimulate to more extensive enterprises to plant for profit. But, suppose one has an orchard bearing an undue proportion of early summer or early fall apples, how can he best secure the most profit from a crop now almost valueless from the lack of a good market ? Why, let him avail himself of the present greatly improved methods of evaporating as used in the best evaporating establishme"nts. Or, if he prefers winter apples, he can, by careful after-attention, have, in less than five years, his summer trees bearing winter apples. Should this State Board of Agriculture be instrumental in the consummation of the above ideal in the near future, and the balance of the fruit trade turn in favor of our State, instead of against it, your committee will feel fully compensated for its exertions. H. M. Engle, David Wilson. J. S. Keller, F. R. Miller, J. A. Herr. KING TOBACCO, Our tobacco-growers are at this time con- siderably "exercised " upon a subject practi- cally involving the questions of protection and free-trade. The following compiled for the Intelligencer illustrates that after all, things ■ may be more hopeful than they appear If viewed from one point only. The Sumatra Scare— Farmers Urged to Plant Havana Seed. The above reports show very plainly a dis- position on the part of some of the pretended trade authorities to "hedge" on the question of the Importation of Sumatra. It is seen not to be such a terrible danger as it has been re- presented. Raisers and home buyers, toe,are very much less panicky than heretofore, and the following from an experienced represen- tative of the tobacco interest here at home ex- presses a conservative view of the question : " The annual cry of Sumatra is heard among the tobacco men and business is at a standstill. About a year ago when Congress was petitioned and did put on a tariff of sev- enty-five cfjnts a pound we had expected that it was settled, but it now transpires that somebody sharper than those who had the bill in charge succeeded in making into it the clause which is now creating the trouble. We can see little in the hope that Secretary Folger will or can reverse his decision ; he seems to just take the law as it is, no more no less. "As to what Congress can or will do there is faint hope, and even if there is anything done it will be far time in the future, by which time the market can be filled with Sumatra. " The sending of committees and petitions to Congress, the holdings of meetings by growers and all such measures maybe all well enough, but we must take into consideration the very small number of members of either body of Congress who directly represent to- bacco growing districts ; and it is a hard mat- ter to get those who are in no manner inter- terested, to see it in the same light that we do. " Those from this, Chester and York coun- ties, in this State, possiby do ; Senator Came- ron does. Are there any more in the State ? So it is in New York, Ohio, Connecticut and Missouri ; and these five States are all that are really interested in the matter. The to- bacco growers south do not grow seed leaf; consequently they are not afraid of Sumati-a. So that it can be seen at a glance that it is up hill business with a few members to get an early hearing. " It strikes us that to any intelligent grower the view to be taken is this, that we must grow what is wanted and what the manufac- turer must have. Is there any probability that Sumatra would scare our farmers now if we had raised Havana seed last year ? Have any of our farmers who did grow it last year regreted it ? Is there a crop of any size in this county that has not been sold and at a good price ? " One thing has already been demonstrated, and that is that it can be grown here better than any other section, both as to quality and size. Besides this it takes less care and can be grown on poorer ground than seed leaf. It is true the yield may not be as large to the acre, but the difference in price will more than make up the loss in yield, and it will al- ways find buyers. " The Wisconsin and New York growers have made it a success, and it is a well known fact that the large crop of it in Wisconsin in '81 had a very bad effect on this market that year. "All these things taken into consideration we think Lancaster county should take front rank in the matter as she did in seed leaf, as it is a well established fact she can beat the world raising it." The Manufacturers' View of It. Many cigar manufacturers, too, declare that if the Lancaster county raisers will turn their attention to Havana, they need have no fear of Sumatra competition, for the cigar- makers must have the native product. The cigar manufacturers of New York are for freer trade in foreign tobacco and enlarged markets for their goods. They say the use of Havana fillers is a necessity. Seed leaf can't possibly compete with them undrr any circumstances. Nor can it compute with Havana wrappers. With the duty off of Havana tobacco the markets of the world would be offen to Amer- ican cigar manufacturers. A duty on Havana tobacco instead of protecting American to- bacco growers in reality protects Cuban culti- vators of the weed. There is no question of the superiority in Ami rican methods of man- ufacturing cigars, and as Havana tobacco is indispensable to a good cigar, if we could ob- tain it without duty, we could compete with the world." "But" said the reporter, if we admitted Havana free of duty, we should also have to admit Mexican, Sumatra and all other kinds of foreign tobaccos." " Very well ; suppose they were all admit- ted, what injury would ensue i The Ameri- can tobacco farmer might 'kick,' but in the end he would not be injured. Through hav- ing foreign tobacco free of duty we would gain a large export business, and just that much more seed leaf would bo required. Of course, it is understood that we caimot get along without seed leaf tobacco. As long as cigars are made in this country that will be needed." " The American growers of tobacco might not object to the admission of Havana, but they certainly would to Sumatra." " I do not believe any real competition with Sumatra tobacco exists. Whenever Ameri- can growers of tobacco will properly cultivate their crops they will be preferred to Sumatra. The preference is given to the latter only when the native plant is of too poor an ap- pearance to use for wrappers. Price has nothing to do with it. As a proof of this, look at the readiness of sale with which good Havana seed meets. It is one of the remark- able idosyncracies of the average American tobacco farmer that notwithstanding good Havana seed tobacco always commands a good price, you cannot induce him to culti- vate it to any extent. But whether Ameri- can tobacco farmers grow Havana seed or common varieties of seed leaf, if they will only give their tobacco proper attention they need have no fear of competition with for- eign tobaccos. From a politico economical standpoint I think it bad policy to tax raw material, and this view is being generally en- tertained by American Statesmen." The Local Market. The Lancaster market remains unusually dull, and dealers say it will remain dull until the Sumatra question is satisfactorily ar- ranged. It is thought very little will be done for a month or six weeks. During the past week about 100 cases of '81 were disposed of and 50 or 60 cases of '82 in small lots! No sales of '83 have reached us, but a few lots of Havana seed, previously bought, have been delivered at the warehouses and are reported to be very fine. Dealers are doing all they can to induce farmers to plant this variety of tobacco next season. They say it is exactly suited to our soil and season, and growers who tried it last year will plant much more of it the comini 1884.1 THE LANCASTER FARMER. FARM NOTES. Sprouting Potatoes for Planting. First class potato growers say that tliR cut- ting the potato intended for planting, allowing two eyes to each piece, some two or three weeks before planting, and spreading out upon a dark barn floor or any similar floor, where they will have a chance to sprout from one to two inches, will add to their earliness in maturing some two weeks. They should be moistened two or three times a week moilerately, wilU rather warm water. In planting out they should be covered with not over two inches of soil. If a modarato (luality of very early potatoes is desired, the potatoes can be cut as suggested and planted in hot- beds with a very slight covering of soil, and planted out as recommended. The Red Astrachan Apple. Although this is a popular variety of the apple, and of rather large size, with the color a brilliant deep crimson, with thick bloom, and is to be found in places nearly all over the republic, yet it is strange that there are so many orchards in which it is not to be found. It is not, it is true, a first-class eating apple, and is perhaps rather acid, but there is scarce- ly another equal to it for culinary purposes ; and no matter what the supply may be in the market, it is quickly bought up. It is as soft and entirely free from pulp when cooked as frozen cream. It is also an early bearer, coming next after the Early Harvest, and though it is not an abundant bearer, it has a yearly crop, and thus retains its productive capacity year after year, and is naturally long lived. We do not hesitate to say that no orchard should be without it, and so far as we know we believe it is to be obtained at al- most every respectable nursery. The Cause of Pears Cracking. We have never seen a reasonable cause given for the cracking of pears, which in some kinds in certain localities crack so badly as to be valueless. The old English Butter, or White Doyenne, it is next to impossible to raise except in cities, but why there no one can tell. If it be true that a dressing of salt under the tree, to the extent of the branches, is a remedy, as a AVest Philadelphia correspon- dent some years ago asserted was the case with him, we have a remedy ; but from no one else has this been confirmed. We have known trees of this variety to bear full crops from fifteen to twenty years without producing a half dozen perfect specimens. It is the same . with the Glout Morceau, but not the same ex- tent, as occasionally we have had perfect crops. But here the blight comes in, and is sure in the course of six to eight years to de- stroy the tree. The Beurre Giffard and Tyson are also occasionally subject to crack- ing in some localities, but in others there are no more perfect varieties. We would com- mend the use of salt, which has done so well for the correspondent referred to above. It can do no harm, if not applied too profusely, and is attended with little cost or labor. Stumps and Stump Fences. In clearing land of timber, the next thing to get rid of is the stumps of trees. There are various ways to eflect this, but the best we know is a level power used in the northern part of this state, and described some years ago by our veteran correspondent, Mr. J. E. Vaughan, of Bradford county as the simplest, cheapest, most ellicienl and durable which lie had ever encountered. It was originated in that county and was not patented. " It is merely a lever power with a sweep of .some twenty feet in length, take up chains, etc. The rods for pulling. are made of the best one inch iron, though some much larger. Four men and a .span of horses will pull from thirty to forty slumps per day. " The stumps, when the ground has become frozen, arc one by one placed on a low sled, and carried to a dividing line tor a field, and being placed in a row, with the roots on top, allowed to remain and the side ones generally removed, a stump fence is formed which will last for many years with scarcely any repairing, and as> efiicient for all practicable purposes as a fence of any other kind. Many of these fences are now to be seen in numerous parts of northern and nortiiwestern Pennsylvania, and they are so closely and firmly stationed that it is difficult lor even a man to cross them.—Oermanto'tvn Telegraph. SUGAR TO BE MADE EVERYWHERE. The following article was written for the Nashville Artisan by Mr. Peter Collier, of Wasliington city, wHio, the Artisan says, is the best informed man on the subject in the United States : From the results already secured, it ap- pears more than probable that, within a few years at most, we shall be able to secure a sufficient supply of sugar from sorghum to meet not only our own wants, but to be able to export it. That such a result seems probable rests upon these few well-established facts : 1. About 3^ per cent, of all the cultivated land in the United Stated, including the grass lands, is at present devoted to the cultivation of maize, thus showing that the conditions of soil and climate in our country conspire to make the production of maize profitable. 2. The demands made upon the soil and the conditions of climate necessary to the full development of sorghum are practically iden- tical with those made by and necessary to maize. 3. The methods of cultivation of the two crops are identical, so that iu every township of this country these methods are practically understood. 4. The greater part of the maize consumed in this country is used for the purpose of feed- ing and fattening swine, and numerous anaylses of several varieties of sorglium seed have shown the proximate chemical composi- tion of sorglium seed is identical with that of maize, the sorghum seed differing no more from maize in composition than does one variety of maize from another. 5. Numerous feeding experiments have es- tablished the fact that for feeding and fatten- ing purposes, sorghum seed is the equivalent of maize and may be substituted for it. 6. As much sorghum seed may be produced from an acre as of maize on the same land, and wherever maize may be grown success- fully in this country, one variety or another of sorghum may be successfully grown. 7. Fully ninety-nine per cent, of the sorg- hum now grown in the world is grown solely for the seed and the forage obtained in the leaves, and abundant testimony is given that for the seed alone the crop may be profitably grown, while many of those using the stalks for syrup and sugar declare that the seed en- ables them to produce the stalks free of all cost. 8. It is only after the seed of any variety of sorghum is quite mature that the maximum of su^ar in the stalks is attained, so that there is noiliing to prevent the .securing of both the maximum of seed and the maximum of sugar from the crop of sorghum. 9. Many thousands of analyses of over fifty varieties of sorghum have conclusively estab- lished the fact that at maturity the stalk of sorghum contains an amount of sugar equal to that found in the best sugar cane grown in Louisiana, and already by proces.ses and ap paratus identical with ihose employed upon the sugar plantations of Cuba and Louisiana several hundred tons of sorghum sugar have been put upon the market in competition with sugar from the troiiical sugar cane. 10. The testimony of numerous manufactur- ers of syrup from sorghum shows that the syrui) may be manufactured at an expense varying iu different localities and with differ- ent manufacturers from twelve to twenty-five cents per gallon, from cane delivered free at the mill, even when working with small mills instead of the improved appliances of the large plantation. 11. A yield of six to eight pounds of sugar from the gallon of syrup made at the proper time may be fairly expected, and thus the sugar would cost, according to the expense of manufacture above given, from one and half to four cents per pound without any allow- ance for the molasses. 12. Excellent sugar has been made from sorghum, where accurate account of all ex- penses was kept, including cultivation of crop, but no account made of the seed, and the ex- pense of production of this sugar did not ex- ceed four and a-half cents per pound. 13. In view of these results I have no doubt that sugar may even now be produced at an expense of not over two cents per pound, and I believe that within a decade it will be pro- duced at au expense of not over one cent per pound ; at Hutchinson ami Sterling, Ks.. the average results for this year were 770 pounds of sugar per acre and seventy gallons of mo- lasses, and an average of ten tons of cane to the acre. The average value of the product per acre was S80.C0. The gross product is about 000,000 pounds of sugar. The price paid for stalks per ton delivered was $2. Those familiar witli the results from sugar cane in Louisiana will see that these results are closely approximate to those from sugar cane. POULTRY. A Few Interesting Facts About the Different Kinds and Qualities. Among the most delicate articles of animal food served at table are poultry— chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, guineas, etc.— and these are produced in all parts of the United States. Usually they are mere adjuncts to the farm, but, in many instances, poultry raising, including eggs for the market, is a 10 THE LANCASTER FARMER. [January distinct industry. For its main wholesale supply this city depends chiefly on the interior of the State and tlie West. There are numer- ous very extensive poultry dealers in this city, and, when in season, the arrivals are calculated by the ton. Poultry has always been a largely consumed meat with the people, and in its increased production it has only kept pace with the in- crease of the population. Its packing for transportation is an important feature, and the experiences of both shipper and receiver have prompted and caused to be carried out such improvements in the way of packing dressed poultry, that it now arrives from tlie Far West in a solid, compact form, free from bruises.and sweet and inviting in appearance, almost equalling that brought to market for retail sales by the neighboring farmers. For a year past there has been a noticeable de- crease of poultry— chiefly chickens— the causes of which are given more in detail be- low. Chickens — Their Supply and Prices. Chickens dressed or alive are in market the whole year round. They are considered al- ways in season, but the consumption is much less in the city in summer time than at other seasons, the seaside resorts and hotels con- suming the greater portion of the supply. Notwithstanding the fact that there are nu- merous breeds of chickens raised, from the diminutive sprightly bantam to the great lumbering hoarse-voiced Shanghai, the com- mon barnyard fowl holds its own as a favorite for the table. It is easier raised on account of its hardiness and little attention required in its growth, its capability of being easily fattened and its convenient size. The mode of killing and dressing chickens now in vogue is a decided improvement over the old way fif chopping ofi their heads, and leaving a re- pulsive-looking neck visible to disgust pur- chasers. Now a knife is dextrously inserted in the principal vein in the neck, and the chicken slowly and painlessly bled to death, leaving an almost invisible mark of the man- ner of the chicken's "taking oil"." A still neater way of depriving them of life is by bleeding in the mouth, by which all signs are removed. The feathers are now removed by what is called '-dry picking." This process is accomplished by removing the feathers without placing the fowl in hot or boiling water, as was formerly the custom. The ope- ration is commenced before the animal heat has left the body. Immersing the feathered fowl in boiling water frequently scalds the skin, or it is pulled oft' in places with the feathers, making what is now pretty gener- ally considered an unmarketable article. Preparing for Market. By the dry process the feathers are easily removed and the skin left smooth, unbroken, and of an attractive appearance. In the further preparation of chickens for market the "un- opened " practice is almost universally fol- lowed in most sections of the country, but in New York, and it is believed in Baltimore, they are required to have their intestines re- moved. The healthfulness and unhealthful- ness of the two modes has been debated pro and con, but the question is still unsettled, with the chances in favor of the " unopened " chicken, the farmers and growers especially siding with the latter, as they get paid for half a pound or more material. ' Chickens on farms are allowed the run of the fields and pastures, and generally manage to pick up sustenance sufficient to keep them in good con- dition during the summer. In the fall those intended for market are placed in coops and liberally fed with corn and other rapid fat producing foods. Farmers in this State and New Jersey, residing within driving distance of the eity, usually prepare their chickens for retail sales from their wagons or directly to their customer consumers. The careful pre- paration of these chickens, their fresh, attrac- tive, unrumpled— so to speak— appearance, not possessed by the packed article, despite the care now practiced in packing make them meet with more ready sale and at one or two cents per pound higher than the regular mer- cantile chicken. But few of them are brought to market in the summer season. As an arti- cle of sick diet and for consumption in hotels and seaside resorts, the demand for chickens continues all summer, but, of course, to a limited extent. To supply this demand the supply must come from distant points by rail- road, and in order to preserve them fresh in the hot weather they are packed up in ice, which considerably increases the cost of trans- portation, which, with -other charges and risks incident to the season, keep the price up to a sum equal to more propitious seasons. Chickens for more than a year past have been unusually scarce and high in price. Last spring a year the entire Western country was visited with long continued wet weather, which it is said completely drowned out the first "hatchings," the numbers so destroyed being estimated by perhaps over-sanguine dealers at one million. Up to the present time the market has not been enabled to re- cuperate from these losses. These disasters to the poultry world in the West did not reach sections nearer the city, and these latter poultry raisers with their usual supply have been reaping a rich harvest in the enhance prices obtained for their chickens. The pres- ent wholesale quotation for dressed chickens is 19 cents per pound, the former midsummer price being 12 cents. Incubators at Work. The high and remunerative price ol)tained for chickens has stimulated the introduction of incubators for the production of chickens without the aid of the mother hen. In Chester and Delaware counties, and near-by sections of New Jersey, the incubator has been largely adopted. Science has brought the machine to, it is claimed, as near perfection, especial- ly in its automatic arrangements as to heat, as it is possible to reach. It is said that with properly selected eggs from 70 to 90 per cent, of chickens are produced. The fatality among xhickens hatched by this system is somewhat greater than those hatched "in the good old way," owing to the difficulty of bringing the young brood successfully through its early in- fancy for want of a good "hen mother." There have not yet been enough of these " new process " chickens placed in market to affect the prices of the regular supply. Chick- ens in all stages of their lives, like nearly all other articles of food, have their enemies. Minks, rats, dogs, cats and hawks delight in killing them ; cholera, gapes and other dis- eases carry them off in large numbers, while the "midnight ornithologist," as the chicken thief is not inappropriately designated, de- pletes entire lien-roosts in a night. Spring chickens may be considered a luxury that can only be indulged in by the wealthier portion of the community, at the high priced hotels and restaurants and by the fastidious convales- cent. Chicks weighing three or four pounds a pair will bring early in the season from 50 to 60 cents a pound, 'mt wholesale dealers are at this writing holding them at 2-5 cents per pound dressed, and -20 cents alive. Live full full grown chickens are at this season of the year, brought to market in considerable num- bers, and are quoted at 17 cents. Caponized fowls are but seldem sold in this market. What few are so treated and sold are disposed of in the New York markets, where they readily sell for 27 and 30 cents per pound. A full sized capon will weigli from 10 to 12 pounds. Their meat is firmer, whiter, and they are considered more delicate eating than the common chicken. What few capons are raised are by New Jersey farmers. The Supply of Turkeys. Turkej's have the same white and dark meat, and they only difler in size and external appearance. The raising of turkeys is much restricted on account of their deficient egg- laying propensities, although a recent instance was recorded of a turkey in Chestei' county that had already laid 70 eggs this season, and was at last accounts still "keeping it up." Owing to this defection, together with the frequently long intervals " between eggs," it has been found difficult to keep the eggs in a hatching condition long enough to accumulate a "setting." After the young brood is hatched its early life is precarious. The youngsters' restless activity and inclination to run among the wet grass early in the morn- ing and get lost, together with the numerous other fatalities attending young fowls, are among the difllculties attending the rearing of turkeys. It is said that some farmers are finding turkeys more "bother than they are worth," as tliey are destructive to crops and are great ramblers, and they have quit raising them for market. The markets at present are almost bare of this species of fowl, the few that are consumed at seaside resorts and large hotels being furnished to order. The price generally rules . about two cents per pound higher than that of chickens. Scarcity of Geese and Ducks. In comparison to turkeys and chickens their consumption is limited at all seasons of the year, there being none of either m market at the present time. Some spring ducks were held a couple of weeks ago by one or two wholesale dealers at 20 cents per pound. Were old ducks in market, the dealers say they would not command more than 12 cents. For geese there are no quotations. The sup- ply to this vicinity comes, when in season, mostly from Delaware and Maryland. Ducks when hatched near a body of water are easily raised. They take to the ponds and streams before the shells are hardly off their backs, and there they spend their lives mostly, their chief enemy when in their infancy being large fish and water rats. Their food is chiefly small fish, grass and pond debris. The state- 1884.J THE LANCASTER FARMER. li ly goose has more ditflculty in raising her progeny. Owing to their more cumbrous lo- comotion tliey are more liable to accidents of various kinds than dncloil 1.5 minutes more. Place It In a dish. Half fill the dish, and scatter over cheese cut fine, add remainder of maca- roni, and upon the top shavings of cheese and a few bits of butter. Brown in quick oven. Wine Sauce.— 1 cupful of butler, IK cupfuls of sugar, 1 cupful of wine, 1 egg, (yolk only.) Beat thoroughly and cook over boiling water. Scolloped Potatoes.— Slice raw potatoes, then place them in layers in a baking -dish, seasoning each layer with salt, pepper, bits of butter, and a dust of flour, until the dish is nearly full. Fill the dish with milk. Bake 1 hour, until the potatoes are creamy. Rice Ckoquettes.— 1 cupful of rice, boiled in 1 quart of water, K' teaspoonful of salt. When done a'd 1 tablespoonful of butter and the yolks of 2 eggs. Let It cool, roll into tails and fry. Baked Eggs. — Break eggs on a buttered dish, keeping each one whole ; put a little salt, pepper and butter on each one, and bake in a moderately hot oven until the whites are set ; serve on same plate hot from the oven. CoKN BuEAD.— 1 cupful of corn meal, 1 cupful of flour, 1 cupful of milk, li eggs, 1 tablespoonful of sugar, '1 tablespoonsful of melted butter, y teaspoon- fuls of baking powder. Cakkot Pudding— K pound flour, 6 ounces suet chopped fine, y. pound currants, 3 tablespoonfuls sugar, -i ounces candied peel, ]4 pound carrots well boiled and rubbed through a sieve. Mix the other ingredients thoroughly, then add the carrots. Boil 4 hours. Tapioca Pudding.— I'l; pints new milk, teacupful tapioca, o tablespoonfuls sugar, to be mixed together and boiled 5 minutes, then pour it into a basin ; when cold add 4 eggs well beaten; flavor. Put the mix- ture into a well buttered mould, and steam it 4 hours. It is excelleui when cold with fruit. Suet Pudding.— Cupful of suet, cupful molasses' teaspoonful of soda, cupful of dried cherries, \i tea spoonful of salt, 1% cupfuls of sweet milk, flour for a thick batter. Steam .3 hours. HucKLEBERRV PuDDiNG.— Cupful of Chopped suet, cupful of molasses, cupful of milk, 3% cupfuls flour, 1 quart of berries, teaspoonful soda. Steam 1 hour, and serve. Bkeakfast Rolls.— One pint of new milk, 2 teaspoonfuls of sugar, 1 tablespoonful uf lard, % cupful of yeast, a little salt. .Mix quite stiffly at night, and in the morning roll out, using no more flour than is necessary for the bread board ; cut with a cake cutter, rub one half with melted butter ; fold over. Let them rise, and bake for breakfast. THE LANCASTER FARMER. [January, 1884. Cherry CoBBLER.-Turn a teacup bottom upwards in the center of a pudding dish and fill the dish with sourcherriesCstoned) and plenty of sugar. Cover with a nice baking powder crust about % inch thicl<, and bake until the crust is done. Carefully raise the cup when it is cut. and underneath will be the rich juice for sauce. Birds' Nest Pudding.— Pare nice peaches and remove the stone from as small an opening as possi- ble, then fill each with sugar ; place in a pudding dish and pour over them a nice custard and bake. Snow Puddinu. — Soak \i a box of gelatine in just enough water to cover it; add Ipintboilirg water, 2 cupfuls sugar, juice of a leamon ; strain after it is thoroughly cooled. When it commences to thicken add the beaten whites of 3 eggs ; beat all together (with an egg beater) until creamy, then turn into a mould. Serve with a boiled custard turned around it. Monday's Pudding. —Cut remains of a cold plum pudding into finger pieces, soak them in a little brandy, and lay them cross-barred in a mould until filled. Make a custard flavoring with nutmeg or lemon rind, fill up the mould with it, tie it down with a cloth, and boil or steam it for an hour. Serve with a little of the custard poured over it, to which has been added 1 tablespoonful of brandy. Fried Chicken. — Cut 2 chickens in pieces, sprinkle with salt and pepper, about an hour before cooking dredge flour over them. Beat 2 eggs, slip each piece in this, and fry in hot lard. Boil up a cupful and a half of cream or rich milk, and add a spoonful of butter rubbed into a spoonful of flour with a little salt ; stir constantly until it boils again. Lay the chicken in a fricassee dish, pour the sauce around thera and serve. Potato Balls. — Mash boiled potatoes tine, stir into them the yolk of an egg, and make them into balls ; then dip them into a beaten egg, roll them in cracker crumbs and brown in a quick oven ; or, fry them in a small quantity of nice drippings ; flatten them so that they can be easily turned and browned both sides. Omelette. — One cupful of new milk, 1 cupful of bread crumbs, .5 eags, salt and pepper. Beat well together, and turn into a buttered spider'; cook a minute or two on top of the stove, then place in the oven to finish, fold \i upon the other, and serve hot. Graham Gems.— Two cupfuls of water, % cupful of sweet milk, 3 cupfuls of Graham flour, 1 teaspoon- ful baking powder, salt. Bake in gem pans in a quick oven. Berry Pudding .—1 pint molasses, 3 pints berries, 2 spoonfuls cream tartar, 1 spoonful soda, salt. Stir into the molasses a handful of flour, add the cream tartar, then the soda, and while foaming add the berries and flour enough to make it as thick as you can stir with the spoon. Queen's Pudding.— 3 eggs, % pound butter, 3 tablespoonfuls sugar, and 3 small cups of flour ; bake in muffin rings ; to be eaten with hard sauce. Apple Butter Pudding. — Core and peel 8 apples, put in a dish ; fill the place from which the cores have been taken with brown sugar, cover and bake. Beat the yolks of 4 eggs, add 2 teacupfuls of flour, with 3 even teaspoonfuls of baking powder sifted with it, 1 pint of milk, a little salt, then the whites well beaten, pour over the apples and bake. Use with sauce. Tomato 80UP.—2 quarts of beef stock, 1 onion, T potato, 4 tomaloes, 2 eggs, salt and pepper. Boil onion and chopped potato in the stock 1 hour, then strain, add tomatoes, and just before serving, the egg, well beaten. Baked Fish.— Wash and wipe the fish uicelr, and fill with a dressing made of bread soaked in cold water ; when soft, drain off the water and beat into it 1 egg, a little salt, 1 tablespoonful of chopped pork, 1 tablespoonful of chopped parsley, pepper Sew up the fish, cut strips of salt pork and put across the fish, then put it into a baking-pan and dredge with salt, pepper and flour ; cover the bottom of the pan with hot water and put it into a rather hot oven, basting often. Garnish with parsley and slices of lemon. Spaghetti.— The [macaroni used should be the best Italian, and must be placed to boil in plenty of water, let it cook 10 or 1.5 minutes, boiling hard all the while. A sauce for it is made by slowly boiling all the morning a piece of beef steak (a ]4 pound will suffice for small family,) to this add enough canned or other tomatoes, an hour or so before serv- ing, to give the sauce a rich red color. Aa much water only should be used as will leave the sauce rich and thick. Let every one sprinkle grated Par- mesan cheese for himself. LITERARY AND PERSONAL. Reports of observations and experiments in the practical work of the division, made under the direction of the Entomologist, with plates, U. 3. Department of Agriculture, Bulletin No. 3, Division of Entomology, 73 pp. octavo. Three full-page plates, with twenty finely executed illustrations. We are under obligations to Prof. C. V. Riley, U S. Entomologist, for a copy of this excellent bulletin, containing as it does some original matter of value to the farmer and small fruit grower in the north, as well as the cotton grower of the south. In this report it is authentically stated that the army-worm will feed and thrive on different species of plants, and also what it will not feed upon, but would rather starve to death than touch it ; but, even some of the plants upon which they experi- mentally fed, evidently had an unhealthful effect upon them. Garden poppy, cabbage, raddish, gar- den pea, raspberry, carrot, parsnip, garden lettuce, garden beet, onion. These plants, but with some hesitation as to cabbaga, they ate more or less readily, and survived from fifty to seventy-five per cent. Cotton, grape, garden bean, strawberry, hemlock. In the case of these last named, all died in the larvse state, feeding, however, on cotton and strawberry sparingly. The other named plants they would not touch. It seems to have been demonstrated that the army worm did feed destructively on a Mr. Rockwood's young cranberry shoots, but that it did not touch the older and tougher leaves. This was, however, not a fair test case perhaps. Mr. R. permitted a good deal of grass to grow among his cranberries ; his farm being laid out in blocks surrounded by ditches containing water. After the grass was devoured, and because they could not escape new pasture grounds, they fell upon the young and tender cranberry leaves, as their only remaining source. Since the to- bacco plant has now at least two dozen enemies where it scarcely had half a dozen 20 years ago. may it not be possible that these army worms will ultimately be able to adapt themselves to almost any kind of food ; especially since it is said, they some- times devour each other ? This bulletin also contained an interesting paper on North American Cossidce, by Doctor James S. Baily, of Albany, N. Y., in which the species are all handsomely illustrated, including the eggs, larvse, pup;* and Imagine. Also, a report of the examina tion of raw silks by Doctor Wm. McMurtrie, of Illinois, Ind University, with illusirations of the different fibres. This recalls the fact that a species of cossus was somewhat abundant, some twelve years ago, in the chestnut tress, on Chestnut Hill, Lancas- ter county, Pa., and that Messrs. Bruckart and Esh- leman, of Silver Spring, collected a number of them, but somehow, perhaps though the death of the for- mer, we failed to get specimens of them, until they were spoiled by being immersed in weak spirits. Ornithologist and Oologist.— A 20 page 8 vo. magazine, published by Frank B. Webster, Paw- tucket, R. I., at $1.00 a year in advance. Printed on fine lull callendereJ paper, in clear type, and hand- somely illustrated. This is a valuable publication to the student in Ornithology and Oology, especially as its matter is all original, of a practical character, and contributed by those who make these branches of natural history a specialty ; and no intelligent and progressive student should be without it. Agricultural Review, and journal of the American Agricultural Association. Vol. III., No. 5, for December, 1883. Subscription $3.00 a year, published at 32 Park Row, New York. This journal is a consolidation of " De Bow's Review," " South- ern Industries," and the former " Ag. Review." An international and inter-sectional magazine, de- voted to American agriculture and industry. A square octavo of 133 pages, illustrated. Tinted covers, and with 24 pages of advertisements ; John W. Johnston, W. M. Brownall, Joseph A. Real, and Ralph S. Saunders, editors, and more than a quarter of a liundred distinguished contributors from all parts of the country. It has a large issue and circu- lation, and hence is an invaluable advertising medium, as it reaches not only " across the conti- nent," but also foreign shores. Twenty FIRST and twenty-second quarterly re- port of the Peiinnylvmda Board of Agriculture, 1883; a royal octavo of 66 pages ; three full-page plates of colored illustrations ; a tabulated plate illustrating the prices of wheat, corn, rye and oats from Novem- ber 1, 1882, to November 1, 1883, and three wood cuts illustiating "the Danish Western Centrifugal Cream Separator." We are under obligations to somebody for the receipt of a copy of this work, and we welcome it the more because it is the first pages we have received from this organization for years. The report contains the minutes of the summer meeting of the Board held at Erie, Pa., August 8th, 1883, and the autumn meeting held at West Chester, October 24, 1883. Reports on the state of crops and stock from the different counties in the Common- wealth, some of which are copious ; reports of the county fairs for 1883, by intelligent members of the respective agricultnral societies, nearly all of which have been financially successful, and some of them largely so. Of course, no notice was taken of the "Independent State Fair" held at Lancaster, which was not a legitimate organization of the State. Then follows an illustrated essay on " Peach Yel- lows," by Prof. Penhallow, of Montreal, Canada. We have not had time yet to peruse this with suffi- cient care to make it available to our readers, more- over, the Farmer was nearly made up for January when we received the report ; but, from the mere glance we have been able to give it, we infer there is that in it which would be valuable to the fruit- grower to know. An illustrated and tabulated arti- cle on " Cream Separators," is next in the order of succession, (by the Secretary of the Board) followed by a meteorological table from December 1, 1883, to December 1, 18S3, by J. L. Heacock, of Bucks county, P%: and lastly, tabulated analysis of Fer- tilizers issued by the Pennsylvania Board of Agricul- ture, from March to December, 18->3, beginning with No. 300 and ending with .518. As these analysis are of standard value to the farmer, and as we have in- serted all that have been made under the auspices of the Board, we shall continue the list in a luture number. The profit in these publications is in read- ing them, understanding them, and practicing what- ever in them may be of value to those for whom they have been written and published. Home, Farm and Factory.— Devoted to Agri- cultural and Mechanical Progress and Home Enter- tainment." The best of to-day may be improved upon to-morrow." Vol. 1, No, 5, December 15, 1883. A royal quarto of 16 pages, very creditably gotten up, and ably representing its announced specialties ; published monthly by the Home, Farm and Factory Company, 1213 Cass Avenue, St. Louis, Mo., at $1 a year, postage paid ; Calvin D. Hulbert, manager. As a special inducement subscriptions will be received from now on to the 1st of March at 50 cents, which is only half price. Twenty one cor- respondents contribute to this number, on various practical subjects, and its editorials and selections exhibit rare ability. Seed Time and Harvest for December, 1883, an illustrated monthly devoted to Rural Affairs ; pub- THE LANCASTER FARMER lielicd by Isaac TillinnliaRt, La I'luino, Pa., at Ml cents a year; an 8 vo. of 33 pa;autlfully illustrate l,a'idcontainlig the proceedings of the twenty fourth annual meeting of the associa- tion, held at Harrisburg in the rooms of the " State Board of Agriculture," commencing January 17, 1883. This beautifully printed work also contains the constitution and by-laws of the society ; a list of Its officers for 1883, its committees, life members, honorary members, and its annual members, together with the president's address, essays, reports, etc., of standing committees and members, on various subjects connected with Iruit-growing aiid garden- ing. Illustrated with colored plates of " New Seed- ling Primroses," the " Ida" cherry, and the " Red Raspberry ;" also uncolored plates of the " Clark" apple, the process of ' 'bleaching" celery, the " Seidel" apple, and wood cuts of the J transforma- tions of the " Codling Moth." On the whole, so far 9s njechanical and artistic execution are concerned, at least, it is superior to any report, heretofore pub- lished by the society. The greatest draw back to the usefulness of these reports is, the fact that members and outsiders only come into possession of them one year after the meetings have been held. This is, perhaps, not the fault of the society, but of the State — " that slow coach" — which is the medium through which they are brought before the public. SedgwiGkSteelWJreFence strength and durali Che»pe3t All Iron i Obflftpeit and Neftt«»t AU Iron Fence, tnto favor. The Scdgrwich Oat«s, mndf c IroQ pipe And steel mn?, defy all corapetttlonln neuium. Self-Opening Oat*, alst Fence. Best Win uiid Cont Aii|;er. Also niani ture KuMiell'ii exeelleiU Wind Knerine piimnlnK Water, nr eeaied euginea fr>r en ttiKl other Imbl work. For prices nnd particulai tojs^men lOMinE paper. mmt PIANOFORTES. Tone,Toncli,WofiSaii'SaM WIL,I.IA!II KNABE A CO. Nos. 204 and 206 West Baltimore Street, Baltimore. No. 112 Fifth Avenue. N. Y. DEITZ SEEDS^ CORN !fil: 1 l)U«. S3; 6 1mH. »l limbuR. SliaO. Riiliirle Ml 0. A. SEitZ, ObunbertWg, Fk. .HAnd.tLL'<>i»».i. iiupiH., I A{cAIy lUuttrated catalogue, UUing PIUU, 5««'t.s. All Tested for Vitality, and in Gardens for Puritj' and Value, CATALOGUE AND PRICE LIST of Vegetable, Flower and Field Seeds of all Tested Valuable Varieties, Free. Mail Orders promptly filled, making a Seed Store at home. Reduced Prices to Clubs, send for catalogue. HIRAM SIBLEY &, CO., Rochester, N.Y., Chicago, III. A HOME ORGAN FOR FARMHRS. mmsTiMii, A MONTHLY JOURNAL, Devoied to Agriculture. Horticulture. Do- mestic Economy and Miscellany. Founded Under the Auspices of the Lancas ter County Agricultural and Horti- cultural Society. KDITED BY DR. S. S. RATHVON. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION : ONEDOLLpPERANNUftf, POSTAGE PREPAII) \\\ THE PROPHIETOR. All subscriptions will commence with the January number, unless otherwise ordered. Dr. 8, S. Uathvon. who has so ably inunaRed the editorial departmeut iu tbe paet, will continue in the poBltion of editor. Uis coutributious on subjects connected with the science of farming, and particularly that Bpeclaltj of which he IB 80 tboroulily a master — entomoloffical ecience— some knowledge of which hae become a necessity to the success ful farmer, are alone worth much more than the price o this publication. He Is determined to make *'The Farmer' a necessity to all households. A county that has ho nlde a reputation as Lancaster county for its agricultural products should certainly be able to support an agricultural paper of Its own, for the exchange of the opiniouB of farmers Interested In this mat- ater. We ask the co-oporation of all farmers luierested In this matter. Work among your friends. The "Farmer" I only one dollar per year. Show them your coi)y. Trj- and induce them to subscribe. Tt is not much for each sub- Bcri»>er to do but It will greatly assist us. All communications in regard tothe editorial management should be addressed to Dr. S. S. Rathvon, Lancaster, Pa., and all busine-ss letters In regard to subscriptions and ad- vertisiug should be addreesed to the publisher. Rates of advertising can be had on application at the offl lOHN A. Hlb^iAND No. 9 North Queen St., Lancaster, Pa. TH£ LANCASTER FARMER [January, 18S4. Where To Buy Goods >:^ IN : <1 LANCASTER. | BOOTS AND SH'IES. GLOVES, SHIRTS, UNDERWEAR, w SHIRTS MAdFtO OEDER, AND WARRANTED TO 1: IT. E. J. ERISMAN, 17 West King St., Lancaster, Pa. pairing promptly BOOKS AND STATIONERY. Paper Stc FURNITURE. CHINA AND GLASSWARE. 1 1 111 iii\ "learelable lO! IHSJ Sent FREE DR. JOHX BULL'S Smitti's Tonic Syrup, FOR.THE CrKE OF FEVER AND AGUE, Ofi CHILLS AND FEVER, AND ALL MA- LARIAL DISEASES. Lamps, Burners, CI MVEKS * RATIIFOX. Centre Hall, No King St. Largest aothing.House in Penni outsitle of Philadelphia DRUGS AND MEDICINES. write font rinted to be It pro-\e otherwise to name so far that should leflU the order gratis The trndim-p or I',nrl> Ohio and Bnrbank Polaloos M.irblohead larlyCorn, 'East the Hnbbard Squaih WarblPtae id ( abbag;e. vania Hbiniie> "s Melon, and a score of other New A egeti 1 bles I unite the patronage of the public New\egeta ^^r^T 1 bles a speci i\U , &c., 15 "West King J I Medii i, Shoi Lancaste Dye Stuffs, Etc. Prescript!! 12 North 5 carefully compounded. HATS AND CAPS. JEWELRY AND WATCHES. HZ. RHOAOS * BKO., No. J West King St. a Watches, Clock and M lufactured to orde Boxes. Watches North Queen St., Sale Bills. Circulars, Posters, Cards, Invitations, Letter and Bill HeadsandEnvelopesneatly printed. Prices low. BOWMAN & MUSSER, Successors to Wholesale Dealers in AT I.OWEST POSSIBLE PRICES, Fully guaranteed. No. 20 EAST CHESTNUT STREET, Opposite P. R. R. Depot. GREAT BARGAINS. A large assortment of all kinds of Carpet^s^ are still sold at CARPET HALL OF H. S. SHIRK, JN^o. 202 West King St. Call and examine our stock and satisfy yourself that we can show the largest assortment of these BrueBCls. three pUea and ingrain at all prices-at the lowest Philadelphia Also on hand a; large and complete assortment of Rag Carpet. Satisfaction guaranteed bath as to price and quahty. You are invited to call and see my goods. No trouble in .bowing tham even if you do not want to purchase. Don't forget this notice. Yon can save money here if you want to buy. Partictllar attention given to customer » ork. Also on hand a fidl assortment of Counterpanes, Oil Cloths nd Blankets of every variety. [nov-iyr. EVAPORATE YOUR FRUIT. ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE FREE TO ALL. AMERICAN DRIER COMPANY, ('liainberNbnrg', Pa. Apl-tf C. R. KLINE, 5Attof(ney-at- JjAW, OFFICE : 15 NORTH DUKE STREET, LA.NCASTKE., PA.. CORN SHELLERS AND SEPARATORS. fiRAIN FANS, ROOT CUTTERS, GRUBBING HOES, FODDER CUTTERS, PICKS and MATTOCKS, COOLEY CREAMERS, CHURNS, BUTTER WORKERS & BUTTER PRINTERS, BULL LEADERS, BULL RINGS, OX BALLS, COW MILKERS, CALF WTANERS, etc., etc., etc. FOR SALE BY D. LANDRETH & SON'S, Nos. 21 & 23 SOUTH SIXTH STREET, PHILADELPHIA. Special Inducements at the NEW FURNITURE STORE W. A. HEINITSH, in all kinds of Fufditufe, Pictufe Frames, fie stantly Dou't forget the number. LANCASTER, PA. folio eda 1 h ebeen u a d eve a t e 1 n s all( ea e 1 a been Ion -ta d g J 1 e all n d tfi ult and all tl med e -n 11 ot re I el n good order ^1 ould athart c med < alt '1 t, t k tl o fo r loses of the To o a t,l d f Bl LL ^ E&ETABLE FAMIL'k PILLS \M.l be sufhcient. The genuine SMITHS TONIC SYRUP must have Dr. John Bull'.s private stamp on each bottle. Db, John BvLl. onlv has the right to manufacture and sell the original JOHN J. SMITH'S TONIC SYRUP, of Louisville, Ky. Examine well the label on each bottle. If mv private" stamp is not on each bottle do not pur- chase, or you will be deceived. MAUFACTUKER AKD VENDER OF SMITH'S TONIC SYRUP, BULL'S SARSAPARILLA, BULL'S WORM DESTROYER, The Popular Remedies of the Day. Principle OfTice, 831 I^ain St., LOUISVILLE, KY, aug-ly] 1840. 1883.. S. S. RATHVON, f^erc[)a^t Tailor, No. lOl NORTH QUEEN ST., LANCASTER, PA. a®- CLOTHING MADE PROMPTLY TO ORDER, -®a 1840. 1883. (h /J 0 a week in your own town. Terms and $5 outfit free JbDOAddress H. Hai-leti & Co., Portland, Maine, ^jun-lyr* ONE DOLLAR PER ANNTJM.-SINGLE COPIES 10 CENTS. CONTENTS OF THIS NUMBER. EDITORIAL. February 17 " An Open Winter." 17 Oureelf, and Our Relation to Special Inquirers 18 High Water— Forestry 18 Big Jaw Curable 18 A Remarkable Caterpillar 19 Very Cold Weather 19 The Poultry Exhibition 20 A Rare Fowl 20 Excerpts 20 Leaving the Farm 22 CONTRIBUTIONS. Laying Out Roads 22 The " Peach Scab." 23 Is Wheat a Paying Crop ? 23 ESSAYS. Labor Saving Farm Implements 23 SELECTIONS. Superphosphate 24 How to Clean Stump Lands 25 Rust in Wheat 25 Trueness of Breeding 25 The Red Ant 26 A Web Spinning Insect 26 Where Do Houseflies Come From ? 26 The Canlier Worm 20 Some Habits of Spiders •. 26 A Peculiar Flsli 26 Indian Corn— Its Value in the Ration 27 Spreading Manure 27 A Beetle Parasitic on the Beaver 27 Distribution of the Occident Ant 27 Parasitic Enemies of Spiders and Spiders' Eggs. ...27 OUR LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS. Lancaster County Agricultural and Horticultur- al Society 28 Crop Reports— The Oil Remedy— Tan Bark Remedy— Is Fig RaisinB Protitablc— Resolution of Thanks. The Fulton Farmers' Club 28 State Agricultural Society 29 HORTICULTURE. The Age of the Orange Tree 29 Cultivating the Wheat 29 Something About Persimmons— Results of Culti- vation 30 Cucumber Culture 30 How to Keep Flowers 30 For Constant Mignonette 30 Scotch Buns Oatmeal for Family Use Rice Waffles Canned Mushrooms Maryland Pie Little Boy's Porridge Chocolate Whips South Carolina Patter Pudding. Pink Jelly Poach Eggs Turnip Soup with Rice Lemon Dumplings Cream Pie Corn Meal Muffins Trifle Luncheon Cake 31 LIVE STOCK. The Food of the Horse 31 As to Clipped Roadsters 31 Cross Breeding — Grading Up 31 Stock Notes 31 Literary aud Personal 32 CutThisOuta ■ wuhTEH Meed no capital. I t,173GreenwichStN.York. ALL FOR 30 CENTS 1 pkf? ouch ofSu^'irTrouKh gourd, Prize Head Lettuce, Acme Tomato. ''ihiuin. I hnvffjrown (/te (/on) 'Is by the in etnftold from four tojivefjofx. each. TEX iMjUars In anij rarmrr. A dftrrit no ir.V ^OA' 75. OXFORD OHIO. ISCARLYCLUSTER qts.CnEW BLACKBERRY l,.r ■■-. ■,lhTT;i...„.l i..ii......,l„l., KROM A :;,;,:,ir,""";;o-,' ;•;.'..,... l7^V:/ Single Hill ,:;:.:;.n,i;.,.,; .' ;i::„,i::i;:,::. Earliest Large Beriy llkSl MHK slra»l>rrrU-.. lU.ijI.. ri i. -. I.rn|.... 1-. .rl, .n'l olh>r Fruit TrM^kc. J. 8. COI.LINK, llci«rr>lu, KAsr KAKl.V ( LISTKIJ BLACKKERRY, . %\. larh, lliir.l\. (, I. SinijU- lliU Vieldeil 13 nails al ■.n.- |.i 1.37 1S73 _'9 0 5.04 1874 (5 4 4..58 1875 25 S 2.83 187li 37 4 1.62 1S77 J7 9 2.12 1.S78 U8 3.94 1879 20 5 2.83 18S0 40 9 1.51 1881 .'0 9 3.66 18H3 n 1 4.57 1SS3 iOl 4.13 T. F. TOWNSEND, Sergeant Signal Corps, U. 3. A. The most remarkable feature of the winter is that there were six weeks (nearly) in suc- cession, during which there was good sleigh- ing, including the entire month of January, from the first day until the very last. We remember during the winter of 1S34-.5, that there were- with one or two temporary inter- missions— nine consecutive weeks of excellent sleighing, during a part of which period it was exceedingly cold, but we do not remember the register. When no registry is made, and the summer or winter happens to be above or below the ordinary temperature, the one present always seems the hottest or the coldest. In this re- spect, we are prone to forget the past, in our reahzing sense of the pre-sent, and our anticipa- tions of the future. Unless we have suffered is a special sense the present winter, it would be hard to say what recollections of it we will carry over to the next winter— if we live so long— whatsoever its character may happen to be. Live and see. 20 THE LANCASTER FARMER [February, THE POULTRY EXHIBITION. The exhibition of January 1884 was cer- tainly a credit to our local poultry association; and although it was a spectacular success, we regret to learn that it was not so financially. The association did its duty, but the citizens of Lancaster, and Lancaster county, did not do theirs. It occurred at a season when there was nothing to prevent the people from pa- tronizing it— if they had willed it. Perhaps far less meritorious and less respectable ex- hibitions were liberally patronized durins;' the continuance of the fair, because they presented attractions more in harmony with the peo- ple's taste. True, there may be some people —indeed there may be many people— to whom a "chicken show" may not be con- genial, unless the chickens were served upon dishes, garnished with "buckwheat cakes and sausages." Even these might be interested or benefited, if it were nothing more than to •ee how a chicken looks " in the rough." But the great variety, and the great perfection, in the "poultry world," that has been wrought by patient, persevering, human instrumen- talities, ought to excite the wonder and even the admiration of all who are at all interested in progressive domestic culture. Gallinicid- iure and its literature, occupies some of the brightest and most practical minds of our country, and the good accruing to society from it is of paramount value to auy rational community. The Lancaster Poultry Asso- ciation has already made a reputation that has spread throughout the length and breadth of one entire country. It is quoted from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast, and from Maine to Mexico. What was the poultry stock twenty or even ten years ago, compared with what it is to-day ? It is one of the greatest special industries in the entire Union, and its productions in eggs and birds amount to many millions of dollars, and is destined to an indefinite increase. The various improved incubators are effecting a great revolutioa in poultry production, both in quantity and in quality. Its progress, like any other useful or ornamental industry is upward and onward, and indifference or discouragement from outsiders cannot possi- bly arrest it. People will have their improved "chicken-fixings," whether chicken fairs suc- ceed or not ; and, so long as the stock is there, whether it compensates their projectors or not, there is no such thing as fail. A RARE FOWL. On Wednesday morning, as Miss Viola Heiss, daughter of Mr. George Heiss, tobacco- nist, residing at No. 45 South Queen street, was feeding the chickens in the yard, she ob- served and was greatly surprised at the sud- den alighting of a very strange bird from a considerable height above her amongst the poultry. She quickly noticed that it was pe- culiar and somewhat pretty, when she at once called for her father, but who had left the house without her knowing the fact. How- ever, Mr. Charles Eflinger, neighbor next ad- joining, hearing the alarm, and being noted as an expert shot, quickly obtained his guo and shot the bird. Being shown to quite a number of persons assembled and no one be- ing able to tell what it was or to what species of fowls it belonged, it was taken to Prof. S. S. Rathvon, who thus very fully describes it : Mk. George W. Kexdrick : The beauti- ful, coal black, velvety duck, with the large quadrangular spots on each side of the bill, belongs to the "Sea Duck" family (Puli- GULiNtE), and is common (coastwise) to both Europe and America, northward. In Europe it is called the "Velvet Duck," Melanetla Velvetina). In America it has received many synonyms, perhaps the most authentic of which is CEclemia pcrapicillaia, or "Long- billed Scoter." It is a winter visitor of the coast of California, and usually only reaches the Middle States, in fioeks of twenty or thirty, about the month of September, where it feeds along the coast, on fish, Crustacea, shell-fish, spawn, sea-weed, etc. It is said to be a remarkably expert diver, but its flesh is considered too strong and oily to suit the taste of epicures, although under favorable circumstances it may be eaten. The sub-family Fuligulino: embraces some of the handsomest subjects that belong to the great family An atidce, which includes swans, geese and ducks. The beautiful "Merganser" or "Shellarake," is nearly allied to it. The "Shuffler," the "Blue-bill," the "Ring-neck," the "Red-head," the "Can- vas-back," the "Whistler," the "Golden- eye," the "Dipper," and the "Harlequin- duck," in its many varieties, all belong to this group. Dr. Coues says : "The assigned characters of the American bird are very slight, certainly not warranting specific distinction, and scarcely afibrding grounds for varietal recog- nition." Dr. C. is good authority ; but if the illustration of the typical species in our pos- session is at all reliable, then ihe specimen exhibited to us to-day furnishes ample grounds for " varietal recognition," to ama- teurs at least. Wilson describes this duck under the name of (Edemia nigra, or "Scoter duck," and gives it an immense geographical range- Lapland, Norway, Sweden, Russia, Siberia, Denmark, Kamschatka, iu the latter of which it is said to breed, far away from the coast. They are said to be so abundant in the river Ochtska that the natives kill them (in large parties) with clubs, to the number of 1,000 or 1,500 at a time. Perhaps there is nothing in ornithology more " mixed" than the birds belonging to the sub-family FuUgulinoe. In connection with this subject I most re- spectfully beg leave to say that this specimen, as well as many other specimens iu natural history, ought by all means to be in the pos- session of the Linnaian Society. That organ- ization is an incorporated institution, has been in existence for twenty years, and has in its possession many specimens of birds, etc., that were prepared fifty years ago, which, if it had not cared for and preserved them, would probably not now be in exist- ence. Its members have been devoting their time, money, and uncompensated labor dur- ing those 20 years, without any hope or de- sire for pecuniary reward. A few liberal- minded people have so far abnegated self as to contribute to its museum and library, and a trifle to its treasury, but by the masses it has been almost entirely ignored. Many specimens that should have been donated to it years ago by those who possessed them have since been destroyed, or are masses of ruins; the parties owning them losing interest in them, and yet unable to make up their mind to donate them. These objects of vertu are accumulated an(^ husbanded for the use of the rising generations, and not for any pe- cuniary profit to the present members.— ^cm) Ih-a. *This bird is now in the hands of Mr. George Flitk, the -well-known taxidermist of this city, for the pur- pose of preparation for future preservation. EXCERPTS. One of the puzzlers to many farmers' boys has always been where the successivfc]crops of stones come from. No matter how often or thoroughly the stones were hand-picked every plowing brings to the surface a new supply. It seemed to us in boyhood that there was no end to stones, and fairly seemed to justify the general belief among boys that "stones grew. " The truth is that plowing opens the soil so that frost penetrates more deeply. The stones being larger particles of soil settle under them as they are lifted by frost, gradually raising them till they come within reach of the plow. On hilly land some of the surface soil is washed away when loosened by the plow, leaving more stones within its reach, and in any cultivated soil there is generally a gradual waste of vegetable matter, which, of course, leaves the stones nearer the surface.— ^meri- can Cultioator. If a dairyman wishes to insure a clean stable and comfort for his cattle in winter we know of no better way to do so than to bed down his stock with black muck from the swamps and ditches. It mixes well with the manure, and makes one of the most valuable composts. Besides its intrinsic value, cattle bedded down once a week with it would be all that is required. It would save labor in cleaning the stables, which ordinarily is done daily, and would leave the cattle in a much cleaner and healthier condition where the am- monia is absorbed than when left neglected to wallow in their own excretions. A few loads of dry muck placed under shelter, convenient to the cow stables, would add greatly to the manure heap and general thrift of the farm. This is the experience of those who have tried it, and all should do so wherever practi- cable.—Orant/e County Farmer. Professor Brown, of the Ontario Agri- cultural College, says he feels assured that the cause of the somewhat prevalent animal con- sumption, or tuberculosis, among cattle, and lung disease among sheep is due largely to sudden variations of temperature in winter, brought about mainly by the over-anxiety of many men in regard to the comfort, so- called, of their animals, who believe in hav- ing the thermometer at 70° inside when it stands at 10° outside. He thinks it is a clear mistake, under any circumstances, to shut the door on sheep. A WRITER in the New England Homestead, finding that the cut worms destroyed his to- bacco plants as fast as he set them, procured a basketful of chestnut leaves which were young and tender, and after steeping them in water which contained one tablespoonful of Paris green to each gallon of water, he placed a leaf over the spot where the plants were to THE LANCASTER FARMER. 21 be set. The worms ate holes in the leaves and lay in clusters dead, or so stupid that they did no further harm to the plants which were afterwards set out, and a fliic. crop was harvested. Speaking of the possibilities of a single acre of ground, when stimulated to the high- est degree, the Ifew Enyland Farmer refers to a farm that was made to nicrease its annual crop of hay from seventy-five tons to 300 tons, and the crops now produced per acre are from eighty to 12.j busliels of corn, forty to sixty of wheat, eighty to 100 of oats and four to five tons of hay. These crops, while in- volving greater expense, do not entail greater cost proportionately to the yields, and if a farm can be thus made productive the task is much easier with a small area. Cranherry .Telly mixed with cold water makes a refreshing drink for a sick pcr.son. A LITTLE BORAX put in the water in which scarlet napkins and red-bordered towels are to be washed will prevent them fading. Sliced bananas and oranges mixed with chopped pineapple, with powdered sugar scattered over all, make a delicate dish. Black kid gloves are sometimes a source of annoyance on account of little white streaks at tlie seams. This trouble may be diminished by coKiring a little salad oil with black ink, and rubbing this over the white places with a feather ; dry quickly outside the window. For seriously chapped hands try this : Scrape a cake of brown Windsor soap until it is all as fine as powder ; mix it with an ounce of cologne water and an'ounce of lemon juice. Stir this ver}' thoroughly together, shape it into cakes, let it harden, and then u.se it when you wash your hands. Potatoes in Cases.— Bake potatoes of equal size, and when done and still hot, cut off a small piece from each potato ; scoop out carefully the inside, leaving the skin un- broken ; mash the potato well, season it with plenty of butter, pepper and salt ; return it with a spoon to the potato .skin, allowing it to protrude about an inch above the skin. When enough skins are filled, use a fork or knife to make rough the potato which projects above the skin ; put all into the oven a minute to color the tops. It is better, perhaps, to color them with a salamander. They will have the appearance of baked potatoes burst open. Vanderbilt's capital of gold is greater than all the gold there was in the world-con- quering Rome in the reign of Augustus Csesar. 200,000,000 dollars in gold ! or 359 tons of gold ! or 700,000 pounds of gold ! or 11,200,- 000 ounces (avoirdupois) of gold I How many freight cars would be required to carry this gold ? Then you'll say at a jump. No— thirty-five 1 Turn the gold into golden "eagles," ten-dollar coins, lay them in a cir- cle, edges touching, what would be the cir- cumference of that circle ! It would be a ring over three hundred miles in circumfer- ence. The annual proclamation of the Secretary of the Treasury, of the value of foreign coins expressed in the money of the United States, to be taken in estimating the values of all for- eign merchandise made out in said currencies, imported on or after January 1, 1884, makes the following changes from the jiroclaraation of January 1, 1SS3 : Australia, llorin from 40.1c. to 38.9c.; Bolivia, boliviano, from 81.2c. to SO.Cc; Ecuador, peso, from 81.2c. to SO.Gc; India, rupee, from SS.fic. to 38..3c.; .Japan, gen, from 87.Gc. to 86.9c.; Mexico, dollar, from 88.2c. to 87.5c.; Peru, sol, from 81.2c. to 80.6c.; Russia, rouble, from 6.5c. to 04. .5c.; Tripoli, mahbub, from 73..3c. to 72.7c.; U. S. of Columbia, peso, from 81.2c. to 80.6. From forty to fifty degrees is the tempei-- ature for a bee-cellar in winter. If the frost heaves up the fixll-i)lowpd ground the cutworm is the sufferer on sucli occasions. The directors of the Louisville E.Kposition have decided to give anotlier chance to ex- hibitors next season. The Aroostook (Me. ) farmers can only get $1 per barrel for their potatoes, and are hold- ing them for higher prices. It is best to defer purchasing i)igs till spring, as they make but little growth when separated from the sows at this season. Fourteen farmers of Olmsted county, Minnesota, have gone to Europe after stock, their motto being "the best is none too good." The fig can be grown as far North as Nor- folk, Va., and can be grown from seed or pro- pagated from cuttings, layers or suckers. It is a noteworthy and gratifying fact that the "salt" feature of dairy conventions has been pretty thoroughly eliminated from the discussions and resolutions. Rust and smut feed differently on the wheat plant. Rust is usually on the stalk and feeds on the pabulum prepared for the seed, but smut feeds on the seed itself. Let the litter in the stables be kept dry at all times. Standing on hot or fermenting manure has a tendency to make the hoofs of the horses brittle, and eventually brings on lameness. Says the Iowa Begister : One hundred bushels of corn will shrink to ninety in the crib, and to an extent more than that, de- pending on the openness of the crib and the honesty of the neighbors. English beef, which ;is largely made by feeding roots, is said not to be as nutritious as American beef, which is made from corn and grass ; but the English beef is regarded as the best flavored. A Vermonter states that an aged horse, performing daily hard work, ate eighteen quarts of oats per day. and seemed to gain on such diet, although he had been allowed no hay or other food. Horseradish yields from two to four tons per acre and sells jfor from 5 to 10 cents per pound. The worst drawback to its culture is the difficulty of eradicating it when once it gets a firm hold on the laud. D. A. .Jones, of Beeton, Ont,. had .50,000 pounds of honey on exhibition at the Septem- ber meeting of the North American Bee- keepers' Association, at Toronto. He is the largest apiarist in the country. Dr. Randolph recently described before the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sci- ences certain methods used by him in the preparation of the grain of wheat for micro- scopical examination of its structure, and stated that his examination had proved that, while' the substance of the body of the grain contained the true albuminoid food known as gluten, in addition to the starch, the so-called gluten cells of the cortex did not respond to any artificial digestion, and seem to have but little nutritive value. It is .said that if common salt be added to poultry droppings it will prevent its burning up plants when applied to them ; the theory being that the great affinity of salt for moisture prevents the rapid drying of the droppings. The Guernsey cow " Kathleen" 38 gave in seven days, ending November 25, .303^ pounds of milk, from which were made eighteen pounds and fifteen ounces of butter. She is the property of L. W. Ledyard, of Casenovia, N. Y. The Tyler is one of the earliest raspberries, while the Gregg is one of the latest. There are newer varieties, however, superior in flavor and size, but for market purposes they sliould be selected of varieties that ripen in succession. A horticulturist gives the following method for constructing a cheap greenhouse : For summer use oiled canvas answers, but glass can be put on at any time. Dig a pit two feet deep, .six feet wide and eight feet long, and make it smooth. Wall up the sides with boards two feet long, first making a ditch or path two feet wide in the centre, which will give a shelf two feet wide on each side. The ends of the boards should be cut a little longer to give the proper pitch, which should be two feet in the centre. Take two pieces of 2x4 scantling 14 feet long, cut off six feet from each one, which will leave four pieces six feet long for the sides, and four pieces six feet long for the ends. Box up the pit from the top of the shelf to the top of the ground, leaving a space for the door. Next take four pieces of 2x4 twelve feet long, and cut rafters the proper length for the roof. When fastened to their place take four old- fashioned windows and fasten them together with strips on the sides, allowing the top caps to project over, to shed the water. The end should be banked up with earth, and on cold nights covered with hay. Make the door double. Some of the results of experiments made at the Ontario Agricultural College are thus summarized : " The Shorthorn is an average milker, short in duration per season, low in specific gravity, high in per cent, of cream, proportionately in butter, and also high in cheese production. The grade of this breed approaches nearest to what is called a 'general purpose cow. ' The Aterdeen Poll is low in quantity of milk, and the second highest in specific gravity. The Ilereforc is not more prominent than tlie preceding in regard to milk, except in proportion of butter from cream, in which it is highest. The Devon is most distinct in highest specific gravity and the weight of cheese from milk. The Galloway milk appears to be of a peculiar texture, rich in cream, but so small in butter globules that they rise very slowly and are very Indistinct in the test tube. The Ayreshire is a particu- larly heavy, long milker, giving five times her own weight per season. The milk is some- 22 THE LANCASTER FARMER. [February what low in specific gravity and per cent, of cream, but is over the average in cheese pro. duction. The Jersey is remarkable for pro- portion of cream, averaging 35 per cent, and giving a value of dairy products incomparable to any other breed in our experience. The native or common cow of Ontario, not Canada properly, because Quebec in particular stands distinct in her class of dairy cows, takes a high place in value of annual produce for ordinary dairy purposes, and, along with the Shorthorn grade, is peculiarly tlie dairy cow of the country." LEAVING THE FARM. So, 'William, we must go to town, and leave the dear old place. Your hair is gray, your form is bent, and wrinkled is your face ; And when I stand before the glass to put my collar on, I scarce can see to pin it straight, my sight is so near gone. The children say we're growing old, too old for such hard work ; And Daniel he will take the place— you know he's not a shirk — And that young wife of his, I think, is smart as a queen bee ; She's light of foot, and light of heart, and good to you and me. They're sure to keep the farm in shape, and not let things run down ; But I'm afraid we'll never be content to live in town. You know since Mary married we've been there on and off. And once I sta5-ed a month or more, the spring I had that cough. Mary was good and loving, and her husband he was kind; But I got so tired and homesick I feared I'd lose my It wasn't lack of company — some one was always there — You know that folks who live in town have lots of time to spare. The church was very handy, and I liked the preacher too ; And I 'tended all the meetings ; what else had I to do ? But oh 1 I longed to hear the cows come lowing down the lane, And to hear the horses champing as they ate the golden grain ; And to hear the proud hens clucking, and the mother turkeys call — The pleasant music of the farm, I did so miss it all And I longed to see ray garden, and the apple trees in bloom. And to pull the clover blossoms and breathe their sweet perfume ; And, William, you'll be like me ; you need not laugh or frown. For you'll never be contented to settle down in town. Just think about it, William, it's forty years and more Since you and I together left old Ohio's shore. I mind as if 'twere yesterday, my mother's tear-wet^ face. The firm clasp of my father's hand, my sister's warm embrace ; And oh ! I never shall forget how the prairie, wide and vast, Stretched out before me, when you said, " Well, dear, here's home at last." The words seemed such a mockery, where nothing looked like home, The very clouds seemed farther off, and high: The orchard and the meadow, the farm-house and the barn. All the past come up before me, I can see the cabin small. The little low-roofed cabin, that barely held us all. And the lonely, lonely prairie, with not a house in eight; Ah ! the tears that wet my pillow when you thought I slept at night. Yes, it's true we soon had neighbors ; and how homelike it did seem. When of evenings from our doorway we could see their candles gleam. Looking 'round upon the prairie, where we watched that lonely light, Now from many a friendly window shine the earth stars clear and bright. But no beacon to the sailor, homeward bound upon the sea. Ever shone with brighter luster than that twinkling light to me. Then the children kept on coming 'till the small house overflowed. And their childish love and laughter helped us all along our road ; How we toiled both late and early, and how through all our days, The dear God blessed and prospered u.s ; to Him be all the praise ; Then when we built the new house, what happy times we had. Peace and plenty dwelt among us, and the days were short and glad — I know we had our trials, crops would fail and sick- And before death's awful presence, we have bowed in anguish dumb ; But we comforted each other, for we said, "His word is sure." Though we walk amid the shadows, still " His pro- mises endure." Now the shadows are all lifted, we are in sweet " Beulah land." And His presence is about us, we can feel His guid- ing hand. It is hard to leave the farm— but the children we are grown— As we were when just we wedded, j-ou and I are now alone. But oh I the difference to us ! then our lives had just begun. And our life-work lay before us ; now our life-work's almost done. Why, the sun is setting, William. How fast the days go by, See those clouds of blue and crimson lying on the western sky. This world is very beautiful ; sometimes it seems to I can hardly bear to leave it ; and then, dear, when I see How feeble I am getting, I feel ready quite to go. The children do not need me, and you'll come soon I know . Low spiriied? Ah, no? I'm not. "He doeth all things well." And happy and God fearing the children round us dwell. And I'm ready for the flitting, like the leaves in au- tumn brown — But I'm afraid we'll never be content to live in town. —Mrs. E. V. Wilson, in Chicago Inter-Ocean. CONTRIBUTIONS. Now i look around me on the ds of waving LAYING OUT ROADS. Editor Lancaster Farmer : There ap- peared several articles on road-making from the pen of P. S. R. in the Parmer, which, with your permission, I will make some re- marks on. As he says, it is very desirable to have good roads of easy grade, and wherever it can be done, steep assents should be avoided, but if P. S. R. will please to consider the matter fairly, he will discover that it is a much easier matter to make good roads on paper, than it is for a jury to run them through their neighbor's farms or fields ! I have served on many road views and reviews, and I know the difliculties in connection therewith. Jury men are generally reasonable men, and naturally have a fellow-feeling for their neigh- bors, they do not like to run roads through a farm, cutting into all manner of shapes, or plots, that it would be diflicultfor a geometri- cian to give name to all tliose shapes, and making the farmers' fields very incon- venient to fence and cultivate, but rather put the public in trouble to get over elevations if not too steep, the best way they can. I might give many instances where we had difficulties in laying out roads, but I will mention only a few. One time a jury was ordered to view and lay out a new road of about three miles in length, from a mill to a point on another public road. There were three public roads centering and passing the mill, the route led us through four or five farms, nearly the whole distance through cultivated fields, cut- ing the farms into all shapes. At one farm we nearly had a fight between the miller and tlie farmer. At another place they threaten- ed to set the dogs on us. Of course our re- port said— no roaa I We might have run from the point at the mill on a public road about half a mile, and then run to the ending poiut on far better ground, and the private property would not have been injured nearly so much, but there already was a public road nearly in the same direction; and the miller did not want it there, but he wanted it to start at the mill. The result was no road. A road was petitioned for to start from a poiut on a public road, to run over a steep hill to a point on another public road. This was up a steep hill, where there was no objec- tions by the owners of the ground, and through woodland that can never be culti- vated, unless terraced as are some hilly vine- yards in Switzerland, where they carry the fertilizers, as it were " upstairs on their - shoulders." Here we could have located a road on slightly elevating ground by making a detour of three-fourths of a mile, but it was not wanted there, and the petitioner desired a short cut straight up the hill; but it will bother dogs and cats to climb it without put- ting out their claws to hold by. People on foot or horseback may go up and down, but hardly empty wagons or carriages. But as it was not doing damage to private property, and would be convenient for the owners of tlie land to get their timber down, so we gave them the road. People travelling the road may wonder what kind of an ignorant jury could ever lay out such a road. Of course not knowing all the circumstances that influenced the jury. The Borough of Columbia petitioned for a jury to have a street opened through a farm adjoining. This would necessitate the romov- al of an old building and a cut of perhaps six or eight feet close to the house to make the street of an ordinary grade, and a street that would be used more than any in the borough, 1884.] THE LANCASTER FARMER. 23 except Locust and Front streets, the jury were all of one mind, that it was a necessity, and we all importuned tlie owner that it would be a great pecuniary benefit to him, as he could tlien sell off lots at a high figure. But he had Thad Stevens at the helm and to this day has prevented the opening of the street. Though in time it will undoubtedly have to be opened. There were several views and reviews over the ground, and all reported for the street to be opened. I might mention a number of other cases, where I was on the juries, and where great ditliculties were in our way, wishing to make good roads for the public, and yet in regard to our duty as jurors not to damage private property too mucli for the public good. Thus, you see friend P. S. R. and others who want good roads, that it is not such an easy matter to make good roads through your neighbor's private property, as it Is to make them on paper.— J. B. G. THE "PEACH SCAB." Hakishuko, Feb. 14th, 18S4. De.4r Sir : 1 find this scale on peach trees in our city ; also this one on the rose-wood. Mr. Stitzel, of Heading, stated in our late horticultural meeting that they were numer- ous in Reading, and he brought some infested twigs with him. No person knowing of it but myself I went out where I found it last year, and found it there again. What is it ? Governor Pattison is interested in it, so please answer me and oblige yours, &c.—T. A. Woods, 915 Sixth street. P. S. Does it increase fast, and how? Please answer soon. — T. A. W. Ifurseryman. At no period more frequently than during the past autumn and present winter have we received branches of the peach tree infested with the "scale" referred to in the above note of inquiry, and at no time were said branches more numerously infested. From Reading, from Columbia, from Marietta, from Lititz, from Mount Joy, and elsewhere, and now from Ilarrisbuig. They are also abundant in some localities in and about Lan- caster city. The peach twig sent us by the writer of the above was infested by the "peach scab," (or scale) namely, the Lecauium perskiim, an in- sect that belongs to the Coccus family (Coc- dihr). If the sample he sent us is one of his worst ones then we have still room to con- gratulate him, for it was not one-fifth as badly infested as some brought to us by our neighbors in Lancaster city. Some of these insects are invulnerable to the application of remedies that readily destroy other insects. These scales are very con vexed— almost hemis- phetical— and of a light, or chestnut-brown color, and those found on the trees now are the dead bodies of the females of. last season. The whole internal cavity is usually filled with eggs, which at a later season will be- come more distinctly visible than they are in the month of February— sometimes to the number of two or three hundred under one scale. These eggs become incubated in the end or during the month of June, or later, according to the temperature of the weather, and the young come forth in millions and scatter over the branches, especially on the new and tender wood. If a drenching shower 1 of rain happens at the time, millions are wash- ed off and perish. This suggests that if the trees were artificially drenched at the proper time the effect would be the same. But the young are almost microscopical, and cannot be seen at all when the trees are in foliage : it would therefore be better to attend to them no«), while the branches are naked. But drenching would be of very little effect nmc : the scales are impervious to liquid remedies ; no degree of cold or moisture seem to effect them in their present embryotic condition. On examining them wo find they possess the germs of vitality— wc doubt whether 'J.'j'^ be- low zero would have killed them. Therefore, where the trees are only of medium size, ac- cessible to approach, and the variety worth preserving, we would recommend the use of a stiff-bristled brush, about the flexibility of a good hair-brush, or tooth-brush, dipped into a solution of whale-oil soap, or other alkali- nous compound, and a brisk manipulation of said brush wherever the scales are located ; and the work should be geiieral and thorough for the escape of a single scale may involve the existence of one or two hundred insects next summer. The young insects are very minute, and are slow travelers, but the winds waft tl>em from branch to branch, and from tree to tree. When the young are excluded from the eggs they travel foi- the tender new wood ; they seldom attack the leaves ; some- times a few are found on the midribs, but this is their mistake, for when the leaves fall, they of course perish. When they find a favorable locality they pierce the twigs with their probosces and immediate- ly commence to pump out the vital juices and depletion and enervation follow in proportion to their numbers. The young insects are of a whitish color, have six feet, two anteniui; on the head, very dark eyes, and two terminal bristles attached to the posterior end of the body. Towards autumn they become de- graded,and divest themselves of theiranteima?, feet and sette, and then rapidly become a scale, with no appendage but the rostrum or proboscis. The males are winged, and after they impregnate the females, they fly off or are blown ofl— in any event, they soon perish, and none of them survive the season. Perhaps the most prolific species of Lecanium is the one that infests the oak. Last year we bred many millions of these from two or three oak-twigs, aggregating about two feet in length. When trees are too large for the manipula- tion of a brush, all the infested twigs should be cut off and burnt— even if it should in- volve a whole branch, or a whole tree ; and, whatever is done, should be done hij all, who know their trees infested. The "Rose-twig" inclosed in the above note, contained no Lenanians when we re- cieved it. The oblong, flat, and greyish object which was firmly fastened to the bark, was the egg of a species of Plntncrnptcra — a slender green grasshopper, allied to the " Katy-did," {PhylHum concamm) if it was^not the latter itself. It is difticult to determin species from a single isolated egg, especially when none are accessible for comparison. Some of these in- sects deposit from 25 to 50 eggs at a time, and although there is some distinction in the form of them, yet the defferentiation is greater in the mechanical arrangement. Moreover, these insects never become destructively nu- merous. When they are young and feeble, they are conspicuous objects to insectivorous birds, being delicate in structure and very lender; out of flfty, perhaps not more than half a dozcB reach maturity. They generally feed on the foliage of trees and shrubbery. There arc, however, some individuals in the family (GuYLLiDG':) that are pernicious pests, notably the "snow cricket" or "tree cricket," {(Jicanthus wrcca) which frequently occupies it- self iu cutting off the clusters of grapes where they are yet green. Of late years this insect has also became a "tobacco chewer," and has considerably annoyed the tobacco-growers of Lancaster county. IS WHEAT A PAYING CROP.' Wheal is the king of the cereals. Unbolted wheat flour is said by chemists to contain the elements of nutrition in more nearly the proper proportions than any other article of food iu extensive use. The common consent of civilized man the world over places it at the head of grain foods. It is truly called the "Staff of Life." The average yearly allow- ance for each person is put at four and three- fourths bushels. At present prices of wheat the average coat of each person's bread, or rather the raw material out of which his bread is made, is about one and one-third cents per day. This does not seem an ex- travagrant price to pay tor the material out of which our brain and bone and muscle are elaborated, and would not seem exorbitant at two cents per day, and yet the city papers keep up an everlasting outcry for cheap bread. It would be a relief to their readers if the papers would sometimes raise a clamor for cheap meat or cheap butter or cheap potatoes by way of variety. The fact is that wheat at present prices is the che.ipest commodity on the face of the earth. Matches at a cent a box, or muslin at six cents per yard are extravagantly high in comparison to it. The Oleo soap-grease but- ter and " suene " that the New Yorker spreads his bread with costs more than the bread itself. I have never heard smokers de- mand cheap cigars, although tobacco costs the people of this nation more money than their bread. With the exception, perhaps, of tobacco, wheat is the most exhaustive on the land of any crop grown by the farmer. The fact that it is the most nutritious of grains ia proof enough of this and the rapid deterioration of the soil in grain growing sections confirms iti The question naturally arises whether it is worth while to impoverish our land, raising wheat and go begging to Europe with our sur- plus crop at about one dollar per bushel. It certainly does not pay us here in the East to export the fat of our land for such a miser- able pittance. It is generally thought that the great northwest where the first cost of the land is less than the fertilizer we apply here, can place wheat at the seaboard cheaper than wo can, and perhaps it can, but it is doubtful if even they can grow wheat for 60 or 65 cents per bushel, the present price in Manitoba. The winters are long and severe, and wheat is about the only saleable crop they can raise. Labor is high and machinery expensive. 24 THE LANCASTER FARMER. [February, Under the present exhaustive system of crop- ping the land will deteriorate until it will have to be abandoned. A great deal is said and written about the destruction of the for- ests. The exportation of the products of the virgin soils of the west at prices that will never afford the farmer the means replenish- ing the fertility of his exhausted acres, iilso merits our consideration. — J. C. lAnville. ESSAYS. *LABOR SAVING FARM IMPLEMENTS. If times is money, and a penny saved is a penny earned, then the question must be answered in the affirmative : Provided, the cost of the machine does not exceed its bene- fits ; and provided, also, that good use is made of the time saved. Without entering into a discussion of the question now agitated between learned doc- tors and evolutionists, whether man was created a civilized being, and retrograted into barbarism, or was originally a savage and has gradually evolved into a civiled condition, one thing seems certain : that the improvement and multiplication of labor saving machinery is one of the best evidences of the progress of a people in the march of civilization. The two appear to go together. In proof ot this we ueed only contrast the condition of savage nations and their rude implements and want of machinery with our own condition in life and the machinery of the present day. The inventive brain of scientific civilized man has more than quadrupled the power of his hands, and placed him, as it were, at the long end of the Archimedean lever that moves the world. Distant places have been broi.ght near, and time almost annihilated. By the use of machinery the farmer gains in several ways. He can work more quickly and often save crops that otherwise would be lost in unfavorable weather. He can do his ■work better and in less time, thereby saving many precious days and hours which may be employed by himself and family in still fur- ther qualifying themselves to manage their affairs intelligently and profitably, and in edu- cating themselves morally and mentally up to a higher standard of true manhood and womanhood. The time thus saved becomes so much cap- ital, to be used or thrown away. As a gen- eral rule our farmers have largely profited thereby. That in some few instances good use has not been made of it is the fault of the individual and not of the machine, and if any mischief is done, it must be attributed more to outside evil influence than to any- thing arising among the farmers themselves, who, as a class, have always been a quiet and sensible people. When leading men in the society of our cities, who should set a better example, con- descend to dance at balls, disguised as horses, as they did not long ago in New York ; and when in Pennsylvania, it is getting to be a common thing,since tlie old law against it has been repealed, for highly respectable people to attend night masquerades, with their faces concealed under masks, as was the custom in the most corrupt and dissolute periods of France and Italy— when these performances are published approvingly by the newspapers, and are no longer denounced from the pulpits, it is easy to see whither we are drifting, and no wonder that some of the virus should have reached even our quiet farm homes and turn- ed some heads there. It does not necessarily follow that because the whole of summer is no longer needed to sow and harvest, and the entire winter taken up in threshing out the crops, that the farm- .should ;turn loafer the rest of the year, nor that his sons should become idle drones, hat- ing work ; or his daughters giddy butterflies of fashion ; and together, like moths and caterpillars of extravagance, consume what honest industry may gather, or self-denying rugality may have saved. There still remains enough for all of them to do on a well conducted farm, and that of the most pleasant and healthful kind of work and recreation. We have space to mention only a few of the many things that require at- tention. The capacity of the soil and the ef- fect of different fertilizers, the nature of the crops, the diseases of trees and plants, the disposition and management of domestic ani- mals are still to be studied. The habits of the birds and insects ought to be observed, so that the useful may be protected and the nox- ious exterminated. The farming implements are still to he looked after and kept clean and bright. The form buildings, particularly the bouse, are to be made more healthy and at- tractive by proper drainage and ventilation, and their surroundings beautified by Judicious planting and pruning. Constant vigilance is now more than ever the price of success with the farmer, and time need not hang heavy on his hands or mind. A garden for the cultiva- tion of small fruit should be kept in addition to the one for vegetables. A modest library of useful books on subjects of farm and gar- den should be gradually got together, and books for pleasant reading on rural matters, such as can now be had from the pens of our best authors, ought to be added to satify the cravings of the minds of the young, which demand food, and keep them from stuffing themselves with sensational literature, or rushing to other and more exciting pursuits in life. It seems to have become one of the great mistakes of modern times to suppose that an educated person, or a youth who has acquired a smattering of college learning, should be above the cultivation of the soil, and that farmers are without honor.t Some of our most learned and best men have delighted in agriculture ; and those who have by long and skillful experiment given us new and better varieties of fruits and grains —who by yiatient and intelligent investigation have discovered means by which the products of the soil have been increased, and the fail- ures.lessened— or, who by inventing machinery have lifted part of the burdens from the shoulders of the laborers in the field, as our real benefactors, and deserve as high a place in our esteem and gratitude as those who from learned men in tnnes past, and unlocked secrets for the agriculturist that his own un- tutored eftorts failed to discover. A recent paper of Prof. D. P. Penhallow, on " Hcach Yellow," in 21-L'2 Quartcrlv report of the Pennsylvania Board of Agricul- ture, 1883, may be cited as a ease in point. successfully guided the councils of state or led our armies to victory. Why should any one that has means de- cline to become a farmer. The earth, with which he has to deal, is no ungenerous mother. She interests us by a circle of changes each year— she mantles herself in green, and wreaths her face in smiles of gold- en harvests, responsive to the labors of the husbandman— she proffers fruit and blossoms to all who care to enjoy them— she even hangs the luscious berries upon the despised briars— she is forced to bear for man's trans- gressions, that he may pluck and eat. There is a charm connected with country life that clings to the memory of those who have once tasted it, it can never be shaken oft'. There is no fruit so tetupting as that which we shook down in the old orchard— no draught so cooling as that from the oaken bucket at the old well. Men, when they have become satiated with worldly success or weary of its disappointments, delight to re- turn to the quiet shades of the farm. Shiver- ing old age longs for the sunny corner in the country home, and poor worn out humanity lies down to die "a babbling of green fields." Why then should we not delight to he far- mers, and why not also allow our friends, the inventors, to participate in our monthly meet- ings. Let them be invited to come and bring with them and exhibit their implements and machinery or models of them, and samples of fertilizers. The examination here will dis- close the merits of such as are worthy of patronage, and it may warn our friends against being imposed upon by such as are worthless. It will add to the interest of our meetings and insure to the benefit of all. Selections. SUPERPHOSPHATE. To prepare superphosphates on the farm provide one or more good hogsheads, or large troughs, fill them not more than one-third full of fine, ground bone, the finer it is the better will be the phosphate ; moisten the bone with water to the extent of about twen- ty pounds of water to 120 pounds of bone ; then slowly add to above sixty pounds of sul- phuric acid, 66 per cent, purity. This had better be put in at three difteient times of some hours apart, than to be all put in at once. A considerable heat will develop by the action of the acid upon the lime in the bone, and it is better to keep covered with blankets to retain this heat as long as possible. If the bone is very greasy a smaller amount of acid will suffice. By evaporation the 200 pounds will be reduced to about ISO pounds. It should be well stirred several times while making. This mixture will probably be too damp and sticky to use, and will need some- thing to dry i't. For this purpose add twenty pounds of fine bone charcoal, plaster or dry earth. The first named is the best, as it will take up the excess of acid, if there should be any, and it does not reduce the percentage of phosphoric acid in the mixture, as the other mixtures will. The result will be the article usually sold under the name of plain super- phosphate, dissolved bone or acid phosphate (though that usually sold under the latter name is most frequently made from South 1884. J THE LANCASTER FARMER. 25 Carolina pliosphate— rock which cost less than lionc). It contains a large percentage of phosphori.; acid and some amniouia, the lat- ter varying according to the amount of grease or other animal matter in the bone. If it is desired to make such phosphate as is usually sold by reliable manufacturers under that name, and such as gets a good report from our State chemists, take about 14(10 pounds of the dissolved bone, and add about .'jUO pounds of dried fish or dried blood and 1-JO pounds of muriate of potash. The amount of fish or blood will vary with its strength and the moisture it. contains, but the above mixture will result in a phosphate containing from 8 to 10 per cent, phosphoric acid, 3 to 4 am- monia and 3 per cent, potash. Alkaline bone, so-called, is simjily the bone (either raw or dissolved,) mi.xed with German potash salts. The cost can be computed from the prices now given in the market for the various materials, which are nearly as follows, includ- ing freight to the farmers : Fine ground bone, about f40 per ton ; sulphuric acid, IJ cents per pound ; fish and blood, $35 to $40 per ton ; muriate of potash, 2i oents per pound. The cost per ton may be cheapened by extending with plaster or earth, but it will also reduce the strength. — American Culti- vator. HOW TO CLEAN STUMP LANDS. A correspondent of the Ohio Cultivator teWa how he gets rid of the stumps as follows : "Last spring I sent to Indiana and hired a man to come and blast out stumps. I paid 42i cents a pound for the powder, and 15 cents for each stump taken out, he to furnish caps and fu.se. The stumps were mostly white and burr oak, from 20 to 40 inches in diameter, and had been cut from six to twelve years. Sixty-seven of the worst were taken out at an expense of OS cents per stump. There were only tliree or four failures in the whole lot. As they were blown into pieces, it was much less work to pile and burn them than when taken out in the ordinary way. I bought material and took out nearly 200 smaller stumps at an expense of about 20 cents each. It took me ten or fifteen minutes to prepare a blast. I used a 2 inch auger on a 5 foot shaft for boring under the stump. A crow-bar will do in soft ground; those who follow the business use 2^ inch auger. The charge should be put as nearly under the cen- tre of the stump as possible. It is not very dangerous to use, as fire will not explode it. The cap is placed in the cartridge and is con- nected by a fuse. You light the fuse which in one or two minutes explodes the cap ; The concussion of the cap, which is equal to 500 pounds, explodes the dynamite, or Hercules powder. Eight or ten rods is a safe distance if you are facing the stump, for you can easi- ly dodge chunks, if any come toward you. It will not i)ay to use it very extensively on green stumps, as it will take from six to eight pounds per stump, and will not give very good satisfaction at that." IMPROVEMENT OF VEGETABLES. But for the continued efforts of enterpris- ing seedsmen and horticulturists our vegeta- bles would gradually deteriorate and revert to the original varieties from which they were produced. Farmers and gardeners who do not make a specialty of improvement can form no estimate of the time, patience, care and ■ labor required in the production of a new va- riety, nor of the numerous failures that occur before the variety is deemed worthy of a place among others. The tomato, which nearly rivals llie apple in smoothne.ss and firmness, who almost despised half a centuiy ago; but the Trophies, Acmes, Perfections and Paragons of to-day are esteemed as the most valuable of our garden vegetables. Mr. Livingston, who gave us the Acme, Paragon and Perfection, began his work of improvement thirty years ago, and, after selecting seed from the choicest for ten years, was but little nearer the accom- plishment of his purpose than when he began; but he did not despair and made new experi- ments, finally Vletermining to select his seed from the smallest but best formed and smooth- est specimens. lie was led to adopt this plan by observing that the small specimens were uniformly of better quality than the larger. Having gained quality he gradually increased the size, and with one good variety as a foun- dation he had less difficulty in originating others. He was compelled to grow his toma- toes at a distance from inferior kinds, for a large number of failures arise from overlook- ing this precaution in saving seeds. The ef- forts of Mr. Livingston extended over a period of thirty years, and yet the value of his efforts to the farmers and gardeners cannot be estimated. Had every farmer been as de- termined as he in perfecting crops of vegeta- bles and fruits the value of our agricultural productions at present could not be computed. The value of the wheat crop of tliis country has been increased millions of dollars by the patient selection of a few choice heads of wheat annually by Mr. Fultz, of Lancaster county. Pa.— not that the Fultz wheat is at present more extensively cullivated than any other, but it opened a new era in wheat selec- tion and improvement, and laid the founda- tion upon which our varieties of wheat have been elevated to the highest standard of ex- cellence iind prolificness. In like manner the careful selection of seed corn has made possi- ble the heavy yield of 100 bushels or more per acre. Gregory, with his close and constant atten- tion to the work of vegetable improvement, gave us the Hubbard squash and Marblehead cabbage, while Rogers, with his annual new varieties of grapes, and Goodrich, with his experiments at potato improvement, have been of invaluable service to the country. Lawton, with so insignificant a fruit as was the blackberry at the time he began his ex- periments, opened a new field in fruit grow- ing. Had it not been for patient and per- sistent eflorts, after many discouragements, we would not to-day possess the Bartlett pear, Crawford peach, Concord grape, nor Sharp- less strawberry. The Acme, Paragon, and Trophy tomatoes would be unknown but for careful selectisn, and we would nave no Early Rose, Peachblow, Snowflake and Peerlesss po- tatoes but for repeated and persistent experi- ments. Every farmer is in duty bound to perform his share of the work of improvement. If each would strive to make his crops superior | by care and judgment in selection, the chances of better varieties would be increased in pro- portion, with the advantage in their favor of what may be termed the "chance success" of discovering a vegetal)le here and there far superior to any others known. A wide field is open to farmers in this direction.— /'/liia. Record. RUST IN WHEAT. Rust is one of the most formidable enemies the grain farmer has to contend with in wet and muggy seasons. Warmth and moisture favor its developement. In seasons alike in their heat, rainfall and humidity, the dust is not equally damaging. It br^-aks out in what appears a capricious manner. A drenching rain is sometimes followed by less rust than that which appears after a .slight shower or even a heavy dew. There are antecedent conditions which largely determine the degree of liability to rust. The microscopic spores of the fungus known as rust fioat about in the air awaiting favorable opportunities for development, and when they meet circum- stances of the proper kind they multiply with astonishing rapidity. During moist hot weath- er, the sap vessels of tlie plant become rup- tured and fungoid germs attach themselves readily. If the plants, some scientists think, are healthy and vigorous, they resist the at- tempts of the parasite to establish itself, much as healthy animals refuse to become the abode of parasites which thrive on their weak- er fellows. Anything, therefore, which weak- ens the vitality of the wheat plant renders it liable to become the prey of rust. Exhaustion or food elements in the soil, the presence about the roots of sour, stagnant water, sow- too late in the fall for proper development to resist the winter, are among common and easily preventible causes that predispose to rust. Of nonpreventible causes, hard winters and cold, backward springs, which prevent the healthy development of the wheat plant, are among the mo.st prominent — next, of course, to warmth and moisture. These con- ditions have existed this ye^r, as they did in 1S7G, when the damage from rust was wide- spread and very serious. Fortunately, midge and weevil were not among the pests of last summer, as they were in that unfortunate season. "What cannot be cured must be en- dured," but the causes which can be reached should not be suffered to exist. Good farm- ing in the broadest sense of the term, which includes proper selection of lands for the dif- ferent crops, proper preparation of the soil and proper culture, is the best preventive of serious damage from rust. — Mechanical World. TRUENESS OF BREEDING. The property for which wool is perhaps most valued is trueness of breeding. In a true-bread sheep each staple of wool, that is, each lock into which a group of fibres natur- ally forms itself— will be of equal growth throughout. The fibre will be the same thick- ness as nearly as possible the whole length, or will be finer at the point than at the root. There will be no shaggy rough wool in it; but if the sheep be cross-bred, or ill-kept and ex- posed to storms, the fibres will be rough at the points and coarser than at the roots, the reason of this being that as the wool gets 26 THE LAlsICASTER FARMER [February, longer, or as it is more exposed to bad weather and hard treatment, nature makes it stronger to resist what it has to encounter, while the part which is next the skin remains Sne to give greater warmth. Such wool, even when combed and spun into yarn, never lies smooth and evenly as true-bred wool, and is conse- quently not of as much value. There is an- other sort of wool which farmers do not seem to understand, and writers on the subject often ignore, but which is found more or less on all cross-bred sheep and on sheep which are too much exposed and fed on hilly districts. This is known as "kemp, " or dead hairs. These kemps vary in length and coarseness ac- cording to the breed of sheep. In white Highland they are about two inches long and very tliick ; in cross-bred Australian they are very short. In the former they cover the under sine of the fleece ; in the latter they are so few as to not be of any importance. They are, however, all alike in this, that they are a brilliant shining white (except on sheep with grey wool, when they may be black), and they will not dye the same color as the rest of the wool. They consequently depreciate the value of the wool very greatly, making it only suit- able for low goods. — London Live-Stock Jour- nal. THE RED ANT. Formiea rufa is a large red ant, very com- mon in England and in Eui-ope, where its mounds are often conspicuous objects in the fields. A variety of the same species occurs upon the Western plains, where it extends even to the elevation of Leadville, 11,300 feet above the sea. The correspondence of Dr. II. C. McCook with Dr. Puy, of Dakota has proved the presence of this species in that Ter- ritory, and examination of the mounds shows some peculiarities of construction. The en- tire mound is formed of a mixture of small twigs and earth, and in its centre is a ball of twigs about eight inches in diameter, doubt- less serving as a nursery for the eggs and larvse. The nursing and protection of the young is the centre upon which hinges the whole economy of a formicary (or ant city). In the mounds of some other ants there are many series of galleries, and the young are re- moved to greater depths when the frosts are severe. In the present case the material em- ployed is a protection against frost, but the ants themselves were found to have retired to greater depths. Six or seven galleries leading downward from the nursery were followed to a depth of four and a hall feet without reach- ing their termination. Although these ants are thus well able to protect themselves from the severe weather of the region they inhabit, the material employed renders them peculiar- ly liable to destruction by the prairie fires, which burn out the vegetable matter of the mounds and make holes large enough to hold a bushel basket. A tall, succulent species of grass, which usually flourishes around the edge of the clearing made by the ants, often protects them from fires. A WEB-SPINNING INSECT. Dr. H. C. McCook recently reported to the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences the discovery upon the Wissahickon of an exam- ple of the curious web-spinaing insect, Psocxis country. The Fsocus is the only insect that is known to spin a web while in the imago or perfect stage, and is exceedingly interesting as exhibiting in the image a habit which is common among larval insects (in making their cocoons) and general among the related spiders. The fact tliat the order of insects, Neuroptora, to which Psociis belongs, is the lowest insect order, was mentioned by the speaker. The writer of this ventures to add that all evolutionists will believe that the web-spinning habits of this genus of insects, of the larval butterfly, or moth, and of the spiders, point backward to a remote common ancestor. There is enough in common be- tween insect sand spiders, excluding this habit, to lead students of morphology and embry- ology to the belief that the two classes are de- scended from the same original stock. WHERE DO HOUSEFLXESCOME FROM.' It is a prevalent idea that houseflies es- pecially abound in the neighborhood of stables, and it has often been stated that the housefly lays its eggs in the compost of such places. Exact observations seem, however, to be scarce, and it is, therefore, interesting to know that Dr. Joseph Leidy has put on record that he observed the swarming of these pests from the compost heap of a stable, and more- over, found that the flies were infested with a brown mite. THE CANKER WORM. Those who have orchards in localities where the canker worm has made its appear- ance in years past, should improve the first good weather after the snow is gone to protect their trees. If "Tree Protectors," have al- ready been used, a careful examination should be made to see that there is no open cavities between the protector and the tree, where the grub can find a passage-way up the tree ; if any are found, they should be well filled up. The troughs should be well cleaned out and examined to ascertain if any defect exists, if not, they should be filled with oil. If the protectors are well put on, and properly filled with oil, but little more is necessary, ex- cept to see that the troughs are kept filled with oil, and that during the best of the season enough grubs do not get in to form a bridge over which the grubs may pass. If no protectors have been put on and the orchardist feels that he cannot aflbrd to buy them, some other means should be used to protect the trees, which does not require so large an outlay of money. Tarred paper on the trunk, kept covered with some sticky substance is a protection which requires but little outlay of money, but considerable time which to some would be of little value, while to others would be more than the cost of patent protectors. Each orchardist must de- cide for himself what is best for his particu- lar interest. If he decides to use the tarred paper he should remove all rough bark from the trunk of the tree where the paper is to be placed, that it may set close to tlie tree, to prevent the grubs from passing up between the paper and the tree. Tne strips of paper should be ten or twelve inches wide, and may be tacked on the tree with tacks that have large heads, or tied with two strings, one at punctatus, not before known to occur in this the top and the other at the bottom of the paper. " Tree Ink" is largely used to cover the paper with, but some insist that there are much better substances, such as the residuum of kerosene, or a preparation made of rosin and linseed oil, four parts of the former to one of the latter, slightly varying in proportions as the weather is cold or warm. Whatever substances are used should be renewed as often as they harden so the grub can pass over. The orchard should be examined every day after the ground begins to thaw until the buds begin to break, and as often as necessary, the paper should be covered with fresh ma- terial ; sometimes the neglect of a single day will permit grubs enough to pass up to seri- ously injure the crop of fruit. SOME HABITS OF SPIDERS, Spiders are highly carnivorous creatures, yet Mr. Meehan recently observed some of these insects sucking grape-juice, and Dr. McCJook noted a couple of phalangiums (har- vestmeu. Daddy Long Legs) feeding upon the juices of a pear. Such a variation from the usual habit has been observed even in mosqui- toes, which have by Mr. McCook been seen to suck the sweet juices of plants. The need of liquid in some form may be the occasion of the habit. Rev. Dr. McCook recently ex- hibited to the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences a perfect example of the architectural skill of Attics opifex, a California spider. The nest, which was of an irregular oval form, about two inches long by one inch broad, and contained its owner, had been for- tunately so placed on a branch of a species of Artemisia, or sage brush, that it was preserv- ed intact. The leaves of this plant are very small, and shrink but little in drying, a cir- cumstance which preserved the nest placed' among them from the destruction wrought upon the nests of kindred species in Pennsyl-- vania by the shrinkage of the leaves to which' they are attached. Attics opifex does not' weave an orb web, but belongs to a tribe of' spiders known as saltigrades or hunting spi-' ders. The nest is a domicile for its owner, and contains, attached to one of its sides, a double-convex cocoon filled with eggs. Some young spiders which had escaped from this were about an eighth of an inch long, and re- sembled their mother, but were less gray. The example exhibited was composed of thickly-woven sheeted silk, and surrounded with a maze of fine silken lines. A circular hole at the bottom serves for entrance and exit. A PECULIAR FISH. Some of the readers of Tlie Record may re- collect that, several months past, mention was made of a singular elongated fish with a mouth which, compared with the body, may be truly called enormous. The fish was dredged off the coast of Morocco by the French exploring vessel Le Travailleur, and was named by Vailiant Eurypharynx pele- canoides. The pelican part of this name al- luded to the pouch between the long jaws, which were produced backward, so that the distance from their posterior end to the tip of the snout was about three and a half times the length of the skull. THE LANCASTER FARMER. 27 As ;i curiosity tliis animal lias now been put .n the background by a fish, several examples of which liave been dreilgcil, at deptlis vary- iuf? from oIK) to '2000 fathoms, otV the coast of Massachusetts, by the vessel of the United Stales Fish Commission. This fish, as de- scribed before the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences by Mr. J. A. Hyder, has jaws about seven times the length of the head, which is half an inch long and of about equal width. The upper jaw is suspended from the anterior portion of the body by an extensible membrane, while from the lower portion hangs a capacious pouch. A lateral extension of two inches is permitted by tlie articulation of tiie jaws. Thus the mouth, wlicn wide open, forms a capacious funnel, of which the rest of the body stems an insignifi- cant continuation. This funeral serves for tlie collection and storage of food, and proba- bly some of the stages of digestion are carried on within it. Tlie gills are placed a long distance behind the head, the bones of the operculum or gill- cover arc entirely absent, and the gill open- ings are reduced to mere pores. The tail is a long, slender, flexible continuation of the body, and near its tip is a fine composed of membrane only, without the bony or car- tilaginous rays present in most fishes. In this respect this llsli is like an embryo fish. Tlie eggs from the ovary into the alimentary canal, as in the eels, to which this fish is more nearly allied than it is to other tribes of fishes, though still in some respects well re- moved from them, having characters some of which show high specialization, while others are embryonic. The inside of the mouth and throat, as well as the outer skin, is jet black. Many drop-.sea animals are deprived of sight, but in this species the eyes are functional Dr. Gill has proposed for this strange fish the name of Oastrostonins bairdii, which, translated into the vernacular, means Baird's belly-mouth. INDIAN CORN— ITS VALUE IN THE RATION. Corn i'S so rich in oil that we may say corn bread is ready buttered ; it is, however, very digestible, and in cold weather this oilliness is a most valuable factor, as it serves to keep up the heat of the body more directly than starch and similar substances. With oats and barley it may form one third of the grain ration of hard-worked draft horses, and will keep their coats glossy and be in every way a benefit, certainly worth more than its weight in oats. Fed alone or m larger proportion, it has a tendency to make horses sweat easily, and, it is said to become quickly exhausted. It is not safe to feed it as freely as oats or barley, as there is danger ol impaction and— just as there would be if wheat were so fed. Xo doubt it is best fed ground with oats, and the proportions already indicated are proba- bly the most satisfactory, the meal being fed upon cut hay. For Cows in milk, corn meal may form with bran the exclusive grain ration, and may be fed at the rate of one pint of corn meal to each hundred pounds of the cow's live weight. No doubt it will be found just as good in Great Britain as here. It gives quality and richness to the milk, color to the butter and abundance to the flow if the cow is a good one ; but if she is inclined to lay on fat, such feeding will cause her to fatten, even though in full milk, and if she gets too fat she will go dry. For shc('p, corn is excellent, but should be fed whole and a little at a time. For swine, the universal experieiu* from Maine to Oregon, and from Canada to Mexico, is that it will make more and better pork than any other food. For poultry, it is in this country the universal grain, but is not always the best. It is admirable for its fattening proper- ties, but for laying hens, and growing fowls, it is not well to use too much. " Corn fed" fowls, ducks and goesc are firm fleshed and yet tender. They bear transportation alive with little shrinkage. True yellow corn makes yellow butter and yellow fat in fowls. English and French taste demands white fleshed poultry with pale, lardy fat, and so they fatten poultry on rice, and their fancy market fowls have about as much flavor as boiled rice. The American market demands yellow-fleshed fowls, with fat as yellow as June butter, and corn is the food to produce this in all poultry. SPREADING MANURE. Thorough pulverization and even spreading of manure are necessary to secure its full ef- fects. Not only is this necessary for top- dressing, but when it is to be ploughed in. Many inert substances used in stables and manure heaps act only as dividers of the manure, facilitating its wide spreading. Sand is often used for bedding in stables, and can have little value otherwise. Sawdust and tan bark when dry act also as absorbents of the liquids that would otherwise run to waste. Dry muck, fine charcoal and wood dust act chemically as absorbents as well as physic- ally. They also, in addition to their own value as a mulch and as manure, extend the quantity of the manure, and thus favor its even distribution. The dropping of manure in small heaps to be afterwards spread is often Justified by the greater ease and perfection with which it can be spread after the action of frost. The scrapings of the hog-pen or barnyard are often puddled like mortar by the treading of animals, and would spread like jiutty ; after freezing it is thoroughly dis- integrated and crumbles to powder. I do not know of any agricultural operation that is more often slighted than this of spread- ing manure. Spread it evenly and for top die.ssing follow with a Thomas smoothing harrow or a sharp fine bush. The claims of the Kemp Manure spreader to double the value of the manure over that as ordinarily spread by hand ([ quote from memory) do not seem to me unre;isonable. A year's trial has proved very satisfactoiy. It has spread everything that we have tried — straw, horse manure, barnyard, mud and fresh cow manure, come out all right. We have yet to try long rye straw in the horse manure with no fermentation, and long corn- stalks in the stable and yard manure. The disadvantages in its use are its weight, if manure is to be drawn far, its small loads and the difticulty of getting about in the barn- yards for the manure, as compared with a common ox cart. Neither can it spread frozen manure. Draw the manure to the fi(dd and place it in large heaps. It is bene- fited by the turning and mixing, and after re- loading the spreading is nothing except to the team. I have spread, perhaps, half my ma- nure with it for the past year, and with some changes in my arrangements, shall use it more in the future.— T. S. Gold in N. E. Homestead. A BEETLE PARASITIC ON THE BEAVER. At a recent meeting of the I'liiladelpliia Academy of Natural Sciences Dr. Horn ex- hibited specimens of a curious beetle taken from the bodies of beavers living at the mouth of the Rhone. The first example of this beetl, and the one from which the species was de- .scribed, came from an American beaver kept at Amsterdam. The species had there- fore been credited to America, yet strangely eneough, does not appear to have ever been collected there. The attendant at the Zoo- logical Gardens, this city, had stated that when a beaver which had been kept there died he saw a number of black objects escape from the skin, but he had caught none of them. The beaver of Europe and that of America are now considered the same species, and it is probable that their beetle parasi^ has also continued with little or no change. DISTRIBUTION OF THE OCCIDENT ANT. The Occident ant, a large species, which was first discovered in the far West, and the habits of which have been investigated, has been ascertained to extend eastward as far as the Missouri in Dakota, but does not appear to pass that river. In Missouri the same state of things occurs, and it is absent in Eastern, though abundant in Western, Nebraska. In Kansas it does not occur further east than Brookville. Among the debris collected from the nest of this harvesting species were some unripe pods of the leguminous plant, Paka alopecroides, which is abundant in the region. These were the refuse of the harvest, thrown out among the rubbish after the ripe pods were eaten. PARASITIC i^EMIES OF SPIDERS AND SPIDERS' EGGS. Rev. Dr. H. C. McCook, whose observa- tions upon spiders and ants have added so much to our knowledge of the physiology of these creatures, as well as of the conditions which surround them, stated at a recent meet- ing of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences that he had noted upon the cocoon of the large gayly colored orb-weaving spider, known as, Aryiope riparia, a number of per- forations, through which he at first supposed the young might have escaped. On examination it was found that the upper portion of the spider sac was filled with living young, but that the lower portion was infested by the cocoons of an ichneumon fly, known as Pczomachns gracilas. These smaller cocoons were in their turn infested by a still smaller insect, belonging to the family chalcididse, small four-winged flies, parasitic on the eggs and cocoons of other insects. Still more remarkable was the state of 28 THE LANCASTERSFARMER. [February things observed in a cocoou taken near San Francisco, C'al., and composed of a fine blackish silk. The large, jet-black spider that was collected close to this cocoon was proba- bly its owner, and had been named Epeira atrata. In this case, as in that of A. riparia, the lower portion of the cocoon contained a number of cocoons of ichneumon flies. On these chalcidians were parasitism was carried further still by the presence of smaller chaicids parasitic on the larger ones. The tenantry of the nest was completed by the presence of several larvte of a small beetle, and two or three active ants of the genus Solenopsis. In this case a considerable colony of young had survived the ravages or the ichneumon larvse, but this was not always the case, as the speaker had found the cocoon of a laterigrade spider entirely occupied with those of the parasites. Our Local organizations. LANCASTER COUNTY AGRICULTURAL AND HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. The Asrricultural Society of the county met stated- ly on Monday afternoon, February 4, in their room in the City Hall. The following members were present : S. P. Eby, C. A. Gast, J. M. Jol.nston, F. R. Diffenderffer, Israel L. Lai^lis, of this city, and Henry M. Engle, Marietta ; Johnson Miller, Warwicic ; Joseph F. Witmer, Paradise ; C. L. Hunsecker, Manheim ; Casper Hiller, Conestoga ; John C. Linville, Salis- bury; Levi S. Reist, Manheim; Calvin Cooper, Bird-inHand ; John H. Landis, Manor. In the absence of the President, Vice President Engle took the chair. On motion, the reading of the minutes of the pre- vious meeting was dispensed with. Crop Reports. Mr. Hiller said some persons apprehend the com- pact covering of snow will harm the wheat, but as the ground is open the thawing snow will find Its way into the ground and do no harm. In Conestoga township the peach crop is all right, the thermome- ter not having fallen below zero. John C. Linville did not believe the wheat was in- jured. He never saw so much damage done by mice as during the present winter. They seem to have injured all trees less than four inches in diameter. He also feared they have hurt the clover. Israel L. Landis believed the winter was favorable to the wheat crop. Johnson Miller reported the thermometer was 15 degrees below zero at one time. The tobacco is be. ing rapidly stripped ; cattle have been doing well. H. M. Engle also said the mice had done much damage both on trees and clover. Peaches are en. tirely destroyed in his neighborhood . The cold and hoar frost coming on the same day did the work. S. P. Eby, Esq., read an interesting paper on Labor-Saving Farm Implements. (Bee page 34 of this number of the Farmer.) L. L. Landis commenced the essay and moved a vote of thanks to the essayist, which was given. Casper Hiller thought the essay was timely and hit the nail on the head. John C. Linville believed inventors should be al- lowed to exhibit their machinery. He believed such exhibits would be of value and interest. H. M. Engle thought that if such machines and inventions did not take up too much of the time of the society they should be allowed. The opinion seemed to be general that exhibits all kinds of farm implements and machinery should be encouraged. Calvin Cooper thought It would, perhaps, be Judi- cious to make some provision in the by-laws allowing for the examination of agricultural implements, and he moved the adoption of a resolution allowing such exhibitions during the time set apart for testing fruits. Agreed to. Joseph H. Witmer believed in making haste slow, ly. We may overdo the matter. We may be over- run by the patent right men, as tiiey were in New Xork. The result there was that the local society was compelled to shutdown on the agents. The Oil Remedy. Casper Hiller read an extract from an old almanac, as follows : I have here in a German almanac of the year 1884, a few items that are worth repeating. The first says " Tanner's oil, or Linseed oil, kills surely and quickly the worms that attack the apple tree. You need only put a little of the oil where the worms have lo. cated themselves to get rid of them." The second is about preserving peach trees : " Make a box about a foot wide and deep, around the tree, and fill it with tan bark. This will keep the worms that are so destructive to peach roots entirely away, as no worm will ever go into the tan, no matter how old it will -get." The oil remedy has of late years become popular for destroying scale or bark insects and for a preven- tion of blights in pears. The apple tree borer, the most destructive of all worms or insects that infest the apple tree, is a later importation than 1824. Our almanac compiler would hardly have found it prac- ticable to eradicate the borer with oil. There is, however, little doubt but that the application of oij around the base of the tree would be an effectual preventive against the borer. Most oil sold under the name of linseed is as little the product of flaxseed as oleomargarine is the re- sult of cow's milk. Science converts petroleum into so-called linseed oil. These petroleum mixtures are so dangerous to plant growth that we should be careful not to use any oil unless we are quite sure that it is pure linseed oil. The box " idea " around peach trees is a good one, and has been tested successfully ever since. I do not think there is anything in the tan that is especially obnoxious to the peach borer. Experience has shown that these boxes should be filled in Mav, before the time that the perfect insect deposits its eggs. This filling may consist of coarse sanl, black- smith cinders, tan, bark, etc., and should be re- moved in September. The borer usually lays its eggs near the ground where the bark is tender, and by covering this half hard bark, makes it difficult for the insect to deposit its eggs. Besides, should a borer find lodgment, it could easily be seen and re moved when the box is emptied. I was under the impression that the peach borer was a later introduction. My knowledge of 59 years ago is that peaches were plenty. The trees were planted along fence rows and out of the way places — received no care what- ever, and got to be old trees. But the above extract would show that even then the borer was known. Tan Bark Remedy. We also read an extract from the almanac recom- mending the use of tan bark around the lower part of the trunk ; on which he commented as follows : Is Pig Raising Profitable. Joseph H. Witmer believed that a .sow can be kept at the present price of food for $13. At such a cost the raising of pigs can certainly be made profitable. As to what profit there was in growing pork, if any, he was not prepared to say. But his stock was of the best and he got large prices for all he had to sell. Casper Hiller believed hogs can be raised here at a profit. He now breeds the Jersey Reds. The meat is not so fatty as other breeds and is decidedly the best he has ever had. The hogs he killed this year certainly did not cost him so much as the meat would have cost him in the market. H. M. Engle believed it proper that a committee should be appointed to formulate a set of rules offer- ing premiums to farmer's boys for the largest crops grown on a certain portion of ground. He further -dvocated offering premiums for competitive essays. Resolution of Thanks. On motion the following resolutions were unani- mously adopted : Jiexolved, That the thanks of this society be ten- dered to Hon. A. Herr Smith, oui representative in Congress, for his prompt attention to our farming interests in urging before Secretary Folger a recon- sideration of the decision respecting the admission of foreign leaf tobacco under low rates of duty. Resolved., That the thanks of this community are due Senator Mitchell for voting in the United States Senate against the proposed treaty with Mexico, which would virtually open a door for the importation of foreign tobacco free of duty. Resolved, That these resolutions be communicated to the gentlemen named. On motion, the Society adjourned. FULTON FARMERS' CLUB. The Farmers' Club of Fulton township, met at the residence of Joseph R. Blackburn, on Saturday, February 2d, all the members being present but Mon- tillion Brown and Josiah Brown. The visitors were : Layman Blackburn and family, H. H. Haines and wife, of Rising Sun, Md., Edwin Stubbs and wife, Marchal Hesbit and family, Elwood Stubbs and family, and Wm. Hains, making in all quite a large company. The minutes of last meeting were read. Grace King stated that her answer to the question " Could 100 bushels of corn be raised on an acre of ground where (iO bushels was an ordinary crop," reported at the last meeting read as if intended to mean one acre. She understood the question to include seve- ral acres and her answer was given accordingly. Minutes were then approved. There being no specimens to exhibit E. H. Haines asked, " Does any one know the real value of cotton seed meal of feed for stock ?" No one present had ever used any for feed. Some had heard it spoken of as a good substitute for corn. L. Wood asked, " Has any one noticed more cream on morning than evening milk ?" Esther Haines had noticed this to be the case but could not give no reason unless it be the milk is warmer through the day than it is during the night. R. D. King thinks it is because the cows are always quieter at night than through the day. The secretion of milk is al- ways greater when they are quiet than when they are stirring around or excited. R. D. King asked, " Can you test the quality of new milk by weight." E. H. Haines replied that cream is lighter than milk, and milk that is rich with cream would consequently be lighter than that which contains a less quantity of cream. Wm. King asked, "Will creameries be likely to supercede the private dairy." Sol. Gregg thinks they will as they have better facilities ; could make a more uniform quality and with their improved machinery make it cheaper, and by selling in large quantities command' better prices. Ed. Stubbs : If creameries can make a better arti- cle the dairy will have to go. E. H. Haines : In getting large quantities of milk there is always some of it that will be of poor quality and by mixing it together it will affect the butter. He thinks there will always be a demand for dairy butter no matter to what extent the cream- eries may tie carried. i Club adjourned for dinner, and after gratifying the wants of the inner man, the male members took their usual stroll over the host's farm. After the call to order at the afternoon session, the minutes of the last meeting held here were read, and in answer to the President's call for criticism, Sol. Gregg reolied that they found things in their usual good order. Wm. King spoke of an improvement, a bay window, which adds much to the appearance of the host's house. E. H. Haines spoke of the host's new departure from the old way of ploughing his stock ground in the fall. He thought it was a good idea. He noticed that cultivated oats has been do- ing better than if the ground is ploughed in the spring. But the great obstacle to cultivating has 1884.J THE LANCASTER FARMER. 29 been the rubbish ou the grouml. Fall ploiiirhlnf; will allow of the ground becomlnfr well settled, and there will be little or no trouble iu cultivating In the spring. The host deserves credit for making the ex- periments. Layman Blackborn found objections to so much Ice around the buildings ; does not believe in the plan of ploughing the oats ground In the fall. Corie Blackborn recited " The Triumph of our Language." Grace King read an article from The. Farm Journal on " Care of Horses." The host read a letter ho had received for K. Key- nolds, of Cecil county, Md,, addressed to the club, giving his experience and some suggestions on the cultivation of German carp and describing the loca- tion and mode of constructing ponds. E. H. Haines suggested that the club hold a joint public sale, thus giving members who have stock for sale an opportunity to dispose of it, by joininff to- gether, employ an auctioneer and hold it in some central place. The club was pleased with the pro- position, but the matter was postponed until a future meeting. The following question was adopted for discussion at the next meeting. " As hay, corn and oats usually sell in our neighborhood, is It better to feed or sell them." The club takes this opportunity to return thanks to Hon. Wm. Brosiu^, for copies of the annual re- ports of the State Board of Agriculture. Adjourned to meet at Lindley King's residence, March 7, 1S84. LINNiEAN SOCIETY. The Linnean Society met ou Saturday afternoon, January 2(Jth,18S4, at 2 P. M., the President, Hon. J. P. Wickersham, in tlie chair. The minutes of previous meeting were read and approved and monthly dues collected. Donations to the Museum. Two specimens of the larva of a species of Har- palus, supposed to be pensylvauicus— a common "ground beetle "—belonging to a family of the Carabidi£. What is specially remarkable in regard to these in- sects Is that they were found active on the snow, about the beginning of January, after a temporary thaw, and so numerous were they that they attract- ed the crows. Donated by Mr. Frederick Beates, of Willow Street, on whose premises they were found. Three cases of the " case worm " or " caddl worm," the work of the larva of a species of Phry- gania, belonging to the order Neuroptera ; and also the sack of the "sack worm" or "drop worm." Thyridopteryx ephemEcriformis, belonging to the order Lepidoptero. The former constructs its habi- tation in streams of water, out of whatever ma- terial it may be able to find there, aud the latter on trees and shrubbery, out of leaves and leaf-stems. Of course, in both cases the outer appearance will differ according to the material to which the insects have access. Several specimens of what seems to be the evacu ated egge of a species o Bombycidoe, perhaps Atia- cus luna or cecropia, by S. .\I. Sener. A dried specimen of what is called a " Cedar apple," about which there has been, and still is, a difference of opinion, as to whether it is a fungus or a gall— whether produced by an animal ova or a veg- etable spore. It is said that the larva: of a species of syinps have been found In them ; but this may not be the cause of the excrcsence, any more than the larva of a Curcullo is the cause of the " black knot" of the plum or cherry tree. Two bean seeds infested by Bruchus fabea or " bcan-weavil" — illustrating the destructive charac- ter of this insect compared with Bruchus pisi or " pea-weevil," which seldom, if ever, deposits more than one egg In a pea seed. These two seeds show fifty cells, from which most of the insects have es- caped. A tine specimen of the common " Toadflsh," (*Bfttrachus tau) donated by Mr. John Sides, of North Queen street, found occupying an oyster shell. These fishes are frequently brought to the city of Lancaster, through the dealers In bivalves, and are generally found between the two valves. Of course^ when these fishes are large enough to fill the whole cavity, very little else can be there. Occasionally they are found outside of the shell. I have never been able to learn from those persons from whom i obtained these fishes, whether the shells contained any part of the animal, at the time these fishes occu- pied the shell, or whetlier tlie fish alone occupied if As the tau sometimes occurs twelve Inches In length, it is very probable that the young fish resorts to an already vacated oyster shell as a protective habita. tion just as the " Hermit crab" does. In its native element, it Is said to be often found in cavities unde r stones, oyster beds would afibrd similar protection from all enemies, except parasites, and the oyster- man's dredge. Mr. A. J. Zercher, of Conestoga, donates an In fant chick of the white or light Brah ma variety, with four well defined legs. It has been said that these monstrosities only occur under domestication, aud never among animals in a wild state. This has been contradicted by a piscatorial writer, who states that In the Columbia river, the salmon exhibit these abnormal forms, and sometimes large numbers oc- cur in the same locality. Donations to Library. The United States Coast and Geodetic Survey for 1882. A quarto volume of 50.5 pages, containing ad- ditionally, 34 folded maps and charts, also 16 quarto maps and nearly .50 other illustrations, frou.' the Coast Survey at Washington, D. C. A copy of the Albuquerque Morning Journal, for January 1, 1881. A copy of the Manitoba Daily Free Press, for August 11,1883. A copy of the New York San, for December 23, 1883 A copy of the Sacramento Weekly Union, for Janu- ary 5, 1884. These papers are all large 16 page folios, some of them profusely illustrated, containing interesting local historical matter, and are landmarks in the newspaper progress of our country. They were do- nated respectively by Messrs. W. L. Strachan, C. A. Heiuitsli, W. Rex McComsey and J. Wittich. Copy of Buffalo Daily Courier containing proceed- ings of annual meeting of the Buffalo Historical Society . Pamphlet on the Wyoming massacre, illustrated with a plate of the monument erected there. Alphabetical list of inventions from January to June, 1883. American Bookseller and several other circulars and prospectuses of scientific books. Tlie librarian hanaed in a report of the number of books donated and purchased by the society, from January, lsS3, to January, 1884, and also the present condition of the library. Action on Constitution and By-laws was again de- ferred until a future meeting, and the secretary asked to see several of the members and endeavor to make arrangements for an evening meeting to act on the same, and to notify the members of the time and place by mall. The president then announced the following gentlemen and ladies as chairman of the different committees : Mammology— Dr. M. L. Davis. *This subject of the Aqueous Realm belonics to the order AcanthopteryKia or Spined-fishus, and to the fainil.v Prdicalti or " Angler lishes." The most luhle IU.pb,rr7, BarlT Harvest Blaekbrrrj, Atlantic and Daniel Boone 8trawberrle« | •«nd for drfritfii Tht larger t and beat ttock of MAIX FRUITS States, l>i>n. 8IO; bsrf , fa. s EVERAL HUNDRED VIRGINIA FARMS C. U. Kl't:s, Narator. BURRELLiWHITMAN.LltUe FalH.N T. SedpickSteelWireFence onf pain tf or gftlvnniKed) it willlast a life-lime. It ii Superior to Boardi or Barbed Wlra in every reepoel. into ft>»or. Tlie SedBWlFk dnU-i. mertp of wroughl- Iron pipe and eteel wirt-, defy all competition in ocatness, strenetti and dnrabililv. Wt- nNo mukv the beat and cbMpesI All Iron Automatic or Self-Opening Oatt, alio Oheapeit and Heataet AU Iron Fence. Beat Wire Ntrr teller and I'ost AiiB<*'-. tiire Ruaaell'a rxeellent Wind Ensinei piiiniilnB watei', or geared engines for ijri and other Ficbt worlc. For prices and partionlai IVKIMJWIf'K BROS. nrre. Rlrlimond', DR. JOHN BULL'S Sitl'sToDicSyri FOR THE CURE OF FEVERandAGUE Or CHILLS and FEVER, AND ALL IVI.V.flRlflL DISEASES. The proprietor cf tliia celebrated medi- cine justly claims fur it a superiority over all remedies ever o. "ered to the public for the SAFE, CERTAII^, SPEEDY and PER- MANENT cure of Ag::= ::nd Fever, or Chilh and Fever, whether of short or long stand- ing. He refers to the entire Western and Southern country to bear him testimony to the truth of the assertion that in no case whatever will it fail to cure if the direc- tions are strictly followed and carried out. In a great many cases a single dose has been sufficient for a cure, and whole fami- lies have been cured by a single bottle, with a perfect restoration of the general health. It is, however, prudent, and in every case more certain to cure, if its use is continued in smaller doses for a week or two after the disease has been checked, more especially in difficult and long-standing cases. Usu- ally this medicine w;ll not reqxiire any aid to keep the bowels in good order. Should the patient, however, require a cathartic medicine, after having taken three or four doses of the Tonic, a single dose of BULL'S VEGETABLE FAMILY PILLS will be suf- ficient, BULL'S SAESAPARILLA is the old and reliable remedy for impurities of the blood and Scrofulous affections— the King of Blood Purifiers, DR. JOHN BULL'S VEGETABLE 'WORM DESTROYER is prepared in the form of candy drops, attractive to the sight and pleasant to the taste. DR. JOHN BULL'S SMITH'S TONIC SYRUP, BULL'S SARSAPARILLA, BULL'S WORM DESTROYER, The Popular Remedies of the Day. ipnion •OlISVII.I.K.Kl, L CfiNTKNNIAL 1884SEED1884 ClTALOGi GARDENERS' COMPANION/ I'lishcd, costing fifteen < HINDKKOTII VK.VK. s 'FoK ALL ClIMATK All Testt-d for Vitality, and in Gardens for Purity and Value, CATALOGUE AND PRICE LIST of Vegetable, Flower and Field Seeds of all Tested Valuable Varieties, Free. Mail Orders promptly filled, making a Seed Store at liome. Reduced Prices to Clubs, send for catalogue. HIRAM SIBLEY &, CO., Rochester, N.Y., Chicago, III. A HOME ORGAN FOR FARMF.RS. A MONTHLY JOURNAL, Devoied to Agriculture. Horticulture. Do- mestic Economy and Miscellany. Founded Under the Auspices of the Lancas ter County Agricultural and Horti- cultural Society, EDITHl) BY DR. S. S. KATHVON. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION : ONEDOLLpPERANNU^^, POSTAGE PREPAID BY THE PR0P8IET0R. All subscriptions will commence with the January number, unless otherwise ordered. Dr. S, S. RuttivoD, who has so ably manafted tho editorial department In the past, ^ill continue In the position of editor. HIb contributiouB on subjects connected with the Hcioiice of rarming. aud particnlarly that specialty of which he i« so tboronhly a master— entomologlcHl science— some knowledge of which has become a necessity to the Bucce«s- ful farmer, are alone worth much more than the price o this publication. He Is determined to make "The Farmer* a necessity to nil honseholda. A county that has so wide a reputation as Lancaater county for its agricultural products should certainly be able to support an agricultural paper of Its own, for the exchange of the opiuiotis of farmers Interested In this mat- oter. We aHk the co^puratiou of all farmers ln>ereet«d In this matter. Work among your friends. The "Farmer" 1 only one dollar per year. Show them your copy. Try and induce them to subscribe. It is not much for each ■ttt>. scri^er to do but It will greatly assist us. AU communications in regard totheedltorlal management should be addressed to Dr. 8. 8. Rathvoii, Laucastor, Pa., and all business letters lo regard to subscriptions and ad- vertising should be addressed to the imblishcf. Rates of advertising can be had on api>lication at the lOHN A. HlhoiAND No. g North Queen St., Lancaster, Pa. THE LANCASTER FARMER [February, 1884.. Where To Buy Goods IN LANCASTER. BOOTS AND SHtES. MARSH AM. A SOX. ; pairing promi>tl>- attrmifi to. M. 500KS AND STATIONERY. rOHX ItAKIfs .< FURNITURE. HKIXir.Sl|-S. Ni>. 151., l.-,ast Kin- St., (over CI Halll is tlic- cheaiKsl pla.e in Lancaster to CHINA AND GLASSWARE. GLOVES, SHIRTS, UNDERWEAR. W SHIRTS MADE TO ORDER, AND WAKR.\NT£D TO FIT. 79-1-12) £. J. ERISMAN, 17 West King St., Lancaster, Pa. H' >-s and Queensware, Fancy Goods, CLOTHING. M VKRS & RATlirON. Centre Hall, No. 12 Ea.st King St. Largest Clotliing.Houae in Pennsylvania tside of Philadelpliia DRUGS AND MEDICINES. GW. HIII.I., Dealer in Pure Drugs and Medicines , Chemicals, Patent Jledicines, Trusses, Shoulder Braces, Supporters, &c., 15 West King St., Lancaster, Pa TOHW F. LONG'S SON-S. Druggists, No. 12 North tl Queen St. Drugs, Medicines, Perfumery, Spices, Dye Stufls, Etc. Prescriptions carefully compounded. HATS AND CAPS. CH AMEK, No. 39 West Kin- . Hats, Caps, Furs, Robes, e Prices Ix>w. JEWELRY AND WATCHES. HZ. RHOAUN * BK<»., No. 1 West King St. . Watches, Clock an. I >Insiial Hoxes. Watches and Jewelry Manufitctured In onkr. PRINTING. JOHN A. HIKfiTANn. 9 North Queen St., Sale Bills, Circulars, Posters, Cards, Invitations, Letter and Bill Headsand p;nvelopcs neatly printed. Prices low. Iss-2. ,Xcnt FREE ST POSSIBl-E PRU'ES, Fully guaranteed. No. 20 EAST CHESTNUT STREET, Opposite P. R. R. Depot. GREAT BARGAINS. CARPET HALL OF H. S. SHIRK, No. 202 If'est King St. Call and examme our stock and satisfy yourself that we can show the largest assortment of these Brussels, three plies and ingrain at all prices— at the lowest Philadelphia Also on hand a." large and complete assortment of Rag Satisfaction guaranteed bath as to price and quality. You are invited to call and see my goods. No trouble in Bhowiug them even if you do not want to purchase. Don't forget this notice. You can save money here if you want to buy. Particular attention given to customer work. Also on hand a full assortment of Counterpanes, Oil Cloths nd Blankets of every variety. (uov-iyr. KNAIE PIANOFORTES. Tone,Toncli,WorimiS^^ 1VII.I.IAIII KNABE & CO. Nos. 204 and 206 West Baltimore Street, Baltimore. No. 112 Fifth Avenue, N. Y. deesiu Special Inducements at the NEW FURNITURE STORE ■W. A. HEINITSH, Pufnitufe, Picture Frames, &., ids consta as Ha,m* ^ixxB Sttr-eet, novl-ly LANCA8TER,«PA. DR. JOHN BULL'S Smilfi's Tonic Syrup,. FEVER AND AGUE, OR CHILLS AND FEVER, AND ALL MA- LARIAL DISEASES. Tlie proprietor of this celebrated medicine justly claims for it a superiority over all remedies ever oB'ered to the public for the Safe, Certain, Speedy and Perma- nent cure of Ague and Fever, or Chills and Kcver, quire any an I to k.-r], 1 1,,- lJ.,^^,■|x in ■„ I ..nU-r. .Should the paticHl, lii,.\.\'r. j-.ciunc a .alharlir lilcilicine, . after havinj; lakiii din-.' ..r I • ,]..-.- ..1' llio Tcuiic. a single dose of BULL'S VEGETABLE FAMILY PILLS will besufiicient. The genuine SMITH'S TONIC SYRUP must have Dr. John Bfi,i>'8 private stamp on each bottle. Dr. JouN Bull onlv has the right to manufacture and sell the original JOHN J. SMITH'S TONIC SYKUP, of Louisville, Ky. Examine well the label on each bottle. If mv private stamp is not on each bottle do not pur- chase, or you will be deceived. SMITH'S TONIC SYRUP, BULL'S SARSAPARILLA, BULL'S -rt'ORM DESTROYER, The Popular Keinedies of the Oay. Principle Office, 831 HJain St., LOUiSVlLLE, KY, aug-ly] 1840. S. S. RATHVON, ^|erc[)ar)t Tailor, No. 101 NORTH QUEEN ST. LANCASTER, PA. ■CLOTHING MADE PROMPTLY TO ORDER. 1840. 1883. h/jCa week in your own town. Terms and $6 outfit ttte pOUAddreBS H. Hallett ji Co., Portland, Maine. jun-lyr* ONE DOLLAR PEE ANNUM-SINGLE COPIES 10 CENTS. CONTENTS OF THIS NUMBER. EDITORIAL. March 33 More oftheUround Hog 33 J. B.G 33 San Jose Scale 34 Excerpts 35 CONTRIBUTIONS. Currant Worms, &c 37 Farmers Institutes 37 ESSAYS. The Culture, Manufacture, Trade and Consump tion of Tobacco 37 SELECTIONS. The Improved Creamery Process 38 The BiiltPi- Making. The Next State Fair 39 The Cabbage Fly 39 Barn-Yard Economy 39 Manual Arts in Farming 40 Havana Seed 4(i Protection Against Floods 41 Avoiding the Hessian Fly 41 Home Comforts for Farmere 41 Tsetse, or Poison Fly 41 Building Material i-2 Farming Does Pay 43 How to Cook an Old Hen 42 The Codling Worm 42 The Fly's Nose 42 To Cause the Hoisc to Follow You 43 Tanning and Tawing 43 OUR LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS. Lancaster County Agricultural and Horticultur- al Society 44 Crop Reports— Roftd Making— Tobacco Culture— Miscellauequs. The Fulton Farmers' Club 45 Answerinj; tiuestiona. Tobacco Growers' Association 45 The Mnuieau Society 45 DonatiuM8 to the Museum.— Donations to the Library. HORTICULTURE. Growing Nuts 4G Solanum 4(i Pruning— How and What 46 HOUSEHOLD RECIPES. Washing Potatoes 46 Feeding a Baby > 46 Court Plaster 46 Bedsteads 47 The Ironing Blanket .^ 47 Oatmeal Wafers *^ Broken Needles *''__ Frightening Tinware *~ Cecils. Crumbed Haddock *J_ Celery Mavonnaise *" Bread Cakes • ♦J Lemon Pie ^~ Boiled Indian Pudding •*'^ Baked Indian Pudding ♦^ Indian Loaf Cake ^^ Mrs. Brown's Cup Cake 47 Crullars *'' Waffles i~ Mrs. Moulton's New England Brown Bread 47 Pop Overs 47 A New Way to Cook Chickens 47 Crackers 47 POULTRY. Hatching Time 47 Fowls for Eggs and for .Market 47 Fowls Must Have(ireen Stuff 48 Coal-Ashes for the Dust Box 47 Poultry Haising for Young Men 48 Literary and Personal 32 CutThisOuf!^ CTS.&yua'Ugetbyt QOIDEN (01 OF QOODS iJiiSJHONfV^lnOnoM^onth, ALL FOR 30 CENTS 1 pkg each ofSug.vrTrouch Ronrd, Prize Head Lettuce, Acmd Tomato, and striped jPeinnia. I /iaiv f/rown the gourds by the tarrr to hold from four tofiveoftl's. each. '^ "fh rnrh ordf)' I wUl setui mv treaiise V Doftms fn nn i/ Farmer. A fftlreas Wa ldo y iii:\-\ FROM A iit>! a«sT^i'n«»i»rjTi>i '^■jI'I&I'' nlll "''""'"""' ''"''"iSEarlieslLarge Berry QTS.C WIDMYER & RICKSECKER, UPHOLSTERERS, nd Maiiufacti FURNITURE PD CHAIRS. MAKKnOO.^fS: 102 East King St., Cor. of Duke St. LANCASTER. PA. LIGHT mm\ EGGS FOR SAI.S I I have this season three differ- ent yards, and will sell eggs at the following prices: From Yard iVo. 1, per set- ting of 13, S2.50 From Yard No. 2, per set- ting of 13, 2.00 From Yard No. 3, })er set- ting of 13, \.bQ Address L. RATHVON, No. 9 North Queen St.. Lancaster, Pa. BEST MARKET PEAR. »!>,!)!>!> I'K.VCH TKKKS. all llio het.1 viirietip* of I.PH and Ol.l sTKVWUKKItlKS. CI IIIIANTS, iKAi'Ks, i[.\>iri!Kiti:ii;s. .tc. KAIMA ( LISTI'K BLACKIiKRRY, M'». I.:irlv, H:irl„c.iist.,«ii. >•..!. fTBEES Fruit, Shade and Ornamental Trees. I rained iu tbin couijt.vaiid i LOUIS C. LYTE. Bird-in-Hand P. O., Lancaster co., Pa. W^ Good Wii^ef* CAI THE EXAMINER OTFICI No. 9 North Queen Street, Lancatter, THE LANCASTER FARMER. PGXNKVLVAXIA RAIJ.ROA.D HCHEDVLE. On and after SUNDAY, JUNE M, 1883, trains leave the Depot in this city, as follows : WE TWARD. Pacific Express* News Express* Way Passenger* Hanover Accommodatiou, Fast Line' Frederick Accommodation Lancaster Accommod'n. Harrisburg Accom Columbia Accommodation.. Harrisburg Express . . Western Express. ., EASTWARD. Mail Express* Philadelphia Express., 12:c 10:20 a. 11:45 a. 3:15 p. : 6:45 p. Seashore Express . . Johnstown Express. Day Express* Harrisburg Accom . , The Frederick Accommodation, west, ter with Fast Line, west, at 1:^ p. m.. and runs to Frederick. Hanover .Accommodation, weal, connecting at Lancaster with Niagara Express at 9:45 a. m. will run through to Hanover daily except Sunday. Harrisburg Express, west, at 7:40 p. m. has direct con- nection to ColuMibia.and York. The Fast Line, west, on Sunday, when flagged, will stop at Downingtown. Coatesville, Parliesburg, Mount Joy, Elizabethtown and Middletown. The Johnstown Express from the west, will connect al Harrisburg on Sundays with Sunday Mail east, for Philadelphia, via Marietta and Columbia. *Theonlyt I daily NORBECK & MILEY PRACTICAL kmm Buildepg cox & CO'S OLB STA^D. Corner of Ouke and Vine Streets, LANCASTER, PA. THE LATEST IMPROVED SIDE-BAR BUGGIES^ PHOTONS, Carriages, Etc. IHElfflESIiSSiTllilBieECin. Prices to Suit the Times. REPAIRING promptly attended to. All work guaranteed. EDW. I. ZAHM, AMERICAN AND FOREIGN WATCHES, SOLID SILVER & SILVER PLATED WARE, CLOCKS. JEWELRY ITABLE CUTLERY. Sole Agent for the Arundel Tinted SPECTACLES. Repairing strictly attended to. North Queen-st. and Oeatrs Square, Lancaster, Pa. ESTABLISHED 1832. -^ G. S£N£R & SONS, I^UIMEBSFl, PATENT 0. G. WEATHERBOARDING lyouha " OFFICE AND YARD : Northeast Corner of Prince and Walnnt-sts., LANCASTIGR, FA.. 79-1-12] ' Address Stissox & Co., Portland. Main PRACTICAL ESSAYS ON ENTOMOLOGY, NOXIOUS AND INNOXIOUS INSECTS, Bv S. S. RATHVON, Ph. D. LANCASTER, PA. This work wUi be Highly Illustrated, and will be put in prosi. (as noon alter a sufficient number of subscribers can be obtained to cover the cost) as the work can possibly be accnrapHshert. JOS. DELLET, Cigar Box Manufacturer, 49 V/est Lemon Street, LANCASTER, PA. OFFICE No, 8 North Qoeen Street, LANCASTER, PA. THE OLDEST AND BEST. THE WEEKLY LANCASTER EXAMINER One of the largest Weekly Papers the State. Published Every Weddnesaj Mwnung, 1 old, well-established newspaper, and contains just the s desir;ible to make it an interesting and valuable .ily Xewspiper. The postage to subcribers residing ide of Lancaster county is paid by the publieber. STTSSCE.I^'TIOiT : T^A^o Dollars per Annum. THE DAILY LANCASTER EXAMINER The Largest Daily Paper in the county. Published Daily Except S .ndaj. The daily is published every evening during the week. It is delivered in the City and to surrounding Towns ac- cessible by railroad and daily stage lines, for 10 cents Mall Siibaoription. free of postage— One month, CO cents: one year, 95.00. JOHN A. HIESTAND. Proprietor, No. 9 Nort X Queen St.. LA.JSrCA.STKR., PA.. For Good and Cheap v\^or k go to F. VOLLMZR'S FURNITURE WARE ROOMS No. 309 NORTH QUEEN ST.. (Opposite Northern Market), XjO'Xi.oa.ster', Z'cb. It Also, »11 kinds of picture fr»me«. nOT-ly The Lancaster Farmer. Dr. S. S. BATHVON, Editor. LANCASTER, PA., MARCH, 1884. Vol. xn Mo. 3. Editorial. MARCH. " Now who, I ask'd, in this wlcnl world Will barken to my prayer? A gentle voice borne on llie breeze Said ' see ! look over there, ' He, with the helmet and the shield— With glittering sword and crest, The gentle south wind can command And give thee peace and rest. But he was fickle, and forsooth Blew hot and cold together, And oftimes raced in blasts thai tore The grass roots from the heather. His visage now was decked with smiles ; Anon 'twas cold and arch. And in my woud'ring ears he breathed 'I'm blustering railing March." This is tlie third calendar montli, and, ac- cording to calendric divisions of tlie year, tlic frsl spring month ; altliough as a general thing, in our latitude, the month is far ad- vanced before tlicre is any very particular manifestation of spring — not much before the vernal equinox, and especially so, wlieu our meteorological phenomena are overruled by the stern prognostications of the gromul-hoij. Maucii, is derived from Mars, tlie god of war, and it frequently occurs that there is an elemental conflict between winter and spring, that continues the entire month. March mud, and 3Iarch dvst, are familiar character- istics of this month ; concerning the latter, it has been said — ".4. bxishel of March dust is worth a king^s ransom." This was said be- cause according to the Anglo-Saxon laws, the fine for murder was proportioned to the rank of the person killed ; 10 pounds being the ran- som of a common man, and 00 pounds the ransom of a king. Maus was originally an agricultural deity. As the reputed fatlier of Romulus, he was held to be the progenitor of the Roman people, who paid him higher honors than any other god excei)t Jupiter. lie was also regarded as " divine fortitude" [I. iM milled. As Bacchus, the evil demon, is thr guardian power of Mahometanism, so Mills, or divine fortitude, is the guardian liiiwrr ot Christianity. In old French and Prussian the name of this month is Mars; in German Martz; in Spanish and Italian Marzo; in Portugese Marco; and in Latin Martius; with modifi- cations of these, when the word is used as a verb: namely, Marche, Marcha, Marcio and Marsch. "March, in like a lion, out like a lamb," is about as wise a weather prognostication as that which relates to Candlemas and the "ground-hog," and perhaps much older ; and the truth of which we may have an oppor- tunity of testing the present season, if we understand clearly what is meant by coming in like a lion and going out like a lamb. The present season the month of March was ushered in decidedly cold, but it was not stormy, the preceding storm had sub.sided before the initiation of the month. If, how- ever, this can bo legitimately interpreted as coining in like a lion, tlien we ought to have a mild, lamb-like ending of the month ; the certainty of which we can only know when the prophecy has been fulfilled, or has failed. March has always been a stormy month, owing to its being a transition month from winter to spring. It is often, from this pivotal position among the months, the scene of great meteorological changes, especially during the weeks preceding and succeeding the vernal equinox. During this month, usually, the active outdoor work of the farmer commences, and is pursued as vigorously as the weather will permit, if it had not already commenced in February. What work ought to be done in the month of March on the farm, in the garden and the orchard will depend to a great extent on the character of the weather, and the latitude in which the farm is located. An important preliminary to spring is divesting trees, shrub- bery and other species of vegetation of all chrysalids, coccoons and egg-clusters of nox- ious insects, remembering that this is about the last month in which this operation can be successfully performed, under considerations of prevention. As many farmers do the great bulk of pruning this month (unless February has been mild) they should at the same time make the removal of insect embryo as much of a specialty as any other object involved in pruning and cleaning. After plowing is com- menced many insects will be thrown to the surface, in the form of pupm or chrysalids ; and also many hibernating la7-vce and imagos. If there are no birds, chickens and pigs to follow up the plowman and appropriate these animals they should be gathered by hand and be destroyed. This work is fast becoming one of the essentials of farming, if a profit is expected to be realized— it is one of the con- comitants of agricultural i)rogress. MORE OF THE GROUND-HOG. It is ratlier unfortunate and misleading that the term " Hog," should have ever been applied to this animal, especially now, that his weather prognostications have been so amply and so emphatically verified. We say misleading, because only a few days ago, in a local "squib" of one of our dailies, he was al- luded to as a Pachyderm. No doubt, through the malassociation of names the writer may have supposed him to belong to that thick-skinned group, because the com- mon hog (Sus) belongs to it ; but this is a mistake. The ground-ho2, or more properly, "Marmot," is a Rodent. Besides, there is an African Mammal called "Ground-hog," (Mtjrmecnphaga capicnsis) which belongs to the sixth order of CuviEits classification — the Edentat.v — because they have no teeth in front ; and, as the generic name implies, live on ants. By virtue of its scientific classifica- tion the marmot finds itself in company with the rats and mice, the gophers, the squirrels, the hares, the muskrats, the porcupines, the beavers, the chinchilliw, and a large number of others, both on the Eastern and Western Continents, all of which belong to Cuvier's fifth order, Rodextata, or gnawers. Where- as, the Pachydekmata constitutes the sev- enth order of Cuvieu, and includes the ele- phants, the tapirs, the hogs, the peccaries, the hippotami, the rhinoceri, the horses, zebras, asses, etc. Although it cannot be said that the marmot belongs to as highly or- ganized and intelligent an order as the ele- phant, the horse, etc. do; yet when it comes to forecasting the weather, in comparison with them, he quite "takes the rag ofl' the bush," and especially this year, he seems to have taken both "rag and bush" together. Al- though we would not extravagantly exalt the marmot for his prescience, yet history records the deification of a Roman Emperor's horse, for far less than that. True, a local poet has embalmed his memory in verse ; but, if he was not such a consummate nuisance to our farming population, we should not hesitate much to accord him a monument, or a situa- tion in the Signal Service of the United States. We merely wish to place him in scientific classification wliere he properly be- longs. He doesn't belong to the thick-skinned order of animals, hence his susceptibility to meteorological influences. J. B. G. We wish we could reply intelligently to our correspondent J. B. G., but as he alludes to insect pests of last season, of which he never sent us specimens, we can only guess at what he means — indeed, if we really knew, or had before us, the insects that destroyed his wheat, his currants and Ids grapes, the thoughts sug- gested by his communication could only find cxi)ression through a clever sized volume— 200 pages octavo at least. To show how indefinite the term uxmn is, we liave only to reflect that nearly all insects, at one period of tlieir devi'loi)ment are worms, of tliese worms_^re well delined species attack the roots, four attack the canes or branches, ly to any direc- ion in which you wish him to follow you. It s quite necessary to teach the horse this labit, as it is the foundation of many others, md is one of the most valuable which the lorse can To teach him, for your amusement, to fol- low you when entirely loose, put on the near fore-foot the long foot-strap and place on him a girth ; pass the strap under tlie girth, hold- ing the end in your hand, step away from him. Then step toward him, and if he attempts to step away from you pull on the strap and say "whoa." If he stops step up and caress him. Kepeat until he allows you to step up to him without moving away. Now take a short, blunt wliip in your right hand and the strap in your left, standing by his side, pa.ss your riglit arm over the withers and gently touch him on the ofl^ side of the head. If he starts to move off pull on the strap and say "whoa." When he turns his head caress him, and gradu- ally, with the whip, forcing him to turn his head around toward you. When he will do this every time you put the whip over you may remove the foot-strap and practice him in the lesson until he will come to you every time you lay the whip across his neck ; then put on the foot-strap again, put the whip in the same position, and hit in the same place quite hard, at the same time sayins : " Come here, sir 1" After a little he will be very prompt ; then place him in a corner and step off at a distance of eight or ten feet and say : " Come here, sir !" If he comes, caress him ; ifhe does not come, hit him gently on the breast with a long whip ; he will, perhaps, struggle to get away, and if he attempts to get out of the corner pull upon the strap. When he faces you step up to him and caress him, placing him back in the corner, and re- peat; if he finally shows a disposition to fol- low step back coaxingly, and when he stops caress him ; at each further repetition use the words: " Come here, sir," at each motion of the whip ; in this way he will soon learn to follow out at the words, if you have a whip in your hand. Don't take him out of doors to practice until he is quite perfect, and then beginning in small yards and alone. TANNING AND TAWING. Clias. W. Lawrence asks in the Farmer how to tan dog, coon, cat and squirrel skins with hair on and off. Tanning used to be my trade, and I am happy to be able to give the desired information. First, soak the skins in water. Smooth off a half round log, or a slab, and put legs in one end, for a "beam." Then for a "fleshing knife" use one-half of an old scythe; place the skin on the beam and with the fleshing knife scrape off all the filth, fat and flesh adhering to it. If the skins are dry they require several days' soaking, and considerable rubbing to get them as soft as when they came ofl" the animal. Next, place them into a lime bath, of about the consistency of thin whitewash. Stir them once a day until the hair comes off, then place them on a beam and remove the hair and what flesh may still be attached. (Ashes will al.so remove the hair.) Next place them into a solution of, say one pint of hen manure to a pailful of water. This is called "bating," aad removes the lime. Handle each day for a few days, and then place on the beam and scrape again. They are now ready for tanning. If you want to tan with the hair on, omit the liming and bating. The trouble will be if you have no bark, or a mill to grind it, you are at a great disadvantage. You can, however, in a copi)pr kettle, boil the leaves and twigs of oak trees and with several repetitions extract enough tanning for a few small skins, by using a tub or barrel, and immerse the .skins in the solution after it becomes cool. Commence with a weak solution, and gradually increiise its strength. The first day or two frequently "handle" or stir the skins in the ooze. When tanned, wash and scrape the leather and api>ly fish oil on the grain side, and a "dub- bing" made of two-thirds fish oil and one- third melted tallow, mixed, and hang up to dry. To black the leather on the grain side, use extract of log-wood, a little copperas, and if you can make an ooze of black oak or quer- citron bark, you have a blacking that can't well be beat. This blacking is just the thing to use on your harness before you grease. Tawing is a much quicker process than tanning. Proceed as above directed to get the skins "ready for tanning," with the ex- ception, if you want to tan with the hair ofl", instead of hen manure, use wheat bran for bating, say about two pounds of bran to a gallon of water. When through with this, make a "white bath," compcsed of a boiling solution in the proportion of, say one gallon of water, one pound of alum, and one-fourth pound of salt. Pass the skins separately through this hot solution, and then immerse them together, and leave them in it for ten minutes. A paste is then made by gradually adding during careful and constant stirring firstly, one ifnd a-fourth pounds of wheat flour to the above alum bath gently heated, and subsequently, the yolks of four eggs, and then incorporating the whole thoroughly. The skins, eithei with or without the hair on, are passed through this paste singly, and then transferred to it in bulk and left for a day. Then hang up and dry slowly. When dry take hold with both hands and rub across the edge of a shovel, until they become soft iis velvet, and white as snow. Sheep pelts tanned in this way make very nice rugs when colored ; four of them sewed together and lined make a good robe. Coon, rabbit and squirrel skins make good furs. The skins of the heads and necks of ducks tanned this way and sewed together would make an elegant ladies' hat or collar. It is indeed ''fancy work," or "an airy nothing," and stealing a march on "Fanny Field." Equal portions of pulverized alum and salt rubbed on the flesh side of a skin, then rolled up and immersed for a few days in a solution of the same proportions of alum and salt, will also tan, or taw it, but it draws so much dampness. A ground hog or a woodchuck skiu, after the hair is taken ofl', then im- mersed a couple weeks in soft soap, is an ex- ceedingly handy thing from which to cut strong strings. A calf or deer skin witli the hair taken off and then oiled, rolled up and pounded with a mallet, this repeated each day for a week, then hung up to dry, and then drawn across the edge of the shovel, makes shoe or belt lacing of the strongest kind, as it will be " oil tanned," and farmers can easily keep themselves supplied with so useful a material. For bag strings it is unsur- passed. The Indians tan with brains. After the hair is removed they place the skin along with the brains in an earthen pot ; the cou- 44 THE LANCASTER FARMER [March tents are then heated to about 95°, which converts the brains into a kind of lather, makes the skins very clean and pliable. If you want to make your boots and shoes pliable, wear much longer, and as near water- proof as can be made, boil them in oil and tal- low. If they are not perfectly dry, however, they will be ruined, but if perfectly dry you need have no fears to try it, and if you try it once you will do it again. Our Local Organizations. LANCASTER COUNTY AGRICULTU- RAL AND HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. The Lancaster County Agricultural and Horticul- tural Society met in its rooms on Monday afternoon, March 3rd, at two o'clock P. M. The following members were present : Calvin Cooper, Bird-in-Hand ; W. H. Brosius, Drumore ; J. C. Linville, Salisbury; Casper Hiller, Conestoga ; S. P. Eby, F. R Diffenderffer, J. M. Jolinston, city ; H.M. Engle, Marietta; Joseph F. Witmer, Para- dise ; Johnson Miller, Warwick ; J. P. Wickersham, R. B. Risk, city ; C. L. Hunsecker, Manheim ; John H. Landis, Manor; Dr. Bollinger, city; E. S. Hoover, Manheim. On motion, the reading of the minutes of last meeting was dispensed with. Crop Reports. Casper Hiller said the wheat crop looks very well. The mice have been doing havoc in the clover fields.- The peaches are still all right. From one in seven to one in thirty seems to be about the amount of damage Calvin Cooper endorsed what was said by the pre- ceding speaker. Wheat seems to have done very well. It looks green and thriving. He believed the fruit crop was all right so far. He thought the open ground had much to do in saving the crop. Joseph F. Witmer had not examined the grass. The wheat looks very well. Tobacco has all been stripped, but little has been sold. Johnson Miller said wheat came out remarkably well. The late snow has been beneficial to the fields. Tobacco is mostly stiipped. He believed we should have an essay read before the society on the growing of Havana seed. Johnson Miller said wheat came out remarkably well. The late snow has been beneficial to the fields. Tobacco is mostly stripped. He believed we should have an essay read before the society on the growing of Havana seed. W. H. Brosius had nothing new to offer. John C. Linville could find no peach buds on his forty trees that are still alive ; all have been de- stroyed. H. M. Engle remarked that in his neighborhood all the peaches and some of the cherries are winter killed. The thermometer at one time was eight de- grees below zero — a temperature cold enough to kill the peaches. Field mice have never been worse. Osage hedges have been very much cut up. One hedge he saw has hardly more than two dozen un- girdled trees left. The rainfall for February was four inches. J. C. Linville read the following essay on Road Making. The time is near at hand when the supervisor will make his annual round and dump a cart load of big stones in a mud hole here and there, pile more dirt on the tops of breaks that are already too high, and perhaps run another furrow in the bottom of side ditches that are already so deep that a loaded wagon cannot be drawn out of them if the driver is so un- fortunate as to get too near the side of the road. This brings to mind the fact that no part of the " civil service " needs reforming so badly as that re- lating to our public roads. The average supervisor is generally a man who has failed to earn a living at anything else, and falls back on the townships for his bread and butter through the wages of his office. It Is needless to say that he knows about as much of engineering as a Patagonian knows of the differential calculus. Under his supervision the roads always will be bad, no matter what the road law is. In some townships in this county the roads are sold, in short sections, to the lowest bidder, to be kept in repair for three years. The system is a good one theoretically, but a disgusting failure in practice. The system is a failure because, first, nine tenths of the contractors are not honest enough to fulfill their contracts ; secondly, the supervisor is too stupid to see that the road is not repaired according to con- tract ; and, thirdly, because if he does see it he has not nerve enough to compel its fulfillment lest he be " sat down on " at the next election. It is doubtful if, under the same supervision, the old plan of em- ploying the hands by the township is any better. Very few men are competent to "boss" a gang of hands and have them do efficient work, and such men get better positions than township supervisors. Assuming, however, that we have an efficient supervisor, the first requisite is to have good ma- chinery. A road machine, a stone crusher, a large strong plow and smaller tools should constitute the outfit. As most of the work on the road is done in the forepart of the season, a portable thresher en- gine can easily be hired to operate the stone breaker. The law very properly fixes the maximum grade of a public road at five degrees, or about nine feet in the hundred, and it should be the aim of supervisors to reduce all grades on much traveled roads to this standard. Many hill roads have a grade of twelve or thirteen or even more feet per hundred. A road- grade ought not, in any case, to exceed eleven feet to the hundred. Where rock crops out on a hill there is only one remedy — it must be macadamized. The average " turnpike" is made up of all sizes, and es- pecially big ones, dumped into the road and a few of the largest ones broken on top and then covered with dirt. Such a road is an insult to the common sense of the community and a constant temptation to teamsters to use language forbidden in the decalogue. The big stones are soon on top and are a source of continual annoyance. McAdam, the inventor of the system, says the stones should be broken to the size of about one inch cubes. They certainly ought not to be over two inches in diameter. The breaker is re- quired to reduce the stones. If the job is properly done the road will last for generations with but little repairs. No breaks are needed to turn the water off this road. It will find the sides as easily as " rolling off a log." Most hills have entirely too many breaks. When breaks are made they should be wide on top and the grade get easier near the summit, and the water space above be broad and not deep. The man who runs a break diagonally across the road should be sent immediately to an insane asylum or the peni tentiary. A good road has no deep side ditches, but is rounded from side to side, and is road all over. Teamsters may drive fully out to the sides and draw their loads back to the center of the road. With the improved road scrapers now in use two men and a team of horses will do the work of twenty or thirty men with shovels and do it infinitely better. The hills on the main thoroughfares should be graded first, and by intelligent management all the roads could be made good in a few years, and the cost need not be much greater than at present. Franklin's motto, "VVhat is worth doing is worth doing well " is as applicable to roads as to anything else. The public roads are an index of the thrift and in- telligence of the community in which they are found. The tendency of the times ie to light wagons and faster driving. We must have easier grades and smoother roads. While speaking of public roads, it may not be amiss to consider the matter in its festhetic bearings. The abominable habit of some farmers in letting briars, carrot, dog-fennel, scrap dragon and other vile weeds grow along their roadsides calls loudly for reform . And then some men make the roadside near their buildings the depository of all the super- annuated milk-pans, buckets, stove pipes and dilapi- dated wagons, to say nothing of castoS articles of female apparel and dead cats and dogs. It is fondly hoped that the day of better roads is not far off. The worst bugbear in the way is the fear of higher taxes. Oh ! Blaine, give that whisky tax to pay our county expenses, so that we may lay heavier local taxes, and have better roads. Dr. J. P. Wickersham opened the ball by saying he had ridden over roads in almost every European country. It was a delight to ride over the roads in England, Switzerland, France and Holland. He never knew how bad our roads actually were until he came home from Europe. He believed in the enl the government would finally be compelled to take road making under its supervision. He rode for hundreds of miles between rows of Linden and other trees planted by the roadside. He went over great grades, but never saw a break in all Europe ; they are harmful to horse and carriage. W. H. Brosius thought the road making business had attracted as much attention as any other ques- tion that concerns farmers. Our present system is not only a vicious one, but very defective. Joseph F. Witmer said the first way to get good roads was to educate the public to the proper pitch. Comparatively few people know what a good road is; the supervisors are no exception. People really don't know how a good road should be made. Peo- ple ought to advise with the supervisor and give him the benefit of their experience. The saving of horses, wagons and harness on a .good road is enor- mous. His idea was to have roads in such condition that people would travel over them because it was a pleasure to do so. S. P. Eby believed this county offered some obsta- cles from the beginning to good roads. They have not always been carried along the most favorable routes. He thought we have not yet learned the art of road making. The idea that we ought to have road taxes at the very lowest possible point is i mon. This is poor economy. No money is better invested than that appropriated to roads. Our supervisors do not understand making breaks. J. C. Linville agreed wi:h Dr. Wickersham that there is no necessity for breaks in the roads, not even in clay roads. The great sin in road making is in using stones that are too large. We pay no tax that gives us such good and quick returns as a well-made road. Joseph I. Witmer believed the best plan would to place the roads of an entire county under the supervision of a competent engineer, who should see' that the work on them was properly done. H. M. Engle, congratulated the writer on the essay, on having stirred up this road matter. The people will have to be educated up to the proper point. That time will come, however, when this evil will be remedied. Even our macadamized roads are not so good as those found elsewhere. Tobacco Culture. C. L. Hunsecker read a long and very interestingi essay on tobacco, its culture, uses and other facts concerning it. It called forth some comment, which was unfavorable to tobacco. It was denounced as pernicious, even more offen.sive to some than whisky. Tobacco, however, had its defenders, and some very favorable things were said of the great advantagei it has carried with it to laborers and those who cul tivate it. It is hardly likely, however, that the cul- ture or use of tobacco will be prevented by anything that was said. H.M. Engle again advocated the offering of preml ums to farmers' boys for the best crop of corn from a limited area of ground. He believed the society could do no better with its funds than use them in this way. J. C. Linville favored the idea, and moved that a committee be appointed to arrange the terms and conditions of the competition. The Chair appointed Messrs. Linville, Engle and Witmer a committee to, arrange the necessary details. 1884.] THE LANCASTER FARMER. 45 Dr. Wickereham advocated the holding of local agricultural lostitutee for farmers. Such Institutes have been held in Huntingdon, at which over 300 persons were in attendance. He believed we could get tlie attendance of 500 farmers at a county insti- tute. Why not try it? Get the best men in the county in the various departments of agriculture, fruitgrowing, dairying, and thus get up an Interest such as has never yet been felt among us. That is the way to create an Interest in the farmer's pro- fession. Joseph H. Witmer followed in an argument in the same direction, believing a very successful institute can be held . Miscellaneous. On motion, the chairman was authorized to ap- point a committee to prepare the details for the hold- of such an Institute. Messrs. Cooper, Wicker- inc, Engle, Brosius and Landis were named the committee. M. Engle said there was more damaged corn last year than for forty years. .Seed corn will be scarce. He had on exhibition a yellow corn that did very well with him for some years. It matures well, ripens early in the season, has little cob to the amount of corn on it, and that is thin at the butt, so as to be easily broken oil' at husking time. The iples shown had the butt well grown over with g.ains. A great deal can be done iu corn grow- ing by carelui attention. The following question was adopted for general discussion at the next meeting : Is there any advantage iu farmers' co-operative associations ? On motion, the society adjourned. . FULTON FARMERS' CLUB. The Farmers' Club of Fulton township met at the residence of Lindley King, on Saturday, March 8. The following members were present : Lindley King, E. Henry Haines, Grace King, Sol. Gregg, C. C. Cauffman, Joseph R. Blackborn, Wm. King and Day Wood. Visitors : Samuel Kirk and wife, Gilpin Reynolds and wife ; Samuel Davenport and family, Wm. King and family, Enos Marsh and wife, Erwin Stubbs and wife, James Smedley and daughter, and Mrs. Thomas King. The minutes of last meeting were read and ap- proved. Answering Questions. Day Wood asked, " Why is morning sunlight bet ter for plants than afternoon?" Rebecca D. King said that she has always beard it is the case, but could give no reason unless it is that the air is more moist in tlie morning than in the afternoon. Samuel Kirk, " It is said that plants sleep at night, and after a period of inaction the morning sun would Stimulate them to greater activity. Sol Gregg called the club's attention to the way a neighbor had trimmed his apple orchard by cutting tbe entire top off, and asked tlie members what they thought of It. E. H. Haines thought the trees are mined ; if they survive, they will send out innum- erable small twigs which will never bear fruit. Lindley King thought they will not form a new top. Ed. Stubbs had grafted the top of a large apple tree, and where the grafts failed to grow, there came out a perfect wilderness of small twigs. Wm. King said that if tbe trees are thrifty they will survive this trimming ; if not they will die. Rebecca D. King spoke of a large cherry tree, from which a large limb was cut and new branches came out and bore fruil. Someone said there is a difference between cherry and apple trees in this case. Club adjourned for dinner, and after the usual tour of inspection around tlie building, reassembled and on being called to oriier, the minutes of the meeting last held here, were read and criticisms called for. E. Henry Haines said that he did not see much change from last year except that the trees in front of the house are trimmed up, which he thinks is a good plan as there should be plenty of sunlight about the house to insure health. He also spoke of the fat cattle. The President was surprised that Mr. Haines had noticed the trees being trimmed and had not seen the new fences on either side of the lane. CJ. C. Cauffman spoke of a simple, but effective trap for catching pigeons at the barn. The host was com- plimented on his unusual good health and anpear- ance, with many wishes for their long contlnnance. Wm. King read from the I'mctieal Farmer some accounts of experiments with corn and cotton seed meal as feed. Esther Haines read from some paper, " Could women workers support more than them- selves." Wm. King read "Prolils of Dairy Farm- ing;" also an article on the adulteration of honey by glucose, and the manufacturing of spurious butters, stating that the dairy interests need protection from these imitation butters. " As corn, oats and hay usually sell in Lancaster county, is it better to sell or feed them ?" the ques- tion for discussion was then taken up. E. H. Haines thought that tlie only way to keep up the fertility with any degree of certainty, is to feed your grain and return it to the soil in the shape of barn-yard manure, but in certain sections, where commercial fertilizers act well, this plan of selling of the crops might do for a while. He does not think South Carolina Rock will make a permanent ma- nure, and the only sure, certain one is from the barn- yard. Sol. Gregir took the opposite view of the question, and argued that as a rule if feeding of hogs is more profitable than feeding cattle, farofters will feed hogs ; that farmers rush headlong into feeding grain and do not examine into the expenses connected with the feeding of stock. He spoke of the experi- ment in the article read by Wm. King, where the cost of making 262 pounds of beef was $4(3.57, and thought this was (even with the value of the ma- nure) a losing business. He does not value barn- yard manure as highly as some do. Labor Is expen- sive, and the handling of manure was heavy work, and a large part of this mass is comparatively use- less as a fertilizer ; and as South Carolina rock will give as good results, and the expenses of applying are small in comparison, he is in favor of selling the crops and buying fertilizers ; thinks it is more profit- able. E. H. Haines said that 20 or 30 years ago cattle feeding was universal in this neighborhood, and had from some cause decreased, until comparatively few cattle were fed ; thinks the present revival is from a necessity to keep the soil up to a permanent fertility ; that there is a general opinion among farmers that barnyard manure is the only safe and durable manure. James Smedley was of the opinion that thirty years ago most of the cattle were grass fed. They eat the rough feed through the winter, and the corn was sold, which was found would not keep up the pro- ductiveness of the farms, hence the new departure to grain feed. Club then proceeded to the election of officers for the coming year, and the result was as follows : President, Joseph R. Blackborn, Pleasant Grove; Secretary, Day Wood, Goshen ; Treasurer, E. H. Haines, Pleasant Grove ; Librarian, C. C. Cauffman, Wakefield. On motion Wm. King, Sol. Gregg 4nd E. H. Haines wete appointed a committee to draft resolu- tions on the death of our worthy and active member, Josiah Brown. On motion, Enos Marsh and family were elected members of the club. Club then adjourned to meet at Sol. Gregg's, April 12th, 1884. TOBACCO GROWERS' ASSOCIATION. The New England Tobacco Growers' Association held a meeting at Hartford, Conn., on the 7th of February, at which resolutions were passed relative to the action taken before Congress in 188.", and be- fore Secretary Folger last January, and the success that attended their efforts. They congratulate themselves on the result, and say it shows what can be done by united and persistent effort. The asso- ciation extends its hearty thanks to all who aided in the proper protection of tbe tobacco industry. The names of Senator Hawley, Piatt and Dawes, and of Representatives Eaton, Smith, HIscock, Hardy, Whitney and Smith, of Pennsylvania, are mentioned as those who contributed largely to the success of the protection measures. The resolution, however, that merits most atten- tion is tbe following : " Resolved, That In full faith in the old maxim, ' In union there is strength,' we will act in accordance with that belief and invite the tobacco growers of other States to Immediately form in their own States organizations similar to ours for mutual benefit and protection, the olllcersof which organizations shall be In full sympathy with us and each other." This is an Invitation that should be embraced by the professional tobacco growers of every seed-leaf growing State In the Union. They say truly there is strength in union. How much power is needed sometimes was seen during the past year. How soon it may be needed again no one can tell. The tobacco interest we believe to be the only one of any importance in this State that Is not represented by a regularly organized association. Manufacturers of all kinds, merchants, fruit growers, florists and guilds of every class have united for their mutual benefit. The farmers arc represented by more than one hundred separate organizations. Only the tobacco growers have shown an Indiffer- ence to their interests. Why this is we cannot un- dertake to explain ; we only know it is so. Even here, in Lancaster county, the largest and wealthiest single tobacco growing district In the United States, we have no tobacco association whatever. Here, where we grow from twelve to eighteen million pounds of the best domestic leaf known to manufac- turers ; where we have one hundred large packing warehouses, and where the value of the tobacco pro- duct has in some years exceeded three millions of dollars; even here we have been unable to keep up a tobacco grower's society. Eight or ten years ago the attempt was made. We still remember, and regretfully, how the monthly meetings of the growers of the weed grew smaller by degrees, and beautifully less, until finally the organization was abandoned for lack of interest and attendance. Whether any greater interest could be aroused here now, we do not know. It is questionable at best. But we be- lieve it possible to form a strong Stale organization if the effort was made. York, Chester, Bucks, Clinton and other counties are largely engaged in to bacco culture. In ordinary years this Stale produces one-third of all the seed-leaf grown in the United States. Is it not a reflection upon the thousands of tobacco growers and the hundreds of large packers and dealers that they have no organization through which they can make their influence and power felt ? The suggestion of the New England Association should be taken into serious consideration. If an effort was made in the various tobacco growing com- munities, it is undoubted that a large and influential association would result. Events have shown the tobacco industry needs friends who can exert their influence at short notice. This can never be done while they remain disunited. — New Era. LINN/EAN SOCIETY. The Llnnffin Society met on Saturday afternoon, February 23, 1884, at 2'^ P. .M. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved and dues collected. Several lady and gentlemen visitors were present. Vice President J. H. Dubbs was in the chair. Donations to the Museum consisted of several specimens of a very common in- sect iu this locality ; and yet, common as it Is, it has not received a distinctive common name, nor yet is its specific name fully determined by scientisls. it is supposed to be Lepisma Saccharina of Lin, and Is known elsewhere under the common name of "silver- tail," " bristle-tall," etc., and ig also sometimes mis' taken for the common " bouse moth." It belongs to the order Thysanurna, which includes the " spring-tails," " snow-fleas," and others. 46 THE LANCASTER FARMER. [March. These inBects, among other thingrs, are destructive to books and manuscripts, of which the specimens exhibited are ample illustrations, and when they be- come numerous they are capable of doing much damage. I have been informed that they manifest a fondness for the surface of photographic pictures. They are partial to dark closets, especially if they are damp. I found them very numerous the present month, on the lower shelves of a dark closet, among old bills, letters and other papers that had not been disturbed for months. They are swift runners, and when once alarmed they are not easily captured, without mutillating them . There are several species of the genus Lepisraa, but their specific differentiations, their histories, and their habits have not yet been thoroughly " worked- up." A calcareous incrustation, and some graular de- posits of the some, taken from the inside of a steam boiler, donated by Mr. John Best. This is simply a carlonate of lime, and it eflfervesces violently under sulphuric acid. A specimen of ferrugginous shale, from Tennessee, donated by Mr. E. C. Keist, many months ago, but mislaid and then forgotten, and only discovered re- cently. It is a common shale impregnated with iron. Partof the matrix of a " conch-shell" (Strombus) containing many young shells. These are found very commonly along the beaches of the Atlantic ocean and the shores of our bays. They form ample illus- trations of the prolific character of sea-shells. They are often found a yard in length or more, and bear a remote resemblance to the rattles of the rattlesnake, and have been mistaken for them ; when dry, a rat- tling noise can be produced similar to that of a snake. S. M. Seuer donated a small collection of minerals, consisting of hematite, magnetic ore, gneissic slate and rock, green chlorite, and a piece of gilt mould- ing from St Mary's old stone church, torn down in 1881. P. E. Gruger donated fourteen specimens of differ- ent varieties of marble and slate. Donations to Library consisted of a copy of transactions of the first annual , reunion of the 122d Regiment of Pennsylvania Vol unteers, held at Lancaster, May 17, 1883. Donated by the compiler, Mr. John S. Smith, historian of the regiment. 99 pp. octavo. The Lancaster Farmer for December, 1883, and January, 1884. The " Book Buyer." A summary of American and foreign literature, 16 pp., sqr. octavo. Catalogue of Books on Heraldry, Family History, Antiquities, and Topography, 64 pp., 12 mo. A representation of " Frost upon the Pane " in the window of a store in Oil City, December 23d and 24tb,1872. These phenomena occurred very gener- ally over the entire Northern States of the Union during the winter of 1872 and 1873, a photograph of an unusual one being in the collection of the society (from Mr. .Metzler). A copy of the " Centennial Guide," 1876, four lithographic fac similes of Centennial medals. Nine envelopes containing 40 historical and mis- cellaneous scraps, including several local original papers, old proceeding of the Linnaean Society ; also a copy of the Inland Daily of 1854, the first daily newspaper published in Lancaster. Also a copy of the Village Clironicle, published in Marietta, Pa., and dated June, 1820. From Davis Duchman, of Strasburg. An illustrated copy of the Muscatine Daily Tribune, Iowa, 1884. Sundry book catalogues and circulars. Bulletins 6 and 7 of Pennsylvania State Agricul- tural College. Dingee and Conord's " Guide to Rose Culture," and J. L. Child's " Catalogue of Rare and Curious Plants." Catalogue of rare second-hand books. Dr. S. S. Rathvon read some notes on the sea duck, (Jidenia perspicillata) caught in a garden in this city among some tame ducks. The vice president appointed Dr. S. S. Rathvon as chairman of the Committee on Conchology, the position having been overlooked at the last meeting. The Secretary reported progress in endeavoring to collect delinquent dues, and said that he had sue ceeded in collecting between §1-5 and g20. He also stated that one stockholder had authorized the can- cellation of his share. The secretary presented a bill of $4.20 for printed notices, postage, envelopes, paper, etc., which on motion was ordered to be paid. On motion the secretary was authorized to issue a gratuitous share of stock to each active member who had paid all dues for the period of three years as called for in charter, and also to issue a duplicate share in place of one lost by A. F. Hostetter. Prof. Theo. Appel and Miss E. V. Baker were pro- posed for active membership, which under rules is laid over for one month. Bill of Dr. M. L. Davis for $1.25 for postage whilst secretary, presented and or- dered to be paid. On motion adjourned to meet on Saturday afternoon, March 20th, 1884, at 2 P. M. in Museum Rooms. Hort:cl .ruRE. Growing Nuts. To form a line or grove of future nut-bearing trees get the largest chestnuts, walnuts, hickories, etc., to be had, and either plant this fall five or six in a hill in each place where a tree is wanted— the best only to be finally retained— or spread all on the ground near the house, where mice, pigs, etc., are kept at eflTectual bay by the cats and dogs, and plant out as soon as sprouted in the spring, carrying the sprouted seed in a pail with water, and setting fewer in a hill. In either case they must have merely covering enough to prevent them drying while admitting air freely ; charcoal braise, open leaf mold or pure, coarse sand are suitable, and should but just cover the cuts. Keep the soil open and all weeds and shade strictly away ; and exclude all graminivores until the stems have got out of their reach. Dry, sandy or rocky soil is generally preferable — the poor- est sand is first choice for chestnuts. This is one of the most desirable of farm improvements, and on that account will prove a monument to the planter and deep his memory fresh through grateful gener- ations. Now, too, is a better season than the spring for making and setting cuttings of evergreens or shrubs or roots that require — as most things do — some time of slow preparation before they root. The wound must heal to shut out excess of water, and a callous must form of simple, herbaceous tissues, profusions from which are the beginnings of the new roots, which, like all other wood growth, are at first mere cellular tissue, from and in which the woody fibre ducts., etc., of the complete wood are formed. By setting cuttings now in open sandy soil in a glass- covered pit or cellar, where serious freezing and dry- ing wind and excessive wet are all safely excluded, they can fully prepare by the slow winter motion and adjustment of their stored material, to make an early profusion of roots which will have a safe hold of the soil before hot or dry weather. Most of the smaller evergreens can be propagated in this way from small cuttings, and most sorts of roses are multiplied by short cuttings of the roots planted jike seeds in loose mold at this season, and with similar winter protection. — A'eio York Tribune. Solanum. Out of the 700 species of solamcm known to botan- ists, according to a paper read by Mr. J. G. Baker befor the Linnajan Society of London, there are only about six whieh produce tubers,and only one of these, the common potato, solanum tuberosum, has yet been cultivated. The native home of the potato is in the dry and elevated parts of Chili. In other portions of the same country is found another species, .'l. Maglia, which should be much better adapted to general cultivation, as it grows in moist places. As long ago as 1826 the cultivation of this species in England was attempted, with most promising results, but was soon abandoned because the plant was believed to be identical with the common potato. Another species, S. Oommersoni, from the eastern part of South America, is now being cultivated experimentally in France, and is likewise suitable for damp soil ; while a third wild' species, S. Jamesii, is being tried in the United States. This last species is the one which Mr. J. G. Lemon discovered in southeastern Arizona in 1881. Pruning — How and ^What. The manner in which we often see trees hacked and cut, with long stubs at the base of the branches cut off, and strips of bark peeled down from the place where they were removed indicats ea lack intelligence or care, or both on the part of the opera- tor. The man who has care of an orchard from the start can give no valid excuse for having badly- shaped trees, so far as pruning can control them. A' fruiterer should be able, as he stands by his young tree, to look into bis future and mentally see that tree when grown to large size, and to judge of the efiect that every branch he leaves on it will have on the shape and balance of the head. Every limb not needed to complete the symmetry and balance of the head should be rubbed otf with the hand as soon as it appears. A forked tree should not be suffered to live. It is an insufferable nuisance. If one of the branches cannot be cut off and the other used for the stem of the tree, then let both be removed and a vigorous sprout be selected from those that start and trained for a trunk, forming a head at the proper But trees are often required to be pruned after having reached a considerable size. In that case two or three general principles should be kept in view, One is that a perfect balance should always be main tained in number, weight and extent of the branches over the base of the trunk of the tree. Anolhi that the center of the head should always be kept open and free to access of both air and sunlight, Fruit that grows entirely in the shade is neither so highly colored nor so finely flavored as that which has had the benefit of sunlight. In pruning a large tree the operator should begin at the centre and prune outward. All branches not needed to make a- well balanced head, with branches evenly distributed, must go. The branches left should be so far apart that even when grown large they may not terfere by rubbing or chafing. The style of growth of a tree is to be taken into account in pruning, so that the shape of the tree may be properly regulated and controlled. If the tree is a spreading grower the lower and outside branches should be be cut in preference to the upper or inside branches ; but if It be a very upright grower then the reverse course ii" to be followed. Wherever gaps or vacancies occui the surrounding branches may be cut back to buds or branches pointing in the direction of such vacancy. By giving attention to these principles it is not diffi- cult to so control the form of the tree as to have i well-balanced, shapely tree that will carry heav; crops without the danger of splitting to pieces o tumbling out by the roots, as too frequently is th case with ill-shaped and badly balanced trees.- Chicago Farmer. I Household recipes. Washino Potatoes.— If potatoes are to be cookei in their jackets, a coarse cloth put into the wa»^. .- rub them with, not only makes them cleaner, but 'I saves time and the hands. Feeding a Babt. — Young mothers may not be aware that if the point of the spoon be held against the roof of the mouth it is almost impossible for the child either to choke or eject the fluid. Court Plaster made at home is economical, and is said to be highly successful. Dissolve one pint of French isinglass in one pint of warm water ; to this add ten cents' worth of pure glycerine and five cents' worth of tincture of arnica ; lay a piece of black or white silk on a board, and paint it over with the mixture. 1884.J THE LANCASTER FARMER. 47 Bedsteads.— If a bedstead creaks at each ment of the sleeper, remove the slats and wrap the ends of each in old newspaper. This will prove a complete silencer, and is well worth the trouble. The iRONiNii Blanket.— Before bei;inuinB to iron, sprinkle the table plentifully with water and lay on the ironing blanket. This will hold it flrmly In place and prevent all wrinkling and shovinjf about. Never try to iron with a blanket having wrinkles or bunches. Oatmeai, wafers are relished by babies and older children, too. Take a pint of oatmeal and a pint of water, with almost a teaspoonful of salt. Mix, and spread on buttered pans. Make it just as thin as possible, and yet have the bottom of the pan cov- ered. Bake slowly. Broken Needles. — A small vial, with a tightly flttiug cork, can be kept in the work-basket or sew- ing machine and all broken needles put into it. It saves the annoyance of getting up from your work to take care of them, and if left lying around, they often cause serious trouble. If it is necessary that the clothes of the Monday's wash should be left in water all night, do not leave them In suds, but after taking them from the boiler and draining them, put them in a tub and pour over them scalding water and let them lie in this ; from this they can be wrung out, and after blueing slight- ly will look much whiter, and certainly will have a more pleasing and cleaner odor than if left all night in suds. Brightening Tinware. — For scouring this ce- ment (water lime) is most excellent. Rub with a damp cloth dipped in the cement, then wash off with soap and water and dry thoroughly ; then with a dry woolen cloth polish with the cement and rub off all adhering particles with another cloth. This method is much more satisfactory that if the ware is merely scoured without polishing, while it is really very little work to one who knows exactly how to do it, and instead of running about to hunt up clothes, has them hung up in a convenient place ready for use. Cecils. — Mince Sne one cupful of rare roast beef, add one-lourth cupful of dry bread-crumbs, one- fourth of a small onion, grated, one teaspoonful of chopped parsley, one-fourth teaspoonful of pepper, and one teaspoonful of salt ; stir in a little good stock and one egg, beaten. The mixture should be as soft as you can handle it. Hoat altogether, and vhen it is cool, mould in the bowl of a spoon into egg-shaped balls, roll in fine crumbs and fry a light brown in hot lard. Make a gravy of one cup of stock, thickened with browned flour, and flavored with one teaspoonful of Halford sauce, and pour over the ceciis. Crumbed Haddock.— Remove the bones and skin from cold boiled haddock and put them on to boll with half a email onion. Pick the flsh into flakes and mix with a pint of flsh, one teaspoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, and one cupful of dry bread crumbs ; fill a butter dish half-full of the mixture, then pour in what remains of your drawn butter, add the rest of the fish, sprinkle crumbs over the top, moisten with the water in which you have boiled the bones, and bake about twenty minutes. It must be more moist than scalloped oysters. Celery Mayonnaise.— The yelks of two eggs, B very little mustard, salt, pepper, the juice of a lemon and some water. Beat all together. To pre- vent the same curdling, the eggs must be well beat- en before adding the oil. Pour in the oil slowly, a few drops at a lime, stirring until of the consistency of jelly. A few .drops of vinegar may be added, or a small spoonful of boiling water. The celery must be well washed and then thoroughly dried in a towel ; cut in small pieces in a salad bowl, throw the may- onnaise over the celery, mix all together and serve. Bread (Jakes. — Soak some crusts of bread in milk, strain them through the cullender very fine, beat In four eggs and a little flour, just sufficient to thicken the substance ; add one teaspoonful of saler- atus. Mix all to make a thin batter, and bake on the griddle. Lemon Pie.— Take one lemon, grate the rind, squeeze the juice and chop the pulp very flue ; a tea- pful of sugar ; the yelks of two eggs ; beat well together, and add one cup of eweet milk ; bake im- mediately ; beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, with two tablespoonfuls of sugar; spread on the pie when done, and put liack in the oven to brown. Boiled Indian Puddinc! .— ''lir inio three pints of scalding liot milk enouil, on account of the preference for lower-priced jjoods. Six years aeo, llndliiif that the demand for coods of lower cost hud become almost universal, and having peculiar advantuces of raw malerials and manuractiiriri'.; lacilllles, we deter- mined to meet this dcrnund, and Inlrnduecd a TWENTY-FIVE DOLLAR i-HOSPHATli idc l.v a new process exclttsivoly our own. The qulcknese ith The rcporls n have been suiisi quiry. We « .1 very plainly, :i> cle conlinui's <■ thank any I'arim with disappolnlii with full lads. 1879. 18i0, 1881, IHSi, 1883, 1.287 Tons. 3,957 " 5,147 " 315 I'hosphate ;- .„ ;i wide in- ii'iii tills point The Sedcwirk ClBtc*. itinde of wrought- Iroo pipe Knd ntPel wir,>, dvfy all competltloDtn oefttnsu, Itrenglh and d.irsbililv. W,. nNo miykr the be« mud 0bMp«st All Iron Automatic or SeU-Opanlag Ottli, alio ebMpait and RiatMt AU Iron Fance. Beat Wire Strelcher anil Hoat Auerr. Alao manufaiv (are Ruu<-ir« expellent Wind Engines for ftumpinB water, ..r geared engines for Brindloe and other li2ht wt.rk. For prices and particulars ask hardw.^rp deat-^r^. or address, mentioninc paper, US. Mrrm. Biclimond, Ind. mm. Strawbenien I tUu4trated catalogue, UUinf plant, hov to plant, and Aow jJUisduHthute/t J. T. LOVETT, Little mi»""'sew ie CutlibeTt Satpbeny and Manclutter PETER HENDERSON & GO.'S SEEDS # PLANTS Are AflMally Sown M PlanteS in Half a Million Mm ! JS^This Year's Catalogue Free on Application. PETER HENDERSON & CO. '^^''".SroRK^*"^'' MlETEii ^ftf The most c<>iii|>l<-l.- uml brill ^^"artiele on Market i'l uler Glass is worth twenty tiiut-s the pi Ornate Giii. r-ANTJIlKTH * ! s 'Foil ALL Climate.-;, | Fou all Soils, ^^xVll Plants. All Tested for Yitalit3^ and in Gardens for Purity and Value. CATALOGUE AND PRICE LIST of Vegetable, Flower and Field Seeds of all Tested Valuable Varieties, Free. Mail Orders promptly filled, making a Seed Store at home. Reduced Prices to Clubs, send for catalogue. HIRAM SIBLEY &, CO., Rochester, N.Y., Chicago, 111. A HOME ORGAN FOR FARMl-RS. TiUlCMllFliffili, A MONTHLY JOURNAL, Devoted to Agriculture, Horticulture. Do- mestic Economy and Miscellany. Founded Under the Auspices of the Lanc«»i ter County Agricultural and Horti- cultural Society. EDITED BY DR. S. S. RATHVON. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION : ONEDOLLpPERANNUf^, POSTAGE mnW) BV THE I'ROl'KIETOK. All subscriptions will commence with the January number,unless otherwise ordered. Dr. 8. 8. Rathvon. who bas so ably mauaifed the edilorUI department iu the pa^t, will continue in the position of editor. HiBcontribiitiouH on subjects ronnected with the science of farininj?. and particularly Ibut Hpeclalt j of which he i» 80 thorouhly a raaater — eutomolof^cjil Bcleuce— some kuowledgeof which has become a uecessity to the bucccss- ful farmer, are alone worth much more than the price o this publication. He Is determined to make "The Farmer' a Dpcessily to all households. A couDty that has so wide a reputation as Lancaster county for its agricultural products should certaluly be able to support an agricultural paper of its own, for the exchange of the opinlous of farmers Interested in this mat- oter. We ask the corporation of all farmers in..erested In this matter. Work among your friends. The "Farmer" I only one dollar jier year. Show them your copy. Try and Mibscribe. It is : It will greatly sstfist us. regard tolhe editorial management should bi» addressed to Dr. S. 8. Rathvon. Lancaster, Pa., and all business letters lo regard to subscriptions and ad- vertising should be addressed to the publisher. Ratee of advertising can be had on application at the lOHN A. Hlh^iAND No. 9 North Queen St., Lancaster, Pa. ITHE LANCASTER FARMER Where To Buy Goods IN LANCASTER. BOOTS AND SH')ES. pairing promptly altended t MI-KVY. No. 3 East King street. For the best • Dollar Shoes in Lancaster go to M. Lev}-, No. 3 East King street. BOOKS AND STATIONERY. JOHV K.Vl;it-> SON- Paper Sf.ir.- ill Ihc Cily. 15 and 17 North Qu FURNITURE. H- Picture Frames a specialty. CHINA AND GLASSWARE. CLOTHING. M VEhS * KATHFON. Centre Hall, No. 12 East King .St. LargestClothing;House in Pennsylvania of Philadelphia DRUGS AND MEDICINES. GW. HITI.L, Dealerin Pure Drugs and Medicines a Chemicals, Patent Medicines, Trusses, Shoulder Braces, Supporters, &c., 15 West King St., Lancaster, Pa TOHN F. LOKG-S SONS, Druggists, No. 12 North tl Queen St. Drugs, Medicines, Perfumery, Spices, Dye Stuffs, Etc. Prescriptions carefully compounded HATS AND CAPS. c. JEWELRY AND WATCHES. H. and .Jewelry Manufactured ( PRINTING. JOHN A. HIESTAND, 9 North Queen St., Sale Bills, Circulars, Posters, Cards, Invitations, Letter and Bill Heads and Envelopes neatly printed. Prices low. BOWMAN &MUSSER. Wholesale Dealers in AT LOWEST POSSIBI.E PRICES, Fully guaranteed. No. 20 EAST CHESTNUT STREET, Opposite P. R. R. Depot. GREAT BARGAINS. CARPET HALL OF H. S. SHIRK, No. 202 West King St. Call and examine our stock and satiBfy yourself that we can show the largest assortment of these Brussels, three plies and ingrain at all prices— at the lowest Philadelphia Also on hand a; large and complete assortment of Rag Satisfaction guaranteed bath as to price and quality. You are invited to call and see my goods. No trouble m ohowing them even if you do not want to purchase. Don't forget this notice. You can save money here if you . Blankets of every variety. GLOVES, SHIRTS, UNDERWEAR, iw SHIRTS MADE^TO OEDER, ^ AND W.MiRANTED TO 1-IT. E. J. ERISMAN, 17 West King St., Lancaster, Pa. Thirty-Six Varieties of ( cumber; 41 of Melon: a! Squash; 23 of Beetand 40 of Tomato, witli other varieties in proportion, a large portion of which were Rrown on my five seed farms, will be found in my Vegetable ami Flowfr Seed ('Htalo;;iie for I8»2. Sent free to all who apply. Customers of last Season need not write for it. All Seed sold from my establishment war- ranted to be fresh and true to name, so far, that should it prove otherwise, I will refill the order gratis. The original intr«dncer of Early Ohio and Bnrbank Potatoes. Marblehead, Early Corn, the Hubbard SqnaMh. MarbleheAd Cabbage, Pbinney's Melon, and a score of other New Vegeta- bles, I invite the patronage of the public. New Vegeta- bles a. specialty. JAMES J. H. GREGORT. Nov-6mo] Marblehead, Mass. EVAPORATE YOUR FRUIT. ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE FREE TO ALL. AMERICAN DRIER COMPANY, rhaiubersbnrg. Pa, $72 < C. R. KLINE, ^TTOf^NZ:Y-AT-|jAW, OFFICE: 15 NORTH DUKE STREET, LANCA-STKR, FA.. PIANOFORTES. ToneJoncli,wV&aiisliifaMDural)illty. WII.I.IA9I KNABE A CO. Nos. 204 and 206 West Baltimore Street, Baltimore. No. 112 Fifth Avenue, N. Y. Special Inducements at the NEW rURXITURE STORE W. A. HEINITSH. all kinds of Fuffiitufe, Picture Ffames, fie. [March, 1884. 28 :Eia,mt ^Clxis Street, Dovl-ly LANCASTER.'PA. DR. JOHN BULL'S Sii'sToaicSynp FOR THE CURE OF FEYERandAGUE Or CHILLS and FEVER, AND ALL MALARIAL DISEASES. The proprietor of this celebrated medi- cine justly claims for it a superiority over all remedies ever offered to the public for the SAFE, CERTAIN, SPEEDY and PER- MANENT cure of Ague and Fever, or ChUls and Fever, whether cf short or long stand- ing. He refers to the entire Western and Southern country to bear him testimony to the truth of the assertion that in no case whatever v?ill it fail to cure if the direc- tions are strictly followed and carried out. In a great many cases a single dose has been sufficient for a cure, and whole fami- lies have beencuredby a single bottle, with a perfect restoration of the general health. It is, however, prudent, and in every case more certain to cure, if its use is continued in smaller doses for a week or two after the disease has been checked, more especially in difficult and long-standing cases. Usu- ally this medicine will not require any aid to keep the bowels in good order. Should the patient, however, require a cathartic medicine, after having taken three or four doses of the Tonic, a single dose of BULL'S VEGETABLE FAMILY FILLS will be inf- flcient. BULL'S SASSAFARILLA is the old and reliable remedy for impurities of the blood and Scrofulous affections— the King of Blood Purifiers. DR. JOHN BULL'S VEGETABLE WORM DESTROYER is prepared in the form of candy drops, attractive to the sight and pleasant to the taste. DR. JOHN BXTXp Keports - Fanners' Co-operative Asjiociations — (Question for Diseuseion. Poultry Association 60 The Fulton Farmers' Club 60 The Linnaean Society 60 Donations to the Miiseiiin.- Donations to the Library. AGRICULTURE. Onion Culture 61 Potato Culture 61 The Kitchen Garden— Hot Beds 61 A Hillside Orchard til Have a Corn-Marker Ready 61 How Much Seed Shall I Sow? 62 HORTICULTURE. Protecting Raspberries 62 Dwarf Celery 62 Early Apples 62 Early Pears 62 Tomatoes 62 HOUSEHOLD RECIPES. Salem Pudding 62 Carrie's Apple Batter 02 Sunderland Pudding, No. 1 (12 Sunderland Pudding, No. 2 t;2 Mrs. H.'s Berry Pudding 62 Madam P. 's Pudding Sauce 62 Baked Plum Pudding 63 Mrs. C.'s Pumpkin Pie 62 Cottage Pudding 62 Cookies 62 3oft liingcrbread 62 Cream Cake , 62 Doughnuts 63 Suit Gingerbread ''•' Gold Cake 6' Silver Cake "^ .Mrs. R.'s Cup Cake b3 Lady Cake 1;' Cocoanut Cake "'^ Composition Cake S'' Spice Cake S-^ Cream Cake <'-^ Gingerbread 63 A Philadelphia Sponge Cake 63 Cider Cake <>'^ Soda Cake tl3 White Cake "■* Whigs fW Wedding Cake Pudding 63 Indian Baked Pudding— Always Good 63 Cocoanut Pie 63 Mince Pies 63 Pineapple Pie 63 Fannie'sCake 63 Laura Keene's Jelly Cake 63 German Puffs 63 Mrs. Meachara's Boiled Indian Pudding 63 Poor .Man's Pudding , 63 Apple Sago Pudding 63 Dedham Cream Pie 63 Jane P.'s Lemon Cream Pie 63 Carrot Pudding 63 Green Corn Pudding 63 Augusta's Lemon Pies 63 Ink" Stains 63 To Clean Decanters 63 Cut Glass 63 To Restore Crape 63 An Ant-Trap 63 LIVE STOCK. Exercise for Stallions 63 The Evil of Check Reins 64 Shropshire Downs 64 Literary aud Personal 64 WIDMYER & RICKSECKER, UPHOLSTERERS, And Manufacturers ol FURNITURE PD CHAIRS. WARKItOOM**: 102 East King St., Cor. of Duke St. liANCASTER, PA. 9-71 -H] rlREES Fruit, Shade and Ornamental Trees. LOUIS C.LYTE Bird-in-Hand P. O., Lancaster co.. Pa. LIGHT BHMMA EGGS FOR SAX.X: I Price, per setting of 18, $1.50 Address L RATHVON, No. 9 Norih Queen St., Lancaster. Pa. BEST MARKtT PEAR. U9,<>»£ACII TKKKS, all the best varieties of New and Old STKAWHKKKIKS, CI KKANT8, GKAl'KS, KASf UKRKIKS. etc. EARLY (H STKK BLA( KliERRT, N.-w, Early, llanl.N. <;...., I. Sii.cti- hill .vi.'l.ied 13 quarts at on.- pUkiiii;. '^•■mKue. .1. s. <«>l.l,I\s, :Mi'i'.t.>uii. N.J. LANDaETHS SlEiEIIDIS ARE THE BEST. North, South. East or West. lu.ls. Founded 1 D. LANDRETH k SONS, Philadelphia, Pa. W^ made. Inquire at THE EXAMINER OFFICE No. 9 North Queen Street, Lancaster, P« THE LANCASTER FARMER. PEXXSYI.VANIA RAII.K4»AD SCHEDn.K. On and after SUNDAY, JUNE 24, 1883, trains leave the Depot in this city, as follows : Pacific News Way !■ Mail Xo. L' vi;irolinnbia.* Niagara Express Hanover Accommodation,. Fast Line" Frederick Accommodation. Lancaster Accommod'n . . Harrishurg Accom..... Columbia Accommodation.. Harrisburg Express Western Express EASTWARD. Mail Express* Philadelphia Express Past Line* Harrisburg Express Columbia Accomraodatiou. Seashore Express Lancaster. 12:42 a. m. 2:27 a. m. 12:58 p. m. 2:20 p. m. 5:25 p m. Arrive Harrisburg. 2:55 a. m. 3:15 1 5:05 p. m. 7:25 p. m. 9:45 p. m. Hlericl;. iigh I Expr Day Express* Harrisburg Accom , The Frederick Accommodi ter with Past Liue, wesf, :il 1: Hanover Acconimcdiition, with Niagara Exi rcss at 9: Hanover daily except Sniu Harrisburg Express, wes nection to Columbia and YorK. The Fast Line, west, on Sunday, when flagged, will stop at Downingtown, Coatesville, Parkesburg, Mount Joy, Elizabethtown and Middletown. The Johnstown Express from the west, will connect al Harrisburg on Sundays with Sunday Mail east, for Philadelph' ' ' ~ " ' via Marietta and Columbia. ily trains which run daily. NORBECK & MILEY, PRACTICAL Garriap'e Builders cox & CO'S OLB STA^D, Coroer of Duke and Vine Streets, LANCASTER, PA. THE LATEST I.MPKOVED SIDE-BAR BUGGIES, PHyETONS, Carriages^ Etc, liimEsiraRiiENiisiiifim. Prices to Suit the Times. EDW. 1. ZAHM, AMERICAN AND FOREIGN WATCHES, SOLIJ) SILVER & SILVER PLATED WARE, CLOCKS, JEWELRY I TABLE CUTLERY. Sole Agent for the Arundel Tinted SPECTACLES. Repairiug strictly atteuded to. North Quesn-st. and Centre Square, ^Lancaster, Pa. ESTABLISHED 1832. G. SSMEB & SONS, Mauufacturersaud de.ilers in ;ill kinds of rough and The best Sawed .SISI\GI.ES iu the country. Also Sasli, Doors, Blinds, Mouldnigs, kc. PATENT 0. G. WEATHERBOARDING OFFICE AND YARD : Northeast Corner of Prince and Walnut-sts.. 79-l-l'2] Address Stinson i Co., Portland. Maine PRACTICAL ESSAYS ON ENTOMOLOGY, NOXIOUS AND INNOXIOUS INSECTS, and the best remedies for their expulsion or oi'.ermlna Bv S. S. RATHVON, Ph. D. LANCASTER, PA. This work will be Highly Illustnited, and will be put in prosb (as 800U aitor a sufficienr number of subBcribers can be obtiiiued to cover the cost) as the work can possibly be accomiilished. CutThisOuti-; n"will bri.i.,' yju m MORE MONtY. in One Month, than an vthintf else in America. AbsoluteCertamty. Need nocapital.M.Young.nSGreenwlchStN. York OFFICE No, 9 Hortli Oueen IM LANCASTER, PA.. THE OLDEST AND BEST. THE WEEKLY LANCASTER EXAMINER One of the largest Weekly Papers the State. Published Every Weddnesay Morning, Is an old, well-established neiyspaper, and contains just the news desirable to make it an interesting and valuable Family Newspiper. The postage to subcribers residing outside of Lancaster county is paid by the ptxblisher. Send for a specimen copy. s-crBSCiai^"ri03:T : T^A^o Dollars per Annum. I THE DAILY LANCASTER EXAMINER The Largest Daily Paper in the county. Published Daily Except S i aday. The daily is published every evening during the week. It is delivered in the City and to surrounding Towns ac- cessible by railroad and dally stage lines, for 10 cents a week. . , . „ ., »« JOHN A. HIESTAND. Proprietor, No. 9 Nort JL Queen St., LA-3SrC ASTER. PA.. For Good and Cheap v\^ork go to r. VOLLMER'S EURNITURE WARE ROOMS No 309 NORTH QUEEN ST., (Opposite Northern Market), Also, »U kindg of picture frames. nOT-ly The Lancaster Farmer. Dr. S. S. RATHVON. Editor. LANCASTER, PA., APRIL, 1884. Vol. XVI. No. 4. Editorial. APRIL. ' Then emerged from a rock bound i;.ive— With lordly mien and brow — A haughty man whose preeence maile The head— not heart— to bow . His looks, though not forbidding, yet, Had no inviting power, One moment he was bright sunshine, The next a frowning shower, One day he'd wear a nosegay of Spring-blossoms, and then, lo ! The next, their place was flll'd with flakes Of winters drilting snow. i A crocus wreath his brow bedecked I Crowned by a daffodil. This vaccinating elf was called " Spring's first-born child," April. The name April is derived from the Latin term (qierire, to open. It is, practically, the opening mouth of the year, when trees unfold their foliage, and the womb of nature opens with young life. The first day of April has, by common consent, or perhaps traditionally, become '■' all-fooVs day.'" This was supposed to refer to the uncertainty of the weather, or to the mockery trial of the Saviour ; but in Hindoostan similar tricks were played at the Hull Festival, which occurred on the 31st of March; therefore, it more probably has a pagan or heathen origin. Some are inclined to think that the custom refers to traditions of the flood, wher the "foolish" were left to the pelting of the pittiless rain. In France the April foul is called tm poisson d^Avril— that is, an "April fish," and in Scotland a yovk, or cuckoo. The wedding day is .some- times significantly called, "Jfy Ajml morn,'' and alludes to the custom of making fools of each other on the first of April." The Latin name of this month is Aprilis, a contraction of Aperilis from Aperire, as stated above: French, Avril ; old French, Ahreen; Prussian, Spani.sh and Portugese, Abril, and Italian, A2)rile. By our present computation of time it is the fourth month of the year, but anciently, and for reasons indicated above, it was considered the first or opening month. The meteorological, romantic, and poetical characteristics — " Bowery, showery, flowery" —usually attributed to the month of April, could be more appropriately traiisfeired to the month of May ; for, although it is usually showerji enough, it is very seldom howri/ and lloicery enough, to entitle it to such a marked distinction. Nevertheless, it is always — "from first to last"— a busy month to the farmer, the gardener, the fruit-grower, the florist and the housekeeper. As the days ad- vance and lengthen, and the temperature " warms up," it presents scenes of both out- door and indoor activity. In Pennsylvania at least, and especially in Lancaster county, it is the great financial epoch of the year, a period of leasing and releasing ; the dis- charging of old obUgations, and the contrac- tion of new ones ; the vacation of old premises and the occupancy of new ones ; a general effort to "make both ends meet," and the starling point of a new annual career, and the anticipation of those "coming events," which now seem to " cast their shadows be- fore"— in short, a season of prolific hopes in the realization of future possibilities. The thrifty farmer will now be engaged in cleaning up and clearing up ; in finishing what he may have begun in March, but wiis thwarted in finishing, through the boreal ravings of that fickle and most capricious division of the year. The opening buds and expanding foliage will now reveal what has passed the previous win- ter unscathed or undamaged, and the time of sowing, planting, hoeing and weeding will have begun. Let the weather be as it will, and the warfare of the elements be ever so ungracious, before the end of the month it will become manifest that April has made its mark upon the escutcheon of progressive vegetation. April may obscure, but it cannot obliterate the development of the latent mer- chandize of nature. When the "full time" of the earth has come, meteorological adversities may retard, but they cannot defeat the oper- ation of natures laws. The intervals between "sunshine and shower" will furnish those states of preparation which preceed earth's prolific " bringing forth" the fruits of her womb. ABOUT DOGS. " Well, Johnny, it seems to me you keep too many dogs about your house, if you de- sire to feed, clothe, and educate ybur large family of children with any kind of efliciency. Don't you think so ¥" "Why, no! Dare is only de Bull, Spring, Ring, Towser, und de Wasser; de Bitch, de seven Bups, und de Ben, dats not many Togs." Johnny was a poor, hardworking indus- trious man; the possessor of a large family, a half-starved horse, a very lean cow, and a dozen dogs — "more or less" — but his ruling love culminated in dogs; mainly, perhaps, be- cause he thought dogs could "hoe their own row," that is, make their own living by stealing; and, inasmuch as they often "snuck" the children's bread, he only gave their steal- ing exploits the mild name of "sneaking." This is not a mere fancy picture, it has been realized in the past, and no doubt continues to be realized in the present, with a probability of being transmitted to the future. If a man desires to be poor and hard working, under compelled industry, it seems to us that .lohnny's course ought to furnish him a first- class example. But the keeping of a pack of worthless thieving curs about a house, is not only an in- jury to the householder himself, but it reaches out and effects the interests of the community, for no matter how useless or insignificant a dog may be, he is still a consumer, whether by foul means or fair means ; and, not only a consumer but also a destroyer. Granting there may be some good and useful dogs, their cost to a community, a county, a State, or a nation may be inferred from the follow- ing, clippi'd from the columns of the iVeto Emjlaml Farmer. The Cost of Dogs. An lo^a man has figured up the cost of keeping dogs in his State, and finds that they eat enough annually to feed 100,000 working- men, and counting ui the damage they do the sheep farmers, the dogs cost the State S»,000,000, while the education of all the children in the State is less than half that sum. A Tennessee man makes out a similar con- dition of affairs in his State. He finds there are 300,000 worthless dogs, which consume food enough if fed to hog.s, to make 30,000,- 000 pounds of bacon, which would be equal to feeding meat to 100,000 able bodied men a whole year. At ten cents per pound the bacon would be worth »3,0(X),000, and if in silver would load down 94 two-horse wagons, and make a wagon train more than half a mile long. Again the worthless whelps pre- vent farmers from keeping 2,000,000 sheep, the mutton and wool from which would be worth 1.5,000,000. Including the sheep now annually killed, the whole expense of keeping the dogs of the State amounts to the pretty sum of »0,000,000. Tennessee expends 83,- 000,000 for educating her children. Three dollars for dogs I One dollar for children. Another writer, after making careful esti- mates of the damage done by dogs in the Northern States alone, finds it costs not less than $33,000,000 annually to support our dogs, a sum that would buy 105,000 farms at gov- ernment prices for land, or it would purchase 132,000 neighborhood libraries of -JOU volumes each. "THE BEAUTIFUL SNOW It, perhaps, would he inipo.<-20. On that occasion it snowed all day, the peach trees were in bloom, and the 50 THE LANCASTER FARMER. [April, branches of many of them wore broken down | with the weight of the snow. We cannot locate the day of the month— nor yet the month itself— when that snow fell, but infer that it was in April. On Friday, the 12th of April, 1P32, the last public execution took place in Lancaster county. We were in at- tendance as one of the "Volunteer Guard." As we wended our weary way homeward on foot, the day after the execution, the most remarkable feature in our wayside observa- tions, was the profusion of peach and cherry bloom. It was not the earliness, nor the lateness of the bloom that rendered the oc'ca- sion conspicuous, but the abundance or pro- fusion. A snow at that time, like that of April 9th last, would have, made sad havoc among the peach and cherry trees. The earliest date at which Easter can occur is the 22d day of March, and the latest date the 2.5th of April, so that the great spring snow of 1S20, must have been between those two dates, but most likely in April, not far from that of the present year — a meteorological phenomenon repeating itself. Entomological. STRIPED APPLE-TREE BORER. iSaperda hiviltftln.i The personale of this insect may be readily recognized by the illustrations, hence it will be unnecessary to go into a lengthened description. Perhaps, however, it may be necessary to say that the colors are a mealy white, and a light brown. From all the observations which have been made upon the history and habits of this in- sect it seems manifest that it requires three years to complete its transformations from the egg to the perfect beetle which deposits tlie egg, and that the deposition of eggs occurs late in June and during the entire month of July ; therefore, the preventives employed to defeat such a contingency, should be applied before or during those periods named. Whale- oil soap, or other alkalinous solutions, applied from the roots up to the branches, or nearly so, will prevent the females from deposiiing her eggs on trees that are so treated. As tlie eggs are usually deposited about the bahc, near the ground, it has been recommended to protect that part of the tree, from the first of June to the first of September by heavy siilT paper-painted— oil-cloth, tin, or sheet-iron, old cloth or canvass, and the earth heaped up a few inches about the bottom. If, however, the insect is present, and finds no apple trees iu a condition to form a nidus for its eggs, they will resort to pear trees, quince or haw- thorn, and it is said also cherry and ash. Long before we had identified them as de- structive to the apple (forty years ago at least) we took our first specimens from a short experimental piece of hawtboin hedge, and we found them there at each returning season (July), and vve did not then think of looking for them elsewhere. If the appliances alluded to above have not been utilized, and the eggs have already been deposited at the bases of the trees, the ditti- culty of counteracting their destructive ten- dencies greatly increases. If tlie liquid reme- dies were applied before the eggs were hatched, and the young had not yet penetrated the ture. bark, the application just then would be more effective than, perhaps any other time ; but not so, if the base was only then protected by bandages, for that would only favor their de- velopment by shielding them from danger. When the trees are very large and the bark is very rough their presence is not very ap- parent, even in their earliest periods of de- velopment ; moreover such trees could sup- port a limited number without sustaining any very serious injury. But when the trees are young and the bark relatively smooth, the presence of two or three larva for two or three years would perfectly girdle them- and their death would be sure— indeed we have seen trees two and three inches in diameter at the base killed outright tlie second year. One ad- vantage in young trees, from the discoloration of the bark, is that it can be seen where the larva is operating beneath it, for during the first year they do not penetrate far- ther than the sap-wood. The larvse can then be. cut out with a sharp knife, or if such mutilation is objection- able tliey may be drawn out with a barbed steel wire through an artificial aper- But if we are quite sure that all the " worms " have been dislodged the scarifica- tions of the tree will soon be healed by the vital energies inherent in it. Their presence may also be detected during the first year by their "castings" accom- panied by gummy exuda- tions, which after a few hours rain oecome often conspicuous. In the winter they go down into tlie roots, below the surface line, and become torpid. An examination of the roots of trees infested, in the autumn after the worms have gone down, or in the spring before they have come up, might furnish an oportunity to destroy them with less dis fignrement to the tree than if made above ground. Tlie third year they have gained sufficient cutting power to enable them to penetrate to the very heart of the tree. We cut down a tree on one occasion over six in- ches in diameter that had become enervated through O the attacks of the Saperda, and found it penetrated by both perpendicular and transverse galleries for a space of nearly three feet up from the surface and down into the roots, and yet externally there was little visible to indicate that the insect was present at all. On another occasion a neighbor brought us the stump of a small apple tree, which had been sawed off about eightetn months previously, because "it was sick." Out of it we took fully a dozen of these larviB, and the stump itself had a resemblance to a piece of coarse spouge. The larvce were about two-thirds developed and had access to nothing but this stump. If we have not succeeded " by hook or by crook," in dislodging this worm during its first or second year, nor have prevented the beetle from depositing its eggs at the base of the tree, then the case involves additional difliculties. It is lodged in too deeply, and exposes no castings; therefore its locality is hard to find, and we are compelled to grope in the dark. If we can gain access to its gallery c(&owe the worm, and through a small tunneled pipe were to pour in coal oil, or even hot water, we could effectually destroy all that these liquidte reached. But many have been destroyed by this latter remedy, and also by the barbed steel wire. The letters a, 6 and c represent the larva, the pifpa and the imago, or perfect beetle, about their natural size. The first is a dirty white in color, the second not quite so dirty, and the third nearly a silvery white, with two brownish stripes, reaching from the "head to the tail." Look out for the living beetle from the first of June to the first of September — we took a living specimen as late as Sep- tember—they bore a hole from the inside to the surface of the bark, and make their es- cape therefrom in the form of No. 3, within the times specified above, although we have seldom captured them before the fourth of July. We regard the preventive aieasures the most effective ; but, of course, if these have been neglected or abortive, we must "go for them" by the best means we may be able to secure, although we will have to work com- paratively in the dark. The larva of the " Two-striped saperda " is however not the only worm that infests the trunk of the apple tree. Eighty-three species of insects have been described and recorded as injurious to the different parts of the apple tree, from the roots to the mature fruit. Seven of which attack the trunk in the form of borers. Some of them— perhaps all of them — are, however, subject to the attacks of parasites, and this affords some consolation. These insects, however, differ so much in their histories, their characters, their develop- ments and their injuries, that each separate species would require a separate article, to properly "show them up." FLORIDA WHIP-TAIL. Mr. Benjamin Snably, of Florida, who is now on a visit to his native county, a few days ago very generously presented to us a splendid specimen of the above-named animal, and gave us some account of the dread with which it is regarded by some of his friends and neigh- bors in Florida, and especially those of Afri- can descent. It is known by dift'erent local names, wherever it happens to to exist. Per- haps the most appropriate common name is "whip-tail" or "whip-tailed spider," as it belongs to the family Tarantulidm, the typical genus of which is the Tarantula, which is nothing more or less than a large, brown, hairy, pulmonarial spider (Mygale Ilewtzii). In and about Mr. Snably 's locale in Florida, the above named animal is known by tlie popular names of " Grampus " and " Mule- Killer "—one man, at least, alleging that its bite killed bis mule. The term Grampus, as applied to this animal, as a popular name, docs not seem to he at all appropriate. The Grampus is a cetaceous mammal, belonging to the Dolphin family, and lives altogethe in the water (Delphinorymhas orca of Lin.) In THE LANCASTER FARMER. 51 Tixas and New Mexico it is called the ' \iiiegar-bug," or " Vinagrio," especially 1 1\ t he Spaniards and their descendants. In SI iiutiflc parlance it is the Theli/phmius excu- I'itiir of Girard, and by that name it is known all over the scientific world. These animals belong to a group in the class Arachnida (including the si)iders and their allies), called Pedipalpi, because their palpi, or feelers, are developed^ into large ap- parent feet, armed with claws similar to tlmae of scorpions, crabs and lobsters — most like the last named — except that some of the genera have but a single claw. The body of this arachnid is fully two inches long, and is of a deep chestnut brown in color, (reddish brown beneath) ; it has eight articulated feet, the interior pair of which are very long and slender ; its pedijxtliji are stout and apparently powerful, armed with claws, one of which is movable, like those of a lobster. The indications are that it is reptorial in its feeding habits, and that the excessively developed palpi is for the pur- pose of seizing and retaining its prey until its appetite is gratified. The abdomen is terminated by an abrupt articulated stump, from the apex of which ex- tends a long tapering tail, something like the lash of a whip— indeed, taking the stump and the lash together, they are not much unlike a common short-hanJled whip in miniature. from which is derived the common name of "whip tail." Scientific authors have record- ed very little about the history and habits of this animal, but there seems to be a general dread of it among the common people where it is found, and many of them would rather encounter a rattle-snake than one of them, although there does not .seem to be a well at- tested record of their poisonous qualities. Some years ago. Lieutenant Frazer, of the U. S. Army, sent us a specimen, from New Mexico, we think, and he also stated this dread the people have of it. He also stated that when excited it voided a pungent fluid that had the odor of sharp vinegar, and from this comes the common name "vinagrio." A species in the island of Martinique is by the French called "Vinaigrier," probably from the same cause. The largest species ( T. iji ganteus) is found in old Mexico, and is two and a-half inches long. Mr. Snably represents that in Florida they are usually found under old log.s, or lumber, and they are apt to domi- cilate themselves in lumber yards. When dis- covered they make no attempt to escape, and only snap with their palpigerous claws, when goaded by a stick. Of course, those who reside in their habitat ought to know best whether their bite is pois- onous or not, and also the effect it has upon the object that is bitten. Judging from the organic structure we should regard them about as venomous as the Tarantula, the Scorpion, or the Centipede, and the injury sustained from their bite would largely de- pend upon the physical condition of the system of the man oranimal at the time they are bit- ten,as well as upon subsequent contingencies. The very \sirge jxdipalpi of scorpions and whip- tails is given them for a purpose, and that pur- pose is to seize and hold their prey while they are devouring it. It does not follow, if one of these animals is found in a bed, that it is there with vicious intent towards the human occu- pant of the bed. Most likely it may be there for the purpose of catching " Bed-bugs," Heas and other vermin. Therefore, if their ser- vices are not wanted for this purpose, let beds and houses be kept clean, as a simple remedy. It is said that scorpions visit houses for the purpose of preying upon the cockroaches, tfcc, which certainly is a great virtue in them. If persons are bitten or stung by them it is only because they have been the aggressors. There are many animals that only sting or bite in self-defense. At the same time, we would not recommend a reckless or too inquisitive course towards them. We have frequently been bitten or stung by our local spiders, cen- tipedes and bugs, but have not experienced any ill effects from them, although sometimes accompanied by temporary pain. INSECT LARV.ffi. Mr. F. A. Heatcs, near Willow Street, Lancaster county, has taken quite a number of insect larvie, which he found alive and active during the first week in February. Our readers will remember that the same gen- tleman took a number of living larvse in .Janu- ary—about the beginning of the month— an account of which was published on page four of the January number of the Fakmek, under the caiition of "An Entomological Phenomenou," but his last "take" were of different species from the first take, and were thirteen in number, five being Lepidopterous, six Coleopterous and two Hemipterous ; but, as they all are more or less discolored by the liquid in which they were immersed, it is difficult to identify them specifically. The largest three appear to lie common " cut worms," and are over one inch in length and half an inch in circumlerence. Being nearly black in color all distinguishing lineationsavd other marks are obliterated. The six pectoral legs and the ten prolegs indicate that they are Lepidoptera, and belong to the Noctuida;, which is a family of the worst destructives. Three others of the same natural order, are from ^ to f of an inch in length, light brown in color, and have faint lateral liueations. These may be immature individuals of the same species, or of allied speiies — perhaps Gortyna— but, as all the larv.-B of this order are more or less noxious, the farmer cannot go wrong in destroying them. Five are Coleopterous larvas, and are from S to ^of an inch in length, and have the seg- mental divisions of the body very prominent and distinct. These are the larviE of one of the "Soldier beetles," doubtless of the Chau- liogiiatlius Pennsylvanicus, and known to be carnivorous in its habits, feeding voraciou.sly on other insects under ground, and therefore they are classed among the farmers's insect friends. The mature beetles are usually found in abundance on the bloom of the "golden-rod" (solidago) in late summer and early autumn. Then is their nuptial season, after which they disappear and are not seen again until the following summer, when the elderberry and the golden-rod are in bloom. One specimen is the larva of a rove beetle (Pliilontlms) completes the list of larvie. This last species is usually found in decayed ani- mal and vegetable matter ; and, if not alto- gether iuuoxious, it is nevertheless not con- sidered noxious. Some of the larger species of the f .mily to which it belongs (Staphilinidffi) are frequently found in carrion, and also in animal excretions which is sutliciently illus- trative of its gastronomical character. Two specimens of Capsus or Phytocoris— sapsuck- ing Ilemiptera— (truebugs) complete the col- lectiim. These latter are enemies to vegeta- tion when they occur in great numbers, and much prejudice exists against them ill-locali- ties that have suffered from their attjicks upon the buds of young nursery stock in early spring. As soon, however, as vegetation has sufficiently advanced to afford tliem a greater supply of succulent food, they prefer that to woody plants. The past winter months have been border- ing on the "severe"— at least it cannot be said that we have had an " open winter"— hence it seems not a little surprising that these insects and insect larvaj .should have been found in an active or even in a vital state, on the snow, in the beginning of Feb- ruary of the present year. Did they appear in defiance of the ground hog's warning ? All this goes to show that in spite of the doctrine promulgated by some sanguine theo- rists, cold winters do not "freeze out" the in- sect world "worth a cent," and that cold winters may have even a less injurious effect upon them than unusually hot sumraeis. In contemplating the details of collections made in zoology by scientists who have accompanied the various Polar expeditions, we find that they always, or nearly always, report collec- tions in entomology. We might very naturally sup, ose that in those icy regions the tempera- ture would be too low for insects to pass through their developmental transformations, but it seems to be otherwise. There are, per- haps, a less proportionate number of " winter killed " insects in the polar regions than there are in the temperate zones. On one occasion we noticed thousands of Perlidic (shad flies) coining up through -'rotten ice," on the Sus- quehanna river, that was fully ten inches or a foot in thickness. The ice was in that condi- tion that when submitted to concussions it would fall into hundreds of "iiiiiestems." Such observations made on insect larvaj or " worms," if the farmers only pays some at- tention to specific details, may eventually en- able him to discriminate between noxious and innoxious species. For instance, where he finds larvw. in the ground, on the ground, or elsewhere, that have three pair of feet on the liist three segments of its body, then one or two segments without feet, followed by four pair of fleshy prolegs, then another segment or two without feet, and one pair of fleshy feet on the terminal segment, he may be liretty sure that he has before him the larva; of a h pidi^ptermis insect, whatever its size or color may be ; and, as all of this order are de- structive, the best thing he can do is to ex- termiuate it at once. True, some of this Older have a less numlier of feet than sixteen, but none have more. All the larva- known as "span-worms" or "loopers," have aless num- ber and among these are the "canker worm," the larviB of the "currant moth" and many others, noted for their destructive habits. On the other hand, when he finds larva; that only have three pair of feet, and these on the first three segments, he may have before 52 THE LANCASTER FARMER. [April him a Coleopterous larvw; and, if it possesses quick and rapid cursorial powers, loves dark- ness, and attempts to hide itself, he may prety safely conclude that it is predacious in its habits. It is also true that some of the larvse of Coleontera (the woodbores) have no feet, and are poor pedestrians ; but time, ob- servation and opportunity will instruct him liow, when and where to use discrimination. A kno^\'ledge of these things is becoming every day more essential to the farmer, in his conflicts with destructive insects, and he had belter believe it and act accordingly just now. It perhaps must needs be tliat insects will come, but it is none the less a woe to him through whose neglect they do come. They are perhaps not altogether an unmixed evil, but, if permitted to multiply with impunity, that evil becomes disastrously manifest, and at a time, too, and with an intensity, that may baffle the best remedies against their de- structive progress. But there is no use in in- dulging in a universal alarm. Learn to dis- criminate and you may then find out the propertime when the alarm should "come in." THE SEVENTEEN-YEAR LOCUSTS. Statements that have been made to the efiect that the seventeen-year locusts are due this summer are said by naturalists to be er- roneous. The locust year for this vicinity is 1885, and not 1884. The seventeen-year locusts appeared in Baltimore in 1851, 1868, and will appear again during the middle of May, 1885. A few specimens of the locusts may be found during May, 1884, but they will be members of a different brood. Mo&t people seem to think that the seventeen-year locust occurs but every seventeen years in this country. This is all wrong, since it is found every year, but only occurs at intervals of seventeen years in any given locality. This year is the season for the seventeen-year locust in Virginia ; next year is the season for the seventeen-year locust in Maryland. The locust lays its eggs in brandies of trees. From these eggs soon after they are laid small yellowish larva, resembling already the future locust, though lacking wings, issue and work their way down the trunk of trees, following all the roots to their extreme tips, where the larvse fasten by means of a beak and draw their nourishment from the roots. After being in this position a long time, undergoing however, several moults, they attain their full growth as larva, and are found . three or four inches from the surface of the ground adhering to the roots of different plants. Very early in 1885 they will undergo trans- formation into pupa, which in the month of May will work out of the ground to the sur- face, forming peculiar hollow cones of earth in which they undergo their last transforma- tion and become full fledged locusts. Backing out of this cone, they appear on the ground still soft and unable to fly. In a few hours they become hardened and seek the nearest tree, in which they sing their love songs and mate. — Baltimore Sun. AVOIDING THE HESSIAN FLY. In a paper read before a Scientific Associa tion at Minneapolis, Minn., last fall, it is stated that, contrary to general belief, the earliest sowings of winter wheat are not liable to so great injury by the Hessian fly as later sown crops. A large number of observations were made in Perry county. Pa., and the far- mers there are said "to maintain that the earliest sown wheat— that put in during the first week of September— often yields a good crop, while that wliich is sown between the 10th and 2-2d is badly infested, and the latest —that sown in the last week of the month— again escapes." According to the report of the paper, in the American iiaturalist for February, the author thinks that the early sown wheat does not escape the fly, but it grows strong, and tillers much more than the late wheat, and the number of insects ,is not sufficient to weaken so many stalks so that they will fall. That later sown has less and the number of larva3 to stalks is necessarily so increased that the straw is sure to break down, or even die outright, during the win- ter, before the straw has been formed. The author of the paper states that the spring brood does the mischief seen before harvest, hence many farmers never observe that the attacks of the fall brood causes a great reduc- tion in the numbers of these insects, which are in the "flaxseed" or pupal form, and are frozen in their winter quarters. The absence of vitality in the wheat seems in some way to render the insects more liable to danger from severe cold, although there does not seem to be any more appreciable warmth in a living plant than in a dead one. It appears to the writer of the paper that the insects, by kill- ing wheat roots, become in some measure the means of their own destruction, and tliat this is an "efficient cause checking to a great ex- tent the excessive multiplication of this pest." EXCERPTS. Good care, under all circumstances and at all times, is a prime necessity to success in breeding fowls. The total number of live cattle shipped to European markets last year from the United States was 67,964 ; quarters of beef, 384,162 ; live sheep, 31,849 ; carcasses of mutton, 68,- 400. The Buckeye Land and Cattle Company was organized in Kansas City last week. Capital stock, S100,000, divided into shares of $100 each. A Mrs. Nancy Bainbridge took 249 shares. ' ' I BOUGHT a Shorthorn and yearling heifer and heifer calf in 1870 ; have bred from them 52 head of recorded animals in the American herd book, and have sold over $4,000 worth of stock from them, mostly calves, and still have a nice little herd left on hand," says H. Tal- cott, in the Grange Bulletin. It is claimed that St. Joseph men have »1,260,0C0 invested in the cattle business. , Pennsylvania wool growers estimate their loss by tariff reduction at over iff 2.000,- 000. H. F. Frte, a dealer of cattle in Now York, failed last week for «50,000, assets $0,000. Sidney, Kansas, wants stock yards. Sidney ought to have them if she has any cattle to ship. Wolves destroyed a good many cattle in Washington and Marion counties, Iowa, last winter. Canning Milk.— Mrs. S. W. W., Monti- cello, N. Y., suggests, through the Orange County Farmer, the idea of canning milk, which may in some cases be desirable, as, for instance, to bridge over a dairy drouth : "Visiting a farm a few years ago, some ex- cellent coffee upon the table disclosed the presence of cream. This surprised me, for I knew the cows were dry, and there were no very near neighbors. I asked, and the answer was, 'O ! that is canned milk.' Since then, I have done the same way two seasons, and in- tend to do so again soon. When the milk is brought ill and strained, put it on to boil in a steamer, or pail set into a kettle of boiling water. As soon as it reaches the boiling point and begins to bubble, pour into glass jars al- ready prepared and heated, and screw up im- mediately. Keep it where it will not freeze, and when needed it is ready for use." The annual session of the Colorado Cattle Growers' Association was held in Denver some time ago with a full attendance, and much important business was transacted. The topics discussed and the conclusions reached were of general interest and proved that the men engaged in the great industry represented in the meeting were a unit in their aims. It was estimated that the delegates represented between 400,000 and 500,000 head, or about one-third of the total amount of cattle grazed in the State at a low calculation, therefore they stood for between $10,000,000 and $12,- 000,000 of invested capital. The cattle inter- ests of New Mexico are quite as extended as those of Colorado, and are equally in need of a compact organization. There are many points of material interest which need to be fully discussed and acted upon after discus- sion, and the sooner our cattlemen get to work and organize the better it will be for them. — Las Vegas (N. M.) Gazette. A Cowley' county man is establishing a hen ranch on Grouse creek. He starts out with 1,500 grown hens. Cheyenne (Wyoming) Leader: A herd of 130 cattle in Granite canon, in which W. Deusley is interested, has suft'ered terribly from a worm disease. The worm, believed to have come from the stomach, lodges in the throat, works into the windpipe, and the beast dies. Various remedies have been tried, all of which proved of no avail until turpentine was tried. Since using this none liave died and it is confi'deutly believed that it is a specific. CONTRIBUTIONS. For The Lancaster Farmer. Brookville, Ohio, April 8, 1884. Mr. Editor— Dea?- Sir: Perhaps you have readers unacquainted with the geology of this valley (Miami), and, perhaps, unac- quainted with the relation that geology bears to agriculture. As water is the mother of all rocks, so are rocks the mother of clays and sands that enter into the formation of soils. When a farmer sees soils and sub-soils he ought to know what kind of rocks they were derived from, or by seeing rocks lie ought to know what kind of soil is in the vicinity. If lime is abundant in the rocks and these rocks decomposable, then it is likely THE LANCASTER FARMER. 53 that it need not be added to the soil. If silica is acomponant part then, to keep grain from lodging and to keep cryptogamous plants from taking root on the steins and leaves of plants, potash or some other alkali should be added. If a farmer was a geologist and under- stooa the constitution of the rocks from which his soil was derived he could tell what it needed to make it productive, at least in the way of mineral manures. The clays, sands, and gravels of the Miami valley, are derived from the Niagara lime- stones. This rock is the surface rock of the whole valley, except a small portion of the country arouud Cincinnati, which, is old Silurian ; the Niagara being the upper Si- lurian. These rocks are the surface rocks of the blue grass region of Kentucky, immedi- ately south of this valley and Nashville, Tenn., they dip under newer formations. The Niagara limestones are the surface rocks, as far north as I^akc Erie, and as far east as the Niagara Falls. There is no country on the globe, wher« so great an extent of country has this kind of rock as surface rocks, except perhaps in Russia. There is no better coun- try than the Miami valley and the blue grass region of Kentucky ; erratic bowlders of for- eign origin are scattered all over this region. The erosion of these rocks was produced by the movement from the north of glacial ice, by which the clays, sands and gravel were produced, and the bowlders transported from Canada in this ice. Perhaps some of the largest surface bowlders were dropped from icebergs, as they floated south in a past glacial sea. These bowlders make good building material. They do not interfere with the farmers operations. Inter-glacial specimens of tropical plants, and animals ex- ist in this "drift, "abundant specimens of pre- historic times, mostly lithological, are found all over this valley. A farmer is not only benefited by being a good geologist, but he ought to understand comparative anatomy, physiology, chemistry, and botany, especially the physiology of plants. Meteorology and entomology are also sciences that farmers are much interested in or ought to be. In short, the farmers should be the most intelligent class of people in the country, instead of the most ignorant in a family being put to farming; he ought to be the most intelligent. Snowed all day yesterday and part of last night ; it is now about two inches deep. Cold. But little oats sowed yet, on account of wet weather. Farmers are making great prepara- tions to plant a big crop of tobacco this coming summer, mostly of the Dutch and Spanish varieties, which seems to be most in demand now and commands the highest price. There will not be much Ohio seed leaf planted this summer. G. FoH THE Lancaster Farmer. PLANT SMALL FRUITS. It is astonishing that farmers pay so little attention to small fruits for family use. On most farms is found an " orchard " consisting of a score or two of moss-grown and un- trimmed apple trees, which with a few long- limbed, neglected peach trees in the door- yard and a few raspberry canes in the garden are expected to furnish the family with a sup- iMy of fruit. The fact is ihe farmer's table which ought to be bountifully supplied with the choicest fruits every day in the year, is less liberally furnished with these luxuries than city tables where fruit has to be bought ui the market. Fruit is not only a luxury but a necessity. Farmers eat too much meat and too little fruit during the summer season. As well fire up the parlor stove during dog-days and ex- pect to be comfortable in its vicinity as to eat large quantities of butter and fried fat pork in the summer season and expect to "keep cool." The small fruits are more easily grown and have fewer insect enemies than any of the field crops. First in order comes the strawberry. Tlie last snows of spring are scarcely over when we see, here and there, a blossom, and in a few days the whole strawberry bed is white with bloom. In the early days of June, ear- lier than we expect it, a scarlet berry or two, and then a strawberry festival for a month. "Various plans are suggested for preparing the strawberry for the table, such as straw- berry short-cake and the like. They are all devices of the enemy. Have your berries picked an hour or two before meal time. Re- move the " husks," sprinkle the berries with sugar and set them in the ■ ice cellar to cool. When brought to the table a dash of Alderney cream and we have a dish too good to " set be- fore a king." City folk eat stale berries and milk and think they are revelling in straw- berries itnd cream ! Poor fellows, they have my heartfelt sympathy. Spring is the best time to plant small fruits of all kinds. I set out a few Shaffer's Col- lossal Raspberries last fall, but I think they are all dead now. The sooner strawberries are set out after freezing is over the better. Ground that is good enough to grow a good crop of corn or potatoes is rich enough for small fruits. An old garden is about the worst place in which to plant strawberries. Take a quarter of an acre or more especially for a fruit and vege- table patch. Mark the strawberry rows three feet apart and set the plants fourteen inches apart. Cultivate and hoe carefully, let the runners take root and form beds two feet wide, and next spring you may expect a full crop of berries. It is best lo set a new bed every spring and plow down the old one after the picking is over. I find it more economical than to attempt to keep the old beds clean. For a small bed in the garden they may be planted in rows two feet apart, and plants one foot apart in row. The run- ners must be cut off as fast as they appear, and each plant will form a large stool and bear many fine berries. This mode is toe large cities. Taking advan- tage of this fact, knowing ilie perishable na- ture of the product and the inability of most farmers who have begun to make milk largely to take care of it at home, or manufacture it profitably, the dealers have steadily crowded down the price. The receipts of the milk producer have thus decreased, while the con- sumers have derived no benefit, the retail selling price being held as high as ever. The margin for the middlemen has been gradually widened, without any material improvement in the milk service or other good reason. The retail peddlers do not receive much beyond a living, and the gain has .been mainly to the wholi'sale dealers and large operators. As a rule, the producer now receives less than one- half, and in many cases only one-third, of what tlie consumer jiavs for the milk. Producers have for along lime realized that they were receiving less than their fair sliare of the gross proceeds of the milk, and have known that oftentimes they actually pro- duced it and sold it at a loss. Vet, once settled in this line of fitrming, an entire change can only be made at a sacrifice, and many have conse(iuently submitted to freiiuent and even constant losses. Matters have gone from bad to win-se, until it has come to be an accepted fact that milk producers must and will accept whatever the dealers choose to offer, regard- less both of the original cost and of the final selling price. The large jobbers liave boasted of their power and have combined to make it more effective. Naturally, reaction has at last taken place. Milk producers have been driven to co-operate to protect their interests, and organizations to this end are forming in many places. A de- termined revolt against the encroachments of " the trade" was made in Orange county, N. Y., a year ago. The results were such as to show, " by the book," that the income of the dairy farmers of that county, has been at least S800 per day greater than it would otherwise have been, for a whole year. This amounts to a large sum. It has given impetus to simi- lar movements elsewhere, and there is at pres- ent special activity in the New England Milk Producers' Association, which includes the territory supplying Boston and vicinity, the Hoosatonic Valley Association, of Connecti- cut, and similar organizations ou all the rail- way lines delivering milk for New York and Jersey City. These organizations take, first, the crude form of combinations of producers to fix and maintain the price for milk on the farms of a given district. This supposes all pure, honest country milk to be equal in value, or, at least, to have a minimum value. None of the movements thus far have attempted to estab- lish a price to the farmer of more than three and a-half cents a quart average for the year. The "farmer's price" has been fixed at less than this in most cases. Certainly thi.-i is reasonable, and any one candidly examining this subject must agree that, while milk costs the city consumer six cents or more per quart, the producer is fairly entitled to four cents, and ought to be encouraged and helped in any proper action necessary to obtain it. When once well organized and so managed as to feel their power and make it felt, the as- sociations of milk producers will find a wide field of usefulness before them, and, if guided aright, they will win the hearty co-operation of all consumers. The interests of these two classes are identical. The nature of this all- important article of food is such that there are peculiarly strong reasons why the pro- ducers and consumers of milk should earnest- estly strive to bring themselves nearer to- gether. There is ample opportunity for this. As at present conducted, the business of city milk supply is unsystematic, wasteful and ab- surd. It sui)ports at least twice as many middlemen of different grade as are necessary, and there is no question of the possibility of reducing the cost of transporting the milk from the farm and delivering it to the city family at least one-half. Properly organized on a scale commensurate with the extent and importance of tratlic, tha total cost between producer and consumer for any of our Eastern cities can be reduced to two cents per quart. This ought to be insurins: an average cost to the one of six cents and an average receipt of four by the other. To this end the milk pro- ducers' associations should, in time, apply themselves, and they naturally will. Al- ready, indeed, the members of the Farmers' Milk Company, of Orange county, N. Y. (which, as a corporation with fair capital, owned by dairymen, has taken the place of the Erie Milk Producers' Association), are arranging to sell their own milk in New York City after the 1st of April. Nor is this all. It will become the duty of these milk as-sociations to arrange tor lessen- ing the cost and improving the facilities of milk transportation by rail, as well as to sys- tematize city delivery ; to classify or grade the merchantable article of milk and raise the commercial minimum standard ; to aid in pre- venting adulteration and fraud, and to insti- tute some means of sanitary inspection of the farms and stables where the milk is made. It is plain, therefore, that this movement, becoming so general in the milk-producing districts, cannot be overrated in importance. These new organizations should commend themselves to every producer and every con- sumer of milk, and certainly should embrace both in their active membership, for upon them devolve the duty of solving this whole great problem of the reformation, so much needed, in the milk supply of our large towns and cities. SOURCES OF TRICHINiE. An extract from Dr. Detmer's report to the Government upon trichnai in hogs as taken from Coleman's Rural World, says .• " That I am correct concerning the princi- pal resources of trichna; in hogs to the bad habit of our farmers have of leaving hogs that die of swine plague and of other diseases, too, uuburied, will appear from the following : As is well known, we had very little swine plague and very few losses from that diseases in the West in 1S83. The winter of 1S82-S3 was a severe one, the spring of 18S3 w.is wet, pour- ing rains were frequent, and the summer fol- lowing rathir backward and cool, all condi- tions unfavorable to the preservation and de- velopment of the swine plague germs (dioplo- coceus suis). In August, when I announced my trichinaj investigation, I examined mostly last year's hogs, over a year old, and found 3i per cent, trichinous ; in September some younger hogs, or hogs less than a year old, commenced to come in, and I found only 2.43 per cent, affected, in October, when most of the hogs examined were less than a year old, the percentage came down to 1.62 per cent, and in November, wlien nearly all the hogs examined were young animals the very low percentage of .73 was reached. Besides that in some of the hogs found to be trichinous the trichina; were already calcified, or in a state of calcification, which shows that the same cannot have recently invaded the ani- mal organism and were probably over a year 58 THE LANCASTER FARMER [April old. Fiiither, as said above, hogs from coun- ties never seriously invaded by the swine plague werealniotst invariably found free from tricliinie. In cue carload of hogs from Dakota one animal was found to be trichinous, but the trichinse were old, showed incipient calci- fication, and it is tolerably safe to say that hog, very likely, not a native of Dakota, but born and invaded by trichinse in Illinois, Iowa, or some other State, from vtrhich many people emigrated to Dakota. " Another proof that a prevalence of swine plage, or numerous deaths caused by that dis- ease, and that consumption of the dead hogs, constitutes the principal source of trichiniasis in swine, is furnished by the following facts : A few years ago, when swine plague was ex- tensively prevailing in the West, and when the losses caused by that disease were by far greater than they are at present or have been during the last two years, the percentage of trichinous hogs reported by other investiga- tors was much higher than that found by me in the fall of 1SS3, from August till date, not- withstanding that my examinations have been made in a most conscientious manner, and with a microscope that has a large me- chanical stage, which permits a systematic examination of every portion of the slide. If numerous deaths of hogs by swine plague or from other causes, and a subsequent con- sumption of dead hogs by the living, does not constitute the most fruitful source of trichi- nous hogs coincident with the gradual disap- pearance or decreased prevalence of swine plague I can not find a rational explanation. THE INDUSTRIOUS HENS. "If I owned all the hens in this country," said the marketman, as he counted out a dozen eggs and put them in a customer's basket, '' and had a place to pasture them in, all I would ask would be ten years in business, and I'd make it very warm for Vanderbilt.'' "How's that ?" asked the reporter. "How's that? Why, easy, that's how. Maybe you don't know, young man, that 26,000,000 cackles, announcing the birth of the same number of eggs, kept the farmer boys busy every day last year gathering in the efforts of 26,000,000 hens ? But they did. Well, those efforts for 365 days resulted in 9,600,000,000 separate and distinct eggs, or 800,000,000 dozen, as near as I can calculate. Now, it took just 750,000,000 dozen of those eggs to supply the demand for Tom and Jerrvs, puddings, hard and soft boiled eggs, egg nog, and ham and eggs in this country last year, and eggs was eggs at that. I figure that 30 cents a dozen, for lss3, was about the average price. Thirty cents a dozen for 750,- 000,000 dozen climbs plumb up to the com- fortable little purse of 8225,000,000. There's nothing mean about me, and if 1 had the handling of those offerings of the nation's hens, I'd be satisfied with a profit of two cents on a dozen. "What would be my little divvy? Well, if I haven't forgot what old Daboll drummed into me, I make it out that when the old year died I would lug home something like $15,- 000,000, clean and slick, ahead of the game. Ten years of that, and I think I could sit down with the boys and stay with as heavy a jack pot as any of 'em." " What would become of the other fifty mil- lion dozen ?" asked the reporter. " There you are again !" replied the market man. "If I owned all the hens, there's another little item that would help to keep me from worrying about the punctuality of the rer.t and infallibility of the gas meter. Last year must have been a good one for peo- ple visiting in the country, for folks broiled, fricasseed, and roasted something like six hundred million chickens, young and old. That used up the little balance of fifty million dozen eggs. That fifty million dozen of eggs were turned into chickens that gobbled up $.300,000,000 of the hard-earned coin of this realm, ciphering the thing down close at fifty cents a chicken. I don't deal in poultry, but from the size of the diamond pins of the ones that do I don't hesitate a minute to say that there can't be less than five cents profit on every chicken they sell. Old Daboll comes up again and lays it down for a nickel-plated fact that if I owned all the hens in this country I would have to make two trips home from the shop at the end of the year, for here I would have f 15,000,000 more piled in the till to be carried away and stuffed in the stocking, and $15,000,000 is plenty for one man to carry at one time. " So you see what a nice nest egg I'd have at the end of ten years. And you'd hardly believe that New York City would chip in about one-thirtieth of the whole pot every year, would you ? But she would. Last year it took 25,000,000 dozen of eggs to satisfy her, and she paid $9,000,000 to get them. Now, New York State only keeps hens enough to lay about 8,000,000 dozen, and so, of course, we have to go knocking around all over the country and part of Canada to keep up with the cry for eggs. It would take all the eggs that New York, New Jersey, Penn- sylvania and Massachusetts hens are responsi- ble for to supply this city with all the eggs it wants. The 25,000,000 dozen eggs used here last year, if laid in a single line, one after an- other, without a hair's space between them, would reach from Boston to San Francisco. I tell you there's a big thing waiting for someone who can get a corner on hens." — Nnv York Sun. INDIVIDUAL OWNERSHIP OF FOR- ESTS. The discussion over the destruction of our forests was never so active as it is now. It is difficult to find an exchange that has not an original or copied article on this subject, some papers running on it exolusively, yet from the very nature of things it is extremely doubtful if all this does any good. If the several States owned the forests within their borders all this would be well enough, and it would be an easy matter to resort to protective legisla- tion. Unfortuna,tel.y, however, most of these lands are now under private ownership, and a very different turn is given to the question. The time is not yet when the owners of the soil will willingly submit to legislative dicta- tion in the disposal or management of their property. It would be as logical to try to make farmers plant certain crops and prevent them from planting others, to prevent them from quarrying stones or mining coal on their property, as to attempt to prevent them from clearing such of their lands as may be covered with timber. Here is the source of all the trouble and this it is that renders discussion next to useless. The men who own forest lands understand as well as any one the con- sequences that must result from cutting them away. But when did that knowledge deter a man from laj'ing low his trees, and realizing on his lumber ? Suppose you prove to a man that in the heaviest timbered counties in this State pine lumber once sold at a cent per foot and that it is now brought into those counties from abroad and sold at five cents per foot, what do the men care who owned it, cut it down and made fortunes out of it ? That is all they cared for, and it is all most owners of timber cared for. Until that selfish sentiment can be legislated out of human nature, the discussion about forest preservation won't amount to much. If a law can be found or enacted that will enable the State to control men's actions in the disposal of their wooded lands, then something effective may be looked for, and not until then. Men are far more likely to consult their own pecuniary welfare than that of the nation, and this will down our forests. — New Era. THE SUMMONS OF THE RAIN. When the rain comes down as it did o; March 9, and had been doing for many day there are questions that should come with thi plash of the drops, to farmer and citizen alike " Where is it all going — where are the store- houses to keep it for the summer supply ?" Here is a plentiful down-pour of the fertiliz- ing moisture which the whole Atlantic slope will need to slake its thirst next summer, but it is nearly all swimming away to the sea. The woodlands are few and far between ; the hill- sides are mostly bare, and the absorbent forest soils, that once held the rain to filter it slowly down to the deep springs are displaced by com- pact lands that are but so many steep water sheds to hasten the moisture to waste. These are questions to which but scant consideration is given. Of course we cannot bring back the primeval forests if we would ; but something may be done. Wood tracts can be restored on a limited scale— groves can be planted, or re- served at least to the limits prescribed by Peun for his Sylvania plantations. Retaining reser- voirs can be constructed for other purposes than canal navigation, and upon a much more comprehensive plan. But the trees should be placed and replaced in patches and groves in any event, wherever it is practicable. The open, spongy top soil of the woodland, aud the rock crevices below, are the natural store- houses of rain, which, under existing condi- tions of denuded land, now falls only to run off' to the great streams, aud thence to the sea. It is this quick shedding of the copious downpours of the early spring from the bare hillsides, carrying the waters off in rushing torrents, that largely aggravates, if it is not mainly accouutable for, the disastrous "fresh- ets" and floods which are coming with more and more frequency and with more and more disastrous effect. This and the blocking of the natural channels of the streams by various constructions are certainly accountable in con- siderable degree. It is getting to be common, too, that sura, mer drouths follow hard upon the spring \ THE LANCASTER FARMER. 59 deluges. This argues a bad balaucc of the results that come from man's operations on and alterations of the face of the country— to whatever degree those are his work, or within the rL-ach of it. In some stretches of New England couutri' the side hills show only bare rock or blackened stumps stand- ing out against the horizh F. Witmer was for golner ahead. There was considerable money In the society treasury and the pecuniary risk would be comparatively nothing. Let the committee be appointed and the society go ahead with the matter. C. L. Hunsecker also advocated the plan. It was In the interests of agriculture and he believed It would do good. Our numbers are small, but the society, in spite of the paucity of its numbers, has done much good. Mr. Buckwaiter believed that if, for Instance, an able lecturer on the hol-se was announced as one of the speakers at the Institute, be alone would draw a large audience. On motion of Mr. Linvill the present committee was continued to carry the scheme of a Farmers' In- stltute forward. Premiums for Corn Growing. The committee on formulating a plan for award Ing premiums to boys for corn growing submitted the following : The commltece to arrange a list of premiums to boys for the best crop of corn on one-eighth of an acre beg leave to report the following : For the best lot of corn, $15 ; for the second lot of corn, JIO ; for the third lot of corn,?.5 ; for the fourth lot of com, ?3. The length of the plot must not be more than four times lis width and the measurement outside of the rows must not exceed one-half the distance between the rows. The contestants, who must not be over fifteen years of age, must enter their names with the secre- tary on or before the first of June. The reports of results must give method of plant- ing, variety of seed and when planted and harvested, and mode of culture, and the fertilizer used. The corn to be shelled and weighed, and the re- port to be accompanied by affladavits of vouchers from the growers, not later than the 15th of Novem- ber. Crop Reports. Henry .\I. Engle reported that it was a pleasure to him to say that not all the poaches were killed in his locality. On the tops of :hc trees there are still some uninjured buds. Johnson Miller reported rye frozen out very badly. Grass is also hurt in some places. The peaches arc mostly destroyed. Wheal looks well. Farmers' Co-operative Associations. J. C. Linvill had no practical experience In co- operative associations, but of the advantages of wholesale purchasing there can be no doubt. We can buy lumber, clover seed and fertilizers cheaper by the car-load than at retail. It is advantageous to work together. All classes have such assoiiations except the farmers. What is to be guarded against Is the politicians. They try to benefit themselves and not the farmers. Dr. J. P. WIckersham never Investigated this question as applied to farmers. He could easily see, however, how the interests of agriculture could be advanced thereby. Purchases can be made more cheaply in this way than where every man goes on his own account. Sales can also be more cheaply made where there is union. Cooperation is a medium whereby capital and labor are likely to be brought more nearly together than in any other way. H. M. Engle was a believer In co-operation There are, however, two sides to all questions. The Grange movement has done much to educate the farmers. It has been a source of profit to those be- longing to it by cheapening all kinds of supplies needed by farmers. Several bills were presented and ordered paid. Dr. WIckersham related some Interesting facts concerning agriculture In Europe, in many parts of which grain is still cut with sickles by women, andig 60 THE LANCASTER FARMER. [April, carried to the barns on the heads of the gleaners. They are a thousand years behind our own country iu this matter. Joseph T. Witmer spoke a good word for the Thomas Smithey harrow. He had no personal inter- est in the implement but he spoke because it gave him belter results than any other he ever used. For corn and potatoes it is most excellent. Question for Discussion. Do the farmers of Lancaster make good butter ? If not, why not? On motion, the society adjourned. POULTRY ASSOCIATION. The Lancaster County Poultry Society met in the office of J. B. Long, Khoad's building. West King street, Monday morniner, April 7th. The following members were in attendance : Jacob B. Long, Harry A. Schroyer, George H. Rathfon, Martin Rudy, Frank Humphreville, Charles Lippold, F.R. Diffenderfer and J. M. Johnston, city, M. L. Kreider, Mount Joy. The meeting was called to order by Harry A. Schroyer. The secretary, Mr. J. B. Lichty, being ab- sent the reading of the minutes was dispensed with. This being the time for the annual election of officers for the ensuing year, the following were elected by acclamation: President, Harry A. Schroyer; Vice Presidents, M. L. Kreider, John Seldomridge ; Re- cording Secretary, J. B. Lichty ; Corresponding Secretary, Martin Rudy. For Treasurer, George F. Rathvon and John E. Schaum were placed in nomination, and Mr. Schaum having received the highest number of votes was de- clared elected. The following names were placed in nomination for the Executive Committee : Peter Bruner, T. Frank Evans, Wm. Shoenberger, Charles Lippold, Samuel G. Engle, Jos. R. Trissler and Frank R. Diffenderfer. The first five having received the highest number of votes were elected to serve on the committee in connection with the president, the two secretaries and treasurer. A committee of two from the city band waited on the society with a view to be released from the con- tract which binds the band to the agreement they entered into of renting the society's hall for a fair, for two weeks, commencing Apiil 26. The society would not release the band from their contract. On application of Miss Annie E. Humm the hall was rented to a society of the blind for a fair, ?.50 and payment of the gas bill during the time of the fair. The fair will be held the first two weeks of June. There being no further business society adjourned. FULTON FARMERS' CLUB. Fulton Farmers' Club met at the residence of Solomon Gregg, April 5th. The members were all present, as were George Jenkins and wife, Jacob Grossman and wife, and several others as visitors, making quite a large company. The minutes of last meeting were read and ap- proved. Sol. Gregg exhibited two varieties of apples, Dominie and Smith Cider. E. H. Heines has a small clearing which is planted in wheat and of which the sorrel has completely taken possession. He asked the club the best way to eradicate it. Lindley King, recommended a heavy application of lime and then get it into grass. Montillion Brown recommended the use of plenty of lime and barnyard manure ; plant in buckwheat and follow with corn. So'. Gregg has had considerable experience with sorrel and recommends strong manuring, continu- ous planting and cultivation. Marchal Nesbit said he would plant in corn and give thorough cultivation. E. H. Haines said he has noticed that farmers are planting locust trees along the road side. Taking in consideration the inconvenience of farming along Bide of them and the shading and keeping the roads from drying, he would ask if it is a good idea. J. Grossman, Lindly King and George Jenkins would not favor the planting of too many trees by the roadside. Montillion Brown said the trees are good to pro- tect banks along roads, also along pasture lauds ; spoke of the road law allowing farmers 3.5 cents each for trees planted by the roadside, as a good one. Sol. Gregg is not in favor of planting locust trees by the roadside, but in some out of the way place. Jos. R. Blackburn said the locust trees do better planted by the roadside than in groups, unless culti- vated ; spoke of trees he had planted by the road- side that are now large, fine trees, while a group planted by a neighbor the same time had never amounted to anything ; he thinks they are not injurious to roads, but make pleasant shade, add to the appearance of the farm, and make valuable lumber for the farmer. Dinner being announced, the club adjourned and proceeded to demolish with neatness and dispatch the good things set before them. Owing to the roughness of the weather the usual inspection of the farm, etc., was confined to the barn and comfortable parlor of the host. After some very good music by the young ladies, the club was called to order and the reading of the minutes of the meeting last held here followed, and criticisms on farm management were called for. They were all of a complimentary character, nothing new being noticed except a wood house. An article was read by Mrs. Anna Gregg from the Farm Journal entitled, " Seed Time and Harvest." " "The old man in the stylish church," was read by Miss Julia Brown. E. H. Haines said the above reminded him of an experience he, with two of his neighbors, had attend- ing church in Philadelphia. Miss Hattie Hess read an amusing essay, which appeared to be an analysis of the old nursery rhyme of "Old Mother Hubbard." " Nutriment in hay, corn and oats," was read by Mrs. Anna Gregg. E. H. Haines read an editorial from the New York Tribune, commenting on the report of the Senate Committee of Adulteration of Food, relating to bogus butter. Miss Hattie Hess read from Farm Journal an arti- cle on " Farm Management." The committee appointed to draft resolutions of respect on the death of our late member, Josiah Brown, report the following : Whekeas, The Fulton Farmers' Club has, by the death of Josiah Brown, lost one of its oldest and most valuable members, one who has long been recognized as an active and zealous worker in the cause of agriculture, therefore be it Resolved, That by the death of our friend the club and community have lost a highly valued member, and one whose walk iu life, both in public and pri- vate, entitle his memory to be cherished with the deepest respect and his example to be commended to the members and friends that he leaves behind. Resolved, That as a mark of respect to the memory of our departed friend, the foregoing be entered upon the minutes and a copy thereof be furnished to the estimable widow and daughter of the deceased, with whom we sympathize in their loss. On motion the report was accepted. On motion of E.H. Haines, Marshal Nesbit and family were elected members of the club. " Should the markets be free for the sale of all brands of butter, bogus and genuine ?" was the ques- tion adopted for discussion at the next meeting. After listening to some very good music the club adjourned to meet at Wm. King's, May 3, 1884. LINN.ffi;AN SOCIETY. The Linnsean Society met statedly in its rooms in the Y. M. C. A. building on Saturday afternoon, March 29, with President J. P. Wickersham in the chair. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved, and dues were collected. Donations to the Museum. A very fine specimen of the " Whip-tail," from Florida, is donated by Mr. Benjamin Snably, of that State, who was recently here on a visit. This is the Thelyphonas exeubitor, of Gerard ; but, according to Mr. Snably's representations, it is locally known iu Florida as the " Grampus '" and " Mule-killer" — one individual at least alleging that its bite caused the death of one of his mules. There is no knowing what the effect of its bite might be under certain ad- verse circumstances, but ordinarily we do not think it would differ much from the bite of any other ani- mal belonging to its family or group. Scientiflcallji classified, it is one of the Pedipalpi, a group in the] family Tarantulidfe, among the Pulmonarial Arach-' nidffi, which includes the Octopod animals— such as spiders and their cogeners. Some years ago a speci- men of this animal was sent to us from New Mexico by Lieutenant Frazer, of the United States army, who stated that the people there called it "Vinagria/ or " Vinegar-bug." More in reference to this ai mal will be found in the April number of the LaW CASTER Farmer. A bottle containing 13 specimens of Lepidopteroi and coleopterous larvae, donated by Mr. F. Beatei of Willow Street, Lancaster county. Mr. B. collec ed this larvae the first week in February, crawlinj about on the snow, rather an unusual phenomenon in a month so cold as February was this year. They belong to the Noctuidse and Lampyridie. See Lan- caster Farmer for April, 1884. A specimen of " lampry eel," donated by Mr. J. M. Westheaffer. It was found among the fishes in the Northern Fish Market. This is probably ^ young specimen of pteromyzon nigricans, parasitic on fishes. A specimen of the larvae of Spilosoma, Isabel! and a crocus fiower, donated by S. M. Sener. collected both specimens on the 2.5th of February; during a temporary elevation of the mercury, fell to the freezing point the day following. Dr.S. S. Rathvon deposited two specimens of per- forated objects, illustrative of his article on " Ani- mal Mechanism." Mr. Geo. Flick, taxidermist, city, donated a very fine stuffed specimen of a pigeon, of the fancy breed known as Jacobins. Donations to Library To the library were added thirteen catalogues of botanical works, and ten catalogues of plants and seeds, from various parties, donated by S. M. Sener; Philadelphia Times, March 13, 1884 ; Mobile Daily iJcrjjfiiei-, 16 pp ; Sacramento weekly Union, National Tribune, Lancaster Farmer for Febuary, March, 1884, catalogues of Dr. Leconte's library of entomological works, Lippincott's " Monthly Bulletin " Dulan's catalogue of botanical works Book Buyer for March, 1884, catalogue of rare and curious books from H. Sotheran, London, N. W., circulars 3 and 4, also pamphlet on " Education in Italy," and the " Bufa- luia Prize," from Department Interior, U. S. A., prospectus of a cyclopaedia of political science by J. Lalor, copy of the American catalogue of dupli- cate books of Mercantile Library. Astor Place, N. Y., catalogue of second hand books, W. .Muhl, N' O.; circulars from J. B. Pratt in reference to genealogy of Pratt family from 1663, catalogue of historical books from McDonough, Albany, N. Y., American College Directory, Evans & Co., St. Louis; proceedings of Academy of Natural Sciences, Phila- delphia, from June to October 1883, part 2 eeedings of American Philosophical Society, froi April 1883 to January 1884, No. 114; Patent 0: Gazettes for months of Febuary and -March, 188! volums A. C ; A. C. Atlas ; D. 3, vol. 11 ; G. 7 ; A. A. (6 volumes in all) of Second Geological S vey of Pennsylvania, from Department of State. Letters from Oneida Historical Society, Utica, Y., asking for exchange of proceedings \ placed on file, also copy of fifth annual address same. A vote of thanks was on motion tendei the honors to the museum and library for donatio: Dr. S. S. Rathvon read an original paper " Animal Mechanism," illustrated by specimei also an article on the Florida Whip Tail. Prof. Theodore Appel and Miss E. V. Baker wei then elected associate members, and C. W. Dorling, Utica. N. Y., a correspondent. I THE LANCASTER FARMER. 61 The secrelary said lliat sirco last meetlnffs shares 3f stock had been properly executed aud delivered ■iccorillns to resolutions, also that he had sent a )ackage of J-'anmers contaiDinK our proceedings to )nedia Historical Society, Utica, New York. A committee of three, consistine of the President, !. M. Sener and Prof, J. S, Stahr, was then on notion appointed to draft a new Constitution and (y-Laws, in accordance with the bugijestions of the ommittee appointed to examine into the same, fhose report had been previously handad in and cceptcd. The new committe are requested to act y next meetintt and report. Under scientific gossip it was remarked that there ras 500,000 distinct forms of insects, and that the nimal kingdom is now estimated to embrace about ,000,000 species. The society adjourned to meet od Saturday aftcr- oon, April 2(>, l.sS4,at2',j; P.M, in the museum AGRICULTURE. Onion Culture. Dr. E. Lewis Sturtevant, Director of New York gricultural Experiment Station, in a recent bulle- n says : Our onion trials of the last season were with lirty-four named varieties, which were planted in en feet long and eleven and one-half inches Dart, the seeds being covered one-half inch deep, order to ascertain the percentage of seed which igetated, we carefully counted in 100 seeds of each iriety, separating these by stakes from the remain r of the planting. Three rows of each variety were anted in order to note the difference upon yield of ss of planting. In the first row th; plants ere thinned to three inches apart ; in the second to ?o Inches and in the third to oiie inch apart. The plantings were upon April 23, 34 and 26. The irlod for vegetation varied from sixteen days for e Philadelphia White, to thirty-one days for the Teneriffe, the majority of the varieties vege- ting In from twenty-one to twenty-four days. The rcentage of plants which vegetated varied from ;l\t per cent, for the Yellow Cracker, the average getation being fifty nine per cent. The earliest riety to mature its bulb was the Extra Early Red, 116 days from planting ; the latest ten varieties in ikS days. In nearly every case the yield was smallest the first row, where the spaces were three inches, id laigest in the third row, where the spaces were inch, but in no case was the increased yield of second and third rows in proportion to the in- cased number of plants. As a rule, the largest lbs were in th i first row. There seems to ba some undation for the opinion held by some onion grow- that the bulbs develop better, offering fewer scal- ins where they are so close in the row as to crowd ch other. The following experiment With onions is quite sug- stive. The soil was thoroughly pulverized over a lall plat of ground, and an adjoining plat of equal !e the ground was packed as hard as possible by re- atedly pounding it with a heavy maul. Tke sur- ec of both plats was then covered with finely pul rized soil to the depth of half an inch, and June d three rows on each plat were planted with seed Large Red Wethersfield onion. Late planting (\8 disadvantageous to the yield, but the three rows the compacted soil yielded but three pounds, three inces. The percentage of vegetation in the two ats was noticeably different, although the vegeta- m was prompter on the compacted soil. Potato Culture. There is scarcely any crop that has induced more perimenting and has caused more discussion than e growing of potatoes. On farms adjoining one lother there is all possible difference in its cultiva- )n. This is more in the seed planted and the anner of planting than in the preparation of the ■ound and cultivation, though in the results there Is next to no difference. Some farmers insist that quite small whole potatoes are the best for planting ; some cut off and throw awaj the seed end of the small potatoes ; others cut medium sized potatoes in two or three pieces ; others plant pieces with a sin- gle eye, and so on. Some plant the whole large po- tatoes in holes three feet apart ; some the very small ones in drills. When the harvesting comes each will obtain about the same quantity of potatoes and about the same -size. We think it probable that if the early part of the season Is very dry that the large seed is the best, owing to the substance It po'*- sesses to sustain the young growth, otherwise the small seed ; or the pieces of medium potato in size, is to be preferred. The saving, too, in the small seed (the latter being unflt for market) will be con- siderable. A good sod, in ground not subject to standing water or usually very moist, is the best for the crop. Barnyard manure spread over the ground and raked in every row and not plowed too deep, is best, liows or drills, we think, are to be preferred, and they should be wide enough apart to admit the plow after the vines have become too large for the cultivator. All seed should be spread upon the barn floor for two or three weeks before planting, to admit of the eyes to get a little start, which will re- duce about that time in advancing the maturity of the crop. Should the season be favorable the potato crop at this time is as certain in affording a satisfactory yield as any other crop upon the farm, and in some respects it is the most profitable.— (?frman(uic7( Tele- graph. The Kitchen Garden— Hot Beds. We know it is too soon to say much about garden ing or even to go upon the ground ; but we also know that some kitchens have no garden in particu- lar, and many have no hot-bed or cold-frame arrangements in what garden they have. To all such we say begin now to make arrange-: ments for a spring garden ; make up your minds what you are going to raise and where the seeds are, and if they are such as will be sure to grow right up when the time comes. Find some warm, sheltered spot secure from the encroachment of stock and poultry and make a bed, with boards around it, and procure some sash and glass to keep off cold winds and .idmit warm sunshine, and here sow the seeds of early vegetables as soon as the weather is fit to turn them to the ground. March will soon reveal the temper of Spring and before the end of the month some seeds may be sown for early garden vegetables. There is to be some compost made for hot beds and they can be put together before March is out, also lettuce may be sewed, horse radish roots planted out and some other things to save hurry when planting time comes. April is the time to sow cabbage, celery, lettuce and onion seeds in hot-beds or cold frames, and care must be taken to have good supply of well-rottcd and mellowed manures come near the sprouting seeds to consume their tender roots. " Luck " in sprouting seeds, as well as in growing plants, depends on knowledge of what is going on and deftness in meeting needs. We cannot exact time to plant anything beforehand ; for this depends upon the condition of the soil as much as the locality of the ground and state of the weather ; but If we don't sow in April we can't reap In May and June. Neither can we tell farmers what to plant, hut anyhow, raise peas, beans, radishes, lettuce, cab- bages, celery, beets, parsnips, tomatoes, cucumbers, corn and if we miss any good things here, get and sow it too ; for all these things save bread, meat, ' potatoes and doctors' visits. And though they all contain much the same thing at best, each contains it in different proportions and conditions that make variety— which is a good thing in food either for man or beast. We consider a well kept kitchen garden at least half the living of the farmer's family, and labor and expense there are fully as remunera- tive as in the field, while by canning, drying, and economical storage most of these things can be had all the year round. — Oermanlown Telegraph. A Hillside Orchard. Mrs. AUcn-Olney can raise very fine applet on her sleep hillside. If it lias a good deep soli. A good or- chard Is a paying investment, and one can well afford to take a deal of extra care and labor to estab- lish the trees on such comparatively worthless land. First, grub out all brush and roots where the young trees are to be planted, taking pains to put the soil In good condition. Plant, if possible, so as to have about each tree a level space not less than two feet in diameter. Cover this with a mulch of coarse manure, leaves or muck, something to keep down weeds and grass and enrich the soil . Seed the whole hillside thickly to blue grass, and remember that soil to grow two crops at the same time must be lib- erally manured, unless already very rich. The whole surface should be mowed at least twice each sum- mer, to exterminate the bushes and to keep down the grass ; the mown grass and weeds make a very good mulch if nothing better can be obtained. Sheep are capital ; they help to kill weeds and bushes, to keep down the grass, making the finest kind of sod. They can be prevented from injuring the trees by putting a guard about each, made of small poles or stakes, or of two large slakes with boards nailed on each side, or by using sawed lath, woven in three tiers of double wires, so as to form a sort of fence. Or they can be kept away by wash ing the stems of the trees once each month of sum- mer with a wash made very strong of dirty, soft soap and water, and to every eight gallons add one pound of whale-oil soap ; thicken this with sheep manure to the consistency of thick whitewash, and apply with a brush or broom as high as the sheep can reach. If the trees are kept well mulched until they attain good size, they will grow as rapidly and healthy as with the best of cultivation, but extra care will be required that mice do not make nests in the mulch, and in deep snows gnaw the trees. — J. S. Woodioard, Niagara county, A'. )'. Have a Corn-Marker Ready. This might be taken as a text from which to preach a sermon on having everylhiuij ready before the time for using comes. But it is best to be more specific. A corn-marker should be so constructed that the run- ners will ac'ommodate themselves to uneven ground. A good marker is made in the following manner : In the first place make a "sled," so to speak, of two planks for runners, fastened at the proper distance apart— the width of the corn rows— by two stout strips spiked to the top of the runners. These strips should extend one fool beyond the outride of the two runners. Two other plank runners are provided, and one end of two stout strips are nailed to each of these runners and the opposite ends are fastened, respec- tively, by bolts to the extended ends of the "sled" pieces. These " wing '' runners- one on each side of the central two- are free to move up or down by means of the bolt fastening. In turning around the side runners may be turned up on the central sled. This latter position may be taken when the marker is drawn to and from the field. A seat can be easily Bxeil upon the central part of the marker if it is fell desirable. Such a marker Is easily and cheaply made and does its work well. — I'/iUa. Press. .Harrowing Winter Grain in Spring. Many farmers have never tried this plai), and they hesitate about it for fear of pulling all the grain out by the roots. If this fear cannot be conquered, try part of your grain field this spring. If you have a smoothing harrow, or one with teeth sloping back- wards, you can safely repeat the stirring until the grain is a foot high. But go slow at first. Begin as soon as the ground is dry enough in the Spring, and sow your cloverseed on the raw ground after the crust is broken. If you harrow more than once, wait until the last time before scattering your clover seed. You will find that the tillering out of both wheat and rye will more than counterbalance any 62 THE LANCASTER FARMER. [April, dragging out of plants by the root. In some soils the wheat crop has been improved as much as ten bushels to the acre by this process. — Philadelphia Press. How Much Seed Shall I Sow ? That depends on the size and vitality of the seeds, the number of seeds to the bushel, the condition of the land, whether distributed evenly, and the nature of the season which is to follow. No fixed rule will relieve the farmer froic thinking for himself and em ploying all the good judgment at his command. In the opinion of the writer, it would be better, in most cases, if farmers used less seeil to the acre and tooli more pains to get the land in better condition. Sup- pose we sow twelve quarts of timothy seed and four pounds of red clover to the acre. This will make 18,944,000 seeds of timothy and 6,024,000 seeds of clover, a total of 24,968,000 seeds, or about four seeds to the square inch. Using finer seeds in mixtures, as prescrilied by some of the English dealers, they often sow from .50,000,000 to 100,000,000 seeds to the acre, or not far from eight to sixteen seeds to each square inch. In either case, there can be room for only a small portion of the plants should all the seeds grow and thrive. Much caution must be used in applying the fixed rules laid down in books, or the fixed rules laid down by men who seldom consult the books.— Press. H0RT3CL rURE. Protecting Raspberries. J. W. F., Williamsport, Pa., desires to know (vhen his raspberry canes, which have been laid down for winter protection, should be uncovered and raised. Certainly not till all danger of freezing weather is over. Cold, piercing winds of March are often more injurious to the canes than the lower temperatures of ■winter. In other words, it is spring protection, rather than winter protection, which is most beneficial.— Philadelphia Paess. Dwarf Celery. In contrasting the celery of some twenty years ago, tall, coarse and spongy, with the short, crisp, nutty- flavored vegetable of to-day, we must acknowledge that here, at least, some credit is due our modern gardeners. The " Boston Market " has proved with me the best for a combination of good qualit'es, not the least ol which is the cheapness of the crop in comparison with the tall growing varieties. The greatest amount of labor is necessary in hillinar-up, so that the latter, requiring but little time and atten- tion, can be placed upon the market at a greater profit, or consumed by the grower without the least self-compunction as to extravagance. As did the raaoimoth sor's of our fathers, so will the new dwarf kinds continue to improve, until we have a strain of celery needing little care and almost certain to develop favorably under ordinary good cultivation. As to the latter, the main point is plenty of rich, rotted manure, a deep, generous soil and moisture. Fresh manure should always be avoided and deep trenches never tolerated.— PAiia. Press. Early Apples. Although we cannot advise planters to depend upon summer and autumn apples for profit, matur- ing as they do in the height of the fruit season, still he is a poor farmer who does not provide a few trees of the best varieties for his own table. So far as flavor is con",erned, I prefer the Early Joe for sum- mer, and Mother for autumn. The former is a rather small apple, but it has a crisp, juicy flesh and delightful flavor. It is a small tree, h^nce may be grown in a small enclosure. It does not bear as regularly as some, but produces abundantly during its fruiting years. The Mother is the perfection of apple flavor. It is of fair size, handsome color, spicy, rich and de- licious. This, too, a rather small tree of slow growth. The American Summer Pearmain cannot well be excelled for quality, but lately it does not bear well. The Sweet Bough should be a favorite with those who do not admire the hardness of the Red Astrachan and Early Harvest. For a small list of early apples the following will be found satisfac- tory in most localities : Early Strawberry, Benoui, Summer Rose, Gravenstein (although a poor bearer with some), Jefferis, Late Strawberry, .Maiden's Blush (mostly rather tart), Porter and Primate.— Phila. Press. Early Pears. At the head of this list stands the Doyenne d' Ete, a rather small, but handsome fruit, of best quality when properly ripened and succeeding almost every- where. Although doubtful in many localities, the GiS'ard is one of the very best early varieties where it will succeed. Its fine vinous flavor and delicious melting flesh is of the highest order, but the skin frequently cracks. Notwithstanding its small size and rather unpromising exterior the Bloodgood still ranks among our most popular early kinds. It abounds in a highly perfumed juice and bears abun- dantly. Another little pear ripening in August is the Dearborn's Seedling, and like the above, still popu- lar and deserving a place in every collection. The Madeleine continues to hold its position as the most desirable very early variety, ripening in the Middle States about the middle of July. The Osbands Summer is universally admired wherever known for its beautful yellow skin and rich, juicy, sugary flesh. It produces flne crops. The Rostiezer bears abundantly, and is of delicious quality, but the skin is far from handsome. The tree is also a straggling grower, but vigorous. Ananas d'Ete and Julienne are both desirable pears in special locations, but require high culture to produce fine flavor. Three Pennsylvania seedlings, Ott, Tyson and Brandywine, are excellent quality as a rule, but we hear an occasional instance of failure, especially in their native State. Early pears must never be allowed to ripen on the tree. As they approach maturity, which can be de tected by their color and their beginning to drop, the fruit should be carefully picked and placed thinly on the floor of a cool apartment. Spread a blanket over them and watch closely for the ripened specimens, as they never keep long in a perfect state. The trouble is, the heart of the fruit generally de- cays first, and there is nothing to remind us that de- composition is taking place.— P/tiin. Press. Tomatoes. The tomato of late years has been universally grown and yet it seems not to be thoroughly under- stood. We Northern folks seldom have this very wholesome vegetable in any quantity till August. Why not have it in July ? Why not in June ? Why not to a limited extent have it all the year fresh from the vine? The plant is usually treated as an annual; but who ever saw a tomato vine die the same year it was sown through age, or till the frost came and killed it ? Let it be treated as a biennial plant and a great revolution will take place in its culture. The canning factories do not wish seed sown till late in the spring because the crop then comes in, to suit their purpose when the heat of summer is over. But for the table everybody wants them as early as pos- sible, and, therefore, we pay large prices for insipid things brought from th( far South, where they need to be picked while green for transportation, for which reason they are comparatively worthless. Good, large tomatoes, fresh from the vine, in the winter and early spring bring readily from ten to twenty-live cents apiece in leading hotels of our great cities and, considering the profusion with which to- matoes grow under glass and the simple culture they require, it is strauge that enterprising men do not go into the business of forcing and forwarding this fruit. I ask what fruit will pay better? It is certainly not the grape ; for the foreign grape now grown so plentifullv in California has pulled down the price of the house grown article so much that it is not profit- able to build glass houses any more for a market- able supply of grapes. To have tomatoes in late June and July they re- quire to be sown the year before iu poor soil, and kept through the winter in a moderate heat, suflfi. cient to keep them from freezing, in pots or boxes. Transpl.anted into small pots in February or March they will then be coming into blossom at the time of planting out, and will manure from four to six weeks earlier than any hot-bed sown plants, no matter how early sown to fruit the present year, for what the tomato wants is age. Early tomatoes can also be raised by planting cut- tings in the fall from good sorts already in bearing, when the quality can easily be judged of. And thus a good sort can be perpetuated. To have them in May and June those bearing in large pots through the winter with ripe fruit and plenty of blossoms on may be turned out of their pots when the frost is over, and thus ripe fruit may be picked by planting in succession, from frost to frost. A pit sunk in the ground five feet deep, in a dry place, of suGh dimensions as are required and cov- ered with glass, with a small earthen pipe or brick flue running around, will accomplish all that is claimed in the above.— TAomas Bennett iu Phila. Press. Household recipes, Salem Pudding.— One cup suet, chopped flne; one cup molasses, one cup milk, one teaspoon soda, tnree and a half cups flour, two teaspoons cream tartar, one cup raisins, one teaspoon cloves, a little salt. Steam three hours. Wine sauce. Carrie's Apple Batter.— Half pint milk, one egg, and flour to make a pretty stiff batter ; a little salt. Fill your pudding dish with sliced apples, pour your batter over them, and steam three hours. Sauce. Sunderland Pudding. No. 1. — One quart milk, four eggs, six tablespoons flour, a little salt. Bake in cups twenty minutes. Sauce Sunderland Pudding. No. 2— One pint milk, one pint flour, three eggs, salt. Mrs. H.'s Bekrt Pudding. — Coffee-cup sweet milk, one third cup molasses, one egg, a little salt, a little saleratus, three and a half teacups flour. Beat all with a spoon. Flour three pints berries, and stir with a knife. Steam three hours. Sauce. Madam E.'s Pudding Sauce.— Large coffee cup powdered sugar, quarter pound butter. Beat to- gether very light ; then add one egg, but do not beat much after the egg is in. Stir in one glass of w Take olT the tea-kettle cover, set the same in, and let it melt as thick as cream, stirring it occasionally. Baked Plum Pudding.— Two quarts milk, ten soft crackers, eight eggs, one ponud stoned raisins. Spice to taste. Bake from three to four hours. Sauce. Mrs. C.'s Pumpkin Pie. — Stew a large sized pumpkin in about one pint of water till Iry ; sirt through a culander ; add two quarts milk scalded, six eggs, heaped tablespoon ginger, half as ULUch cinnamon, two coffee cups molasses, two coffee-cups sugar, two teaspoons salt. Bake in a pretty hot oven, one hour at least. Cottage. Pudding. — One pint bowl flour, one teacup milk, one egg, half teacup sugar, one tea- spoon soda dissolved in the milk, two teaspoons eream tartar rubbed in the flour. Bake twenty minutes or half an hour. Sauce. Cookies. — One cup of butter, two cups of sugar, one cup of cold water, half a teaspoonful of sale- ratus, two eggs, flour enough to roll, and no more. Soft Gingerbread.— One cup of molasses, one cup of sugar, one cup of butter, one cup of butter- milk, one egs, saleratus and cloves. Mix pretty etiflr. Cream Cake. One cup of cream, one cup of sugar, two cups of flour, two eggs, teaspoonful of saleratus ; flavor with lemon. THE LANCASTER FARMER. 63 1 1 I i.nNOTS.— Odb cup of melU'd lard, one pint of ihi i , I ■lie cup of yeast; mix at iiiKlit, warm ; in the Ill:;, when perfectly littht, add two cups of -ugar, two egge, one tcaspoonful ol ciiina- i it rise again, roll it about a quater of an irk, and cut it; boil in very hot fat. I (ilNOERiiREAD.— Twocups of browD sugar, i|i of sour milk, one cup of molasses, three , I liiee-quarters cup butter, one tablespoonful I j;iiiu''r, one teaspoonful saleratus. Goi.D Cake.— One cup butter, one cup milk, two cups sugar, three cups flour, yolks of five eggs, one 1 teaspoonful soda, two teaspoonfuls cream tar- tar, flavor with nutmeg or vanilla. Silver Uake.— One half cup butter, one-half cup sugar, one cup milk, two and one half cups flour, wtiitcs of five eggs, one teaspoonful cream tartar, one-half teaspoon soda. «s. K.'s Cup Cake. — Four cups flour, two cups r, one cup butter, one cup milk, four eggs, teaspoon cream tartar, one-third teaspoon soda, one pound currants. Lady Cake.— One pound flour, one pound sugar, half pound butter, five eggs, tumbler of milk, tea- spoon soda, juice and grated rind of one lemon, twelve bitter almonds blanched and pounded. Bake thin in three email sheets. CocoANOT Cake.— One pound sugar, half pound butter, three-quarters pound flour, six eggs, one coc'ianut grated : beat butter and sugar to a cream, add the yolks well beaten, then the whites, then flour, and last the eocoanut. Composition Cake.— Two and aquarter pounds of flour, one and three-quarter pounds of sugar, one I half pounds of butter, three pounds of fruit, six eggs, one pint of milk, one cup of molasses, two glasses of wine, two glafses of brandy, two teaspoons saleratus. Cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc. ICE Cake.— One pound flour, one pound sugar, half pound butter, four eggs, teacup cream, tea- spoon soda, teaspoon cloves, one nutmeg, teaspoon cinnamon, one pound raisins, one glass wine or brandy. Ckeam Cake.— One teacup cream, two teacups sugar, three well-beaten eggs, teaspoon saleratus, dissolved in wineglass of milk, butter size half an egg, flour to make as thick as pound cake ; add raisins and spice to taste ; wine and brandy if you like. Gingekhread.— One pound flour, half pound sugar, the yolks of three eggs, half pound of butler; ginger to taste. A PniLADKLPHiA .Spont.e Cake. — Take ten eggs, e jiound suirar, half pound flour, and lemon juice or extract to flavor. Beat the whites to a stiff froth, warm and sift the flour; stir the yolks a.id sugar to- gether, till light ; and add the whites and flour, half St a time, alternately. Stir the whole gently, till bubbles rise to the surface. Bake in a moderate oven. Cider Cake. — Two pounds flour, half pound but- ter, one pound sugar, teaspoon saleratus, dissolved in one pint of cider ; fruit and spice to taste. SoiiA Cake. — Four eggs, one pint of suirar, one teacup of butter, one cup of sweet milk, one quart of flour, one teaspoonful of soda, two of cream of irlar. White Cake.— Three cups of sifted flour, one and half cups of sugar, one cup of sweet milk, one egg, ivo tablespoonfuls of butter, two teaspoonfuls of ream tartar, one teaspoonful of essence of lemon_ Beat the butter and sugar to a cream, then add the nilk, (in which the soda should be dissolved,) the egg — well beaten — and the essence. Mix with the above, two cups of the flour ; and lastly add the third cup, in which the cream tartar has been stirred. Then bake in pans or basins in a quick oven. Whios.— Mix half a pound of sugar with six ounces of butter, two eggs, teaspoonful cinnamon. Stir in two pounds flour, a teacup of yeast, milk enough to make a stiff batter; when light, bake in cups. VVeddinu Cake Pudding.- Two-thirds of a cup of butter, one cup of molasses, two cups of milk, two teaspoonfuls saleratus, four eggs, two pounds of raisins, stoned and chopped, one pound of currants, a quarter of i. pound of citron ; flour to make a bat ter as thick as pound cake ; salt, and all sorts of splces. Boil or steam five hours. To bo eaten with wine sauce. Indian Baked Pudding— Always Goon.- One quart milk, four eggs, flve large teaspoonfuls of In- dian meal, nutmeg and sugar to your taste. Boil the milk, and scald the Indian meal In it ; then let it cool before you add the eggs. Bake three-quarters of an hour. CocOANUT Pie.— One good sized eocoanut peeled and grated, one quart of milk sweetened like cus- tard, a piece of butter the size of a walnut in each pie ; four eggs to the quart. Mince Pies — Meat finely chopped, five pounds, good apples seven pounds, sugar three pounds, raisins three pounds, currant jelly one pound, butter four ounces, mace or cinnamon one ounce. When this is prepared, make a crust of two-thirds the usual quantity of lard, and one-third of fat salt pork very flncly chopped ; all of which should be rubbed in the flour and wet with cold water. Bake in a slow oven one hour. Pineapple Pie. — Pare and grate large pineapples, and to every teacupful of grated pineapple add half a teacupful of fine while sugar ; turn the pine- apple and sugar into dishes lined with paste, put a strip of the paste around the dish, cover the pie with paste, wet and press together the edges of the paste, cut a slit in the centre of the cover, through which the vapor may escape. Bake thirty minutes. Fannie'sCake.— Half a pound of butter, three- quarters of a pound of sugar, one pound of flour, four eggs, one cup of milk, one teaspoon ol soda. Cloves, cinnamon, mace to taste, with or witnout fruit, as you choose. Bake in a slow oven. Ladra Keene's Jelly Cake. — One teacup of sugar, one teacup of milk, one teaspoon of cream of tartar, one pint of flour, two teaspoons of soda, one egg, one tablespoon of melted butter ; salt, spice and bake in thin sheets ; when baked, spread jelly of any sort between the sheets. The receipt makes one cake, in three small divisions. German Puffs. — One pint milk, five eggs, two ounces butler, ten spoonfuls flour. Bake in cups. Sauce. Mrs. Meacham's Boiled Indian Pudding.- Two cups Indian meal, two cups flour, one egg, half cup molasses, one teaspoon soda, two t.easpoans cream tartar. Wet with milk till about as thick as cake. Steam three hours. Never lift the cover while it is cooking, or it will not be light. Sauce. Poor Man's Pudding.— Two quarts milk, one cup uncooked rice, half cup sugar, piece of butter size of a walnut, two teaspoons salt. Spice to taste. Bake three hours, and stir several times during the first hour. Apple Saoo Pudding.— One cup sago, in water enough to swell it, t. «., about six cups. Put it on the stove and swell it. It the mean time stew ten or twelve apples, mix with the swelled sago, and bake three-quarters of an hour. Eat with cream and sugar or wine sauce. Dedham Cream Pie.— Bake your paste, not too rich, in a common pie -piaXe first. Boil one pint of milk ; when boiling, stir in half cup flour, one cup of sugar, and the yolks of two eggs ; beat well together. Cook long enough not lo have a raw taste ; add juice and grated rind of one lemon and a little salt ; beat the whites of the two eggs, with a cup of sugar to a stiff froth ; spread over the pie when filled, and brown in the oven. Jane P.'s Lemon Cream Pie.— One cup sugar, one cup water, one raw potato grated, juice, grated rind of one lemon; bake in pastry top and bottom. This will make one pie. Carrot Pudding.— Half pound grated carrot, half pound grated potato, half pound suet, chopped fine ; half pound flour, spices of all sorts, salt, raisins, and citron to taste. Steam flve liours. To be eaten with wine sauce. Green Corn Pudding.— Take half a dozen ears of green sweet corn, (good size,) and with a sharp- pointed knife split each row of kernels, and scrape from the ear. Mix with this pulp, two eggs, well beaten, two table-spoons sucar, one of butter, one salt-spoon of salt, half pint sweet cream (milk may be substituted, with an extra spoonful of butter,) and one dozen crackers, grated or pounilcd very fine. Mix well together, and bake three hours if in a pudding dish— or two in custard cups. Use the corn raw. Augusta's Lemon Pies.— Juice and grated rind of three lemons, three eggs, and three table-spoons sugar to a lemon. Bake in puff paste. Ink Stains.- Housewives who are horrified at the sight of ugly ink stains will like to get hold of a re- ceipt for removing them : The moment the ink Is spilled take a little milk and saturate the stain ; soak it up with a rag, and apply a little more milk, rub- biiiL'it well in. In a few minutes the Ink will be com- pletely removed. To Clean Decanters.— Cut some raw potatoes in pieces, put them in the tiottle with a little cold water; rinse them, and they will look very clean. Cut Glass should be rubbed with a damp sponge dipped in whiting ; then brusli this off with a clean brush and wash the vessel in cold water. To Restore Crape.— When a drop of water falls on a black crape veil or collar it leaves a conspicuous white mark. To obliterate this spread the crape on a table (laying on it a large book or a paper-weight, to keep it steady), and place underneath the stain a piece of old black silk. With a large camel-hair brush dipped in common Ink go over the stain, and then wipe off the ink with a hit of soft silk. It will dry Immediately, and the white mark will be seen no more. An Ant-Trap. — Procure a large sponge, wash it well, and press it dry, which will leave the cells quite open ; then sprinkle over it some fine white sugar, and place it near where the ants are most trouble- some. They will soon collect upon the sponge, and take up their abode in the cells. It Is then only neceessary to dip the sponge in scalding water, which will wash them out "clean dead " by ten thousands. Put on more sugar, and set the trap for a new haul. This process will soon clear the house of every ant, uncle and progeny. Live Stock. Exercise for Stallions. If a stallion is kept during his time of service shut up in a stable or small yard without proper exercise, his muscles relax, his flesh becomes flabby, and leaves him in a miserable condition to get strong, serviceable colts, however sound he may he. His ex- ercise during service should never be long nor at a fast pace. He ought to be walked or gently trotted every morning at least three lo four miles, and an equal distance in the evening. Some horses will re- quire more than this, even twice as much, so judg- ment must be used In taking them out, as well as in regard to their feed. Stallions thus kept are more sure foal-getters, and their stock will come healthy and vigorous, provided the mare is equally well-conditioned. Of course, no one will breed loan unsound horse, unless he desires I to perpetuate heaves, ringbone, spavin and curbs. The careful breeder will avoid a horse whose hoofs are not tough, clear, of fair size, and well set up at I the heels, and one whose eyes are too prominent or I deeply sunken. Every stallion ought to be able 10 I show a certificate of health and soundness from a competent veterinary surgeon before the season be- gins.— -1. B. Allen in Philadelphia I'rett.. 64 THE LANCASTER FARMER. [April, The Evil of Check Reins. There can be no doubt that many more carriage horses became heavers than those that are used for the saddle alone, and the explanation of this presents itself at once in the continual and painful pressure on the parts caused by reining in the carriage horse and teaching him to bear himself well. I have seen the larynx and that portion of the wind-pipe imme- diately beneath it fattened, bent and twisted in a way which could not have been produced by disease, but by mechanical injury alone. The arched neck and elevated head of the carriage horse is an unnatural position, from which the animal is eager to be relieved. Horse-breakers and coachmen should be made to understand, if they persist in its use, ihat when the horse's head is first confined to the check reins, gentleness, care and caution are necessary. Injury must be done if the throat is violently pressed upon, and especially when it is exposed to additional danger from the impatience of the animal, unused to control and pain. The head of the saddle horse is gradually brought to its place by the hands of its trainer, who skillfully increases or decreases the pressure and plays with the mouth. But the poor carriage horse is confined by the check, which never slackens. From the constant position of his head, the larynx and the windpipe are materially injured, particularly if the head be not naturally well set on, or if the neck be thick or the jaws be narrow.— P. J.McLauch- liii in Colorado Farmer. Shropshire Downs. Combining as they do a heavy carcass of choice mutton with a fleece of good weight and that fine medium staple that never goes but of favor, the Shropshire Down sheep are rising in popularity with American breeders. They are vigorous, hardy, and stand close herding in large flocks without loss of size or stamina ; the ewes are careful mothers and good nurses, yielding plenty of milk; they are pro- lific, flocks frequently producing 40 per cent, of twins; they are hearty feeders, and have unusually great powers of assimilation of food, therefore they attain great weights at an early age; yet they kill well, giving a large proportion of choice meat. The quality of their flesh is such that, if it could be generally in- troduced to our markets its use would quickly banish the prejudice so many Americans have against mutton. Almost a century has passed since the foundation of the Shropshire Down breed was laid by crossing the Cotswold and the Leicester on the original stock found on Morie Common, a tract of some 600,000 acres in England. The original sheep had horns, and brown or black faces they have retained, and the leo-s are dark gray. In those parts of America where wool alone is the object for which the flock is kept, the Shropshires will be found profitable ; where both wool and mutton find ready market, it may be doubted if a better breed can be kept. Importations of Shropshires to America are in- creaFing in volume and frequency. There are in the vicinity of Chicago a number of flocks of much merit, and other flocks are scattered through the country from Canada to Texas. For the good of a land, which in the first seven months of last year paid more than $40,000,000 to other countries for wool and woolen goods, it is to be hoped ihat every reasonable effort will be made to extend a knowledge of the characteristics of this breed, and to impress its value upon the minds of our people. Breeders of the Shropshires in America are thinking of takins measures for opening a register'in which, under proper regulations as to proof of pure breed- ing, etc. Shropshires in America may be Practical Farmer. atered.- Literary and personal. The Weekly Ledger and Market Directory. —Published by Wm. A. Halbach, No. 3 North Duke street, Lancaster, Pa. An eight-page folio, devoted to matters and things in general, a sort of vade mecum of civil, political, agricultural, domestic, me- chanical, commercial and literary affairs, including, by way of variety, " wit and wisdom " and things of " pith and point." A new enterprise, and a very creditable one, both in mechanical make-up and in literary details. We wish it the success it seems so eminently to deserve, although there are so many more books, magazines and papers now published than seem to be thoroughly read and properly di- gested, that each new publication amounts about to an additional "infliction," unless it is of unquestion- able merit. Home Light.— "Devoted to Moral, Instructive and Entertaining Literature." Chicago, March, 1884. An eight-page folio published at 8.5 cents per year, with a book premium (perhaps, with a bribe would read better). A good paper of its kind, and ought not require a premium to make it "take." The Farming World.—" A record of experi- ences," " a journal of to-day." Cincrnnati, Ohio. 76 cents a year, semi-monthly. A royal folio of eight pages, with a respectable number of contributors, and a very large number of advertisements, two material elements that go a great way in sustaining a paper. Edited by T. S. Gardner. Its mechanical execution, and its agricultural and collateral litera- ture are of no inferior order, and on the whole it is worthy of the patronage of the public. Green's Fruit Grower. — Devoted to the fruit farm, the garden and the nursery. Also an eight- page folio, amply illustrated, published at Rochester, N.T. Quarterly at .50 cents a year. Chas. A. Green, editor. This journal is well and favorably known, "both far and near," and continues to deserve the reputation it established at its first inception some four years ago. Although nothing that we could say would add to its merits, still we are happy that we have an opportunity to record it as a first class Journal, and that we regard its place in journalistic status A No. 1. Third Report of the United States Ento- mological Commission, 1880, 1881 and 1883; by Profs. Riley, Packard and Thomas, and Report of the Commissioner of Agricnlture for the year 1883; by Hon. Geo. B. Loring. We acknowledge ourself under personal obligations to Doctors Riley and Loring for complimentary copies of the above-named works, and hereby tender our sincere thanks for their kind recognition of us. These volumes com prise 935 pages, royal octavo, with six folding maps, 112 full page plates, and 22 separate additional fig- ures; besides hundreds of pages of tabulated statis- tics. On the whole, they are the most elaborate statistical, historical, analytical, physiological, anatomical and descriptive works, perhaps, ever issued by the Agricultural and Entomological Bureaus of the Government, and favorably illustrate the efliciency of the present heads of those depart- ments. The third report of the Entomological commission particularly, is an elementary work that ought to be in the hands of every intelligent farmer and fruit grower, as it methodically classifies, and treats in detail on the history and habits of some of the most noxious species of insects that infest the fruits of the farmer's labors. It should not only be in his posses- sion, but it should also be read and thoroughly studied by him, if he desires to make that intelligent progress against insect innovation which is so neces- sary in protecting the work of his hands against in- sect depredation. If the farmer suflers from insect invasion it is not because of the paucity of practical entomological literature, but because of his own supineness or indifference. If every other man in the community were a practical entomologist, and daily published his researches to the world, it would benefit the farmer nothing in his warfare against noxious insects, unless he himself " put his hand to the plow," and carried the practical teachings of entomology into effect. A period has arrived in the agricultural status of the country, and perhaps of the civilized world, when it becomes the sheerest folly for the tillers of the soil to regard the teachings of the entomologist, and the depredations of insects with impunity. Although the habits of insects, and the best remedies for their prevention or extinction are matters of primitive concern. Yet the discrimi- nating knowledge involved in their anatomy, classi- fication and nomenclature, are equally important. The Poultry Keeper.— A journal for every one interested in making poultry pay. W. V. R. Porvis, publisher, Chicago, 111., 50 cts a year in advance, at 89 Randolph Street. A remarkably handsome quarto monthly of IR pages, edited by P. H. Jacob. This is an entire new candidate for public patronage, and as every one who touches poultry at all, is inter- ested in the po?/ question, there ought to be a gen- eral rush for the subscription books ; for, we have never seen the same quantity and quality offered as such a low price. The material, the literary matter, and the mechan- ical make-up are of the very best quality, could any- thing he more excellent than the pair of " Wyan- . dotts " that embellish the first page ? The limited area of France produces $100,000,000 . worth of eggs and poultry annually. It seems very clear that the poultry business pays in France, pays anyways. There is little danger of the business being overdone anywhere. We have been looking these 30 years for eggs and poultry to "come down," but instead, they are "going up." " Old hunkers " can learn through the rich columns of this journal, howto make it jmy. Mark that. Kansas. — Information concerning its agriculture, horticulture and live stock, together with state ments relating to vacant lands, schools, churches, manufactures, wealth, mineral resources, etc., etc. Prepared by the State Board of Agriculture, and published as a guide to those seeking homes in the West. Wm. Sims, secretary, Topeka, Kansas, 1884. An illustrated octavo pamphlet of 60 pages, and a most magnificent colored county map of the Slate, embracing copious statistics of all the leading in- dustries of the State, executed in the highest style of the printers' and paper-makers' art, an 1 espe- cially valuable to those who propose to make Kansas their ultimate home. Report on the distribution and consumption of corn and wheat, and the rates of transportation of farm products. March, 1884. Washington, D. C. From the Division of Statistics, Department of Agri- culture, new series, Kept. 5. 44 pages octavo, ULiform with the usual bulletins of that office, con- taining a large amount of tabulated matter of inter- est to the farming and indeed the whole community. PRINT BUTTER. In this issue we give an illustration of a Self- Guaging Butter Print, and a Shipping Box, manufac- tured by A. H. Keid, of Philadelphia, Pa. This plan of making butter into prints, and ship- ping to market in boxes, is coming rapidly into favor. In these days of imitation and adulteration, adairy- man making a first-class article of butter, and prints ing it with his own particular stump, using his initials or monogram, will get and retain custon who will have no other. A farmer's p.irticular stamp on his butter becomes as fully a recognized proof o£ its quality by his customer as his signature the genu- ineness of his check by his banker. So we would urge upon the farmer the importance of making a uniform good article, putting it up in neat packages,, with his own particular stamp printed on each lu so distinct as to be recognized by even a table boarder at a hotel on second sight, and thus command the price. Gilt-edged prices are obtained only for butter put up in fancy prints, and it is a fact that " gilt-edged '" butter is recognized oftener by the stamp than by the quality. This seems to be the one successful way of com- peting with oleomargarine. The worst enemy the dairyman farmer has to contend with is artificial but- ter, either as oleomargarine, buttcriue or other These are not competitors, as some suppose, but enemies, for they do not compete in fair and open market for the consumer's favor, but in disguis real butler, thus robbing the farmer and defrauding, the consumer. Of the immense amount of artificial butter manufactured not one pound in five hundred is used knowingly by the consumer, consequently flourishes onlv as a deception and a fraud. If lieu plan were adopted by creameries and dairymen, would put the genuine article where it should standi and put an end" to the competition with oleomargar rine and imitation butter. THE LANCASTER FARMER PENG. ■O-ANO. CHAS. SPEAR, Jr., 85 West St., New York. SedgwickSteelWireFence 10,182 TONS OP A ^vSTANDARD AMMONIATED $25 PHOSPHATE SOJLD! TliiNitrlii'l)' is M:iiiiita<'liii'i-'>n ii ilMrntlv mm a KKMAIJI.K CKOI' I'ltOIUCKK. Srr„V3;.10,:!!82 TONS in.««a This is till- Si Mil y, LI- .1 ;i-i,,;uiiir,i.i.ii-.Minil ils ^rcat Kfono.niLiil \.I, ,' ;. u ., ,;l^ \fkn..wl..dKe(l ity I'sers. \ i 1: : ■ n.-iirly .'10 years »fi-S<-nil f..i- . - .Ml ,, ni,l ,ul ,1. ~,.. .1 inrorniation. BAUGH & SONS, Soil! MnliufacUni-is of tlu- W:.". I'llOsrilATI'',, PT5T >■ ADELT^HIA, PA. I in every respect. Into t»»or. The Sedcvrlrh n:\te; mnti* of wrought. iron pipe and steel wire, defy all competltlon-in oeatness. Itrength and duraltilitv. w.. alsr. in;ik.- Iht bent and -v ^„ jj„„ Automatic or SeUOpenlng 0»U, also and Neataat Ml Iron Fence. Best WIra _ _ ler and roat AuKOr. AImo iiiiiiBUfHe* lure Kuaseir* excellrnt Wind EnKlnra for pumpluK water, i.r geared engines for KrindinB MEOUWIt'K BRO.S. nrra. Rlrhmondi Iud> DEDERICK'S HAY PRESSES. Orrtrrnn tHnl. nddress for circular and location of A PfilZ[. >ru.i six cents for postage, and n-r. i\i- fr..,., a costly )>ox of goods «lii.h will help all, of either sex, l» more money riiiht away than anything else in this world. Kor- icrs abst>liitely sure. At once ad- TRVE & CO., Augusta, Maine. WHEAT CULTURE ! THE SEED DRILL REGULATOR SA V r Q two-fifthBof theSeed ** » fc W n„H m.P.hnlf nf the Clrculun* wtt- arrdn of teiitlmonlulfi frvc. , 47 TMrd Ave. , Ohica«ro.ni. f, SPRINGf^JLD ENGINES THRESHER -.~, -.—"J .-. SPRINGFIELD, O A BEAUTIFUL LAWIM "HENDER^iST' ^E^^K^'^PiWf^^C^^H^B « CENTRAL PARK " .1 • ^>^?^-' •irt:: ■ i'^^j CEMTRAL PARK ' LAWN GRASS SEED,! i mixture of selected Rrasses identical with I those used in formlDK the lawns of Mew I York's f.nniou3 parll. Over 00.000 pack- I ages sold by us la:*t eenson. One quart of I seed will sow an area li.\20 fccl^=30iJ square_ I feet, or for an acre 6 bushels are required. I Instructions for sowing and afler treatment I sent free with every order. Price, 86 cents I per quart. (If by mail, add JO **o«t« ~,r^ Iquartfor postiige.) If by freight press, r.'l per peck. ^-'-.W per bushel. Catalogue Sieed* uud PlanU tree uu appUcatloo. I y^My^K^^x^^Wl,rw^^*^^w^fw^rw^rw^l*^rw^rw\rw^,m^lw^^w^^^^mlKIK^KIK^ A HOME ORGAN FOR FARMERS. A MONTHLY JOURNAL, Devoled to Agriculture. Horticulture, Do- mestic Economy and Miscellany. Founded Under the Auspices of the Lancait ter County Agricultural and Horti- cultural Society. EDITED BY DR. S. S. RATHVON. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION : ONE DOLL/^R PER ANNUIIJ, P0ST.U;E PIIFP.4II» BV THE rilill'illETOI!. All subscriptions will commence with the January number, unless otherwise ordered. Dr. S. S. Rathvon, who bas so ably mauaffed the editorial deijartment In the i nKt, will contiuue \u the poslliou of editor. HiBcontrlbutiouBon Bubjecta conuected with the science of farming, and particularly that specialty of which he IB BO ihoroubly a muBter — entomoloffictil knowledge of which has become u ncoesBity fill fiirmer, are alone wort ii much more than the priceo this publiciitiou. He |h delemiined to make *'The Farmer' a necessity to all households. A county that has bo wide a reputation bb Lancaster county for its agricultural products should certainly be able to Hupport an agricultural paper of Us own, for the exchange of the opinions of farmers lutereeted m this mat- oter. We ask the corporation of all farmers in^ereated In this matter. Work among your friends. The "Farmer" I only one dollar per ye.ir. Show them your copy. Try and induce them to subscribe. It is not much for each mib- Bcrjt^er to do but It will greatly asaist nn. All communlCfttiouBln regard totheerlltorlal i should beaddrenKcd to Dr. S. S. Rathvo aud all buaiueMB letters in regard to nubscrlpUouB and ad* vertising should be atldressfd to the iiublisher. Rates of adveitiaing can be had on application at the lOHX A. HIEoAND No. 9 North Queen St., Lancaster, Pa. THE LANCASTER FARMER [April, 1884. Where To Buy Goods IN LANCASTER. BOOTS AND SH-')ES. pairing promptly attended I MI>F,VY. No. 3 East KinR street. For the best . Dollar Shoes in Lancaster go to M. Levy, No. 3 East KiiiK street. BOOKS AND STATIONERY. JOHX BA12R-S SOX'S, Noa. 15 and 17 North Qu Street, lia\e the largest and best assorted Book ; Paper Store in tlie City. FURNITURE. H EIXIT.SH'S, No. 15Vi Ea.st King St., (over Chin Hall) is the cheapest place in Lancaster to bu liture. Pictnre Fraines a specialty. CHINA AND GLASSWARE. '"IGH A- MAKTIN, No. 15 East King st., dealers in China, Glass and Queensware, Fancy Goods, Lamps, Burners, Chimneys, etc. H' CLOTHING. VKBS * RATH FOX. Centre Hall, No. 12 East King St. Largest Clothing.House in Pennsylvania tside of Philadelphia M DRUGS AND MEDICINES. GW. Hl'I.L., Dealer in Pure Drugs and Medicines . Chemicals, Patent Medicines, Trusses, Shoulder Braces, Supporters, &c., 15 West King St., Lancaster, Pa JOHN F. LONCi'S SONS, Druggists, No. 12 North Queen St. Drugs, Medicines, Perfumery, Spices, Dye Stuffs, Etc. Prescriptions carefully compon led. HATS AND CAPS. JEWELRY AND WATCHES. r Z. RHOAnS A- BRO., No. 4 Wes L» Watches, Clock and Musical Boxes. ijewelry Manufac t u red to order. PRINTING. N A. HIESTAND, 9 North Queen St., Sale Is, Circulars, Posters, Cards, Invitations, Letter [ Heads and Envelopes neatly printed. Prices low.* BOWMAN &MUSSER, Successors to Wholesale Dealers in AT I.OWEST POSSIBLE PRICES, Fully guaranteed. No. 20 EAST CHESTNUT STREET, Opposite P. R. R. Depot. GREAT BARGAINS. of all kinds CARPET HALL OF H. S. SHIRK, No, 202 West King SU Call and examine our stock and satisfy yourself that i can show the largest assortment at all prices— at ■ large and complete assurtment of Hag Also on Satisfaction guaranteed bath as to price and quality. You are invited to ciiU and see my goods. No trouble in showing them even if you do not want to purchase. Don't forget this notice. You can save money here if you Particular attention given to customer w ork- AIbo on hand a full assortment of Counterpanes, O Cloths nd Blankets of every variety. [nov-*yr. GLOVES, SHIRTS, UNDERWEAR, iw SHIRTS MADE TO ORDER, .\ND- WARRANTED TO 1- IT. E. J. FRISMAN, ^iwn^ Thirty-.Six Varieties of Cabbage: 26 of Corn: 28 of Cu- cumber; 41 of Melon; Xi of Peas; 28 of Beans; 17 of Squash; 23 of Beetand 411 of Tomato, with other varieties m proportion, a large portion of ^\•llieh were grown on my five .seed farms, will be found in my Vetretable and Flower Seed (Htiilog-ii*- for ls«3. Sent free to all who apply. Customers of last Seison need not write for it. All Seed sold from my establishment war- ranted to be fresh and true to name, so far, that should It prove otherwise, I will reflll the order gratis. The «rlKinai iiin-.Mlucer of Early Ohio and Biirbaiik Polators. Marbl<>Ii<-afl, Early Corn, the Hnbbard Nqiiash. MarblfheAd Oabbag:e, Hbiniipy'M ivf eloii. and a score of other New Vegeta- bles, I invite the patronage of the public. New Vegeta- bles a specialtv. JAMES J. H. GREOORY, Nov.6mo] Marblehead, Mass. EVAPORATE YOUR FRUIT. ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE FREE TO ALL. AMERICAN DRIER COMPANY, rhambprsbur^r. Pa. iTEUE& Co., Augusta. Maine. C. R. KLINE, ^TTOI^N£:Y-AT-|aAW, OFFICE : 15 NORTH DUKE STREET, LA.N"CA.STKR, PA.. PIANOFORTES. Ui\E«lIALI.ED IN TonejTonclijWorimansliiii anfl Dnrability. WI1,I,IAIII KNABE & CO. Nos. 204 and 206 West Baltimore Street, Baltimore. No. 1 1 2 Fifth Avenue, N. Y. Special Induceraents at the NEW FURNITURE STORE W. A. HEINITSH, in all kinds of Fuffiitufe. Picture Frames, 6c„ 28 X:A.st ZEixis £ltz-oet, novl-ly LANCASTER.SPA. DR. JOHN BULL'S SmiHi'sTonicSymp FOR THE CURE OF FEYE^ and AGUE Or CHILLS and FEVER, AND ALL MALARIAL DISEASES. The proprietor of this celebrated medi- cine justly claims for it a superiority over all remedies ever offered to the public for the SAFE, CERTAIN, SPEEBY and PEE- MANENT cure of Ague and Fever, or Chills and Fever, tviether cf short or long stand- ing. He refers to the entire Western and Southern country to bear him testimony to the truth of ihe assertion that in no case whatever will it fail to cure if the direc- tions are strictly followed and carried out. In a great many cases a single dose has been sufficient for a cure, and whole fami- lies have beenoured by a single bottle, with a perfect restoration of the general health. It is, however, prudent, and in every case more certain to cure, if its use is continued in smaller doses for a week or two after the disease has been checked, more especially in difficult and long-standing cases. Usu- ally this medicine will not require any aid to keep the bowels in good order. Should the patient, however, require a cathartic medicine, after having taken three or four doses of the Tonic, a single dose of BULL'S VEGETABLE FAMILY PILLS will be suf- ficient. BULL'S SABSAPABILLA is the old and reliable remedy for impurities of the blood and Scrofulous affections — the King of Blood Purifiers. DE. JOHN BULL'S VEGETABLE WOKM DESTROYTK is prepared in the form of candy drops, attractive to the sight and pleasant to the taste. Ti-R. JOHN BXXr.I.'S SMITH'S TONIC SYRUP, BULL'S SARSAPARILLA, BULL'S WORM DESTROYER, The Popular Remedies of the Day. Principal Offlo . LOUISVILLE, Ki REMOVAL EXTRAORDINARY ! NEW STORE! NEW GOODS! S. S. RATHVON, ^Jercjjapt Tailor, DRAPER 101 to 131 North aueen St., (Howell's Building,) Where he will keep a .9eleet line of goods for Men and Boys' Wear, and make them promptly to order in a .satisfactory manner, either plain, medium or fashion- able. Thankful for favors during a period of twenty-five years he hopes to merit the continued confidence of the ^®^ Don't forget the place, No. 131 NORTH QUEEN ST., LANCASTEE, PA. $66^ J. Hallett & Co., Portliiud, Maine. ONE DOLLAR PER ANNUM -SINGLE COPIES 10 CENTS. EATHVON, Editor, m LANCASTER. PA.. MAY. 1884. HOUSEHOLD RECIPES, Gems 79 Omelette 79 Sugar Biscuit "9 Molasses Pies TO Cocoanut Tarts —79 Parloa Potatoes 79 Fisli Toast '. 79 Nut Cake 79 Moclc Lemon Pie 79 Fish Pie 79 A Rich Dish 79 Eggs on Toast 79 Delicious Fig Candy 79 A Good Recipe for a Loaf Cake 79 Minnehaha Cake 79 Delmonico Cake 79 Fairy Cake 79 Watermelon Cake 79 Orange Puddins; 79 Velvet Pudding 79 English Plum Pudding 79 POULTRY. Points About Raising Turkeys 80 Fowls Must Have Green Stuff SO Change the Food 80 Poultry Keeping for Women 80 Literary and Personal 80 WIDMYER & RICKSECKER, UPHOLSTERERS, FURNITURE PD CHAIRS, WAKKIt4M».M.S : 102 East King St., Cor. of Duke St. LANCASTER, PA. 9-7I-I2J HIESTAND, Putli:h! EnterrtI al llic l.niicasler n8 CONTENTS OF THIS NUMBER. EDITORIAL. May 65 The Farmers' Institute 65 The " Black-Knot." 65 Excerpts; 66 CONTRIBUTIONS. Poultry Raising 68 Employment for Women 68 Communication from Ohio 68 SELECTIONS. Great Milk Producers 68 Imitation Butter (.0 Cheese in General Cookery dO A Fruit all May Raise 64 The Value of Soiling Crops 70 Dairy Notes 71 Why Eggs do not Hatch 71 Danger in Barbed Wire 72 Experiments in Potato Planting 7J, Handy Remedies 73 The Disappeauce of (.ame 7^ Foot and Mouth Disease 7i The Speed of a Fljinsr Duik Ti My Eight-Acre Farming 74 Spare the Toads 74 How to Cook an Old Htn 74 The Use of a Dry Well 74 Preserving Salt Mcit 74 In the Hay and Harvest Fuld "'5 Improving Farm Houses 7") Ivy Poisoning 75 A Dish of Strawberries 75 OUR LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS. Lancaster County Agricultural and Horticultur- al Society 76 The County Institute— Crop Reports— Essay on WnKcs-OooU and Bud Butter. The Farmers' Institute 77 Liunsean Society 77 Donations to .Museum— A Xew Planet. The Fulton Farmers' Club 77 Asking and .\nswering Questions— Afternoon Ses- AGRICULTURE. Composition Manures 78 Soiling 78 HORTICULTURE. Root-Habits ot the Strawberry 78 Pruning the Grape Vine 78 Raising Potatoes by the Straw Process 79 How to Get Early Potatoes 79 fTREES Fruit, Shade and Ornamental Trees. Plant Trtf'H niiKcdiu thit* couulyaua MUiit-d to this climate. Write for pricen to LOUIS C.LYTE Bird-in-Hand P. O., Lancaster co., Pa. LIBHT BKMiA EGGS FOR SAIiE ! Price, per setting of IZ, ^LTjO Address L. RATHVON, /\/o. 9 North Queen St., Lancaster, Pa. BEST MARKET PEAR. !>!),!)»9 PEACH TKKKS. all ihv best viirietleu of New and <»1<1 STK.IWISKKKIKS, CIKUANTS, GKAI'KS, KASI-ltKKltlKS. .-Ir. EARLY CLUSTER BLA( KIJKRRY, New, Early, Hardy, oU kinda of picture framea. qot-Ij The Lancaster Farmer. S. S. SATHVON, Editor. LANCASTER, PA., MAY, -1884. Vol. XVI. No. B. Editorial. MAY. " He soon was followed by a matd That strewed the way with flowers, Aud bid me hie aluiig with her Unto the green-wood bowers, There no peril, there no danger Throughout the live long day, Should e'er betide the weary stranger Along the Sylvan way ; Around her brow was bound a wreath, Of rich and rare perfume; CuU'd from the countless floral ranks. That In the meadows bloom. Her auburn locks were intertwin'd, With pearls and blue bells gay ; Her rosy cheeks and cheering smile, Kevealed the ' gentle May.' " This is the Fifth month of the year, accord- ing to our present reckoning ; and here again, there are different opinions as to tlie origin of the name. One authority states that 3Iay is 80 named in honor ot the goddess Maia, daughter of Atlas and mother of Mercury, by Jupiter ; whilst anotlier authority states as distinctly that May is not derived from Maia, but from the Latin Mains, i. e., Matjus, from the root Maq, and is synonymous with the Sanskrit mah, to grow ; and means the grow- ing or sliooting month, alleging that the word existed long before either Mercury or Maia had been introduced. Among the ancient Rom- ans, in this month, held the festivals of Bona Dea, the goddess of chastity, and the feasts of the dead : Nevertheless, among the common people a superstition existed that it was un- lucky to marry in the month of May. The first day of May or May-day, and during the calends of the month, the Roman youths used to go out into the fields and spend the time in dancing and singing, in honor of Flora, the goddess of fruits and flowers. The early English consecrated May-day to Robin Hood and the Maid Marian, because their favorite outlaw died on that day. Tlie villagers also set up May-poles and spent the day in archery and dancing. In our latitude May-day never became very popular, it being decidedly too cool for out-door sports, as a general thing, and hence the traditional festival, so far as it has been observed, has been transferred to June, except on very special favorable occa- sion. The French and Prussian name is Mai or May : The Spanish Mayo, the Portugese Maio, and the Italian Mayrjis, and properly speaking according to one authority, the term, funda- mentally, means mother, might, and power. The Saxons termed it Trimilki, because they they began to milk their cows three times a day in this month. During tliis month all nature seems to be enjoying the return of spring, and the thrifty farmer, by the middle of tlie month, will have finished much of his planting and sowing, ex- cept perhaps, his Indian corn, which, if the weather is cool and unfavorable, may be pro- tracted to the month of June. Much garden and field vegetation requires for its normal development a given measure of lieat and moisture, aud if these are not present the seed had better not be in the ground. The various beans, beets, cabbages, carrots, pep- pers, cauliflowers, cucumbers, lettuce, melons, may now be planted, and celery, jiarsnips and salsify weeded and cultivated ; not for- getting the broccoli, radishes, spinach, squashes, tomatoes, sweet and common pota- toes, if the weather is favorable. Of course the intelligent and practical farmer and gar- dener will know the when, the where and the how of these things much better than we can instruct him ; nevertheless, it has been alleged, over and over again, that, consider- ing their opportunities, there is a lamentable paucity of improved fruit and vegetables that find their way to the tables of farmers, taking them as a class. We kwmj that this was the case fifty or sixty years ago, whatever it may be now. During the month of May the flower garden is also a prolific source of refined manipula- tion, especially to farmers' wives aud daugh- ters ; and many of them are daily engaged in worshiping at the shrine of Flora. This sure- ly is as it should be, for creative wisdom would not have permitted such a floral pro- fusion if they were not of some use. THE FARMERS' INSTITUTE. From the proceedings of the May meeting of our Local Agricultural and Horticultural Society, which are published elsewhere in this number of the Farmer, it will be perceived that it IS proposed to hold a Farmers^ Insti- tute, in the Lancaster Court House, on Wed- nesday and Thursday, the 4th and 5th of June, and that committees had previously been appointed to carry the project into effect, and that those committees have made very interesting and encouraging reports on the progress they have made. This is as it should be, for the material for a successful assembly of this kind abundantly exists in Lancaster county, and only requires an unselfish and energetic effort to bring it into practical effect. Such gatherings of the farming population, and the interchange of views on matters re- lating to their honorable and useful calling must result in ultimate good— far more in- deed than mere exhibitions of product and handiwork, which are so liable to degenerate into a sort of frolic, in whicli many are only interested in the axe they have to grind. Be- sides, it is a more intellectual gathering than an ordinary fair, and something is needed to stimulate the agricultural intellect in an epoch when 2>rogress in all else seems to be making such onward strides. It is an entirely new thing in Lancaster county, and may ulti- mately culminate in a fixed institution that will dispense its usefulness annually at least ; and, there is no reason why such an institute should not hold its sessions semi-annually or oftener — indeed, every township in the county would be all the better by organizing auxiliary institutes. It now remains to be seen whether this enterprise will be sustained by the farm- ing population. It would bo humiliating if tlie thing should fail for the want of an intel- ligent and sustaining presence. A Judiciously formulated programme of proceedings ought to make the sessions of the institute the most interesting and instructive assemblages that have ever been held in Lancaster county, a credit even to the "great garden" of the "Keystone" Commonwealth. THE " BLACK-KNOT." {Sphwria morbosa f) It seems to be pretty generally conceded, that what is commonly known as the "Black- knot," is not produced by an insect at all, al- though in its young and sappy state it has formed a nidus for the development of differ- ent species of insects, and notably the notori- ous curculio. There are diflierent species of these black excreseuces on different trees and shrubs, and they are produced by different species of fungi, but the sour cherries and the blue plums have in times past been the special objects of their infestations. It has been determined by competent investigators that the black-knot which infests the cheny is a diflerent species from that which infests the plum. But, perhaps the practical horti- culturist may be indifferent about the species, so long as he has a reliable remedy wherewith to destroy the infection. All this may be well enough, so far as it goes, but at the same time, a scientific knowledge of any thing, added to a practical knowledge of it, will greatly facilitate the means employed in ac- complishing its extermination. It seems sur- prising that so little advance has been made, among those most interested, in a knowledge of the history, the habit, and the classification of the different species of black-knots during the past fifty years. From various " land- marks" in our memory, it must have been about the year 1S21 or l!^22, when we first noticed the most conspicuous presence of the black-knot, on a row of cherry trees, that has ever come under our observation. We visited the place for a series of seasons, and every year found the black excresences increasing in size and in number, and on a visit made about twenty years later, there was no evidence that cherry trees had ever grown there— every- thing, " root and branch " had disappeared. There were about a dozen of these trees in a row, along an avenue that lead to the farm- house ; about half the number were of the variety known as "Morella," and these were the most infected, and first succumbed to the knotty infliction. Through these knots, the •• Morella " cherry finally became nearly ob- solete. We remember the profound regrets, and doleful complaints made, conuected with the unwelcome presence of these knots, but we have no recollection of any attempt to coun- teract, remove, or exterminate them, by any remedial means. We think the popular opinion was, that the disease — as it was con- 66 THE LANCASTER FARMER [May, sidered— was altogether arbitrary and incur- able. Little advance was made as to the real cause of the Wack-knot, from the period of our boyhood down to the year 0^65, other than the propounding of theories, all of which differed from each other. The late B. D. Walsh, of Rock Island, 111., in a paper published in the Practical Entomo- logist, dated March .5th, 1866, seems to have demonstrated as rational a system of the origin, development and prevention, or cure of the black-knot, as any that has come under our observations ; and, is in confirmation of the limited observations we personally made about the same period, and published in the Gardeners^ Monthly. The black-knot is neither a vegetable cancer, nor a gall, but is a Fungus, belonging to the same division of the Vegetable Kingdom to which the mushrooms, rusts, smuts and moulds belong, and propagates itself by means otsporides, just as the higher organizations of the vegetable kingdom perpetuate themselves by means of seeds, nuts, etc. This fungus matures about the end of July, in this lati- tude—but earlier and later south and north of this— and when thus matured it scatters its spores abroad, not only on the same tree, but they are wafted by the winds to other trees. We may therefore reasonably conclude that if all the infected branches are removed, or the knots cleanly shaved oft", during the latter part of June and first quarter of July— carefully burning the excresences thus re- moved—" an effectual stop will be put to their further propagation." Provided alivays, that your neighbor who has similarly infected trees, does the same thing to them. Much depends upon contiguous co-operation, in the destruction of the pests of vegetation. Bear in mind; it will be useless to " lock the stable door after the horse is stolen." The removal of the black-knot must be eflected before it ripens and matures its spores. That is pretty much all that it is necessary for the farmer or fruit-grower to know about it, except the date, which we have indicated in the fore- going. Backwardness or forwardness in a season may make some difference ; it will therefore be safer to anticipate than to wait until it is too late; under any circumstances, we cannot remove a knot until one has formed. By the middle of June the knot is sufficient- ly developed to afibrd an immediate recogni- tion. It is then of a brownish color; soft, and fleshy inside, and of a greenish tinge, but to- wards the end of July it becomes a coal black outside, and inside of a rust color. Mr. Walsh says, " the first week in August the surface of the matured knot is covered with cylindric filaments about one-eighth of an inch long, which doubtless bear the "spores." The blackness of the knot is due to the presence of numerous small fungi, about the size of the head of an ordinary pin, and from each plant, or at least each female plant, the little fila- ments spring up; aud after they cast their spores they soon fall off. The same thing oc- curs on what is called the "Cedar Apple," and the fruit of the hawthorn. Two or three years ago we attended a " picnic," in the vi- cinity of which was a hawthorn hedge, into which we had occasion to penetrate in order to secure a subject ; and, we carae out of the ordeal covered with reddish rust— spores of a fungus, doubtless a species of Sphmrea. The fruit was covered with little radiating fila- ments. Now, we would not advise any one to wait until these filaments appear, for, at the least touch they may " go off" and dis- charge their pernicious seeds far and wide. Of course, many millions of these spores never germinate at all, but some will be surrounded by congenial conditions and grow. Millions are washed off by showers and carried in rivulets to larser streams, thence to rivers aud oceans. Enough remain, however, to per- petuate the species. EXCERPTS. Pretty bedroom curtains are made of a single width of crimson ottoman cloth over a second pair made of antique lace. The essentials to success in onion culture are plenty of manure, thorough fitting of the ground, good seed and clean cultivation. Here is the whole story in a nut shell. It is not necessary to have a vineyard in order to have a supply of grapes for home use. A dozen vines properly cared for will give an abundance of this most desirable fruit for an ordinary family. It is not right to milk slowly. It exhausts the patience both of the animal and the milk- er. Quickness in milking and patience in stripping will give the most milk and be most satisfactory to the cow. Unless you are able and willing to person- ally superintend the scalding of your milk pans it would be better to use earthenware. Nothing but boiling water and plenty of it will remove the germs of disease that lurks in the half washed tin vessel. If you have any spare land, with no pros- pect of being put to remunerative use, suppose you plant a few forest trees. It will pay, and even if you don't live to see the day of the golden harvest, your children will. A POTJLTBY-RAISER iu Georgia finds chop- ped or pulped yellow turnips a very valuable food for fowls during the winter. He prefers whole corn for the last feed at night, but uses vegetables, unmarketable rice, and small grain at other times. With a variety of cooked food for fowls he gets eggs all winter. A Correspondent of the London Ulectric- ian says the following is an instant remedy for toothache : With small pieces of zinc and a bit of silver (any silver coin will do), the zinc placed on one side of the afflicted gum, and the silver on the other, by bringing the edges together the small current of electricity generated immediately aud painlessly stops the toothache. A GROWING, living tree robs the soil of ^water, aud, to some extent, of fertility, for a wide distance. This is distinctly seen iu fields devoted to lioed crops. It is scarcely possible te manure highly enough to bring corn or potatoes under or near trees to the average in other parts of the field. Butter- nuts or hickory are especially injurious to hoed crops near them, possibly because the wash from their leaves positively injures the soil. The Husbandman says : " There is no dan- ger whatever that apples, peaches, pears or any other useful fruit will be produced in ex- cess of the demand. The truth is, demand keeps pace with production. People will use a great deal more fruit when it is plentiful, and when they acquire the habit of using, they retain it. There is, perhaps, no branch of farming that yields safer or more steady re- turns than orchard fruit." A great convenience is found in this sim- ple contrivance : Have a tin dish made tapering and with a long handle ; have it small enough around so that you can place it inside the tea-kettle; it is invaluable when there is sickness in the family, as there are so many occasions when one needs to cook gruel or custards at short notice, and with perfect immunity from the danger of burning, even though constant attention cannot be given them. To renovate alapaca or black cashmere dress goods, rip the dress and fold the pieces ready to place into a preparation made as fol- lows : Two ounces of borax, one ounce of gum arable, dissolved before adding to the mixture enough hot rain water to cover the goods, which should be made very blue with bluing, such as is used in rinsing white clothes. Stand until cold, or over night. If needed, one tablespoonful of the extract of logwood can be added, mix well before adding the goods. Press on the wrong side, very wet, with hot irons. If your earthen pie-plates are discolored rub them well with whiting or sand soap. A LITTLE powdered charcoal will cleanse and sweeten bottles if it is well shaken about in them. A well-beaten egg is a great addition to a dried apple pie, giving lightness and a good flavor also. White shades for gas or lamps may be beautified by covering with a lace veil dotted with gold spots. A riECB of soft sponge tied upon a smooth stick is very convenient to use iu greasing tins or the griddle. If the stair-rails are dingy their appearance may be improved by washing them with a lit- tle sweet milk ; polish them with a flannel cloth. To Clean Carpets. — Dampen some In- dian meal, mix salt with it, and sprinkle over the carpet ; sweep vigorously. Take a small sharp-pointed stick to remove the salt and meal from cracks and corners. Paint which has become dry and hard may be removed by rubbing the spot with oxalic acid and diluted with water. Try a weak solution first, and if it dees not remove the stain, increase the strength. Never mulch anything in the spring till the ground has become warm. The most prolific cause of disease among fowls is uncleanliness of their quarters and runs. A CORRESPONDENT of the Ohio Farmer counsels us not to sow the wrinkled varieties of peas too early. The small, smooth sorts are the tough ones. Nine-tenths of those who complain that their seed "don't come up," sow the tender sorts. A Vermont dairyman says a young calf 1884.] THE LANCASTER FARMER. 67 should be fed three times a day. Over-feeding at long intervals, and especially with cold food, kills a good many valuable calves. Mk. R. S. Bkmis, Chicope." Mass., bought seven and one-half acres of land for S08.85, sowed it to pine, chestnut and oak, and in about twenty-five years sold the recovered acues for .f750. It is all important to give early chicks some flesh cut very finely, such as beef, bacon or. mutton. Nothing seems so delicious to them as these occasional meals, which they swallow with great avidity. A GOOD cow may be a first-class milker, and give satisfaction with liberal feeding, but she cannot fulfill the expectations required of her when all tlie conditions of food, water and shelter are unfavorable. Do not base swine-feeding upon the idea that pigs will eat anything. They are, indeed, not very choice in their selection of food, but growth and health are best promoted when they are fed on a variety of food. A WRITER in Gardening Illustrated found some tea roses dying, and on examination discovered that the roots of a white poplar had expanded under a hawthorn hedge and beneath a border seven feet wide, and had ex- erted a fatal influence on the rose. The roots of the tree were three-fourths of an inch thick at twenty feet distance from the trunk. A case occurred under our own observation where the plants in a circular bed of roses, deeply dug and highly enriched, were feeble in growth, and with few and small flowers, although fully exposed to sunlight. The difliculty was that some trees at a distance had thrown their long roots into the bed. Another bed was made, away from any trees, and the roses removed to it, wliere they have grown and bloomed luxuriantly. The first bed was planted with verbenas, and these have grown and flowered profusely, being less sensitive than the roses. There is no doubt that shrubs and herbaceous plants sometimes become feeble and die from mysterious causes, when the trouble is nothing but long roots. Salt around the roots of blackberries is said to be a cure for rust. Canada converted 300,000 bushels of tur- nips into difl'erent kinds of jams last season. Nearly 1,000 head of polled Angus cattle were imported into this country last year. Apples are being imported from Germany, and we should be able to supply ourselves. Brood sows should have nice, warm» dry pens, and should be kept quiet and well beddded. Among those crops considered as exhaus- tive to the soil may be mentioned tobacco, oats, sorghum, millet, forage corn, etc., while peas, potatoes, clover and peanuts are sup- posed to increase the productiveness of the soil. It depends, however, upon whether the crops are totally removed or not. Grain crops, when sold, and the straw removed, are exhausting. Tobacco is usually all removed. Wherever animals are kept to consume some portions, by which the crops may be partially returned in the shape of manure, the land will endure quite a period of cropping without being exhausted. The English sparrow, according to the veteran seedsman, J. J. H. Gregory is a great enemy of tlie seed-grower. Clover hay is much better for milch cows than timothy. It produces a larger quantity of milk, and also of a better quality. All butter-makers know how yellow the butter is which is made from the milk of cows fed on clover hay. A FARMER of Enfield, Conn., reported to the Connecticut Board of Agriculture that from his one and a-quarter acre peach orchard, set seven years ago, he has already realized $2000. His peaches have retailed in Boston at 20 cents each. An Ohio farmer washes his apple trees every spring and fall with a strong lye that will float an egg, and finds it to be sure death to the borers. He claims that he has not lost a tree since beginning this practice, although he had lost several previously. The practice of mulching young trees after tliey are set out seems to be growing in favor. It keeps the soil cool and damp during the summer, and prevents plants from drawing from the soil. The mulch should extend well out from the base of the tree. Do not expect the hens to lay when they are left to scratch for themselves on the frozen ground. Eggs are very rich in nitrogen and carbon, and cannot be produced from notli- ing. In order to procure a supply the mate- rial of their composition must be supplied. Montana flocks increase in a fivefold ratio every three years— that is, there are five times as many sheep there now as there were three years ago. It is said that Mrs. R. B. Hayes owns and personally superintends at her home in Fre- mont, Ohio, one of the best poultry yards in the United States. Beet, parsnip, onion and dandelion seed are said to be among those which must be used when fresh, while cucumber and squash seed are better when old. Cows that are about to calve should be separated from the herd, and the food should be of a sloppy nature, not too concentrated, in order to avoid milk fever. Prof. Stewart states that ten pounds of turnips, with one and a half pounds of corn, will fatten a young sheep or lamb faster than three pounds of corn alone. At a California county fair were exhibted s(iuashes weighing 175 pounds, melons 60 pounds, carrots -2 feet long, quinces 4^ inches through, and pears 6 inches long. Those who ai-e accustomed to using the hoe for the garden will find the wheel hoes ex- cellent for many crops, thereby saving labor, and the work can also be done as well. The Poland-China hog, like all others, is the result of various crosses. Their princi- pal merit, however, is due to the Berkshire and the big-boned China, the one almost the opposite of the other. ACCORDINS to a writer in the Indiana Furmer, the germs of fowl cholera enter the system by the digestive organs, and they are generally taken with food. The contagion is spread by means of the excrements of sick fowls or the flesh or other parts of dead ones. Frequently, no doubt, it is carried consider- able distances by small birds, which are also subject to it. No absolute cure is known, but by proper use of disinfectants the disease can be prevented. When cholera is in your neigh- )orhood watch your fowls, and if disease ap- pears remove the sick ones and disinfect the yards with a sprinkling of water and sulphuric acid, in the proportion of eight gallons to eight ounces. A CORRE-'SPONDENT of the Rurul New York- er describes the following method by whicli an extraordinary crop of watermelons was raised : Holes were dug ten feet apart each way, eighteen inches square and fifteen inches deep. These holes were filled with well-rotted man- ure, which was thorouglily incorporated with the soil. A low, flat hill was then made and the seed planted. When the vines were large enough to begin to run the whole surface was covered to the depth of a foot or fifteen inches with wheat straw. The straw was placed close up around the vines. No cultivation whatever was given afterward ; no weeds or grass grew. The vines spread over the straw, and the melons matured clean and nice. The yield was abundant, and the experiment an entire success. This is truly worth trying next year. Vick's Magazine says that the best pre- ventives of mildew on roses are good drainage, high manuring, selection of strong varieties, proper pruning and dusting with sulphur as soon as it appears. It is contagious, and some varieties are more subject to it than others. When the rich, black liquid is flowing away from the manure heap it indicates that the most available and soluble portions are being lost. Such liquids may be saved in va- rious ways, such as through the use of ab- sorbent material, or pumping it over the solid parts as fast as it accumulates. The liquids are more valuable than the solids. The question whether old cows are profit- able when they have ceased to be of service in the dairy is thus answered by the English Farmer : " Old cows that have milked to the very last are not worth mucli to the butcher. If a cow of about 15 years of age could be had for nothing she would hardly bring in any profit by fattening, for in proportion as her life become exhausted so will digestion gradually fail." Crossing the Guernsey and Short-horn has proved a very successful experiment, the re- sult being an animal that produces a fair ([uantity of very rich milk, while being used for dairy purposes, and also an excellent ani- mal lor the butcher when no longer required for milk. It is only by systematically breed- ing from our thoroughbreds that a combina- tion of good qualities-can be secured in an ani- mal, as scrubs possess not uniformity in any respect. Orchard trees should be pruned before the buds swell. We do not believe in pruning a tree much after the first two years following planting. But the tops should be kept so open that the air and sunshine can readily enter. " Water shoots" should be kept cut out. Cover the wounds with wax or paint. Thick paint is as good as wax, as it excludes both air and wet. Mineral paint is cheap. Some recommend shellac VHrnish, but we have never tried it. THE LANCASTER FARMER. [May, Contributions. POULTRY RAISING. For Thk Lancaster Farmek. Mr. Editor :— As many of my old friends are desirous of knowing what success I have had in the poultry business in Kansas, I give you my experience. Over a year ago I made two very crude hatchers, designed from some good points of several I had seen. I filled them with eggs and they worked tairly well. I kept them going from December 1st to June 1st, clearing from them I65.0C, over and above everything and that tco in spite of the high price of feed and the fact that my chick- ens were marketed at low prices, the highest I got was $6.00 a dozen, the lowest $3.75 ; during that time I had attended to my usual business. Believing this was a good return for the amount of work, I began to look around for a more perfect hatcher and my attention was directed to "The Common Sense." In June I got directions from J. M. Bain, New Concord, Ohio, he is Secretory of the N. A. Poultry Association, and I will send directions for making this hatcher to any one sending three-two cent stamps to prepay postage. I had one made that lield 2.i0 eggs, cost about $7.00. My success with thishatcher was all I could wish for and I immediately had four more made, from these five hatchers I have just taken 1030 tine chicks out of a little less than 1200 eggs. I believe that I am placing it modestly when I say that I hope to clear $2500 by July next and I still pursue my usual business. There is no business as pro- fitable as this, provided one gives it the at- tention it deserves and no business requires as little capital to start on. There is no ne- cessity of men trying to hide the business, or monopolize it. The field is the World and the World like Oliver Twist is crying out for more. There are thousands of young men who are teachers, clerks, etc., who look for- ward to get a start in some lucky way, this way is here open for them if they will only improve by it. Thousands of young women too, who feel dependent on some father or brother who in one year could place them- selves high above any dependence ; if they only would. Get directions and make your hatchers immediately. You can make them yourselves. Respectfully Yours, L. L. J. EMPLOYMENT FOR WOMEN. For the Lancaster Farmer. Mr. Editor : Much has been written re- garding proper and remunerative employment for women ; silk culture, poultry raising and many other themes have been thoroughly ventilated and the result 'has no doubt been very beneficial. But there are many ladies who have no opportunity to raise silk worms or follow any employment of that kind. To this class I wish to open what to me was en- tirely a new field. Some three months ago an uncle of mine from Albany, N. Y., was visiting at our house. We were talking of plated ware which he was engaged in manu- faturing. To gratify my curiosity he made a plating machine and replated our knives, forks, spoons and castor. It only cost four dollars and it done the work perfectly. Some of our neighbors seeing what we had plated wanted me to plate some for them. Since then I have plated twenty-two days and cleared during that time $94.34. At almost every house I 20t from two to three dollars worth of plating to do, and such work is most all profit. Just for replating one dozen teaspoons I got $1.75. This work is as nice for ladies as for gentle- men, as it is all indoor work and anyone can do it. My brother, although he worked two days longer than I did, cleared only $91.50. I am getting up a collection of curiosities. To any of your readers sending me a specimen I will send full directions for making and using a plating machine like mine that will plate gold, silver and nickel. Send small pieces of stones, ores, shells, old coins, &c. Any kind of geological specimen will do. What 1 want is to get as many different specimens from as many different places as I can. Please address Miss M. F. Cassey, Oberlin, Ohio. tree, it is full of blossoms ; but peaches none^ pears but few and them on the tops of trees •, only a partial crop of cherries, of small fruits; except blackberries, we shall have plenty. Only a few of our grape vines are alive. When the mercury is 24° below zero, as it was several times last winter ; they are surely frozen. I hear no complaints of the depredations of in- sects yet, not even the "fly" in the wheat; biit what is in store for us in the future, in this respect, remains to be found out. We feel under obligations to you for what you write on the subject of entomology. Some one has said that God was great in big things, bat another has truthfully said that he is greatest is little things ; even in little bugs, and worms. G. Selections. Brookville, O., May 12, 1884. Editor Lancaster Farmer.— Sir : I be- lieve I wrote, in my last communication, how the character of the soil, depended on the character of the rocks upon which the soil was superimposed, as the surface rock from Lake Erie, to south of Nashville, Tenn., is the Silurian limestone, it is an uplift which made this region dry land before the material, that constitutes the Alleghany and Rocky Mountains, was deposited on the bottom of a recent sea. This is therefore an old coun- try, about the first to become dry land on the globe. From the center of this uplift the dip, westward for hundreds of miles is about six feet to the mile, eastward it is a little more. The soil produced by the disintegra- tion of this rock is the best in the world, it will never need any lime, that is, in abund- ance. The glacial ice coming from the north, produced the clay as far south, and a little further in places, as the Ohio river. South of this river the erosion was from glacial ice moving from different directions. The Ohio, Kentucky and Cumberland rivers run through this uplift in canyons several hundred feet deep. The railroad bridge across the Ken- tucky river is 276 feet above the water in the river. The Miami valley and blue grass re- gion of Kentucky, is on this uplift, and a part of Middle Tennessee. In Ohio the Mia- mi and Scioto rivers run parallel to the axis of this uplift, but the Ohio, Kentucky and Cumberland rivers run westward through this uplift. In the creeks and rivers of this formation, alluvial gravel of excellent quality for maca- damizing roads exists in adundance. All the principal roads in this county, (Montgomery) are turnpiked with this gravel. This gravel is also a product of glacial erosion. These turnpikes are all free in this county, except ope or two. The county commissioners have made and bought these roads ; made some by taxing the land along the roads, and others that had been made in that way, bought with county funds. The county commissioners had these appraised, and took them at the apprais- ment. The farmers are restless on account of their inability to plow and plant corn, on account of frequent rains and cool weather ; but little corn has yet been planted. Wheat, barley, and grass fields look unusually promising. Wherever there is a live limb on an apple GREAT MILK PRODUCERS. The two three-year-old Holstein heifers, lamaica and Ethelka, owned by Mr. John Mitchell, of Meadowbrook Farm, six miles from this city, have beaten tlie record for milk production. A comparison of their yield of milk, made a few days ago, with the best previous record, that of Clothilde, a three-year-old belonging to Smith & Powell, large importers at Syracuse, N. Y., shows that both Jamaica and Ethelka surpassed the yield of Clothilde, the former nearly doubling it. Since then both heifers have increased their yield so fast that Mr. Mitchell is aston- ished, and marvels at what the end is likely to be. Besides exceeding the best score for three year olds in milk production, Jamaica has also produced in one week 26 pounds and 3 ounces of unsalted butter. Tlie records are kept by Mr. Mitchell and his sons, and there is no question about their accuracy. The statement below will show that both heifers have beaten the great cow, Aggie, owned by Smith & Powell, and which yielded in one day f^i pounds and 12 ounces, and the still greater cow, Ondine, owned by G. S. Miller, of Peterboro, N. Y., which gave 91 pounds. Tlie statement is for 31 days, end- ing Saturday, March 15. The yield is given in pounds and ounces : Daily lilking lilking lilking 6«.2 105J' ilkiiig- " ■■ 736.1.5 lilking — . days' milking Best 1 (lay ? milKir Best 2 consec. flays Best 3 conseo. days Best 5 eonsec. days Best consec. days' Best 10 consec. day; Best 21 consec. days Best 31 Total product 6,826.1 Number of days in milk to March 15, 94. ethelka's record. Best 1 day's milking----- 1"! Best 2 consec. days' milking 193 Best 3 consec. days' milking Best 5 consec. days' i Best 10 consec. days' } Best 31 consec. days' 110.1 327.10 109.3K !,102.11 10O.2 lilking- nilking- . 5,586.10 56 Total product Number of days in milk to March 15, 98. The cows Aggie and Ondine, above alluded to, have been looked upon as being phenome- nal milk producers, but the young heifers Jamaica and Ethelka now stand at the head of the list. Previous to the publication a few days ago of Jamaica's one-day yield of 103| pounds of milk, about 51^ quarts, Mr. Mitchell was offered $15,000 for her and her three months old heifer calf, but since then a well- THE LANCASTER FARMER. 69 known breeder of finii stock has offered $-25,- OUO for the heifer and calf. Mr. Mitchell says that he has also been offered $10,000 for the calf alone. Both offers have been declined. Jamaica's first offspring was a bull calf, and it was purchased by Mr. C. C. Smith, a neigh- bor, at a small price. Since the great yield of its mother, Mr. Smith has declined *11,000 for the yearling bull. IMITATION BUTTER. The New York State Senate committee which has been investigating adulterations of food, says in its report that it has discovered alarming wholesale adulterations, which are dangerous to the customer and which are de- preciating property in the rural districts. The adulteration of butter by tallow oil, bone oil, and lard oil was found in almost every town and city in the State and in an amount which equals half the production of the natural article. The imitation is so disguised that often it can only be detected by chemical analysis. Out of thirty samples of alleged butter purchased by the committee in New York only ten were genuine. No labels to distinguish the pure from the bogus butter are displayed, as required by the existing law. Bogus buttar is largely pur- chased by saloons, boarding houses and second-class hotels. The poorer qualities of bogus butter sell for from twenty cents to thirty cents to laboring men, and the best grades at forty or forty-five cents. The cost of manufacture ranges from twelve to eighteen cents, the average being fourteen cents. The manufacture in New York State is chielly carried ou in New York and Brooklyn, sev- eral concerns manufacturing over 3,000,000 pounds each out of fat brought from the West, from France, and from Italy. The bulk of the bogus butter is manufactured in the "West and sold in New York to the detriment of the State's dairy interests. Many dairy farmers have been driven out of business in consequence. The loss to the State is estimated at from 85,000,000 to $10,000,000 yearly. The committee estimates that 40,000,000 pounds of the product are sold annually in the State, and the illegitimate business is breaking our export butter trade. The effect of the deception in the trade is deleterious to business morals. Butterine can be sold at eighteen cents less than natural butter. The committee quote extensively from the evidence obtained to show the evil, moral, commercial and sanitary eflects of adultera- tions. The use of nitric and sulphuric acids in deodorizing adulterated butter is particu- larly condemned. The committee recom- mends the total prohibition, alter a given time, of the manufacture and sale of all but- ter adulterations. The committee also finds 200,000 out of the 500,000 quarts of milk fur- nished to New York daily in 18S2 were water or skim milk. The committee recommends the appointment of a State inspector ot milk, and also recommends that the officials to be chosen to enforce the anti-adulteration laws be selected from and represent dairy interests. Accompanying the report was a bill by the committee. It prohibits under penalty of $200 fine, or six months' imprisonment, the sale of adulterated milk, the keeping of cows for the production of milk in an unhealthy condition, and the diluting of mHk with water. It pro- vides that every manufacturer of butter shall brand his name and the weight of the butter ou the package. Cans for the sale of milk shall be stami)ed with the name of the county where the milk is produced, unless sold ex- clusively in the county. A penalty of from $500 to $1,000 and imprisonment for one year is imposed on the sale or manufacture of bogus butter or cheese. The State Dairymen's Association is appointed a commission to en- force the provisions of the bill, and 830,000 is appropriated for the purpose. CHEESE IN GENERAL COOKERY. The Popular Science Monthly is copying from the British periodical "A'nowW^e" a series of articles, by W. Mattieu "William.s, on "The Chemistry of Cooking," presenting a number of rather novel ideas that seem to deserve the consideration of housewives. We have made one or two brief extracts already, and copy below some directions for the use of cheese in dishes in which it is not often ex- pected : My first acquaintance with the rational cookery of cheese was in 1.S42, when I dined with the monks of St. Bernard. Being the only guest, I was the first to be supplied with soup, and then came a dish of grated cheese. Being young and bashful, I was ashamed to display my ignorance by asking what I was to do with the cheese, but made a bold dash, nevertheless, and sprinkled some of it into my soup. I then learned that my guess was quite correct ; the prior and the monks did the same. On walking on to Italy, I learned that there such use of cheese is universal. Mines- tra without Parmesan would there be regard- ed as we in England should regard muflins and crumpets without butter. During the forty years that have elapsed since my first sojourn in Italy, my sympathies are continu- ally lacerated when I contemplate the melan- choly spectacle of human beings eating thin soup without any grated cheese. Not only in soups, but in many other dishes, it is similarly used. As an example, I may name "Risotto a la Milanese," a deli- cious, wholesome, and economical dish — a sort of stew compo.sed of rice and the giblets of fowls, usually charged about twopence to threepence per portion at Italian restaur- ants. This is always served with grated Par- mesan. The same with the many varieties of paste, of which maccaroni and vermicelli are the best known in this country. In all these the cheese is sprinkled over, and then stirred into the .soup, etc., while it is hot. The cheese, being finely divided, is fused at once, and, being fused in liquid, is thus delicately cooked. This is quite differ- ent from the " maccaroni cheese " commonly prepared in England by depositing maccaroni in a pie-dish, and then covering it with a stratum of grated cheese, and placing this in an oven or before a fire until the cheese is desiccated, browned, and converted into a horny, caseous form of carbon that would in- duce chronic dyspepsia in the stomach of a wild boar if he fed upon it for a week. In all preparations of Italian pastes, risottos, purees, etc., the cheese is intimately niLxed through- out, and softened and diffused thereby in the manner above described, * * * I have now to communicate another result of my cheese-cooking researches, viz., a new dish— c/^ec.se porridge — or, I may say, a new class of dishes— cheese porridges. They are not intended for eijicures, not for swine who only live to eat, but for men and women who eat in order to live and work. These com- binations of cheese are more especially fitted for those whose work is muscular, and who work in the open air. Sedentary brain-work- ers like myself should use them carefully, lest they sutler from over-nutrition, which is but a few degrees worse than partial starvation. Typical cheese-porridge is ordinary oatmeal porridge made in the usual manner, but to which grated cheese is added, either while in the cookery pot or after it is taken out, and yet as hot as possible. It should be sprinkled gradually and well stirred in. Another kind of cheese-porridge or cheese- pudding is made by adding to baked potatoes —the potatoes to be taken out of their skins and well mashed while the grated cheese is springled and intermingled. A little milk may or may not be added, according to taste and convenience. This is better suited for whose occupations are sedentary, potatoes be- ing less nutritious and more easily digested than oatmeal. They are chiefly composed of starch, which is a heat-giver or fattener, while the cheese is highly nitrogenous, and supplies the elements in which the potato is deficient, the two together forming a fair ap- proach to the theoretically demanded balance of constituents. * * * Hasty-pudding made, as usual, of wheat flour, may be converted from an insipid to a savory and highly nutritious porridge by the addition of cheese in like manner. The same with boiled rice, whether whole or ground, also sago, tapioca, and other forms of edible starch. Supposing whole rice is used, and I think this the best, the cheese may be sprinkled among the grains of rice and well stirred or mashed up with them. The addi- tion of a little brown gravy to this gives us an Italian risotto. I might enumerate other methods of cook- ing cheese by thus adding it in a finely divided state to other kinds of food, but if I were to express my own convictions on the subject I should stir up prejudice by naming some mix- tures which some people would denounce. As an example I may refer to a dish which I in- vented more than twenty years ago, viz., fish and cheese pudding, made by taking the re- mains from a dish of boiled codfish, haddock, or other ickile fish, mashing it with bread- crumbs, grated cheese, and ketchup, then warming in an oven and serving after the ' usual manner of scalloped fish. I frequently add grated cheese to boiled fish as ordinarily served, and have lately made a fish sauce by dissolving grated cheese in milk with the aid of a little bicarbonate of potash. A FRUIT ALL MAY RAISE. Many farmers dislike "to take up a new place," because it requires so long a time to bring fruit trees, bushes and vines into bear- ing. Most tenant farmers get along without fruit for the reason that none is produced on the farms they rent, and having only short 70 THE LANCASTER FARMER. tMay, leases, they do not find it to their advantage to set out trees, grape vines or bushes that will produce berries. Many persons living in villages regret that they have so small an amount of land that they cannot raise the larger kinds of fruit. Now, all these persons can raise the most delicious fruit that grows in any elimate. That fruit is the strawberry, and the plants are hardy and productive in every State and Territory in the country. In fact, it is extremely difficult to decide which offers the most advantages for produc- ing this most delicious fruit. The strawberry does exceedingly well in those parts of the country where oranges, lemons, flgs, bananas and pineapples abound, and does equally well in regions so far north that the most hardy apples will not mature. But a very small amount of land is required to raise enough strawberries to support an ordinary family. A square rod, if treated properly, will produce as many strawberries as a common family will require during their season. The plants multiply very fast. Every plant set out in the spring may be made to produce from ten to twenty plants during the season. By man- uring the parent plants the young ones will be strong and stocky. Strawberry plants come into bearing very quickly. If they are rooted in pots in the summer and set out ear- ly in the fall, they will produce a fine crop the following year. No other fruits except melons and tomatoes, which are generally ranked with vegetables, can be produced so quickly. A person who does not wish to lay out much money in commencing with strawberries can procure early in the spring a dozen strong plants of some good variety and raise from them plants enough to set a square rod of land. By rooting the young plants in small pots like those used by florists they will be in condition to set out in September, and by mulching they will produce a good crop next season. The plants set out for propagating purposes should be planted in very rich soil, at considerable distance apart, and well culti- vated. Runners will appear about the last of .June. They should be allowed to spread in all directions. At the points where rudimen- tary plants should appear on the runners the little pots should be sunk in the ground and the runner held in place by a small stone, a forked stick, or a piece of wire bent like a hair-pin. The pots must be filled with rich earth, in which the roots will spread. Several good plants may often be obtained from the same runner. After they have all become established in the pots the runner may be cut and the original plant left to grow itself. The plants rooted in this way may be put into per- manent rows without interfering with their growth. A hole being made with a trowel the pot is inverted and thumped on the bottom, the plant being caught in one hand. When placed in the ground it should be pressed firmly around the roots. The same pots may be used for rooting plants for several years. Good, strong plants may be raised by setting the propagating plants as directed above and allowing the young plants to take root in the ground. If carefully taken up when the soil is damp, as after a rain they may be removed some distance without injury. Plants raised near where they are wanted for setting do much better than those obtained from a dis- tance. For garden culture the soil for strawberry plants should be well prepared. The spade is preferrable to the plow for pulverizing it. Unless it is naturally very rich considerable well-rotted stable manure should be applied and incorporated with the soil while spading. Most of it should be buried quite deeply. The roots should be induced to penetrate the soil as far as possible. The plants will suffer less from drought if the soil is spaded deeply. If ground is scarce the rows may be sixteen inches apart, and the plants stand at the same distance, in the rows. Next every fourth row a space two feet wide should be left for a path for convenience in cultivating the plants and picking the berries. If the plants are set out in the spring they should not be permitted to produce fruit that season. The flower stems should be citt off as soon as they appear so as to throw all the sap into the plant. For the same reason the runners should cut ofl. The stalks and runners may be easily pinched off when they are young and tender. If they are allowed to become tough it will be necessary to cut them. A sharp spade may be employed to cut runners. Little other attention will be required except to keep the ground free from weeds. With a favorable season the plants will cover about half the ground by fall. On the approach of winter the plants should be covered to the depth of three or four inches with long hay or straw. It can be held in position so it will not be blown away by the wind by laying rails along the paths. As the frost leaves the covering should be removed. Plants treated in this way will produce a large crop of very fine berries the year they are planted out. By forking up the soil between the plants and adding .some more manure and soil, they will continue to produce well two or three years. Persons having time and land to devote to strawberry culture can scarcely do belter than to set one or two hundred plants each year and treat them as above directed for the sake of the crop they will have the year after they are set out. The berries produced on young plants are much larger and finer than those on old ones. When each plant stands by itself the berries ripen much better than when the plants are crowded. When ten plants kept in rich ground for propagating purposes the requisite number of young and strong plants can be raised. Strawberries of smaller size and poorer quality can be raised in a much easier way. The soil can be prepared with the 'plow and harrow, the plants set in rows from two and a half to three feet apart and the ground between them worked with a cultivator. If the rows are quite straight the « cultivator may be run close to the plants without injuring them. Of course it will be necessary to use the hand hoe between the plants in the rows, Two or three good crops can be obtained from plants set out and tend- ed in this way. Unless pains be taken to keep most of the lunners cut off the plants become too thick to be strong, and the berries will be small. The soil becomes hard and loses its fertility, as the strawberry plant is a gross feeder. As strawberry plants becomes old new roots appear near the surface of the ground and the pla uts appear to raise. They may be kept in fair condition by placing a coating of well-rotted manure on the ground between them and loosening the soil with a fork. Transplanting can be done with a gar- den trowel while the soil is quite damp. It is always best to cut off the dead and lower leaves before setting out the plants. If the roots are very long they should be shortened by the use of shears. It is much better to shorten roots than to double them up in planting.— CWcago Times. THE VALUE OF SOILING CROPS. All industrial and mechanical progress is marked by an economy of labor. In fact this economy and greater perfection of labor, as it is made possible and practicable by the in- genuity and inventive genius of thoughtful and enterprising men, are the springs from which this progress flows. For, as experi- ence and ability enable a practical man to do so, he is constantly improving his methods, adding a new device, a better plan, a quicker and more effective process, here and there, until, by dividing the labor and securing greater perfection of it, the products are in- creased many fold with either no greater cost or a much smaller expense in proportion to the advantages gained, and thus by gradual steps, and sometimes by a happy discovery which leads to a surprising and sudden ad- vance, have all the industries progressed so rapidly as they have done in the last twenty- five or thirty years. Let us consider just one fact which is of surpassing interest to farmers. This is the invention of the Bessemer process of making steel, by which the cost of steel rails has been reduced to about the common price of iron rails a few years ago, and their useful life has been prolonged about ten times, thus decreasing the actual cost of the rails, in effect, to one-tenth of the cost of iron rails, and the result to farmers has been to double the value of their corn, wheat, beef and other products which come from the West. Old farmers remember when it cost one bushel of corn to get another to market. But now the ruling rates of freight are lower than ever, and ten bushels of grain can carried to the eastern markets for the price of one. In many other ways farmers are now enjoying the benefits of these improved indus- trial methods. But, to use a common expres- sion, they must " follow suit " or they will be beaten after all. It is indispen.sable that they must at the same time cheapen their own product by the same methods, because this cheapening process referred to is general and affects every industry. Farms must be made more productive so that grain and provisions, milk, butter, cheese, fruit, etc., can be oflfi at the reduced prices which are unavoidable, and yet the farmers make more profit than before. Just now we call attention to one of the greatest improvements in agricultural prac- tice, viz., the growth and use of soiling crops as a substitute for pasturing. This consists of growing a succession of crops, as rye, clover, corn, millet, oats and peas mixed, and roots, with several others which have local ad- vantages, for the purpose of cutting them green and feeding to stock of all kinds: horses, cattle, sheep and swine, by which the area of ground required to feed the stock may be re- THE LANCASTER FARMER. 71 duced one-fiftli, or even more ; or, which is equivalent to it, the same area can be made to support five times as much stock, or even more, as before. But while this practice is most advantageous where land is high in value and labor is cheap, it is nevertheless found useful in a partial way, evtu where liuid is cheap, as a help to the always failing pasture during the hot, dry months of July and August. It is then that cows fall off in their yield, from which loss there is no recov- ery for the rest of the season ; it is then that grazing cattle and horses suffer greatly from ties and the dry, hot weather ; and the seeds of future disease are sown in the swine, to produce a costly harvest of death and loss when the later feeding on grain begins. — N. Y. Times. DAIRY NOTES. Some butter-makers would put on only half the salt the first time spreading the butter out upon the worker, and the other half at the second spreadnig. To make striped butter have more in the worker than can be con- veniently handled at once, throw the sail in all in a bunch, and half mix it in and put it away. It will surely be striped and mottled. So it will after a second working, if it is too hurriedly done. Salt heightens the color of butter, turning it to a deep yellow, and if the salt is not brought in contact with every por- tion their must be white streaks.— JVeio Eng- land Farmer. The temperature of the cream should be so low that the little particles of butter will float iu the buttermilk without gathering too quick- ly. While the butter is still in the granular form, draw off the buttermilk, and then pour in cold water, or, better still, a weak brine, or water first and then brine. Two or three washings in either clear water or brine will do the butter no harm. Now, if the butter is taken out upon the butter worker for salt- ing there will really be no working to be done, as that term is usually understood. No more working will be required than just enough to incorporate the salt throughout the entire ma.fs.—Exchange. We have had a pretty long experience in making butter, and believe we know whereof we attirra. If very thick, stiff cream is put into any churn, but especially into one with a dash or tioats that present a large surface to the cream, and the butter comes in a very short time, and is fully gathered before draw- ing off the buttermilk, the butter will very likely be pretty largely mixed with thick, un- churned cream and milk. And such butter can never be completely freed from its milk and cream, but they will remain iu the butter more or less to its injury, according as it is to be kept or used immediately.— Jlfassac/iuse«s Ploughman. While we do not wish to lay a straw in the way of the progress of fine dairy cow breed- ers, and while we admit the excellency of Jersey, Ayrshire and Holstein, we do protest against the constant revilement of our native cows. No animal on the farm is treated worse. Struggling among ragweeds in almost grassless pastures, furnishing blood for flies in the blazing heat of midsummer, the effect of wrath, hail, snow, sleet, rain and polar winds, she still survives, ever patient and returning good for evil. If our abused native cow was treated half so well as her foreign cousin per- haps she would be as famous as they. — Farm, Field and Fireside. J. N. Muney, of the Iowa State Agricul- tural College, says: "The average farmer cannot afford to specially prepare his butter for a first-class market himself, unless he has a dairy of at least fifty cows. Even then there is some doubt in my mind whether he can make it pay. Any one who has had practical experien ce iu the creamery business knows that the time required to properly handle the milk from twenty-four cows is nearly the same as that required to handle it from fifty to sixty cows." He argues that the creamery gives better returns to the farmer than he can realize from a home dairy. We have sometimes thought that if the term "working" should be expunged from the dairyman's dictionary, it might not be a bad thing either for the butter or the butter maker. What do we work butter for i* Formerly, when dash and fioat churns were chiefly used, and when it was the custom to gather the butter in the churn before drawing off the buttermilk, it was more important that the butter should be very thoroughly worked, both before and while the salting was being done. But, now, with churns better adapted to do the work, and with improved methods of using them, there is no necessity whatever for any second working, provided the salting is done as it should be, when the butter is taken from the churn.— iV^ew Eng- land Farmer. Butter that is to printed needs less working than if it be put down in tubs, .as the mould- ing and printing helps to work the salt in evenly. If one had been in the habit of working butter a second time after an inter- val of twelve or twenty-four hours, and should fear to omit the second working, it would answer the purpose just as well if the second working is done after ten minutes or half- hour as if done after a longer time. On no account should butter ever be left to harden before its second working, especially in cold weather, when it would become so hard as to require warming before re-working. A great deal of butter is injured in winter by being frozen or chilled and then heated up again for working, and also in summer by being left too long in cold wells or ice chests. — The Dairy. Professor Arnold says in the New York Tribune: "A good many observing cream- ery men are becoming aware that ice in open and cold setting is the cause of a great deal of mischief to the butter, and only use it becajise of its great convenience. If in sub- merging milk injury from atmospheric con- densations are pretty much avoided, the use of ice cuts oft' all maturity of cream, at least all in the right direction, and finally leaves it in a somewhat deteriorated condition. Were it not for the speed in creaming, and the sav- ing of labor it occasions, it would soon go out of use, so many are becoming satisfied that butter from ice-cooled milk and cream cannot compete with that made without such chill- ing. From these considerations the proba- bility is that the use of ice in the dairy will continue to become less and less in favor and less used, till the centrifuge is better perfected and comes into general use, and creams milk while warm and obviates the necessity for low cooling. Then ice in the dairy " must go." Imperfectly churned butter may be im- proved by working in the salt and then set- ting it away for a few hours. If salted very heavily, as it should be in such a ease, the salt will form a brine, which, at the second working, will bring away more or less of the cream and milk that should have been sepa- rated from the butter by washing while it was in the churn, and before the butler was gath- ered into a solid mass. But it is far better to do the churning as it should be done, and then the subsequent work will 1« plain and easy. Have the churn large enough so that plenty of thin, sweet milk or water can be mixed in with the cream when it goes into the churn. This will sometimes retard the pro- gress of churning, but it will result in better butter and more of it. There is always a waste of cream when the churning is done in a very short time, portions of it being washed into the buttermilk. It is such buttermilk that sometimes pays for a second churning. — The Dairy. IIow much should butter be worked, is a question that would evidently be answered differently by different persons. It was for- merly the practice, we suppose almost univer- sally, among American butter makers, to work and salt their butter as it came from the churn, and then to set it away for twenty- four hours to cool, and for the salt to dissolve before giving it its second working. This was certainly the practice in all the dairies with which we were acquainted in our earlier days. And although there has been a great change iu the practice of many makers, yet we find that there are still many others who would expect their butter to be utterly spoiled if it did not receive its second working after standing from twelve to twenty-four hours. If butter is not half worked, or rather, if it is not half salted at the time it is taken from the churn, it is certainly necessary to give it a second working. But, on the other hand, if the churning, washing and salting are all done as they should be, there will be no occa- sion for a second working, and such second working will really be an injury to the butter. — E-ccliange. WHY EGGS DO NOT HATCH. Although every possible precaution is some- times taken to make the sitting hen as com- fortable as possible the eggs often fail to hatch. The difliculties are of a character that cannot be discoversd, but much depends on the con- ditions regarding the management of the lay- ing hens. If a hen is very fat she will lay but few eggs, and the eggs from such a hen will often fail to hatch. When cocks are allowed to range with too many hens the vitality of the chicks is lessened and they die in the shell. Fowls that are fed under a forcing process produce weak offspring, and those that have been bred in-and-in are not to be relied upon to give good hatches or produce healthy chicks. The hen that steals her nest is generally suc- cessful, but why this is so has been a puzzle, not only to the farmers, but to the scientific men as well. One thing we know is that her eggs are never disturbed, and they are sur- 72 THE LANCASTER FARMER. [May, rounded only by the pure and uncontaminated atmosphere. When we place eggs under a hen we know nothing of them, as a rule, and if they con- tain fertile germs it is only a matter of guess with us in selecting the nest, but the hidden hen's eggs are always impregnated. The nests should be .secluded, and in a place which will be secure from the approach or intrusion of man or fowl, with the surroundings free from all impurities or odors, and every con- venience afforded in the way of dusting, food and water. We handle eggs too freely, ap- proach the nest too often, and disturb the sit- ting hen when she should be easy and quiet. There are birds that abandon nests after the eggs have been disturbed, and this may partly teach us to place the sitting hen alone by herself, with freedom of action, the eggs being from good, strong hens, of which only a few have been mated with a vigorous cock. Avoid sitting hens if they are nervous or quarrelsome. Such hens are never careful and break their eggs, as well as tramping the young chicks to death. A medium-sized hen is the best, and of different breeds the Brah- mas and Cochins are the most persistent sitters. — Farm and Garden. DANGER IN BARBED WIRE. In recent discussions, both at the East and in the Western States, on the use of barbed wire for farm barriers, much was said by some of the speakers on the danger to domes- tic animals, and especially to young horses, witli which the use of this wire is attended, and cases were described where horses were badly lacerated and bled to death. Yet, not- withstanding these formidable drawbacks, so great is the saving in expen.se, and so efficient and durable are fences made of barbed wire, that they can not be prohibited, and farmers would not submit to any attempt to suppress their use. The question, therefore, comes up : Is there any way to remove the objection, and to pre- vent the harm which barbed wire causes ? We answer decidedly in the affirmative, and are surprised at the slow progress which a knowledge of the modes of prevention has made. We have used the wire for years, and never found the least difficulty of danger. There are several modes. For smooth, nearly level fields, plow a deep furrow on each side of the wire fence, or rather plow several fur- rows, so as to make one broad and deep one on either side, throwing as much earth with the plow as practicable towards the line of posts, and finishing the work by cleaning out by hand the ditches thus made. This work is performed at comparatively little cost, and has the three advantages of draining the line, banking against the posts so that they need not be set so deep, and making a visible bar- rier which will induce horses to check their speed and stop before they reach the fence. They will not pitch heedlessly into a ditch and against a bank. Tliey are always brought up before they reach the line. Another ad- vantage is that the ditch and bank combined are as good as two bottom boards, and a smaller number of wires are needed to com- plete the fence above. Another mode, where there are plenty of scattered or cobble stone over the adjacent fields, is to make with them a low flat wall, say about two feet high ; set the posts in the wall, and attach the barbed wire to them. The wall becomes a visible barrier, and will repel the approach of the animals, for they have a special dislike to step on a mass of small stones. A third mode is to place two or three wires inside of a hedge, the branches and stems of which will hold the wires in place as the hedge increases in growth. A poor, thin hedge, of small growers, is thus made into an efficient barrier, and the hedge is sufficiently visible. Strong growing hedge plants are not wanted for this purpose, for it would require too much labor to keep them cat into proper shape. There are other modes for removing the danger, but some of the preceding may be employed in nearly all cases, and the fences will be comparatively cheap in construction. — Country Gentleman. EXPERIMENTS IN POTATO PLANT- ING. I received a circular from Dr. E. L. Sturte- vant and tried some potato experimerts ac- cording to it and also others. I planted in drills 50 feet long, .3 feet apart and pieces 1 foot apart in the drills, with the following re- sults : Quarters, 2 in a place, yielded 37 pounds of large potatoes and 3 pounds of small ones, inferior both in size and shape. Single eyes, cut deep, 2 in a place, yielded 27 pounds large and 2 pounds small. Single eyes cut very shallow, 1 in a place, yielded 12 pounds large and 2^ small. Single eyes, cut from stem end, 1 in a place, yielded 16 pounds large and 1 pound small. Single eyes, cut from seed end, 1 in a place, yielded 15J pounds large and 3 pounds small. Single eyes, cut from middle, 1 in a place, yielded 23 pounds large aad 1 pound small, nearly all large and smooth, which shows that eyes cut from the middle of potatoes are better for seed. These experiments were not satisfactory, as the sea- son was so very wet that water stood between the rows some of the time, making it impossi- ble to cultivate them thoroughly and causing them to rot badly. I weighed only the sound potatoes. Two rows side by side planted and cultivated exactly alike diftered five pounds in yield, showing that one or two experiments are not conclusive. White Elephant— an ex- cellent variety — was used In the above experi- ments. My method of raising potatoes is to thoroughly prepare the ground, then make furrows four or five inches deep and three feet apart, dropping pieces eight to twelve inches apart ; cut to single eyes from good-sized smooth potatoes, and cover with an Acme harrow or woodan clod-crusher. Abcftit the time they begin to come up I harrow them lengthwise of the rows with a spike-toothed harrow— slanting teeth would be better— and again about a week after. Then cultivate aTlout once a week until in full bloom ; finish- ing with shovel, plow and hoe. I have never tried the flat culture. To make a clod-crusher take six or eight four-inch hard wood scant- lings six feet long, six feet from each end, bore holes cornerwise through them, tie a knot in one end of a rope and pass the other end through all the holes in one end of the scant- lings and back through the holes in the other end, leaving a loop in the middle of the rope to hitch to. Or make flat holes and insert pieces of flat spring steel ; lay a piece of board on top to ride on. This is much better than a roller to pulverize the lumps, and cover clover, grass, millet and other small seeds, leaving the ground smooth and even for the reaper and mower. — Elmira Husbandman. HANDY REMEDIES The following remedies for many simple ail- ments we find recommended in HalVs Journal of Health. And while the remedies may not be new to many of our readers, they will be found useful to all. We now publisli them that they may be at hand for ready reference. Half a teaspoonful of common table salt dissolved in a little cold water and drank will instantly relieve "heartburn" or dyspepsia. If taken every morning before breakfast, in- creasing the quantity gradually to a teaspoon- ful of salt, and a tumbler of water, it will in a few days cure any ordinary case of dyspep- sia, if at the same time due attention is paid to the diet. There is no better remedy than the above for constipation. As a gargle for sore throat it is equal to chlorate of potash and is entirely safe. It may be used as often as desired, and if a little is swallowed each time, it will have a beneficial effect on the throat by cleansing it and allaying the irrita- tion. In doses of one *:o four teaspoonfuls in half a pint to a pint of tepid water it acts promptly as an emetic, and, in cases of pois- oning, is always on hand. It is an excellent remedy for bites and stings of insects. It is a valuable astringent in hemorrhages, particu- larly for bleeding after the extracting of teeth. It has both cleansing and healing properties, and is therefore a most excellent application for superficial ulcerations. Mustard is an- other valuable remedy. No family should be without it. Two or three teaspoonfuls of ground mustard stirred into half a pint of water acts as an emetic very promptly, and is milder and easier to take than salt and water. Equal parts of ground mustard and flour or meal made into a paste with warm water and spread on a thin piece of muslin, with an- other piece of muslin laid over it, forms the indispensable "mustard plaster." It is al. most a specific for colic when applied for a few minutes over the " pit of the stomach." For all internal pains and congestions there is no remedy of such general utility. It acts as a counter-irritant by drawing the blood to the surface ; hence in severe cases of croup a small mustard plaster should be applied to the back of the child's neck. The same treat- ment will relieve almost any case of head- ache. A mustard plaster should be moved about over the spot to be acted upon, for if left in one place it is liable to blister. A mustard plaster acts as well when at consid- erable distance from the afiected part. An excellent substitute for mustard plasters is what is known as " mustard leaves." They come a dozen in a box, and are about four by five inches. They are perfectly dry and will keep for a long time. For use it is only neces- sary to dip one in a dish of water for a min- ute and then apply it. Common baking soda is the best of all remedies in cases of scalds and burns. It may be used on the surface of the burned place either dry or wet. When applied promptly the sense of relief is magical. THE LANCASTER FARMEH. ^3 It seems to withdraw the heat and with it the pain, and the healing process soon commences. It is the best application for eruptions caused by poisonous ivy and other poisonous plants, as also for bites and stings of insects. Owing to colds, over-fatigue, anxiety and various other causes, the urine is often scanty, highly colored, and more or less loaded with phos- phate which settle to the bottom of the vessel on cooling. As much soda as can be dipped up with a ten cent piece, dissolved in half a glass of cold water and drank every three hours, will soon remedy the trouble. THE DISAPPEARANCE OF GAME. The swift growth of our cities is not near- ly as unparalleled as the rapid disappearance of our game animals. One hundred years ago Eastern North America was the finest game country in the world. "This valley is a himt- er's paradise," says Colonel Boone in his ac- count of the expedition to the mouth of the Kentucky River. "Our dogs started three troops of deer in less than half an hour, on the river we saw tracks of elk, bears and buffalo, and the thickets along the slope were full of turkeys and mountain-pheasants. From the cliffs above the junction our guide showed us the wigwams of the Miamis. About eight miles to the northwest we could see the smoke of their camp-fires rising from the foot of a rocky bluff, but the hill country on the east and the great plains in the west, north and northwest resembled a boundless ocean of undulating woodlands." "Northwest of the Blue Ridge " buffaloes grazed in countless herds. During tlie heat of the midsummer mouths they used to re- treat to the highlands, and followed the ridges in the southward migration as the approach of winter gradually crowned the lieights with snow. Along the backbones of all the main chains of the sunken AUeghenies these trails can still be distinctly traced for hundreds of miles. " Buffalo Springs," Buffalo Gap " and scores of similar names still attest the former presence of the American bison in localities that are now nearly '20,000 miles from the next buffalo 1 ange. The centre of our buflalo population is moving northwest at an alarm- ing rate. Herds, in the old-time sense of the word, can now be found only in British North America iind here and there along the frontier of our Northwestern Territory. In cold winters small troops of fifteen or twenty are seen in the Texas Panhandle, in Western Utah, and in the valley of the Upper Ar- kansas, but nowhere this side of the Missis- sippi. Their days are numbered. They can not hide, and their defensive weapons are useless against mountain riflemen. Pot- hunters follow them to their farj northern re- treats ; the International Railroad will soon carry a swarm of sportsmen to their West Mexican reservations, and in fifty years from now their happy pasture grounds will proba- bly be reduced to the inclosed grass-plots of a few zoological gardens. Panthers are still found in twenty-six or twenty-seven States, but chiefly at the two opposite ends of our territory— or Florida and Oregon. In the southern AUeghenies they are still frequent enough to make the Govern- ment bounty a source of income to the hunt- ers of several highland counties. AVolves still defy civilization in .some of the larger prairie States, and in the wild border country between North Carolina and East Tennessee. But, unlike the panthers, they do not conline themselves to a special locality. Hunger makes them peripatetic, and in cold winters their occasional visits can be looked for in al- most any mountain valley between Southern Kentucky and Alabama. FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE. From various sources we have received re- ports within the last few weeks of the appear- ance in this country of what is called the " foot and mouth disease," or aphthous fever. It is not at all strange that this disease should be imported, inasmuch as we are constantly receiving cattle, sheep, and other domestic animals from countries where it has existed for many years ; but for some unknown reason this scourge has never found a perma- nent lodgment on the soil of the United States. Some fourteen years ago it appeared among the cattle of Massachusetts, and several hundred were attacked; but it soon disap- peared, and little has been heard of it until quite recently. We learn from the Maine Farmer of Feb- ruary 2S, that this disease has for the first time appeared in Maine, having been intro- duced there by a herd of Hereford cattle, im- ported intojPorfland on February 2, on board the English steamer Ontario of the Dominion line. It is quite natural tliat the farmers of Maine should feel somewhat alarmed at the appearance of this disease in such close proxi- mity to their private herds, and we haye no doubt the requisite precautions will be taken to prevent its dissemination to other points. We also have reports of the appearance of this disease in one of the Western States, which, if true, does not speak well for those who have charge of the quarantine yards at the ports where imported animals are received and examined before being allowed to go in- land. We certainly cannot be too cautious in this matter of preventing the introduction of infectious and contagious diseases of ani- mals, and we could far better afford to close our ports to all kinds of domestic animals than to introduce a disease that cannot be readily stamped out without considerable loss or expense. We have already as good ani- mals to breed from as can be found in any European country, and there is really no need of ever importing another one ; and we are not quite certain that it would not be good policy to shut the gates against live stock from all parts of the world. This aphthous fever, like all other animal plagues follows in the track of commerce, and has appeared in almost every cattle-raising country in the world ; and while the United States have thus far been exceedingly fortu- nate in escaping any serious loss from it, we cannot expect that this state of affairs will continue for all time, if animals arc permit- ted to come here from infected districts abroad. The virus of this disease may be scattered in many ways, and the poison transmitted by direct contact or through the medium of roads, pastures, food, litter manure, drinking troughs, the clothes of the persons attending the animals, and the ships and cars in which stock is taken from one country or locality to another. One European authority states that he had known the virus to be preserved a long time in the forage and water of a stable that had been occupied by a diseased animal. The disease is not confined to neat cattle, but attacks all cloven-footed animals, and from these is communicated to all warm- blooded animals, even to man. The period incubation is usually from two to six days, and Dr. Jameij Law describes the symjjtoms as follows : " Roughness of the coat or shiv- ering ; increased temperature ; dry mu7.zle ; hot red mouth, U^ats, and interdlgital spaces ; lameness ; inclination to lie down, and shrink- ing from the hand in milking. The second or third day, blisters arise on any part of the whole interior of the mouth, one-half inch across. Saliva drivels from the mouth, col- lecting in froth around the lips, and a loud smacking is made with the lips and tongue." Swine champ the jaws, and both slieej) and swine suffer much in their feet, often losing* the hoofs. Nothing is really known in regard to the cau.ses which develop this disease, but it is believed to always proceeil from a particle of virus transmitted from some diseased animal. It is highly contagious and infectious, and must be dealt with accordingly. It usually runs its course in from ten to fifteen days, and, if the animals recive proper care, few few need be lost. The usual treatment is to give laxative medicines, and astringent solu- tions for wiishing the mouth. Dr. Law re- commends Epsom salts for physic ; and for a mouth wash, borax and tincture of myrrh, one ounce each; water one quart; or carbolic acid, one drachm; honey, two ounces; vinegar, one pint; water, one pint. A lotion for the teats may be made of carbolic acid, one-half drachm, glycerine ten ounces. For dressing the sores on the feet use oil of vitrol, one ounce, diluted with four ounce-s of water, and then apply with a feather. The feet may also I)e tied up with tar bandages, or the sores smeared with warm tar. The strength of the animal should be kept up by giving stimulat- ing food, such as oatmeal gruel, linseed tea and good ale. In fact, careful attention to the wants of the animal in the way of proper food and drinks is fully as essential as medi- cines. One attack of this disease does not in- sure the animal against another. To prevent the .spread of the di3ea.se all in- fected animals should be secluded from all others, and the attendants must be very care- ful or they will carry the virus in their boots or clothes from the sick to the well anjmals. The milk of the cows with the disease should be buried, and all the manure in the same way or burned. All troughs, pails and other utensils used in the the stables of the affected animals should be carefully disinfected or destroyed, as they are no longer needed for the purpose which they have been used. — N. Y. Sun. THE SPEED OF A FLYING DUCK. It may be interesting to the reader to know the speed at which many ducks fly down wind : Mallard, from 45 to 50 miles an hour. Black duck, from 45 to 50 miles an hour. Pintal, from 50 to 60 miles an hour. '>4 THE LANCASTER FARMER [May, Widgeon, from 65 to 60 miles an hour. Wood duck, from 55 to 60 miles an hour. Gadwall, from 60 to 70 miles an hour. Redhead, from SO to 90 miles an hour. Blue wingtail, from 80 to 100 miles an hour. Green wingtail, from SO to 100 miles an Broadbill, from 85 to 110 miles an hour. Canvas back, from 85 to 120 miles an hour. Wild geese, fi-om 80 to 90 miles an hour. For the above table I aai indebted to Mr. D. W. Cross, an old duck shooter and a care- ful student of the habits of water fowl. I have not the slightest hesitancy in believing him right, for the experience of others with whom I have shot ducks, coupled with my own more than corrobrates the assertions. When I have held ahead of a string of blue bills, say at least ten feet and kill the fourth or fifth duck in the string, I have been strong- ly impressed that the speed they were flying was like the traditional greased lightning, re- membering that the charge of shot left my gun (No. 4 shot, say,) with an initial velocity of 1,800 to 2,000 feet per second. It will be seen that long experience and good judgment is necessary to know where to hold the gun in order to become a good duck shot. — Pitts- burg Chronicle. MY EIGHT-ACRE FARMING. Eight acres of sandy loam, light, fine and level, all in one piece near the house and barn ; no stone, no fences, no waste, every foot tilla- ble, no time lost in going to and from work ; horse, wagons, harness and tools, last indefi- nitely, having the least wear and tear possi- ble. Having a good market near for vege- tables and a good one for milk at the door, I raise both, and so one thing helps another on land and in market. Having the land and market and the crops to be raised decided upon, the course is open to success, if the land is worked right. A small farm is no disgrace ; it takes more brains to work a small than a large one and get a living from it. My father said to his son more than a score of years ago : "• You have too little land ; no man yet ever got rich from his own labor ; do not spend your time trading around in a half-bushel measure ; sell out ; get more land and do a business that amounts to something." Very good advice to a man with money to pay for a big farm. But all cannot have big farms ; a place in this world is left and must be filled by the small landholder who can only buy a small tract, but who has the sagacity to see that it will answer his purpose in the line of agriculture. Land there is, and plenty of it, for all ; but it is only the right use of it which brings success. A neighbor of mine thrives on his farm of twenty acres, makes money and lends it to his neighbors who have more land than they own. He was warned he would starve on his barren land by those who are now borrowing his money. Another neighbor finds sixteen acres of the best of land too little to furnish three persons a living. I have received letters ask- ing how it is that I raise so much, on so small a surface. To all inquirers I say, "Come and see." We are in operation summer and winter, and always busy. Just now we have three cows ; sell milk at four cents per quart at the door ; market $10 worth of vegetables a week ; run a small hot-house, and a month later shall have hotbeds in operation. Not much cost for help either ; I have in the family a boy fifteen years old ; he and I do all the work this winter and have time to play. Do I raise all I feed the cows V No. Why should I. With the best sweet-corn fodder % per ton, delivered ; bran, $20 per ton, and cottonseed and corn meal cheap at retail ; I can buy feed cheaper than I can raise it. I house for winter use from eight to ten tons of hay, etc., from my four acres in grass; but that is not enough. I have manure, all of which goes back to the garden ; and the crops are good, as you can well believe. There is no time of leisure. Every month of the year is full of work which pays, and yet we have time to rest. We rise at sunrise and stop work at sunset all the year round ; no haste ; but just enough pressure of work to keep one alert, active, and moving steadily on.— TF. H. Bull, West Springfield, 3Iass. SPARE THE TOADS. There is no better abused, and probably no more useful creature in the garden and upon the farm than the toad. The apt simile, " like a toad under a harrow," tells the story of his wrongs. And now that our harrows are armed with steel teeth, and are supple- mented with clod crushers and cultivators of various types for comminuting the soil, the sorrows of the toad are intensified, and he is threatened with extinction in all cultivated fields. Stay thy hand from slaughter, tiller of the soil. The toad is as useful in his place as the implements of tillage you drive over his back so thoughtlessly. " The jewel in his head" is not tbeie, but in his capacious stomach, that always has room in it for one more bug, one more worm, that destroys the food of man. Watch his habits for a day, and observe the lightning thrusts of his tongue as he scoops in your enemies, and you will have a better appreciation of his work, and of his place in good husbandry. If your gf^rden is without toads you can aflbrd to purchase them for stock. They pay good dividends, as surely as superphosphate. — American Agriculturist. HOW TO COOK AN OLD HEN. I may, however, mention an experiment that I made lately. I kill a superannuated hen— more than sis years old, but otherwise in very good condition. Cooked in the ordin- ary way she would have been uneatably tough. Instead of being thus cooked, she was gently stewed about four hours. I can not guarantee to the maintenance of the theoretical temperature, having suspicion of same simmering. After this she was left in ihe water until it cooled, and on the following day was roasted in the usual manner, i. e., in a roasting oven. The result was excellent ; as tender as a full-grown chicken roasted in the ordinary way, and of quite equal flavor, in spite of the very good broth obtained by the preliminary stewing. This surprised me. I anticipated the softening of the tendons and ligaments, b^it supposed that the extraction of the juices would have spoiled the flavor. It must have diluted it, and that so much re- mained was probably due to the fact that an old fowl is more fully flavored than a young chicken. The usual farmhouse method of cooking old hens is to stew them simply ; the rule in the midlands being one hour in the pot for every year of age. The feature of the above experiment was the supplementary roasting. As the laying .season is now com- ing to au end, old hens will soon be a drug in the market, and those among my readers who have not a hen-roost of their own will oblige their poulterers by ordering a hen that is war- i-anted to be tour years old or upward. If he deals fairly he will supply a specimen upon which they may repeat my expeaiment, very cheaply. It offers the double economy of utilizing a nearly waste product and obtaining chicken broth and roast fowl simultaneously. — Pnprdar Science Monthly. THE USE OF A DRY WELL. There are certain household wastes which can not be fed to the poultry or pigs, cannot be burned, and will not decay on the compost heap. These, in a country place, where the cart of the city scavenger is unknown, will accumulate. The articles we refer to are old fruit cans ; tinware, past mending; saucepans, which a crack has rendered useless ; old bot- tles and leaky stoneware jugs and jars. These and others will accumulate, and a proper re- gard for neatness forbids following a too com- mon custom of throwing them into the road. If a rubbish heap is established in an out of the way place, enterprising boys will find it and scatter its accumulations. There is but one efl'ective way to dispose of rubbish of this discription — bury it. A dry well is a useful adjunct to every neatly kept country place, be it large or small. In an out of the way corner dig a well or pit, cover it with pieces of plank too heavy for children to remove, and drop into this all kinds of indestructible rubbish, When this well, which need be but a few feet deep, is partly filled, dig another near by, using the earth taken out to cover the rub- bish in well number oue. This effectually disposes of the unsightly accumulations of rubbish, while the amount of labor required is not large, and the incidental drainage af- forded may be beneficial. — American Agricul- turist. PRESERVING SALT MEAT. Much of the corned beef and salt pork put up by farmers becomes tainted or completely spoiled during the summer and fall. The in- jury is not caused by using too small an amount of salt. As a rule, much more is employed than is necessary to preserve the meat. Sometimes it contains impurities that cause the meat to contract a bad flavor. Pure salt should be employed for preserving meat and dry products. It costs but little more than that which is impure, and it is more satisfactory in all respects. Meat packed in a barrel and covered with brine becomes tainted or spoiled in consequence of small portions of it or some of the fat or blood it< contains coming to the top of the brine. The air comes in contact with it there, and decomposition takes place. The products of the decomposition of animal substances al- ways have an unpleasant taste and smell, and these in the case of meat in a barrel are com- municaated to the brine and from thence to ; the meat. Meat packed in brine should be cut in pieces with a very sharp knife. This 1884. J THE LANCASTER FARMER. 75 will leave the edge smooth. After it has been for a few days in tlie brine tlie latter should be poured off and boiled. The boilin!» will cause all the impurities to rise to the surface while tlie blood will be coagulated. These substances should then be skimmed off, and when the brine is cold it can be returned to the barrel. If the brine does not continue pure tlie operation of boiling should be re- peated. Special pains should be taken to keep the meat under the brine at all times. A per- forated top or false cover, or a frame work, should rest on the meat and be weighted down by a clean stone. If these precautions are employed the liability of spoiling will be very slight. IN THE HAY AND HARVEST FIELD. People drink toocopiouisly of ice-cold water, and every summer the list of deaths from this cause is a long one. Excessive drinking of ice-cold water becomes as much of a habit as some other forms of drinking. If ice-cold water be used to reduce the temperature of ordinary well-water, "half-and-half," it will be found to quench thirst just as readily as when taken into the stomach at the melting point of ice (32-), and there will be no danger of sunstroke and " sudden prostration in the hay field." Still betterHlian ice-water is some prepared drink, to be taken in moderate quan- tities. Nothiug is better for those who work in the hay aud harvest field than the old- fashioned "Switchell." This is water, sweet- ened with molasses, to which are added vine- gar and ground ginger. We do not know of any definite proportions, as the ingredients are usually mi,\ed "according to the taste." It is a most refreshing draught, and if cooled by adding a moderate quantity of ice, the ginger prevents any unpleasant effects. An- other capital drink for workmen in the field is "Tea Punch." Make strong tea, sweeten it and then squeeze into it the juice of one more lemons. This may also be cooled by adding ice in moderate quantities, and those who like tea at all will prefer it to any other harvest drink. Strong coffee, "with sugar and milk, placed on ice until well cooled. Is an excellent drink for the he\i.— American Agriculturist. IMPROVING FARM HOUSES. It is a source of great satisfaction to notice as we have within the last lialf dozen years the improvement which has been making in the appearance of farm dwellings. It is be- ing done in various ways and after various plans. It seems that every one. no matter what the exact meiusure of his means may be, is doing something in beautifying his home. It makes no difference what is the particular nature of it, the aim is to add to its attrac- tivenes.s, and in this effort it has the support and assistance of the wife and daughters, whose share in the work is given freely and ungrudgingly, and all equally enjoy the happy result. How much, for instance, does a neat- ly fenced-in front yard, filled with fiowers of various kinds, with trellises for climbing vines, add to the general appearance ? Every house should have a comfortable porch or piazza, which is a protection against sun and rain, and in summer evenings, when the en- tire family is gathered there, it proves to be the best room in the house. Every dwelling, however humble, should also have a little parlor, nicely furnished, •though it may take years to comjilete it, which should be opened daily whether used or not. It is the pride of the good wife and daughters in increasing its neatness and beauty, as well as in receiving in it on special occasions their neighbors and friends. In a word, to increase the attrac- tiveness of one's liome is a real labor of love, and it can be done at such times when other duties are not pressing, while the expense of it is so trifling as not to lie fell. — Gcrmantown Tekyriipli. IVY POISONING. The "Poison Ivy," also called " Poi.son Oak," and in some localities known as " Mar- cury," is often the cause of great distress. The vine is abundant all over the country, one form being low, running along on banks and rambling over stone walls. Another form climbs the highest trees, clinging to the bark by its many rootlets. It is often con- founded with the Virginia Creeper ; indeed, we have known it to be planted as an orna- mental vine, it having been mistaken for that. The two are readily told apart, the Virginia Creeper having its dark-green, shiny leaves five-parted, while the light-green leaves of the poison vine are three-parted. The Poison Ivy is so very abundant, that were all equally sus- ceptible to its influence, we should hear ranch more of its effects than we do at the present. With many the poi.son produces only a slight eruption on the skin and an intense itching. Others are more seriously affected, and the face swells up to such an extent that the features are hardly visible. Nearly every locality has its popular remedies for the poison, and new ones are frequently proposed. As a general thing, most cases are relieved by keep- ing the bowels open by the use of .salts, and washing the eruptions with a strong solution of sugar of lead. The latest remedy, which is now going the rounds, is to bathe the affected parts with lime water, applied as hot as it can be borne. This is simple, the remedy is usually at hand, and is worth trying, as other alkaline washes have been found useful. No harm can result. — American Aaricultrcrist. A DISH OF STRAWBERRIES. As it is getting late in the season and we feel in earnest about this subject we refer to it for the last time now, for sonic months at least, and bring forward to assist us the ser- vices and experience of a correspondent of the Country Gentleman as a sort of closing argu- ment. This is the way he puts it : I wish I could induce every farmer reader of this paper who does not grow strawberries, to appreciate the value of a strawberry patch. I believe there is no fruit which combines so many excellent qualities. Delicious, health- ful, comparatively free from insect pests, and easily produced in all kinds of soil— what other luxury so cheap and yet so good ? It is perhaps creditable to farmers that the use of strawberries is rapidly growing popular among them; yet it seems unjust that any person having a patch of land should deprive himself and family of a full allowance of this delicious fruit during its fruiting season. The chief reason that strawberries are not more generally grown by farmers, is that the term "strawberry bed" often signifies some- thing which the ordinary, pushing farmer cannot afford. The "strawberry bed" is asso- ciated with the flower garden, the lawn and the grapery, rather than the cabbage patcli and the onion bed. In other words, most farmers who do not raise strawberries for family use believe that their production re- quires a vast amount of skill, patience and labor— more than they Ciin afford. This is by no means the case. Every person who can have a cabbage patch can also have a strawberry patch, and the latter requires no more brains, patience or labor than the former. Indeed those who are accustomed to growing strawberries in plenty for home use would drop the cabbage patcli rather, than the straw- berry patch. The modern strawberry bed, instead of meaning a very small, raised plat of ground in the garden among the flowers and shrub- bery, as it often existed in old fiishioned gar- dens, signifies a good-sized inece of ground where the strawberry plants are set out and cultivated with a horse as we cultivate the corn and cabbages. As labor is the chief item of expense in growing garden products, it is important to practice a cheap system of grow- ing strawberries. My system— the chief mer- it of which is economy and cheapness— is as follows : I set out a strawberry patch every year in the spring as early as practicable, usually dur- ing April. I do not expect to obtain but one crop from a planting, although occasionally the plants are left to bear two crops. The ad- vantages of this " one crop plau " are that the first crop is nearly always the best, and that to preserve a bed to produce more than one crop requires too much labor in order to thoroughly clean the soil of grass and weeds, and loosen the soil between the rows and about the plants. By setting out a patch every spring, and plowing down another one every after it has fruited, a fresh bed is always ready to produce a full crop of fine, large ber- ries, and the expense for weeding and culti- vating is trifling. I plant in rows 3i feet apart, and the plants are one foot apart in the row. I keep the soil clean, loose and open by frequent cultivation and the use of the hoe. No runners are cut, but they are allowed to take root along the line of the rows. Late in the season the cul- tivator teeth are narrowed up, and the run- ners allowed to form matted rows a foot or eighteen inches wide. Late in autumn after the ground freezes hard enough to hold up a team, the entire bed iscovered over with clean wheat or rye straw. My rule is to cover just enough to hide the soil and plants from view. In the spring, after the frost is out of the ground, the straw covering is raked into a light winrow between each two rows of plants, and there left to remain to keep down grass and weeds, and prevent the soil from becom- ing dry. This is all the labor required before the fruit ripens, unless it be to pass over the bed and pull out the few weeds which may make their appearance. I believe this to be the best system for those who have plenty of land, and on heavy soils. Menced oblives are relished by many, and are considered a delectable addition to salads of any kind. 76 THE LANCASTER FARMER. [May_ Our Local organizations. LANCASTER COUNTY AGRICULTU- RAL AND HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. The Lancaster county agricultural and horticultu- ral society held a slated meeting in their room in city hall, Monday afternoon, May .5th, 188-t. The the following named member.^ were present : John C. Linville, Gap ; -John H. Landis, Millers- ville; M. D. Kendig, Cresson ; Dr. J. P. Wickersham, city ; Henry M. Engle, Marietta ; F. R. Diffenderfer, city; .James Wood, Little Britain; Levi S. Reist, Manheim ; J. M.Johnston, city; C. S. Hunsecker, Manheim township ; Joseph F. Witmer, Paradise ; Wm. H. Brosius, Drumore ; J. R. Buckwalter, Salis- bury ; Samuel Hershey, Salisbury ; Israel L. Landis, city; Eph. S. Hoover, Manheim; Peter S. Reisti Lititz, Solomon Gregg, Drumore ; S. P. Eby, city. The President being absent. Vice President Engle was called to the chair. The County Institute. Dr. J. P. Wickersham, from the committee ap- pointed at a former meeting to make arrangements for a two days county institute of farmers to be held in the court house on Wednesday and Thursday, June 4tb and 5th, reported that the prospects o' having a large and interesting institute were very flattering. He had corresponled with a number of the most eminent agriculturists in the state and had received from them assurances that they would be present. Governor Pattison had written that he would be present on the second day of the institute. Victor PioUet, who stands at the head of the farming interests in the northern section of the state, would be present on the evening of the first day, and per- haps on the second. President Atherton, of the Agricultural college, will be here and address the in- stitute. Prof. .Jordon will discourse on fertilizers, a subject of which he is a thorough master. Dr. Lor- ing, the chief of the agricultural department, at Washington will positively be here, and address the institute. Ellwood Harvey, than whom there is no higher authority, will deliver one or more lectures on the horse ; and Willis P. Hazzard, who knows as much about cows as Prof. Harvey does about horses, will speak on that important subject. Prof. Heiges, of Shippensburg normal school, will lecture on fruits, flowers, shrubbery or kindred subjects. Thomas J. Edge, of the state agricultural department, has also promised to be present, together with many of our mo«t learned local agriculturists. The committee had also been in correspondence with the railroad companies, and both the Pennsylvania and Reading companies had agreed to issue excursion tickets at low rates, to those desiring to attend the institute. J. C. Linville, from the sub-committee, reported that he had replies from a number of local essayists that they would be present — among others T. Black- burn, of the Fulton Farmers' Club ; J. M. Frantz, of Lancaster township; Johnson Miller, of Warwick; Mr. Cooper, who will speak of "farmers' wives;" T. W. Kinzer, on agriculture in the schools, and Dr. Wickersham on " How to keep the boys on the Dr. Wickersham said there would be no lack of able speakers, but the question is, shall there be an attendance of Lancaster county farmers worthy of the occasion ? We have a reputation of being the greatest agricultural people in the country and the eminent speakers who have been announced are'' coming to.the institute as a compliment to the county It is for us to see that they are worthily received^ He hoped the townships would vie with each other as to which shall send the largest delegation to the institute. The court house has been secured by the committee and he would not be satisfied unless it be filled to overflowing. Several members promised large delegations from their respective townships, and James Wood, of Little Britain, wanted to know whether the institute was to be exclusively for the " lords of creation," or whether the ladies also were to be invited. Chair- man Engle replied that "the queens of creation') were invited and were expected to attend. Crop Reports. Several members from different sections of the county reported the crop prospects to be excellent. The winter wheat never looked better : there is scarcely a poor field to be seen anywhere ; the grass is in excellent condition ; the peach trees are in better condition than was supposed a month ago, and there may be a fair crop. Apples, cherries and pears promise an extraordinary crop ; grapes are budding out nicely ; strawberries, rasp- berries, blackberries and other small fruits are in good condition for a heavy yield. Tobacco plants are coming on finely, though the season is backward ; most of the farmers have sown Havana seed, and probably two-thirds of the crop will be of that variety ; seven-tenths of the tobacco crop of '83 is sold, and most of the fat cattle are also sold and shipped. The only drawbacks to the favorable re- ports are that the mice during the winter girdled many young trees and hedges, some of the clover fields do not look well, and tlie ground is found to be unusually hard to plow. The rainfall for March was a little over 4}4 inches and for April 3 inches. Essay on Wages. C. L. Hunsecker read the following essay : Wages has been defined as a compensation given for labor. In tracing the history of the country, in reference to high or low prices paid for labor, the industry of the people, styles of living, resources, population and wealth, its successful agriculture, manufactures commercial operations, mining, education, the con- struction of common roads, spanning rivers with viaducts, excavating canals, and building rail_ roads, its natural advantages, soil, climate, mil] streams, great lakes, navigable rivers, the ocean, easy facilities of travel, low fares and freights, its cities, towns, public buildings, farm houses and barns, the thrift and comfort, of the people in dwell ings, furniture, clothing and food must be taken into consideration. The ingenuity and industry of the indabitants, its laws and customs, all have an important bearing upon the price of commodities and the wages of labor. The price paid for labor depends very much upon the number of laborers, and the demand for labor in a country. The expense of living, rents and taxes, often [are so heavy, with a few exceptions in the old world, that the day laborer, with the scanty wages allowed to him, is in no condition of prosperity or even of comfort. In those countries like China, where rice is the chief article of food, wages are ex- tremely law, and living comparatively poor^ the tea gatherers making but a few cents for a day's labor; the same is true of other branches of industry in China and Hindoostan. Wages in our country are twice those of Belgium, Denmark, France and England : three times those of Germany, Italy and Spain ; four times those of Holland. The prices of the necessaries of life are lower in America than in Europe. The peasantry in the old world, out of absolute necessity, are restrained to live economically and poor. Sixty cents a day is considered good wages for a workingman in any part of the European countries, except Great Britain, where wages are somewhat higher. In the Tyrol silk region and in Italy they often do not get more than ten cents. In the couotry in Germany ten cents is the common pay. Women there often get but five cents for a days' labor. In Sweden men work from 4 o'clock in the morning, till 9 o'clock in the evening and do not get any more. During the war with France, many poor women in Berlin were hired to knit stocking for soldiers for five cents a day ; barbers in Berlin get five cents for hair-cutting and two and two and one-half cents for shaving; servants at hotels, 83 $8 to per month ; servant girls, in private families, often get but 810 a year. Sometimes these classes can not get work at any price. The immense amount of capital of England, France and Spain, concentrated or held by a com- paratively few in those countries of large popula- tions, affords them very great advantages to employ labor at low figures over new and sparsely settled countries whose inhabitants have not great wealth to operate successfully large manufacturiog estab- lishments. Of the working classes of England, none has been so much oppressed, or are in so low a condition as the agricultural laborer. For five centuries, up to 1824, the magistrates in quarter sessions fixed the rates of wages. They got only what the farmers or employers of the peasants dictated, and that was barely sufficient to keep body and soul together. The bread riots in England of former days, were the re- sult of high prices of food, and rents, and the forc- ing down of the prices of labor. The prosperity of the United States has been made up by the good prices paid for labor. It is employment that has made us what we are. Here men go to work, becaxise idleness is considered a crime, and the chance presented to the workman of rising in the community and standing on an equality with his fel- low citizens very encouraging. A question is frequently asked. Were former times better than they are at present? This is much easier asked than answered ; but from all the infor- mation that can be collected from history and expe- rience, I should say that the present time is big with favorable results, notwithstanding occasional strikes among laborers for higher wages in our country. In spite of what is said of the good old times, there have been vast improvements in the diversified industries of our country in the style of living, the price of commodities, and the rate of wages. It is true that the fluctuation of prices of commod- ities and the rate of wages of labor, are very great under different times and circumstances. The miserable occupants of certain tenement houses in large cities, who scarcely earn enough to pay rent and buy food to sustain life, barring all comfort of room, furniture and clothing, eke out a precarious existence, yet in our country, very few persons die of actual starvation. Good and Bad Butter. " Do the farmers of Lancaster county make good butter? If not, why not?" The question was dis- cussed at considerable length by .Messrs. Hunsecker, Wickersham, Wood, Witmer and Engle, and the conclusion reached was that while some very excel- lent butter is made in Lancaster county a great deal more is of inferior quality. This is owing to several causes, of which poor cows, dirty stables, improper feed, bad management 'and untidy managers are the most prominent. Other causes are that we are too far from the Philadelphia market to compete with the Chester, Delaware and Bucks gilt edge butter makers ; our country store keepers who handle three-fourths of all the butter made do not discrimi- nate between that which is good and that which is bad, but buy and sell good and bad alike at the same price. The remedy is to secure the best breed of butter making cows, treat them with care and kindness, feed them with the best kind of food, and prevent them from eating gar- lic, hemlock, mouldy vegetables or anything else that will taint the butter with an unpleasant flavor, use the utmost cleanliness in milking the cows, y churn the cream before it stands long enough to be | come mouldy, work all the butter milk out of the I butter, use no artificial coloring matter, and m.irket the butter in tidy and presentable shape. While creamery butter was acknowledged to be far better than most of that manufactured by farmers, one or two of the speakers maintained that dairy butter when properly made was better then the creamery. Dr. Wickersham said the best butter he ever ate was in Denmark, where the cow stables are kept as tidy as our kitchens, and the cows as neat as the milk- maids. The Danes ship their butter to England and even to India, and he ventured to state that they would ere long ship it to the United States. He thought one reason for the superiority of their butter was the luscious juicy grasses abounding in that ( lSS-1. THE LANCASTER FARMER- 77 country. In answer to a quefition Dr. Wlckersham said that the cattle In the southern part of Denmark were the Holslelns, while lu the northern parts the Jutland cow Is bred— a smaller animal, not unlike the Jerseys. On motion of Mr. DilTenderffer it was resolved to hold no meeting on Monday, the second of June, as farmers' institute will be held on the Wednesday and Thursday following. Adjourned. The Farmers' Institute. The Farmers' Institute to be held in the Court- house under the management of a committee of the Lancaster County Agricultural and Horticultural Society, will open at 10 o'clock Wednesday morn- ing, June 4th, and close on Thursday evening. Lectures and addresses on topics relating to prac- tical farming will be delivered by the following dis tlnguished gentlemen, all of whom have positively promised to be present: Gov. Robert E. Pattison, Dr. George B. Loring, United States Commissioner of Agriculture; Colonel V. E. Piolett, of Bradford county ; Dr. Ellwood Harvey, of Chester ; Willis P. Hazard, Esq., of West Chester ; Dr. George W. Atherton, President State College; Thos. J. Edge, Secretary of the State Board of Agricclture ; Dr. James Calder, Lecturer for the State Grange ; Prof. Samuel B. Heiges, of Shippeusburg ; Prof. W. H. Jordan, Agricultural Chemist of the State College. Of these, Col. Piolett will speak on "The Present and the Past, as they Relate to American Farming;'' Dr. Harvey, "The Horse, including his Proper Treatment in respect to Food, Drink, Stabling, Blanketing, Breaking, Teachin-g, etc.;" Mr. Hazard, High-priced Cows, the cause of High Prices, will they pay Farmers to Own, of what Breeds, and the Principles of Selecting Such ;" President Atherton, Agiicultural Education ;" Prof. Jordan, " Com- mercial Fertilizers, etc.;" Secretary Edge, Dr. Calder and Prof. Heiges will discuss general topics of great practical importance. Harvey's lecture on ''The Horse" will be delivered on Wednesday evening, and be will be followed by either Dr. Loring or Col. Piolett. The following well-known Lancaster county farmers and friends of agriculture have been invited to participate in the proceedings, by reading essays part in the discussions : Thomas Baker, JohnH.Landis, Calvin Cooper, John C. Linville, Casper Hiller, Henry M. Engle, Enos H. Weaver, Joseph R. Blackburn, Jacob M. Frantz, M. P. Cooper, T. W. Kinzer, J. P. Wlckersham, Johnson Miller, Dr. Bollinger, Israel L. Landis, C. L. Hun- seeker, M. D. Kendig, Levi S. Heist, S. P. Eby, Arthur Kenney, J. F. Witmer, Wm. H. Brosius, H. G. Rush, E. H. Hoover. Among the subjects to be presented by these gentleman are the following : Farmers' Holidays ; The Influence of Agricultural Societies ; Farmers' Homes, and how to make them Attractive ; How to Plant and Manage an Orchard; Small Fruit and Market Gardening; Advantages of Creameries; Farm Economy ; Should Farmers Interest Them selves in Pudlic Atfairs ? FSrmers' Wives, the Necessity of their Relief from Overwork: Condi tions for Obtaining good Crops of Tobacco ; Should the Elements of Agriculture be taught In the Public Schools in Farming Communities ? How to Keep Farmers' Sons on Farms ; How to Manage a Farm. Excursion ticket to and from Lancaster, good for the two days of the Institute, will be sold at all the stations on the Pennsylvania railroad in Lancaster county. The Reading railroad will sell daily excur. sion tickets. LINN.(EAN SOCIETY. The Llnu;ean Society met in their rooms (Y. M. C. A. building) on Saturday, May 3, 1884, at 2'.^ P.M., as per postponement from April 29. The President, J. P. Wlckersham, in the chair, and minutes of pre- vious meeting read, approved and dues collected. Six visitors In addition to members lu attendance, among them Prof. Kerr, of the. College of Mines and Mining, Colorado. Donations to Museum consisted of an abnormal mounted specimen of the common "deer," (Cervus virginlanus) perchased and donated by the members. This animal seems to be what is generally regarded as an Albino. Deer not only shed their antlers annually, but they also shed, or change, the color of their lialr semi-annually. This species normally is of a light fawn color In summer, and a reddish gray in winter, with the underpart of the throat and tailalwaj'S white. Whatever the cause may be, we often see a similar abnormity among what are called " Euglish Rabbits," and said to be Influenced by domestication. An article on this specimen will be read at May Meeting. A specimen of Alligator Mississippiensls donat- ed by Dr. S. T. Davis. Dr. D. had this and other specimens of the Saurian In his possession about four years. By comparine it with one now in the museum of the Society, obtained four years ago, we make some approximation to their manner of growth, as they were all about the same size three years ago. A specimen of the rare " Hoary Bat" (Ves pertilio pruinosus) donated by Samuel McComsey perS. M. Seuer. The society obtained two or three specimens of this bat within the past twenty years, but this was the first one captured within the city limits. It pro- bably is not gregarious. Our common red bat, V. noveboraconis, occurs in colonies of from three to five hundred, but this species has heretofore been only found singly. This specimen will be kept alive and notes taken in regard to habit's, etc. A pair of wooden shoes, donated by Lewis Haldy. These shoes are not "foreigners " although made by foreigners. They were made by (iermaus in the State of Wisconsin, and apparently of the wood of Catalpa speciosa. A collection of about 12.5 specifications of metali. ferous minerals donated by Dr. William B. Fahnes- tock. These minerals mainly consist of blue and green carbonate of copper from the Cornwall mines, Lebanon county, Pa., and from South Crrolina, also gold and silver ores from South Carolina. One specimen of blue carbonate copper is about 12 inches square, and weighs 10 pounds. S. M. Sener donated a specimen of the tapeworm, found in the intestines of a chicken, also a bird's nest, probably a wren's or warbler's, found in a gar- den, city. Dr. William B. Fahuestock also donated a port- folio containing 30 folio sheets of Lancaster county plants, and 17 folio sheets of Alpine plants, Switzer land. These specimens are mounted from 2 to 10 ou a sheet, and were given to Dr. Fahnestock in 18:i4, by Dr. Samuel Du Fresne. Dr. Du Fresne resided in Lancaster and built the peculiar ccpula building on Christian street, in rear of Zaepfel's old building. He was quite a scientist and doctor, and is interred in the Presbyterian cemetery. Professor J. S. Stahr donated a fine mounted speci- men of a plant entirely new to both State and county, found by himself at Willow Street. This is the " HIeracium Caroiinianum" Fries. Donations to library consisted of proceedings of Academy of Natural Sciences, of Philadelphia, part 3, November and December, 188.1. United Stales Patent Office GazMe, Nos. 3, 4 and 13, volume 20. Index of patentees, Index of inventions, etc., for quarter ending December, 1883. Catalogue of Library of C. Herring, M. D., Phila delphia ; Hovey & Go's, catalogue of rare trees, plants, etc., 1884 ; seventh catalogue of Little, Brown & Co., Boston ; volume 1, No. 1 of Weekly Ledger, Lancaster, Pa. Report of the U. S. Agricultural Department for 1883, octavo, •tO() pages, 1 map, 7 diagrams and 44 plates, many Colored. Third report of United States Entomological Commission (Riley, Packard, Thomas,) for 1880-82, octavo, .500 pages, 63 plates, on insect anotomy and larvaes. Lancaster Farmer, April, 1884. Circulars of Bureau of Education, No. 5, 1873, No. 1, 1884, and " American School at Athens " for 1882-3. Prospectus Standard Natural History. Book Buyer. American and Foreign Literature. Clear- ance List of Art, Books and Periodical Literature. Linly's newspaper tile and flic holder, railroad map of Red River valley. " Happy Days In the Azores," by Marianna Gibbons, donated by Mrs. L. D. Zell. Articles of Incorporation and 1st annual report, etc., and, other pamphlets from Oneid Historical Society, Ulica, New York. Moral and religious aspect of the Indian question from Gcu. C. W. Dar- ling. Copies UUea Herald for April 1, 8, 26 and 29, 1884, also copy of Ilotiic Journal April 9, 1884, con- taining reference to Linua;an donations to Oneld Historical Society, two odd uumhcrs Science Gossip. Catalogues of books from A. E. Footc, J. Wana- maker. Cay & Bro. Resources of New South Wales, 1876 ; Catalogue of high bred trotting stock, and Inlsfallen Nurseries. Catalogues of coins and one of fossils for sale ; two envelopes of 17 biograph- ical and historical scraps ; S. M. Sener donated a 10 by 12 line engraving of Dr. J. P. Wlckersham, exe- cuted by Sortain, twenty years ago. Letters on file from J. S. Witmer, John M. Greider, Mrs. Gibbons, Oneida Historical Society, C. W. Darling and Boston Public Library. Boston Library asked for exchange of books, etc. Sent them copies of /'armer. Com- littee on Constitution and By-Laws report and con- uued. Bills for alcohol, jar, hauling, poslage, expressage, etc., in all $3.17, was ordered to be paid. The secretary distributed samples of pub- lished proceedings, and on motion it was ordered that the April meeting proceedings be pu'jlished In bulletin form, and a motion made and carried that coi)ies be sent to members for final action in regard to bulletin at May meeting. Subscription '1st of members and amounts subscribed on purchase of white deer filed in archives. Prof. J. S. Stahr read a paper on the new plant discovered by him and as It is deemed of importance and value the paper Is here produced In full. A New Planet. HIeracium Caroiinianum, Fries. I have the honor to present to the society to day a spcimen of the above named plant, collected by myself about the 1st of July, 1883, near Willow Street in this county. 1 was induced to look for it In that locality by my friend Prof. T. C. Porter, L. L. D., of Easton, Pa., who found a specimen more than twenty years ago. It was formerly regarded by some as a variety of H. foliosum, of Mieheaux ; of 11. gronovii of Lin, and by others as a variety of H. Panlculatum of Lin. Prof. Gray, who is at present studying the composita with a view to the publication of a new edition of his "Botany of North America," recently got Dr. Por- ter's specimens (obtained from myself), and he pro- nounced it H. Caroiinianum, of Fries. It is, there- fore, a species new to both State and county. Lancasler, May 5, 1883. J. S. Stabk. Dr. Rathvon announced that at the May meeting he would read a paper on " Commonplace Ex- perience in Natural History," in the lecture room of Y. M. C. A., to which all who take an interest in scientific pursuits arc invited to attend. Society ad- journed to meet on Saturday, May 31, 1884, at 2:30 P.M. FULTON FARMERS' CLUB. The Fulton Farmers' Club met at the residence of Wm. King, on Saturday, May 3. The members pres- ent were Wm. King, E. H. Haines. Grace King, LIndley King, Marshall Nesbit and Day Wood. Visitors : Isaac Bradley, Vincent Reynolds and wife, Howard Coates and several others. In the absence of the President, F,. H. Haines called the meeting to order. The minutes of the last meeting were read and approved. Asking and Answering Questions. Wm. King asked : Would it be profitable to top dress grass land with South Carolina rock. LIndley King said he had tried It In a small way but thinks it did not pay him. 78 THE LANCASTER FARMER. [Ma,, Isaac Bradley thought this was not the way to ap- ply this manure ; that by lyiuR on the surface there was a possibility of evaporation and wastage. He believed the proper way was to plough it down. Sev- eral other members thought it would not pay. E. H. Haines spoke of an experiment he made by sowing about 400 pounds of rock across alternate strips of clover and timothy ; it made little show on the timothy, but increased the clover fully one-half, and also made quite an increase the following year. Lizzie Wood asked if it is necessary to put lime in ashes to make soap. Rachel Gibson said she has made good soap either way, but lime increases the quantity of soap. Lydia Reynolds thinks lime is of great advantage to make ashes stronger. Mrs. Nesbit always heretofore used lime, but in tends to make her soap without lime this year and will report her success at a future meeting. Clarinda Richards said that a manufacture*- of soap told a friend of her's that in making soap there never was enough of lime used; he used one-third of the quantity of ashes ; she never used this quan- tity herself, but about one-half bushel of lime to a barrel of ashes. E.H.Haines asked what he should plant on a piece of stock ground he wanted to lay over and plant in corn next spring. It was suggested that he plant in rye and pasture this fall and early spring. Vincent Reynolds spoke of ploughing down green manure. He planted tnree plots ; one in corn, one in beans, and a third in Hungarian and all were ploughed down for wheat. He gave a small dressing of manure on the spread over the ploughed ground. Where the corn was the wheat was greatly the best, the bean plot next and the Hungarian last. He could plainly see the green corn plot the second year in the increase in grass. The club then adjourned for dinner. After a pleasant walk over a part of the host's farm, and seeing his stock, crops and buildings, the club re- assembled. Afternoon Session. The minutes of the meeting last held were then read, and the usual criticisms on farm management called for. There were several improvements noticed, a new ice house and some whitewashing done. One member said the herd of cows looked Jaetter than he ever saw them, and that the host was getting a very tine herd of cows. Wm. King read an article from the Lancaster Gazette, (published fn 1826,) on RailroBds and Canals. Rebecca King read a temperance selection. Lizzie Wood read " A Story of Science." A committee, E. H. Haines, Marchell Nesbit and Day Wood, was appointed to make arrangements for holding a joint public sale of stock to be held at Penn Hill, some time in June, giving all members as well as outsiders opportunity of disposing of any surplus cows, hogs, sheep and horses. It was de- cided to advertise in several papers, and have large bills printed. All communications relating to this are to be addressed to E. H. Haines, Pleasant Grove. Club then adjourned to meet at C. C. Kauffman's, the usual time in June. plant foods, or, in other words, it ripens it. At first thought it would seem that under all circumstances it would be best to thus prepare manure for plant food, but on a careful investigation it will be found that to offset the advantages there are two ways to loose; first, the labor of composting; second, the loss of the action of the escaped gases on the ele- ments of the soil. Every careful observer has noticed the changed condition of the soil to which has been applied green manure. In the process of decomposi- tion the soil is filled with gases which seem to have the power to lighten it up and make it in a better condition for plant growth. It is believed by some that somehow these gases in connection with the soil, change the pure nitrogen of the air into a con- dition to render it available for plant food. Whether or not this is so is a question yet to be settled. But one thing is evident, which is, when green manure is applied to the soil and well mixed with it, when it gets into an active state of decomposition, the crops grow [very rapid. When it is desired that plants should feel the immediate effects of manure, it should be well rotted, but not mixed with other materials, except just enough to keep it from burning. It is as a rule a waste of labor to compost manure with an equal bulk of loam or muck ; better compost it di- rectly with the soil and thus save labor. He who is composting his manures adds more to it than enough to keep it from burning, and the gases from escaping, does not occupy his time to the best advantage. Soiling. This subject is still claiming attention, and near HORT2CL. uTURE. AGRICULTURE. Composition Manures. Will it pay to compost manures? is a question which is often asked and frequently discussed at farmers' meetings, but iiever settled by definite answers or conclusive arguments. Why? Because for some purposes it will pay, and for others it will not pay. For growing field corn or potatoes it will not pay to compost all of the manure, but, as a rule, it will pay to compost enough of it to put a small quantity in each hill to start the young corn or potatoes. For garden crops it will pay to compost a larger proportion of it than for field crops. The composting of manure simply advances it toward cities where land is dear, or on small farms that are nearly all suitable to plow, there are many points in its favor. It seems to be the nearest approach to high farming of any system yet presented. It pu's the manure back in the soil where the food came from ; while under tlie present system cows run in pastures and are driven in at night, and most of the manure that is not dropped in the highway is put on the tillage land, and the pastures are growing poorer. If New England plowing is ever reduced to anything like system, we shall probably see cows, at least, fed by soiling, and the rough, hillside pas- tures with sheep and colts. L. B. Arnold, in the American Cultivator, closes a thoughtful article with these remarks, which are peculiarly adapted to Eastern farming : " Granting, however, that the cost of soiling and grazing are equal, soiling, even then, will reduce the cost of milk, because it pro duces so much more milk from the same outlay. By reason of better milk-producing food, and a constant and full supply, independent of the fluctuations in the weather, soiling, even though practiced the middle half of the season only, will produce 50 per cent, more milk than grazing, the expenses of keep ing being the same. Grazing may do well enough in the West where land can be had almost for the asking, and it answers in the East during spring and fall, but eastern dairymen cannot afford to graze during the parching season of midsummer. It is too uncertain in its character, and results in finally pro- ducing a minimum of milk at a maximum of cost." Henry Stewart says : "It is the labor always that produces, and if the work of one man at §1 per day will care for and feed thirty or fifty cows with cut green fodder in a barn, and these cattle will make manure enough to produce fodder to feed one head to the acre, then it is easily seen that this small expense will strike a very favorable balance between the cost of feeding one cow upon an acre costing |100 and one cow upon five acres costing the same. It is not the area of land cultivated that makes the profit, but the weight of the produce from each acre. Many a farmer is poorer with 500 acres of land than another with 100. A farmer who keeps twenty cows on 100 acres is poorer than one who feeds as many as twenty acres, and he makes actually less yearly income than many a market gardener who culti- vates on five acres and employs five men to the acre.'" Root-Habit of the Strawberry. According to one of his latest bulletins from the State Experiment Station, at Geneva, Director Stur- tevant, on August 13 of last year, washed out a strawberry plant of the Triomph de Grand variety, with the following result : " The roots extended nearly vertically downward to the depth of twenty-two inches. The horizontal roots were few and short, the longest being traceable but six inches. Nearly all the fibrous roots were found directly beneath the plant. The new roots appeared growing out about an inch above the old ones, and the longest of these had attained at this time a length of six inches. They were white and tipped at the extremities with a thickened point." The teaching of this one observation is that since the roots go deep the bed should be prepared by pre- vious culture and thorough fertilization to a consid- erable depth ; that, since the roots cover an area scarcely larger than the leaves, the plant may be set close, provided the soil is rich enough to properly sustain all, and that, since the roots run so nearly vertical, there is littte danger of deep cultivation of the ground between the rows, even after the plants have reached full size. And this added point or two we give in the director's own words : " The fact that the new roots grow out above the old ones each year explains why strawberry plants appear to elevate themselves upward as they be- come old, and suggests the importance of drawing earth toward them after the bearing season. The formation of the new root above the old ones as well suggests the advisability of surface manuring after the crop is harvested, for these latter roots occupy the upper portions of the soil. Our observations also suggest the advisability of applying the manure or fertiliser close to the plant, as thus being more ef- fective than when placed simply between the rows." Dr. Sturtevant suggests it as an interesting subject of inquiry "whether the varieties within an agricul- tural species have as distinct habits in their root for- mation within the soil as they display in their visible formation out of it," and incidentally mentions that a cauliflower had, August 13, roots which were traced to a depth of two and a half to three feet, and horizontally about two and a-half feet, and the "flbrons roots were less numerous in the upper than the lower layers of soil." Hence for this crop the soil should be rich low down, as well as at the sur- face, for the special use of the plants when young.— New York Tribune. Pruning the Grape Vine. Mr. W. W. Meech, Vineland, N. J., writes : Grape vines that have come to bearing age, may be pruned in such a manner at to be very certain of the results. By examining the vines while they are growing, one can very readily see from which bud of the previous year's growth, have produced the branches that are producing the crop of the current year. This will serve as a guide to to the pruming for the next crop, and so on from year to year. Shoots from canes older than the last year, very seldom produce any- thing but wood, but that wood is all right for a crop the next year. The shoots from the axillary buds, where the new and old wood come together, will hardly ever produce any grapes. The first bud be yond the axil will be found to yield fruit, but the clusters from the next bud, and for several farther on, will generally bear the shoulder branches of the crop. I have found in my experience that six buds on a strong cane, so selected, will generally yield three fine clusters each ; and occasionally tour. Up to the capacity of the vine, we may look for this number of clusters from the buds of very strong and vigorous canes of the last year's growth. Hence, according to the number of perl'ect clusters we esti mate the vine capable of producing, we can readily select those giving the best promise, and cut all the others off. The plan of pruning greatly reduces the labor as compared with the old method of leaving spurs of c little 1 i buds all over the vine, and gives vood and many grapes.— American Agriculturist. 1SS.1.] THE LANCASTER FARMER. 79 Raising Potatoes By The Straw Process. From my expfrieuce in raising potatoes uuiler hiriw I helieve they could be raised in this way suc- ( r^siiilly, and save the labor of cultivation. I had a Mri ill plot ot ground broken and made mellow. Til' potatoes were planted by tirst running a small lunow, and then dropping the seed pieces in this 111! :o\v every eight inches, and covered by running an illur furiow, throwing the soli in the first, and then seed dropped iu this, so on until finished. The ground was now covered with straw six or eight Inches deep. I waited until I thought they should be coming up, and then I examined them. I found that the moles had ruined my patah . The compost I that had been worlted in the soil enticed earth worms snd the moles, iu hunting for the worms, had eaten all the seed. At least none came up. The next spring I concluded to plant in a diQ'ereut way. I had my ground broken up deep, working a rich and well rotted compost thoroughly in the soil. The soil was now leveled and smoothed. The seed pieces were planted on top of the soil in straight lines ten indies apart and eight inches apart in the lines. The whole was then covered with about six or eight Inches of straw. I found the moles would raise the i soil some, but did not molest the potatoes any. I find that a liberal sprinkling of unleached ashes about twice during the growing season is of great ad- vantage. Many vines when stretched up measured five feet, and the tubers were the finest I ever raised. — Correspandetit Indiana Farmer. How to Get Early Potatoes. The best plan we have ever tried to get " new po- tatoes" a few days in advance of the main crop, and to be first in the race — which is one of the many pleasures iu gardening — is to select medium sized potatoes, and put them in a box of Sphagnum Moss, or, if that cannot be obtained, saw-dust or common- garden soil will answer ; place the potatoes seed end np, and fill between them and under them with the 18, leaving only the tip of the potato exposed. This will cause the leading eye to sprout, which takes most of the nourishment from the tuber, and consequently is much stronger than it would be if the other eyes produced plants. These should be started about a month earlier than the usual plant- ing time. These boxes of tubers may be placed in a .-bed, or in any warm room, giving them all the light possible. When the time has arrived for planting out, remove the tubers as carefully as pos Bible, in order not to injure the roots, and plant in well prepared soil. Remove any except the main ghoot, should any appear. By this method potatoes may be had Irom one to two weeks earlier than by the ordinary method of planting. Household recipes. Gems.— One small quart flour, one pint sour milk, one teaspoonful each of soda and salt ; heat the gem-pans hot, fill and bake. Omelette. — -Break six eggs, season with pepper and salt ; add a tablespoonful of finely grated bread crumbs. Beat the whole well together, and fry in butter. Sugar Biscuit.— One quart of flour, one cup of sugar, three teaspoonfuls of baking powder, two tablespoonfuls of lard, two eggs, two-thirds of a pint of milk. Sift together flour, salt, sugar and powder ; rub in lard cold ; add beaten egg9 and milk ; mix smooth and drop with a spoon on a greased baking tin ; sift sugar over top ; bake iu a hot oven ten minutes. Molasses Pies. — One-half cupful sugar, one-half cupful molasses, yolks of three eggs, butter size of valnut, one-half nutmeg. Put all together and heat, then stir in the well-beaten eggs. Bake the crusts partly done and pour in the mixture. Beat the whites of three eggs, sweeten very little, and put on top after the pies are done. CocoANUT Tarts are a pleasing addition to the plain dinner for a family where there are children. Line small tins with nice light crust and fill with this mixture : Dissolve a qtJarter of a pound of sugar in a little water, add as much grated coeoanut as you can stir In, and have well mixed with the sugar. Let this simmer slowly for a few minutes, then when it cools add the yelks of two eggs. Fill the tins and bake for ten minutes ]ln a quick oven. Cover the top with a meringue made of the whites of the eggs and two tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar. Brown in the oven. If you do not care to take quite so much trouble put the whites and yelks both in with the coeoanut and sugar. Pakloa Potatoes. — Miss Parloa cuts cold i)ota- toes in cubes, dips them slightly in flour for Duchess potatoes, which are baked in the oven on a greased dish for twenty minutes. Escaloped potatoes are pre|)ared by cutting cold potatoes in thin slices, and baking them in a cream sauce with a layer of bread crumbs on top. For Lyonnese potatoes take three tablespoonfuls of butter, put in a frying pan, and when the butter is melted, a tablespoonful of chopped onion is fried in it till it is of a pale straw color, when a quart of potatoes, cut in dice, are added, thoroughly seasoned with salt and pepper. When they are hot a tablespoonful of chopped parsley is sprinkled over them, and the whole cooked two minutes longer. Fish Toast.— Take cold boiled flsh of any kind, pick it into flakes and heat in enough milk to moisten it ; add a bit of butter, and season with pepper and salt. When it is hot, pour it on slices of liuttercd toast, and garnish with hard-boiled eggs, cut iu slices. Nut Cake.— Two cups of sugar, one cup of butter, three cups of flour, one cup of cold water, four eggs, one teaspoonful of soda, two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar,. and two cups of hickory nuts carefully picked out aud added last of all. Mock Lemom Pie.— One-half cup of sugar, yolks of two eggs, one-half cup of sweet milk and one-half cup of water; beat the eggs, add the rest, beat all together, aud place in a crust the same as for a custard pie. When done, beat the whites of an egg to a stiff froth, add a tablespoonful of sugar, and one teaspoonful of extract of lemon, spread over the pie, return to the oven and brown. This makes a small pie. Fisn Pie. — Take olf the skin, and remove the bones of any odds and ends of cold flsh that may be possessed ; add to this an equal weight of cold mashed potatoes and any cooked rice that may be over from a dish of curry. Season with pepper and ^alt, and place the mixture in a well-greased dish with some lumps of dripping at the top, in the oven, and bake until it is a light brown color. A Rich Dish. — A delicate and delicious dish is made by boiling one-quarter of a pound of rice in one pint and a-half of milk ; to this add two ounces of sweet almonds blanched, with two ounces of white sugar. Boil until the rice is tender. Do not stir the rice, but shake the kettle in which it boils. When done serve it in cups which you have first wet with cold water. Leave a space on the top of each cup so you may put a spoonful of jelly with cream poured around it, or whipped cream and powdered sugar, or meringue made of the white of an egg and of sugar, or a chocolate frosting like that for cake. This simple dish admits of great variety in its decoration or in the sauce in which It is served. Eggs om Toast. — Six eggs, one cupful drawn butter (drawn in milk), slicesof ftale bread (toasted and buttered), chopped parsley, pepper and salt. Heat a cupful of milk to scalding ; mix in a large teaspoonful of butter, a teaspoonful of flour wet with cold water aud rubbed smooth, and stir until it is as thick as custard. Add chopped parsley, pep- per and salt to taste. All this should be done in a thin vessel set in boiling water and over the flre. Have ready the toast (not forgetting to pare the crust from each slice before it is toasted), buttered and laid in close rows upon a hot dish. Pour a table- spoonful of hot water on each piece. Beat the eggs very light, and stir fast In the drawn butter until they are a rich yellow sauce, almost stiff enough to stand alone. Heap upon the toast and send hot to table. Delicious Fir, Candt Is made by boiling one pound of white sugar with one pint of water. When it hardens in cold water pour it over flgs which you have split and placed on buttered plates. Just before you take the candy from the flre add a small lumpof butter and one tablespoonful of vinegar. If you pre- fer It, the flgs may be chopped and be mixed with candy. A Gooi) recipe for a loaf cake Is contributed by a " constant reader." Four cups of sifted flour, three cups of powdered sugar, four eggs, one cup of sweet milk, one glass of colorless wine, one imtmeg grated, a teaspoonful of cinnamon, and a small teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a little hot water ; stir it briskly, so that the Ingredients will be thoroughly mixed be- fore putting into the tin. .Minnehaha Cake.— One cup sugar, half cup butter, half cup of milk, two cups flour, two eggs, two teaspoonfuls of baking powder. Bake in layers. Take half cup of chopped raisins, hall cup sugar, quarter cup water, white of one egg ; beat to a froth . Stir sugar, raisins and egg well together and boll till quite thick. When cool place between the layers of the cake. Delmonico Pudding.— One quart scalded milk, three tablespoonfuls cornstarch, moistened with a little cold milk ; stir into the boiling milk the yolks of six eggs, well beaten, four tablespoonfuls sugar ; stir all together. Take It off the fire, flavor and put into pudding dish. Then beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, spread over the top, and brown in the oven. Fairy Cake. — Two cups sugar, cup cream, one- half cup butter, two and one-half cups flour, four yolks of eggs, one white of egg, two and one-half teaspoonfuls oPbakiug powder. Bake in Jelly cake tins, and spread with icing made as follows : Three- fourths pound pulverized sugar, whites of three eggs ; begin adding sugar as you heat the whites and cover the whole cake. Flavor cake aud icing with lemon. Watermelon Cake — White part : Two cups sugar, two-thirds cup butter, two-thirds cup milk, three cups flour, five whites of eirgs, one tablespoon- ful baking powder, lied part : One ciip red sugar, one-third cup butter, two cups flour, one-third cup milk, one cup raisins (whole), five whites of eggs, one tablespoonful baking powder. Roll the raisins in powdered sugar, stir them into the red part of the cake, put it in the pan and pour the white around It. The cake may be Iced with yellow icing, if desired. Orange PuDDiNer cent, more ■eed will come up. Produces strong plants and large jield. Send tor pamjihlet "/Tow lo Raite irAea!."Beod Drill RegulatorCo.Lemont.OentreCo.pl 1 location of 1 and Southern Storchousei and Agents. P. K. OEDERICK tu CO., Albany, N. V. II PRIZL Seiul six cents for postage, and cceive free, a costly box of koo('s i Inch will help all. of either sex, i> more luonev ripfht away than iiythiiiK' else in this world. For- rs absolutely sure. At once ad - iVK A: CO.. Augusta, Maine. SPRING^D ENGINE & THRESHER SPRINGFIELD, O loguea sent free. ngareKK»anyu^aaaB«i«;«;aiajau^an«nKni IB^MWW^K^tfl A BEAUTIFULJ^WN "HENDER^iN^ "CENTRAL PARK" LAWN GRASS SEED, a mixture of selected praases Identical with tho,se used in forming the lawns of New York's famous park. Over 00,000 pack- ages sold by us last seaaim. One quart of t)no qui t=300squi ler trea , -'rlce,SS per quart. (If by mail, add 10 cent quart for postage.) If by freight or express. »1.V) per peck. ».'..nn per bushel. CataloKue of Meeds and FlanU free on application. PETER HENDERSON & CO., sEEosi^^^^gggijg^ A MONTHLY JOURNAL, Devoied to Agriculture, Horticulture, Do- mestic Economy and Miscellany. Founded Under the Auspices of the Lancai- ter County Agricultural and Horti- cultural Society. EDITED BY DR. S. S. RATHVON. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION ONEDOLLpPERANNUt^, POST.iCE PREPAID BY THE PROPRIETOR. All subscriptions will commence with the January number, unless otherwise ordered. Dr. S. S. Rathvon. who has so ably managed the editorial department In the past, will continue in the posttion of editor. His contributions on subjects connected with the science of farming, and particularly that specialty of which he is so Uiorouhly a master— entomological bcIcucc— some knowledge of which has become a necessity to the succees- ful farmer, are alone worth much more than the price o this publication. He Is determiued to make "The Farmer' a necessity to all households. A oouuty that has so wide a repatatlon as Lancaster couuty for its agricultural products should certainly be able to support an agricultural paper of its own, for the exchange of the opinions of farmers Interested in this mat- oter. We ask the co-oporation of all farmers interested Id this matter. Work among your friends. The '*Fanner" i only one doUar per year. Show them your copy. Try and Induce them to subscribe. It is not much for each mib- scriber to do but It vnll greatly assist us. All communications In regard tothe editorial management should be addressed to Dr. 8. 8. Ralhvon, Lancaster, Pa., and all bueluess letters in regard to subscriptions and ad- vertising should be addressed to the publisher. Rates of advertising can be had on application at the lOHN A. Hlb^iAND No. 9 North Queen St., Lancaster, Pa. THE LANCASTER FARMER Where To Buy Goods IN LANCASTER. M BOOTS AND SH'iES. ^R.SIIAL,!, A- SOX. No. 12 Centre Square, Lan- caster, Dealers in Boots,- Slioes and Rubbers. Re- ig promptly attended to. M. BOOKS AND STATIONERY. JOIIX B.4KK-I FURNITURE. -EIXITSH-S. No. l.'JS East King St., (over China _ Hall) is the chejipcst iilace in Lancaster to buy CHINA AND GLASSWARE. HIGH A M.4 KTI.\. Xo in China, Glass and Qn CLOTHING. M YKBS A- R.4'i'HFOBr. Centre Hall, No DRUGS AND MEDICINES. G, W. HIILI., Dealer Braces, Supporters, &c., 15 West King St., Lancaste JOHN F. LONG'S SONS. Druggists, No. 12 North Queen St. Drugs, Medicines, Perfumerj-, Spices, Dye Stufls, Etc. Prescriptions carefully compi an led. HATS AND CAPS. JEWELRY AND WATCHES. HZ. RHO.ins A- BKO., No. 4 West King St. , Watches, Cl.iik aii.l Musical Boxes. Watches and Jewelry M;iiiuf;HtMr«i| t.. <.ra.>lpIoii. and a score of other New Vegeta- bles, I invite the patronage of the public. New Vegeta- bles a specialty. JAMES J. H. OREOORY, Marblehead, Mass. Nov-6moj EVAPORATE YOUR FRUIT. ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE FREE TO ALL. AMERICAN DRIER COMPANY, rhanibprNbllrsr, Pa. Apl-tf Outfit free. Address Tri-e & Co., Augusta. Mail C.R.KLINE, ^TTOF^NEY-AT-f:.AW, OFFICE: 15 NORTH DUKE STREET, LANCASTER, PA.. PIANOFORTES. Tone.TonctijWoftfflSiJaiiOnraliility. 1VIL.I.IAIII KMABE & CO. Nos. 204 and 206 West Baltimore Street, Baltimore. No. 112 Fifth Avenue, N. Y. Special Inducements at the NEW FURNITURE STORE W. A. HEINITSH, ill all kinds of Furniture, Pictufe Ffames, 6c., A general aBBor*ment of furnituieof all kinds constantly on hand. Don't forget the number. novl-ly :LANCASTER,|PA. DR. JOHN BULL'S SffllsToflicSynii FOR THE CURE OF FEVER and AGUE Or CHILLS and FEVER, AND ALL MALARIAL DISEASES. , Tha proprietor of this celebrated medi- cine justly olainio for it a superiority over all renediea ever offered to the public for the SAFE, CERTAIN, SPEEDY and PER- MANENT cure of Ague and Fever, or Chills and Fever, vfhether of short or long stand- ing. He refers to the entire Western and Southern country to bear him testimony to the truth of the assertion that in no case whatever will it fail to cure if the direo- tions are strictly followed and carried out. In a great many cases a single doss has been sufficient for a cure, and whole fami- lies have beencuredby a single bottle, with a perfect restoration of the general health. It is, however, prudent, and in every case more certain to cure, if its use is continued in smaller doses for a week or two after the disease has been checked, more especially in difficult and long-standing cases. Usu- ally this medicine will not require any aid to keep the bowels in good order. Should the patient, however, require a cathartic medicine, after having taken three or four doses of the Tonic, a single dose of BULL'S VEGETABLE FAMILY PILLS will be suf- ficient. BULL'S SARSAPARILLA is the old and reliable remedy for impurities of the blood and Scrofulous affections — the King of Blood Purifiers. DR. JOHN BULL'S VEGETABLE WORM DESTROYER is prepared in the form of candy drops, attractive to the sight and pleasant to the taste. DR. JOHN BXXI^X^'S SMITH'S TONIC SYRUP, BULL'S SARSAPARILLA, BULL'S WORM DESTROYEF^ The Popular Remedies of the Day. Principal Offlce, SSI JIaIn St., LOUWVILLE, Kt REMOVAL EXTRAORDINARY! NEW STORE! NEW GOODS! S. S. RATH VON, ^Jercjjapt Tailor, DRAPER 101 to 131 North Queen St. (Howell's Building,) fashion- Whei Boys satisfactory manner, either plain, mediuu able. Thankful for favors during a period of twenty-five j years he hopes to merit the continued confidence of the ! ■Don b forget the pla No. 131 NORTH QUEEN ST. LANCASTER. PA. moOa weels in your own town. Terms aud $5 outfit fr»e ipDO Address H. Halleit & Co., Portlana, Msite. *jun-ly ONE DOLLAR PER ANinJM -SINGLE COPIES 10 CENTS. Dr. S. S. EATHVON, Editor. • ho Host anoa Milk Toast with Eggs 96 Qatmeal Crackers 90 Strawberry Blanc Mange 9(i ilStrawberry Salad 96 Strawberry lee Cream '. 96 |3trawberry Water Ice 96 rhe Ideal Ice Cream '. 96 Un Appetizing Salad 96 Mrs. Babcock's Company Cake 96 Fruit Jumbles 96 LANCASTER, PA.. JUNE, 1884 Cream Pie ^^^ Strawberry Cheesecakes ^^ Strawberry Fool ^^ Sardines ^^ Fried Potatoes 9" Chicken Toast 96 Potato Soup S" Apple Snow 96 Apple and Orahge Pie 96 Imitation Apple Pie ^*> JOSEPH DELLET, LANCASTER Steam Cigar Box Factory, 416 North Market Street, LANCASTER, PA. Edgings, Labels and Supplies of kinds always on hand. JOHN A. HIESTAND, Publisher WIDMYER & RICKSECKER, UPHOLSTERERS, And Manufactun FURNITURE PD' CHAIRS. WAREKOO.nS: 102 East King St., Cor. of Duke St. LANCASTER, PA. fTREES Fruit, Shade and Ornamental Trees. Plant Trees raieeJ iu this couutyaud BUiled to this climate. Write for price* to I.OUISC.LYTE, Bird-in-Hand P. O., Lancaster co., Pa. LIGHT BBAHl EGGS FOR SAI.X: ! Price, per setting of IJi, $L50 Address L. RATHVON, No. 9 North Queen St., Lancaster. Pa. BEST MARKET PEAR. !>f».9!>!) PEACH TREKS, all the ln•^t varictiea of Xew and OUl .STKAWHEKKI ES. CVHKANTS, GKAl'ES, KASnSEKHIKS. k-U-. EARLY CLUSTER B1>A(K]JERRT, New, Early, Hardy, Gtjod. Sini-le bin yielded 13 quarts at one picking. Send IVir FHKE i'atalog^ie. .1. S. COI.EIXS, M<...re~lo«n. ?C..I. LAWDRETH'S SIEIIEIIIDIS ARE THE BEST. North, South, East or West. Seeds. Founded 1T(M. D. LANDRETH k SONS, Philadelphia, Pa. WANTED.-CAN'V.\SSI;K.S for the LANCASTER WEEKLY EXAMINER In Every Towosliip in the County. Good Whrcs can bo made. Inquire at , , THE EXAMINER OFFICE No. 9 North Queen Street, Lancaster, Pa THE LANCASTER FARMER. PESTNSTI-VANIA RAII.ROAn SCHEDULE. On and after SUNDAY. JUNE 24, 1883, trains leave the Depot in tlii-s eity, as follows : WE TWABD. Pacific Expri News Expri Mail No. 2 via Columbia.' Niagara Eipreas Hanover Accommodation, . Fast Line' Frederick Accommodation. Lancaster Accommod'n. . Harrisburg Accom Columbia Accommodation., Harrisburg Express Western Express EASTWARD. Mail Express* Philadelphia Express Past Line* Harrisburg Express Lancaster. 1:35 a. m. 6.25 a. m. 6:30 a.m. 9:30 a. m. 9:35 a.m. 9:45 a.m. 9:50 a. m. 8.1( Columbia Accommodation. Seashore Express 12:68 p. Johnstown Express DayExpress* I a:i Harrisburg Accom 1 6:4 The Frederick Accommodation, ter with Fast Line, west, at 1:35 p. m., and ruus to Frederick. Hanover Accommodation, west, connecting at Lancaster with Niagara Express at 9:45 a. m. will run through to Arrive Harrisburg. 2:55 a. m. 7:20 p. m. CoU 8:15 p. t 8:50 p. m. 12:25 a. m. 10:20 11:45 3:15 p, Harrisburg 1 west, at 7:40 p. m. has direct con- nd York. The Fast Line, west, on Sunday, when flagged, will stop at Downingtown, Coatesville, Parkesburg, Mount Joy, Elizabethtown and Middletown. The Johnstown E.xpress from the &X Harrisburg Philadelphia, a *The only trains which run daily. NORBECK & MILEY, PRACTICAL kmm BuildeFS m & (JO'S OLD STA^D, Corner of Duke and Vine Streets, LANCASTER, PA. THE LATEST IMPROVED SIDE-BAR BUGGIES, PHAETONS, Carriages, Etc, EDW. 1. ZAHM, AMERICAN AND FOREIGN WATCHES, SOLID SILVER & SILVER PLATED WARE, CLOCKS, JEWELRY I TABLE CUTLERY. Sole Agent for the Arundel Tinted SPECTACLES. Repairing strictly attended to. ZAXXIVI'S CORNER, North Queen-st. and Centre Square, ;Lanoaster, Pa. Prices to Suit the Times. REPAIRING promptly attended to. All work guaranteed. 79-2- ESTABLISHED 1832. \%3 iJi- G. SENER & SONS, Mimufiicturers aud dealers in all kinds of roufi;h iiud fiuished The best Sawed SHIlV«l.£iu the country. Also Sash, Doors, Bliuds, Mouldings, &c. PATENT 0. G. WEATHERBOARDING OFFICE AND YARD : Northeast Corner of Prince and Walnnt-sts., LANCASTER, FA..1 OFFICE Ho, 9 North Queen Street LANCASTER, PA.. THE OLDEST AND BEST. THE WEEKLY LANCASTER EXAMINER One of the largest Weekly Papers the State. Published Every Weddnesay Morning, Is an old, well-established newspaper, and contains just the news desirable to make it an interesting and v;duable Family Newspaper. The postage to subcribere residing outside of Lancaster county is paid by the publisher. Send for a specimen copy. S-CrBS0iaiE='XI02:T : T^'vo Dollars per Annum. THE DAILY ' Address Stinson & Co., Portland. Rlaine PRACTICAL ESSAYS ON ENTOMOLOGY, Embracing the history and habits of NOXIOUS AND INNOXIOUS INSECTS, and the best remedies for their expulsion or extermination. Bv S. S. RATHVON. Ph. D. LANCASTER, PA. This work will be Highly lUustrated, and will be put in lutThisOutr: I & Return to us with TEll r CTS. *yon'U getbymail I A GOLDEN BOI OF GOODS rnBREMOMtY, in One Month. America. AbaoluteCertalnty. 'iieed'nocap't»l-M.Youns:,173GreenwichSt.N.york. iJlStv LANCASTER EXAMINER The Largest Daily Paper in the county. Pabllshed Daily Except S inday. The daily is' published every evening during the week. It is delivered in the City aiid to surrounding Towns ac- cessible by railroad and daUy stage lines, for 10 cents Mail Subscription, free of postage— One month, SO cents; one year, $5.00. JOHN A. HIESTAND, Proprietor, No. 9 Nort!i Queen St., For Good and Cneap vVork go to F. VOLLMZR'S FURNITURE WARE ROOMS No. 309 NORTH QUEEN ST., (Opposite Northern Market), I Al«o, all kinds of picture frames, nov-ly The Lancaster Farmer. Dr. S. S. RATHVOH, Editor. LANCASTER, PA., JUNE, 1884. Vol. XTl No. 6. Editorial. JUNE. " But e'er the mind could fully scan The beauties of the maid, A stately and majestic dame In death her cold form laid, Then with her golden wand she struck The blossoms from the trees, And from the sunny plains she fau'd The torrid summer breeze — The feather'd songsters of the vale .Joined in tlieir tuneful lays, The lambkins on the mossy lawn Engaged in vernal plays — She bore a pearl vase flU'd with fruit Of summers early moon, Her robes of tissue, and her mien, Betoken'd " smiling June." This is the sixth month of the year by com- iiiim consent among Christian nations and IKiiiiles. It was so named by the Romans, Iriim the festivals given this month in honor (if Juno., the daughter of Saturn and Ops ; till- .sister and wife of Jupiter ; the Queen of lieaven— mythologically speaking — and the guardian deity of women, especially married women. " He, in delight Smiled with superior love ; && Jupiter I hi Juno smiles, when he impreens the clouds That shed May flowers." Among the Saxons it was called Hauy iiKiiKit, or hay-month, the month in which the hay was harvested in certain favorable locali- ties, and when the sun enters the sign of Lancer. It includes thirty days. The Latin name is Junius, from Juno, because it was saired to that goddess ; German, Juni, from the genitive Junii; French, Jnin ; Prussian, .lun'h; Spanish, Junio; Portugese, Junho; It.tlian, Giuyno. According to almost universally acknowl- edged authority in the Middle, States, the kitihen-gardeoer at least, will, during this month be mainly occupied in cultivating the ginwing crops. The rapid growth of the va- rious kind of weeds at this season of the year, will remind him of the necessity of timely and treuchent exertion, in order to subordinate tliein to his interest. In order to do this eilictually and profitably, it does not require tlie excessive labor it did half a century ago. as the inventive genius of the present gener- al mn has devised many helps in the form of apinopriate implements. If the "slow-coach- ed farmer or gardener will not avail himself of the use of these, or utilize others of equal value, he deserves to be "hard-worked" to the end of his days, without being entitled to much credit therefor. Perhaps, in nine cases .out of ten, when the husbandman is com- pelled to work so very hard, so early and so late, it is because he works too much with his hands, and not enough with his head. Of course, a good many vegetables which were planted early in the season, will now be more or less exhausted, this is therefore the month in which to plant for a succession in crops, especially peas and hunch-beans, and those already in growth may now be tliorough- ly cultivated. Beets, cabbages, brocoli and celery may also be thinned or planted out. Cucmubcrs and swjar-corn, may also be plant- ed for crop successions. Endives and other salad plants may bo sown for later use. Many years ago we were ([uite surprised to find a fair supply of green peas, beans and corn in the New York market, near the end of October. Since that i)eriod crop succes- sions have become more common, especially in the vicinity of large cities, but the matter is still almost in statu quo, in the great county of Lancaster. Green peas, beans and cucum- bers are famiUar things in London and Paris in midwinter. It is true, that canned fruits and vegetables now supply the place of those cultivated out of season; but they are still not so fresh, so crisp and so normally flavored, as those gathered off the stocks and vines, especially those which mature in this genial months of .June and July. ENTOMOLOGICAL NOTATIONS. The pest known as the curculio is already making sad havoc among the young fruit of plum and apricot trees. The little destroyer is about the size and has the appearance of a black ant. It cuts a long slit in the fruit and there deposits an egg. This soon develops into a worm, which rapidly destroys the fruit. Mr. C. E. Graybill has collected some of the curculio in a vial, and most of those who have seen them had supposed them to be black ants. The above paragraph we find in the Colum- bia news column of the New Era of May 19th, and we think the writer of it is on the wrong track, when he says the curculio " is about the size and has the appearance of a black ant." The curculio that infests the apricot, peach, cherry, apple, quince, etc., has no such appearance ; besides, the size given is very indefinite, as black auts vary very much in size, from a sixteenth to a full inch in length. No one that had ever seen a curculio, could, by any po,ssibility, confound it with a black ant. The genus Curculio, which is now the type of tlie family OurcxdionidfK, includes •about fifteen hundred different species, and did we not know that some of these species do bear a resemblance to a black iint, we should pronounce the above paragraph a most mag- nificent specimen of " Moonshine;" as it is we would thank Mr. C. E. G., or the writer of the above, or any one else, to send us specimens of insects that resemble black ants, and that "cut long slits in the fruit.'' What is [wpularly known as the Curculio does not cut a long slit in fruit at all, but a short, cre.s- cent-shapcd slit, and from the peculiar articu- lation of the head and thorax it is doubtful whether it could make any incision at all ex- cept a crescent-shaped one. As " most of those who have seen them supposed them to be black ants," it is possi- ble that they arc black ants .• for, it is a very common thing for black ants, and also ants of other colors, to ascend trees, shrubbery and flowering plants, to lap up the saccharine exudations, which are secreted by the young leaves and flowers. Moreover, there are va- rious species of Aphids (plant-lice, ant-cows) that infest fruit trees in the spring of the year, some of which are also black, and resemble an ant much nearer than they do a curculio, and these are often herded by the ants, which Ian up their sweet excretions. It is about time that " the curculio " had a more familiar recognition, and a more certain identification. Technically restricted, the aforesaid "Cur- culio," or ".Snout-beetle," or "Plum-weevil," or " Little Turk," or any other name that people may choose to give it, ia a Conotra- chelus, and, by way of distinction, C nenuphar, there being about twenty species of that genus ; so that in referring to it specifically, the definite article is entirely out of place, there being about one hundred genera now belonging to the old Liuiuean genus Curculio; and it is doubtful if we have a single species of the original genus in the United States. No, the Curculio is no more like a black (oiJ— and for the matter of that a black uncle, either— "than Hyperion to a Satyr;" there- fore, the writer of the above-quoted para- graph, will please revise it. The most expressive English name for the plum curculio is a "Snout-beetle," because, as a family, these insects are distinguishable from all other beetles by the front portion of the head being more or less extended in the form of a .snout, at the end of which the sharp cutting forceps, or jaws, are located, and the species that in times past, and now has been and is so destructive to the plum and peach may be distinguished from all North Ameri- can snout-beetles by having on the centre of each wing cover an elongated black shining hump, and behind these humps there is a more or less conspicuous yellowish band, marked in the middle with white— sometimes the whole band oeiug white, or whitish. The abdomen is united with the thorax by its whole ba.se, whereas in ants this union is by means of a peduncle or slender stem ; not so long as in some species of wasp.s, yet very dis- tinct. On the whole, when the feet and snout are drawn in close to the body, and the insect "plays possum," it resembles a small dried fruit-bud, and not much unlike it in size and color, the whole animal being barely a quarter of an inch in length. So much for the "curculio." THE SOLDIER BEETLE. Mount Joy, May 19, If^"^. I enclose an insect which some call a " Chi- nee," or "Chinch-bug." It is said to be the bug that sometimes destroys the wheat crop in the far West. We read the Daily New Era. If you liave time, please give us the proper name and history of the new comer. A. G. The insects alluded to in the above note were duly received, " alive and kicking." They are not bugs at all, they are beetles ; nor arc they " newcomers." We have known them these five and forty years. The "chinch" is a true bug, the most familiar type of which is the "bed-bug." These Insects are some- 82 THE LANCASTER FARMER. [June, times called " soldier beetles ;" they belong to the Lamijyridce, or "fire-fly" family, in the order Coleoptera. They are carnivorous in their feeding habits. The larvse live under ground and feed on the larvte of other small insects, snails, worms and whatever else of an animal nature they can capture there. They are the Tdephorus colaris of Le Conte, and appear every spring and summer, especi- ally during the months of May and June. It is their nuptial season, when the sexes meet, prolificate and lay the foundations for the next year's brood. See how deftly they run over vegetation and manipulate their anlennm, in search of each other, or animal prey of some kind. We have seen numbers of them attack a pretty large garden snail, and eat him out of house and home. Chinch-bugs do not act so ; they maliciously stick their beaks into vegetation and suck out its juices. They difiEer most from bed bugs, in habit, from prefering vegetable juice to animal juice. In- dulge in no prejudices or anxieties about these Telephorans ; they will do no harm and may do good. THE COLD WAVE. The cold wave from the Lake Regions, pre- dicted in the "Weather Predictions" of Wednesday, May -J.Sth, came all too soon. We tried to sound a note of warning, by call- ing special attention to the fact ; and, while we happen to know that some saw the warn- ing in time and heeded it, others were not so fortunate, and will consequently very likely suffer. At and in the vicinity of New Holland water was frozen not only in small vessels, but on water troughs and on small bodies of still water. At and in the vicinity of Quarryville frost was visible in many places, and there, too, ice was formed on vessels. A report comes from Pequea that tobacco plants were badly frozen in that township. Certain it is, nothing is much more suscepti- ble to the damaging effects of frost than young tobacco. In the northern and western sections of the county, while there were slight frosts in some low lying lands, as a rule there was less frost than in other portions of the county, the land lying higher and dryer for the most part. In the tobacco-growing regions of the county (they grow it everywhere, but in some sec- tions to a greater extent than in others) there must have been considerable damage, if there was any considerable amount of frost. How completely the meteorological pheno- mena of certain districts of country repeat themselves is strikingly evinced by " the cold wave " above alluded to which we clip from the New Era, of Thursday (29th) since it re- calls a sudden and intense " cold snap " we had in Eastern Pennsylvania just fifty years ago, in the month of May. Early in the month of May of that year (we cannot recall the precise day, but feel very certain it was between the first and the four- teenth), we were a passenger in a "horse-car" on the Pennsylvania Railroad, from Philadel- phia to Columbia, the then terminus of the said railroad. We left Philadelphia about sunrise, and arrived at Columbia about 5 o'clock in the afternoon. Relays of horses were in waiting about every ten or twelve miles, and at every horse-station, during the early part of the day, we found considerable quantities of ice, and the people making loud complaints about frosted garden vegetation. The weather was exceedingly cool, and trav- eling in unheated carriages very uncomfort- able, and there was a heavy frost on the suc- ceeding night, which conspiculously manifest- ed itself wherever there was shallow water, and at dripping pump-beds, necessitating much replanting of field and garden products. Subsequently we had sundry cold snaps — one at least as late as the 4th of July, but we can- not recall one of the same magnitude nor yet that occurred in the month of May. It came and went again without leaving any very deep impression upon human memory, and it no doubt will be the same in this case. THE COMING AGRICULTURAL FAIR. The premium list for the agricultural fair, to be held at MoGrann's Park, on September 1, -2, 3, 4 and 5, is now in the hands of the printer, and from a hasty glance at it in the job department of the New Era we have reason to believe that, if the fair is not a suc- cess, it will not be because of the absence of liberal inducements to exhibitors. Horse racing and bicycle racing will be among the features of the occasion, and it looks now as though Lancaster county might win back some of her old-time glory in the direction of big agricultural exhibits and all the other features going to make up a successful fair. Let it come and go, if the people will have it so— and it seems that they will—tor good or ill, (indeed we could not help those rhymes, they just came of themselves.) There is a certain something in the mental and physical organization of the average man and woman that annually needs ventilization, and agri- cultural fairs and other kindred gatherings furnish the necessary safety valve to blow that something off. We have been too inces- santly engaged in our secular occupation for the past six months, to take a hand in any outside enterprise, however creditable it may be, hence we are not as well informed on the subject as we perhaps ought to be ; neverthe- less the above paragraph, which we clip from the -Bra, seems to indicate that the event al- luded to is a foregone conclusion. Projecting, concocting, programmising and conducting those exhibitions, uncompensated, demands a little more patience, self-denial and perse- vering energy than those who practically cul- tivate the soil can well afford to give. Hence those who care nothing for fairs feel no loss by their absence, and those who do interest them- selves can enjoy such gatherings all the better by feeling none of the responsibility devolv- ing upon them. Perliaps the subject of agriculture would be best subserved by dividing it into two branches — agriculture in fun and agriculture in earnest ; or, in romance and reality, or poetry and prose. There are preponderating masses of the funny, the romantic and poetic sides of the question involved ; and these, per- haps, will be on hand in the greatest and most liberal quantity. GRAPE-LEAF FLEA-BEETLE. Strasburg, June 4, 1884. Dr. Rathvon.— Dear Sir: I mail you to- day an insect that is entirely destroying my grapes, and as yet I have failed to destroy it. Please give me his name and some method of destruction, and I shall be inexpressibly obliged. Yours, A. M. Herk, Strasburg, Pa. The infested grapeleaves came safely to hand by mail, and the insects were alive and healthy. They are the larva of the "grape-leaf flea- beetle" (Crepedodera chalyhea) and when very numerous, perhaps the most destructive to the foliage of the grape of any that is known. Early in spring, before there are any grape- leaves to feed on, the beetle comes forth from its winter hibernation, and then feeds upon the leaf and fruit buds of the grape, and is therefore capable of doing much damage. Jarring the vines of a cool morning, and gath- ering the blue and green beetles, at that season of the year, is then the only remedy. Scat- tering unslaked lime under the vines early in spring is said to kill them in the ground. Their nuptial season having come they busy themselves about prolification and per- petuation, after which the females deposit their yellow eggs on the under sides of the young leaves, and from these eggs are hatched the grubs which are now destroying the foliage of your vines. An application of whale oil soapsuds, liquid Paris green, (a tea- spoonful of good green to a gallon of water) or a decoction of tobacco, thrown on the vines by a garden syringe, are now the most effective remedies. After the brown worms, now on the vines, mature, they will go into the ground and become changed to beetles which will come forth later in the season and attack the leaves again, but these are not quite so bad as the larvce. When autumn approaches they will go into the ground or elsewhere and hibernate until next spring, as stated above. When ihey are in the ground lime, lye. or some other eorosive substance are the only remedies that can be applied to the soil. They may be usually found in the debris under the vines, but they also are found in other contiguous places. From causes not clearly known they are more abundant some seasons than others, and are capable of serious injury. Philadelphia, May 29, 1884.^^ Dear Sir : I have received from my place, in St. Mary's county, Maryland, a specimen of a blight, which attacks, apparently, only where taere is young fruit, and the whole of the young orchard. Under the leaves may be found many o^ the insects I enclose. As 1 am recently a member of the Horticultural .So- ciety, I consulted Mr. Satterthwait. He re- commended you as one who would probably be able to give some information, as he did not know anything about the matter himself, never having met with the disease. If you will be interested, would you kindly give some information. Yours, Jas. S. Gillian, M. D., 6008 Belmont street, Philadelphia. Letter and contents duly received, but it would be difticult to convince us that the three large black and yellow Hymenopters, are the insects which you have to fear. AVe found half a dozen specimens of light brown " plant-lice " (Aphids) on the young fruit, but whether they were the cause of the " blight " we cannot say. Ordinarily, these insects are capable of blighting anything they attack in large numbers. ' Usually where plant lice are located there will be found more or less " honey dew," and this attracts ants, bees and wasps, and it often oc- curs that the presence of these insects in great numbers work an injury to the leaves and fruit, upon which this honey dew is dis- charged ; because, the insects feeding upon it, THE LANCASTER FARMER. 83 often scrape anfl scarify the surface of said leaves and fruit, tlirougli wliich it Ijecomcs discolored and wilted. Again, there is an exudation of a saccharine mucilaginous substance secreted by llowcrs and very young fruit, about the time the for- mer are expanding, and the latter are form- ing, which attracts honey loving insects, and these scrape up and lap this substance so closely tiiat the tender skin becomes abraided and discolored. Some years our White Peonies liave been rendered unable to expand their flowers through the presence of a multi- tude of insects which feed upon this mucus, which is most abundant just before the flower bursts from the embraces of the calyx, or are partially blown. The three "wasps" enclosed, are fossorial in their characters— that is, diggers— and tlie larvae are said to be parasitic on the bodies of " grub- worms, " underground. Tliey belon^'g to the genus Tiphia, or are allied to it. Ex- actly when and how the females deposits their eggs on the gruljs is not very clear, but suffi- cient is known to base a pretty clear conjec- ture. The adults feed on honey, or pollen, or both, and are often seen on flowering plants, during June, July and August. " CORREGIENDUM." There are circumstances under which the excessive praises of a friend may be more compromising to our reputations than the criticisms of an enemy. An error which in- advertantly crept into the proceedings of the April meeting of the Linnoean Society seems to involve a case of this kind. The words " obtained by myself," in parenthesis, in the third line from the bottom, of Prof. Stahr's short paper on the collection of Hierucium caroUnicmum is an interpolation by the repor- ter in order to enhance the credit due to the discovery of this plant in Lancaster county. When Prof Porter found a specimen of the above plant twenty years ago, it was not re- garded as a new species to the county, but was thought to be H. foliosum, or if. gronovii, or S. paniculatiim, or a variety of one of these. Hence, when Prof. S. subsequently found it and Prof. Gray identified it as H. mrolineam, it therefore «;as new to the county, or at least the knowledge of it was new. Wlien Prof. Stahr says that Dr. Gray got Dr. Porter's specimens recently to assist him in the study of the COMPOSITJE, he did not refer to this plant specifically, but to all of Dr. Porter's specimens relatins; to the subject ; therefoie, the interpolated words " obtained by myself, " placed Prof. Stahr in a most aggravatingly false position ; and yet there is nothing more apparent than that the reporter did not in- tend to place him in that position ; it was a sort of scientific blunder. There is a vast difference between findin(j or coUecling, and the discovery of a plant ; and yet when (luali fied by a reference to tlie locality it may be quite proper to use the word discovery, al- though the object may not be new to science. Divest the article of the parenthesized words altogetlier, and still a superficial reading of it might lead one to the conclusion that Dr. P. had sent Dr. G. only his specimens of JI. carolinianum, when, in reality, Prof. S. meant all his plants of that genus or family. EXCERPTS. ALL kinds of spice dust are good to mix with the soft food tor poultry, such as pepper, mace, cinnamon, cloves, allspice and ginger. Sujh refuse dust can easily be procured at any spice factory. Ik baby is lioarse at night, take a small piece (if oil silk, rub a little lard or animal oil of any kind over it and fasten it next his skin, over tlie chest. If may be pinned with small safe- ty pins to his wrapper. When lemons are cheap it is prudent to lay in a good store of tliem, as they will keep well by running a fine string tlirougli tlie nib at the end and hanging them up in a dry place, taking care tliat they do not touch each other. TuE mangers for cattle should always be low. Nearly all of tlie mangers and racks of our farmers are high. When a cow has to reach up for food there is a tendency to abuse the tliroat and neck muscles. There are sev- eral diseases that arise from this very cause. A STEER that weighs 1,000 pounds is worth twice as much as one tliat weighs 500 ; but a milch cow that produces 200 pounds of butter is worth much more than twice as much as one tliat produces IOC, for the latter eats as much as the former and gives little or no profit. Ik your windows are narrow, or even if they are of the usual width, and you feel that you can not afford double curtains, single ones may be draped so gracefully that they will answer admirably. They should not be loop- ed back with ribbons, but be pinned or tacked back in several places. Begin to tack or pin back quite high, or you cannot prevent a drawing or awkward appearance lower down. A CROP of corn is essential on all fiirms up- on whicli stock is kept. Being extremely rich in carbon, it not only provides nourishment for growtli but produces heat and fat above all other cereals. According to Dr. J. C. Peters, it is filth that causes most of the diseases of domestic animals. He mentions particularly the habit of allowing bedding and manure to accumu- late under the horses and other animals in the stables. The impure air thus generated is peculiarly well adapted to injure the health of the animals compelled to breathe it. The Jersey cow Princess 2d, which gave the largest yield of butter ever produced, was induced to do so by careful management. Slie was given walking exercise daily, and her ap- petite was stimulated in every possible man- ner. Her yield was remarkable, being twenty- seven pounds and ten ounces of butter in one week, or nearly four pounds per day. As her yield of milk in twenty-four hours was twenty-three quarts, it required only about six quarts of milk to each pound of butter. The milk was but little inferior to pure cream. As a sample of the profits they make in Southern Illinois, Mr. Endicott owned up that he made, clean profit, $4,200 this year from twelve acres of strawberries and grapes. This, he said, was, after the picking and crates had been deducted, the net profit ; and some of the berries, Sharpless, were so poor a crop as to yield only about a dozen crates marketable fruit per acre. His berry for money is the Crescent, with the Captain Jack or Wilson. The grapes. Ives, pay an annual profit of from $200 to $300 per acre, with good culture. In ordci^ to produce nearly twenty-seven pounds of butter in a week Princess 2d con- sumed thirty-five pounds of clover hay, forty- eight pounds of bran, thirty-five pounds of carrots and beets, twelve jMiunds of oatmeal, six pounds of corn meal and six pounds of oil meal. Sucii was her daily allowance, which demonstrates tliat cows which produce large- ly are very heavy feeders. The food con- sumed was nearly three times as much as that required for a common cow, and the profits are mainly due to the fact that the work per- formed by lier dispensed with the labor and care necessarp in order to provide for a large number instead of a few. A writer in the IFome Farm says V "Most soils need salt. Perhaps a word here in refer- ence to salt will not be out place. I might .say it is indispensable to plum and pear trees, that needing from three pints to two quarts to each tree, or about six bushels per acre each year, sown broadcast and not put in large (piantities against the tree ; it had bet- ter be applied at different intervals. In a neighborhood containing large orchards the owners were quite discouraged about their ajiples. As they were very wormy they were all more or less infected. One of the owners resolved to kill or cure, and, owning a meat market, he had a large quantity of old salt and brine. He applied it in the spring to the or- chards in quantities seemingly large enough to kill all the trees. Yet his trees did better than usual, producing a large crop of sound apples, while his neighbors were as bad as ever." An asparagus bed may be made to last twenty or thirty years, the plants are never infested with insects, and the crop never fails. Clover hay is much better for milch cows than timothy. It produces a larger quantity of milk, and also of a better quality. All butter makers know how yellow the butter is which is made from the milk of cows fed on clover hay. The American Agriculturist gives the wise advice to farmers not to strike matches for any purpose in the barn. If the lantern goes out it is better to feel one's way out than to run the risk of burning the barn down with its valuable contents. Putting rings in pigs' noses to prevent rooting is a needless precaution where the animals are to run in an orchard of bearing trees. What rooting is done under such an orchard will not destroy any valuable grass, and the trees and fruit will be all the better for it. It will surprise old-fiishioned poultry grow- ers to learn that the common hawk is regarded !is a valuable bird. He destroys 100 field mice for every chicken, and if tliere is a fair amount of shrubbery around the henyard very few chickens will be lost from his depre- dations. The youngest cow in the world, to our knowledge, belongs to Mr. G. M. Jones, of Cottage Grove Farm, Berkeley Heights, N. J. The Jersey Heifer, Galaxy's daughter (20,000), born on the 15th of December, 18!?2, had her 84 THE LANCASTER FARMER [June, first calf March 17tli, when she was only one year and three months old ; another heifer, belonging to the same gentleman, came in when only one year and five months old. O. S. Bliss pays a just compliment to home butter-making when he says that he thinks none will live long enough to see as good but- ter made from any co-operative establishment as is made in the best private dairies, and he expects to see the best and most enterprising dairymen constantly drawing out of combina- tions and returning to dairy practice. There can be no question that gilt-edge home-made butter is the finest in the world. A METHOD of improving India rubber and gutta percha by the addition of a distillate of birch-bark has lately been brought out. Dis- tillation of the outer layers of the bark pro- duces a dense, black, gummy matter resem- bling gutta percha and capable of resisting the action of air and of the strongest corro- sive acids. It is claimed that the durability of India rubber or gutta percha is greatly in- creased by the addition of a small quantity— a twentieth part is sufificient— of the birch- bark gum. M. Decourneau attributes the cracks in common mortars and cements to the uncom- bined quicklime which they contain. In ord- er to neutralize the lime, he uses a very fine siliceous powder mixed with diluted nitric acid. He thus obtains mortars of much great- er, more uniform and more lasting re- sistance than those hitherto used. The appli- cation of this method has given excellent re- sults. Some made by the process may be worked like the natural product. M. Gley, a French physiologist, has been investigating the effects of brain work on the circulation of the blood. In his experiments he has found that when he applied himself to a difficult subject, upon which he had to con- centrate all his energies, the rythm of the heart was lar more accelerated than when considering some matter with which lie was familiar. A PECULIAR phenomenon ocurred in Au- gust on a mountain of Rhenish Prussia. In the side of the Rrennede Berg a pit of about a hundred square yards in area suddenly opened, emitting a great volume of flame and engulf- ing a house and its inmates. It is believed that the cause of the catastrophe was the ig- nition of gas arising from a petroleum vein in the depths of the mountain. There are so many breeds of sheep and so much said in favor of each that some men may delay, not knowing which to take, and others may be led to believe that some one breed is the one and neglect a good opportuni- ty to purchase some other. But if a farmer will select from any flock he can find a few wide-breasted, broad-backed, deep-bodied, not too long-legged sheep, and put a Southdown ram with them, he will not make a very great mistake. This is John Gould's advice. Experiments to determine the changes of color produced in flowers by ammonia have given these results : Over a dish of ammonia was inverted a funnel, in the tube of which were placed the flowers experimented upon. Blue, violet and purple flowers were found to change to a beautiful green ; deep red flowers to black, and white to yellow. These changes are most striking when the flowers have sev- eral different tints, in which the red lines are turned dark, the white yellow, etc. If the flowers thus changed are placed in pure water they retain their new colors for several hours, gradually resuming their original tints after that time. Another observation made in this connection is that the flowers of the aster, which are naturally inodorous, acquire a very agreeable perfume under the influence of am- monia. A GOOD garden always pays the farmer, as with proper management the work can be done at a small expense. Farm business, in the spring, is always pressing, and the farmer is generally short of help. Much, therefore, depends upon the mistress of the house, who can superintend the management of the gar- den, to some extent. If women of the house- hold would spend more time in the open air, in some healthy exercise, they would add much to their own happiness and health. There is a farmer who is T's Enough to take his E's, And study nature with his I's And think of what he C's. And hears the chatter of the J's As they each other T's ; And saj's that when a tree D K's, It naakes a home for B's. A pair of oxen he will U's, With many haws and G's ; And their mistakes he will X Q's, While ploughing for his P's. In raising crops he all X L's, And therefore little O's ; And when he hoes his soil by spells, He also soils his hose. COMMONPLACE EXPERIENCES IN NATURAL HISTORY.* " Desullorily Doited Down." When I was a "small boy" — about five and sixty years ago — my mother sent me to a village grocery to fetch her some vinegar. Returning homeward I met another " small boy," and in order to have a "small talk" with him, I sat my vinegar down upon the ground, it being in an open tin vessel. I have no recollection what the subject of our conversation was — probably as to the best lo- cality to obtain " fish- worms" — at all events, on looking into the vinegar I was surprised to discover that it was teeming with thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of minute undu- lating worms, or "eels." I called the other boy's attention to it, and he also saw them. I immediately returned to the store and in- formed the grocer that his vinegar was full of worms, and in attempting to demonstrate it to him I utterly failed. He became angry, threatened to box my ears, and ordered me out of his store. I then took it home and dis- closed the same fact to my mother, but failed to convince her also. Neither could I con- vince any of our neighbors, somehow I could not bring them into focal rapport with the vinegar, and I was deemed a falsifier or an idiot. I am not sure that that was pre- cisely the language they applied to me, but it amounted to that. I have no recollection of ever having seen those animalcula; in vinegar at the May meeting of the —save on one occasion — after that event, with the "naked eye;" but very frequently, with the aid of a common pocket microscope. But I had no access to such an instrument then, even if there had been one in the vil- lage. N(^twithstanding the ridicule and the jeering I was subjected to, nothing could shake my confidence in the fact— that I had seen the little eels in the vinegar. Those animalculce, or "eels" as they are frequently calldd, belong to the genus Vibrio, and there are many species of them. They are named Vibrio from their vibratiag or undulating movements. They are included in Cuvier's second order of Infusoria called Homogena. Infusoria comes from the Latin infusum, because they are usually found in liquid in- fusions, when left exposed to the air for a time ; and because they are alike in principal and elemental structure the lesser group is called Homogena. But, they are not found in vinegar alone, but also in various infusions, in paste, in purulent mater, and even in the tartar which collects on teeth. NT)w, in citing this commonplace phenome- non, I desire to illustrate the advantages of giving some attention to natural science in youth before the mind is encumbered by the cares and responsibilities of maturer life, be- cause many things can be detected by the youthful eye that would be entirely overlooked at a more advanced period. Moreover, the practical experiences of youth — when there is a love for science — "come to stay," and can be called into requisition at almost any period of life, if the mind has not become perverted. I well remember when Josiah Holbrook— the advocate or founder of the Scientific Lyceum System in Lancaster county— inoculated me and many others with the "mineral fever.". The small boys of our excursions had greatly the advantage of the adults, or even many of the larger boys, in detecting the smaller ob- jects—such as loose crystals, fossils, shells, arrow heads, &c.— simply because of their di- minished height these objects were brought more immediately within the focal range of their vision. In this connection, but far above the "Vinegar-worm" in organic structure, I must introduce the "Hair-worm," because about this period of my boyhood I noticed the first specimen swimming in a small prol on a public roadside. I secured it and took it home, whtn the "wisdom-chest" of the neighborhood very gravely pronounced it a "living horse-hair," and stated that any hair in the mane or tail of horse would turn into a snake by "soaking " it in water for an indefi- nite time. I conveniently believed it at the time, and so did everybody else with whom I was acquainted ; but, years afterwards, when there arose many doubts about it, I attempted to animate a horse-hair by immersing it in water, and after an experience of six months I abandoned it as altogether untenable, for my subjects still remained lifeless horse-hairs. There are difierent species of these Gordians, or Hair-worms, but our most common species is the Gordius equaticiis. The specific name is derived from the circumstance of their being found usually in water, but there are species that are frequently found near the centre of solid heads of cabbage, and one specimen that came under my observation was found in the THE LANCASTER FARMER. Sb seed cavity of an apple. The generic name comes from the " Gordian Knot "—cut by Alexander the Great— because of the habit they have of tangling or knotting themselves up, making it almost impossible to straighten them out. These animals belong to the Annelids, which compose the first class of articulated animals, and the only class that has red blood. Hence, in Cuvier's classification they stand before crustaceans, spiders and insects. Their most singular characteristic is tliat they pass the earliest part of their developmental period within the bodies of other animals. Notaljly in beetles and grasshoppers. About fifteen years ago I noticed a singular mortality amongst the grasshoppers in the vicinity of Lancaster, and upon investigation I found them infested by Gordians, from three to four inches in length, some of them protruding from one to two inches. The largest specimen I have ever seen was donated to the Linnwan Society last summer. It measures eight inches in length, and was drawn from the body of a large beetle — from the description of which, I conjectured to be Copris caroJiiin— commonly called the "Dor-beetle." The Linniean Society has also a female specimen in its possession tliat has a string of eggs attached to her body. The eggs being very minute, are drank in, or otherwise appropriated by animals, and the development of the Gordius takes place there. The history of the development of the Gor- dians makes slow progress, and is involved in difficulties. Nearly as much was known about them one hundred years ago as is known now. It was believed then that they were fatally poisonous, but that notion has been long since dissipated. It was also be- lieved then that they were really animated horse-hairs, and that belief still exists, and will continue to exist, until natural science is practically made a department in our systems of education. * * * About two years earlier than the events alluded to, I had my Jirst entomologi- cal experience, and it appears as fresh in my memory as it did the day on which it oc- curred. It was in the mouth of .June, 1S17, when I was a little over five years of age. My father led led me into an open chapperal, a short distance from our house, containing dwarfed sassafras, paw-paw, locust, wild- cherry, and other trees and shrubbery, to show me the "Seventeen-year locust." There were thousands of them on the low plants within my reach. Unknown to him I cap- tured perhaps a dozeu of them which I put into my red-leather hat, and clapped it on my head. AVhen I returned home and took off my hat the locusts were all tangled in the hair of my head, and my mother, and some of the neighbors who were present, indulged In a first-class terror ; giving me a rough brushing, expelling the insects and tramping them under foot : of course, I did not know what it all meant, but I was subsequently in- structed that they could, and would sting, and that their sting was fatal. I do not propose to discuss the question— except perhaps incidentally— whether they can sting or cannot, whether they \oill sting or will not, nor whether their sting is poisonous or not. One thing I do know, that I saw and freely handled the " Seventeen-year Locust" in 1817, in 1S34, in is.'jl, in 180S, and if I live until June, 188-5, I shall very probably see and handle them again ; and I cannot say that I was ever apprehensive of being stung by tiiem, at the same time, I would not posi- tively negative their stinging power. There are a great many errors extant in regard to the history and tiie habits of this insect. In the first place, it is not a locust at all. Tlie United States, is perhaps the only country on this planet where the term Locust has ever been applied to it. Various species of tills insect exist in every country on the earth, that has yet been explored ; except perliaps the nortliern regions ; but, I do not think that any species but our own, is in the habit of only making its appearance every seventeen years, (barring a species we also have, which makes its appearance every thirteen years.) Our seventeen year species is a Cicada— the seventeen year cicada," as contradistinguished from our annual or "Dog-day cicada," (the cicada caniculuris.) It is the Cicada septcndecim of LiniiEeus. When I was a boy, and for some time .after- wards, and perhaps at the present day, a notion prevailed and may still prevail, that the cicada or 'Locusts" burrows downward into the earth for eight years and a half, and then turns around and occu- pies the remaining eight years and a half in coming to the surftice again. What would be the use in turning back at all? If it kept right on it would be just as likely to reach the other side of the globe. No, it must have food, and those seventeen years are occupied in sucking the juices of vegetation— having been frequently found adhering to the roots of trees. They probably never go down much lower than the frost line. Their song is not vocal— it is altogether mechanical — and is a sort of drumming, the males being provided with a pair of tumhours for that purpose. Except the occasional flut- tering of their wings, the females are entirely silent ; hence that illnatured old crumudgeon, Xenarclius, has written : "Happy are cicada's lives Since they all have voiceless wives." The females usually deposit their eggs in the smaller branches of trees and shrubbery, and when this takes place among small trees in a nursery, that part of the tree or branch above the incision usually dies. The incision is made with the rasping ovipositor of the female, and as the operation requires consid erable lever power, it is supposed she selects a branch that she can embrace with her feet, in order to get that power. It is questionable whether she could succeed at all on a flat sur- face. I have witnessed the operation and found it slow and apparently laborious. She could not alight on a human body or any other body and inflict an instantaneous sting like a hornet, a bee or a wasp. Neither could she inflict an instantaneous wound with her proboscis. A mosquito can't, a horse-fly can't, nor can any other suctorial insect. It requires some time and efibrt to accomplish this. Hence the stories about their stinging people are doubtful. It is of some importance that animals should be called by their appropriate names ; and yet, outside of the pale of natural science, there is some confusion in the nomenclature both of the Cicada and the Locust. Some years ago I received a newspaper from a town in Tennessess. in which the editor stated that the seventeen-year Locust had appeared in that vicinity, and was eating off the herbage and vegetation in general down close to the ground, and was creating a panic and threat- ening a famine in the land. Now, so far as this relates to what has been wrongly named the seventeen-year Locust, the thing is utterly impossible. If it feeds on anything at all, in its brief period above ground, it must be in a fluid state, because it is entirely witliout masticatory organs ; more- over they are not in the habit of setting on succulent vegetation to any extent, and then only temporarily. They would not deposit their eggs in sucli a plant, because it would wilt and die before the eggs were hatched. That frightened editor must have had refer- ence to the Rocky Mountain Locust, or an allied species ; which, in this locality, would be called a "Grasshopper." It is not at all surprising that the masses of the people should misname things when the same blund- ers are perpetrated by historians, and even lexicographers. If you look into Webster's Dictionary you will find the definitions of Cicada and Locust correct enough because they were given by a naturalist ; but, in illus- trating the latter the publishers have perpe- trated a great pictorial blunder in represent- ing a Locust by a Mantis, commonly called a "Camel Cricket." Although belonging to the same natural order (Ortiioi'teea) yet there is a wide diflerence between a Mantis and a Locust, both in structure and in habit. The Mantis is carnivorous and a grasper, hence its anterior feet are largely developed ; but the Locust is herbivorous and a leaper, hence its posterior feet are largely developed —indeed there is more difference be- tween them than there is between a hawk aud a hen. In Ainsworth's Latin Dictionary the definition of Cicada is given as a sauterelle, or balm cricket ; a grass- hopper ; sauterell being the French name for grasshopper. Now, all these are Orthoptek- ous, or straight-winged leaping insects, but the Cicada has no leaping powers whatever. The same dictionary defines Locusta as a lo- cust ; a lobster, a mischievous insect. The Cicada is a Homopterous insect, because its wings are -homogenous, they are all the same in form and structure, diflfering only in size ; I so you will observe that dictionaries are not always reliable in natural science. The Cicada was known to the Greeks under the name of Tettix, or Tettrix, (this generic name being still applied to a group of Homop- terous insects), and they seem to have been the favorite of every Grecian bard from Homer to Anacreon. Believing " them to be perfectly harmless, and living only upon dew, they were addressed by the most endearing epithets, and were regarded as almost divine." Thus sang Anacreon : Happy creature ! what below, can more happy live than ives thy ver- dant crown, Sipping" o'er the pearly lawn, fragrant nectars of the Little tales thou lov'st to t King. Thine the pure immortal Rich In spirits— health thy feast, thou art a demigod >t leaat.l , tales of mirth — an insect 11, blood nor flesh thy life THE LANCASTER FARMER [June, To further illustrate that the Greeks had a better knowledge of what a cicada really is, than that which exists in some localities at the present day, it is stated that notwith- standing their veneration for this insect, they nevertheless, made it an article of fond, and considered it as delicious ; and Aristotle says, that "the larva, when grown in the earth, and becomes a pupa is the sweetest. " It has often been observed that animals of different kinds manifest a special fondness for the larm and 2nq)a of these insects in our own times. Waiv- ing their edible qualities altogether, the knowledge that they passed their larval and pupal periods in the earth, illustrates that they did not confound it with the grasshopper, because that insect, strictly speaking, has no larval or pupal periods ; only corresponding transitions ; all taking place above ground, its metamorphoses being technically regarded as incomplete. Modern superstitions in regard to this insect are even more silly than those of the ancients. Even in my early days, some people regarded the appearance of the " 17-year locust" as an indication of a terrible war, and they could unerringly point out a " W " on each of their anterior wings, ; not knowing that the zig-zag vienation of the wings, was characteristic of the whole genus, only more distinct in some species than in others. Their "song," (which by the way, was greatly exaggerated by the Greek poets,) has by modern superstitionists, been contorted into " P-har-aoh," associating it with the destructive locusts of Egypt. I remember when I was an apprentice, how my master criticised '■^Rileifs naratioe" because he represented a locust by a big grasshopper. It was like the teacher who was discharged by the school board because he spelled "taters" with a p. Locusta ?ni(/?-atoria is the migrating grasshopper of the Orientals. My next experience in natural history was when a boy, about nine years old. For the first time in my life I noticed on a parsnip plant, that grew in the corner of an enclosure, a singular "worm" transversely marked with black and green. When touched it threw out two yellowish teutacles near the head, which emitted a very disagreeable odor. I broke off the branch to which the worm was affixed, took it home and put it in a paper- box. Some days thereafter when 1 attempted to show my worm to some other boys, lo ! it had disappeared and instead thereof, I found attached to the underside of the lid, a very singular object for which I knew no name, and therefore I called it a "thingumbob," after the manner of many older and wiser peo- ple, when they refer to an object of which they are unacquainted with the name. And just here at this point allow me to indulge in a digression. Many objections are made to the study of the natural sciences on account of their technologies, the Greek and Latin names bestowed upon natural objects, alleg- ing that a treatise on natural history written in the English language should embrace only English names. This is all right so far as it goes, but it has its limit. Naturalists do em- ploy English names in all cases where it is practicable, and where such names exist ; but unfortunately many natural objects have no English names ; and, in making an intelligent record of them they must receive such names as will be understood by the whole scientific world, whether German, English, Spanish, French, Portugese, Russian or any other learned nation; and Latin although "dead" is more universal than any other language. For instance the museums of the world con- tain over 100,000 species of "beetles" alone ; and included in the cla.ss Insecta are more than .500,000 species ; and taking the whole animal kingdom together the number cannot be much less than one million species. How far does the term "Pinch-bug" define the spe- cies of an insect, ? When we know that the whole 100,000 beetles are pinch-bugs. Cur- culio, is a scientific name. become popularized, but there are 2000 species of curculios in the United States alone. How many of these have received common names ? There is the pea-bug, the bean-weevil, the grain-weevil, the rice-weevil, the apple-weevil or plum- weevil, and perhaps half a dozen others. The plum-weevil is a conotrachelus, but there are at least 20 species of that genus. "Colorado potato beetle," or "ten-lined spearman" are surely longer names than Dori/pliora decemlin- eata, and it can be written much shorter than it can be pronounced. The Germans have a small beetle belonging to the Lady-bird fami- ly, which they call "Kugle kaeferaelmlicher Heckenblattkaefer, " but its name in Latin is Chrysometla coccenelloides, and there are hun- dreds of such instances in entomology alone. But, to return to my story of the green and black worm. I could not imagine what had become of it nor how this "thingumbob" had gotten into the box — it seemed a lifeless form of something very odd. Some of the boys said they had seen such things before, others said I was mistaken, and others again intim- ated that I was lying. About a week there- after when I intended to show the singular ob- ject to other boys, behold ! I found the box occupied by a large black and yellow butter- fly. But no one would believe that the but- terfly had any relation to the other object in the box; moreover that was still there, al- though somewhat mutilated. About a year thei eaf ter I found the same kind of a thing attached in the same manner, to the under- side of a fence rail. I detached it, took it home, put it in a box, and in due time a sim- ilar butterfly was evolved. I had simply de- monstrated the transformations of our com- mon hwtterAy —Papilio asterias. I was con- vinced, but I could not convince others, be- cause the very next chrysalis T confined evolved a wasp, nearly as large as our com- mon paperraaking wasp. This not only per- plexed me but it discredited my observations with others. This wasp had dark, bluish, iri- descent wings, and reddish brown body, feet and anteniife. When I say, a wasp, I do not mean the insect that in the ordinary accepta- tion of the term is called a wasp. It belongs to quite a different family from the common wasp, although to the same order of insects. The real American wasp is a "hornet," the Vespa niaculala of entomologists. What, in common language, has been named a wasp, is a Polistes and belongs to a different genus, although to the same family. The insect I allude to in connection with the butterfly, be- longs to a very large family ot parasites called IchneumonidtB, or "Ichneumon flies." Why they are called "Ichneumons," and what an Ichneumon is, will be made manifest before I conclude this paper. I had often noticed a steel-blue wasp, and also a brown and yellow one, resorting to the margin of a mudhole, and there gather a pellet ot mud bearing it off and attaching it to a large mass adhering to a rafter, accompanying the operation by a strid- ulating sound. These, by way of discrimina- tion, were called "mud wasps." They were the Sphex cerulea and macidata of naturalists. I also noticed that they occasionally would bring a spider and push it into these mud-cells, from which it never attempted to escape, although it was not dead— only paralyzed. But I am getting away from the the papilio, a genus that contains the largest, most highly colored species in the world. South America and the East Indies are remarkable for their fine species of Papilionidm. Papilio is simjaly the Latin name of a but- terfly, although this name is now restricted to a certain genus of butterflies. "The white cabbage butterfly," Pieris rapca, is not techni- cally a Papilio, but at the same time it is a Painlionidoe, because it belongs to that fami- ly of butterflies ; just as Tom Jones is not John Jones, although he may belong to the Jones family. When it is defined in a Latin dictionary that a Papilio is a "kind of moth that flits about lighted candles," the definition con- veys an erroneous impression, because the papilios are strictly diurnians or day-flyers, and at night are in repose. Of course, I am not certain as to the species, upon which I made my first observations, but I presume it to have been asterias. This specific name seems to be altogether arbitrary. The Asters or starworts belong to the composite order of plants, but from the fact that Papilio asterias feeds exclusively on umbeliferous plants — such as parsnips, parsley, fennel, &c., I infer it was this species. During the spring and summer months the female asterias deposits her eggs, singly or in small groups, on the leaves of their favorite food plant, and in due time these eggs are hatched by the warm sun. When the young first come forth they are nearly black, but as they increase in age and size, and cast off their skins, the party colors appear. In the worm state it is called a larva, which means a mask, because the insect that deposited the egg is then masked. By a previous preparation, and expert dissection, the pupal form may be detected within the body of the larva. After the larva has fully matured it is transform ed into a, pupa, which means a "puppet," or a babe wrapped in swaddlings. The terms chrysalis, aurelia and nymph mean correspond- ingly the same, although the last name is more frequently applied to such insects as undergo their transformations in the water. The last transformation is trompupa to imago, because the insect is then in the image of the parent that deposited the egg. Many insects, perhaps all of them have parasites which prey upon them. Most of these parasites are very small and in many instances very numerous, but some of them are nearly as large as the host upon which they prey. The female para- site deposits one or more eggs in or on the body of the larva, which is in due time incu- bated, and the little worm then feeds on the body of its host. Sometimes the infested lar- 1884-1 THE LANCASTER FARMER. 87 va dies in that state, but usually not before the developmeut of tlie juvrasite. At other times the larva is transformed into a pupa, in- closing the parasite in tlie cliange, and subse- quently it issues forth from the dead 2»ipo,. It was under these latter circumstances that ray brown "wasp" was evolved. Now, this parasitic wasp does not come forth from the pupa of its host in the orderly evolu- tion which cliaracterizes the transformations of the insect upon which it subsisted— it cuts a round hole through the side, or any wliere else that it is most convenient, and makes its es- cape through that. It, without a doubt, evolves from its own pupa; in an orderly man- ner, but after it is freed from its own pupal shell it avails itself of the only means it has to reach the outer world. And here allow me to suggest that a writer in the Schnol Journal for March, 1SS4, on the transformation of an insect, does not sec "through a glass clearly" when he or she states that a PoZ.i/p/ic>»MS moth evolves from its pupa case through a vest-like fold on the breast. I have always found the breast or sltrnum of the pupa shell intact, and a dorsal suture or cleft through which the in- closed insect had emerged. Sometimes there are also lateral clefts near the point of emerg- ence, and there are also frequently transverse clefts, but they are all dorsal— that is, on the back of the thorax. In some small insects whicli have a delicate pupal covering, we ver/ often find the whole anterior end of tlie pupa pushed off. It often occurrs in the Papilians or butterflies, that after the escape of the in- sect the suture closes again, and but for the light weight and color, a novice could hardly tell whether the imaoo had vacated the prem- ises or not. Under"durance vile" this order- ly process of development may possibly be re- versed, but that is not the normal process. The brown parasitic wasp referred to I long subsequently learned was named Tragus fulvus and belongs to a very different order of insects from that of the butterfly upon which it preys. The generic name is from a Greek term — Trodil — which means a cavern or hole, and the specific name relates to its color, whicli is a light brown or rust color. It is not the larg- est, but it is one of the largest of our parasitic species, and very properly called an "Ichneu- mon fly." Tliese Ichneumons perform a very important function in tlie economy of nature. Some of them are an inch and a-half or more in length, and some of them are so very small that they find sufllcient to subsist upon and complete their development within the cavity of an insect's egg that is barely visible to the naked eye. I presume that you are all ac- quainted with the Egyptian Iclineumon, . ■which belongs to the class Mammalia, and to the order Carnaria and family carnivora of Cuvier, of which there are many genera and species. The typical Egyptian species was named by LinuiEiis, Viverra ichneumon; but Cuvier refers it to genus Mangusta. These animals are celebrated for their combats with the most dangerous serpents, and for having lead to the discovery of a plant (Ophiorhiza mungas) as an antidote to the venom of those serpents. Tliey are particularly destructive to the eggs of the crocodile, to lizzards.to rats and mice, to serpents of all kinds, and they are vigilant in their pursuit of them, killing a hundred times more than they consume ; but the story of their entering the throat of the crocodile in order to destroy it is quite fabulous, although they do frequently destroy the young or immature ones. Notwithstanding this bloodtliirsty characteristic they are said to be capable of domestication, become playful, and learn to recognize theirdomicilesand their masters ; but wo betide the snake, lizzard, rat, mouse or other taboed animal that visits the house. A distinguished writer says : " It presents a lively image of a benevolent power perpetually engaged in tlie service of man, by destroying those noisome and dangerous rep- tiles which are the pests of hot and humid climates." When we contemplate the fearful statistics of the deaths by serpents in the East Indies every year, we may imagine what it would be if it were not for the ichneumons. Now, these are approxi- mately the characteristics of our parasitic, or ichneumon flies, in their relations to the insect world, and to the human family. They are constantly on the keen lookout for some insect or insect larva upon which, or in which to de- posit their eggs, and an insect so infested will never be able to perpetuate its species. There is no nidus into which these insects would deposit their eggs save a living one. If the host were to perish before the maturity of the parasite the latter would also perish, il it ^Ould not betake itself to another living body. How nimble and intelligent they seem a moment after they come into this outer world. I have witnessed a small species (Microgaster congregata) to the number 100 evolving from the body of a single " Horn-worm," [Macro, silla Carolina) and after seemingly leering me for a moment they appeared to indicate that I need not trouble myself in instructing them in the ways of the world, for they knew all about it. A redundancy of the insect popu- lation is always annoying and often very de- structive, but no human calculation can esti- mate what it might be if there were no para- sitic insects, and especially no Ichneumon flics. One more remark and I have done for the present. I am often asked the question — Why it is, that a certain insect only appears every seventeen years, whereas other species of the same genus appear everg year. Well, I can- not tell, any more than I can tell why it re- quires the "Century-plant" so much longer time to develope its bloom, than it does a cab- bage plant. Botli arc perhaps physological questions, contingent upon physical develop- ment. On one occasion I procured and reared to maturity, about a dozen specimens of Pajnlio asterias, in order to get good specimens, all of which transformed to chrysalids within about 12 hours, occurring during the last quarter of Juno. About the middle of July following five butterflies evolved, and about a month later three others. Of the remaining four one evolved in September, two near the end of May in the following year, and the last one in the month of June next thereafter. As the conditions were all the same, so far as I could recognize them, 1 cannot explain tliis irregular development. It may have been a necessary provision, under the circumstances, for the perpetuation of the species, and it may have been contingent upon their artificial surroundings. Mr. John Best, of this city, on one occa- sion, brought me a wood-boring beetle (Hylo- trupes) that must have been in the pine wood drawers and bottom of a sewing machine box for a period of fourteen or fifteen years ; for, it was heard down to only a month previous to its ultimate discovery. lie possessed the machine about sixteen years, and the eggs or larvaj must have been in the pine wood before the manufacture of the box, the outside of which was hard well-sea.soncd walnut. How long it would have reipiired for the develop- ment of this beetle in a state of nature is more than I can say, but I had been in the habit of capturing the same species of beetle annually, in the month of June, for many years. These are physical anomalies that require the deep- est philosophy to solve ; and yet they are effects that cannot possibly be independent of a cause. From this it will be observed that there is yet a vast field of research that is open to exploration and investigation ; and this must be explored and investigated by the rising generations, and they cannot begin the work too soon, nor pursue it too zealously, nor too jierseveringly. Now, from what I have here narrated, you cannot draw a legitimate inference that I in- herited a predilection for natural science; nothing of the kind. I do not think I had ever heard the terms, and I am sure I would not have known what they meant if I had. I am quite sure I had never heard the term "entomology" or any other kind of "ology;" and I am not sure that I had even heard the term "insect." Such names as hornet, wasp, yellow-jacket, bumble-bee, honey-bee, butter- fly, "snake-doctor" (for dragon-fly), blow-fly, shad-fly, cricket, grasshopper, " wooly- wcaver" (for ant-lion) caterpillar, and tumble-bug, including ants and com- mon flies, were quite fiimiliar, and also the ob- jects which these names represented. Doubt- less some men inherit stiong proclivities to- wards certain pursuits, but I don't think I did for the natural sciences. Ijpng trivally spent years intervened between those eaily observa- tions, and the subsequent period when I be- gan to take an interest in natural science. It formulated itself this wise : Seated upon the shop-board on a summer day, about five and forty years ago, with a window ojiening on a garden full of weeds, the blooming umbel of a wild parsnip plant resting on the sill of the window, I noticed a great variety of insects visiting the plant, then flying away and soon returning again. I was perfectly astonished at the number and variety. I had previously been reading "St. Piere's Studies of Nature," in one of which he had related a similar ob- servation, having noticed thirty species of insects visiting a single plant during a sin- gle day. Said I to myself, "I will see how many different kinds of insects will visit this plant in a day," and forthwith I commenced capturing and impaling them on common pins and needles, and as I proceeded I became fired with a sort of enthusiasm; especially as the number far exceeded that of St. Piere; al- though I subsequently discovered tliat the dif- ferentations were largely varietal and sexual. These insects were mainly Hymenoptera and Diptera, the former having four membraneous wings and the latter only two. A few, but only a few were Coleoptera, otherwise named beetles or shield-winged insects. Without THE LANCASTER FARMER. [June, knowing, or ever suspecting that a sort of mimicry exists among the different orders and families of insects; after a more minute com- parison, I noticed it conspicuously present even in this first collection. What I mean is, that certain species in one order or family have their representatives in some other order or family, and resemble them so closely in color and form, that a novice may easily con- found them. Pursuing these embryotic studies, I was one day sauntering along the banks of the Chi- quesalunga when I encountered two men en- gaged in frog shooting. One of them had just shot a large frog and he called my atten- tion to it, from the fact that, although he had shot the whole head oil', the reptile seemed to toss its body about with unabated vigor. I soon discovered that there was something within it that produced its peculiar movements and on opening it I found its stomach occu- pied by a large black living beetle, also two dead ones, and several fragments of similar beetles. These beetles were entirely new to me, and of no ordinary character. 1 secured them and when I reached home I impaled them amongst my other insects. Although I had previously been interested in mineralogy, and somewhat in ornithology, I did not know of a collector nor a collection of insects in the world. One day the late Professor Halde- man, of "Chiques Kock," came into my shop, as he always did when in town, when his keen eyes immediately fell with delight upon my small collection. He informed me that the large black beetles were Xyloryctes satyrus ; that they belonged to the order Oolenptera, and the family Sc.\kabidce in the division Lamellicornia. That definition was about as "clear as mud" to me, and he recognized it with a grim smile. He informed me that he had just come into possession of the collec- tion of, then, the late Professor Hentz, of Alabama, and invited me to come and see it. Of course I availed myself of the first oppor- tunity to do so, and that visit inoculated me with the virus of entomology. Subsequently he consolidated the Hentz collection with one that he made himself, the former being main- ly southern species. Long years thereafter I came into possession of that consolidated col- lection and incorporated it with my own, con- sisting of American and foreign species, so that all that remains of the Hentz-Haldeman collection is now in the museum of the Lin- ntean Society, here, in Lancaster city, and the specimen of Xyloryctes satyrus taken from the stomach of a frog three and forty years ago, remains intact, and constitutes the nuscleus around which cluster ten thousand species of cokoptera from Asia, Africa, Europe, North and South America, Australia, and the West India Islands. There was no hereditary predisposition in- volved in it, as it is merely imitiative, and the result of years of slow, patient, and persever- ing labor. 1 unconsciously cultivated a love for it, and old habits gave way to the "expul- sive power of a new affection." Selections. COUNTRY ROADS. The American visitor finds nothing in Europe to call forth his admiration more un- reservedly than the general excellence of the highways. To Mark Twain the roads of France looked as if they had been "jack- planed and sand-papered." There is nothing in America which excites the surprise of European visitors in a more marked degree than the poor quality of our highways. Herr Lasker declared that the worst thing he saw in Amprica was the roads. Where the coun- try is new and sparsely settled the best roads are impossible. There are so many miles of wheelway and so few people to make and maintain them that smooth roads the season through, can not be hoped for. But a few years ago the whole country was new, and we are still following frontier traditions. Each year, however, as our civilization grows older the demand for all possible conveniences grows more importunate, and this spring we observe a louder clamor for improvement in ous public roads than was ever made before. This demand does not come alone from those who drive for pleasure. The farmers are be- ginning to realize that the mud of spring, the dust and ruts of summer, and the roughness of all the year, bring constant expense. Bad roads double the annual cost of repair upon the farmer's rolling stock. They consume his time. They compel him to go twice to market for what he could carry at one load on a smooth way. They wear out his teams^ They often bring serious injury to promising young animals. Of course, our roads are " worked "every year. That is, the soft muck and wash is scraped up on the track from the ditches, to soak up like a sponge the water from the un- drained bed, and this muck is worked into a mortar after every rain. The only attempt at engineering is the construction of water breaks or "Thankee-ma'ams," which serve no good purpose except, perhaps, to jolt the dyspepsia out of any who may be doomed to bump over them. There is no systematic ef- fort to secure the first essential of a good road, thorough drainage, to wit ; no intelli- gent endeavor to make a smooth, hard sur- face. Now, what is npeded to secure good roads ? First and foremost an enlightened public sen- timent in the matter. Not a mere assent to the proposition that better roads are needed, but a profound conviction that no community can aftbrd to be without them. Local road reform associations, if organized, could ac- complish much by educating the people in this direction. Good roads cost money, and yet the outlay would prove a paying investment for any community. Facts and reasons should be given in public meetings to demonstrate this, until public spirit is aroused and enthusiasm kindled. If any town or county sets about it with a will the reform will be carried, but toad reform is too large an enterprise to be carried through with a half-hearted support. The next step is not to give popular instruc- tion in the art of road-making, but to have it understood that the average laborer cannot make a road any more than he can build a house. Special training is needed for the proper construction of a road as truly as it is for the proper construction and maintenance of a railway. The "jack -planed and the sand-papered " roads of France were not made by farmers who devoted themselves with a team and hand, a plow and a scraper to the task for three or four days each year. Boad- making should be recognized as a distinct business — a profession, and a few skilled and trained men should be employed constantly to do what in many parts of the country is everybody's business. After all, good example will accomplish the most beneficent results. Every stretch of per- fect wheelway is an incitement and challenge to the adjoining district. Any community which reforms its own road system will insure easy traveling in every direction, for the ad- vantages of good roads over bad are so appa- rent when brought to the test of experience that further argument is not needed. An esteemed correspondent writes; "A move in the right direction has been made by a puWic spirited gentleman in Chester county, who is reported to have offered a sum suffi- cient to purchase a steam stone crusher, the amount to be returned in annual instalments of $100 free of interest. And further, he agrees to furnish the stone free until all the highways in his township shall be placed in first-class condition." This means more than good roads for a single township. It means awakening interest and instruction by actual experience for every one who drives over the improved roads. The unnamed gentlemen will encourage a wider reform, and his benetlcent influence will be felt radiating in every direction.— PAiZa. Press. THE MOVEMENTS OF LIQUIDS IN LIVING PLANTS Water is the vehicleof transportation of all substances in a living plant. This liquid com- pound also furnishes much of the material for building up the plant structure. All. the movements of water in a tree, shrub or herb are slow, and their general direction is deter- mined by the relative positions of the parts of the plant which absorb the water from without those parts which make use of it within. Most plants have a large expanse of foliage, from which water is evaporated or transpired, slowly or rapidly, according to the texture of the leaves and the conditions under which they are placed. If the leaves are ex- posed to a hot, dry atmosphere and a bright sunshine, the evaporation may be so rapid as to exceed in amount the weight of the plant, if it be a small one. The main source of absorption is the roots, and it is evident that there must be a flow of tnis water from the absorbing root surface to the evaporating leaf surface. This surface has very little immediate connection with th« processes of plant growth. Its rapidity de- pends upon the conditions above mentioned. When evaporation ceases, as in very moist weather, and the leaves are wet with dew or rain, the flow of water is very slight. This current of water, to meet the wants of evap- oration, passes exclusively through the woody portion of the plant. Sachs, in his work on vegetable philosophy, says: "All the rest of the tissue may be destroyed at any place without the current of water ceasing, if only the wood remains entire." The movements of liquids for purposes of nutrition and growth may take place through any form of plant substance, but they all have issl.l THE LANCASTER FARMER. 89 I 111. ill common, that their direction is toward Ui- |il;ices wliere they are required. If firowtii i^ liiking place at any point, the nearest por- tiniis of surrounding plant suhstauce give up ilh ir liquid and this creates a demand upon till more distant parts, so tliat a current iliiiiiili every fibre may exist from one ex- inmily of the plant to tlie other. I'hf leaves are tlie factories in which the (•uiii|Miunds used in plant growth are made. :iiicl from tliese leaves the assimilated materials iliiw back to all places when they are iH . lied. In our common trees there is a ring ol new wood formed annually next to the bark, and there must necessarily be a flow of the elaborated sap down the branches and trunk of the tree or shrub. In case of the po- tato, the mass of starch stored up in the sub- terranean tuber reached its place of deposit in a soluble form by passing back through the potato stem toward the roots. There is another kind of motion of liquid in plants depending on what is known as root pressure, and is independent of growth or leaf evaporation. This is strikingly shown by cutting oil a small stem close to the soil. The water that will sometimes flow from the stump will amount to several times the bulk of the root. This flow will continue when a pressure or weight is placed on the cut sur- face. This motion is not to be confounded with "bleeding." This occurs when branches previously cold and filled with water are rapidly warmed. The air in the wood ex- pands and forces the liquid out. When the wood again cools the air contracts, and the water gathered upon the cut surface is drawn in again. The conditions for this "bleeding" obtain especially in early spring.— P/ii7a. Press. ABOUT FORESTRY. Prof. Rothrock, of West Chester, the other evening delivered a lecture in Horticultural Hall, Philadelphia, on the subject of Forestry, a needed reform which does not grow out of the whims or fancies of a few crack-brained agitators, but which springs directly from the necessities of the people as civilization ad- vances and as over-crowded population makes political economy requisite. The better to understand the subject, we would state that forestry does not propose to revolutionize any fundamental law or business ; that it does not teacli that to keep a forest intact, timber shall be allowed to stand after maturity, or decay on the ground where it grew, but— we quote the Professor—" it suggests that trees, as fast as they mature, shall be felled, and that young trees, when unpromising, or crowding other trees, shall be cut and util- ized, to make room for rapid growth of desir- able specimens. In other words, the funda- mental law of sound forestry is, grow your timber as fast as possible, then without loss of time realize on it, and plant more ; but do not cut down mature and immature trees as you would mow down a crop of grass," But here is the Professor's strong point, viz., that, while forestry does not contemplate using land for trees so long as that land can be put to more lucrative uses in other crops, it does contemplate using barren ridges, mountain slopes, sandy shores, flats frequently over- flowed by water, and waste lands generally. It is assured that at least six per cent, of the area of this State is in mountain land, which is either too rougli to cultivate or so poor that it would pay better if kept in trees than in cereals, or devoted to grazing. Tliis fact, ho says, has become so prominent in New York State during the past year, that the spruces of the Adirondacks have overshad- owed the entire Legislature and dwarfed every other (luestion by the magnitude of the sentiment which they have created in favor of their protection. The Professor makes the somewhat astonishing statement that our for- ests are more valuable to us than the gold of California or the silver of Colorado. The random talk that the forestry move- ment is accomplishing nothing, he says, will no longer be quietly listened to by the friends of the cause. There are to-day 248,400 acres of forest trees planted in Nebraska, and half as many more growing spontaneously since that State encouraged the protection and planting of trees. It is affirmed that there are 43,000,- 000 forest trees growing there, " where but a few years ago not one could be .seen on her wide prairies." This, the Professor says, the advocates of forestry may proclaim from the house-tops as an astounding example of the strides made by a cause which, in this coun- try, is hardly more than fifteen years old.— Berks and Schuylkill Journal. THE GRASSES. The following experiment is reported by Mr. DeLaune in the "Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society" for 18^2. After the grasses and clovers had grown one year and had become well established, one plot was mowed twice, and a similar plot was mowed six times during the year. The latter was to imitate the frequent cropping of grass by cattle. Green, cut twice 17 qo jo^g' Dried, cut twice 4'49 to,,,' Green, cut six times ox 25 long" Dried, cut six times " 8.^2 tons.' The following shows the amount per acre of the most valuable substances contained in the hay : Nitro- iPlios'c gen. Acid. 229.24' 82.05 23(i.36 90.06 X7.12 xS.Ol Lime. 'S Potash (Jut twice Cut 6 times-— 209.72 121.30 41.95 3-43 279.18 280.9fi DiiTerence -87.42 -4.491 xl.78 We see that from the second piece cut six times deficiency in weight is made up for by superior quality. It contains 7.12 fts. of nitrogen, 8.01 lbs. phosphoric acid, and 1.78 lbs. of potash. It is certain that cattle grazed on the crop of the piece cut six times would have been better nourished than those to which the hay from the first piece would have been given. We should not forget that cattle, in grazing while roaming about, injure the grass more or less with their feet. Aftermaths are richer in nitrogen than fine cuts, and they are more nitrogenous the younger they are cut. They are also richer in phosphoric acid and potash. After- maths are not so easily cured as first cuts, do not look so well, and often do not sell so well. Care of Pastures— The pastures of this country, jus a rule, receive very little atten- tion. Who ever heard of a premium crop of grass ? Pastures are often ruined by allow- ing the cattle to feed on them before the sround is settled m the spring ; thus the roots are cut up and the plants checked for want of green tops to build them up. For growth, a grass needs green (eaves as much as a colt needs fresh air and a stomach to digest his food. Pastures may get too high in spring before feeding, as the culms run to blo.ssom and be- come distasteful to stock. Late close feeding in autumn, especially if the season be a dry one, is a severe drain on the vitality of the plants and cau.se them to he a long time starting in the following spring. Let any one mow a piece after thus feeding in autum, and mow another not closely fed the fall before, and he will see a great differ- ence in the yield. "To improve the past- ures," Professor Stockbridge says, "you must first seek to reform the farmer." When pasture is unproductive, harrow and sow on other kinds of grasses with a top-dressing of some fertilizer. Feed the cattle oil, meal, cotton cake or some other good feed. It is a good practice to permit a part of the pasture to grow large for late fall feed. Concerning the management of grass lands it is quite important not to feed them the first year. Mowing is better and is generally practiced in this country. A pasture cannot do much above ground, till after the forma- tion of a large bulk of roots below. Meadows are often injured by being shaved too closely, by continued removal of hay without any returns in the form of fertilieers. Plaster for clover should never bo neglected, unless the farmer finds in his locality it does no good. — Press. ROOT CROPS FOR CATTLE. The time is again approaching when the farmer casts about him as to the crops he shall put out, which will realize him most money, or which will give him the best results for consumption on the farm. It is pretty goner- ally conceded that in this State, especially in this part of it, too little attention is given to planting root crops as food for stock. Experi- ence has long since demonstrated beyond all question that stock of every kind thrives bet- ter if fed a certain ration of roots, mangles, turnips, beets and the like. In New England this knowledge has been largely introduced in- to practice. Root crops are grown as regu- larly there as wheat and corn. In Great Britain the practice prevails universally. Turnip fields are as numerous in some sections as grain fields, and that is admittedly one of the chief reasons why England produces the finest mutton in the world. Cows, as every farmer knows, are not only exceedingly fond of roots of all kinds, but thrive on this food in a remarkable degree. It not only increases the flow of milk, but tests show that the flow is kept up several months longer where roots are regularly fed. Beets, the chemists tell us, are not rich in nitrogen, but they are excessively so in rich natural juices. They also say the feeding value of roots is small compared with most classes of dry foods. No doubt this is true, but the fact remains that beets act on the animal econo- 90 THE LANCASTER FARMER. [June, my much as lime acts on soils. Lime is not a fertilizer in itself, but it aids the soil assimi- lating the other plant food in it. So roots, when fed with hay or grain, seem to enable animals to derive a greater benefit from them. They also seem to have special properties that conduce to the health of the animals. The avidity with which the latter eat them seems to show that they are almost a necessity with some kinds of farm stock. The above, along with many more considera- tions that might be urged, should induce farmers to plant root crops more extensively than they do hereabouts. There is consider- able variety of choice ; but we should very much like our farmers to try to grow a few sugar beets. They are richer in sugar tlian any other roots and their value therefore greater as a fattening and heating food. They are very productive also and on the whole yield as valuable a crop as either mangles or turnips. From fifteen to twenty tons can be grown on an acre, and such a yield is undoubt- edly worth as much for feeding purposes, in a money point of view, as any other crop tliat can be grown. But we also advocate this on other grounds. Sooner or later sugar beets will be grown for other purposes. They will be needed by the sugar factories that are cer- tain to come along in due time, and which will then make demands upon the farmers which they may not be in a position to com- ply with. The cultivation of the sugar beet, like every other crop, must be learned by care- ful experience. A beginner is apt to raise only half as many tons on an acre as one who has grown the crop for years. It pays to know how the best results are obtained. Therefore let a beginning be made now. "Why cannot a small patch be put out as our experiment ? Half an acre will not be missed by the other crops usually planted, while the cost to the farmer will be moderate. Where much stock is kept, sheep as well as cows, an acre or two would not be too much. While the stock would be benefitted fully as much as the out- lay would cost, and more too, a valuable ex- perience would be gained that is pretty sure to turn into money at no distant day. Let the experiment be tvied.—New Era. CULTIVATING THE ORCHARD. There is a great variety of opinion among farmers concerning tlie best way of managing an orchard. Nearly all agree that at first — during the first three or four years — the or- chard should be cultivated ; that is, some crops should be planted which would in some measure keep the soil stirred, whether the crop be corn, oats, wheiit or potatoes. Rye and corn are hardly the best for the first year, especially for a very young orchard where the trees are small ; and again with a cultivated crop, like corn or potatoes, there is always more or less risk of damaging the trees with the chains, single-tree or plow. Some plant in potatoes and then cover with straw, but so far as my experience goes this is a very poor plan. I had a neighbor once in Illinois who nearly ruined a fine young orchard of fruit set out that spring. The soil was first well plowed and put in good condition before the trees were set out. Later in the spring the whole was furrowed off in rows three feet apart, one way, running the plow as close to the trees as Then the whole plot was planted , in drills, the hills eighteen inches apart. After they had sprouted well, or in about ten days, the whole was covered with straw, from twelve to eighteen inches apart. The orchard had been set out near his house and barn buildings. The trees seemed to do first-rate during the summer, but late in the fall, when the potatoes were dug, the trees showed the effect, as fully four-fifths of them were ruined by the mice. They had burrowed under the straw and had stayed all the time, living on the potatoes and the bark of the young trees. Although a fine crop of pota- toes was raised, yet the damage to the or- chard was greater than the profit on the po- tatoes. In two or three instances I have noticed a crop of vines such as watermelons, pumpkins etc., raised in a young orchard to a good pro- fit, and without damaging it. Oats or sweet corn are good crops, as neither occupy the land for any considerable length of time, and yet long enough to keep down the greater part of the weeds. The usual practice is to plant to some crop, for two or three years, and then sow to grass. This plan is a very good one if in following it out we do not neglect the orchard. If we want to secure two crops in this way from the same land in one year, we must care for it in such a manner that the land will be able to do this, and the only way to accomplish the result we seek is to manure. A good top dressing should be applied if possible every fall ; a light dressing of well- rotted manure spread evenly all over the sur- face—that, too, without any lumps to damage the grass, will prove better and give more profitable results than a heavy dressing given every three or four years in such a way as to damage the grass. The trees should have the soil for a consid- erable distance around the trunk stirred up and good fertilizers applied ; for this purpose wood ashes unleached are very valuable. The worst objection to seeding down an orchard is the tendency to let it take care of itself, after a good stand of grass is obtained. I know of an old orchard that had been ne- glected until it was worse than unprofitable, it was an expense. The owner first plowed up the whole plat as well as he could, and then gave a heavy application of manure early in the winter ; this was spread evenly, not all around the trunks of the trees but all over the ground. Twice during the winter the plat was well harrowed, so as to incorpo- rate the manure into the soil ; early in the spring as soon as the soil could be worked well, the whole was plowed again, harrowed as fine as possible, then rolled and seeded to clover. Since then the owner has realized four fine crops of apples, and has a tip-top clover pasture besides in which he keeps his sheep or hogs. I know of another orchard— and it is a good one— that the owner acknowledges has paid him better than any plat on the farm. He manages it in tliis way ; after the orchard be- came established he plowed the laud in strips, but only plowed between the trees, never run- ning nearer than four feet on either side of trees ; that is, he left a strip about eight feet wide one way of the orchard that was left un- plowed. Potatoes were planted and covered with straw ; in the fall the straw was piled in long rows opposite to the ground plowed and planted the year before, and the potatoes dug the next spring. This soil was plowed cross- ways, and in the same manner as before, and planted to potatoes. This old straw was used to cover again. The next fall the straw was thrown off the same as before, and the pota- toes dug ; after this the ground was well plowed, and at each round of the plow the furrows were filled with the straw, and then covered up the next round. During the twelve years the orchard has been treated in this way, but two applications of other ma- nure— rotted manure from the stable — have been applied. The rotting straw has been of considerable benefit. ^ The fertility of the soil has been kept up, a fair crop of potatoes raised, and the owner, of course, thinks it an excellent plan. One thing is certain, we must enrich the soil if we ex- pect an orchard to prove profitable. The idea that an orchard after it once gets started will take care of itself is a decidedly mistaken one, and if we expect to raise some other pay- ing crop in the orchard extra care in this re- spect must be given. Taking all things into consideration I pre- fer to cultivate an orchard at least three years after setting out, and then give a good appU- cation of manure, put in good condition, and seed to clover, using it then for hog and sheep pasture. In this way the fertility can in a great measure be kept up without extra ap- plication of manure, and although we may cot find the clover a profitable crop for hay, yet it will furnish a very large amount of the very best of hog feed, and then, too, at a very low cost, and by using it in this way we will be able to make the orchard yield as great profits, taking one year with another, as any other part of the farm. — JV. /. Shepherd, in Prairie Farmer. NEW SILK INDUSTRY. The chief attraction at the silk culture ex- hibition at Horticultural Hall last night was the awarding of premiums by Strawbridge & Clothier for the best silk cocoons raised in the United States during 1883. The premiums were awarded on the basis of the quality and quantity of reeled silk yielded by 100 cocoons. There were seventy-seven entries from twenty States for the premiums, which amounted to $500. Mr. Clarkson Clothier, in awarding the pre- miums, said : I come forward this evening to announce the award of the third annual premiums offered by Strawbridge & Clothier to the silk culturists of the United States through the Women's Silk Culture Association. On the first occasion, the number of contestants was twenty-six, from four States ; on the second occasion, the number was thirty-three, from eleven States; this year we have seventy- seven competitors, from twenty States. It is but fair to assume that the growth of silk culture is to be measured by these figures, and the astonishing development of this in- dustry in the last three years is, indeed, won- derful. From all parts of the country come assuring sounds of encouragement. THE LANCASTER FARMER- 91 The industry has developed wonderfully iu 'alifornia, to which State the first premium kvas awarded last year, and in the South and East many are taking hold of the work. Tlie uct being established that cocoons can be produced in paying quantities, the problem became how to have these reeled in suflicient quantities to keep pace with the supply, there being no steam filatures in this section of tlie country and tlio liand reels used here being inade(iuate to the increased task. To develop this important feature of the industry the firm of Strawbridge& Clothier brought to this city a foreign steani reel which is now running suc- [Cessfully iu this hall. By this means the con- itinuous development of the silk from the worm through the successive stages of the cocoon, the reeled silk and the woven fabric becomes ti matter of assured fact, and we see that silk culture, which needs only time to become a •great national industry, is successfully being illustrated in all its stages in this country at the present. This is a state of affairs that is especially gratifying to every citizen, and while we measure the importance of these results thus far attained, it must not be forgotten that to the fostering care and patient work of the imembers of the Women's Silk Culture Asso- Iciation the result is largely due. Let us re- member this, and in thus honoring these ladies whose far-sighted wisdom has foreseen [these results,and whose well-directed energies have produced them, we shall but be giving honor to whom honor is due." First premium, of SlOO, to Miss E. Wools- ton, Pemberton, N. J. There were 160 co- coons to the quarter pound, and the yield in reeling, 1 21-100 ounces of silk, and 2 79-100 ounces of waste. One hundred cocoons yield- ed 70,00 of an ounce of reeled silk. White mulberry was used in feeding the worms. Second premium of $75, to Messrs. Riedze & Mantz, San Jose, Cal. There were 165 co- coons to the quarter pound, and the yield in reeling, 1 13-00 ounces of silk, and 2 87-1000 ounces of waste. One hundred cocoons yielded 08,100 of an ounce of reeled silk. White mulberry was used in feeding the worms. Third premium, of $65, to Mrs. A. Will- iams, Riverton, N. J. There were 173 co- coons to the quarter pound, and the yield in reeling, 17-100 ounces of silk, and 2 93-100 ounces of waste. 100 cocoons yielded 62-100 of an ounce of reeled silk. Osage orange wa's used in feeding the worms. Fourth premium, of $60, to Miss Anna M. Mantz, San Jose, Cal. There were 196 co- coons to the quarter pound, and the yield in reeling, 1 15-100 ounces of silk, and 2 85-100 ounces of waste. 100 cocoons yielded 59-100 of an ounce of reeled silk. White mulberry was used iu feeding the worms. Fifth premium, of $50, to Miss Clara S. Lewis, Virgil City, Mo. There were 190 co- coons to the quarter pound and the yield in reeling was 1 7-100 ounces of silk and 2 93- 100 ounces of waste. 100 ounces yielded 56- 100 of an ounce of reeled silk. Osage orange was used in feeding the worms. Sixth premium, of $50, to Mrs. George Derr, Germantown, city. There were 170 cocoons to the quarter pound, and the yield in reeling was 92-100 ounces of silk and 3 8-100 ounces of waste. 106 cocoons yielded 34-100 of an ounce of reeled silk. White mulberry was used in feeding the worms. Seventh premium of .$40, to Mrs. vV. Hayes, Chester, Pa. Tliere were 208 cocoons to the quarter pound, and the yield in reeling was 1 11-100 ounces of silk and 2 89-100 ounces of woste. 100 cocoons yielded 53-100 of an ounce of reeled silk. Wiiite mulberry was used in feediug the worms. Eighth premium of .$30, to Mrs. Augostiria, PhiliMlelphia. There were 236 cocoons to the quarter [lound, and tlie yield in reeling was 1 23-100 ounces of silk and 2 77-00 ounces of waste. 100 cocoons yielded .53-100 of an ounce of reeled silk. White mulberry was used in feeding the worms. Xinth premium, of $'.'5, to Mrs. Anna Ilusted, Liberty, Ind. There were 182 cocoons to the quarter pound, and the yield in reeling was 96-100 of an ounce of silk and 3 4-100 ounces of waste. 100 cocoons yielded 53-100 of an ounce reeled silk. Osage orange was used in feeding the worms. Tenth premium, of $10, to MissM. B. Low- ery. Portsmouth, Ohio. There were 233 co- coons to the quarter pound, and the yield in reeling was 1 13-100 ounces of silk and 2 87- 100 ounces of waste. 100 cocoons yielded .50- 100 of an ounce of reeled silk. Osage orange and White mulberry were both used in feed- ing the worms. The association has prepared a memorial to Congress indorsing the act providing for the creation of a silk culture bureau abd establish- ing silk culture stations under the direction of the National Government. DISEASES OF THE SUMMER. These diseases occur at all seasons of the year and in all climates, but they are most common within the tropics and elsewhere most frequent in hot seasons. From the mor- tality list of the city of Philadelphia it is found that the deaths from these affections during the summer as compared with the win- ter is in the proportion of three to one. The causes of diarrhcea are numerous— exposure to cold and wet, exposure to intense heat, drinking of foul water,exhaustion and fatigue over-exertion, but the most common cause is disturbed or arrested digestion. The diarrhoea which follows imprudence in eating is familiar to every one. The imprudence may consist either in over-eating or in the use of improper food, as unripe fruit and raw vegetables. Dis- turbance of the nervous system and intense mSntal emotion occasionally give rise to a transient diarrlioia. Tlie case is reported of a surgeon who, while performing an important operation was so affected by anxiety and the sense of his responsibility, that a violent at- tack of diarrhtea immediately came on, and he was obliged to relinquish his instruments and retire from the room. Although diarrho'a is a symptom of disease rather than a disease itself, yet in many cases it is the chief symptom, and with the relief of the diarrhcea a cure is established. It is a symptom of many different diseases, as of con- sumption, some forms of Bright's disease, typhoid fever, congestion of the liver, etc. Diarduea is generally free from danger,except in the ct.se of very young children or in aged persons with enfeebled constitutions, or when the diarrhoea has been long continued and severe in character. Fortunately, the greater number of the cases of summer diarrhoea in adults are of a simple character and cease upon the removal or avoidance of the cause, which is, as a rule, not difficult to discover. In the treatment of cases of diarrh(ea, the first thing will be the removal of the cause. If it arises from the presence of some offend- ing material in the intestinal canal, it must be got rid of by the administration of a dose of rhubarb, castor oil or some other liixative. Rest is an important factor in the treatment, recumbent posture as nearly as possible. The diet must be regulated. All articles difficult of digestion must be eschewed ; rich and greasy food, vegetables, fruits, and generally solid animal food. Milk and milk-foods, the lighter starch foods, rice and the like, arrow- root and sago, custards, meat-broths, dry bread a day old or toasted, make up the bill of fare. A warm poultice or a mustard plaster may be applied to the abdomen. If any treat- ment further than this is needed, it should be under the direction of a physician. Dysentery has been known as a disease since the earliest period of medical history. It is a disease of hot climate ; within a belt of 35° north and south of the equator there are lands never free from it. With us it is rare in the epi- demic form except in military life, but is com- mon enough as a scattered or sporadic dis- ease in the hot season, to be classed properly among the diseases of summer. Unlike diarrhoea, dysentery is a disease, not merely a symptom ; the epidemic form is thought to be a specific disease, and caused by a specific poison. The characteristic manifestations of the disease are distressing, twisting, colicky pains in the abdomen, with a constant tor- menting desire to have the bowels moved, and violent straining and bearing down pains, these efforts resulting in the passage of small amounts of mucus or blood, or these com- mingled, often nothing more. The disease may last from four to twenty-one days, or may pass into the chronic form, when it is often most intractable. The immediate mor- tality from this disease varies from five to thirty per cent, of those attacked. The causes of the disease are much the same as those that cause diarhoea. This is often times a serious disease, and the responsibility of the manage- ment of each case should be promptly trans- ferred to medical hands. Summer Colds. There is scarcely one of us but knows what it is "to catch cold," and the disagreeable sensations attending the process. The pre- disposing cause is fatigue, mental or physical exhaustion— in a word, that condition of the nervous system which we call "tired." The immediate causes are : A lowered tempera- ture, air in movement, and moisture, or some combination of these three. Although colds are most common in cold and damp weather, they are by no means unfrequent in summer, without doubt by reason of the greater physio- logical activity of the skin, and the temptation to relax our customary watchfulness in such matters. A "cold in the head" is a minor hardship. at any time, but a summer cold is a hardship indeed. It is easy to catch and much harder to get rid of, being kept up by 92 THE LANCASTER FARMER. [June, the Hcliou of the slightest puffs of air upon or over sensitive skin, and by the local irritation of dust, the perfume of flowers and the pollen of plants. The popular opinion that this kind of a cold is apt to last longer in summer is based upon correct observation. Sometimes a person engaged in the usual pursuits of life, unconscious of any change in his surroundings or of the weather, becomes suddenly aware that he has caught cold. More often perhaps, \>y some imprudent change in clothing, or when tired and ovcr- lieated by sitting near an open window court- ing the welcome breeze, the cold is produced. There is a marked ptcdi.sposition to take cold on the part of certain persons. Such persons are usually wanting in physical power, are feebly organized, with sensitive skins prone to perspire on the slightest exertion, often neuralgic. They lead sedentary lives and take but little exercise. The every day expression, "I have a cold," means, in the vast majority of cases, that the person suffeis from some mild, acute, inflam- matory trouble of the throat or nasal passages ; oftenest the latter. The symptoms are so well known as to make an enumeration of them unnecessary. The Germans call it "schnup- fen," a word almost equivalent to our " snuffles," which is very expressive. The old idea that the secretions of catarrh came di. rectly from the brain, an opinion still vaguely entertained by the people, was proven to be false several centuries ago. The discharge is derived from the mucous membrane which lines the cavities of the nose and extends as a lining membrane into the hollow chambers occupying the forehead. In the earliest stages such time-honored measures as a hot foot-bath of mustard water and hot lemonade, with a tablcspoonful of whisky, are excellent ; but they must be taken in the beginning to do the good they are capa- ble of ; and it is not to be forgotten that harm may come of imprudent exposure next morn- ing. A plain nutritious diet, the sparing con- sumption of fluids, attention to ventilation and the temperature, and to the weight and warmth of clothing, are required. Preventive treatment consists in attention to the general health, and the greatest care in avoidance of exposure when fatigued. An over-sensitive skin may be hardened by systematic cold or lukewarm sponging, and by regular exercise in the open air.— C. H. B., in New Era. GREEN PEAS. Firat see .that the peas are young and fresh, and be ready to boil them as soon as they are out of their pods. Take two quarts of water and put it in a saucepan with a quarter of an ounce of salt. After it commences to boil skim it well, and then put in your peas. One quart will be enough for the two quarts of "Water. Let them be uncovered, and boil them briskly. If they are young and fresh, fifteen minutes will be sufficient to cook them. Now remove them from the fire and drain them, and put them in a clean saucepan with about a quarter of a pound of good butter. Season them with a little salt and a pinch of pulverized sugar, then stir them an instant over the fire and serve at once. If the flavor of mint is not objected to, the pe&s may be boiled with a small quantity added to water. Another method (Dr. Kitchener's).— The peas must be young ; it is equally indispensi- ble that they be fresh gathered and cooked as soon as they are shelled, for they soon lose their color and sweetness. Pass the peas through a riddle, that is, a coarse sieve which is made for the purpose of separating them. This precaution is necessary, for large and small peas cannot be boiled together, as the former will take more time than the latter. For a peck of peas, set on the fire a saucepan with a gallon of water in it ; when it boils, put in your peas with a tablespoonful of salt. Skim it well, and keep them boiling quick from twenty to thirty minutes, according to their age and size. The best way to judge of their being done enough, and indeed the only way to make sure of coekiug them to and not beyond the point of perfection, or, as the pea- eaters say, of "boiling them to a bubble," is to take them out with a spoon and taste them. When they are done enough, drain them on a hair sieve. If you like them buttered, put them into a pie dish, divide some butter into small bits, and lay them on the peas. Put another dish over them, and turn them over and over ; this will melt the butter through them. But as all people do not like buttered peas, you had better send them to the table plain as they come out of the saucepan, with melted butter in a sauce tureen. It is usual to boil some mint with the peas ; but if you wish to garnish them with mint, boil a few sprigs in a saucepan by themselves. A peck of young peas will not yield more than enough for a couple of hearty pea-eaters ; when the pods are full it may .serve for three. Never think of purchasing peas ready shelled, for the cagent reasons assigned in the first part of this recipe. Another method. —Take a quart of fresh- shelled young peas and put them in a pan of cold water. Then place in a saucepan the heart of a head of lettuce, an onion and a piece of butter. Now take your peas from the water and (without draining them) put them in the saucepan, adding three or four lumps of white sugar and a little pepper and salt. Cover the saucepan and set it where the contents may stew briskly until tender, removing the lettuce and onion before serv- ing. A sprig of mint may be added in the cooking if liked.— P/w7affeZp7iia Press. Our Local Organizations. LINN/EAN SOCIETY. The Linnaean Society met on Saturday, May T?l, 1884, at 2:30 P. M., President Hon. J. P. Wickcreham in the chair. Before the regular meeting Dr. Rathvou read an interesting and instructive essay on " Com- monplace Experiences in Natural History,'.' in the lecture room of the Y. M. C. A., which was atten- tentively listened to by quite a good sized audience. After the public meeting the general meeting was held in the Museum ante room. Dues were collected and minutes of previous meeting after being proper- ly corrected, were approved. Donations to Museum. Mr. J. M. WesthaefTer donated a fine cage speci- men of the Virginia " Corn Cracker" Cardinalis Virginianm which, from some unknown cause, had died. This bird in its time has been honored with many, both scientific and common names, not neces- sary to mention here ; the latter of which were main- ly local. It has the reputation of being a fine singer and usually bears confinement well. In my youth I knew of one owned by a farmer of Donegal township, and whom I frequently heard fay that he owned it fourteen years and he could not tell how old it was when it came into his possession, nor do I know how long it lived after I left the farm. This bird breeds in Lancaster county, and on several occasions I have known it to pass the winter in th« woods contiguous to Chiques Hock. Belonging to the great finch family Frmgillklae, it naturally feeds on seeds and berries, and in the absence of these it would also feed on insects ; at least the individual alluded to in reference to its longevity, was educated to partake of insects, especially grasshoppers. It is said to be one brooded in the Middle Slates, but two or even three brooded, in the South. A variety or sub- species from Arizona Cardinalis Virginianus ifineus, lacks the black frontlet about the base of the bill, and another variety Coccinem, from Central America and Mexico, is more richly colored than our variety. A specimen of the so-called " grey eagle," or " Bird of Washington," was purchased by the cura- tors for the use of the society, which was shot by Mr. H. A. Fox, near Oreville, May the 5th, 188i. The villagers for some weeks had noticed a diminu- tion of their poultry stock ; and seeing this bird on a tree on the keen lookout, Mr. Fox " brought it down" as the depredator. Dr. Elliot Cones says: " Those who, upracticed in ornithology, may be puzzled by accounts of numerous eagles may be interested to know that only two species have ever been found in the United States"— namely, the "golden eagle" Aquila ceryscetus and the Bald Eagle, Haliaetus leuco- cephalus. Neither the male nor the female of the latter species acquire the white head and tail until they are fully three years old. The "sea eagle," " grey eagle," Washiagton's eagle, or what- ever other name they may be known by, are merely immature specimens of the " bald" or " white- headed eagle." "In any plumage the two species maybe easily distinguished by their legs." In the golden eagle they are feathered down to the toes, but in the bald eagle the shanks are naked. This individual then may be regarded as an immature specimen of the bald eagle. Ornithologists generally consider that the name of bald eagle is inappropriate- ly applied to this bird, for its head is as densely feathered as any other birds. That name would be more suitably applied to vultures or turkey buzzards, or any other bird that has a naked head. Among the early objectors to the adoption of this bird as our national symbol was Dr. Franklin, on the ground that it is " a mean, dislionest robber" — a great gormand. fond ol fish, but lacking the courage or agility of an honest fisherman ; nevertheless hav- ing sufficient of those qualities to constitute a thief or robber. Perched upon an eminence, with keen eye it watches the "osjirey," or "fish-hawk," and as soon as the hawk secures his prey and is about bearing it off 1o his family, the eagle with lightning ^e^d, darts after him, compels him to reliu(,uish it, which he usually does with distressed scream, when the eagle darts after it secures it before it reaches the water, and bears it off in triumph to his own eyrie, and there voraciously devours it. Both the mature male and female possess the white head and tail, but the female is the larger, the deeper colored, and the most courageous of the two, characteristics which distinguish most of the Palco. nlda. The bald eagle, in an emergency, will resort to carrion food, driving off and keeping at bay the buzzards, until he has "gorged his beastly stomach." But, with all these drawbacks, in full plumage, they are noble looking birds, and perhaps would be noble minded if no obstacles interposed, and they could follow the natural bent of their inclinations. They are said to be capable of great endurance and denial, passing a week or more without partaking of any food. On dissection, it has been discovered tnat the ovarium of the female contains a very large number of eggs, and all nearly equal in size, and yet they are but one brooded, and have only two in a brood. Con THE LANCASTER FARMER. 93 jecturc6 have been founded on these facts, that the natural life of this bird is probably one huudred years, as it would require that length of time to ex- haust all the eggs. Fifty and sixty years of a life 'tenure has been recorded in several instances, and that it might be longer, would not be impossible. According to Mr. Fox's measurement of this bird. Its aler expansion is nearly seveu feet, which is near- ly the average of the species, therefore it is probably nearly three years old. A species of bat, donated by Mr. Fisher, who keeps a fruit stand in front of the post-offlce, who captured it upon his premises. This is probably Vespertilio mouticola, If It is not a variety, or an im- mature " Hoary Bat." Mr. Hiram S. Kendig, of Bart township, donated a number of fragmentary specimens of chrystalized schorl, from that locality, where thoy occur In the soil. Many varieties of this mineral exist, according to their chemical corapisitions, under the names of Tourmaline, Aphrite, Jlubetlite, Jitdicolile, AphrizUe and Turmalin. The most abundant variety is black, but it also occurs red, green, blue, brown, yellow, pink and occasionally white. It has a very irregular and complicated chrystalizatlon, but perfect ones are rarely found except in certain localities. It is one of the components of granite, gneiss, etc. Mr. Jonathan Moyer, of Couoy township, donated a flower of the "Squaw Root," also called "Cancer Root" (Conopholus Americana) which he found growing in a large cluster beneath an oak tree in that township. It is a thick, scaley spike, the scales covering each other similar to those of flr-concs. Gray says, specially, lu reference to them, " Oak woods ; not rare, growing in clusters among falling leaves, In May and June. A singular plant chestnut colored or yellowish throughout, as thick as a man's thumb, .3' to 6' long, covered with scales, which are at first fleshy, then dry and hard. (Many long years ago we kicked one of these clusters to pieces on an oak ridge now included in Duffy's Park, near Mari- etta, Pa., without knowing what it was, at least neither the names " Squaw Root" nor " Cancer Root" were associated with it, and we think we sub- sequently found one or two clusters in a contiguous woods, but these woods have long since passed away and only cultivated fields occupy the locality. — R.) This plant may prove something else, but it seems to agree very well withi Prof. Gray's description of Conopholus Americana. A friend donated a curious potato, having a smaller one growing from a cleft in the side. Mr. Lewis Haldy donated a collection of twenty-five typical specimens of minerals trom mines in Color- ado and Rocky Mountains. The specimens consist of gold and silver bearing minerals and their accom- pany gaugiie minerals. Each specimen is numbered and a printed list accompanies the collection. The " Hoary Bat" donated by Mr. S. McComsey at last meeting, lived one week and then died. It is now deposited in the museum properly labeled. Walter P. King donated the four following specimens of plants some new to the county list : Pcnatemon lavigatns, Solander; ChonridiHa juncea, Lin.; Sagit- taria ptisilla, Nutt; and Jlabenaria herbiola, Gray. These were collected during the summer of 1881-2, S. M. Sener donated specimen of a small orange found enclosed within a larger one. The specimen is conformed to the core of the larger one and is quite unique ; also a bottle of insects {coleoptera of various kinds) collected In the summer of ISsH. Dr. 8. S. Rathvon exhibited a fine cane made from a cactus plant. This is a beautiful pieci o( w.>rkman- ship, and was presented to the doctor by his son, Harry Rathvon, who is here on a visit from Texas. Donations to Library. S. H. Zahm i!c Co.'s third catalogue of new and second-band books ; United States Patent Office Onje«f, Vol. 37, Nos. 8 and 9; thirteenth price list and English garner of publications, from E. Aber, Birmingham, England, (with a request to distribute the duplicates sent along); second annual report of United States Geological Survey for 1880-81, a quartj volume of 588 pages, illustrated with 61 colored plates : one folded map, and 32 plain and colored diagrams, sent from J. VV. Powell, Director of the Survey, in exchange for Fahmbrs sent to the De- partment; Farmek for .May. 1884; Linnaan BuUe- tins for March and April, 1884. Two pamphlets from Onedia Historical Society, Utica, New York. Copy of reprint of Marshc's Junnial, Lancaster, 1744, with annotations by Dr- Egle, of Harrisburg, (printed in the -Vtw Era recent- ly), from editor of New Era; catalogue and price list of stamps and seals manufactured by the Noith- western Stamp Works ; list of brands for cattle used by Wyoming Stock Raisers' Association ; envelope of twelve scraps; six railroad maps in United States and Canada; three bound manuscript volumes, containing the constitution, bylaws, proceedings and rules of officers and members of the Friendship Fire Company of Lancaster city, from the 10th of December, 17(i:i, to Its disbandment, on the 24th of April, 18S4, cov- ering one huudred and twenty-one years of its active life, donated by said company through Mr. Ualdy : Vol. 1 contains proceedings from Dec. 10, 1765, to Dec. I'i, ISIO; Vol. 2 contains proceedings from Jan. IS, 1817, to Dec. 24, 1851 ; Vol. 3 contains proceed Ings from Jan. 18, 1852, to April 24, 1884 ; James Bickham, the first president ; Michael Hubly, the first clerk ; Ludwick Lauman, the first treasurer In the list of the first members Is the name of George Ross, one of the signers of the Declaration of Inde- pendence. On motion a vote of thanks was tendered the donors to the museum and library for donations, and especially to the Friendship Fire Company for its valuable donation to the historical collection of the Linnaean. (The Linnajan has quite a collection in its historical department, and as a historical society is often lamented in Lancaster, people seem to forget that the Linnaean collects historical matter referring to our city and county.) The following communication was received from Prof. Stahr in reference to the proceedings of the May meeting : Lancaster, Pa., May 28, 1884. To THE LiNN^AN Society : I deeply regret my inability to attend your regular meeting on the 31st Inst., and as I cannot be person- ally present, I beg leave to present this communica- tion for the purpose of making a personal explana- tion and a correction. It win be remembered that at the last meeting of the society I presented a specimen of Uieracium Caro- iiniaimm, Freis, which I found last summer near Willow Street, in this county. In the published pro- ceedings of the society it is said that 1 "discovered '' this plant, when, in fact, 1 made no such claim. On the contrary, in the short paper which I read on the subject, rdistinctly stated that my friend Dr. Porter had found it more than twenty years ago, and that he induced me to look for It last summer. He dis- covered it, and I, after its character was determined, merely established the fact that it grows there today and is one of our genuine species, hitherto not sup- posed to be found in this county or in this State. When Dr. Porter first collected the plant referred to it was sujjposed to be a variety and not a distinct spc-iet. lis specific character was only recently de- termined by Dr. Gray, who is carefully working up the compositaj and making a rigid examination of the diU'erent genera and species. In my paper (hastily written I must confess) 1 meant to say that Dr. Gray got'Dr. Porter's specimens of the compositoe, and among them the Uieracium collected by Dr. Porter at Willow Street long ago, and, upon close examina- tion, he (Dr. Gray) found that the plant in question belongs to a distinct species not heretofore recognized In this part of the United States, viz.: Hieracium CaroUniannm, Fries. Dr. Porter Informed me of this fact, and requested me to see whether I could find the plant in question, and, if so, to collect a number of specimens, which I did, and which I recently had the pleasure of placing In his hands. One of them, at Dr. Porter's suggestion, I presented to this society at Its last meeting, with a few words of explanation. You may imagine, therefore, how vexed and morti- fied I was to find In the published proceedings of the society, and over my signature, what is Intended to be a copy of the paper read before you, so changed by the insei tion of three words that It makes me ap- pear la an entirely false llffhl, and do grave injustice to Dr. Porter. I said : " Prof. Gray, who is at pres- ent studying the composite! » « » recently got Dr. Porter's specimens, and he pronounces it IT. Caro- linnnum, Fries." In the published proceedings the words " obtained from myself " are inserted In paren- thesis after " specimens," thus conveying the im- pression that I furnished these specimens to Dr. Porter, when I might just as truthfully say that I furnished the material of which the moon is made. By " specimens " I meant speclmrns of composite, and l)y " It " the plant in question found among these bpecimens. The words "obtained from myself" I did not write, as you will find by referring to the original paper In your |M)6se6sion, and they were In- serted without my knowledge or consent. The In- sertion, I am willing to believe, was not made with any wronir intention, but under a misapprehension of the state of the case. But as the paper has gone forth In this form I desire that the correction be made on the minutes and circulated wherever this part of the prneeedlngs has been published. Very respectfully, John 8. Stahr. Bills of $7 for purcliase and mounting of eaele and red bird, §1 for printing certificates of membership, ?1 for printing Linnaan Bulletin, and 25 cents for postage were presented and ordered to be paid. Mr. John Burrows having moved to Memphis, Tcnn., was changed from an associate to a cor- resi)oiiding member, on request, and by motion the secretary was authorized to have last year's volume of Proceedings of Academy of Natural Sciences bound. Committee on Constitution and By Laws handed in a draft of a new Constitution. On motioii the Constitution was read and adopted in due form. Committee continued to next meeting, when a new series of " Rules and Resolutions " will be presented and acted on. On motion Dr. S. 8. Rathvou's Inter- esting and instructive essay was ordered to be printed in the Farmer. Society adjournod to meet on Saturday June 28th, 1884, at 2 P.M. FARMERS' INSTITUTE. The first series of meetings having for their object the better instruction of farmers on suqjects of most importance to them, was Inaugurated in the Court House, on Wednesday morning, June 4th, 1884. When the meeting was called to order, shortly after ten o'clock, there was a fair attendance of farmers and others interested in the subject of agri- culture, including several ladles. The Institute was called to order by Mr. J. C. Lin- ville, who announced the following officers : President— Dr. James P. WIckersham. Vice Presidents— H. .\I. Engle, Joseph R. Black- burn, James Wood, Calvin Cooper, H. G. Rush, 8. 8. Spencer. Secretary— J. C. Linville. Committee on Reception — J. P. Wickcrsham, 8. P. Eby, W. H. Brosius, K. R. Dillenderfi'er. Committee on .VIembcrship— M. D. Kendig, I. L. Landis, Johnson Miller, Levi S. Reist and Joseph F. Witnier. Upon taking the chair, Dr. WIckersham said he appreciated the honor, but thought a wiser plan would have been to have selected a practical farmer to preside ; but they have seen proper to call upon him to preside, and he never shrank from any duty Imposed upon him. He then briefly recited the man- ner In which the Institute came into life. These. In- stitutes, he said, had never before been held in this State, but in many of the other States and counties they have been in existence lor many years. The purpose of this Institute is to increase, if possible, the knowledge the farmers have on the subject of agriculture— to form a sort of agricultural school. He introduced Dr. James Calder, of Harrisburg, who made a short address on the subject of " Grape Culture." Among the fruits given us by God, one of the finest Is the grape. Of the twenty varieties of grapes that have originated in the Keystone State, the Martha has achieved a world-wide reputation. Of those which originated in other States, the Concord is the grape for the million. It will grow anywhere and stand any kind of neglect. It is very easily managed and generally bears fruit in abundance. The Cataw- ba stands deservedly above the Concord as a wine- making grape, bu! unfortunately It will not succeed in every section of the State. In his experience in the culture of tlie Catawba, he found that It would not bear after becoming several years old. He was now trying an experiment by which he will train his Catawba vine so that the fruit-growing branches THE LANCASTER FARMER. [June, shal' !VTe be lower than ten feet above the ground. The o'rape will grow in almost any soil, but the soil we should turn from is clay soil. It is an old saying that the grape does not like wet feet, and he would advise planting on stony ground, if he desired the best and sweetest fruit. In setting out a vine- yard he would put the vines ten feet apart, for they like plenty of room. He advised the use of trellises instead of stakes. If he was setting out a vineyard now, he would buy strong yearlings, and train them up to a stake, cutting them back to two buds, with the understanding that only one was to remain. As soon as they commenced to grow he would pinch oft the weakest of the two shoots. The next year he would cut them back to three buds, and afterwards remove the weakest of them. The third year he would erect a trellis and train his vine in two direc- tions. In pruning, which he usually does when the leaves begin to fall, he allows every alternate arm to grow for fruit, cutting the other arm back to about one eye. Dr. George B. Loring, United States Commissioner of Agriculture, was next introduced and after apologizing for the short time he would be able to be present at the Institute, congratulated the members for the good attendance exhibited. He said that in coming from Philadel- phia to Lancaster this morning, he traveled over GO or 70 miles of a Farmers' Institute. He then bore testimony to the excellent farming he saw exhibited In this State and county, and compared it with his own farm in Mapsachuselts, where the grass is so short that a Pennsylvania cow would despise it, and where the wheat is so meagre that a Lancaster county farmer would refuse to cut it. The State of Pennsylvania presents a picture of enterprise and prosperity, especially among the farmers, second to none presented anywhere under the sun. The gentle- man compared the farmers of America, with those of European countries, and said that while we hear a great deal about the farms in France, there is not a single farmer present who would accept in a sintrle instance the condition of things on a French farm. The same may be said of the farms of Germany, England, Italy, China and Japan, in the last two of which he said a Lancaster county farmer would not stay fifteen minutes. He said there was no such thing outside of America as popular, practical, pros- perous farming. The business of farming— on which the State is living to-day— is the supply of a local market, and covered with railroads, as Pennsylvania is, there is no wonder that it is classed as one of the best farm- ing districts for home consumption in the country. Take all the crops that are sent into a market rapidly, such as small fruits, and there is no question of the profits that will he reaped. It is more profit- able to raise articles for a home market than it is to raise staples for a foreign market. The boom of American farming is one that cannot possibly be en- joyed anywhere outside of the bustle and whirl of the American life. The condition of the farmer's life in this country Is vastly dift'erent from that found elsewhere. The State of Pennsylvania today can feed, clothe and educate .50,000,000 of jieople better than she could feed, clothe and educate .50,000 people years ago. Is it any wonder that the people from all lands want to emigrate to America and settle in Pennsyl- vania. It Is a good thing to have a profitable farm, but it is a better thing to own your own farm, so that at your death you can say who shall have your farm after you have passed away, and this is a privilege the Ammerican farmer especially enjoys. The in- dividual ownership of laud is really the solution of important questions both at home and abroad. In conclusion the speaker said that the best thought he could put into the minds of farmers was to hold their farms and transmit them to their children. Take your children off the railroads and away from the stores and place them on your farm, and in fifty years, if you have died, they would give almost any- thing to be able to take you by the hand t.Dd thank you for the blessing you conferred on them when you compelled them to remain on and cultivate the farm. On motion a vote of thanks was extended to Dr. Loring for his very valuable and interesting address. Afternoon Session. The Institute was opened at half past one o'clock, and an opportunity was given to those who desired to ask questions of Dr. Calder, in reference to grape culture. Ephraim Hoover wanted to know the causes and the remedy of some of the Isabella and Catawba vines not coming to maturity ? Dr. Calder replied that the Isabella was an old variety and played out, and the Catawba did not have the right kind of soil. Mr. Engle asked whether or not as a general thing people were not too apt to let their grapes over-bear ? The answer came that this was so. Another gentleman wanted to know the best method of propagating grapes from cuttings. The doctor said that the best way was to propagate layers, but that if you desire to raise grapes from cuttings, the easiest way was to cut off single eyes and plant them in moist sand with the eye even with the top of the sand. A gentleman asked wh^t preparation of the ground should be made for the planting of grapes ? Dr. Calder replied that the ground should be made ready for corn, a condition that just suited the grape. Fall or spring were both very good. Several persons having asked whether grape grow- ing paid. Dr. Calder replied that some persons could grow wheat and not have it pay, and so it was with grapes. The fault, he said, lay with the person and not with the grape. He lelated his experience, and said he started out with planting 200 Concord vines. A friend said they would never be eaten, but he soon found that a taste could be cultivated. There is money in grape culture if you plant the right variety and bring the fruit in the market in a proper con- dition. The doctor answered a question as to the best method of pruning by saying the proper way was to cut the vine back a short distance above the new wood. The next year he would continue this process. All pruning should be done with thumb and finger, when the wood is tender, and should not be neglected and finally done with a hatchet or saw. " Soils and Fertilizers." Prof. W. H. Jordan, of the State Agricultural Col- lege, was introduced and spoke briefly on the above subject. There is no subject, he said, that is more intimately connected with the business success of farming than the subject of fertilizing. Successful farming is a question of good crops, and all other questions must take a side seat. The statistics of the State Board of Agriculture, he said, show that the average cost of crops is greater than the average worth of crops. While some farmers are raising pay- ing crops others are raising crops that pay them ab- solutely nothing for the money invested. A farmer's capital consists of two kinds, fixed and floating. His flxed capital is his buildings and his lands ; his float- ing capital is his stock and fixtures. One reason for successful farming was that the farmer had too much fixed capital invested in proportion to bis float- ing capital. Fertility in soil depends on two conditions — the mechanical condition and chemical condition. We arc apt to speak of fertility as based entirely on what is in the soil ; but it should be remembered that the soil may have all the chemical requisites and still be in an improper condition as regards moisture, etc. If you want the best results, the soil must be plowed when it is thoroughly pulverized, and if it is not pulverized when plowed the roller must be used. A soil is said to be a fertile one that contains the chemical properties necessary to grow a paying crop. The speaker gave at length a history of the plants and the various ingredients without which the plant cannot live, and said that the farmer must learn what things bis soil is in need of and at once provide it. Again, the necessary ingredients must not only be in the soil, but they must be there in such condi- tion that the plants can get at them. This can only be accomplished by good tillage of the soil. " Agricultural Education." Dr. George W. Atherton, President of the State Agricultural College, was introduced and spoke for some time on the above subject. He said his theory of education was that for some purposes all educa- tion should be alike. Education in the proper sense of the word, is the training of the mind and not the training of the body. The training of the mind be- ing the great object, all great thinkers have differed on the proper methods. Shall the mind be trained so that the work shall be done in a workmanlike or in a poor manner. Trade schools have proven to be of very little value, for the reason that you could not give the scholar a thorough mental training and at the same time give him complete practical instruc- tion in a trade. In every person's mind there is an aptitude to do a certain thing and to do it right. The great object in teaching is to instruct the mind to start from a right starting point and to go, by proper steps, to a right conclusion. The elements of theory and prac- tice should be taught side by side. All principles should be taught in connection with their applica- tion. The true system of education is, not to make farmers, not to make lawyers, but to first make men, and afterwards to educate them up to their in- dividual callings. There are many things that can- not be taught in the schools, but there is a way, he believed, of combining theory and practice in educa- tion to a great extent. In conclusion the speaker said that any education that turned the boy or girl away from honorable labor — that did not teach that labor was honored by the person performing it— was unsound education. Upon the conclusion of Dr. Atherton's remarks, Dr. Wickersham called for a discussion of the sub- ject, and Mr. H. M. Engle opened the discussion by saying that while there were a great many farmers who had been financially successful, and who had no education, yet if the secret of their success was dis- covered, it was pretty generally found that they owed their success to their parsimonious habits. Intelligent farmers, the speaker thought, were gen- erally the most successful. J Mr. J. M. Frantz next spoke on the subject. He thought there were men who had succeeded and had succeeded well who had never had an agricultural education. The object in farming is to have it " pan out well" — to make two blades of grass grow where one only grew before. He agreed with all that was so ably said by Dr. Atherton, but still he knew of some of the most successful farmers who had scarce- ly had the advantages of even a common school edu- cation. He had a few men in his mind who had a peculiar faculty for making a success out of farming, and who could scarcely read or write and whose hands were scarcely properly washed more than once in three hundred and sixty-five days. There was no business which, if you want to practice it success- fully,requires more mind— more thought— than does the business of practical farming, and the person who desires to be a successful farmer must cultivate his mind. Dr. A. M. Dickey, of Bucks county, said it wag the average farmer we wanted to reach. In his mind the average farmer was a man of animal con- tent. This average farmer must be reached through the public school, where the true principles of agri- culture should be taught. Dr. Atherton closed the discussion by saying that he agreed with what had been said by those who knew of farmers succeeding who had no education. We all know of men who succeed in all pursuits who were nnabje to read or write ; still, we hold that it is well for the average boy to know how to read or write. He held that whatever process of work fits a man for doing his work well is education, and this is what we want. *Dr. Wickersham contended that the principles of 1884.] THE LANCASTER FARMER. 95 agriculture should be taught iu public schools located in agricultural districts. The elements of botany, chemistry, zoology, mineralogy, etc., are of the utmost use to farmers, and these should be taught in schools, even if to do so it were necessary to cur- tail in some measure the study of grammer and geography. An hour was devoted to the asking and answering of questions of importance to farmers, after which the Institute adjourned until eight o'clock in the evening. (To be ccntmned in next number.) AGRICULTURE, Recuperating the Soil. Sir John Beum-tt Lawes lias written a chapter for the new edition of Harris' " Talks on Manure Re- storing Fertility to the Soil," a sulijcct that interests all our farmers who do not cultivate a virgin soil. It is a most valuable contribution, and shows how sci- ence may be applied with a view to dollars and cents. A relative of Mr. Lawes, having several thousand acres of exceedingly poor and wornout land, con- sulted him as to the best metlaod of treating it. The growth of crops with the aid of artificial manures is discussed, aud it is clearly shown why this would not be profitable on such poor land. Tlie plan decided upon was to make the production of meat the basis of renovation ; to stop all tillage and endeavor to get the soil into pasturage by giving it the plant food to enable it to grow good grasses. A flock of sheep was to be allowed to run over the land during the day and to be folded there every night and fed one pound each of cottonseed cake. The use of sheep in reno- vating land is not new to our farmers, and has often been advocated iu these pages, but the practice has rarely been presented in so systematic a manner. Sheep in flocks of 100, inclosed by movable fences or hurdles, upon a space 20 by 'J5 yards, and the folds moved daily, would in ten days cover an acre each, and the manure of 1,000 pounds of the cake would be well distributed upon this amount of land. This quantity of manure contains 77 pounds of nitrogen, 68 pounds of phosphate of lime and 32 pounds of potash. These fertilizers cannot be purchased iu any artificial manure at so cheap a rate, since the in- crease in the weight of the sheep fed in this manner goes far to oflfset their original cost in the cottonseed eake. — American Agriculturist. Fodder Corn. Do not fail to drill in some corn for fodder, even if you have no pit to store it in. After long experience we are convinced that no farm crop pays better. There is no difficulty in curing it. All that is needed is to let it grow until fully tasseled, and then shock It up and let it stand in the field until freezing whether or until it is fed up. The large white South em corn Is best — the stalks containing as much sugar as sweet corn, which has a habit of germin- ating feebly. Drilled into rich ground at the rate of ten or twelve kernels to the foot, the stalks will be large and juicy, but the cattle will eat every butt clean, even if they are an inch iu diameter and have not been run through a cutter. Last winter we fed the yield of ten acres in the stable, and not a bushel of refuse was left from the entire crop. As an ex- periment we fed this fodder exclusively to twenty milch cows for a fortnight, and when the fool was changed for a ration of bright timothy hay, with two quarts of Indiau meal and four quarts of bran, the milk yield fell ofl' perceptibly. Varieties of Sweet Corn. Last year twenty-six kinds of sweet corn were grown at the New York Experiment Station, and a record of the earliest of each was kept. This was only approximately correct, for the date of the first appearance of the silk was kept, and not the date when the corn had reached that point of maturity when it is known as " roasting ears." The earliest variety was Early Marblehead, which silked iu fifty- six days from planting. Next came early Narra- gansett, in sixty-one days. Pratt's Early took sixty- one days. Early Minnesota sixty-two days. Crosby's Early sixty-eight days. Golden Sweet seventy days. Moore's Concord seventy-two days. Hickox eighty- two days. Egyptian eighty-four days. Slowell's Evergreen eighty-four days. Mammoth eighty-six days— or a full month later than the Early Marble- head. As to quality. Dr. Sturtovant says we can only ex- press our taste : Some people prefer a corn less sweet than do others. The Ne I'lus Ultra Is excep- tionally fine, but is late ; Crosby's Early, to our taste, is the best of the earlles, although Early Mar- blehead Is very good. The Golden Sweet we have not eaten of our own raising, but such as we have tried elsewhere has been particularly rich in flavor. The Black Mexican is white while in edible condi- tion, but is apt to cook slightly blue-tinged, so as to cause the appearance on the table to be unattractive. Its quality, however, is very sweet. Ploughing too Early. We have noticed many acres of corn-stubble turned over for oats this spring before the ground was ready for the plough. There has been much rainy weather, and, as spring work presses, farmers are apt to grow impatient ; but nothing is gained by ploughing heavy land when it is so wet as to pack. Every pressed lump will resist the entrance of root fibres foraging for plant food. The crop will sutler and the land be inja bad condition for grass or any other crop which follows in the rotation. The prevalence of wet springs makes it almost impossible to prepare the ground at once well and early for oats. Why not try the plan already adopted in many places of plough- ing corn-stubble in the fall and then harrowing It for oats the following spring as soon as dry enough ? This makes it possible to get the seed sooner— a point gamed in the culture of oats— and leaves the land more mellow. Farmers who have tried this method are convinced that they secure a heavier crop, with straw less liable to lodge. Ensilage Extracts. We feed hay in the morning ; at noon 30 pounds ensilage ; at night the same, with the addition of one quart of bran and the same of meal. It increases the yield of milk aud makes more butler and of a belter quality. One whom we have supplied for thirteen yea"rs, says since we began to feed ensilage our butter is better than it has ever been before, even in summer.- S'. L. McElroy, Middlesex, Vt. I feed six milch cows 60 pounds each per day, and two yearlings 40 pounds each. I feed them nothing but ensilage 30 days; they gained in flesh.— i?". A. Waite, Proctorsville, Vt. I put in one load of long corn at one end, near the top ; it raised a heavy heat and does not keep as well as the fine cut. — P. K. Spauldinfi, Proctorsville, Vt. It rained four days during the time, and only enough was put in daily to keep the mass from heat- ing, six or eight inches being needed. That which was put in while wet kept as well as any. One old ox was in bad condition, hide-bouud and quite thin ; after feeding ensilage a few weeks his hide became very loose and he appeared like a new ox, eats a bushel and a half of ensilage every morning with straw at noon and hay at night —S. IV'. W(dker, Anson, Me. Mj cows have gained in milk, 20 per cent, since I began to feed ensilage, aud the dry ones and year- lings, have gained in flesh. With 60 pounds of en- silage per day they eat a small feed of hay up clean. Two store hogs eat it, and it makes a cheap and handy green feed for hens ; they eat it as they will grass in summer.—/. W. Eastman, Lyndon Centre, Vt. We are feeding it to farrow cows twice a day, with a small feed of hay between. The cows gain in flesh and milk. The butter is of excellent quality. Pigs and poultry eat it well. — Brown / nNn m;ik.- the best and chctpest AU Iron Automitic or S.lt-Op.nlng Oktg, also Okeaput ud He»U>t All Iron Fence. Beat Wire .Stretviier and Po»i ms.-i. AI«i. ■uuiiuruc^ pumplnK water. ••] licai.-t ..ii-ui.-. l„r Rrinding •.ud other li^ht nnrk. F.n ini.es ml p.irlioulars ask KED««VI«'K BBO! :fII"i-«. Richmond, lud* DEOERICK'S HAY PRESSES trial, address for circular and location ot and Sntithern Storeltnusel and Agents. . OEDERICK A, CO., Albany. N. Y. WHEAT CULTURE ! THE SEED DRILL REGULATOR *^ O** w C'O and one-half o£ tha Fertilizer. Lightens the draft. Pre- vents clogrjrinK. Seed will come up ^ several days sooner. 50 per cent, more seed will come up. Produces strong plants and large j-ield. Send for pamphlet "Bou> to Kaite WheaCSeti Drill Eegnlator Co.Lemont. Centre Co.P* AM U I / I r.'icive tree, a costly box ol g< r n I I r which will help all, of either r II ILL. '" -re money ri^ht away tj. anything else in this world. For- kers absolutely sure. At once ad- TRUE & CO., Augusta, Maine. *x SPRINfif^LD ENGINE & THRESHER cp- f? ^. fe^^r y>»i>»/vnao>jjvM^^»i,^yi^ai«jMjMi«;«jgj«jg;«HMg;«i«ig;aiaMPa3qnii A BEAUTIFUL LAWIM b« qulcUy obtained by Mwlag HENDERSON'S CENTRAL PARK" UWN GRASS SEED, a mixtare of selected gra.ises identical with those used in (ormiDg the lawns of New York's famous park. > Bold by I SO.OOO pack- "3o3^roa?e' 6 busbels arc required. iDStructions for Bowing and after treatment Bent free with every order. Pric«, 25 cent3 per quart. (If by mail, add 10 centa per quart for postago. 1 If by f rcieht or expresB, |i..'iO per peck. $'>. no per bushel. Catalogue of fiieeublisher. Rates of advertising can be had on application at the lOHN A. Hlb^iAND No. 9 North Queen St., Lancaster, Pa. THE LANCASTER FARMER Where To Buy Goods IN LANCASTER. BOOTS AND SH.'lES. M AKKIf AI.L A S«»>. Xo. 12 Centre Square, lister, Dealers in Boots, Shoes and Rubbers, promptly attended to. M. BOOKS AND STATIONERY. JOHX BAKK-S SONS, : Street, liave the larK-e-l ;,i Paper Store in the City. eHN F. LONG'S SOMS, Druggists, No. 12 North Queen St. Drugs, Medicines, Perfumery, Spices, Dye StufTs, Etc. Prescriptions carefully compcmntled. HATS AND CAPS. JEWELRY AND WATCHES. H Z. RHOAD.S * BUG., No. 4 West King St. Watches, Clock and Jlusical Boxes. Watches Jewelry Manufactured to f»r(ler. PRINTING. JOHN A. HIFNTAND. 9 North Queen St., Sale Bills, Circulars, Posters, Cards, Invitations, Letter and Bill Headsand Envelopes neatly printed. Prices low. BOWMAN & MUSSER, Wholesale Dealers in AT I.OWFAT POSSIBLE PRI« E8. Fully guaranteed. No. 20 EAST CHESTNUT STREET, Opposite P. R. R. Depot. GREAT BARGAINS. ' all kinds of Carpete are still sold s CARPET HALL OF H. S. SHIRK, J>ro, 202 West King St. Call and examine our stock i can show the largest aesortmf plies and iugralu at all prieee- eatiflfy yourself that we of these Brussels, three the lowest Philadelphia Also oa hand a" large and complfite assortment of Ras Carpet. ^ Satisfaction guaranteed bath as to price and quality. You are invited to call and see my goods. No trouble in •bowing ihom even if you do not want to purchase. Don't forget this notice. You can save money here if you Particular atteutic Cloth* nd Blanketa of every variety. of Counterpanes Or, GLOVES, SHIRTS, UNDERWEAR, iw — w SHIRTS MADE TO ORDER, .\XI> W.M!I;.\NTED TO 1 IT. E. J. ^RISMAN, 17 West Kng St , La toaster, Pa. PMf all : fresh In- r.nii.d ill my Vcfc-etable ilo^fll'' r*M' IHS2. Sent free niers lMrbl<-li<-ali<-.»l (^abbagre, Philine.v's i Q Outfit free. Address True i Co., Augusta. Maine. c. R. kli:n^e, 5AtT01^NEY-AT-|:iAW; office : 15 north duke street, L-ANCA-STER, FA.. mmz PIANOFORTES. UNEQUALLED IN Tone,Toncli,WorlaiiaiisliiD ani Durability. WII^IilABf KMABE & CO. Nos. 204 and 206 West Baltimore Street, Baltimore. No. 112 Fifth Avenue, N. Y. decsm Special Inducements at the NEW FURNITURE STORE W. A. HEINITSH, Furniture, Pictufe frames, fie, noTl-ly ;LANCASTER,'PA. DR. JOHN BULL'S Siiiitli'sToiiicSyniB FOR THE CURE OF FEVERanclACUE Or CHILLS and FEVER, AND ALL MALARIAL DISEASES. The proprietor of this celebrated medi- cine justly claims for it a superiority over all remedies ever offered to the public for the SAi?E, CERTAIW, SPEEDY and PER- MANENT cure of Ague aud Fever, or Chills and Fever, whether of short or long stand- ing. He refers to the entire Western and Southern country to bear him testimony to the truth of the assertion that in no case whatever will it fail to cure if the diroo- tions are strictly fallowed and carried out. In a great many cases a single dose has been sufficient for a cure, and whole fami- lies have been cured by a single bottle, with a perfect restoration of the general health. It is, however, prudent, and in every case more certain to cure, if its use is continued in smaller doses for a week or two after th« disease has been checked, more especially in difficult and long-standing oases. Uso- ally this medicine will not require any aid to keep the bowels in good order. Should the patient, however, require a cathartic medicine, after having taken three or four doses of the Tonic, a single dose of BULL'S VEGETABLE FAMILY PILLS wiU be luf- flcient. BULL'S SABSAFARILLA is the old and reliable remedy for impurities of the blood and Scrofulous affections — the King of Blood Purifiers. DK. JOHN BULL'S VEGETABLE WOEM DESTKOYER is prepared in the form of candy drops, attractive to the sight and pleasant to the taste. DR. JOHN BXTX.I.'S SMITH'S TONIC SYRUP, BULL'S SARSAPARILLA, BULL'S WORM DESTROYER The Popular Remedies of the Day. PrlBcipal OlBce, 831 Halo St., LOUISVILLE, KK aug-ly] REMOVAL EXTRAORDINARY! NEW STORE! NEW GOODS! S. S. RATHVON, ^ercijapt Tailor, -AXD — DRAPER, Respectfully informs the public that he has removed his Mercli.int Tailoring Establishment from 101 to 131 North aueen St., (Howell's Building,) MTiere he will keep a select line of ffoods for Men and Boys Wear, and make them promptly to order in a satisfactory manner, either plain, medium or fashion- able. Thankful for favors during a period of twenty-five ■nee of the aerit the continued 1 4S" Don't forget the place, No. 131 NORTH QUEEN ST. LANCASTER, PA. $66''Add'r. jun-ly ONE DOLLAH PER ANNUld.-SINQLE COPIES 10 CENTS. Dr. S. S. EATHVON, Editor. CONTENTS OF THIS NUMBER. EDITORIAL. July 97 The Farmers' Institute 97 The County Fair 97 The Midges 98 Bark Louse or Scale Insect 68 Water 99 An intesesting and Important Analysis of Lancaster Waters-Analysis of Well, Cistern and Hydrant Water. The Kind of Ice We Use 100 It Can Adulterate Hydrant Water— The Quality of Lancaster Ice— The Ilesiilts-A Word for Lancas- ter Ice. Excerpts 100 SELECTIONS. Vermont Sheep 103 Tobacco As a Medicine 102 Rust in Wheat 103 Lawns 10.3 Seeding, Propagating and Covering 103 Make the Kitchen Pleasant 104 Recuperating the Soil 104 Backhanded People 104 A Tree Pest 104 Rag Carpet 105 A Thrush Whips Three Sparrows 105 How to Make Shad Soup 105 Soil Exhaustion by Various Crops 105 Ravages of the Clover Worm 106 Varieties of Food for Stock 106 Culture of Roots 106 On Horseback 107 OUR LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS. Farmers' Institute 107 Agricultural Rciuljustiii..,! ih, i,,, I I,, ■ Discus- sion— Piolettec's \'i(\v-— , ! I I riiursdHv Momine — "CoDiiner' -i ■ i ' -.1 Piolette —Thursday .\flcrn(>,.i. ,..11 ir, i I. ,11. lavs"— Governor R. E. I'utti.-iai M.ui ., 1 u^tcr-Mother— The Cow — Farmcrsflnd Pul)]ic .-Vrtairs. Linnsean Society 109 Donations to Musevnn- Donations to Library — In- sects Added— Animals Added— Reptiles Added- Fishes .\dded. Poultry Association 110 AGRICULTURE. Pennsylvania Crops 110 Potato Seed 110 HORTICULTURE. Preparing Ground for Grapevines 110 Look at the Young Fruit Trees 110 The Care of Fruit Trees 110 The Strawberry Bed 110 HOUSEHOLD RECIPES. Fresh Mackerel Ill Boiled Tongue Ill Duchesse Potatoes Ill LANCASTER, PA.. JULY, 1884. New I'otatoCb ^^^ Strawberry Shortcake 1^'- Choclatiua let Cicani ^ Asperges au\ Pctits Poib m Delicious Kliubaib Jam m Strawberry Jell> 'H Sweetbread Salad HI Rhubarb Mold lor Dessert Ul lUiubarb Jelly HI Stewed Apple Pie HI Apple Custaid Pie HI Lemon Cream Pic HI Good and Cheap Pii, Crust HI Pie Crust Glaze HI Puff Crust for Pics and Tans IH Apple Pie... HI Biscuit HI Bread HI Graham Rolls HI Wattles HI MuUius Ill Strawberry or Peach bhort Cake 111 Rumford Johnny C»ke H'J Gingerbread U2 Rumlord Yorkshire Tea Cakts 112 Crumpets... 112 Rice -Muffins 112 POULTRY Breeds for Laj iiiff 112 Successive Crops of Poalirj 112 Effectsof Poultry Manure . 112 Literary and I'eioonal 112 "WIDMYER & rTcKSECKER, UPHOLSTERERS. Ami Manufacturers ot FURNITURE ^D CHAIRS. WAREROO.nS: 102 East King St., Cor. of Duke St. LANCASTER, PA. 9-71-12] JOHN A. HIESTAND, Publisher Fruit, Shade and Ornamental Trees. Plant Trees raiBed in this county and BOited to this climate. Write for prices to LOUIS C. LYTE, Bird-in-Hand P. O., Lancaster CO., Pa. Nursery at Smoketown, six miles east of Lancaster. JOSEPH DELLET, LAXCASTF.n Steam Cigar Bok factory, 416 North Market Street, LANCASTER, PA. Edgings, Labels and Supplies of kinds always on hand. BEST MARKET PEAR. nit.nni) I'E.\CH TKKKS, all the l.est varieties of New and 01<1 STR.\WI51;UKIF;s, CIKKANTS, GKAPES, KASI'BKKKIES. etc. EARLY CLUSTJ]R BLACKRERRT, New. Earlv. Har.lv. <;.....l. .slncle lilll yielded 18 quarts at i.nr piiklii);. ^.nd f.ir FICKK ^lltnloKue. .1. S. COI.I.IXS. M.M.i.>t..w.i, X.J. LANDRETH'S SIEIIEIIIDIS ARE THE BEST. North, South, East or West. Seeds. Founded 1784. D. LANDRETH k SONS, Philadelphia, Pa. w In Every Township in the County. Good Wnges can be mnde. Inquire at THE EXAMINER OFFICE No. 9 North Queen Street. LancHater, Fa THE LANCASTER FARMER. PEXXSTI.TAMA RAIKROAU SC'HEDITLE. On and after SUNDAY, J TNE 24, 1883, trains leave the Depot in this city, as follows : WE-TWAKD. Pttolflc Eipress' News Express* Way Passenger* Mail Train via Mt. Joy* . . . , Mail No. 2 via Columbia.' Niagara Express Hanover Accommodation, , Fast Une'. Frederick Accommodation. Lancaster Accommod'n . , Harrisburg Accom Columbia .\ccommodatioQ., Harrisburg Express Western Express 11:10 p. 12:58 p. m. 2:20 p. m. 5:25 p m. 4:25 a. t 7:50 a. E 10:20 a. I 11:45 a. I 3:15 p. c 5:05 p. II EASTWARD. Mail Express* Philadelphia Express Fast Line* Harrisburg Express Columbia .Accommodation. Seashore Express Johnstown Express Day Express" Harrisburg Accom The Frederick .\ccommodation, west, conuectsat Lancas- ter with Fast Line, west, at 1:35 p. m.. and runs to Frederick. Hanover .Accommodation, west, connectinu at Lancaster with Niagara E.xiriss at <.i:J-> a. m. will run through to Hanover dail.v - \'< I'l ^ n,.!!;. , Harrisburt: l>^! ' - " ' i T 4" p. m. has direct con- ■ . c. ■ 12:25 a. m. Philadelphia The Fast Lin. Stopat DoWnilr.;t.i.A n I Joy, Elizabelhtownanil The Johnstown Kxpre ft! Harrisburg i Philadelphia, v *TIic only trai NORBECK & MILEY, PRACTICAL hnm Builders cox & CO'S OLB STAVD, Corner of Duke and Vine Streets, LANCASTER, PA. THE LATEST IMPROVED SIDE-BAR BUGGIES. PHAETONS, Carriages, Etc. mUltCESI.ISilllE'iTI^MlMI, Prices to Suit the Times. REPAIRIXG promptly attoiided to. All work guaranteed. CR trk Con 1""' ''"y *"'°'"^- Samples worth S JfO lU 4>6U Address STisaoN & Co., Portland.] EDW. J. ZAHM, DEiLBn IN AMERICAN AND FOREIGN WATCHES, SOLID SILVER & SILVER PLATED WARE, CLOCKS, JEWELRY I TABLE CUTLERY. Sole Agent for the Aruudel Tiuted SPECTACLES. Repiiiriug strictly attended to. Hortli Queen-st. and Centre Square, ^Lancaster, Pa. 79-1-12 ESTABLISHED 1832. G. SENER <&; SONS, Mauufacturers and dealers in all kinds ol finished SHINGI.ESiu the count oors, Bliuds, Jlouldings, &c PATENT 0. G. WEATHERBOARDING OFFICE AND YARD : Northeast Corner of Prince and Walunt-sts., LA-NCA-STER, PA.I 79-1-1 2J PRACTICAL ESSAYS ON ENTOMOLOGY, Embracing the history and habits of NOXIOUS AND INNOXIOUS INSECTS, md the best remedies fur their expulsion or extenuinatiou. Bv S. S. RATHVON, Ph. D. LANCASTER, PA. TUii. work will be Highly lUustrated, and will be put )ross (as Boon after a sufficient number of subscribers c; )C obtained to cover the cost) as the work CUT I ills UUI AGrilDtH''»Oror''DDODS ll»atwlin>rint-youm^ORE MONEY, in One Month, than ntivtliintf else in America. AbgohitoPertaintY. Keed uw capital. M. Young,l73 Greenwich St-N. York. OFFICE ). 0 Nortti Oueen Street LANCASTER, PA. THE OLDEST AND BEST. THE WEEKLY LANCASTER EXAMINER One of the largest Weekly Papers the State. Published Every Weddnesay Morning, Is ail old. well-established newspaper, and contains just the ii-^ws ilesnable to make it an interesting and valuable Family Newspaper. The postage to subcribers residing outside of Lancaster county is paid by the publisher. Two Dollars per Annum. THE DAILY LANCASTER EXAMINER The Largest Daily Paper in the county. Published Daily Except S inday. The daily is' published every evening during the week. It is delivered in the City and to surrounding Towns ac- cessible by railroad and daily stage lines, for 10 cents a wecU. Mall Subscription, free of postage— One month, c» cents: one year, $3.00. JOHN A. HIESTAND. Proprietor, No. 9 Nort^ Queen St., LA.NCA.STER, PA.. For Good and Clieap vv'^ork go to F. VOLLM£R S FURNITURE WARE ROOMS No. 309 NORTH QUEEN ST.. (Opposite Northern Market), Also, all kinds of picture frames. uov-ly The Lancaster Farmer. Dr. S. S. BATHVON, Editor. LANCASTER, PA., JULY, 1884. Vol. zn. No. 7. Editorial. JULY. " And one rode out from all tlie rest Upon a rampant lion, He seemed to be of nature's lords A most Imposing scion ; Around his sweaty brow was wreath 'd The ripening cars of corn, His right arm bore the summer fruits, His left a green hawthorn ; Stern was his look and sere bis breath As Africa's simoon. Behind him hung in reeking gore The head of vanquish'd June. And then among the tlnied host There rose a feeble cry, ' Te mortals of the thirsty earth Make way for hot July.' " July is the seventh month of the year, ac- cording to our present calender. It so was named by Mark Antliony, in honor of Julius Csesar, who was born in it. The year, as regu- lated by Julius Csesar, was continued to be ob- served till it was corrected by Pope Gregory XIII., in 158-2. After that period the months were set back about fourteen days, creating what was called "New Style," as contradistin- guished from "Old Style," when all the months commenced fourteen days later than they do now. Before this month received its present name it was called Quintilis, or the fifth mouth, ac- cording to the old Roman calender, in which March was the first month of the year. Dur- ing the month of July the sun enters the sign of Leo, or Lion. The Latin name is Julius; the German, Juli, from the genitive Julii ; Prussian, Jul, Juhl,Juli(jt; French, Juliet; Spanish, Julio; Portugese, J«?/io,- Italian, ii(^!io. Although, theoretically, the summer solstice, or 21st of June, is regarded as midsummer, yet practi- cally that annual epoch does not occur until the 15th of July ; and from that period to autumn, the great vegetable kingdom, in our latitude, is mainly engaged in maturing and ripening its fruit. July is the culminating point of a good deal of hard labor to the farmer, yet not so much so, as it necessarily was, Ions years ago, when everything was done " by hand," and before improved implements and machinery were in- vented and introduced. It is the great har- vest month, the demands of which urge him forward at a speed almost beyond liis physical energies ; for, when the time comes for his crops to be harvested, without a peradven- ture, they must be harvested, or he is in jeoi)ardy of loosing the compensating results of his long and weary toil. " When the scythe, the sickle, the cradle, and the hand-rake, were his only helpers," the harvest was saved only through much sweaty manipulation. All this is changed now, and the labor reduced at least a hundred per cent. ; or, if it is not so, it must be in some antiquated corner of the world : " Where naught but savage monsters roar; Where love ne'er deigns to dwell." Ill tkis month ought to be sown the various root crops for cattle feed in the following au- tumn and winter — such as Rula ISaijas, Man- gel Woi-tzels, and other roots. A reliable au- thority says : " It has been ascertained by actual experiment frequently made, that these root crops may be raised for only a few cents per bushel." The same labors in sowing, planting and cultivation that obtained in the month of June, may be continued in this month, with very few exceptions. It is still time to plant potatoes, and citcumhers, for pickels ; also towards the end of the month, spinach may be sown ; also turnips, and eeleri/ may be transplanted. But by all means what- ever is sown or planted, get the best. There is no economy in buying cheap seeds, plants, shrubs, or trees. In most cases it is only labor in vain. Should there be an early au- tumn, some of these may be " nipped in the bud," but if a late one, the labor of the farmer will be amply compensated. There always have been, there always ivill be, some risks to run, in all the labors that man en- gages in, therefore he must exercise some faith. THE FARMERS' INSTITUTE. " The Farmers' Institute," which convened in the Lancaster Court House, on the 3d and 4th of June, 1884, and a synopsis of the pro- ceedings of which is published in the June and July numbers of the Farmer, was, under all the circumstances, an unqualified success, so far, at least, as the matter related to the pro- gramme, and the distinguished speakers from abroad. We rejoice at this, on account of the encouragement it affords to the leading and working members of our local society, who were instrumental in inaugurating it and carrying it into effect ; for they deserved such a public recognition. Although the result was satisfactory to those who originated it,planued it and conducted it from its iucipiency to its final consummation, the men for whose in- struction aud edification it was mainly in- tended were not present en masse, as they cer- tainly should have been. Still it was a good beginning, and it is fer- vently hoped that it may prove a prolific " nest-egg, " from which Time will batch a numerous and vigorous "brood." The present generation may never have a realizing conception of the benefits of such gatherings of the farming world, but depend upon it, generations will arise who will know what estim'ate to put upon such assemblages of the tillers of the soil. It is in vain to think of a return of the "olden time." "The seas have divided and formed walls of water whilst a whole nation passed in safety over its sandy bosom ; hungry lions have refused their prey ; and men, unhurt, have walked amid consuming fiames, but never yet did time once passed return. " Through an inspired oracle on the Isle of Patmos, nearly two thousand years ago, the fiat went forth, " Behold I make all things new," and it " will not return void. ' ' Time may be slow, but nevertheles it is ouwiird; and, \( ql'dc humanity cannot mount its tide, then il must swamp, " that's all." When the Governor— the highest dignitary of the Great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania —condescends to tiirow bis social and moral weight in behalf of the interest of the farmers of Lancaster county. When the distin- guished chief of the National Department of Agriculture turns aside from the routine of his onerous duties to vouchsafe his special and personal recognition of the tillers of our prolific soil. When the professional function- aries of our public State Institutions forego their Iftrae duties and travel miles to impart the benefits of their larger experience to their co-laborers in the vast field of experimental agriculture, their disinterested ministrations should meet with a reciprocation commensu- rate with the great interests involved in the gatherings of the husbandmen of the " Key- stone '' Commonwealth. Apathy, lethergy, indifi'erence, and indolence, should, at least for the time being, succumb to the dictates of energy, enterprise, soidality and intelligence. No matter how successful an ignorant or il- literate farmer may be, his success is not a sequence of his ignorance and illiteracy, but in spite of it, and to argue otherwise, would be an illustration of something worse than either— namely, higotry. If he possesses in- telligence along with his thrift as a farmer, he will be the more able to enlighten his neighbor; because he never can divest himself of the injunction—" Freely ye have received, freely give." If an intelligent and educated farmer fails, or is thriftless, depend upon it, it is not be- cause he is intelligent and learned, but through a perverted u.se of the.se mental en- dowments. Moreover, there is an inner, or moral success that is of far more value to himself and to society than merely physical, or outward thrift, and this he may never ap- preciate so long as he remains under a cloud of ignorance and illiteracy. AVhon there was no such thing as literature there was some ex cuse for being illiterate ; but that day is past and gone, never to retern. Having "laid his hand to the plow"— ac- cording to the oracles of Divine truth— it is criminal to "look back." THE COUNTY FAIR. The fair advertised to be held in McGrann's Park, in .September next, promises to be an exhibition of no ordinary character, creditable to ilsprojectors, its exhibitors and its patrons. Its beautiful and artistically executed posters carry a promise upon their very face that give assurance of a charoxiteristic realization. The pressure of amusement is becoming so strong, that in order to mutually stimulate both, it seems allowable to blend amusement with utility. It seems utter folly to assume that man ought not, at proper times and at proper places, be entertained with some spec- tacle that instructs and amu.ses him. Why was such a word as amusement coined if it is to 98 THE LANCASTER FARMER. [July have no o'ltbirth in acts and facts V And, if it ^as, who SL fit to rationally enjoy it as intel- ligent beings V And among such intelligences none so appreciative as man. Of cour.se, care should be taken that innocent amusement should not be perverted or allowed to run into abuse ; but because the illiterate, the ignorant or the vicious may a6u.se it furnishes no argu- ment against its use. In a " land of liberty " it seems impossible to legislate morals into the human mind. The fact is, without free- dom there can be no such thing as good morals. Allliough, for the safety of society and for personal decency's sake, it may be politic to restrain man from evil, through pains and penalties, but it may not make him a better man "at heart." If we prohibit the exhibi- tion of certain amusements at fairs where are we going to fix the limitation ? for utility and amusement are not divided by discrete de- grees— but rather by continuous degre^ — and, that being the case, their boundaries will more or less blend or overlap each other ; and, therefore, it would be difficult to draw a line of demarcation or separation without invad- ing or doing violence, unnecessarily, to that wliich is not only harmless but absolutely legitimate and useful. In saying this we feel it incumbent to add, that we have not witnessed a race, or a trial of speed, for more than fifty years ; because such exhibitions, somehow, never afforded us any amusement, and certainly no moral or in- tellectual edification. Still we would not com- pel other men to abstain any more than we would have other men compel us to induhje in these and kindred recreations. We abstain from such amusements in peifect freedom, and we accord the same freedom to others. Even if such exhibitions consist of " wheat and tares " we are admonished by high authority to let them grow together until the time of harvest comes. THE MIDGES. These delicately formed, and slender-limbed insects, are not a mere "fudge," simply be- cause they are only a miihje, for their strength, and hence their ability to do evil, lies not in their individual prowess, but in their num- bers. They all belong to the great family TiPULiDiE, of which the common mosquito is the type, nevertheless, the species are so numerous, and their transformations so Taried, that it has become necessary to refer a restricted number to a new family— CECiDOMYiDyE— of which the "Hessian Fly" —Cecidomyia destructor— is the type. Proba- bly none of them do much good, if any, al- though some of them may not do much harm. The -wheat crop of our country, at intervals and in many places, has been greatly injured if not totally destroyed by the ravages of the " Ilessian-fly " and the "wheat-midge"— they are both, to all intents and purpo.ses, viidgcs And a.\so flies, being dipterous, or two- winged. For the past five or six years the " clover-seed midge," (Cecidomyia leguniini- cola, IJnt,) has been looming into prominence in various remote localities in our country, but the present season they have sliown themselves conspicuously in Dauphin countv, and, for aught that we know to the contrary,' may be domicilated in the county of Lancas- ter. We call the attention of our readers to an article on this subject written by Secretary T. J. Edge, of the " State Board of Agricul- ture," taken from a Harrisburg paper. We are under obligation to the secretary for siiecimens of the larvce of tliis insect, from which we hope to develop the fly. They were the first we had seen— in point of fact, wo absolutely have not seen a clover field, nor a single growing " head " of clover, tlie present season, we have been so closely engaged in our secular occupation. This midge has the power of preventing the devel- opment and ripening of clover seed, and there seems to be no other remedy than, for a time, to discontinue the cultivation of clover. BARK LOUSE OR SCALE INSECT. It is frequently said, that " History repeats itself," and it may as truthfully be said, that there are periodical repetitions of a redun- dancy of certain insects, although the periods may be irregular. A case in point occurs the present season, although it may not yet have attained its maximum manifestaion. The year 1W54 was remarkable for the prevalence of an insect that infested tlie Linden and Maple trees in Lancaster city and county, in count- less numbers. In front of the Court House, extending from " Sprecher's agricultural im- plement and seed store " to the corner of East King and Duke streets, was a row of tall Linden trees, and these were so badly infested that it was deemed best to cut them all down and burn all the branches. These insects did not appear suddenly or arbitrarily, for they had been noticed in increasing numbers for two or three years previously, but in that year they were so numerous and aflected the trees so injuriously that they attracted almost uni- versal attention. Our present Court House was then in process of being built, or at least not yet finished, and we had been consulted, or interviewed, in reference to them, and in the absence of any previous knowledge of them, or any entomological literature on the subject, we suggested cutting them down and burning them, and oui suggestion was carried into effect, although a more beautiful row of trees would have been hard to find. We had pub- lished a brief article On them, faintly estimat- ing and intimating their numbers, in one of our city newspapers, which was quoted in the Public Ledger and other Philadelphia papers, for it appeared that the same insect was pres- ent among the Maple and Linden trees in that city. A small branch, about twelve inches in length, was brought to us perfectly invested with the in.sects through its entire length and upon this • we based our calculations. We severed one scale and the cotton-like mass at- tached to it, in whicli we counted 500 eggs, and we were not sure that we counted all of them. The branch, as near as wo can recollect, contained one hundred scales, which would aggregate .50,000 eggs, each capable of pro- ducing an insect. According' to this ratio, one small limb, containing, with its laterals, thirty feel (wliich was a moderate estimate) yielded 3,000 scales, containing 500 eggs each" aggregating the enormous number of 1,500,000 eggs, and ultimately that number of insects. But the trees were large, and each containing not less than one hundred such limbs, the multiple of which would amount to 150,000,000 eggs, and this number multiplied | by ten— the number of the trees footed up 1,500,000,000. In view of these enormous results, at the request of the publisher of the Pennsylvania Farm Journal, we prepared a brief paper, ac- companied by rude illustrations, provisionally naming the insect Coccus innumcrabilis, which were inserted in the journal aforesaid ; and, alttiough the species was subsequently transfened to the genus Pulvinaria, it appears that tliis was the first name and record the insect had received, although it had been afterward described under other names. After disfiguring and enervating many favor- ite trees, the insects finally passed away, and so completely so, that on a subsequent occa- sion wlien we were requested to furnish speci- mens, we could obtain none in the city or county of Lancaster. And now, we are likely to have a repetition of 1854. A branch of a Silver Maple tree was brought us from Ephrata, as fully infested as were those of thirty years ago. We noticed a few two years ago. Last summer they had greatly increased in immber, and the present season exhibits a still greater increase. They also infest grapevines, and on one occasion we removed tliem from our vines entirely by "hand-picking," and when this is done be- fore the young are hatched from the eggs it is effectual. In 1854 tlTe Linden was a pre- dominating tree in Lancaster city, but through this in.sect and the " Linden-tree borer," [Saperda vestila) it has become almost obliter- ated. The " Countless scale," in the absence of the Linden is quite satisfied with the maple (Acer dasycarpum.) There seems to be a developmental crisis in its history, after which it recedes, but whether it has reached that point, the future alone can demonstrate. Taken in time, it would be easy to accom- plish its extermination, but people are heed- less or indifterent about it until it becomes too late or too numerous to be approached by a remedy. Tlie scales adhere so closely to the branches during the winter season, and are so nearly the color of the bark of the trees, that they elude observation, and only become conspicu- ous in the spring or summer, after they begin to secrete the white flossy, or cotton-like sub- stance, in which the eggs are invested. The eggs are a sulphur yellow in color, and the young when they first appear are of the same color and size. They have two very dark eyes, six white translucent feet, two whitish an- tenme, and two anal, or tail-like appendages, with a few lateral bristles, but none of these are visible without the aid of a magnifier. About the last week in June and the first week in .July, probably earlier or later, according to temperature or other conditions, the young come forth and begin to scatter over the trees, until they find a favorable location on the young and tender branches. They occur in such countless millions that perhaps not more than one or two in every thousand find a con- genial lodgment, but these, when fully de- veloped, in many instances, are capable of covering the whole surface of the branches, so that mone of the bark can be seen ; but usual- ly, on the larger branches, they are mainly con- fined to the undersides. Of course, many mil- lions, at this time are washed off by drenching showers of rain. In the absence of rain a 1884.: THE LANCASTER FARMER. 99 dash of soapsuds, diluted lye, or extract of totewco would kill them, but where the trees are large and many, the job would be a for- midable one — too much .so, perhaps, for any one to undertake it. Before the leaves appear they can easily be rubbed off with a stifl' brush, if they are within reach. Tliey are preyed upon by parasites, conspicuously by ;i black' "Lady-bird," {Vhilocm-us bivulnenis) both in its Jari'tt and mature states, but tlicsc unfortu- nately never occur in numbers sutlicient to make any very great impression upon tiieni. Doubtless in a few years they will again pass away, as they have in aforetime, which is a consolation to most people, esi>ecially to that kind of people who desire their exter- mination by proxy, or by remedial imputa- tion, instead of working out the salvation of their trees by their own active co-operation. No doubt it would be very convenient, and of easy application, if insects could bo exter- minated or expelled through some sort of in- vocation or incantation, so that the remedy might be operative whilst the subject of in- sect spoliation was lying on his back abed, or engaged in some other more profitable occu- pation— something like boring a gimlet hole in the trunk of the tree, introducing a cathar- tic and then plugging it up, and leisurely waiting for a favorable result; or by " blow- ing upon the tree, in connection with certain cabalistic words, "three times repeated," some of which savor of profanation. Noxious insects are stern facts and must be met and treated as such— facts that cannot be ignored with impunity— they require to be looked after with as much vigilance as any other facts involving the interests of the farmer. A single " squash-bug " destroyed as soon as it issues from its winter cover early in the spring will save the trouble of destroying hundreds of them later in the season ; and the same may be said of the " Colorado Potate-beetle. " The "sack-bearer" early in the spring, dang- ling from the branches of the trees, can easily be removed before the foliage appears, if only a little ordinary observation is exercised. "Rose Slugs," being within convenient reach, may be readily exterminated if people only will. Of course, there are many minute species of insects, that from their very small size and immense numbers baffle human skill, but even these can be mitigated, if not totally destroyed, by being vigilantly before hand. Under any circumstances, don't put off atten- tion to insects until you have nothing else to do. " There is a time for everything under the sun," and in nothing is this more abso- lute, and more imperatively enjoined than in its relation to noxious insects. Those who would light successfully against the " Be- douins" of vegetation, must "be ui> and bedoi/in." It requires a large quantity of water to dis- solve a small proportion of plaster. It pro- duces the results on rocky, springy soils, but has little effect in the vicinity of the seashore. It is valuable in assisting to fix the volatile set free in decomposing material. A MEMBER of the Elmira Farmers' Club opposes the use of breast collars on driving.hor- ses, for the reason that it is injurious, by drawing the shoulders of the animals together thereby preventing a development and ex- pansion of the breast, especially of colts. WATER. Water is one of llu- most essential physical elements in the vast storehouse of nature, second only to atmospheric air, and without it, neither man, animal nor plant, could long exist : and so far as it concerns the healtii, comfort, and happiness of the human family, the condition of its purity is involved : we accordingly, make room in this number of the Faumek, for the interesting analysis of the different kinds of water in use in Lan- caster City, and what applies to the water of the city, will also apply, so far as it goes, to the water of Lancaster County. Prof. Thos. l». Maker, of the State Normal School at Millersville, has wrought a good work for Lancaster City and County, in placing his important analysis before the public ; and, if the public is not benefited thereby, it will be l)ecause it does not read, or reading, does not heed. It is true, there may bo a large class in the community who pay little regard to the (luality of water, simply because they use as little of it as possible, except perhaps for an occasional (luasi ablution, but even these may be more benefited by pure water than they apprehend, or are willing to acknowledge. Of course, water, must be subordinated as a servant and not as a master, in which case it is like every other "good and precious gift that has been vouchsafed to man." There is a mawkish sentimentality admonishing people to drink huge drafts of water, whether they are thirsty or not, merely because water is (jodd; nevertheless, it would be better to driuk more water and less of its vile andimeretri- cious sub.«titution, so common and so plentiful at the present day. But, there are many uses for water, in the domestic economies of life, other than using it as a beverage, and the question of its purity is just as, important in these respects, as it is in the queucliing of thirst. Surely, in culinary preparations, and for cleansing purposes, the purer the water the more healthful and satisfiictory will be the results of its inleligent use. An Interesting and Important Analysis of Lancaster Waters. The following analyses of twenty specimens of drinking water, collected in this city by Ml. Chas. A. Heinitsh, were made^by Prof. Thos. P. Baker, Pli. D., who so ably fills the chair of Physics and Chemistry in the Board of Instruction of the State Normal School of Millersville. Although not made under any public auspices or authority, we regard them as of sufficient interest and importance to lay them before our readers, and to thank Messrs. Baker and Heinitsh, in behalf of the public, for doing so good a work as a labor of love : Analysis of Well, Cistern and Hydrant Water. C. A. Heinitsh, Esq.— Dear Sir : I have just completed the analysis of the last five samples of water received from you. Those, with the samples previously analyzed make twenty specimens of different Lancaster waters which I have examined, and I now send you the results of the examination. The samples were all received in clean bottles, carefully labled and corked ; you certainly deserve great credit for the interest and care you took in collecting them. The following table presents the results in I a compact form : ill Tsar's I S 3-3 i i i i »rii i i i m\\\i Mm 1 •?! ■s^-S'i I =!=?'!°s|2Ki;E!ej»?°f°f'f|*? iiiiiiiiiiiiililiiii iliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii is" ;^siESfe8ga£y8SS88'SSb;g8 2. '$gS'gg'5SS££Siy'8si3SS;g£J2 -5 -I £.? ?B ri £•£•« fes bi^i S Free ammonia indicates the presence of de- composed organic matter, the ammonia being one of the products of the decomposition. When it is present in large quantities it gen- erally proceeds from the decomposition of urea, derived from filthy matter with which the water is polluted. The excessive amounts of free ammonia in 1, 10 and 15 arc certainly dangerous indica- tions. It should bo stated, however, that the large amount of this product in number 15 is due not only to organic matter washed from the collecting roof, but also to ammonia brought down from the atmosphere by the rain. Cistern waters generally contain con- siderable free ammonia derived from the atmo- .sphere. This does not, of course, indicate organic impurity. Albuminoiil ammonia indicates the presence of undecomposed organic matter, matter which may undergo decomposition, and hence 100 THE LANCASTER FARMER [July increase Hie impurity of the water. Albumi- noid ainriionia is resrarded as indicating a more dangerous condition of water than free ammonia. A water to be considered good should not yield more than .01 part in 100,000 of this product ; if the amount exceeds .015, the water sliould Vie condemned for drinking or culinary purposes. By an examination of the table it will be seen that only samples 1, 5 and 15 yielded large amounts of albuminoid ammonia. Chlorine, which usually occurs in water as a constituent of common salt (sodium chlo- ride), indicates, if it is found in considerable quantities, animal or sewage contamination, for pure inland water contains very little com- mon salt, while sewage is heavily charged with it. The finding, therefore, of much chlorine is a suspicious circumstance ; it is a strong in- dication of the connection of the well with a drain or cesspool. The presence of only a small amount of chlorine— of a quantity not greater than one grain to the gallon— indicates that any organic matter that the water may contain is of vegetable rather than of animal origin. The solid matter (matter remaining on evapo- rating the water), which consists of dissolved mineral salts, together with dissolved and sus- pended organic matter, is not regarded as in- dicating a special condition of the water so far as its purity is concerned. The amount of this product, however, is generally found to vary with that of chlorine. It will be seen that this is true of the Lancaster waters. The hardiiens, which is generally due to the presence of both lime and magnesia salts, in- dicates the amount of these salts contained in the water. Some of the Lancaster waters were found to owe a considerable part of their hardness to magnesia. Ten degress of hard- ness indicates a hard water. The hardness of river water generally varies from two to six degrees. Most of the Lancaster waters are therefore very hard. The presence of nitrates in water indicates the oxidation of nitrogenous organic matter, and since such matter may be derived either from the soil through which the water passes or from sewage, etc., discharge into the well, the finding of nitrates does not afford sufficient data on which to base a conclusion concern- ing the organic quality of the water. The waters all reacted alkaline, as do hard waters generally. Sediments were deposited in only a few of the bottles, and the quanti- ties of these, with one exception (No. 20), were very small. The sediment of No. 20 is doubtless fragments of exhausted roots which have been so long subjected to the action of the water that, however much they may have contributed to render it impure previously,can no longer produce any hurtful effects. This water is shown to be one of the best of the Lancaster waters. The conclusion is evident from the results of this analysis that most of the Lancaster waters which were examined are up to a hi^h standard of purity ; and that some of theln are remarkably pure ; and it is a fact worthy of notice, as shown by the results, that the common hydrant water is by far the softest, and, so far as organic purity is concerned, one of the best waters of Lancaster. Yours respectfully, „ „ TilOS. P. B.\KER. State Normal School, Millersville, Pa., June 13th, 1884. THE KIND OF ICE WE USE. It Can Adulterate Hydrant Water. It is a common notion that waterjin freezing becomes pure, and that ice water, therefore, whatever may be the source of the ice, is the purest water that can be used. This, however, is a very erroneous notion, as it may be easily shown that, although water does purify itself considerably in freezing, it may contain, in the form of ice, any organic or inorganic in- gredient that, in the liquid form, it holds in solution or suspension. Ice from hard water, for example, will contain a small quantity of the calcium carbonate in solution in the water, and ice from organically impure water will take up some of the impurities ; suspended matter is simply mechanically caught in the solidifying mass, and appears again when the ice melts. The purity of ice depends, therefore, upon the character of the water from which it is obtained. Since ice is now used so abundantly it is highly important that its purity be con- sidered ; indeed the supplying of pure ice is hardly of less importance than the supplying of pure water. An alarming epidemic which appeared in a Western town about two years ago was traced directly to the use of ice taken from a contaminated pond. The purity of the water of dams and ponds, from which ice is generally taken, depends greatly upon the character of the water flow- ing into them. Such slowly moving water does not quickly purify itself because of its slow aeration, and when it becomes charged with organic filth the ice which it produces is a very unsafe as well as an undesirable pro- duct. The Quality of Lancaster Ice. In order to test the organic quality of Lan- caster ice, I obtained through the kindness of Mr. C. A. Heinitsh specimens of the two kinds which constitute the principal ice sup- ply of the city. One specimen was Conestoga ice, and the other pond ice from the pond of the Lancaster Carp Association. I also ex- amined about the same time a specimen of ice obtained from a dam on the Little Conestoga near Groff's mill. The Results. The results of the analysis are given in the following table : Parts in 100,000 LOCALITY. i ti Conestoga near Lancaster Fish Association Pond Little Conestoga near GroflTs miU .0018 .0013 .0027 .0060 .0037 .0055 The specimens were broken into small lumps and these were carefully cleansed by washing with clean water, of particles of saw- dust and any other adhering matter, and melted into chemically clean vessels. The Conestoga specimen consisted of both the .solid and porous kind. Referring to the standard of purity stated in nay report of an analysis of Lancaster waters contained in the JVew; Era of June 17th, namely, that a water to be considered id colts. A horse of ordinary intelligence and activity will need but a few lessons to take the saddle git, known familiarly as the rack, and, indeed, alAost any of the fancy gaits, and when once the motion is acquired it will never be forgotten. At our fairs in Kentucky numbers of horses are yearly shown that combine great style with rapid saddle gaits and a speed of less than three minutes to harness. A thoroughly trained horse will take any gait at the slight- est intimation from his rider. A raising of the hand will send him into a canter. He will fall into a rack at a pressure ou his withers, or into a trot if his rider rises in the stirrups, if in active use every day, he will take his instructions almost by intuition. A .slight pressure of the knee will turn him ; leaning the body forward will start him in his gait, and settling back in the saddle will bring him to a walk. The most difficult gait to teach ahorse, and the best one for him to know, is a smooth fox-trot, which is a rapid kind of walk. The slightest roughness to it, however, gives the rider a side-ache. This gait will carry a horse over more ground in a day than any other. I have myself, when riding courier in the army, made 100 miles a day for three consecutive days with the same horse at this gait.— Blue Grass in Philadelphia Press. Our Local Organizations. FARMERS' INSTITUTE. [Continued.] Wednesday Evening. Eight o'clock was the hour set to commence the exercises. Dr. EUwood Harvey, of Chester, Pa., and Col. Victor E. Piolette were programmed to lec- ture respectively on " The Horse " and " The Present and the Past as they Relate to American Farming." Unfortunately both lecturers were unable to be present. Dr. Harvey was at his home sick. Col. Piolette arrived before the exercises were over, but being fatigued he declined to deliver his lecture, but promised to do eo Thursday. A small audience was in attendance, among them being a number of citi- zens of Lancaster. In consequence of the absence of the two lecturers another programme was in order. Agricultural Readjustment. Dr. A.M. Dickey, of Bucks county, a representa- tive of the Doyleetowu lutellicieticer, read an essay. He wished to speak on a subject that has been of in- terest to farmers of Bucks county. His subject was " Agricultral Kcadjuetment." Bucks county is as exclusively a dairy county as Chester county. In Bucks they have as much trouble as those of Chester county with adulterated dairy goods. Tou in Lan- caster county will need some readjustment, for dairy Interests are growing here. The revision of agricultural pursuits is not acci- dental, but undergoes a regular change. The prac tical question Is not whether there Is any necessity for it. Systems adopted are not off hand ; they grow. They are born of necessity. The vast strata that surround us have been gradually formed. 80 with the methods of agriculture. They must be shaped gradually. Old systems of warfare do not answer the present wants. In the present struggle there must be a palpable system. There must be established methods. The continued growth In new fields overthrows the old methods. The stimulant of compellllon will go far to bring new methods. The belief that the Eastern farmercan compete suc- cessfully with the Western farmer on equal grounds needs to be dispelled. Systems need to be simplillcd. There Is a recognized need of a revision of old methods. Although the progress of farmers clubs, agricultural colleges, etc., is slow, It will In time blossom out in fine results. Tlic competitive field Is bold and aggressive among the people In various pursuits In different sections. The dairymen of the speaker's section, a hundred miles from New York, pay more for the transportation of their goods than do the farmers of Nebraska and Kansas for theirs to the same point. He believed that Individual efforts will be lost and that in its stead will be a healthy or- ganized effort. The dairy needs adjustment. He must raise his own stock and see that his goods are of an excellent class if he wishes to be successful. Lancaster county boasts of her $.5,000,000 tobacco crop while Bucks countlans are not boastful of their ?3,000,000 poultry productions. We must adjust ourselves to the new era of things that must be In- troduced. H. M. Engle, of Marietta, saw no reason why nuts could not be cultivated in Lancaster county. In his opinion this culture would pay better than the culti- vation of fruits. This pursuit, he was convinced from the experiments by some, would pay. The Cow. Willis P. Hazard, of West Chester, said the farmer must be more of a manufacturer than a farmer. On account of the sharp competition this statement he thought was substantiated. Referring to the old dash churn by which butter was made, be traced down to the present creamery the various revolutions that produced the different changes. The milk separator, he said, was on the principle the centri- fugal force threw the heavy bodies to the outside, carrying along any refuse that may be In the milk. The cream being light it remains in the centre, the milk next. By a system of pipes each is put In Us proper receptacle. The question of introducing the separators was discussed and important facts de- veloped. By the use of the sejiarator from 10 to 15 pounds can be economized out of every hundred. He recommended the separator to the consideration of of the farmer. The machine can he run by steam or horse power. Imitation butter or butterine is another factor that the dairymen must consider. Laws have been passed prohibiting the production of oleomargarine. Their success he doubted. He thinks these laws will have to be repealed. One way to guard against false butter is to Impose upon It a tax, the same as the sale of liquor or tobacco is regu- lated. Dairy products are the leading ones of Den- mark. From theie come some of the best experi- ments in that line, and the American dairymen would do well to book himself on statistics of that country. Prejudice against book knowledge Is a popular pre- judice. If the farmer would only think of the infor- mation that could l)e derived from farmers' institutes this prejudice would he eradicated. At such gather- ings the experience of one is compared with that of another. The objects of these Institutions are to Im part Information. Comparing the growing crops of Chester with those of Lancaster, be found the wheat, the grass, are all Inferior to those of the first named county. The Discussion. On the centrifugal method of separating cream and milk, Dr. Dickey had something to say. There are .S8 or 39 of the separators In Chester county. One creamery, not far from Doylestown, the Saul- bury Creamery, a separator was placed therein In December. At the end of three months he had 16 per cent, better results than by the old method. It 108 THE LANCASTER FARMER [July, WIS a reXi tc^l, not one for the sale of the machine. All the oreaniKrles in Bucks county he was pleased to say propose to introduce the centrifugal separator. Any man who has from 25 to 30 cows can afford lo have these separators. It would pay also with a few less. He toolj issue with the statement that pasture in Chester county was better than Lancas- ter. Because in Lancaster county butter is not so good as in Chester county, shows that the pasturage in the latter section is better than in the former. In Chester county there is much pasturage that is nat- ural, that is the soil is not upturned by the plow. In answer to Col. Piolette Dr. Dickey stated that milk in a fresh state produces the best results from the separators . Cleanliness, Dr. Hazard thought, was the prime requisite for butter production. One reason that Chester surpasses Lancaster is the different kinds of water in the counties. The prices that these sepa- rators bring range from 8275 to $5.50 each. The price, howeyer, was thought to be exorbitant. Piolette's Views. Col. Piolette thought one of the most important industries of husbandry is cattle raising. He ie in favor of the individual creamery. Bethought, how_ ever, the separator in time would come into general use. The exports of butter from Bradford has fallen off much on account of the selling of oleomargarine. He believed that a man who manufactured counter- feit butter and he who manufactured counterfeit money should be dealt with alike. Everytime he comes to Lancaster county his opinion is higl.er of her agricultural pursuits. Dr. Wickersham stated that the separator had its origin in Denmark. Eggs are now being sent over to this country. Col. Piolette suggested that a duty might be placed upon those products. The Bovine. Alfred Sharpless, a leading farmer of Chester^ next took the floor, and from a knowledge derived from a long research of records, traced the origin of the bovine. In those early days the Wall street bovine did not have an existence. Whence this species sprang he could not say. He was satisfied that this animal is worthless. The cow with her milking capacities he showed in different times, as serting that in Adam's time there were no forty quart producing cows. The history of the cow and her various species, her uses in different localities, her habits, were presented, and if not practical, was interesting. Thursday Morning. H. M. Engle, of Marietta, was the first speaker- He said he would speak on the subject of the best method of destroying insects. He exhibited a num- ber of plants that are extensively grown in California, and to a limited extent in this section of the country. One gentleman has grown a great quantity of it, and feels that with proper cultivation it will be made comparatively easy of growth. It can be easily ground up, and upon having the plants sprinkled with the powder it will effectively destroy all insects. Mr. Reist said the plant, which is named Pyre- thrum, grows quite readily from the seed. It is a perennial and flowers the second year. Mr. Sharpless, of Chester county, said farmers should be exceedingly careful as to what plants they put in their soil. A plant's nature should be wel' known before it is planted, for some of them are so noxious that if once planted they will spread all over the farm. Dr. A. M. Dickey said the plant looked suspicious to a person coming from Bucks county and was afraid it would become noxious. Farmers should go slow in introducing it, and should carefully study its habits before planting. Dr. Wickersham, on behalf of Dr. S. T. Davis, extended an invitation to the members of the Insti- tute to visit the carp pond a short distance from town. Mrs. Stubbs asked what remedy should be applied to gooseberry and currant bushes to destroy the worms. She had applied the Pyrethrum, or Prusian insect powder, and carbolic acid, but the worms con- tinued to eat the plants. Mr. Engle said the best method known was to take white hellebore, tie a quantity of it in a piece of coarse-webbed muslin, which should be dusted on the bushes. Care should be observed in using it, however, as the hellebore is poisonous in a measure. Mr. Dickey had used the hellebore and found it to be not in the least degree dangerous. Calvin Cooper recommended the application of a strong decoction of tobacco and thought it would prove very effective in destroying the worms. Dr. Wickersham gave a conversation he had with Mr. Griest, of the Inquirer, in which that gentleman also recommended the application of a strong decoc- tion of tobacco. " Commercial Fertilizers." Prof. W. H. Jordan, of the State Agricultural Col- lege, was introduced and spoke on tjie above subject, a subject which he said touched very closely the farmers' pocket, and when you touch a farmer's pocket you touch his heart. Fertilizers he said, were of two general classes — fertilizers that are bought and sold, and farm manure. There is a class of so-called fertilizers, being indirect in their action. Among these are plaster, marl and lime, which were used not because the plant needs either of them, but because of the effect which they have on the soil in making available the material the soil already has. To depend upon lime in order to keep up the fertility of the land is a ruinous policy. Liming should be applied with caution, for it is not a true fertilizer. Plaster adds two of the ingredients that plants use, but it does not add any of those that the plant is most in need of. Marl is of the same nature, but it is a fertilizer to a much greater extent than lime or plaster. True fertilizers include certain kinds of commer- mercial fertilizers and farm manure. The Professor then described the various kinds of commercial fer- tilizers, among which he mentioned South Carolina rock, bone black, dissolved bone, all of which con tain phosphoric acid in a greater or less degree. The potash fertilizers come principally from Germany. The cheapest form of potash for the farmer to buy is the muriate of potash. There are quite a number of materials in the market that furnish nitrogen, which the speaker enumerated. He then gave the com- parative value to the farmer of the various kinds of commercial fertilizers, and gave them some valuable hints as to what they should purchase and how they should make the selection, advising them to pur- chase standard ai tides and to mix their fertilizers themselves. Barn-yard manure is only valuable in proportion to the value of the food fed the cattle, and care should be exercised in feeding in order to give the cattle those articles which contain the most valuable ingredients. "Farmers' Wives.'' M. P. Cooper read a carefully prepared essay on the above subject. No one, he said, will hesitate to acknowlege that farmers' wives are greatly over- burdened. In-door help, or the great need of it, is the farmer's curse. In a business sense a better class of servant girls could be obtained by increasing their pay. The staying qualities of the average girl are very slight, and she will leave on the slightest provocation. The progressive farmer will pay great attention to the comfort of his wife, and while he may not be able to entirely relieve her of her ardu- ous and monotonous labors, will assist her greatly by providing her with all the conveniences purchas- able. A great deal of labor may be saved for the women by having the farm hands board themselves. Provide comfortable tenant houses for them to live in, increase the pay of your hands and you will not only secure better workmen but will greatly reduce the labor of your wife. The essay was full of practi- cal suggestions and carried with it much that was of great importance to the farmers and of more im- portance to farmers' wives. H. M. Engle congratulated Mr. Cooper on the able manner in which he had handled the subject assigned to him, and agreed with him in advising the aboli- tion of house garden, the work in which almost al- ways falls upon the women, Thomas Baker said he had tried the erection of a tenant house on his farm, and he was so well pleased with the results that he would not do without it. He found that the tenants proved a great saving for his wife. Col. Victor E. Piolette, who came in during the reading of the essay said in his experience he had al- ways found the farmer to be ready to hire all the help he wanted for himself, but to hire none for his wife. Col. Piolette, was next introduced by Dr. Wickersham, and spoke for an hour on " The Present and the Past as They Relate to American Farming." Reference to the early settlement of this country brings prominently to view the founder of our native State, who did more than any other man to establish the republican form of government we now enjoy. After briefly reviewing the life and .public character of Penn, he said the devotion of the people of Lancaster county to agricultural pursuits were apparent to the whole world. The speaker followed with a rapid glance at the early history of the State, from its settlement to the present time. When the truthful history of this country comes to be written it will be found that the sturdy Germans of Pennsylvania and the Yankees of Massachusetts all bore their part — and bore it nobly. In all America there are not better cultivated flells than the fields in Lancaster, and said that wherever the limestone underlies the soil, you will find a Dutchman on top. He did not mean the lager beer Dutchman, but the Dutchman from the Palatinate, who settled the State and made it prosperous. Pros- perity and thrift repaid agricultural labor in the past better than it does now. j He said the farmers must resist every attempt to make them inferior. They should unite to elevate themselves socially and politically. Col. Piolette's speech abounded with much that was valuable, and injustice would be done the really fine production of the Colonel by a brief and necessarily imperfect abstract. It was full of wit and humor, and his strong language against lawyers was received with great laughter and applause. Thursday Afternoon. Previous to the commencement of the regular ex- ercises a brief discussion was had on the question of whether it was cheaper for the farmer to board his employees, or have them board themselves. A variety of opinions was elicited, but the general im- pression appeared to be in favor of the farmer boarding his hands himself. "Farmers' Holidays." This was the subject of an essay delivered by Thomas Baker, of Colerain township. Every one, no matter in what profession he may be, looks for- ward eagerly to a relief from the cares and anxieties of business. Even farmers look forward with great pleasure to the few opportunities afforded them for the enjoyment of a few days relaxation. Diverging from the subject of his essay, Mr. Baker then al- luded briefly to the rotation of crops and the value of fertilization. Governor R. E. Pattison. In introducing Gov. Pattison, (who was received with applause, the audience standing,) Dr. Wicker- sham said Pennsylvania had had many Governors who were friends of agriculture, but she had never had one who had done so much for agriculture as the distinguished gentleman whom he now had the honor of introducing to an audience of Lancaster county farmers. Gracefully acknowledging his warm reception, Gov. Pattison said he had come to the Institute more as a listener than a doer. He took a great interest in the agricultural interests of Pennsylvania, because he flnds that it is one of her most important indus- tries. From time immemorial the agricultural in- terests has been one of no small importance, but he found that the farmers were the last ones to organ- ize for the purpose of protecting their interests. Tradesmen, lawyers and merchants have all com- bined for mutual protection, but it is only recently THE LANCASTER FARMER- i09 that farmers have orffanized. He was happy to say that they are at hist organizing, and said that the Institute now holding would have a tendency to cause others to be establlslied in other portions of the State. A very early attempt had been made to organize an agricultural society In Lancaster county, but it proved unsuccessful. In 182.5 another and more sup- cessful attempt was made, from which time to the present the garden of Pennsylvania— made so by the industry of tlie Scotch-Irish and Germans — hastalten the lead in agriculture If, in the early days it was deemed essential for the farmers to organize, how much more is it deserving of consideration now, with oury,()00 farms, with our 480,000 acres of land, as- sessed at $60,000,000, and yielding annually 89,000,- 000? Is not this of sufllcieut importance to demand our attention ? This is not a manufacturing State, but an agricul- tural State— the agricultural wealth representing much more than that represented by the combined wealth of all other industries. For this reason farm- ers should organize for the protection of their in- terests. Governor Pattioou, after alluding to the vast improvement that had been made in the interest of farmers, turned his attention to the subject of for estry, saying that there was no pursuit that could be made more prolitable— $700,000,000 representing its value in the United States alone. This statement he verified by statistics evidently gleaned by him with great care. These statistics show that we are falling behind in the production of timber. A rail- road tie, he said, that it takes thirty years to grow, will rot In seven years, and this fact alone shows the necessity of replanting our forests. The Mexican Government offers great premiums for the continu- ance of its timber — how much more important is it that we should protect the forests that are to protect our children. The speaker urged all to take the subject of foresting to their hearts and give It their daily thought, and said the State looks to Lancaster county to give her an example in protecting her timber lands. In conclusion, the governor thanked his audience for the attention given to his remarks and congratulated all upon the success that has attended the first Farmers' Institute ever held in Pennsylvania. Man's Foster-Mother — The Cow. Willis P. Hazard, Esq., of West Chester, followed with an interesting and instructive lecture on the subject of "Cows." He started out by asserting that in dairy districts will always be found greater evidences of wealth and higher intelligence than In any other farming districts. In many neighborhoods the dairyman is rapidly becoming a commercial man, for the reason that, as he averred, the creamery is turning out butter of the best quality, and as the quality increases so does the price. Creamery men and milk producers and finding great competition in oleomargarine, simply for the reason that it has not yet been demonstrated that the latter article is in- jurious to health. Laws may be passed to stamp it, but who shall say any hotel or restaurant shall serve it with Its stamp, or who shall say that the purchaser shall not buy it if he desires to so do. He believed in encouraging the home market, for the reason that it is the best. It was well, however, to have a foreign market to consume the surplus, because its retention would have the efl'ect of reduc- ing prices. The present thoroughbred cattle, with our ereat barns and cleanly stables, are in great con- trast with the gaunt animals that used to feed about our straw stacks. Formerly the cow that made 100 pounds of butter per annum was a rarity ; now there are plenty that make 200 to 300 pounds. What we want now is to have better farms and better cows. If we can increase the amount of butter from 200 to 300 pounds per annum, we can dispense with every third cow and thus save the cost of feeding one cow. Within a few years past the cow that gave 14 pounds of butter per week was a wonder, but now the number of those cows runs into the thousands. Such is the demand for this kind of cows that they rise rapidly in price. Take a 11 pound cow and you get butter that brings twice as much as that pro- duced from a 7 pound cow, while the calves of the former sell for greatly larger prices. For dairy pur- poses the speaker recommended three breeds — the Channel Island, the Guernseys and the Jerseys. All of these are good, but it was also important to get a good registered bull and breed from him. In se iecting a cow pick out one with a good constitution, round barrel, large milk veins, large udder oi proper shape, the four quarters conforming witli one another, and with a rich, mellow hide covered witli silky hair. Farmers and Public Affairs. .lacob .M. Frantz was the next speaker. He took the aflirmative side of the question, " Should farmers interest themselves in public affairs?" W. H. Brosius,John C. Linvillo and Ephram Hoover held the same view as did Mr. Frantz. In closing the debate Governor Pattison said he who serves himself well serves the State best, and urged upon all farmers to take as much interest in the affairs of the State as they can with profit to themselves. There are many farmers who have noble thoughts sometimes at home, which they should put on record. Put them in the shape of questions to the Stale Board of Agriculture, and they would give the world the benefit of the thought that would otherwise Iiave been lost. Mr. H. M. Engle appealed to the farmers present to become members nf the Lancaster County Agri- cultural Society. Judge Livingston, %vho was present at the sessions of the Institute, being called upon, said he would like to make some extended remarks, but must re- frain on account of a severe attack of neuralgia. He would add a little to what Gov. Pattison said by advising farmers to prepare their thoughts and questions carefully and present them to their loca' clubs, to get the various views of the members. Then send them to the State Board of Agricultural. In answer to a question Mr. Hazard said there was no difference between the Jersey cattle so-called and the Alderneys — they both came from the same island . On motion a vote of thanks was tendered Dr. Wickersham for the valuable assistance rendered by him towards making the Institute a success. The doctor responded by assuring all that the meeting had been a success, even though the number in at- tendance was not so large. Still, as this was the first one of the kind over held in the State he had every reason to be satisfied with the attendance on tills occasion. He hoped the members would labor to make the succeeding ones still more successful, and he expected to live to see the time when the Court House would not be large enough to hold the people who would gather at a meeting of the Farmers' Institute. LINNiEAN SOCIETY. Linnsean met in their rooms on S.^t.u^day, June 28, 18S4, at 2)i P. M., the president, Hon. J. P. Wicker- sham in the chair. Minutes of previous meeting were read and approved and dues collected Donations to the Museum. From Mr. George Miller, proprietor of the restaur- ant at No. 25 North Queen street, a very large hornet's nest, which he obtained from a friend in Earl township. The nest measures 18 inches in length and 40 inches in circumfurenct : and is the " Home without Hands" of the " American Hornet" — Vesjm maculata. As we have a number of species of fexpa, but only one of them is popularly called a hornet, therefore the prefix " American" can only be properly applied to the common name of this in- sect, especially as one species has received the name of Americana^ which has been regarded as the American variety of the foreign species Vuhjarix. This latter insect is commonly called the " Yellow Hornet," on account of Its yellow color alternating with dark brown or black ; the Maculata being white or black ; sometimes called the " White" or " White faced hornet." The Americana also builds a spherical paper nest on bushes, but it is usually much less in size than that of the white hornet. This yellow hornet must, however, not be con- founded with the l'owdercd sugar over It. Apple Custard Pie.— Peel sour apples and stew until soft, and not much water left In them ; the rub through a cullender ; beat three eggs for each pic to be baked, and put in at the rate of one cup butter and one of sugar for three pies ; season witi nutmeg. Less eggs and butter will make a good pi not as rich as above recipe. Lemon Cream Pie.— One tcacupful [>owdered sugar, one tablespoonful butter, one ege , the julco and grated rliid of one lemon, one teacupful boiling water and one tablespoonful corn starch dissolved in cold water. Stir the corn starch Into the boiling water, cream the butter and sugar and |)Our over them the hot mixture. When quite cool add lemon Hud the beaten egg. Take the inner rind off the lemon aud mince very small. Bake without top crust. Good and Cheap Pie Cudst.- One quart siaed (lour, one teaspoonful salt, two heaping tcas|HX>nfulB Rumfonl Yeast Powder; mix thoroughly together while dry, and sift. Then add cold sweet milk enough to make a stiff dough, and roll out as usual. Uhc the " Pie Crust Gla^e " on both the Ixiltom and t..p crusts, as per following recipe. Some prefer less of the Yeast I'owder In pie crust ; a trial will deter- mine what quantity best suits your taste. Pie Crust Glaze.— To prevent the julco soaking through into the crust and making it soggy, wet the crust with a beaten egg, just before you put In the pic mixture. If the top of the pie Is wet with the egg It gives it a beautiful brown. Puff Crust for Pies and Tarts.— One pound (lour, one-half pound butter, one-half pound lard. Cut lard and butter together ; rub one third of the shortening into the (lour and wet with one egg beaten with enough cold water to make the dough the same consistency of the shortening, according to the weather. Roll the remainder of the shortening Into the crust, and set Into a cold place until thoroughly cooled. Apple Pie.- Take sour apples and pare, core and slice them. Put the crust in the plate and then a layer of sliced apples, and sprinkle over them a thick layer of light brown sugar, then another layer of apples and more sugar, and so on until the dish is full. Put on a top crust and bake. Powdered sugar sifted over the top when done Is liked by many. Biscuit.— Take one quart sifted flour loosely put in, two heaping teaspooufuls Rumford Yeast Pow- der, one teaspoonful salt, sulllcient sweet milk and water, or milk alone, to make a slack dough just stiff enough to handle ; shape with a siJOon and the floured hand. Bread.— Follow the above directions, adding one- half gill more water. Cover the pan, which should lie deep enough to allow the bread to rise without touching the cover (a flat piece of sheet iron answers very well as a cover) . When nearly done, the cover may be removed to brown the top of the loaf. Graham Rolls.— As Graham flour should not be sifted, take one and one-half pints Graham flour, two heaping teaspooufuls of Kumford Yeast Powder. Add one teaspoonful salt. To one pint of water add half a gill of molasses, with which wet the flour. A well-beaten egg improves these rolls. Bake like while rolls in Gem pans. Waffles.- Take one quart of Hour, a teaspoonful salt, a tableepoonfal melted butter and milk enough to make a thick batter. Mix thoroughly. Add two wellbeat.cn eggs, and two heaping teaspoonfuU Rumford Yeast Powder ; stir well and bake at once in waflle irons. Muffins.- With one pint of milk aud sufflcleul wheat flour, make a thick baiter ; add a little salt, a tablespoonfuls melted butter, two well-beaten eggs, two heaping teaspooufuls Kumford Yeast Powder, and bake quickly In mullln rings. Strawberry or Peach Short Cake.— To one <|uarl of flour add two heaping teasixjonfuls Rumford Yeast Power, ouo tablespoonful white sugar and a little salt. Mix thoroughly while dry. Chop up three tablespoonfuls butU-r in the flour thus prepared. To one large cupful of sweet milk add one egg. Tlicn put the whole together as (juickly and with as little handling as possible, lioll Into two sliceis, each about half an Inch thick. Bake In a wcU- greascd pan, laying one sheet on top of the other. When done, and while yet warm, separate them and put between the two crusts a thick layer of straw. 1J2 THE LANCASTER FARMER. [July, 1884. berriCE o: ripe peaches sliced, well sprinkled with powJered .vhite sugar. Cut like a pipe, and eat with sugar and cream. RtiiUFORD Johnny Cake.— Three teacupfuls white Indian meal, one teaspoonful salt, and two teaspooufuls Rumford Yeast Powder. Mix thorough- ly together while dry ; then add one tablespoonful melted butter and enough sweet milk to make a slack dougli. Roll out half an inch thick and bake in a shallow pan well buttered. After it begins to brown, baste it frequently with melted butter. When served, do not cut but break it. Gingerbread.— Take one and one half cups molas see, one-half cup sugar, three quarters of a table- spoonful butter, one teaspoonful ginger, one half teaspoonful cinnamon, and beat all together until the mixture grows considerable lighter, then add one cup sweet milk, mixing well. Now take two and one-half cups flour, and two heaping teaspooufuls Rumford Yeast Powder ; mix them thoroughly to- gether very hard and bake immediately in shallow pane. Rdmeord Yorkshire Tea Cakes.— One quart sifted flour, lossely measured, mixed with two heap- ing teaspooufuls Kumford Yeast Powder. Rub into It one ounce of butter, and then add one egg, well beaten, and mix the whole with enough sweet milk to make a thick batter. Bake immediately in small cake tins or Gem pans. Have the tins or pans hot before filling. Crumpets.— Mix together thoroughly while dryi one quart sifted flour, loosely measured, two heaping teaspooufuls Rumford Yeast Powder, and a little salt ; then add two tablespoonfuls melted butter and sweet milk enough to make a thin dough. Bake quickly in muffin rings or patty pans. Rice Muffin.s.— One pint sifted flour, two heap- ing teaspoonluls Kumford Yeast Powder, and a little salt. Thoroughly mix together ; then add one cup cold boiled rice, two eggs, one tablespoonful butter and enough sweet milk to make a thick batter. Bake immediately. POULTRY. Breeds for Laying. The best breeds of fowls for laying are those that suit the climate in which they are kept. It is an oft- repeated inquiry as to which breed is most suitable, by those who contemplate poultry keeping. Such inquiry can only be answered by those who have ex- perimented with different varieties in diflferent loca- tions. There is no doubt that the Leghorns are equal to any other breed for egg-production, but it does not follow that they are the most profitable fowl under all circnmstancee. They are divided into two classes— the single and rotecombs— and there is a further subdivision, according to color. The single comb varieties of fowls are subject to frozen combS in very cold weather, but when properly managed they escape harm. The difliculty may be overcome by " dubbing " them, as is done with Games, but as the principal points of the Leghorns are given to the comb, they would therefore be disqualified from com- petition at the fairs and poultry shows. A frosted comb would not be very objectionable to those who only breed fowls for profit and not for exhibition, but when the comb becomes frosted the hen ceases to lay until the injured member is completely healed. As the comb may be fiozen several times during the cold season, the loss of time from egg-production, owing to the effect of the temperature, would be quite an important item. The double comb varieties though exposing quite a large surface to the action of cold, have their combs closer to the head. In thus noticing so small a matter as the comb, the object is to present one of the difficulties in the way of keeping a breed that never sits, but lays well. While the breed may not find favor in cold climates, that is no reason why it should not be popular in other sections. As the Leghorns have their virtues and faults, so do the other breeds of fowls. In raising fowls for market many object to the Brahmas and Cochins on account of their slow growth, and this objection may be a strong one if the fowls are to be sent to market as chicks, as they do not feather until well advanced. If matured fowls are intended for shipment the largest carcases, with fine appearance, may be obtained from such breeds. The Plymouth Rocks, which grow fast, and are unilorm in appear- ance when young, also make good market fowls when grown, but, while they are excellent layers, they are liable to become excessively fat when highly fed, es- pecially when they are confined, which is a hindrance to egg-production. This may also be an objection to the Brahmas and Cochins. The best results are de- rived from Plymouth Rocks when they have free range. All breeds do best with freedom, but the larger ones are more contented under restriction. It is best, therefore, in selecting a breed for laying to take into consideration its hardiness, fitness for mar- ket, time of maturity, adaptability to climate and disposition. By seleting that breed which possess qualities adapting them to the conditions of the par- ticular section of country, the best breed for laying as well as for other purposes will be secured. Successive Crops of Poultry. Where labor is too costly, says the Co-operative Poultry Post, or where, as in a large family, no ac- count is made of the labor of children, it is possible to obtain a large income from a comparatively small fiock of fowls. This is accomplished by raising suc- cessive crops of chickens during the season. The first crop should be out of the shell by February 1, and the last installment by June 15. We are speak- ing now of raising chickens for market. The first hatched will be ready for market by the first of May and the last by Thanksgiving. The old fowls should be disposed of in July, or as soon as their services as layers and mothers can be dispensed with. The successive broods should be disposed of just as soon as they will command a fair price. The earliest will be in marketable condition in from eight to twelve weeks. They can never be more profitably disposed ofthanof that age, for as they increase in size prices decline, and so the extra food bestowed on them is actually thrown away. By this method of promptly disposing of the chicks as they mature, the premises do not become over- stocked and the soil of the runs foul, as in the case when large flocks are kept throughout the season to be sold at the holidays. By selling off the old stock in July the greatest possible profit is obtained from them. After this date they lay but few eggs, begin to moult in the fall, and perhaps lay not a single egg before winter. The extra pound or two of flesh they put on does not pay for they feed. By killing off all surplus stock by Thanksgiving the yards are cleared out and opportunity is given to feed and care well for the few that are to be kept over for next season's breeding. The extra care these few receive will in- duce early laying and broodiness in the spring, and these two points are essential to success. We have only ontlined a method that is followed by many in the Eastern States who have been successful in mak- ing money by raising eggs and poultry for the food market. The plan will have to be modified accord- ing to locality and other circumstances. Effects of Poultry Manure. What is the value of poultry manure ? This question is often asked. I can very justly say the manure is worth quite as much as the food consumed by the fowls: From a flock of 22 hens last summer and 44 through the winter I have gathered 16 barrels of manure. Most of this I put on a snmll vegetable garden in a sandy spot from which the top soil was dug away three years ago five feet deep. The soil was" very sandy and light in color. As it lay in front of the chicken-yard most of the manure has been put on this sandy spot and dug in quite deeply. The soil for a foot in depth is now as dark as a Western prairie soil, and rich, deep brown in color. A few rows of strawberries were covered with the fresh poultry manure in the winter. Neighbors said it would kill the strawberry plants " dead as dead." They are not dead, however, but stand up with an extraordinary growth, and to-day (April 28) I find one plant in blossom, and nearly every plant in the rows ready to burst into blossom. The effect over cow and calf manure is very great. I find this manure also to be grand for onions. For potatoes it is not good, as it encourages scab in a most remark- able degree, which is because the wire worms harbor in it so numerously. Or do the fowls pick up the wire worms and void the eggs of them undi- gested in the droppings, and so spread this pest ? Who can tell. LITERARY AND PERSONAL. The Free Lance. — "A Monthly Journal, de- voted to the Exposure of Fraud and the Protection of the Public." Published at 8 King street, east, by Spence & Co., Toronto, Ont., Can., at 2.5 cents a year in advance. Eight nages quarto, Joseph M. A. Spence, editor. May, 1884, Vol. I., No. 5 ; circula- tion over 4,000 copies. It is " down " severely on all frauds, lotteries, bogus publications, " dead-beat " advertisements, &c., and comes out pretty "flat- footed." To obviate any monotony their might exist in exposing the multitudes of iniquities that charac- terize the present period it " leavens the lump " with spicy anecdote, witicism, and plain and practical selections. Doubtless it fills a " vacancy " that ought not to exist whilst fraud exists. So far as our preference is concerned, we would certainly respond affirmatively to its request to exchange. Linn^an Bulletin. — From two to ten pages royal octavo, issued periodically, containing a synop- sis of the proceedings of the " Linntean Scientiflc and Historical Society," and occasionally such papers of scientific or historical interest as may be read, from time to time, before its meetings. About fifty copies are issued, which are gratuitously distributed among its members, and other scientiflc associations. " Agriculture of Pennsylvania," for 188a, containing the annual reports of the " State Board of Agriculture," the " State -Agricultural Society," the " State Dairymen's Association," the " State Horticultural Society," and the " Pennsylvania State College," being 452 pages royal octavo, illustrated with 33 full-page plates, and 106 figures, of which a few are beautifully colored. The volume also con- tains copious indices to the separate reports ; charts, tabulated experimental statistics, essays, discussions and practical results. Perhaps the State Govern- ment of Pennsylvania has never had a volume con- taining better material and better mechanically exe- cuted. The printer's and engraver's arts save many a " dull play from being damned." The Poultry Keeper. — A journal for every one interested in making poultry pay. Vol. 1, No. 2, Chicago, 111., May, 1884. An exceedingly neat and artistically executed demi-quarto of 16 pages and splendidly illustrated. W. V. R. Powis, publisher, at 89 Randolph street. Terms, .50 cents a year in advance. A cheap publication, and yet not a single cheap-lookiug thing about it. P. H. Jacobs, editor. The papers published in it are all brief, pithy, and to the purpose. Acknowledging that the " field of poultry papers" is pretty full, yet the sponsers of this journal claim that there is " room at the top," and hence their ambition is to reach that point. There are some excellent poultry journals in the United States, but for its size and price, we have seen nothing that can successfully compete with this journal, and in its size we also include its quality. The illustration of the Plymouth Rock Cock on its first page is a most magnificent specimen of the engravers art. It is astonishing how bold and rotund an object can be brought out from a fiat sur- face by the mere employment of white and black deftly manipulated by the gravers pencil. What must be regarded as a standing merit in this journal, is, that it proposes to co-operate with other journals of a high character in rooting out and sup- pressing all manner of fraud, and fraudulent adver- tising, through which boijus poultry men impose upon the public—" a consummation most devoutly to be wished for." THE LANCASTER FARMER T>ENGUIN ISLAND GUANO. A pure natural mmno. eontiiiniiiK over 45 per cent, of bone uhosphute «>f lime and 1.25 per eent. of ammonia, ii.OO per to It in kcw ■■ Siilpliute of ; plnlte of Potn-xll, a cats. Send i CHAS, SPEAR, Jr., 85 West St., New York. SedgwickSteelWireFence THE REASON Baugh's $25.00 Phosphate so cliitip, is simply tiiis : After 25 years we Ikivo liisjcoverefl the cheapeat process of iimking an Aiiiriioniated BONE SUPER rilOSPHATE and having special advantages in the sup- ply of raw material, we are eiiaUled to pro- duce this excellent dundard Irrund of our goods at a lower cost tlnin our other Stand- ard Brands, which are manufactured by us from gooil old formulas, and they have se- cured a National nputation after about 30 years' trial. The $25,00 Phosphate is coming into gem ral use, and its reputa- tion— "The Cheape.'^t and Best Crop Pro- ducer"— is extending ra]ii(lly throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, New Jer- sey, Delaware, Jlaryland anil other States. I Manufactured only by I BAUGH & SONS. ncTTEiisniPPiso strength 'Sielf ouglit. best vai cheapest All Iron AntomMlc or Self-Opening 0»tli. »lao taieapeit »« Nektwt AU Iron Fane*. Beat Wire Ntri'K'lirr and Po»t Auger. Also nianuruo taw Kuaaell'it excellent Wlna EnEluea for puiniiine water, or geaicd eufiines for »rindmg .■inri other hcht xvnrU. For prices and particulars asK h;udw;iro .1.-al.M-. or adn>'' Order on trial, address for circular and location of Western and Southern Storehouses and Agents. • P. K. DEOERICK & CO., Albany, N. Y. llPRIZLii: .,f citli t away than world. For- WHEAT CULTURE ! THE SEED DRILL REGULATOR . several days seed will come up. and large j-ield. Send f o ir7iea(."3ee(i Drill Regain Producefi strong plant* pamphlet "Bote m Kain irCo.Lemont.CentreCo.Pi :SI5 -^- . - light with^ little jnoige^ Handsome and Clrculani with 1^. SPRlKGf^llO ENGINE £ THRESHER co. f? :;r I , ;"''-■■; SPRINCFiEUD, O.'^^^ V-^'i^^T ^■"~ 7: t' •^1'^'^ Jlorsr "l',',',',',rs "I'T'tiiv 'wuv'tH'. '' f^:j ' ' .''.^'^ " ■'% I -W'Jjr^-^ W^v=#J ' Handsome Illustrated Cata- l^tlfe. ';.- i '"^■pi." fl _ _l-~ «a^2.-a=— Ai*^ loEues sent free. '^Cv V- - V rsmrx. .-gvyje > I A BEAUTI FUL LAWINI "henderson^^^^^^^ I ^EB^S^^^^^3||Mfe " CENTRAL PARK " I H^BaUggg^ttS LAWN GRASS SEED, ^■Pn^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H those used in forming the ot New H^KtfiMH^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^HHj York's famous park. Over OO.OOO pack- ^^^^^^SSB||HHH|liB^H^IH^^^^^^^^3 ages sold by us lut^t season. One quart «[ «J=^- " .JSfi8SB4S'"-Ct- T^^^^^^^^^^^m ^'^'^ '*''" ^"'^ o" ^'^^ l-""-" '«et=30u square HI "*-.^; — ;;' *"--' - "^^^^^^^^^Hfeet. or for an acre 6 bushels are required. a '^e^^ "" — ^^ <^^^^^^^^H InstrucUons for sowing and after treatment BF^<^ ^^^j. -- .^^^^^^^^H ^^"^ ^^^^ vfilh every order. Price, 25 cents IJTOjjOjli'ftffifc'^i I ^^--*-;^.^~-^]f^9^^^^^^H per quart. (If b.r mall, add 10 cents per B|aa^UU9^BB[^9fc^^_^/T7'^a^^^^^^H quart for postage) If by freight or express, ^^^^^^^^^^^^H^^^^^^Bkft^r_,^B^^^^^^^^H|l..'il> per peck, f.'.i)^ ptT bushel. Catalogue ] H^BBBL^^^HHHHBHIHIH^Bh"' '^"^ "''>' Plants on appUcalToQ. PETER HENDERSON A CO seedsmen & florists, I I'fc I ^"^nLlllJC-I^OVJI^Ot Ul^a, 36&37 Cortlandt8t..Waw York A HOME ORGAN FOR FARMF.RS. 11, A MONTHLY JOURNAL, Devoted to Agriculture, Horticulture. Do- mestic Economy and Miscellany. Founded Under the Auspices of the Lancas ter County Agricultural and Horti- cultural Society. EDITED BY DR. S. S. RATHVON. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION : ONEDOLLpPERANNUlf, P0ST.4(iE rREP.UD BY THE I'ROPRIETOK. All subscriptions will commence with the January number, unless otherwise ordered. Dr. 8. S. Rathvou, who has so ably managed the editorial department iu the past, will continue iu the position of editor. His contributioue on subjects connected with the science of farming, and particularly that specialty of which he is 60 thorouhly a master— eutomoloeical science— some knowledge of which has become a necessity to the success- ful farmer, are alone worth much more than the price o this publication. He Is determined to make *'The Farmer' a necessity to all households. A county that has so wide a repntatloo as Lancaster county for its agricultural products should certainly be ahle to support an agricultural paper of Its own, for the exchange of the opinions of farmers Interested in this mat- oter. We ask the co-oi)oratiou of all farmers in, crested in this matter. Work among your friends. The "Farmer" I only one dollar i>er year. Show them your copy. Try and induce them to subscribe. It is not much for each sub- scribor to do but it will greatly assist ue. All commanicationein regard totheedltorial management should be addressed to Dr. S. S. Rathvou, Lancaster, Pa , and all bostuess letters in regard to subscriptions and ad- vertising should be addressed to the publisher. Rates of advertising can be had on application at the lOHN A. HlhofAND No. 9 North Queen St., Lancaster, P«, THE LANCASTER FARMER [July, 1884. Where To Buy Goods !^ LANCASTER. BOOTS AND SH.'iES. M' MI-KVY. No. :; . Dollar Slioesi East Kint; Mrer-t. BOOKS AND STATIONERY. JOHSi BAEK'S SO>-S, Xos. 15 aiul 17 Xoith Queen Street, Imvetlie liirf-e*t and licsl assorted Book and Paper Store in llu- rily. FURNITURE. H KIXIT.SII-.S. CHINA AND GLASSWARE. HIGH A M.»RTIX. Xo. l.') East Kins St., dealers in C'liina, Gla«s and Queensware, Fancy Goods, Lamps, Burners, Chimneys, etc. CLOTHING. m: VKRS A KATHFOX, Centre Hall, Xo. 12 East St. LargesfClothing- House in Pennsylvania le of i'hiladclpliia DRUGS AND MEDICINES. G\v. Kl'I.I.. Dealer in Pure DruK's and Medicines , Chemicals, Patent Medicines, Trusses, Shoulder Braces, Supporters, &c., 15 West King St., Lancaster, Pa T"HX F. LOXG'S SOXS, Drui J Queen St. Drugs, 11. - ' 3ye Stuffs, Etc. Prescriptii Xo. 12 Xorth HATS AND CAPS. Price JEWELRY AND WATCHES, HZ. KIIOAU"; A RS!0 , Xo. 4 West King .St. . \Va!.l,i.-, C'),„k and .Musical Boxes. Watches PRINTING. TOHN A. HIESTAXW, 9 Xorlh Queen St., Sale O Bills, Circulars, Posters, Cards, Invitations, Letter and Bill Headsand Envelopes neatly printed. Prices low. BOWMAN & MUSSER, Successors to Wholesale Dealers in AT I.OWF.M- POSSIBLE PKIt Es, Fully gufirauteed. No. 20 EA3T CHESTNUT STREET, Opposite P. R, R. Depot. GREAT BARGAINS. CARPET HALL OF H. S. SHIRK, Xo. 302 West Khifj St. Call and examine our stock aud satisfy yourself that we «an show the largest aBsortment of these" Brussels, three pliee and ingrain at all prices— at the lowest Philadelphia oplete I Rag SafiBfactiou guaranteed bath as to price and quality. Tott are invited to call and see my goods. Xo trouble in •howisg them even if you do not want to purchase. Don't forget this notice. You can save money here if you w«nt to buy. Particular attenliou given to customer worlc. Alio on hand a full assortment of Counterpanes Or ^ -m--- -- GLOVES, SHIRTS, UNDERWEAR. SHIETS MAdFtO OKDER, .\XD WARR-\XTED TO ITT. £. J. £RISMAN, 17 West King St., Lancaster, Pa. Bnrbaiik S'otr'ni' . nn vl>!«'li.;ilarbl<-he%fl <'»bbage, •♦iiiniiey's Melnii, and a score of other New Vegeta- bles, I invite the patronage of the public. New Vegeta- bles a specialty. JAJIES J. H. CSKEGORY. Marblehead, Ma v-6mo] EVAPORATE YOUR FRUIT. ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUH: FREE TO .iLL. AMERICAN DRIER COMPANY, rh:ii»i»KTs!>i?r!i\ Pa. $72 i C. R. KLINE, yVTTOF(NEY-AT-|jAW, OFFICE : 15 KORTH DUKE STREET, LANCASTKR, OPA-. mmt PIANOFORTES. UNEUUALLED IN ^ Tone,Toncli,Worlflnaiisliiii anil DnraMlity. Baltimore. No, n2 Fifth Avenue. N. Y. Special Inducements at the NEW FURNITURE STORE W. A. HEINITSH, in all kinds of Fufoitufe, Picture Frames, fie, ids consta lNCASTER.IPA, DR. JOHN BULL'S Sffli'sToiicSFflP FOR THE CURE OF FEVER and AGUE Or CHILLS and FEVER, AND ALL MALARIAL DISEASES. The proprietor of this celebrated medi- cine justly claims for it a superiority over all remedies ever offered to the public for the SAFE, CERTAIN, SPEEDY and PER- MANENT cure of Ague and Fever, or Chills and Fever, whether of short or long stand- ing. He refers to the entire Western and Southern country to bear him testimony to the truth of the assertion that in no case whatever will it fail to cure if the direC' tions are strictly followed and carried out. In a great many cases a single dose has been sufficient for a cure, and whole fami- lies have been cured by a single bottle, wit,h a perfect restoration of the general health. It is, however, prudent, and in every case more certain to cure, if its use is continued in smaller doses for a week or two after the disease has been checked, more especially in difficult and long-standing cases, Usu- ally this medicine will not require any aid to keep the bowels in good order. Should the patient, however, require a cathartic medicine, after having taken three or four doses of the Tonic, a single dose of BULL'S VEGETABLE FAMILY PILLS will be suf- floient. BULL'S SARSAPARILLA is the old and reliable remedy for impurities of the blood and Scrofulous affections — the King of Blood Purifiers. DR. JOHN BULL'S VEGETABLE WORM DESTROYER is prepared in the form of candy drops, attractive to the sight and pleasant to the taste. DR. JOHN BUI Cabbage Fleas VZ5 Notes from a Suburban Lawn 125 HOUSEHOLD RECIPES. Beef Tea 125 Chicken Panada 125 Chicken Broth 125 Nutritious Jelly 125 Irish Moss Jelly l-.i5 Wine Whey 125 To Mull Port Wine 125 Refreshing Drinks In Fevers 125 Graham Bread 125 Mutton Broth 125 Calf's Feet Broth 125 To Make Gruels 125 Oatmeal Gruel 125 Barley Gruel 125 Flour Gruel 125 BoUed Flour 12.5 Belladona Anodyne Ointment 125 Sulphur Ointment 125 Slippery Elm Poultice 125 Mustard Poultice 125 Poultice for Strains and Bruises 125 Carbolic Acid Gargle 125 Gargle for Ulcerated Sore Throat 126 Orange Tonic 126 Balm Tea 126 Infusion to Produce Sweating j--"' Dandelion Alterative 1-" Atiee's Nipple Wash }-;« Beach's Remedy for Ulcers 1^» To Mend Crockery Ware 1^ Fine Paste }%^ Strong Glue ]^ Magic Liniment Y^ Itch Ointment J^° Emetic J2« Carbuncle '•''' To Stop Bleeding }f. Mumps J"*; Cure for Neuralgia J™ Quinsy '■■'6 Atiee's Cure for Whooping Cough i^o Remedy for Worms '■^° Diarrhoea in Infants 1-° Simple Remedy for Dysentery 126 Fits 126 Sick Headache 126 External Remedy for Piles -v- J'^f Remedy for Suppressed Menstrifltion 126 Fine Smelling Salts >. 1^6 Enamel Powder ,m«126 Cold Cream ^*.126 Rose Glycerine Cream 126 To Remove Freckles 126 LIVE STOCK. How to Milk 126 Fallacy of Milk Escutcheons In Cows 126 Kindness Profitable 126 Advice to Young Horsemen 127 The Largest Yields on Record 137 Feeding Colts 127 June Butter 127 Overstocking Pastures 127 Lice on Stock 127 Interfering Horses 127 POULTRY. Fowls Must Have Green Stuff 127 How to Pluck Poultry 128 Eggs vs. Eggs 128 Building Material 128 Food for Young Chickens 138 Literary and Personal 128 Will a Hen Lay Two Eggs a Day 128 Laying Qualities of a Leghorn 128 WIDMYER & RICKSECKER, UPHOLSTERERS. And Mamifacii FURNITURE PD CHAIRS. WAREROOMS: 102 East King St., Cor. of Duke St. LANCASTER, PA. W Every Township in the County. Good Wages can be ade. Inquire at THE EXAMINER OFFICE No. 8 North Que«D .Street, Lancaster, Pa »i:nnsvlv.\m.\ statk <(>i.lk<;k. -opcr Tuition" Free. 1 Science, Aurimliui. , ^ gJncering, Mi-iluuii.- \i i for Ladies. Prcparat()ry September lOtli, lliM. F ivil En- liiiinl K»ll term opcng higues or any other in- formation, address, GEO. W. ATHEKTON, LL.D., State College P. <)., Centre Co., Pa. President. JOSEPH DELLET, LANCASTER Steam Cigar Box Factory, 416 North Market Street, LANCASTER, PA. Edgings, Labels and Supplies of kinds always on hand. BEST MARKET PEAR. 99,il»!» PEACH TRECS, all the best varieties of New and Old STK.A.WHKKK1ES, CIKRANTS, GRAPES, KASPIJERKIKS, etc. EARLY CLUSTER BLACK IJERRY, New. Early, Har.lv, ^l•^toun. N..I. LANDRETH'S SIEIIEIIDIS ARE THE BEST. North, Soufti, East or West. EverytbinKuf (he best for farm, garden and . ■ country seat. Ilhistralod and descriptive catalogues free. Over 1500 acres under cultivation, growinR Landreth's Garden Seeds. Foun.lid 17X4. D. LAHDRETH k SONS, Philadelphia, Pa. THE LANCASTER FARMER. »E!«NS\l,VAXIA RAILROAn SCHEDULE. On and after SCNDAY, .1 UXE 24, 1883, trains leave ■ Depot in this city, as follows : WE TWARD. Pacific Express" News Kxj.ress* Way PaSBeuger* Hanover Accommodation, . Fast Line' Frederick Accommodation. Lancaster .\ccommod'n . . Harrisburg Accom Columbia Accommodation., Harrisburg Express Western Express EASTWABD. Mail Express* Philadelphia Express.. Fast Line* Harrisburg Express Columbia Accommodation. Seashore Express Johnstown Express Harrisburg Accom. 6:30 a. m. 9:30 a. m. 9:35 a. m. 9:45 a.m. 9:50 a. m. 1:3.5 p.m. Lancaster. 12:42a. m. 2:27 a. m. 4:25 a. m. lo!20 a', m'. 11.45 a. m. 3:15 p. m. 5:05 p. m. 9:45 p! m'. The Frederick Accommodation, west, connects at Lancas- ter with Faat Line, west, at 1:.35 p. m., and runs to Frederick. Hanover Accommodation, west, connecting at Lancaster with Niagara Express at 9:45 a. m. will run tlirough to Hanover daily exci.tSuM.liiy. , ,. , Harrisburs KMii - "-' ,.: .:4'i p. m. has direct con- nection to Cclni I ■, ; The Fast I.i.v - ^ ■ I '>. when flagged will stopat Downinu ' I'- Parkesburg, Mount Joy, Elizabeth:' !i h : -i > : i..\\n. ThcJohnst.."!! i;.|.,. .- r,,,,,, tlie west will connect al Harrisbnr- "i, -nn L.y- «,.l, -^iiiulay Mail east, for Philaaclphia, via M.m. li i .ml I'ohimbia. *Theonlytriiin- "iii.'li inii .hiily. NORBECK&MILEY, PRACTICAL Garriage . Builders, cox & t'O'S OLB ST.l\D, Corner of Duke and Vine Streets, LANCASTER, PA. THE LATEST IMPROVED SIDE-BAR BUGGIES, PH^CTONS, Carriages, Etc, Prices io Suit the Times. REPAIKING promiitly attended to. All work guaranteed. TO -2- EDW. I. ZAHM, AMERICAN AND FOREIGN WATCHES, SOLID SILVER & SILVER PLATED WARE, CLOCKS. JEWELRY I TABLE CUTLERY. Sole Agent for the Arundel tinted SPECTACLES. Repairiug strictly attended to. North Queen-st. and Centre Square, Lancaster, Pa. ESTABLISHED 183S =^^^-31^^^^^ G. SENER &; SONS, [lU kinds of rough and I^UIMEBIBR, PATENT 0. G. WEATHERBOARDING OFFICE AND YARD : Northeast Coruer of Prince and Walnnt-sts., PRACTICAL ESSAYS ON ENTOMOLOGY, ory and habits i re- sume to tell him ?ia»' to do it. During this month also the second broods of many insects go into the ground to pupate and pass their winter hibernation. Late |)low- ing would turn up many of them to fall a prey to insectiverous animals, or the mercy of the elements. Late plowing also aflbrds an escape from the attack of the Ile.ssian-fiy. In connection with the subject of plowing and sowing too little importance is often at- tached to the quality of the seed that is sown. If you "sow the wind you will surely reap the whirlwind." Therefore, look well to the qudlity of the seed you sow. If you have failed to realize good seed in your own crop then go to your next next neighbor, or a reliable seed store, even if you have to pay double for it. There may be those still who consider the matter of seed of no importance, but the number, among intelligent farmers, is grow- ing less. MAPLE SCALE INSECT. This insect (to which we' alluded in our ■luly number, under the terms " Bark-louse or Scale Insect," seems to have a very "wide berth " the present season, including not only eastern, middle, and western Peinisyl- vania, but also several other .States. Else- where in this number of the Farmek will be found a paper on the subject from the pen of Prof. Lintner, State Entomologist of New York, which we clip from the columns of the Pittsburg Chronicle Telegra-ph, which may not only be interesting but also useful to those of our readers whose trees are suffering under the pending infestation ; especially as he gives the formula of the best artificial reme- dies that may be applied for its extinction. Whatever it may be deemed necessary to do in the matter, should be promptly and thor- oughly done. POULTRY EXHIBITION. We observe from the proceedings of the last meeting of our local Poultry Association, that steps are already being taken to hold another annual fair. We commend the per- severance and the " grit" of our local poultry men, and we sincerely hope they may meet with the success they so richly merit. In the meantime we trust they will not fail to honor the County Agricultural .Society, which commences its exhibition of the first of September next, with a practical recognition. PLUMED THISTLE. Mount Joy, July 18, 1884. ,S. S. Rathvon, Esq.— Dear Sir: I send you herewith a stalk pulled up in Joseph Det- weiler's field. This Mr. D. calls the worst wi>(nl that is seen growing in this neighbor- hood. It was supposed for years to be the so- called "Canada Thistle," but it is said by those who are better informed than we are that it is not the Canada Thistle. But what is it V Please examine it and send us the proper botanical name of it, and oblige yours, &c.. Very respectfully, A. G. Your plant is one of the common " Plumed Tiiistles "—of which there are ten or more species that are found in the United States — the Cirsium disculor, Spreng., and is a native. The "Canada Thistle" is Cirsium arvense, Scop., and is more spiney and very much less in height ; introduced from Europe. A few days ago I found immense quantities of the Canada Thistle growing on the banks of the Susquehanna, below York Furnace, in York county — enough to inoculate the whole State of Pennsylvania. This is all wrong ; there ought be some authority to compel its removal. If Mr. D. knows this to be " the worst weed growing in his neighborhood," then he is cul- pable in permitting it to go to seed ; it should be cut down close to the roots and never be allowed to ripen its seed ; each seed is at- tached to a small "parachute," and by a favorable wind the plant is enabled to scatter its pernicious seeds to an immense distance. These thistles are difficult to eradicate, from the fact that each root fiber may pro- duce a plant, but by pensevering energy it can he cowjiured, if all the farmers simultaneously co-operate in its removal. The whole tribe of thistles are pernicious, and none of them ought to be tolerated. They are already be- ginning to scatter their seeds by means of the little parachutes referred to. TRUMPET GALLS FOUND ON GRAPE VINES. Kirk WOOD, July 17, 1884. Prof. S. S. Ratiivok.— Sir .• Enclosed you will find a grape-leaf which drew my at- tention the other day, and not being able to explain the cause of those protuberances, I have referred the matter to you. You will oblige me by answering through the columns of the New Era. Yours respectfully, M. S. C. Letter and contents duly received. The thorn-like " protuberances " on the grape leaf are what are commonly called the "Trumpet- galls." They are caused by a small fly be- longing to the Cecid^)myans, or Midge family, and are nearly allied to the Hessian-fly and wheat midges. As galls of a similar form occur on the leaves of other vegetation than the grape, this one has been christened, by way of dis- tinction, the "Trinnpet Grape Gall," and has been described and named by Baron Osten Sacken Vitis viticola. Tliey are usually of a light brown or red color, from a third to half an inch in length, spur or spine-shaped, and occur from a single one to groups of three or four ou the upper surface of the leaf. Oc- casionally, however, they occur on the lower surface of the leaf, when they are of a green- ish color. If these g.alls are split open they will 1)6 found to be hollow, and if at the proper time a very small orange-colored maggot will be found to occupy most of them, supposed to be the larva of a gnat, belonging to the genus Cecidomiiia. If the leaf is left on the vine the gnat may escape without being detected ; and if taken off, they are certain to die through "drying out;" hence, so far as we know to 114 THE LANCASTER FARMER. [August, the contrary, they have not yet been identi- fied, nan. -id specifically, and described. The field seems to be still open to discovery, and if you can succeed in breeding and identifying the gnat that causes these trumpet-galls, you will subserve science, and add a scientific " feather to your cap." We must confess we have failed in every attempt to rear them. ABOUT HAIR-WORMS. (GordiiM, ele.) MrLLERSVii,LE, July 3, 1^84. Prof. S. S. Rath von. —Dear Sir: I take the privilege of sending you a curious worm, (il I may so call it,) that was pumped from one of our never-failing wells of this village. It was handed to me by a Mr. Henry, and my opinion asked in reference to it but had to plead ignorance. Therefore I send the speci- men to you for your examination and opinion. I would like to hear what class it belongs to, and whether it is of a common occurrence. By letting a little light shine on the subject, you will greatly oblige. Yours respectfully, B. F. H. Pine Grove, Pa., July 28, 1884. Prof. S. S. R.vthvon.— Dear Sir: I send you with this mail, a vial in a block ot wood containing a worm which was brought me by a neighbor, the worm having been in an apple. Please inform us through the Farmer what it is. Yours, &c., W. H. S. Within about the space of one year, we have received three specimens of Gordius or "Hair-worms," obtained under the most di- verse circumstances, and from localities re- mote from each other, and which constitute three difterent varieties, if not distinct species. The first specimen was black in color, ob- tained in the northern suburbs of Lancaster city, and about eight inches in length. This was found protruding from the body of a large black *beetle about two inches, and then drawn out by the hand. The second was of an ash-brown color, be- tween eleven and twelve inches in length, and was pumped up out of a "never-failing well " in Millersville, in this county. This now holds the distinction of being the longest and the thickest we have never seen, and may be a distinct species, as the anterior end is trilobed instead of bilohed. The third specimen is white in color, taken out of an apple, at Pine Grove, Pa., and is about six inches in length. It seems to be conceded that the first stages of these animals are passed within the bodies of other animals, but it is not clear how they get there. Nor is it clear how they get into an apple, (we have one found in the seed-cavity of an apple) nor how they get into a head ot cabbage, {we also have one or two found near the centre of a compact head of cabbage.) They are said (o deposit their eggs in water, or in damp or marshy places, and the eggs, or the young when first excluded, being very small, are somehow appropriated by the animals. The generic name of these animals is said ♦The person who drew it out and presented it to us did not l/!"a legmninicla, Lint., and as many of them appeared on the outer surface of the heads we supposed them near their pupal change, for which reason we did not immediately supply them with earth. In cleaning out the jar, on the first of August, we discovered in the bottom about a dozen shrivelled orange-colored larvae of the midge, and about as many specimens of a small species of "Chalcis-fly," from which may be inferred that the "bane and antidote" are traveling in company in Pennsylvania. This chalcidian h,as (in some specimens) iridescent wings ; white feet, with a dark spot on the femer of the anterior pair and the head (which is proportionally large), the thorax and the abdomen, a very dark burnished green, or greenish black ; and about the size of Petro- malus pupanmi, which we have bred from the pupae of Pieris rapoe, resembling that parasite in size and color at least. We have an im- pression that the parasite of the "clover midge " has been named and described, but at this writing we have not immediate access to it if it has. On the whole, we do not think that because the midge was abundant in Dauphin county the present season it will necessarily be as abundant, or more so, next season, although it may have had an injurious ett'eet upon the quantity and quality of the present season's crop of clover seed. Time alone, however, can truly demonstrate this. THE "KING BIRD." The " King-bird" or " Bee Marten ( Tyran- niis Carolinensis) in some localities also called "Tyrant Fly-catcher," is wholly, solely and unreservedly an insectivorous bird. It feeds on nothing else, and like the swallows, it only comes amongst us when we have insects for it and its young lo feed upon, and it leaves us as soon as no more winged insects abound. It does not root around among rubbish for in- sects, but usually occupies a perch and waits for them, taking them generally " on the wing." Prof. Thomas G. Gentry, in his " Life Histories of the Birds of Eastern Penn- sylvania," enumerates and names thirty-seven distinct species of insects that have been found in the stomachs of King birds ; and the caterpillars, or larvae of about twenty-five species, that they have fed to their young, before they have been able to help themselves. Among these insects are included some of the most noxious species ; some that are ne .tral and also some that are insect friends. This bird makes no discrimination (neither does any bird for that matter); to him an insect is an insect, and that " fills the bill," so far as he is concerned. Nevertheless, the King-bird has his fault, and according to some people, a very grave one. He seems to have a penchant for bees, and some say for honey bees ; but possibly not because it is a honey bee so much as because it is an insect. Some ornithologists have feebly defended him, alleging that he only destroys the drones, but Prof, Gentry is con- vinced otherwise, through personal observa- tion. Still, this is a mere bagatelle, when we contemplate his whole character. "For its wholesale destruction of man's worst enemies, it merits his unstinted praise," is the testi- mony of an intelligent authority. We have deemed this much necessary at this time, in view of the ruling of one of our city alderman, in a case of shooting a King-bird, brought before him July 31st, in which a young mam was heavily fined. 1884.] THE LANCASTER FARMER. 115 THE ENGLISH SPARROW. It seems almost superfluous to say anything more on the suhjoct of the " English Spar- rows," in their relations to the no.xious insect world ; nevertheless, we now and then read a feeble paraarapli, written and published in their defense by those who do not write about them or defend them rationally. The follow- ing, however, which we find in the columns of the Western Fanner, seems to be so nearly in harmony with our own observations and exiieriences, that we feel it ought to have an increased extension ; and especially so far as it relates to their greedy gregarious charac- ters, their ignoring the presence of the "Elm- leaf insects," and their devourment of seeds and grains; to say nothing about their im- pudent pugnacity. We never look much stock in this imported "natural insecticide," and what we did take, on their first introduc- tion, was under a tacit protest, because that they could possibly be reliable devourers of insects, seemed to be at variance with the principles of their normal classification. But, as it was deliberately brought here, and purported to be one of England's utilized domestications, whose instinctive proclivities liad been entirely changed, we were quite willing to suspend our judgment for the time being and give it a chance. Last season, about the time our farmers were harvesting their grain, we noticed them frequently in flocks of from 50 to 100 feeding on wheat, or on grass-seeds, oats, etc. We did not, how- ever, find them so excessively (as Dr. Dixwell found them) graminivorous ; but, this was because we did not subject them to the same scrutir izing and persevering tests. The best means to ultimately remove them, is to legal- ize their destruction, for "sparrow pot- pie," "sparrow on toast," or "sparrow in roast-potato," are all toothsome and appetiz- ing dishes, which we have practically tested— let the sparrow "go." 1. We have no need, in this country, of seed-eating or vegetable-feeding birds as such. The concurrant testimony of all is that this species is such a bird to an extreme degree, destroying insects to a notable extent only while rearing its young. Dr. John Dixwell, of Boston, says: "Last season I obtained thirt-ynine individual sparrows, during the height of the canker-worm pest, in the Jamaica plain district (near Boston ;) about an equal number of males and females. Tliese l)irds had been allowed to gather any food they liked, and their houses were placed in the midst of several elms infested with worms. On dissection no insect or worm, whole or in part, could be found in their digestive tract, even with a glass, but grain, oats, seeds and gravel alone gave evidence, distinct in these cases, of a gramnivorous liie." 'J. We need insect destroyers which, when natural restraints are removed, cannot become excessively abundant. The English sparrow is not one of these. With a constitution which permits it to feed upon almost anything edible, there can rarely be such a scarcity of food as will prevent ah unlimited multii)lica- tion of individuals. Nesting as it dors by preference, about dwellings and cities in situations usually inaccessible even to cats, we can have no bird which can have so few natural enemies as this one ; that it inherits an iron constitution is sufficiently attested by the fact that it finds it unnecessary to migrate to warmer climes on the approach of cold weather. Indeed we have no bird whose habits render the struggle for existence as slight as it must always be with tlie English sparrow in settled districts. This being the case, I believe it is only a question of time when the English sparrow, if permitted, to do so, will become too abundant to find ample sustenance in our cities, and will then make excursions into the adjoining country for food, as blackbirds do, if indeed they may not even take up a permanent resident about dwellings upon the farms. It appears impossible that such an advent could be for the best welfare of the country. 3. The diversity of habits among insects has led to an extensive division of labor among insect-eating animals, and each kind has acquired a peculiar fitness for certain kinds of work, which in a large degree, dis- qualifies it for work of other kinds. These be- ing the facts it follows that no single bird, however abundant, should be expected to hold all injurious insects within due bounds. The concurrant testimony of those whose judgment should be reliable on this subject, (Among them Dr. Elliott Cones, Mr. J. A. Allen, of Cambridge, and Mr. Robert Ridgway), is that wherever the English sparrow becomes abun- dant it does, by its pugnacity or by sheer force of numbers, crowd out our native species either entirely or in part. 4. Birds which have any injurious tenden- cies are rendered the more injurious if they possess, in addition, the habit of moving in flocks of considerable size. The English spar- row is such a bird. It is the gregarious habit of many seed-eating birds which lends to them their chief noxious quality. Not that they would eat any less grain if they did not unite in troops, but that their injury would be more evenly distributed, causing each man to bear his share of the expenses incident to bird-life as he has received his share of the profits. Did our black birds spread out over the country at large instead of uniting in such large troops, the amount of grain which they would consume, though just as great as at present, would be drawn from so many sources that the quantity taken from each would he so small as to be almost inappre- ciable and certainly not more than a just compensation for the services which most of these birds render. .5. There is, I feel confident, no real de- mand for bird-services either in the country or ciiy, which cannot be met by our native species if they are properly protected and en- couraged. The Chipping Sparrow, for ex- ample, is becoming quite as familiar as its English cousin, while its po.ssibilities for use- fulness far exceed it. It possesses an amiable disposition and is too small to do material damage by destroying grains. It rears .several broods each season and is very fond of cater- pillars of various kinds, among them cut- worms. Considering this subject in a large sense, I can out feel that a serious mistake was made when the English sparrow was introduced into this country, and that we should rid ourselves of it before it becomes more numer- ous. A valuable compilation of opinions in regard to the English Sparrow, for and against, is to be found in Prof. J. II. Cora- stock's "Report upon Cotton Insects" for 1879, publistted by the Agricultural Depart- ment at Wivshington. F. H. Kino. TORNADOES. It seems ([uite Icyitimate to consider whether tornadoes are normal or abnormal manifestations of nature ; or, sequently, violent convulsions, havin<; their origin in the disorders of the moral world. And, although it appears to be universally admitted — at least by tho.se having a tolerable understanding of nature's laws— that their cannot be an effect without a cause, and, presumably, also an end; yet there is a vast diflerence of opinion as to the sphere where causes originate, as well as the plane upon which ends have their final or ultimate consummations. Neither is there a well understood agreement among men as to whether there is an end or not, nor as to whether ceitain physical [ihenomena are causes or effects. Without intending to be dogmatic in our views, we think we recognize that there is daily developing a well defined belief that all causes have their origin in the immaterial world, that effects are manifested in the material world, and that ends have their culmination either in the material or immaterial worlds, or in both, according to circumstances. It is true, that there are some minds peculiarly bright upon all subjects with- in the physical realm, that arc entirely unable or unwilling to recognize anything phenome- nally transpiring beyond the borders of the material world— a sort of " hard-shells," ter- ribly distressed in yielding credence to any- thing less tangible than "buckwheat cakes and sausages." Such are "joined to their idols," and no one need envy them ; neverthe- less let no man judge them, unless he can "judge righteous judgment," and, it may be interesting to know that an idtimatum of such a judgment cannot be accorded by one who is not in the exercise of a rational faith. Fun- damentally, truth is truth, whether it is re- ceived and appropriated as truths or not, whether believed or not. The present age seems to be one that ha.s been, and is peculiarly distinguished for its storms,* cyclones, and tornadoes ; not only in the meteorological realm, but also in the social, the commercial, the professional, the mechanical, the industrial and the moral realms— and not only in these, but also in the realms of vice and folly, and conspicuously in the realms of so-called recreation and amuse- ment. One tornado succeeds another at the present period in the base-ball circle, and its participants and auditors are daily drummed uii as violently and as peserveringly as ever re- cruits were drummed up during the tornadoes of the "Great Reliellion." The tornadoes on the "rail," whether for trade, recreation, or amusement, often hurl merchandise to the "floods or the flames," and humanity, unad- vised, to the tribunals of eternity. Tornadoes in the banking and stock-gambling realms dissipate colossal fortunes as the sun does a morning mist, and loosen the moral bonds which erst have been the safeguards of busi- ness integrity. Such eruptions are most per- nicious in their moral and commercial effects. 116 THE LANCASTER FARMER. [August, To many people, the knowledge that the firm of Don AN.'i Roe have defrawded their credi- tors out of seven millions of dollars, it is the first intimation that such a sum as seven millions exists in the world, and they wonder by what species of legerdemain it should all have gotten into the coffers of Doe & Roe, and they have gotten none of it. The world is daily becoming more restive under the slow but sure systems of commercial and industrial manipulation — hence everything must be moved by sensation, by cyclone, and and by tornado. It is true, that as meteoro- logical tornadoes work a purification of the physical atmosphere, even so those relative phenomena may be permitted in order to purity the moral, the social and the commer- cial or financial atmospheres ; but it illus- trates a low condition of humanity, when such violent means are necessary to its purifi- cation. And now, the various political parties hav- ing chosen their "standard-bearers" in the pending contest, we may legitimately look for political tornadoes. Two have already oc- curred in the massive gathering it was deemed necessary to convene, in order to carry out the aims of individual selfhoods, under the special pleiis of serving the country and its constitution. Two men are set up for oflice Whose charac- ters will be so blackened by the tornadoes of abuse, before the ides of November next, that unsophisticated humanity may well wonder from what plutonian region they have been raked up. It is difficult to comprehend the necessity of such a course, but whatever may transpire men cannot rule it out of the order of that permissive Providence, which only suffers the least evil to prevail without violating human freedom. Men have thought and labored long and in- tensely on the subjects of storms, cyclones, hurricanes, tornadoes, and the various other meteorological phenomena which have occur- red at various times and places, without com- ing to any definite conclusions as to the real cause of these convulsions in the realms of nature ; and the greatest obstacle to the solu- tion of the problem has been in attempting to confine causes, effects and ends to the nar- row boundaries of the physical world. Phe- nomena liave been set down as causes which have been in themselves but mere effects, or the media, or vehicle through which an anterior cause has been visibly manifested as a corelative effect. In contemplating the scenic surroundings of our "first parents in paradise," as they have been portrayed through the conception of the historical artists, there is an immense contrast between the before and after of their notable expulsion. Before man's first diso- bedience all was innocent, tranquil and en- tirely subordinate to the will of tlie Infinite ; but after that event how very changed, not only the visage of poor humanity, but also the very aspect of nature's domain. Fear, shame, mental anxiety, insubordination and animal ferocity, accompanied by elemental convul- sion, characterized the scene. It is sufficient to say in this place, that so long as there is .sinning in the natural world there will also be sorrowing. So long as there are convulsion, tornadoes and cyclones in th^ moral world they are likely to have an out- ward manifestation in the physical world. If these furnished no moral plane of influx they could not injuriously ultimate themselves. Perverse humanity furnishes the plane of their moral influx, and their outer manifestation will be in correspondence with their Inner forces. But somehow the preconceptions of poor humanity cannot or will not see nor' ac- knowledge anything that lies beyond its physi- cal vision. "THE FIRE WORM." Th^s pest which has appeared in Westches- ter county, N. Y., and is moving eastward is thus described by a correspondent of the Sun. — Countryside. "Tlie devastating creature is called the fire worm, because the apple trees look as though scorched by flames after the worm has left them. The leaves are devoured down to the little leafstalk and ribs, and these turn red. Tiie young fruit withers and falls off. The worms are black, smooth, and about three- fourths of an inch in length. They crawl like measuring worms. When the limb on which they are feeding is jarred they drop down in showers, spinning webs on which they ascend if they are not further disturbed. The worms made their first appearance for this season two weeks ago. The trees that they attack are crippled, not only for this fall's crop, but for the next fall's, for they will not recuperate in time to bear next season. All that has been done so far is to plough up the orchards in the hope of turning under the worms and eggs, and lessoning the swarm that will come out next spring. The other day a man went out with an ox team to plow among the trees. The worms drove him out. The worms swarmed over him and the oxen till they were black with them, and he had to give it up. When a man stands under a tree and jars a limb the worms shower down upon him and almost stifle him. In the vil- lages people walk in the middle of the streets rather than encounter the swarms of worms that are dangling from the apple trees which overhang the side walks. At Pleasantville on Sunday evening the people found the worms had taken possession of the front of the Presbyterian Church, covering the steps and door with a black, wriggling coat. The other day I saw Stephen Palmer, of Pleasant- ville, sweeping the worms down from the back side of his house. The house happened to be in their path, and they went right up the clap-boards and into the windows, and would have filled the rooms up solid if he hadn't discovered them in the beginning and commenced fighting them. A curious thing about the worms is that when they drop to the ground they always start toward the east. Eastward the star of tliese myriads takes its way. I don't see how they can keep straight on the points of the cempass after siiinning round and round as they come down on their webs ; but just as soon as one of these worms touches the ground he strikes toward the east. They attack nothing but apple trees. When they begin crawling toward the east, they continue till they find an apple tree in their path. Up they go and devour every leaf on it, and then they drop down and resume their eastward march." The foregoing description of the "Fire Worm" we clip from the columns of the Countryside, which credits it to the (N. Y.) Sun — or rather a correspondent of the Sun — and an intelligent, but somewhat profane presence at our elbow, asks—" What tlie devil is itV Hundreds of such paragraphs get into the various publications of the country, but they mean nothing practically, and in- struct nobody, if they do not absolutely mis- lead. The Chief of the Entomological Divi- sion of the Department of Agriculture sends out circulars of inquiry upon these subjects, and it seems singular that the people who suffer from infestations of these " black worms " do not make an effort to know some- thing about them themselves, instead of being at the mercy of sensational correspondents of uninformed editors and publishers. "They crawl like a measuring-worm," seems to im- ply that they are the " Canker-worm"— or rather one of the canker-worms — for there are two species ; one called the " Spring canker-worm" {Anisopteryx vernata), and the other the "Fall canker-worm" {Anisopteryx 2)ometana), both infesting the apple trees, and neither of which would be hurt much by "ploughing them down"— if such a thing were at all likely— for that is just the condi- tion they require in order to effect their trans- formations, after they have completed their worm-life ; and as to ploughing their eggs down, that would be an impossibility, unless the whole tree were also ploughed down. If these worms were so exceedingly accessible as the Sun^s lucid correspondent represents, the citizens of Westchester county must be very simple, or very indolent, if they could not have found out some means to destroy them ; for they are not so approachable in any of their other forms as they are in the worm- form. With little regard to truthfulness, or to use, there is too much proueness on the part of correspondents to create a sensation in such cases. We quote the following from page 6, Ban- duin Notes on Natural History (Providence, R. I.), Vol. I, as being the deliverance of Dr. W. O. Brown, at a meeting of the "Provi- dence Franklin Society," held on the 16th of last June. He also gave an instance of a man in Johnstown saving his orchard from the ravages of the "Canker-worm," by shower- ing the trees with a mixture of Paris Green and water, it being "perfectly eflective." 2'hat, or almost any other remedy would be better than to stupidly attempt to fight the insects with such "slow-coach" weapons as an ox and plough. We might infer from the paper we have quoted that Westchester county must be a 'sort of "Egypt," having no knowledge of the ate Dr. Asa Fitch, who labored in the field of entomology for more than thirty years in New York State, and published many volumes and papers on the life, habits, &c., of noxious insects. Nor of Mr. Lintner, the present State Entomologist ; nor of the Buflalo, nor the Brooklyn Entomological clubs. Of course we are not certain that the " Black-worm " referred to is a "Canker-worm," but, from the description and the fact that this worm has been destructive on Long Island, and 1884. The LANCASTER FARMER. 117 many places in the East, we infer that if is. Ploughing the ground while the trees were so full of worms as to be able to drive a man and an ox out of the orchard, must be regarded as a very silly process, and if it had been accom- plished would only have put the soil in a very good condition for the worms to enter after they had matured their larval development, and there they would have gone of their own accord. This worm can only be conquered above ground, and if not exterminated whilst on the trees then traps must be set to capture the females as they come up out ot the ground in the spring, and very early in the spring too— indeed, during warm spells, in the months of February, March and April, they have been known to come up and ascend the trees, hence various kinds of traps have been attached to the trunks, entirely surrounding them, to capture the female moths, for they are wingless and can only get on the trees by crawling up the trunks. The males have wings and can lly, but they do no further harm than fertilizing the females. If, therefore, the females are destroyed before they deposit their eggs the work of extermination is ac- complished. This work may not be agreeable, but it must be dune. In any event, application should have been made, at the proper time, (it may now be too late) to the Department of Agriculture at Washington ; it might have sent on a com- missioner of investigation, for this is the very information it has been seeking for years past. Gapes in Chickens. Here we quote a case of a diflerent cliar- acter, in which an attempt is made to establish a thecny in regard to the origin of the "Gape- worm." In the editorial columns of The Poultry Wm-ld, for July 1S84, we find an ably written article (in the main) on this subject, which we regard as erroneous, when the writer infers that because the "Bot-fly," "Sheep-fly" and other insects, are worms in one of the forms of their development, that have been bred from eggs deposited by the fly of said worms, it therefore must follow— or is likely to follow— that the gape-worm is but the 'larva form of some winged insect that deposits its eggs in the nostrils of the chickens, or in the soil, and is thence picked up (by the chicken) and then gains access to its mouth or wind-pipe, "where both heat and air favor its growth, till it arrives at maturity, and is ejected to repeat itself as a fly, larva and worm." « It is true, that the history and development of the strongylidce are somewhat complicated, and difticult to study, but it does not follow that they are the larva of winged-insects; or "flies," any more than it follows that Tape- worms, and other stomach, intestinal, and anal worms are the larvK of winged insects : or that Trichinte, Hair-worms, Fillarians, or Vinegar-worms, are the offspring of insect forms. They belong to entirely different families of the animal world ; and any effort directed towards their identification with the insect world, will only be labor in vain. The paper we refer to is in the main a good one, and here we would suggest that ejected gape worms should be immediately burnt or scalded ; because instances are on record where they liave revived by heat and moisture, after having been dried from ten to fifleen days. Eggs have been discovered in their bodies, as well as in Hair-worms, which is never the case in insect larvic. MAPLE TREE PESTS. The maple trees in the suburbs of the city are being destroyed by an insect on an exten- sive scale. The same insect is making inroads in the maple groves in New York, and Prof. J. A. Lintner, State Entomologist of New York, to whom some specimens were sent, says : The specimens sent, attached irregularly to the lower surface of majjle leaves, about twenty on each leaf, are white cottony masses, of from three to nearly four-tentlis of an inch long, about one-half as broad, of a sub-oval form, bearing upon the narrower end a brown scale which is rounded in front, usually ir- regularly contorted behind, as if from drying, and crossed in the more perfect examples with three or four transverse ridges. They belong to the Coccidce, or as more commonly known, scale insects. Their com- mon name — drawn from the tree upon which they more frequently occur— is the maple tree scale insect. The species was first de- scribed by Br. Rathvon, of Lancaster, Pa., in the year 1854, who found it occurring "in such countless .nillions " upon some linden trees, that he gave it the name of Coccus in- numerabilis. A few months thereafter (in 1855, Dr. Fitch received examples of it from an osage orange hedge in Ohio, and deeming it identical with a fig-tree Lecanium of Europe, he simply described and figured it, with the remark that if it proved a new species it should be known Lecanium marri- larc", — the specific name taken from the plant upon which it occurred. In 18(10 tlie species again came under the notice of Dr. Fitch, as infesting maples in Albany and vicinity, and not recognizing it as the osage orange insect, he proposed for it the name of Lecanium aceri- corticis. In 1808 it was received by Messrs. Walsh and Riley, as infesting maples and also as occurring on osage orange, and vvaS de- scribed, by them as Lecanium acericoia and L maclurcB (American Entomologist, i, 18(59, p. 14, fig. 8). Although marked diflerences have been pointed out in these several forms, they are believed by those who have most closely studied them, to be the .same species with that first described by Dr. Rathvon, and now known as Pulvinaria innumerabilis. While many of our scale insects appear to be confined to a single plant, this species, from some peculiar adaption to varied condi- tions, has quite an extensive range, having been reported as found upon maple, osage orange, linden, locust, sumac, box-elder, beech, willow, grape, currant and rose. From such a range, together with its large size and enormous processes of multiplication, it may properly be numbered among the more in- jurious species. The scale of this insect con- sists of excretory and exuvial material. The white, cottony matter, which is so conspicu- ous a feature of it, in the later stage of its ex- istence, is a secretion for the protection of tlie eggs and the newly-hatched larvae. The life histories of this and of other scale insects are full of interest, but they cannot be briefly given, and therefore those who desire to become acquainted with them should refer to some of the many valuable papers in which they have been treated at length. This par- ticular species has been the subject of an elaborate paper, of some fifty pages and two plates, by the late J. Duncan Putnam, of the Davenport (Iowa) Academy of Natural Sciences, which, from the extremely careful study of which it is the fruit, may justly serve as a model for similar biological work. For the scientific study of the family, refer- ence may be had to a report, on Scale-Insects, by Prof. .1. II. Comstock, contained in the Annual Report of (he Commissioners of Agri- culture for the year l!<8(J. A second report, on the same insects, in continuation of Prof. Comstock's special study of them while ento- mologist to the Department of Agriculture, has just been published in the Second Annual Report of the Cornell University Experimen- tal Station. It is devoted to one of the sub- families of the Coccwte, the Uiaspinm, and treats of 121 species, a number of which are for the first time de8cril)ed. In addition to these, nearly 50 species of other North Ameri- can Uoccidai are noticed. As the scale-Insects, when they abound are exceeding Injurious to the vegetation that they attack, it is of great importance that all who are liable to sufier from their injuries should know how they may best be destroyed. Although serious pests, they are not beyond control if the proper remedies be resorted to. When scale-insects are discovered infesting a few trees in an orchard, the trees should be cut down and destroyed at once, as the best way to arrest the evil. The species that are confined to the trunks and larger branches of .shade and other trees, may often be destroyed by scrubbing with a stiff brush, wet with strong soap-suds. If the foliage is infested, a force pump or garden syringe must be employed for spraying the Insecticide. The two best insecticides for the purpose are soap and kerosene. The first has been thoroughly tested in many experi- ments by or under the direction of Prof. Comstock, and Is strongly recommended by him, to be used In the following manner : In a gallon of hot water one-fourth of a pound of whale-oil soap is dissolved, and its applica- tion Is made at a temperature of about 100=' Fahr. It should be repeated after an interval of a few days. As the result of other experi- ments subsequently made, it Is stated that one pound of concentrated lye to one gallon of water will elTectually destroy all scale in- sects, drying up the scales and eggs beneath them, and killing the young insects If hatched. It is asserted, however, by Prof. Riley that whale oil soap and lye fail to kill the eggs of scale Insects, and he Iherefore urges the use of kerosene as greatly superior to them, and decidedly preferable to any other known sub- stance for the eradication of these pests. The most simple way to apply the kerosene is to mix it with water, for undiluted it is de- structive to many kinds of vegetation. As it separates quickly from the water. It requires to be kept in constant agitation, which may be done by discharging the syringe or pump several times into the pail before applying the liquid to the trees, and continuing to alter- nate the discharge from the tree to the pall. By far the best way In which to use kerosene for insecticidal purposes, is to make an emul- 118 THE LANCASTER FARMEf^. iAiigiiSt, sion ui' it, with milk or otlier substance, wliich maj be readily diluted to any desirable degree for more tender vegetation. How to produce such emulsion with a moderate amount of labor, which shall be permanent and easily dilutable, is still the subject of study and experiment by our practical ento- mologists. Thus far, the emulsion and the method recommended by Mr. H. G. Mubbard, special agent of the United Stales Department of Agriculture, seems to be the best presented. It is as follows : Take of refined kerosene two parts, fresh, or preferably sour, cow's milk, one part (percentage of oil, C65). Mix in a pail or tub, by continuous pumping, with a force-pump, back into the same vessel, through the flexible hose and spray-nozzle. Continue until the liquid curdles into a white and glistening butter, perfectly homogeneous in texture, and stable. The time required varies with the temperature ; at 6(P it will be from half to three-quarters of an hour ; at To*^ fifteen minutes. Heating the milk up to the boiling point will facilitate the operation. The kerosene butter, when needed for use, will mix readily in any proportion of water, if first thinned with a small quantity of the liquid. Should the kerosene butter, which has only been brought to public notice in the last an- nual report of the entomologist of the Depart- ment of Agriculture be found, upon further experiments with it, to fully meet present expectations, we may expect that it will soon be manufactured upon a large scale, and offered in convenient packages for general sale. Made with sour milk, it is said to keep unchanged for any length of time. Its cost need be but trifling. It should be one of the best, if not the very best, of our insecticides, for kerosene has long been known to be fatal to all insect life with which it comes in con- tact.— Piilsburg Clironicle Telegraph. EXCERPTS. C'iMiciKUG.\ is said to cure epileptilorm nightmare. Dr. Beall, of Texas, reports the favor- able use of gelsemium in tetanus. Loss OF Memoiiy.— Consult for this in- firmity the inclinations of the invalid and give them free reins. DiiY ashes applied to a cut will stop bleed- ing, and will if left on a few hours, hasten the healing process. Cold Extkemities.— The Turkish bath and a liberal vegetable diet has achieved won- ders in this aflection. For eczeuiatous sores in children and old people, Dr. Duhring recommends an oint- ment of five grains of iodide of lead to the drachm of vaseline. Spirits camphor and starch applied to a burn will extract the fire and give speedy re- lief. The starch should be kept moistened with camphor. Sponging the surface of the body with a solution of quinine in alcohol— one drachm to the pint— is now recommended for exces- sive sweating. It is a remedy that has long yielded us good results. For inflammation of the eyes in new-born infants : Cleanliness, quantum sufficient ; Sul. morphia grs. ss. ; fluid hydrastis, dr. ss. ; sul. zinc, grs. ss. ; acqua pura, oz. iv ; mix. Apply every hour or two. Ulcerous Tiikoat.— Gargle a solution of one part Yerba reuma to seven of water. Then take an alterative composed of one part of stillingia and two parts of syrup in tea- spoonful doses four times daily. Oil of wintergreen has lately received con- siderable attention from therapeutists, as a remedy in rheumatism. It is said to be superior to salicylic acid in its effect. Ten drops three or four times a day, in a little milk or flaxseed tea. Dr. Vale is reported as asserting that from 7,000 cases of ansethesia in the London hospitals, every case manifested alarming symptoms and all of those that were rolled over on their '.eft sides recovered, while those turned to their right sides all died. Inhalations of carbonic acid are recom- mended by several authorities in the Rev. de Thcrap., December 15, 1883. It is obtained from an apparatus for making Seltzer water, and was slowly inhaled through a long rubber tube placed at the nasal orifices. A Russian physician has accidentally noted the good effect of ergot in delirium tremens. He bL'lieves the good results are due to the power of the drug in contracting the capillary vessels of the brain. The dose employed was one to one and a half grains. Gr. Fothergill's Asthma Mixture.— Tincture lobelise, five ounces ; ammonii iodidi, three drachms; ammonii bromide, three drachms ; syrup tolutani, three ounces. M. Teaspoonful every one, two, three, or four hours. This gives relief in a few minutes, and sometimes the relief is permanent. Rhigoline spray is recommended in the treatment of neuralgia, especially of the portio dura of the seventh nerve. It is said to give almost instantaneous relief, and in some cases to eftect a complete cure. Its action is ex- plained on the supposition that the intense cold effects a radical change in the nutrition of the nerve. And now comes a chemist and explodes the theory that unbolted fiour -is the most nutri- tious, by stating that experiments show that it is harder to digest. The most sensible plan to follow is to eat what experience has proved agrees with us. A healthy stomach is the chemistry for its own food. Give nature a chance. Dk. H0L.MES relates the following to illus- trate the significance of small things in the sick-room: "Will you have an orange or fig?" said Dr. James Jackson to a fine little boy now grown up to goodly stature. "A fig," answered Master Theodore with alacrity. " No fever there," said the good doctor, " or he would certainly have said an orange." Infantile Troubles— such as croup, whooping-cough, scarlatina, measles, porrigo, and all skin affections and debility— give good nourishing diet containing little or nothing of a starchy nature ; keep the bowels open, and the chamber well ventilated, and give medi- cine a wide berth. Under such conditions it will be ten to one in favor of the child. The Pig Must Go.— Dr. H. G. Loehmand, a retired physician of St. Louis, for years has devoted himself to a study of trichinae, and he says, as reported by the St. Louis Post- Bispatch : " I find the meat infected right here in our pork-houses and in the butchers' stands in our markets. I have examined specimens from twenty-four hogs and have found eleven infected, that is, forty per cent." Poisoning.— In one dozen cases of poison- ing from the Ijite of the rattlesnake, iodine proved curative, given in one or two drop doses of the tincture every hour, according to the severity of the case. In one instance, where the patient was swollen terribly, mot- tled spots appearing over the entire body, breathing with great difficulty, and apparent- ly near death, four drops of iodine were given every hour, with entire recovery. The Avierican Journal of Otology reports the following : '■ A doctor of extensive prac- tice suffered from a crackling noise every night just after going to bed. He happened to mention his sufterings to one of his lady patients, who told him of a case she knew where the noise was found to be due to mag- gots in the pillow. The doctor examined his own pillow when he got home and found plenty of maggots, the pillow having gone far toward decay. A new pillow cured him." Prevention of summer complaint in chil- dren, according to Dr. Little, can be attained by giving them plenty of water. He had been physician to a children's orphan asylum for twenty-two years, and every summer there had been enteric disease. In the sum- mer of 1882 he ordered that the infants be fed only every three or four hours, and that water be given if the child cried in the ■ interval. There was not a single case of enteric disease ill the institution during that season. Enlarged Tonsils.— Having frequently tried and often failed to cure enlarged tonsils by internal remedies, I at last hit upon the following surgical method of getting rid of these troublesome glands, which I have pur- sued successfully for the last two or three years. I take a pencil of caustic potash, whittle it down to a point cover it with paper up to a fourth of an inch of the point, which I place upon the center of the tonsil and keep it firmly pressed there for about three seconds. Tlien withdraw it and gargle the mouth with vinegar. Repeat the operation twice or thrice a week, placing the pencil always in the same depression. I have cured the largest tonsils in less than one month. Having eradicated one, proceed the same way with the other. Appropriate internal treatment should be given during the operation. Western Corn in Europe.— Consider- able progress has been made in the substitu- tion of corn for wheat and rye as the bread grain among Europeans, and as a substitute for oats and other horse feed, on account of cheapness. The disproportionate expense of transportation and handling is, however, a ruinous obstacle. Corn on the farms in the Western States bringing 25 cents per bushel, costs as much more to ship to Chicago. Ad- ding to this the freight to Liverpool and com- missions increases the cost of the latter place over 150 per cent. The average price of No. 2 corn in Liverpool is 77 cents per bushel, more than three times its price at the farm. The increased use of condensed meats, etc., 1884.J THE LANCASTER FARMER- 119 in foreign countries, suggests tliat the economy of transportation may lead to tlie preparation of and trade in the condensed form of maize. Potato Rot.— Col. F. D. Curtis writes to the N. V. Tribune that his father, 30 years ago, when rot was troublesome, felt sure he warded oil" the disease to a greater or less ex- tent by sprinkling slaked lime on the cellar door and spreading potatoes a foot thick, dusting tliem every few inches with the same substance. There is no profession whicli can be com- pared in importance to that of agriculture, for to it belongs the production of food for man and for animals ; on it depends the welfare and the development of the whole human family, the riches of States, and all industries, manufacturing and commercial. There is no profession in which the application of correct principles is productive of more beneficial ef- fects, or is of greater or more decided influ- ence. Milk as Food. — At the Vermont Dairy- men's Convention Mr. Cheever, speaking of milk as food with and without its cream, said " The robust forms of the European emi- grants who use it extensively in their own countries refute the idea that milk is only fit for l)abies. The per cent, of water in milk is not so large compared with other foods as is generally supposed. Lean meat is dearer than milk as food. Whole milk is a more complete food for animals or man than skimmed milk, but the latter taken in con- nection Willi fat used in cookery is quite equal to whole milk. Skimmed milk is almost a perfect food for pigs in summer. They will live and grow upon it, but they need some- thing more for fattening." Milk contains of digestible substance, album-inoids 3.02, .5 of carbo-hydrates, and 3.6 fat, and skimmed milk about the same, with most of the fat re- moved. There is an important difference in apples with regard to their susceptibility to injury from bruises. The Russet, and probably other rich apples, will sometimes "dry up " a skin bruise and continue to keep well, pro- vided the skin is not broken, while with other varieties the slightest bruise quickly hastens decay. Apple Shipment in Freezing Weather —Mr. G. F. Newton, of Ohio, mentions hav- ing once sent 20 barrels to market in mid- winter, " They were detained by mismanage- ment in transit for over two days and nights, on the track, and on the second day the mer- cury went down to 12 degrees below zero. There was no fire in the cars, but they went through safe." The secret of this succe.ss, as he thinks, was in the precaution he took to " line each barrel with two thicknesses of paper." The American A pints. Mix the ammonia and vinegar ; when the effervescence ceases, add the spirit. For lu- flaminatlon of the joints, of some standing, mix with aiii^i'i il meal, and use as a poultice twice a day It is also valuable for sprains, bruises and other in- juries. Carbolk: Acid Garule. — Used as a gargle for 126 THE LANCASTER FARMER [August, sore thriat, attended with foul breath. Take 2 grains ol ^he crystals to 1 ounce of water. Gargle fok Ulcerated Sore Throat.— Water 34 pint ; decoction of Peruvian bark U' Pift ; sul- phate of zinc, 1 drachm. Mix. Orange Tonic— Orange peel, 1 ounce; chamo- mile flowers, ll{ ounces, and a little ginger. Put in 1 pint of boiling water. Add }i a wineglassful of brandy. Take a wineglassful at a time. Balm Tea.— Balm leaves, 1 ounce ; flne sugar, 1 spoonful ; lemon juice, 1 ounce ; inlubud in a pint of boiling water for 20 minutes. This forms a useful drink in colds or fevers. Or it may be made just 1 ike common tea, without the lemon. Let the patient drink it frequently, especially the last thing at night, and keep himself warm during the per spiration. Infusion to Produce Sweating.— Infuse 1 ounce of pleurisy root for 30 minutes in l\i pints water. A teaspoonful taken warm as often as the stomach will bear it. Dandelion Alterative.— Especially useful in cases where the function of the liver is at fault. Dose, fluid extract of dandelion, a dessertspoonful, twice daily, with or without a little water. Atlee'b Nipple Wash.— U drachm powdered gum arable, 10 grains borate of soda, and 1 drachm tincture of myrrh. Beach's Remedy for Ulcers.— Take sweet clover tops and stalks, burdock leaves, and parsley, a handful of each ; get the strength out by boiling ; strain, and add 1 pound of resin and >i pound of fresh butter ; simmer until of a proper consistence. A cold water cloth constantly applied is a good remedy. Put a little cerate on the ulcer previously. Attend to the general health by cleansing the stomach and bowels, and then giving tonics. To Mend Crockery Ware.— Take enough of the white of an egg to mend one piece. Shave off a quantity of lime sufficient to make a paste, mix thoroughly and apply quickly to the edges, placing them firmly together. It will very soon become set and strong. Mix but a small quantity at once as it hardens very soon and cannot then be used. Calcined Plaster of Paris will answer the same purpose. This Is one of the strongest as well as most easily applied cements. Fine Paste. — A solution of 2>/2 ounces gum arable in 2 quarts warm water is thickened to a paste with wheat flour. Add a solution of 1}4 ounces each of alum and sugar in water. Heat the mixture, stir it about until it boils, then cool it. It may be thinned if necessary with a gum solution. Strong Glue. — Dissolve an ounce of the best isin- glass, by the application of a moderate heat, in a pint of water. Strain through & cloth, and add to it a proportionate quantity of the best glue, which has been previously soaked in water for 24 hours, and a gill of vinegar. After the materials have been brought into a solution, let it once boil up, and strain off the impurities. Magic Liniment.— Alcohol, 1 quart ; gum cam- phor, 4 ounces; turpentine, 2 ounces ; oil of organum, 2 ounces; sweet oil, 1 ounce. For cuts or calks in horses or cattle in winter it has no equal ; but it must be applied often. For human flesh use twice the amount of alcohol, and no liniment will be found superior to it. Itch Ointment. — Washed sulphur, l\i ounces; chloride of lime, 2 drachms; hog's lard, 4 ounces. Mix and make into an ointment. Emetic. — Half a glass of water, one heaping tea- spoonful of salt and another of mustard. Carbuncle.— A carbuncle is a species of boil, but larger, and much more painful ; it shows debility in the constitution. Carbuncles are very dangerous and medical aid should be obtained at once. To Stop Bleeding.— In all wounds the blood flows either regularly or by jets and spurts. If it flows regularly a vein has been wounded, and a string should be bound tightly around beyond the wound from the heart. If the blood comes by leaps or jets an artery has been severed, and the person may bleed to death in a few minutes, immediately apply a cord between the wound and heart, drawing tight. If a string or cord is not at hand tie the opposite corners of a handkerchief around the limb, put a stick be- tween and turn'it round until the handkerchief is twisted sufficiently to stop the bleeding. This appli ance is called a tourniquet, it must be kept on until a physician can be had. Mumps.— This is a specific contagious inflamma- tory affection of the salivary glands, especially the largest, situated below the ear. It begins with slight feverish symptoms, with pain and swelling, extending from beneath the ear along the neck to the chin. The attack generally reaches its height in four days and then declines. The treatment is very simple, a mild diet, gentle laxatives, occasional hot fomentations, and wearing a piece of flannel around the throat. Cure for Neuralgia.- Apply a blister of Spanish flies, let it remain until it draws the skin red (no longer); remove and apply a morphine powder. Quinsy.— Keep the patient in a warm room, the diet being chiefly milk and good broths. Some cool- ing laxative and diaphoretic medicine, such as gruel, tea, or barley water may be given. But the greatest relief will be found in the frequent inhalation of the steam of hot water through an inhaler, or in the old fashioned way through the spout of a teapot. The following treatment will frequently give great relief; roast three or four large onions, peel them quickly, and beat them flat with a rolling pin. Immediately place them in a thin muslin bag that will reach from ear to ear, in a layer about three inches deep. Ap- ply it speedily as warm as possible, keep it on day and night, changing when the strength of the onions appears to be exhausted. Flannel must be worn around the neck after the poultice has been removed. Atlee's Cure for Whooping Cough.— Mix 1 drachm each powdered cochineal, and strong aqua ammonia, and 1 ounce rectified spirits of wine. Dose for a child 1 year old, 10 drops in sweetened water three times a day. Remedy for Worms. — Mix 1>^ fluid drachms, oil of worm seed, 3 ounces castor oil, 10 drops oil of anise ; add 1 fluid ounce of aromatic syrup of rhu barb ; shake well before using. Dose for a child of 2 years, 1 teaspoonful night and morning. Diarrhcea in Infants.— Tincture of opium, 8 minims ; castor oil, 1 drachm ; syrup of ginger, and mucilage of acacia, each 1 ounce. Dose, a teaspoon ful three times a day, if the bowels are loose, with dark slimy offensive stools. Simple Remedy for Dysentery.- Mix 1 gill of hot water, and '.^ pint of vinegar ; add common salt as long as it will be dissolved, stirring it freely and frequently. Dose for an adult 1 tablespoonful every hour until the bloody discharges cease, or until it operates freely on the bowels. The patient must re- main in bed. This simple remedy has been known to cure the most obstinate and malignant cases. Fits.— If a person falls in a fit, let him remain on the ground, provided his face be pale ; for should it be fainting or temporary suspension of the heart's action, you may cause death by raising him upright, or by bleeding. If the face be red or dark colored, raise him on hie seat, throw cold water on his head immediately, and send for a physician, and get a vein opened, or fatal pressure on the brain may ensue. Sick Headache. — It is stated that 2 teaspoonfuls of finely powdered charcoal, drank in half a tumbler of water, will give immediate relief to the sick headache, when caused, as in most cases it is, by too mush acid on the stomach. This remedy has been highly recommended. External Remedy for Piles. — Boil some of the inner bark of white oak in water and strain ; eyapo rate to a thick extract. To 14 pint of this extract, add 1^ pint of oil rendered from old, strong bacon. Simmer together till mixed, and let it cool. Apply with the finger inside the rectum every night until cured. Remedy for Suppressed Menstruation.- Make into 12 pills, 12 prains sulphate of iron, 6 grains powdered aloes, and 12 grains white turpen- tine. Dose, 1 at bed time. Fine Smelling Salts.— Take of carbonate of ammonia (crushed small), 1 pound avoirdupois ; oil of lavender (Mitcham), oil of bergamot, of each 1 Imperial fluid ounce ; oil of cloves, 2 fluid drachms, oil of cassia, 1 fiuid drachm. Rub them thoroughly together ; sublime at a very gentle heat into a well cooled rceiver, and at once put into a well-stopped bottle or bottles. Emamel Powder.— Mix equal parts of finely scraped talc or French chalk, and pearl white, and sufficient rouge or carmine to slightly tinge it. Used to conceal discolorations, and without the coloring, to whiten the skin. Cold Cream. — Take 1 ounce avoirdupois each of spermaceti and pure white wax, and }4 Imperial pint oil of almonds, melt, and then pour the mixture into a marble or a porcelain basin, which has been heated by being placed for some time in boiling water ; add, very gradually, 4 fluid ounces of rose water ; and stir the mixture until an emulsion Is formed, and afterwards until the whole is nearly cold, then place it in porcelain or earthenware pots. Rose Glycerine Cream.— V< ounce spermaceti ; 2 ounces oil of sweet almonds ; 1 ounce white wax ; 4 ounces glycerine ; mix the spermaceti, white wax, and oil of almonds together first ; then add the gly- cerine and stir until cool. Perfume with attar of rose. To Remove Freckles.— Dissolve 3 grains of borax in 5 drachms each of rose water, and orange fiower water ; a very good remedy is equal parts of pure glycerine and rose water, applied every night and allowed to run. Live Stock. How to Milk. A milker should learn to milk quickly. Slow milking will ruin any cow, and there is little doubt that many cows are made unprofitable by bad milk- ing. As soon as the flow of milk begins it should be drawn as rapidly as possible. Stripping with the finger and tlmmb is a bad practice, and should be unlearned at once, and the whole hand used to milk with. By persevering one will soon be able to milk very short teats if the hand is moderately small. The best milkers have small hands ; strength of wrist will come in time. Fallacy of Milk Escutcheons in Cows. Some cows which do not show anything like so large and well defined an escutcheon as the sticklers for these say is necessary prove to be great in the dairy. A recent writer on this subject tells us that on examination of some half a dozen or more cows which had made their twenty pounds or over of but- ter per week, he finds no first-class escutcheon, or scarcely a second or third, marked upon them. For our own part we have never had much faith in them, because it is so difficult to ascertain what an escutcheon really is, as very few seem to be agreed as to its width, length and other parts which it dis- plays on the body. In selecting a good dairy cow for ourselves, in doing so properly we pay attention almost entirely to the shape of her body, the size and form of the bag when full, and also empty, to- gether with the size and zig-zag of the milk veins.— A. B. Allen. ^ Kindness Profitable. Some people dare not attempt to handle their sows. This is their own fault. They get into the pen, when they must, armed with a club or a shovel. Such pens are seldom cleaned, and the pigs which are forced to lie in them must needs be filthy. This is not the way to bring up pigs, A THE LANCASTER FARMER. 427 plK 18 a very easy animal to educate. Like people, whom they more closely resemble than any other animal In some respects, their education must begin when they are very young. If thoy are brought up In the way they should go, the trainings should begin when they are sucklings, by picking them up and stroking them gently. If the owner's enthu- siasm and Interest In them should be so great as to cause him to carry them to the house to show to the children and to let them play with them, all the better. The pigs should be handled and taught not to be afraid. When this is done the mothers will be docile and much more easily managed. — Rural Xem Yorker. Advice to Young Horsemen. Never pass behind a horse in the stable nor place your hand upon him in the stall without first speak- ing to him. You may save life or limb by bearing this in mind. Do not whip even a "contrary" or balky horse; make him forget his ill or stubborn intent in some way, such as putting a little dry dirt in his mouth, or wrapping a mitten of newspaper about one or both ears ; in studying to know what it means he soon forgets his notion of stopping, and at the prompt, and at the prompt, decided, but not angry, voice of his master he moves along. In case of any accident, do not shout or appear frightened ; your excitement will at once be communicated to the horse. Instead, you should pacify and reassure him with firm, kind tones. Form a habit of glancing all over your horse and harness before starting from the door. It may save life. In the winter be sure and have the bits covered with cloth or leather. On the road you may go pretty fast down hill and on level ground, if you are a good driver, but don't hurry up hill ; never do so with a load ; short pulls and rests by " trigging the wheels " will prolong the service of your horse. — The Cultivator. The Largest 'Yields on Record. As the Jerseys are noted for their large yields of butter so are the Holsteins famous for their extra- ordinary production of milk. The highest records obtained are those of the two Holstein heifers belong- ing to Mr. John Mitchell, of Meadow Brook Farm, near Newburg, N. Y., for one of which ?1.5,000 has been refused. Previous to the test of these heifers the highest yield of milk was by a 3 year old, Clothilde, belonging to Smith & Powell, Syracuse, N. y. which was 64 pounds per day (about .'i2 quarts). One of the above heifers, Jamaica, accord- ing to the New York Tribune, has given in one day W^% pounds of milk, or about 51',^ quarts. The other heifer, Ethelka, has given 8OJ4 pounds. The milk from Jamaica produced, in one week's trial, over2G pounds of butter, which is also a remarkable record. It is seldom that cows excel both in the quantity of milk and butter, and the records of these heifers demonstrate that the Holsteins are destined to be the most useful of all breeds of cattle ; for, in connection with their merits for their dairy purposes, they are very large in size, and make excellent ani- mals for beef, while the oxen of that breed are active, strong and capable of doing efficient service. Feeding Colts. Early maturity for swine and cattle has been ad- vised as to the best farm practice for the largest re- turn in pork and beef. But there is a difference, as the Home Farm reminds us, between the objects in view In raising pigs and horses. In the one case weight alone is wanted, and fat-forming foods (the chief of which is corn) are used. In the other It is muscle that is wanted, and about the poorest food that can be given a young colt is corn. Of course you can, with corn, shove it forward and make as- tonishing weights and possibly sell at a big price ; but let this practice become universal, as it threatens to be, and the people who use horses will soon refuse your stock at any price. Cattle and hogs are bought for fat, horses for muscle. The difiercnce Is as wide as it can possibly be. There must be different feed and different treat- ment. What the colt wants Is plenty of exercise, a clean place to sleep, shelter from the bitter storms, plenty of good grass of different varieties, good, clean hay without dust, and good, sound oats. Colts raised In this way will not look so well nor win as many premiums, nor sell to fools for as much money, but they will have sound limbs and eyes, great en- durance and weight, speed enough for their various purposes, and they will last. June Butter. The delicious fiavors and appetizing aroma of June butter come from the fresh, sweet grasses on which the cows are feeding, untainted by foul colors or filthy surroundings. While those fiavors, as de- veloped in June butter, cannot be improved or in- tensified in an artificial way, yet it is an easy mat. tor to detract from them by errors in management. One of the more common errors is to allow the cream to remain on the milk after It begins to sour. This is more frequently practiced In the warmer weather of June than during the cooler weather of the spring months. First-class butter cannot be made from cream which has been taken from sour and coagulated milk. The highest development of flavor is found when the cream has arrived at that stage when it first begins to put on an acid condi- tion. If the acid Is allowed to develop further the flavor will be impaired and the butter will be of in- inferior quality. The only way to secure these con- ditions is to remove the cream before the milk sours, and then ripen it to the desired condition. The milk should be set under a temperature where It will re- main sweet till the cream has time to rise. In suc- cessful dairying of any kind, and especially in but- er making, the temperature of the milk must be 'under control. Only in this way can choice June butter be made. — Maine Farmer. Overstocking Pastures. The Breeders' Gazette in commenting upon this practice has reference mainly to the beef producing sections in the West, but dairymen have the same temptation and need the same counsel. The profits from cattle at grass are so manifest — the money coming without the farmer scarcely real- izing where it comes from or how it is made— that there is a constant temptation to overstock the pas- tures. And considering the variableness of the seasons, which alter the sustaining or producing ca- pacity of the grass lands from one year to another, there is perhaps no other problem connected with the management of the farm than the proper adjust- ment of the number of live stock to the proportion of pasture lands. The number should, of course, be large enough to consume the grass ; but it should at no time be large enough to render the grass short and the gathering of sufficient feed difficult. This condition is bad for the stock, and equally bad for the crop. Pastured too closely, it is doubtful whether the grass will produce as much, considering the dry season of the year, and more or less of it is thereby weakened or killed out, so that the permanent stand and yield is impaired. Then, if too short for their convenience, cattle will only be able able to gather enough to satisfy what they appreciate to be the ne- cessities of the situation, and will make no satisfac- tory gain. The best plan Is to provide just about such a number as can be kept with the most advan- tage in seasons a little poorer than the average, and to take the chances on picking up a few extra bul- locks Id seasons of unusual productiveness. Lice on Stock. A number of letters asked for remedies for lousy stock. Vermin of some kind very frequently Infest domestic animals ; they are mostly of the louse type — small parasitic animals that must be removed by the application of some iusectitude. A number of substances have been used to a greater or less ex- tent, of which a few are mentioned below : One pound of tobacco and six ounces of borax boiled in two quarts of water, to which soft soap enough is added to make a thick paste, has proven a good vermin salve. A mixture of carbolic acid and soft soap In the proportion of one to four, makes a com- pound easy to apply, and very effectual. Shortly after, the parts to which the soap mixture has been applied should be washeil with pure water and a non-drying oil rubbed on. Oil of turpentine and lard oil, equal parts, with a little carbolic add. Is perhaps the most convenient mixture to make, and effectual In Its application. Animals that arc affect- cd with vermin need better care and higher feeding In order to overcome the drain that those parasite* make on the system.— ylmci-icnu Agriculturist. Interfering Horses. Many horses are In the habit of striking with ono leg against another; and much of ingenuity has been exercised to provide a remedy for the trouble- some practice. Both the fore and hind legs are sub- ject to It, the latter, perhaps most frequently ; but in them It is confined to the fetlock joint, whereas In the fore legs, the horse may either hit the fetlock, the leg just above the pastern, or just under the knee, where It is called a speedy cut, from Its occur- ring chiefly in fast action. It is dcilrable, before applying a remedy to ascer- tain, if possible, the cause and the part which strikes; whether the shoe or the foot, and, If the latter, what part of It. Many horses strike from weakness, and cease to do so when they gain strength and condition. This is more particularly the case with young horses ; others cut from a faulty confor- mation of the limbs, which are sometimes too close to each other ; again the loe is turned too much out or In. When turned in, the strike Is usually just under the knee. The oljjects to be kept In view In shoeing anch horses must be to remedy the faulty action, and to remove, if possible, the part which strikes, which is generally that portion of the foot between the toe and the inside quarter— sometimes the inside quarter itself, but very rarely the heels of the shoe. If the horse turns his toe in, in all probability he wears the inside of the shoe most ; if so, it should be made much thicker than the outside ; if the contiary, the outside heel should be the thicker. The slioc should be leveled oB' on the inside quarter, which should also be free from nails. In the hind legs we often find a three-quarters shoe will prevent striking, when other plans fail, for here the striking part is not so far forward as in the fore legs, so that the removal of the iron altogether from the inside quarter will often accomplish the aim. It sometimes happens that no plan will pre- vent interfering, and then the only recourse Ig the boot or the pad. — Indiana Farmer. POULTRY. Fowls Must Have Green Stuff. It must not be forgotten that our poultry need some sort of green fo<>d at all seasons of the year. In winter we can give them cabbages or chopped turnips and onions from time to lime ; short, late- dried hay (or roweu) Is very good for a change ; corn-stalk leaves chopped fine, they will eat with a relish. In early spring-time, when the ground first softens from the frost, pasture sor/.i tl)rown Into their pens will be ravenously eaten by them; and as soon as the new grass starts (unless they can have free ac- cess to the fields or lawns) they should lie supplied with this excellent succulent daily. For the young chickens nothing is so lieneflcial and so grateful as a run upon the newly grown grass ; and next to this indulgence they shuuld hare an ample supply of cut or pulled grass every day. But of course while Jack Frost bears sway " this sort of truck" Is out of the question. Some care- ful poultry keepers sprout oats in boxes of earth, and allow choice birds to pluck the tender blades. The common Swedish turnip and the carrot are ex- cellent for winter green poultry feed, and probably the most available and the cheapest vegetables that J 28 THE LANCASTER FARMER. [August, 1884. can be procured. If the fowls do not " tackle kind- ly" to the.'i, when offered in a raw state, cook and mash, aud mix with bran and meal. — Poultry World. How to Pluck Poultry. Journal of Agriculture : I have known persons on market day to go out and kill twelve or fifteen fdwls, and to bring them into a room where there would be half a dozen women and boys pulling a few feathers at a time, between the thumb and forefinger, to pre- vent tearing them. Now for the Intioflt of such I will give our plan : Hang the fowl by the feet by a small cord ; then, with a small knife, give one cut aoross the upper jaw, opposite the corners of the mouth ; after the blood has stopped running a stream, place the point of the knife in the groove in the upper part of the mouth, run the blade up into the back part of the head, which will cause a twitching of the muscles. Now is your time, for every feather yields as if by magic, and there is no danger of tearing the most tender chick. Before he attempts to flap you can have him as bare as the day he came out of the egg. Eggs vs. Eggs It is a noticeable fact that while white shelled eggs are much sought for in the New York markets, in Boston the colored shelled will sell for from five to seven cents more a dozen. We are quite positive we can detect Brahma eggs from those of the Leghorn, Hamburg, Game and outside work, is the best, while lime, In the form of whitewash, is now frequently used, as it gives everything a bright and cheerful appearance, and some claim that by soaking into the wood it greatly improves the durability of the boards. The insect enemies of poultry, too, are not friendly to lime in any form. Common, unplaned boards make a very good, cheap house, with hemlock studding, bracing, etc., but if it is desired to have a smoother finish, planed boards (planed on om or both sides) can be used. If you have plenty of time and but little spare cash plane them yourself, and have plenty of shavings wherewith to kindle flres ; but when the cash is plenty it pays better to buy the boards already planed by machinery. — Poultry World. Food for Young Chickens. We do not think that we can be mistaken in the belief that we should be far more successful in the raising of young chickens by giving them a great deal more animal food than we are in the practice of doing. The feeding of corn meal mush, boiled pota- toes, and similar substances generally compose, as we all know, the principal food of young chickens ; but we can see no reason why these young birds should be exceptions to the ordinary rule of young birds in general which feed very largely, indeed chiefly, on animal food even those which, when they are mature, live mostly on fruits and seeds, are fed when in their nests on worms, grubs and insects. French hens. Certainly, if used for custards, five ^® °<"''<^<^ "'« o''^ ^"'^^ all day long busily engaged Brahma eggs are equal to seven Hamburg or Leg- horn eggs. And the Brahma egg, dropped in water, comes out in a compact form ; either of the other kind*, having a more watery white, will spread out and present, to the Boston taste, a less inviting ap- pearance ; and is, at the same time, lacking in that rich flavor peculiar to the Brahma egg. The latter is, on the other hand, in New York, considered strong and coarse. There, preference is given to the more delicate and less hearty white shelled varie- ties. But the eggs of any hen that has not free ac- cess to growing grass will be wanting in color if she is not supplied with clover-tops. Clover hay will be greedily devoured, or the tops can be softened with hot water and given in the cooked food. Building Material. The question, which material is best for building poultry houses, depends so much on circumstances that it is impossible to give any definite reply, for the man of means may consider that brick, stone and hard wood is best, while the man in close cir- cumstances will naturally consider common pine lumber preferable, considering the smallness of his purse. As iu most cases poultry houses are temporary structures, comparatively speaking, it is best ordi- narily not to build of other than wood, and this does not in the least prevent the expenditure of an almost endless amount of cash and labor on ornamentation, if thought desirable or advisable, or the pocket- book will admit of it. As a rule, brick or stone poultry houses, besides being more expensive than wooden structures, are also very liable to be damp, and dampness engenders quite a formidable array of ailments and disorders, which go far toward making the profits of poultry breeding at least very uncertain and problematical. They can be built so as to avoid this dampness, an a great measure, but as the dampness is due more to the want of care and at- tention afterward, in regard to ventilation, the case is not materially affected. All wooden poultry structures, most of which, while they may not be very elaborate when flnishea, can be built by almost any one who has fair mechani- cal abilities, are vastly improved iu their lasting qualities by keeping the surface covered from the air and sun by the application of paint, or some similar preservative, to the boards. Some use tar; but this, while it preserves, from decay, makes the house loo somber looking. Cheap paint, made for supplying their young with food, but alwayi animal food. In fact, it is very rare that we have seen anything else. Why, then, should chicks be an exception ? The recommendation, almost without exception, in our poultry publications, is to give more animal food to our grown fowls if we expect them to give us more eggs, especially in winter, when they can help themselves to none. That it is a great inducement to make them lay more gener- ously, we have too many proofs to admit of any doubt. Besides, it is claimed that animal food has other advantages in the way of good health, etc. Why, then, let us ask again, should the young chickens not be benefited with at least a moderate supply of animal food ? All chicken raisers know the great losses always suffered in the growth of them, and may it not be owing to a large extent to the withholding of this strengthening food, which is of so much benefit to the matured bird ? We, there- fore, suggest to our farmers to change their method of feeding their young chickens by giving a due pro- portion of animal food, chopped up in very small pieces, and thus find out, each one for himself, whether it is not a very decided benefit in raising to maturity an additional number of the chicks into strong, healthy fowls. Will A Hen Lay Two Eggs A Day. That they will under certain circumstances is a fact. We know of six hens that produced ten eggs in twenty-four hours— one with a double yolk ; seven of the ten hard-shelled, three soft-shelled. But the average product under all circumstances and for all breeds, is not beyond 128 to 1S2 eggs in a year. Three hundred and one eggs have been produced by a single Leghorn hen in a year. A little boy had given him a Leghorn with its leg broken. The leg was set, and after it got well the hen commenced to lay, making its nest in the cat's basket, under the kitchen table, laying 59 eggs in succession ; this was the largest number without a rest. The hen was a pet and came to the kitchen for its share of the meals o f the day. Literary and Personal. Premium List of the Lancaster County Agricultural Fair.— To be held at McGrann's Park, Lancaster city, on Monday, Tuesday, Wednes- day, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, September 1st, 2d, 3d, 4th, 5th and (ith, 1884, containing also a list of oflficers ; an address to the public, (which will be found elsewhere in this journal); rules and instruc- tions; prices of admission; agencies for the sale of tickets, and indices to different departments and advertisements, making in all an octavo pamphlet of 68 pages, Including tinted covers. The whole is divided into eight departments, and these are again sub-divided into forty classes, and the premiums in all of them are unexceptionally liberal. The public will be able to judge from the characters of the oflj- cers (a list of which will be found elsewhere in this journal) what may reasonably be expected from such a combination of energy, intelligence, and social position. Although this may be paramount in conducting such an enterprise, yet it is not all that Is necessary to assure success. Of course, it ought to pay more than necessary expenses ; but it may be a success without that. No exhibitor should only be influenced by hopes of pecuniary reward im- mediately in exhibiting his wares to the public. He merely advertises them, and his compensating re- ward will be developed in the future. But there is another consideration intimately connected with the success of an agricultural, mechanical, commercial and domestic fair, and that is the absolute presence and encouragement of the people~Dot only as audi- tors but as exhibiters. Fairs in Lancaster county have not generally failed for the want of audiences eo much as they have for the want of exhibitors. Hun- dreds of men in Lancaster city and county are con- stantly engaged through sensational advertisements and importunities to catch the patronage of the far- mers, but would not give a cent, or exhibit a single article to attract the notice, or increase the interest of such an enterprise as a. fair. Of course all cannot be exhibitors, nor yet any appreciable number of the public. Nor can those exhibit who have nothing to exhibit ; and again, if all were exhibitors there would be no auditors, nor is it necessary to exhibit an object that has no comparative merit ; neverthe- less, it may be useful and instructive to exhibit a worthless object, if accompanied by the causes of its worthlessness. We have seen exhibitions of very inferior, and even mean fruit, but the object of the exhibitors- was to warn the husbandman against spending time and money iu cultivating a mean pro- duct under an imposing name and a sensational in- troduction. The indications now are that the ap- proaching Lancaster county fair will be at least on a par with those of her immediate sister counties ; but it ought to be more than that, it ought to surpass all of them and surely would, if its various pro- ducts were displayed before the public and of which it has such an abundance. The Countryside and Indoors and Outdoors, consolidated, devoted to country homes, country work and country schools. Published by the "Coun- tryside Company," No. 40 Vesey streit, New York. Monthly, at $1..50 per year. A royal quarto of 32 pages, including advertisements and covers. Ma- terial, typography and literary matter first-class. Except in the advertisements the illustrations are but few. What there are, however, (iu the June number for 1884,) are very characteristic, and a capital hit on some of our Pennsylvania, and even Lancaster county, modes of farming. The first page very graphically illu6trates.a 5«sines(i farmer, who, under the guidance of "forethought" runs his farm ; and the Drudge, whose farm runs him, under the reckless " trust to luck " principle. One page is devoted to very fair comments on political questions, and political personalities, and reflects as much as every journal ought to on political matters ; for we don't think any man should be deprived of the liberty of rationally stating his views, notwithstand- ing he may edit and publish an agricultural, domes- tic and literary journal. "The Farm," "The Home," " Owl Talks," " The School," and indeed all the departments into which the contents of the journal are divided for the sake of convenient refer- ence, are conducted with taste and ability ; and in each will be found such asummary of current litera- ture as is seldom presented in such a condensed and yet instructive form. We doubt, however, the pro- priety of quoting such a paragragh as that on page 167, entitled the " Fireworm," notwithstanding it appeared in such a distinguished journal as the New York Sun. True it contains only the language of a " correspondent," but its Insertion in such a journal s, at least, a quasi endorsement. THE LANCASTER FARMER The Newark Machit from ashe TliB Nrwurk Machlni' Co., of Newark, O., wliose factory burned on Saturday morning, July 5ili, con eumed a large nuiiilier of Clover HulUi6, Grain Drills, Rakes, Monarch Fans, iV:c. A larL'e force of men are now at work building Clover llullere, Grain Drills &c. They are getting" out material at the B. & O. Shops, at Zanesvlllc, and John II. Thomas & Sons, Springfield, who have kindly tendered them their factories, at which places they are getting out the woodwork for Clover Ilullere, »tc., and expect to have some on the market tiy August 1st. They have received many letters and telegrams from different manufacturers throughout the U. S., offering them aid In any way. The firms that have heretofore sup- plied them with raw material, have telegraphed them, oflering anything they may have that could be used In the construction of their implements, at low prices and long credits. Their insurance is about $250,000, dislrilnited amonsr l!l flrst-class companies in this Country and Europe, and the adjusters are now there and at work and expect to Unish the whole thing soon. The Company has commenced building one shop •2->5 feet by 40 feet. 2 stories high, and SOO feet of shedding, to be used for work shop and paint room, and they esp'-cl to he ready alter August 1st to fill any orders in their line of goods. SedpickSteelWireFence ABOUT PHOSPHATES. There are so iiiiuiy jtrticlcs ulfered tliat farmers liardly know what to buy. But no one can make a mis- take })iiyiiig an Animal Bone Siij)er- Phospliate ' for $25 per ton of 2,000 pounds, delivered on Ix.ard car or boat at Pliiladelidiia. ,.H..K THE >,..KK TWENTY FiVH DOLLAR PHOSPHATE CHEAPEST AND BEST For circulars giving analysis aud further information, call on or ad- dress BAUGH tfe SONS, SoK; MaiiufacUirei-s, SOS. Delaware Ave., Philadelphia. ir. .■i\ (' hoe, !l costly hox of Koods win, h will help nil, of either sex, to iii'irt' money right away than aiiviliiiij; else i7i this world. For- :ors ;i),iioliitelv Hure. At once ad- ntUK ^ic CO., Augusta, Maine. iii^ If by freight or express, 111. .M'per peek. ?.^ oo per bnsbel. Catalogue kfeds and Plants irtic ou applicalloXL. JPETERH^g^DERSON&CO.,^gEPs^^^^ A HOMH ORC.W FOR 1-ARMHRS. A MONTHLY JOURNAL, Devoted to Agriculture, Horticulture. Do- mestic Economy and Miscellany. Founded Under the Auspices of the Lancas ter County Agricultural and Horti- cultural Society. EDITED BY DR. S. S. RATHVON. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION : ONEDOLLpPERANNUI POST.IGE PREIMID BY TUE PllOPiilETOC. All subscriptions will commence with the January number, unless otherwise ordered. Dr. S. 8. Rttthvon, who has so ably m«uaRed the editoriol departmeat In the puBt, will continue iu the i.oslticu of editor. His contributions on eubjeots oonnected with the science of farming, and particulurly that speclaltj of which he is so tborouhly a master — entomological science— some knowledge of which has become a necessity to the succew- ful fanner, are alone wortb much more than the price o lliis publication. He Is determined to make "The Farmer' a necessity to nil households. A county that has so wide a rejiutattoD as Lancaster county for its agricultural products should cerUiinly be able to support au agricnltural paper of Its own, for the exchange of the opiulous of farmers Interested in this mat- oter. We ask tbeco-oporatiou of all farmers in, eresled In this matter. Work among your friends. The "Farmer" i only one dollar per year. Show them your copy. Try and induce them to subscribe. It is not much for each sub- scriiicr to do but It will greatly assist us. All communications In regard totho editorial management should be addressed to Dr. S. 8. Rathvon, Lancaster, Pa , aud ill business letters in regard to sub9crii)Uons aud ad- vertising should be addressed to the publisher.- Rates of advertisiug can be had on apphcation at the lOHN A. HIEo««, noTi-ij ;lancaster, pa. DR. JOHN BULL'S Sffliili'sToDicSyi'iiB FOR THE CURE OF FEVER and AGUE Or CHILLS and FEVER, AND ALL MALARIAL DISEASES. The proprietor of this celebrated medi- cine justly claims for it a superiority over all remedies ever offered to the public for the SAFE, CERTAIN, SPEEDY and PER- MANENT cure of Ague and Fever, or Chills and Fever, whether of short or long stand- ing. He refers to the entire Western and Southern country to bear him testimony to the truth of the assertion that in no case whatever will it fail to cure if the direo- tions are strictly followed and carried out. In a great many cases a single dose has been sufficient for a cure, and whole fami- lies have beencuredby a single bottle, with a perfect restoration of the general health. It is, however, prudent, and in every case more certain to cure, if its use is continued in smaller doses for a week or two after the disease has been checked, more especially in difficult and long-standing cases. Usn- ally this medicine will not require any aid to keep the bowels in good order. Should the patient, however, require a cathartic medicine, after having taken three or four floient. BULL'S SAE3AFABILLA is the old and reliable remedy for impurities of the blood and Scrofulous affections— the King of Blood Purifiers. DK. JOHN BULL'S VEGETABLE WOEM DESTROYER is prepared in the form of pandy drops, attractive to the sight and. pleasant to the taste. DR. JOHN BXTX.I<'8 SMITH'S TONIC SYRUP, BULL'S SARSAPARILLA, BULL'S WORM DESTROYEI^ The Popular Remedies of the Day. PrlBclpal Office, 831 Haln St., L01TISTILLE, KY, My] REMOVAL EXTRAORDINARY ! NEW STORE! NEW GOODS! S. S. RATHVON, ^Jerciiarit Tailor, DRAPER 101 to 131 North aueen St. (Howell's Building,) Where he will keep a select line of goods for Men and Boys' Wear, and make them promptly to order in a satisfactory manner, either plain, medium or fashion- able. Thankful for favors during a period of twenty-flve years he hopes to merit the continued confidence of the public. .«- Don't forget the place. No. 131 NORTH QUEEN ST., LANCASTER, PA. ■ $66^ and $5 outfit frte Jun-ly ONE DOLLAR PEH ANNTJJ/I -SINGLE COPIES 10 CENTS. CONTENTS OF THIS NUMBER. EDITORIAL. September 129 " Petticoat Radishes." 129 The Lancaster County Fair 130 Nature's Equilibrium 130 The "Seed Drill Regulator." 130 A Plea for the Robin 131 What the Kobiu Steals— The Robin's Return— His Food Examined- Pre-eminently Insectivorous. Entomological— The Blight Beetle 1.31 Sack-Bearer 132 Excerpts 133 CONTRIBUTIONS. Owning Land. .133 SELECTIONS. Destruction of Small Birds 133 Vitality of Weed Seeds 134 The Good Well 1,34 Green Manuring 13.5 Cause and Cure of Constipation 13.5 Condition of the Barn at Milking Time 135 Clean Dairies 13.5 Canada Thistle l.Sfi Cheese for Home Use 136 A Novel Swindling Scheme 1,36 The Cabbage Fly audits Relatives 137 lee in the Dairy Must Go 137 American Wonders 138 Curing Cheese 138 OUR LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS. Lancaster County Agricultural and Horticultural Society 1.38 Crop Reports. Fulton Farmers' Club 138 Poultry Association 139 Premium List of Lancaster County Fair 139 AGRICULTURE. What Shall the Farmer Sell? 142 " A Little Farm Well Tilled." 142 A New Requirement in Modern Farming 143 Feeding Depleted Soil 142 HORTICULTURE. Watering Newly Set Trees 142 Setting Strawberry Plants 143 Grape Vines Growing on Trees 143 Beet Method with Celery 143 Shorten the Canes 143 HOUSEHOLD RECIPES. Cream Cake 143 Rice Cake, Very Delicate 143 Delicious Cookies 143 Lemon Marmalade 143 Pieserve Plums 143 Pickled Peaches 143 Spiced Currants 143 Pickled Crab-Apples Governor Mixture, or Sweet Tomato Sauce. Aunt Maria's Tomato Preserves Fruit Fritters Mrs. Roberts' Boston Brown Bread Pancakes Rice Griddle Cakes Muffins Rye Cakes Apple Fritters Astor House Corn Bread Pan Doddlings Sally Lunn Mrs. H.'s Flap Jacks Mrs. H.'s Muffins Mrs. Barnes' French Rolls Harrington Rusk Indian Meal Puffs French Tea Biscuits Mrs. Gaubert's Coffee Cake Mountain Cake Jumbles Ginger Snaps A Small Sponge Cake Poor Man's Cake Fruit Cake Cup Cake Delicate Cake Sugar Gingerbread Old Colony Cake Removing Spots Chicken Corn Pie To Prevent a Felon To Remove Mildew from Linen Purgative Ball for Horses Literary and Personal WIDMYER & RICKSECKER, UPHOLSTERERS, And Maiiufacti FURNITURE PD CHAIRS, WAREROOMN: 102 East King St., Cor. of Duke St. LANCASTER, PA. W made. Inquire at THE EXAMINER OFFICE No. 9 North Queen Street, Lancaster, p'^r'^ri'v/.^'^'r fi'^i,i' I , , 1 1 iM|,>. llourd and , , - .1 Mu.ly: (ieneral II 1 1 lliynies, Civil En- iii- ~| 1,1 1 wo Years' eourse I.,r i.M.lii-. IT.-pun l(,rv Di-parlni.iit Fall term open* September Kith. IKH . KoriulnloEueBOr any other in- (;ko. w. athkrto.v, ll.d.. Stale follegc P. 1 , Centre Co.. Pa. President. JOSEPH DELLET, LA.YCASTEIi Steam Cigar Box Factory, 416 North Market Street, LANCASTER, PA. Edgings, Labels and Supplies of kinds always on hand. BEST MARKET PEAR. 99,990 PEACH TREES, nil the best varietiea of Xew lliid Old .STl{AWItEUKIE.S, ClIKKANTS, GBAPES, KA.SPUERKIES, etc. EARLY CLUSTER BLACK liERRY, New, Eaa'l.Y, Harilv. Good. Single hJU .vlrlileil 13 quarts at one picking. .Send for FREE Cutalogue. .T. S. COIXINS, MiM.resloon, X.J. LAWDRETH'S SlEiEIIDIS ARE THE BEST. North, South, East or West. Illustrated and descriptive cataloKUCs free. Ch-er 1900 acres under cultivation, growini; Landreth's Garden Seeds. Founded 1784. D. LANDRETH k SONS, Philadelphia, Pa. THE LANCASTER FARMER. PEN.VSYI.VAXIA RAILROAD SrHEDUI.E. On and after SUNDAY, JUNE M, 1883, trains leave the Depot in this city, as follows : WE TWARD. Pacific Express' News Express* Way Passenger* MaU Train via lit. Joy* .. . Mail No. 2 via Columbia. Niagara E xpress Hanover AccoinmodatiOQ, Fast Line' Frederick Aooommodation Lancaster .\ceommod'n . Harrisburg Accom Columbia Accommodation. Harrisburg Express Western Express EASTWARD. Mail Express* Philadelphia Express ColHmbia Accommodation.. Seashore Express Johnstown Express Day Express' Harrisburg Accom The Frederick Accommodation, i ter with Fast Liue, west, a 8.11 Harrisburg. 2:55 a. m. 7:30 a. m. 8:50 a. m. 10:50 a. m. 2:55 p. I Col. 2:15 1 4:00 p. D 11:45 a. m. 3:15 p.m. 5:05 p. m. 7:35 p. m. 9:45 p. m. uectsat Lancas- lus to Frederick. Hanover .Accommodation, west, connecting i with Niagara Express at 9:45 a. m. will run through Hanover daily except Sunday. Harrisburg Express, west, at 7:40 p. m. has direct cc nection to Colunibia and York. The Fast Line, west, on Sunday, when flagged, w Btopat Downingtown, Coatesville, Parkesburg, Mou Joy, Elizabethtown and Middletown. The Johnstown Express from the west, will conn< al Harrisburg on Sundays with Sunday Mail east, ( Philadelphia, via Marietta and Columbia. NORBECK & MILEY, PRACTICAL kmm Buildepg, Corner of Duke and Vine Streets, LANCASTER, PA. THE LATEST IMPROVED SIDE-BAR BUGGIES, PHAETONS, Carriages, Etc, miMEsmiiiiiEfiiffliiiEcin, Prices to Suit the Times. REPAIRING promptly attended to. All work guaranteed. T»-2- EDW. J. ZAHM AMERICAN AND FOREIGN WATCHES, SOLID SILVER & SILVER PLATED WARE, CLOCKS, JEWELRY! TABLE CUTLERY. Sole Agent for the Arundel Tinted SPECTACLES. Repairing strictly attended to. ZA.HIME'S COR^rSFt., North Queen-st. and Centre Square, Lancaster, Pa. 79-1-12 ESTABLISHED 1832. G. SENER & SONS, r-XJlVEBSFt, PATENT 0. G. WEATHERBOARDING ly ou hand. OFFICE AND YARD : Northeast Corner of Prince and Walnnt-sts,, LA.NCAS'X'KR, FA.\ 79-1-12] PRACTICAL ESSAYS ON ENTOMOLOGY. Embracing the history i NOXIOUS AND INNOXIOUS INSECTS, and the beat remedies for t xpulsion or extermlaation. CR ^/x &f%t\t>*TdAj»ihoTn€. Samplu worth IS f 99 10 ^i\J AddroM STUiaoH A Co., Portland. Mm Bv S. S. RATHVON, Ph. D. LANCASTER, PA. ThiB work will be Highly Illustrated, and will prosb (aa Roon alter a sutBcient number c " be obtained to cover the cost) aa the work can poasibly be accomplished. 0 tu with TEl U eret bj mail Cm ^1 ■ J% ■ & RetTim to tu w1 utThisOutroVoS?.,^ iUt will brinir Tou In MIRE MONET, In One Montk. thAn anything el*e in Amerlc*. Abiolut«C.rt*intT. HMdneoaftlua.lLYauiiganai'MawlcbSI.M.Tark OFFICE No. 0 North Ooeeo Street LANCASTER, PA. THE OLDEST AND BEST. THE WEEKLY LANCASTER EXAMINER' One of the largest Weekly Papers the State. Published Eyery Weddnesay Morning, Is an old, well-established newspaper, and contains just the news desirable to make it an interesting and valuable Family Newspaper. The postage to subcribers residing outside of Lancaster county is paid by the publisher. Send for a specimen copy. SXrBSCXaiX'T'I01:T : Two Dollars per Annum. THE DAILY LANCASTER EXAMINER The Largest Daily Paper in the county. Published Daily Except S inday. The daily is published every evening during the week. It is delivered in the City and to surrounding Towns ac- cessible by railroad and daily stage lines, for 10 cents a weeU. Mall Subscription, free of postage— One month, 50 cents; one year, 85.00. JOHN A. HIESTAND. Proprietor, No. 9 Nort'd Queen St., For Good and Cheap vs/^ork go to F. VOLLM£R'S FURNITURE WARE ROOMS No. 309 NORTH QUEEN ST.. (Oppotlt* Northern Market), AJm, »U klndj of plotnr* tnnn. >eT-l7 The Lancaster Farmer. Dr. S. S. BATHVON, Editor. LANCASTER. PA.. SEPTEMBER, 1884. Vol. XVI. Mo. 9. Editorial. SEPTEMBER. " Aud as hu and bis train passed by A dark and cloudy scTeeu, They ushered in a noble maid That looked a very Queen, Attended by two Eltins, who, A Cornucopia bore. Filled with the ample products of The mellow Autumn's store. A coronet of Dahlias Keposed upon her brow Entwined among her golden hair, The bright verbenas glow, The luoious grapes In purple sheen In clusters rich and tender, Were scattered in profusion by This genius of Nei>lembcr. It involves a seeming contradiction to call this the ninth month of the year, when the very name implies the seventh. Perhaps the most noted, and at the time the most cruel and diabolical event that oc- curred in modern history, connected witli the month of September, was the great French massacre, which was an indiscriminate slaughter of Loyalists confined at the lime in the Abbaye and other French prisons. The tyrant Dantin gave orders for this onslaught after the capture of Verdun by the allied Prussian army. It lasted from the 2d to 4th of September, 17'.)2. Eiglit thousand persons fell in the massacre. The men who planned and executed it were subsequently called iSeptembriserus. Although this is the ninth month of the year, reckoning from January, it was the seventh month of the old Roman year, which began with March. The name comes from the Latin Septem, or seven. French, Septem- hre; Prussian, Setenibre; Spanish, Sctevibro; Italian, Settembre. Sandwiched between Au- gust and October, it constitutes the transition from summer to autumn, and embraces the beginning at least of the general fruit harvest of our latitude, in which that which has been " made " now matures. " Our Saxon ancestors called this month Gerst-monath ; for, the Barley which this month commonly yielded, was called gerst. This name was given to barley on account of a beverage made from it called bcere, or beer- Udgh, from which was derived berligh, and from thence barley." This is usually a busy month in grain grow- ing districts, and all other things being equal, those who usually succeed best, are those who proceed most systematically in preparing the soil for the seed ; upon the quality of which much will also depend. "If we sow the wind," we shall likely " reap the whirlwind." The soil ought to be brought to a fine friable condition, and, some say, the seed should be deeply covered, which enables it the best to resist the alternate freezing and thawing of open winters. As a preventive of smut, it is recommended by some to steep the seed be- fore sowing in a salt briue strong enough to bear an egg, and tlien rolling it in pulverized lime. Of course tlic intelligent and observant farmer will select such seed as is best adapted to his own particular soil. Even when all other things visible are equal, seeds that suc- ceed in one locality may fail in another. The quality of weight in seed, of course, means something, but experience has demonstrated that it is of less importance than purity. Perhaps in these things, as in all other things we ought to entertain " a decent respect for the opinions of mankind," nevertheless, he who is ever dependent upon the experience of others, generally has no fixed methods of his own, and is always liable to be led astray. There is still room for a limited degree of cul- ture in this month, a good crop of turnips and ruta-bagas cannot be expected witliout the necessary labor, hence those in drills need deep tillage. Not only this, but seeds may be sown to provide plants for next spring ; roots divided and reset ; strawberry beds planted ; celery may be earthed up ; spinach for autumn use may be sown up to the middle of the month ; scurvy-grass may still be sown for winter salad and lettuce in cold frames for next spring's planting : So says acknowledged au- thorities. "PETTICOAT RADISHES." How easy a thing it is for names of objects, whether of mineral, vegetable or animal, to become contorted, contracted or corrupted, especially French names. Far back in the history of London a noted tavern existed there that was known by the name of JSull and Mouth. A corruption of Boulogne Gate or Mouth, adopted out of complement to Henry VIII, who took Boulogne in 1544. Petite cote, by a similar cor. traction, or cor- ruption has become, in some localities " petti- coat," which is the name of a woman's under- garment in other localities. Petite means some- thing small as compared with something Grande, which means great, or large. Cote has a multitude of meanings, according to its relative or its ditlerentiations as parts of speech. Literally it means a very small farm ; a sheep-fold ; strip of coast land, &c. In French-Canadian towns and villages on one side may be large farms, called Grande Cote, whilst on the other side may be smaller ones, called Petite Cote, and ou them, especially along the Detroit river, are cultivated tlie somewhat famous "Petite Cote Radishes," so popularly known in the cities of Chicago, Cincinnati. St. Lot is, and farther South, as well as in New York, Philadelphia, &c. These farms are laid out in narrow strips of about two French acres each, and arc still held by the decedents of the original French settlers ; and by their peculiar mode of culture they produce a radish that is crisp, tender and toothsome ; and it is said, when they come in competition with the best of the other species of liaphanus, they not only "take the rag olf the bush," but they take " rag, bush and all The city of Detroit seems to be the head market for tliese radishes, from whence they are distributed to other parts of the country. The lovers of these roots would no doubt wel- come thera|to this market, instead of the spouL'y, or tough and acrid kinds that so often find their way here later in the season. It, of course, is out of season now, but if these radishes can be successfully raised in Canada they ought to succeed here, and should any of our "truck-farmers" feel disposed to experi- ment with them, we here adduce from the iV. Y. Weekly Witness, from which much of the above is condensed, the following mode of culture: At each farm-house there is a piece of ground set apart for radishes, from half an acre to two acres, and sometimes more in ex- tent. Tliis is heavily manured in the fall with old, well rotted stable-manure (of which they have always a supply several years old), and ploughed in. In tlie spring it is again ploughed as soon as the land can be worked, well har- rowed, and then raked over smooth like a garden. The rows are planted by line six inches apart, and the seed put in an inch apart in the line as follows : They have a rake with wooden teeth an inch apart. One person presses down the teeth, making holes two inches deep, another follows and drops the seed in these holes. Some of the best culturists put only one seed in each hole (having previously sifted out all small and imperfect seeds, having only those that are sure to grow). Others put two or three seeds in each hole, to ensure there oeing a full sujjply, in which case they have to go over and thin them to one as soon as they are fairly up. As soon as the radishes are up so that the rows can be easily distinguished, they dibble in potatoes between every fifth row of radishes. The quality of the soil and planting singly an inch apart and two inches deep appears to be the secret of success. Formerly they raised chiefly the long, salmon-colored radish, but now tlie long scarlet is entirely grown, being the most salable. A few turnip-rooted ones are also grown. The same land is planted every year to radishes and potatoes, without any deterioration. They all raise their own seed so as to have it pure and good. Each farmer or land-owner there cleare as much as $150 to ff-200, and some $400 ofl" the radislies (besides what they get from the potatoes), about $200 an acre being theamount realized. There is a good deal of labor in connection with the culture, and in pulling and tying up the radislies, which is done in flat bunches of six each, but as the French are a primitive people, marrying young and having plenty of children, this labor devolves pretty much on them. The radishes are sent to the Detroit market every day during the season, dozens of wagons and carts collecting at the Windsor Ferry ^^ before dayliglit to cross by the first boatt.,:^^ The radishes are at once bought up by those '' I who distribute them over the country. 130 THE LANCASTER FARMER. [September, THE LANCASTER COUNTY FAIR. Thf. Agi. ■cultural, Horticultural, Mechani- cal, Stock and Artistic Exhibition, held at McGrann's Park, during the first week in the present month, was, as we predicted it would be, judging from the known energy and enter- prise of the gentlemen having it in hand, an unquallified success— perhaps the most suc- cessful of any exhibition of the kind ever held within the borders of our county. We do not even except any of the State Fairs held in the county. Such crowds of the yeomenry of the county, and such distinguished visitors as graced the occasion during the entire week never was known before on any similar occa- sion. Neither has there heretofore been such a hearty recognition of the mechanical, mer- cantile and domestic producers of the county, and especially of the City of Lancaster. The material for a splendid exhibition exists here in abundance ; all that is required is its con- centration and exposition, and when this is systematically inaugurated there is no danger that the people will not encourage and patron- ize it. It is true that some may be attracted hither whose places would be more honored by their absence, but, at the same time, it would be impossible to draw the line of dis- crimination, other than that which the laws draw, based upon human conduct. It is use- less to attempt a detailed description of the fair, for these matters were amply reported by our weekly and daily local papers ; but in this issue we publish a list of the premiums paid, the recipients of them, and also for ■what they were paid. We do this because we desire to preserve these records for future reference in a more permanent form than that afforded by the local dailies and weeklies. We trust that this may lead to a permanent organization, in order that the beautiful Park in which the Fair was held, may be devoted henceforth to the use for which it was origi- nally intended. It will be observed that the premium list is quite a long one and the re- wards worthily distributed with a liberal hand. Let us hope that this is only the be- ginning of an indefinite series. NATURE'S EQUILIBRIUM. At another place in this number of the Farmer, we copy from the Daily Record, a paper on the "Destruction of Small Birds," which was originally published in Forrest and Stream; which forcibly illustrates how the " equilibrium of nature" may be destroyed by human intervention, and the almost incalcu- lable evil that may result therefrom. The wholesale and almost promiscuous destruc- tion of small birds, at the mere beck of fash- ion, is one of the most stupendous and heart- less factors that could possibly enter into the commercial productions of a civilized coun- try. Formerly the trade was conflred to for- eign and gaudily plumed birds, but now it in- cludes almost all kinds of birds of a small or medium size, no matter how plain their plumage may be ; for the chemical art has been developed to give these birds any gay plumage that fashion or personal taste may require. It is true, that not all of these birds are insectivorous in their habits, but it is more than presumable that the great majority of them are of that character ; in any event, ''he great balance in the animal world, through which nature's harmony is main- tained, is sadly interrupted if not ultimately destroyed. Insects are duplicated by millions upon millions every season, and a large num- ber of these little "feathered friends" feed solely upon these insects, as if by a special permission of Providence, in order that their redundancy may not defeat the provisions ti.at have been made for the subsistance of the higher orders of creation, at the head of which is man. If it must be, beautiful ornaments may be artificially made out an abundance of existing material, without wjurcZermf/ birds in violation of the enactments of law, and the dictates of common humanity, if not common sense. Perhaps those that traffic in this species of merchandise may be most culpable, especially those who occupy the position of "middle- men," because they are influenced by merely mercenary motives, whilst the votaries of fashion, who are the consumers, may only be under the bondage of a morbid fancy. If fashionable society is not satisfied with artificial imitations of the subjects of the floral and cereal realms for personal embel- lishments, but must draw upon those of the animal realm, there is an abundance of ma- terial that may be utilized for this purpose that would be quite as appropriate, entirely harmless, and freer from the infestations of those noxious insects which prey upon the peltries of the difi'erent species of animals. During the "Great Centennial," held at Fairraount Park in 1876, there were on exhi- bition large collections of artificial flowers, made entirely of feathers, and amongst them some that were made of the feathers of do- mestic fowls. The artist that could produce such flowers, could as easily have constructed an artificial bird, the proper coloration, as before inti- mated, being no obstacle whatever. Now, in view of the immense and daily in- creasing poultry trade of the United States, and the whole civilized world, all of which must be divested of its plumage before it can be consumed, it is easily to be seen that the utilizing of this plumage would furnish an abundance of material for all useful and orna- mental purposes; and all within the legitimate sphere of local and commercial law. We have thus dilated, because we do not believe in pulling down an existing structure, without providing material for building up a better one. Legal enactments may be evaded or ignored; but public opinion ought to frown upon this bird-slaughter to appease the cold and heartless longings of a tyranical fashion. The moral refinement is at least questionable, that could wear the stuffed skin of a bird as an ornament, knowing it to have been one of those species that subsist wholly, or partially on insects. Of course, relentless fashion allows none of its votaries to exercise a thought upon the subject above the most external and selfish plane. We, by no means, argue that those are sinners above all others, who wear these bird-adornments, because in a multitude of cases, they are altogether ignorant, and per- haps indifferent, as to the real status of the subject. We cannot at this time enter into a detailed analysisof the article to which we refer on bird- destruction, but one or two points we cannot " pass in silence by." On a perusal of the article it will be seen that it relates to a few localities in the State of New York alone. It appears that one man, on Long Island, furnishes annually 30,000 bird skins to the dealers in the city of New York, These are very probably not all insectivorous birds, doubtless some of them are game birds, shot in season, but at the very lowest estimate two- thirds of them are of the first-named charac- ter. 20,000 insectivorous birds withdrawn from the fields and forests of Long Island, must ultimately tell upon its vegetation, un- less it is compensated by the most vigorous and intelligent remedial counteraction. In the spring of the year, when a bird swallows a single caterpillar— if a female— it practically " gobbles up " the possibilities of from 300 to .500 noxious insects. If each bird of the 20,000 was only to destroy one such caterpillar during the season, the number of insects prevented would amount to 6,000.000, but basing our estimates on the two larger factors the result would be 15,000, 000 of insects. But these birds at the lowest estimate would average not less than one such cater- pillar daily, throughout the season — say six months, or in round numbers, ISO days; and and we foster the possibilities of 1,086,- 000,000. If Long Island tolerates this bird- slaughter, she deserves to be eaten up by "army-worms" and "Canker-worms." The bird-dealer in om locality pockets S3, 000 an- nually, the taxidermist twice that amount, and the milliner any amount between $20,000 and MO, 000, whilst the farmers and gardeners suffer losses amounting to many millions, through this unbalanced condition of natures economy. Under these circumstances, seeing a stuflfed bird mounted upon a lady's bonnet, ought to create as much horror as viewing the impaled skulls that embellish the domiciles of the tribes, inhabiting the remote jungles of Africa. But it don't, the slaughter still goes it is the fashion. THE "SEED DRILL REGULATOR." If this implement accomplishes what it pro- fesses, we don't see why /ort.v bushels of wheat to the acre, in Lancaster county, may not be as certain a result as ten bushels are now ; for a more philosophical and plausible theory of planting, aud one coming more practically within the scope of every intelligent farmer's experience, we don't think we have ever read ; and we would advise every farmer to send immediately to the Seed Brill Begulator Company, Lemont, Centre county. Pa., and obtain a copy of their pamphlet, entitled a " Revolution in Wheat Culture," read it care- fully, and then order a drill, or the improved Regulators, and make a trial of them. In their octavo pamphlet of 24 pages, illus- trated, they may find more on the subject of wheat culture than they ever knew, and yet every line of it may contain a practical doc- trine that, in one way or another, may have come under their observation many times, and the reasons for which it would not do for them to ignore in the present advancing con- dition of progressive agriculture. All is within the acknowledged sphere of vegetable physiology, and, it seems to us, THE LANCASTER FARMER. 131 could not possibly fail, so far as vegetable physiology is concerned. It is not only said, but it often has been practically demonstrated that you cannot turn up soil, if it be one, ten, twenty, fifty or more feet deep, that will not in a very short time produce plants very different from those which naturally grow upon the surface, indicating that the seeds are there, but refuse to germi- nate for the want of light and heat, notwith- standing they may have sullicient moisture. The trinal function involved in "heat, light and moisture," in a a;reater or lesser degree, accompanies the germination of all plants, and constitutes the essential conditions of their development. Of course, plants must have air ; but this is only the medium through which light, heat and moisture, are developed ; for neither could exist without air, or the elemental principles of air. This germination of seeds, (that long have lain in the bowels of the earth,) after they have been brought to the surface, and sub- jected to the influences of light, heat and moisture, illustrates that they had been pre- viously buried too deep to germinate, and must suggest that many of the grains sown by our present modes of planting, have been covered too deep to afford a ready germina- tion—indeed, some of our oldest, most ex- perienced, and universally acknowledged au- thorities in seeding and gardening, have de- monstrated by actual experiment, that shal- low planted small seeds germinate, grow and yield better crops, than those that are planted deep. Of course, the depth should have a corresponding relation to the size of the grain, all other things being equal. It is said that about five times the diameter of the seed should be the depth of the superincum- bent soil, and that this should be sufficiently packed to bring the seed directly in contact with the particles of earth and fertilizers that surround it, and that this packing is most es- sential in a dry condition of the soil, or in a dry season. Let any practical farmer experi- ment with wheat, corn, barley, oats, clover, timothy or any other kind of seeds, planting at various depths, from half an inch to six Inches or more ; and he can demonstrate for himself the difference in germination and growth, as well as the time he gains or loses at the various depths. It is also claimed that enough time is gained to enable the farmer to sow very late in the season, and thus evade the "Hessian-fly," and still gain enough by germination and growth to secure his plants from the enervating effects of a rigorous win- ter. The fact is, something must be done, to secure larger wheat, oats and corn crops. It will not do to abandon them. The elements exist ; have always existed ; and will continue to exist. The farmer must learn how to com- bine them; in that consists the salvation of the crops. A PLEA FOR THE ROBIN. From the published proceedings of the August meeting of the " Lancaster County Agricultural and Horticultural Society," it appears that a sort of one-sided discussion of certain characteristics of the robin was in- dulged in, the conclusion of which seemed to imply that " the robin must go. " How clap- trap that phrase, "must go," has become ; how easily it is said, and in a multitude of cases, with what little wisdom. The charac- ter of the robin is not to b'! built up, nor yet to be torn down upon by any such superficial arguments. We must discuss his character on a broader, more intelligent, and more catholic ground, if we wish to develop his merits or demerits, as the case may be. What the Robin Steals. And here, upon the very threshold of the subject, we viust say, wo do freely admit that the robin, during a portion of his advent amongst us, is perhaps more than ordinarily a purloiner of small fruit. True, he does not steal " watermelons and pumpkins," but he will unhesitatingly appropriate cherries, strawberries, raspberries, etc., but he is just as fond of chokecherries, gumberries, jioke- berries, wild cherries, sheepberries, etc., if he can find any farm, the owner of which is lib- eral enough to allow any of these berries to grow. The robin sometimes makes his appearance in Lancaster county as early as the middle of February, and although there may afterward occur a "cold snap" and drive him off, yet, if he leaves at all, he don't go far, for the first succeeding warm day his cheerful chirp may be heard in the vicinity. The Robin's Return. On an average, about the first of March he comes to stay, and often has a rough time of it. This is nearly, or quite, three months be- fore the average ripening of small fruits, and, the robin, wiser than some human beings, never eats green fruit. Nidification often commences about the middle of March, and from the 1st to the 10th of April everything is in order for oviposition. From four to five eggs is the normal compliment, only one be- ing deposited daily, and in fifteen days after the last egg is laid, the young brood break tlirough the shell. This would bring their sojourn down to near the 1st of May. Now, what have the adult birds fed upon during these two months? Under any circum- stances, not on small fruits. His Food Examined. Let Prof. Thomas G. Gentry, of German- town, Pa., who has devoted his time, mind, and practical observation to this very subject, as a specialty, answer. Prof. Gentry in his " Life Histories of the Birds of Eastern Pennsylvania," says: The stomachs of robins examined by him revealed 10 species of Coleopterous Insects, (Beetles); 7 species of Diptera (two-winged flies); one of Ilymenop- tera, (ants, etc.); 4 of Orthoptera, or grass- hoppers; 10 species of Lepidoptera, (butter- flies and moths) among which were the "spring web-worm." the "current moth," the "corn worm," the "white cabbage but- terfly," the "canker worm" and the "apple codling," besides the "earth worm." Here are thirty-two species of insects, without re- gard to the number of individuals, some of which are capable of depositing from three to five hundred eggs during their life-lease. Pre-eminently Insectivorous. The robin products two broods during the season, averaging four at a brood, and these are wholly fed upon insects. The laivse, and the softer kinds of 10 or 12 species, constitute the "bill of fare" provided for their young. Mr. Gentry concludes, "of all species of birds, the robin is pre-eminently tiisecfiwj-ou.s;" not- withstanding it does during the season appro- priate strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, juniperberries, gumberries, etc. How long does the season of cultivated berries con- tinue, compared with the sojourn of the robin, in any locality ? It seems disingenuous to traduce the character of this bird, under a full view of his usefulness. The insects he ab.solutely destroys, is but a mole-hill to a mountain, compared with what he prevents from being developed. Millions of boxes of small fruits found their way to the different markets of the country this season whilst those destroyed by robins could not be count- ed Vjy tens. AVhen we were a boy it was common to go to a copse of wild cherry or guraberry trees and " bring down " two or three dozen of robins in half a day, without violation of law. Such places have no existence now, hence the robin is compelled to approach nearer our homes. Plant more trees. In our boyhood there were ten cherry trees on a farm where there are only one or two now. There were plenty and to spare even for the robin. ENTOMOLOGICAL— THE BLIGHT BEETLE. Miss M R : The small black beetles sent me (infesting the bark of the plum tree) are commonly called the " Pear blight beetle," and were first described by Prof. Peck, of Massachusetts, under the scientific name of Scolytus pyri, but, as they quite as frequently occur on the peach and the plum, the word jxar, might as well be dropped from their common name. The term pyri, how- ever, in their scientific name, has priority now, and is, therefore, as unalterable as the laws of the Medes and the Persians ; never- theless, they have been transferred to a new genus, and are now known as Hyloborits pyri. They are about one-tenth of an inch in length, dark brown or black in color, the feet and antennct a rusty brown, the thorax short, much couvexed and roughly punctured, and the wing-covers finely punctured in longi- tudinal lines. They must not, however, be confounded with the fire-blight, which so fre- quently and so injuriously infect the pear trees, and wliich is produced by a Bacterian Fmuius. The females of these little beetles deposit their eggs early in the spring in the axils or near the bases of the buds or branches, sometimes also on the larger branches or even the trunks of the trees they infest, and they usually produce two broods annually. The eggs are very small and so are the young larvce, which soon find their way into the bark, the heart, or the solid wood, but their location is usually indicated by the external discoloration of the bark. The only known remedy that is at all reliable is to cut off the branches below the point of infestation, and reduce them to ashes by "fire and flame." But this should be done early, while they are in the larvae form, or before the beetles have escaped. It may not be too late yet, in the present season, to destroy at least some of them. When they are in, or under, the bark of the trunk of the tree, they may be cut out 132 THE LANCASTER FARMER [September, with a sharp pruning knife, and the chips coniainiiig th- larvae or the beetles consigned to the flames, whatever effect it may have on future broods. SACK-BEARER. Atlanta, Aug. 18, 2884. My Dear Friend : "Will you pardon me for begging your opinion on the inclosed article from the Consiitutioyi of this city, and also for asking you to accept, examine, and if of sufficient value in your estimation, give us some information about the name and charac- ter of the specimen "worm" mailed to your address this day. With kind regards to yourself and family. Your friend, J. J. Sprenger. 325 Peachtree street, Atlanta, Oa. Destroying Insects. For some time past Colonel George W. Adair has noticed that the arborvitae hedge in his yard was not thriving as it had for years. It is a hardy plant and its drooping caused surprise. It was noticed that the tops of the hedge were dying and yesterday Colonel Adair endeavored to ascertain the cause of the trouble. On examining the bushes he discovered a great number of little pointed sacs depending from the twigs of the shrub. One of these he pulled off. It popped open and revealed an ugly looking worm about an inch long. He was spotted like a rattlesnake and his glowing black eye gave him a decidedly venamous appearance. The hedge was found to be heavily burdened with these marauders, and its drooping was readily understood. There are complaints in all parts of the city of the ravages of insects on flowers and shrubs. Several remedies are suggested. Carbolic acid will destroy any insect life, but it is dangerous to the person who applies it. If used at all it should be with great care. Some persons who have had much experience recommend a solution of blue stone as a sure destroyer of pestiferous insects. It does not injure the person or the plant. In some cases smoking the afflicted flower or shrubs has re- lieved it. Such creatures as Colonel Adair discovered yesterday will probably need pretty severe treatment. This is the famous "Drop- worm" or "Sack-bearer," of Pennsylvania and other Northern States, and now scientifically known as Thyridopteryx ephemcp.reformis; but, de- structive to the foliage of various trees as it is, it is one of the most accessible and easiest to extinguish, with only an ordinary share of vigilance and industry. The follicles dangle from the branches of the trees all winter, and, except in evergreens, are very conspicuous. If they are then all cut oft and burned, a repetition of them the following season will be imposiible. Each of those spindle shaped ha.bitacula, if that of the female, may contain from 300 to 500 eggs, each of which possess the possibility of be- coming a sack-worm next season. See to the matter between now and April, 1885. EXCERPTS. AN.ETHESIA was discovered in 1844. The first steel pen was made in 1830. The first air pump was made in 1654. The first daily paper appeared in 1702. The first lucifer match was made in 1798. The first iron steamship was built in 1830. Mohammad was born at Mecca about 570. The first balloon ascent was made in 1798. Coaches were first used in England in 1569. The first horse railroad was built in 1826- 1827. The Franciseans arrived in England in 1224. The first steamboat plied the Hudson in 1804. The entire Hebrew Bible was printed in 1488. Ships were first "copper-bottomed" in 1782. Gold was first discovered in California in 1848. The first telescope was used in England in 1608. Christianitt was introduced into Japan in 1549. The first watches were made at Nurem- berg in 1477. Envelopes were first used in 1839, a Yan- kee invention. The first saw maker's anvil was brought te America in 1819. The first almanac was printed by John Von Furbach in 1460. Percussion arms were used in the United States army in 1830. The first use of a locomotive in this coun- try was in 1829. Omnibusses were first introduced in New York in 1830. Kerosene was first used for lighting pur- poses in 1826. The first glass factory in the United States was built in 1780. Glass windows were first introduced into England in the eighth century. The first steam engine on this continent was brought from England in 1 753. The first complete sewing machine was patented by Elias Howe, Jr., in 1848. The first Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge was organized in 1698. The first attempt to manufacture pins in this country was made soon after the war of 1812. The first prayer book of Edward VI. came into use by authority of Parliament on Whit- Sunday, 1549. The first temperance society in this coun- try was organized in Saratoga county, New York, in March, 1808. The first coach in Scotland was brought thither in 1561, when Queen Mary came from France. It belonged to Alexander Lord Seaton. The manufacture of porcelain was intro- duced into the Province of Hezin, Japan, from China, in 1513, and Hezin ware still bears Chinese marks. The first society for the exclusive purpose of circulating the Bible was organized in 1805, under the name of the British and For- eign Bible Society. The first Union flag was unfurled on the first of January, 1776, over the camp at Cam- bridge. It had thirteen stripes of white and red and retained the English cross in one corner. The first telegraph instrument was suc- cessfully operated by S. F. B. Morse, the in- ventor, in 1835, thougli its utility was not demonstrated to the world until 1842. When Captain Cook first visited Tahiti, the natives were using nails of wood, bone, shell and stone. When they saw iron nails they fancied them to be shoots of some very hard wood, and, desirious of securing such a valuable commodity they planted them in their gardens. Measurements of an Acre.— The fol- lowing will be found useful in arriving at accuracy in estimating the amount of land in difterent pieces of ground under cultivation : Five yards wide by 958 yards long contain one acre ; as do also the following measurements: Ten yards wide by 484 yards long ; 20 yards wide by 242 yards long ; 40 yards wide by 121 yards long ; 80 yards wide by 50^ yards long ; 70 yards wide by 69^ yards long ; 60 feet wide by 726 feet long ; 110 feet wide by 369 feet long ; 120 feet wide by 563 feet long ; 220 feet wide by 168 feet long ; 240 feet wide by 181^ feet long and 440 feet wide by 99 feet long. Why Lightning Strikes Trees.— The ordinary attractive power of trees is materi- ally increased by the fact that a column of heated air and vapor arises from them, en- velopes the trees, and passes upwards. As this vapor is a better conductor than the sur- rounding air, it tends to draw the lightning to the trees. A single human being walking along a turnpike road, unless tliere be trees on both sides, is liable to be struck, being the most prominent object, and, of course, an umbrella, as ordinarily constructed, adds to the danger. It is much safer to close the umbrella and get wet. It is the fashion just now for agricultural editors to advise you not to waste time pot- ting strawberry plants. Don't believe them when they tell you that layers are as good as pot plants. Potting plants may not pay best where strawberries are grown on a large scale for market, but for the great majority who plant enough for home use the thumb-pot is just the thing, and now is the time to begin setting them under the runners. In 1878 I cut a field of wheat that averaged thirty bushels to the acre, when it was so green that the bundles were very heavy to handle, and a neighbor, who cut it for me, seeing my miller, told him that I had ruined the crop. The miller told me after the year's crop was in that my wheat was the best sam- ple received at his mill that year.— Waldo F. Brown in National Stockman. It is a mistake to think that your grain fields are the only place for your maunre. Manure can hardly be put to better use than as top dressing for meadow and grazing land. If grape clusters profit by being covered by paper bags, why not secure the fine blossoms of larger flowering roses from the attacks of the rosebugs and other insects V Who has thus protected the unfolding buds of the queen of flowers ? These blooms do not need the visits of any insects to secure polleniza- tion because they are doubled out of the seed bearing habit. The firming of the soil upon newly grown THE LANCASTER FARMER- 133 seeds and iiround the roots of transplanted plants is often overlooked. I recently set out my tomato 'plants, and in so doing I first wrapped a strip of folded brown paper around the base of the stem as a guard against cut wi>rms, and after the plant was set the earth was pressed down with the feet and the ^yhole weight of the body. The earth was left from the stem, and into this hollow a pint or so of water was poured. Tlie earth can be after- wards leveled around the plant. The time spent in cleaning your work horses is not lost. Whitewash the stable. Keep the watering trough clean and sweet. Water often and a little at a time these long, hot days, Improve your stock. Francis Galton says nature is more potent than nurture. The successful dairyman or stockman means the same thing when he says that breed is better than feed. The best management is largely wasted unless you have well-bred stock to care for. Bees dislike dark and fuzzy material. Wear light clothes to escape danger of sting- ing. James Heddon says in the Bee Journal: " A man with a plug hat on rarely gets stung, unless by a bee that, in trying to 'shoot the hat,' aims too low, and hits the face by mis- take, while a companion at a suitable distance is perfectly safe." Now is the time to fatten and market the old hens that have finished their laying. A GOOD bath at night and fresh, clean clothing will put you in better heart for work next morning. Don't rob yourself of a good hour's noon spell because work is pressing. While you are resting after dinner is a good time to plan for a vacation trip with your wife after all the crops are gathered. Sheep enjoy a shady pasture and should have a weekly ration of salt. It is now time to consider the question of having early lambs next spring. YouMG pigs should be pushed for the early market. Tiiey much enjoy a run in clover. The orchard is a favorite place for pigs when they can eat the fallen fruit and grow fat upon the worms destroyed. Have you made any plans for saving the best specimens of corn plants for bearing the seed for next year's crop ? Give the selected stalks extra chances for development and su- perior seed may be expected. This is the way to improve this crop. It requires only a few years of careful selection and culture to develop a vaiiety especially suited to the lo- cality in which it has originated. If the straps around your buggy whiffietree are too short the breast strap or collar will make your horse's shoulders sore. The whiffletree should have free play. If the straps check this play even for a single degree in the arc it makes about the centre the horse will suffer for the restraint. A SLANTING board attached to the rear end of a cultivator, when it is worked through corn or potatoes, smooths down the marks of the teeth and makes genuine level culture. There is a belief among old-fashioned housewives that the ashes from apple-tree wood makes the best soap. This means that this is richer in potash than ordinary wood. If this is true tlie tnmks and limbs of an apple orchard hold much potash, and a great deal more blows away every Autumn with the fallen leaves. Tliis suggests potash and ashes as fertilizer for orchards. A cow is a kicker in many cases in return for the abuse receiTod from the milker. I do not blame a cow that is worried by the doa, pounded by the hired man and sworn at by the boss for defending herself with heel and horn. But there are, too congenital and chronic kickers — cows that kick for the same reason that so-called Independent politicians kick^simply to display their superiority to ordinary cows. Such cattle are even worse than the politicians, for they are not even amusing. Fatten them for the shambles without delay. Contributions. OWNING LAND. Brook viLLE, O., Sept. 1st, 1884. To THE Editor of the Lancaster Farmer.— Sir.- I don't know but what lean do your readers more good by writing you a short communication on the importance of owning land. For land is the habitation of man, the store house from which he must draw all his needs. The material to which his labor must be applied for the supply of all his desires. The ownership of land is the great fundamental basis of the social and po- litical condition, and consequently the intel- lectual and moral condition of a people. On the land we are born from we receive the sustenance of life. To it we return again: we are children of the soil, as truly as is the blade of grass, or the flower of the fields. Take away from man the land, and he is but a disembodied spirit. Everywhere in all times among all people, the possession of land is the basis of aristo- cracy, the foundation of great fortunes and the source of power. We can neither build houses, nor barns, nor factories, nor schools without land, and in short, we can do nothing without it. With land we always have some- thing to do. As labor is a great moralizer, this Is an important matter. Greeley once wrote, that anyone was happy who had some- thing to do, and a disposition to do it. As population increases, so will wages decrease, aud land increase in price, hence it is impor- tant to own our land, as early in life as possi- ble, so that when wages gets down to the starvation point he may find employment on this land. " Go, get yourself a piece of land and hold possession." Young man, go West, and get land. "To whomsoever the soil be- longs," to him belongs the fruits thereof. In France it is unlawful for a man's landed estate to be sold at his death, it must be di- vided among his heirs so that each one will get a piece of land. In Belgium and Holland more people own land in proportion to the number of acres and number of inhabitants than in any other country, and they are said to be the happiest people on the globe. For some people to own too much land, is as bad as for some to have none. Congress should by all means prevent monopoly in land, for land they can't make. As Deity is everywhere present, and this is Ilis footstool, everyone of His children should be an inheriter of a part of it. Wheat in this county averaged about 18 bushels to the acre; potatoes are turning out better than was anticipated; oats is unusually good. After an unprecedented drouth, it i» now trying to rain, but it is only a try, a bare sprinkling. For weeks the plows have been stopped, with the fields only partially plowed for wheat, much of the pasture is dead and dried. I have never seen it so dusty, except in California, everything is covered with dust, we are therefore breathing a cosmical dust. Doubtless our atmosphere is like what it was before the waters were separated from land, only a little dryer. G. Selections. DESTRUCTION OF SMALL BIRDS. Much has been said and written of the de- struction of our large game in the Adiron- dacks and on the Western plains and moun- tains, but how little is known of the enormous numbers of .small birds that are daily being killed for purposes of decoration ! It is diffi- cult for one who has not made a special study of this subject to realize how much harm in every way is being done by this means. The farmers, above all, have deep cause to regret this extermination of our small birds. Bird life exists almost wholly through the death of some other form of life, and by destroying in- sects, worms and other noxious creatures the bird is of the greatest use to the farmer by protecting his crops. The vast slaughter that is going on among our birds is already a source of serious anxiety to all who take an enlightened interest in agriculture. This destruction goes on mainly about the great centres, but it is by no means confined to any one section. We know, for example, of one dealer residing on Long Island who, during a three months trip to the coast of S. Carolina last spring, prepared no less than 11,018 bird skins. A considerable number of the birds killed were,of course,too much muti- lated for preparation, so that the total num- ber of the slain would be much greater than the number given. The person referred to states that he handles on an average 30,000 skins per annum, of which the greater part are cut up for millinery purposes. This in the past. At present the trade is growing, and at a rate which is startling. We are told by people who have the best facilties for knowing that there arc, and have been since early spring, hundreds of people on Long Island shooting birds for the middlemen, who supply the taxidermists and dealers. During the past spring and summer, and up to the present time, large boxes of birds "in the flesh" are coming into New York. They are delivered to taxidermists, who em- ploy girls to skin for them, and then sell the prepared skins at 10 or 11 cents each. From a single locality on Long Island one man, who buys from the local gunners, sent in dur- ing the week ending July 26 over S300 worth of birds. As the prepared skins sell, as 134 THE LANCASTER FARMER. [Se stated, for about 10 cents apiece, the number cf bi'-f\- iiust have been considerably over 3000, and the total destruction was probably at least one-half greater. The same man has sent, during this season, from the early spring until the present time, an average of 300 birds a day to a William street taxidermist, 200 a day to a Bleecker street man, and from 100 to 150 per day to a dealer in Kevv Jersey, or an average of between 600 and 7(0 birds daily for a period of four mouths, making a total of not far from 70,000 birds in all. This, be it remembered, is from one single village on Long Island. It should be added that, be- sides these birds sent to the dealers, this same individual sends in a vast quantity of snipe to the New York markets. Of all the cases which have come under our notice since we first set on foot inquiries in regard to this subject this is the most appal- ling, but there are others that are only less so. A father and two sons shot for three weeks near Kockaway, and made over 2000 skins; there is a man at Sag Harbor, and an- other at Shelter Island, who are preparing skins; a man near Bath does the same. In fact, there seems to be a great opportunity for Game Protector G. W. Whittaker, whose jurisdiction extends over the counties of Kings, Queens and Suffolk, to do a lot of mis- sionary work in enforcing the statute for the protection of insectivorous birds. The evil to which we are calling attention is not, however, confined to any one section of the country. The water birds, perhaps be- cause they are larger than our insectiverous birds, seem to be quite as eagerly sought afier as the land birds, and are shot literally by myriads. The dealers complain that there are "no sea swallows now." Strange, is it not, that there shouldn't be none ? The following extract from the Baltimore Sun may suggest an explanation of the mystery. Read it : '' During a recent trip with the Orpheus Sailing Club, of Baltimore, to the well-known Cobb's Island, the following fiicts were ascer- tained and created a very unpleasant impres- sion : An enterprising woman from New York has contracted with a Paris millinery firm to deliver during this summer 40,000 or more skins of birds at 40 cents apiece. With sev- eral taxidermists she was carrying out the contract, having engaged young and old to kill birds of different kinds, and paying them 10 cents for each specimen not too much mutilated for millinery purposes. The plumage of most of the birds to be obtained at this island is plain, but with the assistance of a little dye it is soon transformed into that of the gayly-colored tropical birds. The birds comprised in this wholesale slaugliter are mainly the different species of gulls and terns, or sea swallows, of which many species in large numbers could formerly be found upon this island. But now only a few of ihese graceful birds remain upon Cobb's Island itself, and the pot-hunters, or rathur the skin- hunters, have to go some distance to cany out their cruel scheme. If we consider that with each old bird killed— and only old birds have a suitable plumage— also many of the young birds, still unable to take care of them- selves, are doomed to starvation, this whole- sale slaughter becomes still more infamous and criminal." We happen to know that the above is no exaggeration, but is strictly true. Is this not a rather alarming state of affairs ? On the whole, it is about as bad as what is taking place on Long Island. Now what is the public, and especially the great army of bird lovers in the United States, going to do about this ? What do the farmers and fishermen think of the destruction of their friends and allies, the birds ? It is an easy matter to sit still and do nothing. It will be some trouble to call the attention of one's friends and neighbors to the subject, and to urge each one of them to do what he can to stop this butchery ; some trouble to warn off from one's premises every man who carries a gun ; some trouble to go a little out of your way to speak to the local game protector, or to write him a lelter.— Forest and Stream. VITALITY OF WEED SEEDS. How is the vitality of the seeds of our most common weeds, such as dock, sorrel, chick- weed, shepherd's purse, white daisy, etc., aftected by the action of the digestive organs of animals ? This inquiry was addressed to Professor Maynard. He answers in a bulle- tin published by the Massachusetts Experi- ment Station : Seeds were fed to a horse, and the refuse collected. Upon examination, it was found that unless the seeds were crushed they remained uninjured and germinated readily. The experiment was repeated sev- eral times with the same result. This point settled, it becomes important to know how the same seeds are affected by the action of the compost heap, for while the farmer should not allow weed seeds to mature on his farm, such seeds do ripen, and it is necessary to provide means for their destruc- tion. For this purpose a series of experi- ments were carried out, the result of which is that seeds are destroyed if exposed to a tem- perature of from 90° to 110° F. for from five to seven days in a moist compost heap. In a dry compost heap, where the temperature runs as high as the above, the seeds were found but little injured. The efliciency of this mode of destruction depends upon the maintenance of a continued high temperature and moisture, which will cause the seeds to eitlier germinate and then decay, or to decay before germinating. The amount of moisture can be easily regulated, and by properly work- ing over any pile of compost containing a large amount of organic matter the required amount of heat may be obtained. From the above experiments it would seem doubtful if the practice of keeping swine upon manure piles to cause slow decomposition is the best for manure containing weed seeds. It is also doubtful if the seeds of weeds, often put into the pens where pigs are kept, will be de- stroyed by the action of the little heat there generated. It would probably be safer in both of the above cases to compost the ma- nure in large piles before using it upon the land. The,white daisy has become so abundant in many of our meadows that it is important to know at what stage of its blooming the seeds become ripe enough to germinate. In other words, if this weed is cut with the grass, are its seeds mature and dangerous ? On this point Professor Maynard reports : After a series of careful examination it has been de- cided that when the floWer first reaches its lull expansion few or no seeds are mature enough to germinate, but that it requires only a few days for these seeds to mature to full ripeness. In view of these facts it would not seem safe for the farmer to depend wholly upon the early stage of cutting, but to afterwards compost all manures made from fodder containing weeds of any kind. — Phila. Press. THE GOOD WELL. It is doubtful if pools and ponds ever fur- nish fit water for stock ; it is certain that they do not at this season. Streams fed and kept continually running by rocky springs furnish pure water, but over a greater part of this country the streams are fed only by surface- washings. Such streams are made swollen torrents by rains, carrying in their waters much filthy sediment ; in the dry intervals they degenerate into chains of slimy pools. Wells only can be depended on in such regions, and not all wells, for many of them yield water unfit for human consumption, and what is not good enough for the farmer is not good enough for his stock. Much ef the disease among farm stock is due to the impurity of the water they drink. Dr. Detmers, in his investigations of the swine plague, found that the haceilli were so well preserved in water containing an admix- ture of organic matter and so often conveyed by filthy streams that he pronounced these streams the most fruitful agents in the spread- ing of this disease. The danger, of course, is greatest during hot weather. The good well is dug in a dry time. Wet weather wells cannot be depended upon. They fail just when they are most needed. Often they are fed from "seaps," and the water is unwholesome. A dry weather well is fed by an underground stream, uncontaminated, cool and constant. A good well is not less than twenty feet deep. The deeper the vein of water is struck the better it is. The shallower the well the warmer its water will be and the more defiled from the decaying matter in and ou the soil. The good well has a tiglit wall — so tight that the earth cannot crumble through, and tight enough to keep out rats, mice, toads, snakes, etc. Brick, hard-burned, make the best wall. They will last as long as tlie well will. Stone walls are rarely made close enough. Even in soil where there is no danger of the walls caving in, they should be be tight. The wall of the good well is built up for at least a foot above the surface and a broad firm bank of clay made around it. The harder this clay is stamped the better. It will keep out rats, mice, etc., for it will soon get so hard that they cannot tunnel through it ; even the mole will give it up in disgust. As clay thus firmed is impervious to water, the bank will keep out surface water, a very important consideration. Upon the top of this wall and this bank the good well has a tight enough fitting for the pump to sit upon. It is well to make a shal- low bed of soft cement and lay the platform down on that. Around the platform and over THE LANCASTER FARMER. 135 the clay put a shallow coat of soil— just enough to grow blue grass, and sow blue grass seed ; or instead of this, sod around the platform. Since the introduction of the rubber but- tons, I prefer a chain piirap to the suction pump proper. I do not know that the suc- tion pump is not the lightest and easiest, but it is the most liable to get out of repair. The rubber buttons make the chain pump the fastest pump, as it will throw a stream of water the full dimensions of the tubing and also a continuous one. Up to within a few years ago it was the universal practice to put a flat rock in the bottom of the well, and upon this rest the tubing. I can commend the later plau of nail- ing flies out from the tubing to keep it in the centre of the well and suspending it from the top. The lower end of the tubing should reach within about a foot of the bottom of the well. Where any considerable amount of water is to be raised for stock it will pay to get a wind-pump. The entire cost of such an out- fit need not exceed $100 or 812-5. These wind pumps have now been reduced to almost per- fection. They are self-regnlating, and troughs are manufactured which will allow the water to escape as fast as it reaches a certain point. With such appliances a supply of fresh, cool water can always be kept before stock with- out manual labor. — W. Press. GREEN MANURING. Plowing under green succulent growth for manure is less common than it once was. Forty years ago this was the method in West- ern New York for growing the wheat crops which gave this section its celebrity. Clover was the green manure used, and alternate wheat and clover crops made the ordinary ro- tation. Summer fallowing, which included plowing under a rank growth of clover, did not give way until the weevil about 1854-5 and 6 made, for a time, wheat-growing impossible. Farmers were driven into mixed husbandry, and when they again took to growing wheat, it was after oats or barley. A few years later it was found that with superphosphate as good or better wheat could be grown after these grains as were ever grown by summer fallow. Those who tried summer fallowing again, found that its results were uncertain unless the phosphate were also used. If phosphate had to be purchased, the majority of farmers preferred to buy a little more and make a spring crop before sojving wheat, which very often paid better than a crop of wheat on the best summer fallow. One supposed advantage of the naked fal- low, with clover ploughed under, was in free- ing the land of weeds. This was only par- tially true. Our land under hoed crops is not more foul than it was forty years ago. With some kinds of weeds, as red root, it is clearer now than then. Nor does the ploughing under of clover permanently enrich the soil. The decomposing clover itself is helpful, but an equal or greater advantage may be had by passing it through animals and spreading the manure. We cannot make the manure go so far nor spread it so evenly, but this is more than offset by the profit on the feeding of clover hay, which yields a fair return if fed to fattening stock in winter, with corn or cotton- seed meal. There is likely to be a revival of green manuring, but it will hardly be of clover nor for wheat. We cannot aflbrd to take the growth of two years to make one wheat crop while in hot competition with Western grow- ers. Besides clover is too valuable for feed to be plowed under. Other crops will pay better than wheat, and other green manures will take the place of clover. One of these is winter rye, and its advantage is that its growth is made in fall and early spring, so that it can be turned under in time for corn, potatoes and beans. Kyc is not as valuable a green manure as clover, but it is better than nothing and its only cost is the seed. On corn or potato ground that would otherwise be naked during the winter, rye protects the soil from washing by rains or blowing off by the fierce winter winds. Its decomposition makes the soil light and porous which is an advantage for either corn, potatoes or beans. This ex- treme friability of soil, caused by decompos- ing a rank growth of clover, is not favorable to wheat. Unless the fallow was plowed early in June, so as to allow the soil to com- pact before wheat seeding, the clover was apt to do as much harm as good. Those who summer fallow for wheat now cut or feed off the early growth of clover, relying on the roots to make a rich seed bed. Clover is more profitably plowed under a year after seeding and in preparation for some hoed crop. The increased crop of corn or potatoes will give a good profit on the clover, with much less labor than would be required to cut and feed it. Since the advent of the clover worm this plowing under of clover has become a popular mode of utilizing it. The practice is wasteful in one sense, from the fact that, if left, the clover root would become larger and penetrate the sub- soil more deeply. But, as it is pretty certain that if left alone, the clover worm would de- stroy the crop, it is better to destroy at once this;enemy than the crop it feeds on. — Win.J. Fowler in Press. CAUSE AND CURE OF CONSTIPATION. Insutflcient supply of water or of succulent food is probably the ultimate cause of three-fourths of ihe cases of ordinary con- stipation. The appemte for liquids which, under strictly normal conditions, would regu- late the supply to the demand, is, under the ordinary conditions of civilized life, largely controlled by habit, and habits are often es- tablished by thoughtless concessions to con- venience. Habit has quite as much to do with the taking of food at stated times as appetite has ; the latter merely coming in to decide how much shall be taken, and this decision is often based upon the quality of the food and the time allotted to the process ; and too much liquid taken with the food so embar- rasses digestion as to cause inconvenience ; and thus not only is a bad habit prevented, but a still worse habit of taking too little liquid is liable to be fallen into. So, too, with drink proper, or water taken at other than mealtimes. The appetite for it is often not strong enough to break through the occupa- tions of the time, and, by habitual neglect, soon disappears altogether. Any one who is 3ufl[lciently observant of his lesser instinctive wants will find that, after the first stages of digestion and absorption, a glass of water is particularly acceptable, and the most accept- able time will vary with the rapidity of the digestion of the individual— generally from one to two hours after the meal. The other times for taking water will depend largely upon tne amount of exercise, since these are chiefly to supply the waste by the lungs and the skin. — Br. tSquibb, in Ephemeris. One of the speakers at the meeting of the board of agriculture, recently held at Lowell, urged the importance of having pure air in the barn at time of milking, and stated that "cows ought not to be carded before milking and the barn swept up," giving as a reason that ''it filled the air with particles of im- purities and bad odors." This maybe cor- rect, and it perhaps often causes an unpleas- ant taste in the butter that the farmer is at a loss to account for. For as we have said in a former article milk absorbs bad odors more readily than most other sub.stances. Thus it would seem that the farmer, by the very act of trying to keep his barn swept and clean puts it in the very condition required to taint the milk. But the question arises, if the cow cannot be cleaned and the barn swept just before milking, is it good policy to milk the cow before she is clean and the barn swept,? This would certainly be v(jry unde- sirable; in fact we cannot help thinking it would be almost impossible to milk an un- cleaned cow, without injuring the milk by the hairs falling into it, and also whatever loose particles of dirt might be on the milk bag. As a rule the farmer cannot clean his barn and card his cows early enough in the morning and leave time enough before milk- ing to air the barn, and have all the flying particles of impurities settle. There seems to be but two ways to avoid this trouble. First, by carding and cleaning the cows in a shed before milking, then return them to the barn to be milked. Second by cleaning the cows in the barn, then leading them to warm, clean room to be milked. The last would seem to be the best method. This is a matter for serious thought to those farmers who desire to make gilt edged butter they can sell for a dollar a pound. If as the speaker remarked, tobacco in the mouth of the milker will eftect the milk, it is no wonder that it is so difficult to make first quality butter. We have for sometime enter- tained the idea that farmers as a rule, have not given attention enough to pure air in the barn and the milk room, but confess had not thought much of the consequences of the bad breath of the farmer or we should have urged him to abandon onions as well as tobacco. — Massachusetts Ploughman. CLEAN DAIRIES. ' Every farmer and farmer's wife, says the Oermantoion Telegraph, conducting a dairy with the surest aims to success, knows that perfect cleanliness and ventilation are the most important requirements to be observed, and cannot receive too careful attention. Some of the largest and most profitable of 136 THE LANCASTER FARMER. [September, the dairies in Germany, which is celebrated for these indispensable attributes of a great class of .j;ricultural establishments, are con- struclfcJ partly underground and are quite dry and always kept as neatly as possible at a temperature of about sixty degrees. The floors are paved with hard brick, ':cemented, and small channels of pure water are con- ducted through the apartments. Tlie air also circulates freely through them, and the vapor of the milk passes off unobstructedly. The walls are smooth and whitewashed, and no- where can there be seen a trace of dust or even a semblance of dirt. The pans are placed low down on the floors, never on shelves, while the atmosphere within is perfectly free from every disagreeable odor that might have the effect of impairing the sweetness and purity of the exposed milk and cream. Here, in our State, and especially in the eastern portion of it, our best dairies are conducted on similar methods, except that they are not frequently sunk beneath the sur- face of the ground, though they sometimes are where the spring is so located as to make it necessary. Running water is of the utmost importance in the manjfacture of a first-class article of butter ; and where springs are not attainable on the surface, the admirable wind powers that have been introduced upon our farms fairly supply this deficiency. CANADA THISTLE. The vilest pest that infects our fields is Canada thistle. Our farmers are just waking up from insensibility as to the enormous injury which this noxious weed is about to inflict upon them. Ten years ago they saw it here and there in the woods, and occasionally a small spot in some obscure field, and they were very little alarmed about its spreading over their land, but now they are waking up from their lethargy, and find they have just cause to dread its existence among them. Its spread is frightful, and if it continues ten years longer unchecked, spreading both by extension of root and seed, it will overrun their farms and deprive them of more than half their value. Who can rest in quiet com- posure and calmly view the ravages it is mak- ing V It has cost you a lifetime of labor, skill and economy to purchase and pay for your farms. Will you lose all by allowing them to be irredeemably ruined by the ravages of the Canada thistle ? Or will you rouse up while you may and exterminate the pernicious pest? Wait many years longer, and your hopes and labors will both be vain. Everyman and boy in the country ought to be one of a vigilance committee and search out and destroy this nuisance. The Legislature of Pennsylvania has anticipated the result of the growing evil, and wisely made provision against it, so far as a positive law can provide for the extermina- tion of a natural evil. The following act was passed by the Legislature of Pennsylvania, March 2'2, 1S6:2, for the extermination of the Canada thistle : "It shall be the duty of every person or persons, and of every corporation holding lands in this commonwealth, either by lease or otherwise, on which any Canada thistle or weed, commonly known as the Canada thistle, may be growmg, to cut the same, so as to prtvent such weed or thistle from going to seed, and the seed of the same from ripening ; and any person or persons, or corporation as aforesaid, who shall or may have land as aforesaid, in such counties and who shall ne- glect, or refuse to comply with the provisions ol this act, shall forfeit and pay a fine of fif- teen dollars, one-half to the county treasurer, and the other half to the use of the person sueing for the same (who shall be a competent witness to proVe the facts) to be recovered as other debts of a like amount, before any jus- tice of the peace or in any court of record in said county. " If any person or persons, or corporations so holding land as aforesaid, on which Canada thistle, or the weeds commonly known as such, shall be growing and likely to ripen seed thereon, shall neglect or refuse to cut and de- stroy the same, so as to prevent the seed thereof from ripening, it shall and may be lawful for any person or persons, who may consider themselves aggrieved, or about to be injured by such neglect or refusal, to give five days' notice in writing to such person or per- sons, or corporations, to cut and destroy such weeds or thistles, and on their neglect or re- fusal to cut and destroy the same, at the end of five days, it shall and may be lawful, for any person so aggrieved, or believing themselves to be injured thereby, to enter upon, or hire other persons to enter upon such premises, and cut down and destroy such Canada thistle, and the person or persons so employed, shall be entitled to recover from such person or per- sons, or corporation, owing or holding such land, compensation at the rate of two dollars per day, to be sued for and recovered, as debts of a like amount before any justice or court in said counties." CHEESE FOR HOME USE. Every pound of cheese requires ten pounds of milk, and a ten-pound cheese is about as small a one as can be conveniently made. A clean tub which will hold the milk, and a boiler large enough to hold ten gallons, will be needed. A small press, which any smart boy can make, with a lever to hang a stone upon, will also be required, and then the ■' know how" is all the rest. Making cheese is a chemical operation, and depends greatly, like all other such work, upon temperature. One cannot be safe without a thermometer, as a rule of thumb w;ll not be precise enough. The first thing to do is to bring the milk to a temperature of 90 degrees. This makes a soft cheese; a higher temperature will make a hard one. The milk may be of two milkings; the evening milk set in a deep pail in the cel- lar, and stirred late at night and early in the morning to keep the cream from separating, and the morning milk mixed with it as it is strained after milking. If any cream has risen on the evening's milk, it may be skimmed off. The eyening's milk may be warmed to 100 degrees and then added to the fresh morning's milk, which will be about 80 degrees ; the whole will then be about the right temperature, which is 90. degrees. The rennet is then added. This is the liquid made by steeping a piece of the dried stomach of a sucking calf in warm water. For one hundred pounds of milk, or forty- five quarts, a piece of the rennet about as large as one's thumb, or two inches long by one inch wide, is put in a quart of warm water in the evening, with half a tablespoon- ful of salt. In the morning this liquid is strained into the warmed milk in the tub and well stirred through it. The tub is then cov- ered to keep the milk warm until the curd is formed, which will be in about half an hour. As soon as the cuid is formed enough to cut a long-bladed knife is drawn through it both ways, so as to cut the mass into inch cubes. This causes the whey to separate, and when this separation has been effected, the whey is dipped out or drawn off, and the curd gather- ed into a mass at one side of the tub, the tub being raised at one side to cause the whey to drain off. The tub is kept covered to retain the heat, or if the curd has cooled considerably, the whey that has been drawn off is heated up to 100 degrees and turned on to the curd until it is warmed through again, and the whey is then drawn off. The curd remains thus for about an hour, until it attains a very slight degree of acidity, when it is broken up fine with the hands, salted with about half an ounce of salt to the pound of curd, and put into the hoop. The hoop for a ten-pound cheese should be about eight inches in diameter and ten inches deep. It has neither top nor bottom. It is placed upon a smooth board, and the curd is pressed down into it with the hands. When the curd is all loose, a cover is placed on it, and the hoop is put under the lever, which presses down upon a block resting in the cover. Very little pressure is required, and this only until the curd has become solid enough to keep its shape ; twenty-four hours in the press is quite enough, the cheese being turned twice in that time. The cheese is then taken out and the outside is rubbed with butter and wrapped in a cotton bandage, the edges of which are turned down on the two faces for an inch or so. The cheese is then placed in a cool room or cellar, and is turned every day for a month, after which it should be turned once a week for another month, when it is fit for use. — 3Iiss Maggie Webster, in Ontario Farmer ^s Advocate. A NOVEL SWINDLING SCHEME. For some time past there has appeared in a large number of papers throughout this country, a letter from one L. L. Johnson, Fort Scott, Kansas, giving a glowing account of his success with a certain egg-incubator, called the " Common Sense." The following is part of his letter : " I began to look around for a more perfejt hatcher, and my attention was directed to the ' Common Sense.' In June I got direc- tions from J. M. Bain, New Concord, Ohio, Secretary of the N. A. Poultry Association, who will send directions for making this hatcher to anyone sending three two-cent stamps to prepay postage. I made one that held about 250 eggs ; cost, about S7.00. My success with this hatcher was all I could wish for, and I immediately had four more made. From these five hatchers I have just taken 1,030 fine chicks out of a little less than 1,200 eggs. I believe I am placing it modestly when I say that I hope to clear by July $2,500, and still pursue my usual business." Well, now let us send three two-cent stamps to Mr. J. M. Bain, New Concord, Ohio, and THE LANCASTER FARMER. 137 in return we receive a circular giving "Direc- tions for constructing tlie Improveil Common Sense Incubator." This circular, bowevcr, only takes one cent for postage, giving Mr. Bain a profit of five cents on the postage of a circular. This circular gives the following in- formation free : "To those who have never used an incuba- tor, we would say that you can get full and explicit directions for managing it, which will tell you at what temperature to keep the eggs during the period of incubation ; how to keep the eggs properly moistened ; when and how to turn them. Also full and complete direc- tions for making a Rrooder or Artificial Mother, which you can make at a cost of less than $2, and with which you can raise chick- ens in the coldest weather, and without which you cannot raise them at all. Also plain directions for caponizing chickens— these directions alone are very valuable to anyone wanting to raise poultry, as capons sell for twice as much as chickens not capon- ized. Will also tell you how and what to feed your chickens on, and how to manaire them in general. How to cure the diseases of young chichens; how to get rid of lice; how to cure the roup and cholera; when, how, and where to market to secure the highest prices. The best varieties to raise for market. Ex- plicit directions for dressing and packing poultry, and for packing, shipi)ing and selling eggs. How to build the be.st and cheapest poultry houses. In fact, everything neces- sary to make a success of the business. It is of course impossible for us to give you on this sheet the above information as it not only requires more space than we can give, but being copyrighted, 'we have no right to publish it; but by sending two dollars to the Common Sense Incubator Company, New Concord, Ohio, they will send the Common Sense Incubator Book containing all the above information." Now, let us send $2.00 for the above very comprehensive work, and in return we receive a small paper cover book of thirty-two pages, not worth more than five cents, and we find we have been defrauded to the amount of $2. We think it very strange for the Secretary of the " North American Poultry Associa- tion " to swindle people in this way, and we ask, IS Bain the secretary of this association, but we find an answer already printed on the back of the circular. It reads thus : OFFICE or THE NORTH AMERICAN POULTRY ASSOCIATION, NEW CONCOKD, OHIO. Officers : J. R. Trace, President; J. C. Bell, Treas.; J. M. Bain, Sec'y ; Vice Presidents : J. .J. Ingalls, Ohio ; Henry Gordon, Mich.; Samuel Shepphcrd, Pa.; Wellet Ferris, 111.; Chas. R. Wilson, Minn. But no post-office addresses are given. There is no such association as the "North American Poultry Association " in existence excepting in the minds of this scoundrel Bain and his victims. The letters supposed to be written from Fort Scott, Kas., are, we find on examina- tion, post-marked New Concord, Ohio. They are written by Bain, signed by him, and mailed to hundreds of editors of agricultural newspapers all over the States and Canada, who bite easily, snatch at them as valuable information, insert them in their papers, thereby displaying their ignorance of poultry matters, and giving this fraud hundreds of dollars worth of free advertising. A large number of letters addressed to L. L. Johnson are received at Fort Scott, K.m., no doubt from persons desirious of making further en- quiry about his "success in the poultry busi- ness." The postmaster at Fort Scott says that there never has been and is not now, any person of that name residing there. The object of this scoundrel Bain is to lead people to believe that there is a "North American Poultry Association," located at New Concord, Ohio, and that he is secretary, and thus he secures the confidence of those not acquainted with poultry matters. lie gets their confidence and then their money. At ths same time, by assuming the name of L. L. Johnson and sending out these letters, he se- cures his advertising free. THE CABBAGE TLY AND ITS RELATIVES. In England one of the greatest obstacles the cabbage grower has to contend with is the maggot of the cabbage fly, which sometimes destroys whole fields of cabbages. As the in- sect has already appeared in this country and has done some damage our readers are inter- ested in knowing something about it in ad- vance that they may be prepared to meet it when it makes its appearance in their crops. The insect is own brother to the destructive onion fly, the beet fly and the seed corn mag- got, all of which belong to the genus Antho- myia, the cabbage fly being A. brassicoe. The maggots eat numerous holes in the stems and roots ol the cabbages, on account of which es- pecially in wet weather decay sets in and the plant perishes. The maggot, when full grown, is about a third of an inch long, is whitish, legless, tapering to the head and blunt at the tail, which has short, teeth-liko points at the margin. When its growth is complete the maggot enters the earth and changes to a reddish, brown pupa, with a few black spots at the head and short teeth at the tail. In two or three weeks the flies come out and lay eggs for another crop, and successive generations are produced until November, after which time the pupse remain in the ground uu- hatched until spring. Cabbages when at- tacked by the maggot show by a drooping of their leaves and by a change in color that something is wrong. The application of clear lime water, made as soon as the presence of the maggot is detected, has been found useful. As the maggot enters the ground close to the plant, and goes down but a short distance, it is recommended to draw the earth from around the root, with the pupse in it, and destroy them by heat or deep burial. But such measures as these can only bo praticable in the garden. On a large scale relief can only be had by a change of crop, occupying the land with beans, grain, or some other crop, upon which the parent fly will not deposit her eggs. Another species is known as the Root- eating Fly {A. radicum), the maggots of which are found in cabbages and turnips in Eng- land. These very closely resemble the mag- gots of the preceding, but are of a more ochre-like color. The perfect fly is in color black and gray. This iusect has not yet been noticed in this country, but curiously enough a maggot which is very destructive to the eggs of the locust, that plague of the far West, was found to be the larvse of a fly so closely resembling this European Root-eating Fly that Professor Riley has described it as a variety of this species. Though our potato crop has already a suffl- cient number of enemies, there is a po-ssibility that one more may be introduced. In Eng- land the maggot of another species of Antho- myia (A. tuberosa) feeds upon the potato. — American AgricuUurist. ICE IN THE DAIRY MUST GO. There has long been a difference of opinion among butter experts as to the propriety of low cooling for the best welfare of butter, many believing that it was better not to carry the refrigerators below sixty degrees, while others have seemed to think the lowest cooling possible, and keep above freezing the better. The latter extreme opinion appears to be giving, especially with some of the bet- ter class of workmen. It is found by a com- parison of results that the best butter is not made where the most cooling is done. In speaking of this matter a few days ago with Messrs. Burrell & Whitman, of Little Falls, the senior partner remarked that they ope- rated five creameries, and that the one in which the least cooling was done turned out the best butter, and the one which cooled the most the poorest ; and that the butter in the others was graded between them according to the grade of cooling, though it was fairly good in all of them. This is but a sample of what we often hear from the lips of others of rur best butter makers. Milk fats are not in their best state for making butter when the milk is first drawn. They are improved by changes which they undergo after the milk comes into the hands of the dairyman. Much refrigerator retards these changes and modi- fies them unfavorably. They certainly go on much better at sixty degrees than at fifty and below. Butter made from cream raised at sixty degrees keeps better than when made of cream raised at forty-five or lower. Sudden and extreme changes in milk, cream or butter injure keeping. The same is true with iced meat. If two pieces of meat are taken from the same animal, and one placed in the air at sixty degrees and the other on ice for three hours, and then placed by the side of the one which has been kept at sixty degrees. The earlier destruction of the chilled meat is due not so much to the sudden or severe change it undergoes as to the infec- tion it gets in its cold stage. As soon as it is chilled much below the surrounding air it be- gins to become wet with dew. As the warm air by contact with cold meat becomes cooled, it condenses, and being unable to hold in its condensed state, the expelled moisture falls in (lew on the meat, and the impurities and in- fecting germs which the air usually contains go with it and lodge on the meat, which be- comes thus loaded with infection. As soon as the meat is warmed up to a temperature at which the germs can grow, they at once de- velop and cause decomposition. Milk, cream 138 THE LANCASTER FARMER [September, and butter cliilled with ice load up witli ini- pniiti j and infection from organic germs in trie air the same as the meat on ice, and their durability and their quality are affected by the infection more than by the chilling. In creameries the chief injury is done to the cream, which is very commonly covered with a coat of dew that is always very foul and fatal to the good keeping of the butter it gets mingled with. A good many observing creamery men are becoming aware that ice in open and cold setting is the cause of a great deal of mischief to the butter, and only use it because of its great convenience. If in sub- merging milk, injury from atmospheric con- densations are pretty much avoided, the use of ice cuts off all maturity of cream, at least all in the riglit direction, and finally leaves it in a somewhat deteriorated condition. Were it not for the speed in creaming, and the sav- ing of labor it occasions, it would soon go out of use, so many are becoming satisfied that butter from ice-cooled milk and cream can not compete with that made without such chilling. From tliese considerations tlie proba- bility is that the use of ice injthe dairy wili;con- tinuc to become less and less in favor and less used, till tlie centrifuge is better perfected and comes into general use, and creams milk while warm and obviates the necessity for low cooling. Then ice in the dairy " must go."— Frof. L. B. Arnold, in New York Tribune. AMERICAN WONDERS. The greatest cataract in the world is the Falls of Niagara, where the water from the great upper lakes forms a river of tln-ee- quarters of a mile in width, and then, being suddenly contracted, plunges over the rocks in great columns, to the depth of one hundred and seventy feet each. The greatest cave in the world is the Mam- moth Cave in Kentucky, where one can make a voyage on the waters of a subterranean river, and catch fish without eyes. The greatest river in the world is the Mis- sissippi, four thousand one hundred miles long. The largest valley in the world is the valley of the Mississippi. It contains five hundred thousand square miles, and is one of the most fertile regions of the globe. The largest lake in the world is Lake Superior, whicli is truly an island sea, being four hundred and thirty miles long, and very deep. The longest railroad is the Pacific Railroad, overtliree thousand miles in length. The greatest natural bridge in the world is the Natural Bridge of Cedar Creek, in Vir- ginia. It extends across a chasm eighty feet in width and two hundred and fifty feet in depth, at tlie bottom of which the creek flows. The greatest mass of solid iron in the world is the great Iron Mountain in Missouri. It is three hundred and fifty feet high, and two miles in circuit. The largest deposits of anthracite coal in the world are in Pennsylvania, the mines of which supply the market with millions of tons annually. CURING CHEESE. A cheese maker in Ohio states his experi- ence in curing cheese as follows: "I have been somewhat interested in your articles on curing cheese in the boxes. We have a room in the basement of the factory, lathed and plastered, with stone wall on two sides and a floor. We find cheese loses less in weight and has a much better flavor when cured in it than when cured in a room up-stairs." The experience above stated in regard to curing cheese in upper rooms and basements has been corroborated scores of times in our visits to cheese factories. It is the rule, in fact the cheese in upper rooms dries out much more and cures less perfectly than in the closer apartments and damper air of rooms partly underground. The temperature in basements, built as above described, fluctuates much less than in upper rooms, a circum- stance which greatly enhances the value of lower rooms for curing cheese. Much varia- tion in temperature always detracts from flavor. Every rise and fall in the warmth of the room in which cheese is curing warps and impairs the development of flavor, and causes an extra shrinkage in weight. Moisture is essential to rapid curing and to the formation of flavor. Dry air and much light are objec- tionable. We have found the best curing in dark, close rooms, and as damp {ft they could be on account of mould. It was this that led to our little experiment in curing cheese in boxes, which, by the way, has proved a per- fect success. We have just cut one of the cheeses so cured, now about six months old, and find the curing perfect— all that could be desired— and it was so considered by an ex- pert who happened to be present when it was cut. Though skimmed at the rate of a pound of butter from fifty pounds of milk, the flavor is perfectly clean and quite full and nutty like that of a well-made, whole-milk cheese, and would easily be mistaken for such by the average consumer. It is greatly superior to those cured on the open shelf. The result has proved so favorable, we propose to ex. periment further another year, and hope others will do so too.—JSfational Live Stoch Journal. Our Local organizations, LANCASTER COUNTY AGRICULTU- RAL AND HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. On Monday afternoou, September 1,1884, the Lan caster County Ai^ricultural Society held its regular monthly meeting to their room, above the old post- office building. The following members were present: H. M. Engle, Marietta; Calvin Cooper, Bird-in Hand ; Dr. J. P. Wickersham, F. R. Diffeuderffer, city ; Johnson Miller, Warwick; James Wood, Fulton; W. H. Brosius, Drumore ; M. D. Kendig, Manor ; John C. Linville, Salisbury; li. B. Patterson, Colerain ; William Wright, Fulton ; Levi S. Reist, Manheim. lu the absence of the President, Vice President Engle took the chair. . On motion the reading of the minutes of the pre- vious meeting was dispensed with. Mr. Cooper, from the committee on the late Farm- ers' Institute, asked further time to make their report. Crop Reports. Joseph F. Witmer reported a good yield of grain. The corn crop will be good. Apples are falling. Potatoes are a full crop. Oats are better than for a number of years. He reported a yield of 501 bushels of wheat from ten acres. Johnson Miller said the corn crop would be an ex- cellent one. The tobacco crop is the flnest in years. Potatoes will be a moderate crop. Wheat was also a i heavy crop. A great deal of second crop is being ; made. James Wood said the wheat is good. He will have 600 bushels of wheat off a field that gave him 60 bushels in 1857. Wheat seems to be of an especial good quality this year. J. C. Linville noticed that from the Gap eastward the corn is poor. He cannot account for it. Grass is usually good this fall ; clover is well set. Plowing is not half done so far, the farmers had so much to- bacco to cut that they could not get at their plowing. -M. D. Kendig said corn in Manor was a good crop ; so was wheat. Tobacco is mostly harvested, the Havana seed is of good size and quality. Farm- ers are looking for stock cattle, as many will be fed as during any previous year, perhaps more. The grass is good and abundant. Henry M. Engle reported the rainfall for June at 5 1.5-16 inches ; for July 4 9-16 inches, and for Au- gust 1 6-16 inches. W. H. Brosius said in Drumore the crops were good generally. The large yield of wheat will make up for the low price. Johnson Miller said it has been customary for this society to send delegates to neighboring county fairs, and that an invitation had been sent by the State Fair at Philadelphia. He, therefore, moved a com- mittee of three be appointed to go there. Carried. The chairman appointed Messrs. Johnson Miller, Joseph F. Witmer and M. D. Kendig. On motion the society adjourned to meet on the first Monday in October. FULTON FARMERS' CLUB. The August meeting of the Fulton Farmers' Club was held at the residence of Day Wood, in Fulton township. The following members were in attend- ance : Joseph R. Blackburn, Day Wood, E. H. Haines, Lindley King, Marshall Nesbit, C. C. Cauff- man, Solomon L. Gregg and Wm. King, besides a number of visitoi-s. Exhibitions of agricultural and horticultural specimens being in order, Day Wood exhibited Duchess of Oldenburg (or Orinburg) apple, which he says is a good bearer and stays well on the trees ; also, sweet blough apple. " Melissa Gregg exhibited Duchess of Orinburg, Garettson's Early, and Summer Rambo apples, the latter being green ; will ripen in about six weeks ; also, Bloodgood pear. Lizzie Wood, a radish of ex- traordinary size. Neal Hamilton, silk cocoons. Wm. King, a twig of an apple tree covered with scales. E. H. Haines asked what was the right thing to do when you are breaking oxen, and they get sullen and lie down and won't get up for anything. M. Nesbit said the right way was not to let them get down. Just yoke them and go away and don't try to move them until they get used to being yoked. It is a bad idea to try to drive them. M. Nesbit : Is it best to let the grass and weeds grow, or cut and let lie, when the ground is to be plowed next spring ? E. H. Haines thought that there was no advan- tage is cutting other than keeping the weeds from going to seed. It would be best to turn the cattle on it. Day Wood would keep the weeds from going to seed if noxious. S. L. Gregg asked if there was any advantage in a wheel to a plow. E. H. Haines : It depends on the plow. If it runs too deep with a new point a wheel is the best thing to regulate it. M. Nesbit: With no wheel the horses carry the weight of the plow . Others thought a wheel of great use, especially when plowing in hard ground, when the chains should be let out and the wheel depended on to keep the plow from running too keep. S. L. Gregg was hard to convince. He had a Roland chilled plow that would run as well without l.J THE LANCASTER FARMER. 139 awheel. A plow Is not running right when It is kept out of the srouuJ with a wheel. When it is knocked out of the ground the wheel prevents it from going in again. It is also bad on rough ground. Rebecca D. King : Is there any way to bleach celery without banking with earth ? Day Wood thought that earth was as plenty and cheap as anything else. Neal Hambleton : The white plume celery does not need earthing up. It will bleach itself by its compact growth . J. J. Carter takes a box and sinks it in the ground: then packs the celery tightly in it. It bleaches very nicely. A cover is put on the box and corufodder plied over It, so that it can be got at in winter. Joseph R. Blackburn had done the same thing with a box In the cellar and kept moist. It did well. S. L. Gregg asked if what is called wolf teeth in- jure horses' eyes. E. H. Haines did not believe that they do, al though the belief that they are injurious Is very gen- eral. Sclentlflc men say that there is nothing in it. S. L. Gregg had a horse with wolf teeth. His eyes appear to be good, but he shyes at objects along the road . J. R. Blackburn once had two horses with wolf teeth; he took them away to have them pulled. The man who did the work that in one of the horses the teeth were too small to pull, so they were left in. They were never pulled, and the horse did not go blind; the other, whose teeth were pulled, did. Wm. King had a horse that lived' to be twenty- seven years old, with wolf teeth. Always had good eyes. S. L. Gregg distributed a copy of the reports of the State Board of Agriculture for 1883 to each member of the club. Presented by Representative Brosius. The Afternoon Session. After dinner the club viewed the farm and live stock of the host, and, after again convening in the house, a few criticisms were given. Day Wood then read a part of an address by Wm. Walter Phelps, on the relation of the Tariff to Agri- culture. E. H. Haines read an article on the cultivation of corn. Sallie Hamilton read " The Housekeeper's Tragedy." Hattie Wood recited " Little Brown Hands." The committee appointed at last meeting to pre- pare resolutions of respect to the late Martha Brown produced the following tribute to her memory, which was adopted by the club : Having lost by death one of our most worthy and highly esteemed members, Martha Brown, we feel that a tribute to her memory is due. In very early life she manilested true wisdom, evincing to all who knew her that she was walking near her Heavenly Guide, and truly we believe she has entered her eternal home as a good and faithful servant. We feel that the community in which she lived has lost a good example and her husband a Christian com- panion, one whose cheerful presence and untiring patience will long be remembered. She was ever ready to impart sweet counsel and encouragement to the weary and heavy laden and a mother to the children that were entrusted to her care. We tender our deepest sympathy to her family and many friends and trust the light in which she walked may light us to truer and nobler lives, the end of which is peace. Adjourned to meet at the residence of E. H. Haines, September 6. POULTRY ASSOCIATION. The Lancaster County Poultry Society held its regular monthly meeting on .Monday evening, Sep- tember 1, at 8 o'clock. The following members were present : Harry A. •Schroyer, President ; F. R. Diffenderffer, J. B. Lichty, Martin Rudy, John Schum, Chas. Llppold and Wm. Schosnberger. The corresponding secretary was Instructed to get up a catalogue for the poultry show; to write to dif- ferent breeders and solicit advertisements for the catalogue at certalu rates. On motion the society agreed to secure judges for the poultry show. After discussing arrangements to pay for gas bills the society adjourned. PREMIUM LIST. The judges in nearly all the classes finished their work Wednesday, while some of them did not get done until Thursday morning. The result is as fol- lows : Class X— Stallions, Mares, Colts, etc. Best stallion, 6 years and up, Joseph R. Burk- holder, farmer, Lancaster county ; second best, Roberts, Durnall & Hicks, West Chester. Best stallion, between 4 and 6 years, Jeremiah Roth, Allentown. Best stallion, under 4 years, John Kendig, Willow Street; second bast, Henry K. Graybill, Bearvllle. Best brood mare, John Kendig, Willow Street ; second best, John Styer, Churchtown. Best mare colt, between 2 and 3 years, M. H. Wenger, Wheatland Mills. Best colt, under one year, John Kendig, Willow Street. Class No. 2 — Stallions, Mares and Colts for Quick Draughts. Best stallion, C years and up, Edward MacGoni- gle, city ; second best, Franklin Sutton, city. Best stallion between 4 and 6 years, Hiram L. Garber, Columbia ; second best, Hiram L. Garber. Be.st stallion under 4 years, John Sides, city; second best, Amos Ziegler, Shock's Mills. Best brood mare, John L. Gingrich, Bainbrldge ; second best, Hiram L. Garber, Columbia. Best horse colt between 3 and 4 years, John L. Hoover, Mountville ; second best, William Grosh, Neffsville. Best mare colt between 2 and 3 years, John L. Gingrich ; second best, Eli Hershey, Bainbrldge. Best mare colt between 1 and 2 years, M. Ziegler, Shock's Mills ; second best, M. Ziegler. Class 3 — Stallions, Mares, Jacks and Mules. Best pair carriage horse and mare, Lawrence Knapp, city ; second best, John L. Gingrich. Best horse and mare for single harness, C. Mussel- man, WItmeis; second best, H. L. Schaefer, Farmers- ville. Best saddle stallion and gelding, J. R . Burkholder, Farmers ville. Fastest walking horse and mare, C. Musselman, Farmersville. Best jack, H. A. Brackblll, Landisville. Best team of mules, not less than four, S. B. Cam- eron, Marietta. Best pony, L. Sondheimer, city. Class 4— Durham or ^hort Horns. Best bull, 3 three years old and upwards, John Roth, Allentown. Best 3-yeaT old cow, S. B. Cameron ; second best, S. B. Cameron. Class 5 — Devons. Best bull, 3 years old and up, John Roth, Allen- town. Best bull, between 2 and 3 years; T. D. Schreibe, Copiay, Pa. Class 6 — Alderneys and Jerseys. Best Herd of nine, H. C. Musser, Schock's Mills. Best bull, 3 years old, S. B. Cameron ; second best, J. Roth. Best bull between 1 and 2 years, M. H. H. Patter- son, Safe Harbor. Best bull between 1 and 2 years, J. Roth ; second best, S. B. Cameron. Best bull calf under 13 months, 8. B. Cameron; se- cond best bull under 12 months, M. L. Hoover, city. Best cow three years and up, J. Roth ; second best, S. B. Cameron. Best cow or heifer between 3 and 3 years, B. J. McGraun, city. Best heifer between 1 and 2 years, J. Roth ; second best, Thomas Baumgarduer, city. Best heifer calf under 12 months, 8. B. Cameron. Class 7— Guernseys. Best herd of nine, M. L. Grelder, Mt. Joy. Best bull three years and up, A. S. Shimer, Red- ington. Pa. Best bull between two and three years, M. L. Grelder, Mt. Joy. Second best, A. S. Shimer, Reddlngton. Best bull calf under 12 months, A. 8. Shimer. Second best, M. L. Grelder. Best cow, 3 years and up, M. L. Grelder. Class 8— Holstein or Friesian Cattle. Best bull, 3 years aud up, A. S. Shimer, Kcdlng- ton, Pa Best bull, between 2 and 3 years, J. G. Paxton & Sons, Houstonvllie, Pa.; second best, Roberts, Dur- nall & Hicks, West Chester. Best bull, between 1 and 2 years, A. 8. Shimer, Redington ; second best, the same. Best bull calf under 12 months, Roberts, Durnall & Hicks, West Chester; second best, W. W. Grosb, Neffsville. Best cow, 3 years old, Roberts, Durnall & Hicks, West Chester ; second best, the same. Best cow or heifer, between 2 and 3 years— first premium, Roberts, Durnall & Hicks, West Chester ; second, W. W. Grosh, Neffsville. Best heifer between 1 and 2 years, Roberts, Dur- nall & Hicks, West Chester ; second best, the same. Ayrshires. Best bull 3 years old ; best bull calf under 12 months , best cow 3 years, best cow or heifer between 2 and 3 years and second best ; best heifer between 1 and 2 years, all to A. S. Shimer, Redington, Pa. Swiss Cattle. Best bull 3 years; best bull calf under 1 year ; best heifer calf; best cow 3 years; all to A. S. Shimer, Redington, Pa. Class 9— Natives and Grades— Working Oxen and Fat Cattle. Best bull 3 years old, Jere. Roth, Allentown. Best bull between 1 and 2 years, Ernest Shaeffer, Reigart's Landing, Best bull calf, A. S. Shimer, Redington. Best heifer calf, Simon B. Cameron, .Marietta. Best cow or heifer, between 1 and 2 years, .Mrs H. H. Patterson, Safe Harbor ; second best, the same. Best working oxen, M. H. Wenger, Wheatland Mills. Fat Cattle. Best fat steer, Henry Uoerr ; second best, the same. Class 10— Sheep. Hampshikes— Best buck, second best buck, best pen of ewes, best pen of lambs— all to A. S. Shimer, Redington, Lehigh county. Oxford Downs— Best buck, second best buck, best pen of ewos, second best pen of ewes and best pen of lambs, to Jere. Roth, of Allentown. SouTu Down— Best pen of lambs, S. B. Cameron, Marietta. Spanish Mekino— Best buck, best pen of ewes, to J. G. Paxton & Son, Houstonvllie. Black Top .Merino— Bist l)uck, best ewes, best pen of lambs, all to J. G. Paxton & Sons, Houston- vllie. Native or Mixed Sheep— Best buck, best pen of ewes, to John L. Gingrkli, Bainbrldge ; best pen of lambs, Simon B. Cameron, Marietta. Class II— Hogs. Chester Whites— Best boar, one year old, M. L. Oreider, Mt. Joy ; best breeding sow, one year old, M. L. Grelder, Mt. Joy ; second best, Simon B. Caraernn, .Marietta. Best lot of pigs, M. L. Grelder, .Mt. Joy. Poland China— Best boar, 1 year old, Mrs. H. H. Patterson, Safe Harbor. Best breeding sow, 1 year old, to same. Berkshire- Best boar over two years, John Ken- 140 THE LANCASTER FARMER. [Septembe dig, Willow Street. Best breeding sow over two it!ai' and second best, to same. Yorkshires— Best boar over two years ; best boar one year ; best breeding sow over two years ; second best breeding sow ; best and second best lot of pigs, to J. G. Paxton & Sons, Houstonville. Best breeding sow and best lot of pigs to H. C. Musser, Schock's Mills. Jerset Reds— Best boar over one year ; best breeding sow over one year^and best lot of pigs, all to Amos Zlegler, Shock's .Mills. Second best boar over one year and second best breeding sow over one year to P. C. Hlller, Conestoga. Class 12— Dogs. Beit English setter, H. B. Vondersmith, city; second best, Thos. P. Fordney, city. Best English setter bitch and second best ; English setter puppies and second best ; Gordon setters and second best ; best Gordon setter puppies and second best ; all to H. B. Vondersmith. Pointers- Best bitch and second best bitch, best puppies and second best pups, to Jos. R. Trissler, city. Best Great Dane dog, Calvin Eshleman, city. Best coach dog. Park K. Fraim, city. Best White French poodle dog, George C. Liller, city. Best Beagles, first premium, A. C. Krueger, Wrightsvllle ; second best, M. M. Nissley, Eliza- bethtown. Best Fox Terriers, I. H. Shepherd, Philadelphia. Best Collies, John F. Heinitsh, city, for best dog ; best bitches, first and second premium to Simon B. Cameron, Marietta. Hiehland Shepperd, W. D. Madden, city. Class 13 Chickens. Best coop of chickens, Samuel G. Engle, Marietta. American Dominies, C. S. Greider, Mount Joy. Light Brahraas, Dr. I. H. Mayer, Willow Street. Partridge Cochins, John S. Hoover, Mountville. Black Cochins, Samuel G. Engle, Marietta. Buff Cochins and Plymouth Kocks, M. B. Weidler, of Bareville. White Cochins, L. W. Knapp, city, Wyandotts, Harry A. Schroyer, city. Black Hamburgs, George C. Liller, city. Black Spanish, John Grosh, Landis Valley. White Leghorns, Martin Rudy, city. Brown Leghorns, Harry Stauffer, Bareville. Colored Dorkings, H. H. Tshudy, Lititz. White, Golden and Silver Polish, three varieties, Wm. A. Schoenberger, city. Best Black Red Games, Miss Mary C. Lichty, city. Best Golden Seabright Bantams, 8. C. Greider, Mount Joy. Sliver Seabright Bantams, Samuel G. Engle, Marietta. Black Breasted Red Game Bantams, Charles l.ip- pold,clty. Rote Comb Bantams, Chas. E. Long, city. Black African Bantams, Chas. E. Long, city. Ducks. Best coops of ducks, John S. Hoover, Mountville. Best colored Muscovy, S. B. Cameron, Marietta. Best Pekin ducks, John Grosh, Landis Valley. Geese. Best Embden geese, Mrs. H. H. Patterson, Safe Harbor. Best Bronze turkeys, M. L. Greider, Mount Joy. Best turkey gobbler, Samuel G. Engle. Marietta. Pigeons, Etc. Best and largest collection — Sebum & Hagans, city. Best pair of pouters, C. 8. Greider, Mt. Joy. Best pair of carriers, and best pair of tumblers, and best pair of breasters, and best pair of More- heads, and best pair of swallows, and best pair of Ice pigeons, best red tail turbots, best yellow snells, best Birmingham rollers, best red swallows, all to Sebum & Hagans, city. Best pair of fantails, best black barbs, best blue English owls, best blue African owls, best black trumpeters, all to Charles Lippold. Best yellow fontalls, best blue Antwerps, best mottled trumpeters, to C. S. Greider, Mt. Joy. Best blue checkered Antwerps, to B. M. Bowman, city. Best Guinea fowls to Schum & Hagans, city. Best coop of Guinea pigs to Benj. Rahter ..>»jv^>Mj>jju^^.^y;^^aj«;ia«;«<«;aua;uua;ajLaiarMiftM«A«;aiflM A BEAUTIFUL LAWIM "„e";;^er"S;S "CENTRAL PARK" LAWN GRASS SEED, us park. Over OO.OOO pack- us last season. One q' an area 14i20 teet=JO« aent iDstructlons tor sowing and after trealment free with every order. Price, 8S cents r qnart. (It by mail, add 10 cenU per art tor postage. ) It by frelsrht or exprets. peck. 1^ 00 per bushel. Catalogue ' tree OQ appUcAtloB. i PETER HENDERSON a CO^s^gPSME^i^AFL^ A HOME ORGAN FOR FARMERS. A MONTHLY JOURNAL, Devoted to Agriculture. Horticulture. Do- mestic Economy and Miscellany. Founded Under the Auspices of the Lancas ter County Agricultural and Horti- cultural Society. EDITED BY DR. S. S. R.ATHVON. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION ONEDOLLpPERANNUHf, POSTAGE PREP,11D BY THE PROPHIETOR. AH subscriptions will commence with the January number, unless otherwise ordered. Dr. 8. S. Rathvun, who has bo ably mnuaRed the editorial departmeut in the paflt, will continue in the position of editor. His contributions on subjects oonnected with the science of farming, and particularly that specialty of whfcb he is 80 thoroubly a master — eutomolodical science— some knowledge of which has become a necessity to the BUccesB- ful farmer, are alone worth much more than the price o this publication. He Is determined to make "The Farmer' a necessity to all households. A couQty that baa bo wide a reputation rh Lancaster county for its agricultural products should certainly be able to support an agricultural paper of its own, for the exchange of the opinions of farmers Interested In thla mat- oter. We auk tbeco-oporatlon of all farmers Interested to this matter. Work among your friends. The "Farmer" i only one dollar per year. Show them your copy. Try and induce them to subscribe. It is not much for each aub- Bcriher to do but it will greatly aesiBt us. All communications tn regard tothe editorial management should be addressed to Dr. S. S. Kathvon, Lancaster, Pa , and all business letters in regard to subecripUoua and ad- vertising should be addressed to the publisher. Ratea of adrertiJing can be had on application at the lOHN A. HIEorAND No. g North Quctc St., Laocatter, Pa. THE LANCASTER FARMER [September, 1884. Where To Buy Goods IN LANCASTER. BOOTS AND SH.')ES. M LRMHAI.r A SOX, No. 12 Centre Souare, Lan- wistcr, Dealers in BilX IJAKIf-^ > FURNITURE. HEIXITHH'S.No. isy. East King-Bt., (over China Hull) is tlic cheapest place in Lancaster to buy Furniture. Picture Frames a specialty. CHINA AND GLASSWARE. HIUH A .tIAKTIX. No. 1.5 Ka Lamps, Burners, Chimneys, etc. CLOTHING. M VEKN A- KATHFOJf, Centre Hall, No. 12 East St. Largest Clotliing.House in Pennsylvania le of Pliilailelphia DRUGS AND MEDICINES. GW. Hl'I.L. Dealer in Pure Drugs and Medicines , Chemicals, Patent Medicines, Trusses, Shoulder Braces, Supporters, &e., 15 West King St., Lancaster, Pa T«»HSi F. LONCJ'S SONS. Druggists, No. 12 North tl Queen St. Drugs, Medicines, Perfumery, Spices, Dye Stufls, Etc. Prescriptions carefully eompoinded. HATS AND CAPS. JEWELRY AND WATCHES. HZ. RHOADS A BKO., No. 4 West King St. . Watches, Cnoek and Musical Boxes. Watches and Jewelry Manufactured to order. PRINTING. rOH>' A. HIKNTAND, 9 North Queen St., Sale Bills, Circulars, Posters, Cards, Invitations, Letter d Bill Headsand Envelopes neatly printed. Prices low. BOWMAN & MUSSER, Successors to Wholesale Dealers in AT LOWEST PONSIBIiE PRICES, Fully guaranteed. No. 20 EAST CHESTNUT STREET, Opposite P. R. R. Depot. GREAT BARGAINS. A largeuBsOrtment of all kiuda of Carpets CARPET HALL OF H. S. SHIRK, No. 202 West King St. Call and examine our stock and flatJsfy yourself that we can show the largest assortment of these Brussels, three plies and ingrain at aU prices— at the lowest Philadelphia Also on hand aj large and complete asBortment of Rag Carjiet. Satisfaction guaranteed bath as to price and quality. You are invited to call and see ray goods. No trouble m •howlng them even if you do not want to purchase. Don't forget this notice. You can save money here If you want to buy. ParticuUr attention given to customer vorK. Also o n hand a full assortment of Counterpanes O Olotha nd Blanket! of every variety. GLOVES, SHIRTS. UNDERWEAR. W — - w SHIRTS MADE TO ORDER, AND WAKKANTED TO IIT. £. J. KRISMAX, 17 West King St., Lancaster, Pa. Thirty-Six Varieties of <'al>l.:is;c; 2i'> nf Corn; 28 of Cu- euniber; 41 of Melon; At of Pia-: 2S of Beans; 17 of Squash; 23 of Beetand 40 of Tomato, with oilier varieties in proportion, a large portion of wiiicii were grown on my five seed farms, will be found in my Vegelable and Flower Seed ('Hlnlo^iK- for I8S2. Sent free to all who apply. Customers of last .Season need not it prove otherwise, 1 will rellll the' order ^-ritis. The orieiiiai iiilmiliiei-r of Eni'lv Ohio and Burbailk PotaloeN. :tlari>l<'h<>ntly attended to. All work guaranteed. 79-i- .\ddrcss STlSion A Co., Portland. Maine EDW. I. ZAHM, AMERICAN AND FOREIGN WATCHES, SOLID SILVER & SILVER PLATED WARE, CLOCKS, JEWELRY! TABLE CUTLERY. Sole Agent for the Arundel Tinted SPECTACLES. Repairiug strictly attended to. North Queen-st. and Centre Square, ^Lancaster, Fa, 79-1-12 ESTABLISHED 1832. G. SENER & SONS, 1 dealers iu all kluds of rough I^UIVIBSfl, PATENT 0. G. WEATHERBOARDING OFFICE AND YARD : Northeast Corner of Prince and Walnnt-sts.. LANC^SXiCR, FA..' "9-l-l'2] PRACTICAL ESSAYS ON ENTOMOLOGY, Embracing the history and habits of NOXIOUS AND INNOXIOUS INSECTS, the beat remedies for their exputsiou ur eitermliiatiou. Bv S. S. RATHVON, Ph. D. LANCASTER, PA. irBwork»il! be Highly Illustrated, and will be i.ut iu CutThisOut! CTS. "S Jou'u''gerbv mill AOOLDtH BOI OF GOODS lUtwlllbrl.,Bv,.uin||l6RE MONEY. In One Month, than anything else in AmericaL Absolut«Certalntv. Need no capital. &LYoun£,1780r«eawlch3t.N.Tork. OFFICE 0 North Oueen Street, LANCASTER, PA. THE OLDEST AND BEST. THE WEEKLY LANCASTER EXAMINER One of the largest Weekly Papers the State. Published Erery Weddnesay Morning, Family Newspaper. The postage to aubci outside of Lancaster county is paid by the publisher, Send for a specimen copy. Tavo Dollars per Annum. THE DAILY LANCASTER EXAMINER The Largest Daily Paper in the county. Published Daily Except S ittday. The daily is' published every evening during the week. It is delivered in ttie City aad to surrounding Towns ac- cessible by railroad and daily stage lines, for 10 cents JOHN A. HIESTAND. Proprietor, No. 9 Xort Ji Queen St.. LA-NCASTKR. PA. For Good and Clieap vv^ork go to F. VOLLMER'S EURNITURE WARE ROOMS No. 309 NORTH QUEEN ST.. (Opposite Northern Market), Xja.xi.oet.istex-, 3E*a.> Also, all kinds of picture frames. nOT-ly The Lancaster Farmer. Dr. S. S. RATHVON, Editor. LANCASTER, PA.. OCTOBER, 1884 Vol. XVI. No. 10. Editorial. OCTOBER. Theu mingleil visions ill detiued Around me are displayed. And as they mortal forms assume A Being is portrayed. Upon a rampant goat he sat, And dangling from his side, An empty flagon careless hung That erst the wine supplied. Upon hie head a crown he wore, Of crimson Autumn leaves ; The jocund laughter and thejist His stalwart bosom heaves ; Anon he scattered golden grain, Anon loolied grave and sober ; Then drew his Russet mantle 'round. The form of "Old Ocluber." This is the. tenth month of the Julian year, and contains thirtii-one days. The name is, however, derived from Octo, eight : because it was the eighth month of the Old Roman year, which began in March. The French and Prussian i? Octobre ; the Spanish Octtibre ; the Portuguese Outubro ; the Italian Ottobre. The old Dutch name was Wyn-maand: the old Saxon, Wyn-monath; (that is, wine-mouth, or the time of vintage ;) it was also called Winter-fylleth, which means winter-summer ; in the French Republican Calendar, it vvas called Vendemiaire, the time of vintage ; (from September 2-2d, to October 'Jlsl. In this month begins the busy liusliing sea- son, but, perhaps, in no other species of labor, has there been a greater change, since sixty years ago, than there has been in the mode of corn-gatliering. So far as it relates to the husking itself, except an improvement in husking implements, the operation is pretty much the same as it has always been since Indian corn has been cultivated. ' The corn stalk is now usually cut oft' at the base, and shocked, or hauled to one side of the field, and the husking is eitlier done there, or it is "hauled in", and the husking is done in the barn. In the olden times, in the Eastern States, the ears were pulled oft' and hauled to the barn, and the " corn-shucking" or "Husk- ing Bees" became galla occasions among the young folks, at which the foundations of many love-aS'airs were laid. But, sixty and seventy years ago, the corn was almost universally husked from the stalk as it stood in the field, in Lancaster county. About as much as the farmer needed for the consumption of his own cattle and slieep, was topped and bladed ; but, two-thirds or three- fourths of it was untouched, and stood tall and gaunt, like a small pine forest, and the buskers each took a row, and some- times amidst colds, and frosts, and winds, with the edges of the blades sawing across tlie wrists and liands, or across the foreheads and the noses of the buskers, made the operation anything but a romantic one. And then too the rivalry between the experts to excel eacli other, often made it hard labor for the non- experts to keep up with them. We have seen the corn in this condition standing in the fields in Indiana and Kentucky, as late as the month of February, whatever the practice may be now. Tlie princiiial garden labors in this month are the protection and preservation of crops already matured, transplanting others, and setting out trees and shrubbery. Asparagus beds may be put in order, and towards the end of the month beets and carrots may be carefully stored away for winter use. Ijcttuce may be planted in cold frames for next spring, and also cabl)ages for early use next season. Potatoes should be all gathered within tlic niontli, and spinach may yet be sown. Nuts of various kinds may be gathered — walnuts, cliestnuts, butternuts, hickory nuts, etc., etc. Nuts of all kinds largely entering into the manufacture of confections are now in greater demand than at any former period m the his- tory of the coimtry, and bring remunerating prices. Of course the manuring, plowing and sowing that was not done in September, will be finished up in the forepart of the month. The provident farmer will always find enough to do, as long as the weather continues favor- able, and when it is otherwise, he will have plenty of indoor work to do. The farmer oc- cupies the most enviable jiosition in the world's economy, he stands upon the very centre of the arch on which the social fabric of our coimtry with all its varied interests rests, and he feels more than others the inde- pendence of an American citizen. JUGLANDACEiE. (.mdniil Famih/.l ^ Tliis a is small order of trees that stands between the PLANTANACEJi— Button-wood family— and the Cupulifer.e— Oak family. Only two genera belong to this family, both of which are represented largely in the county of Lancaster. Of the typical genus there are but (wo species; namely, Juglans nigra, or "Black Walnut ;" and Jiujlanss cinerea, or " Butter- nut," sometimes also called " Wliite Wal- nut." Tlie nuts of tliese— especially the first named— are growing greatly in demand, en- tering largely into the manufacture of comfits and confections, and on tlie whole, perhaps no nuts are more popular among all classes who are able to digest them. Both are natives of liancaster county, and are about the first nuts the rural population become sacquainted witli ; and Ihe^ now liave a commercial value, altogether unknown to the early memories of those who have passed their "three score years and ten." The "hulls " of both tlie black walnut and the butternut were extensively used, in the long ago, as coloring matter for home-made cloth, and in some parts of the country are still so used, especially in the Southern States, where the Butternut-brown became famous. In our boyhood the walnut-brown was a more common color among farmers than it is at the present day ; still it is not an uncommon thiuij, even now, to see whole families clad in homespun cloth of this color, especially among the Omisli sect. The very young, im- mature, fruit of the Butternut was, at one time, much used as a condiment, in the form of a pickel ; and also in the form of a sauce — "walnut catsup"— and it is still so used. The object is to promote digestion, but per- hajis the real intent is to enable people to eat more and oftener than they possibly could without such a gastronomical stimulent. The walnut trees are .sometimes subject to defoliations by insects. The " Regal Walnut Moth " (Ceratocampa regalis) and the "Hand- Maid Moth," (Datanaviinistra). The former, however, is a solitary species, but large enough to do great damage if it became numerous. The latter is much inferior in size, but being gregarious, they often are numerous enough to defoliate many entire trees, and very large ones too. But, more important still, is the commer- cial value of the wood of the black walnut— practically and economically, the mahogany of North America ; hence the destruction of this tree, in the States where it abounds, is becoming fearful, perhaps reckless. Yield- ing to the dictates of fashion, it transcends the use of mahogany itself in the manufac- ture of all kinds of furniture, organs, melo- dians, railings, pulpits, and for other pur- poses. Agents for foreign manufactures and lumber dealers, travel through the American States and enter into large contracts for the delivery of walnut lumber and timber, and export it beyond the seas. Unless the States enter into the protection, preservation and cultivation of black walnut, the generations now rising, may be made sensible of its entire extinction in our country. It is time now to " call a halt," or to enter vigor- ously into its cultivation and preservation. Our people are imbued too deeply with that restless, progressive spirit which kills the goose to secure the golden egg in the present, to embark in any enterprise, the fruits of which can only be realized in a remote and dubious future. If no species of self-denial can out-grow this profligate tendency, the walnut must ultimately " go," as many other things have gone. The other genus belonging to the restricted family .Iu(iLANDACE.E is that of Carya, em- bracing the various species of hickory ; which includes eight reputed species, most of which are native to Lancaster county. As a nut, perhaps the most popularly known— on ac- count of its commercial value— is the " shell- bark hickory," (Tarya cdha) also known as "shag-bark." Although this species occurs spaiscly in our county, it is most abundant along bottom lands of the .southern tiers of the counties of Pennsylvania, westward ; nevertheless, as a general product it is known from Maine to Wisconsin. The wood is straight grained, heavy, and elastic, and ex- cellent as a timber or a fuel. The bark is rough and shaggy, consisting of long, loosely adhering plates : but, what boy does no ]4G THE LANCASTER FARMER [October, know and relish the fruit ? It is, however, somewhat displaced as a popular edible, by the "Everlasting Peanut," but is unrivaled as an ingredient in modern fine confection- eries. Perhaps of more commercial importance is the " Pecan-nut," (usually pronounced in the localities where they grow, " Pe-cawn,") but it is not a native of Lancaster county. This is the Carya oHvfeformis, of Nuttal, so-called because tlie fruit is in the form of an olive. It is abundant in some of the AVestern States, esi)ecially in Indian and Illinois, and it is on record, that at Terre Haute, In., trees occur from 8U to 90 high. The fruit has a thinner shell than the " shag-bark," and the kernel is not divided by boney partitions. The " Thick-Shelled Hickory Nut," or " Shellbark" {Carya sulcata) is also found in Lancaster county, but it is more common west of the AUeghenies. The fruit is very large— about twice the size of the common Shellbark— and altliough the shell is very thick, tlie kernel is quite as delicious as that of the alha. The tree grows very high— from 40 to 60 feet high, in some cases 80 feet. The bark is also somewhat shaggy, in semi loose narrow strips. It has however become rare in tliis county, if it ever had been common — indeed, we have not noticed one since the days of our boyhood. The "Mockernut" {Carya tomentosa) veas more frequently found in this county, but this also is more abundant in the West and the South. The fruit varies very much in size, even on the same tree, being from one to two inches in diameter, and the husk or hull is very thick. The shell is also pretty thick, and the kernel comparatively small, difficult to extract, but the taste in some well de- veloped nuts, is not much inferior to the Shellbark. The bark is thick and rugged, but not scaley. The wood is excellent fuel, and also valuable for manufacturing purposes. The labor of gathering these nuts in our boy- hood, but poorly compensated us for our trouble. There was too much lumber and too little meat, after drying. The •' Pignut" hickory {Carya glabra) is as- sociated with our earliest recollections of nuts. The nuts of this species of hickory vary somewhat in quality and shape, but one notable tree of our boyhood bore nuts that were not only very bitter to the taste,* but as astringent as a green persimmon. This is the C. pordna of Nuttal, but Torry's name has priority. The tree grows very tall. Some known to attain lOU feet in height. The Ijark is moderatoly even, and the wood is very tough and hard, but it makes good fuel. Both the sliell of the nut, and the husk are moder- ately thin. One tree ou the Duffy (Evans) farm, half a mile from the bank of the Susque- hana, north of Marietta, was very prolific — yielding abundantly every year, but always disappointing " us boys," for they looked so fair that it was hard to realize that they were totally worthless as an edible. There is, however, one nut that is bitterer than the " Pignat," called by way of distinc- tion the " Bitternut," {Carya amara) having a very thin shell, a white nut, and .so very bitter that pigs would not have anything to do with it, whereas tliey would sometimes eat pignuts, without any special ^hankering after them. This species of hickory has been con- founded with the pignut, but we are not sure that it occurs in this county, but is found in abundance in Pennsylvania, along the valley of the Ohio, and elsewhere in this State. In the Soutliern States, among the swamps and rice ditches there grows a species of hickory called the " Water Bitternut," {Carya equatica,) that bears a small, angular, compressed nut, with -a very tender, reddish shell. Neither the fruit nor the timber are of any special value. The tree attains to 30 or 40 feet in height, and the leaves, which are a shining rich green on both sides, strongly re- semble peach leaves. " Tliin-shelled hickory nut" {Carya microcarpa), or "spurious shell- bark." A large tree, 60 to 80 feet high ; bark even and the trunk from 18 incihes to two feet in diameter ; grows in moist woodlands from Pennsylvania to Tennessee. Grows in Lan- caster county. The nut is very edible, and in our booyhood, when the trees were occasion- ally found, we thought the nuts were veritable shellbarks. These nuts all occur in varieties, owing probably to varieties of soil, or whether on bottoms or uplands. The hickories are nearly all infested by various insects. The nuts are preyed upon by species of " Snout-beetles " (Curculiorid,«). The long horned Capicorn beetle {Clytus pic- Uis) is very destructive to hickory timber and has been known to destroy whole forests. The hickory trees on the Wheatland farm— the former residence of ex-President Buchanan, and now owned by Mr. Geo. B. Wilson — are now slowly passing away through the depre- dations of this and other insects. Nothing will now save the sound trees that still re- main, but cutting down the infested ones. Some of the trunks may yet make tolerable timber, and the branches good fuel, but the branchlets and twigs are badly infested by small " Typographer-beetles " {Scolytidct), and should be burned. On a late visit to the little wheatland grove, we found many of the hickory trees in a sad condition. An ax struck into the trunks almost anywhere, and a chip taken off, would reveal dozens of the larviB of the "■Painted clytus,'''' as well as other wood- boring insects. We also noticed the work of the " Hickory tree Girdler " {Onciderus sin- (julatus,) and of a " Pruner" doubtless a species of Elaphideon {E.putator, or acogener). We found the "Pigeon Tremex." {Tremex coiomba) with its ovipositor entered into the trunk of a hickory tree, in the act of deposit- ing her eggs on the 'iTth of September, the first knowledge we had of its attacking hickory, although we were aware that it de- posited its eggs in the trunks of the elms, the buttonwood, and also the pine. This insect belongs to the Order Hymenoptbra, which includes the sawflies, bees, wasps, hornets, etc., whilst tho.se above alluded to, belong to the Order Coleoptera, which includes the " beetles " of various families. We also found a flat, black, shiney "mimic beetle" {Hololepta incqualus) and an allied species of Suprinus, under the bark of one of the trees. We have often found these insects in decayed vegetable matter, under loose bark, and in rotten wood. We do not think they attack live timber,but when trees become enervated through the attacks of other depre- dators, many other species find them proper places in which to propagate their species. Some woodboring insects prefer living Umber, others only that which is dead. For instance the " Hickory tree girdles," makes a deep groove around the entire branch, and deposits its eggs above the groove. The branch so girdled dies, and the larvie feed on the dead branches, which are subsequently broken off by the winds. This is also the case with the "Oak tree pruner" {Elaphideon putator), but the latter cuts off the branch from the inside instead of the outside. We have collected and taken home scores of branchlets found on the ground containing larvse, from which the beetles were subsequently evolved. This pruning is sometimes beneficial to the trees ; but if it is deemed injurious, the remedy is to gather the branches and make a bonfire of them. THE CIGARETTE "WEEVIL." On the 3d inst., Mr. Wm. Welchans sub- mitted to our examination a package contain- ing twenty cigarettes, and at the same time called our attention to an article in the Phila- adelphia Times, on the insects infesting manu- factured tobacco, and especially the ciga- rette and the fine chewing tobacco. Out of the twenty cigarettes, fourteen were in- fested by a small light-brown coleoptuous insect, five m win length, including the head, thorax and abdomen, and about one m m in diameter. Including the mature insects, the lai-vje and the pupa;, the average number of insects in each cigarette was six ; although, judging from the number of perforations in paper wrappers, from three to five beetles must have escaped from each of them before they came into our possession. We may there- fore conclude that each cigarette contained ten of these destructive little pests, which would amount to 140 in each package. The larvoe vary in size, the largest being six m m in length, and two in diameter. The pupa is a little larger than the beetle ; in which thp rudimental head, thorax, wing- covers, feet, and two conspicuous black eyes are distinctly visible. The larvre is always bent crescent shaped ; has six pectoral feet, and the hind end of the abdomen somewhat enlarged, resembling a melolonthon larvje(grub worm) in miniature. Both the larva and the pupa are of a yellowish butter color, and the former moves very slowly and indifferently on a plain surface. The case, no doubt, is bad enough ; but we opine that the articles on the subject which appear in the Times are strongly sensational. To begin with: "Half the size of a fly" conveys no idea of its size. We know of flies that are two inches in length. Nor has it a "sharp pointed head," but on the contrary a blunt, retractile head, which, when not extended while rnnning, is drawn well under the thorax. Perhaps the above character was given it to approximate it to a "weevil," which it is not. Weevils are snout-beetles, and belong to the family Curculionido}, but this insect is evidently a Ptinidcr. and is allied to the "death-watch beetles" — very probably belongs to the genus Anobium— or near to it. (Perhaps it may be allowable to call this insect a weevil, in the convenient sense in which the term is usually applied to all destructive small insects, of which we do not know the specific names.) 18»4.] THE LANCASTER FARMER. 147 They Like Rhubarb and Ginger. The various species of Ptinio.e iiic very destructive insects ; not only to furniture and oilier wood work, but also to peltry, to bo- tanical collections, entomological specimens ; and druggists have found them destroying rhubarb and ginger; they have even been found feeding on cantharides, cayenne pep- per, black pepper, allspice, and their mandi- bies are sharp enough to cut through tin foil with comparative ease. Linnscus, in his time, recommended a compound ef arsenic and alum for their destruction. The Mr. Fox al- luded to in the IHmcs article, did not do a wise thine when he ordered his boy to throw the infested cigarettes into the ash barrels ; had he ordered a bonfire of them, it would have been more to the purpose. But, except in very extraordinary cases, we do not think that even this is necessary. Submit them to an oven heat, as high as the tobacco can bea)- without burning. It may improve them, as it did on the notable occasion which devel- oped the " Irish Blackguard Snutt'." In such emergencies, there is no use in people getting "beside themselves." In Westchester county. New York, it is said, the people attempted to destroy the "canker worm" by plowing it under — the very condition the insect would seek of its own accord, to complete its trans- formations ; and, if found so situated as to make it possible to be plowed under, that was its very purpose. It is like throwing a duck into water with the expectation of drowning it. Where there are only from six to ten of them in a single cigarette, treated with heat, we do not consider it entirely useless, although it might work a depreciation in its value. We found little, or no difference between the flavor of such and those that had not been in- fested. But where they are beyond recovery throw them into the furnace, and not into the ash barrel ; for an insect that can thrive upon tobacco or cayenne pepper, would not be hurt much by dry ashes. How to Destroy Them This insect was i)robably imported from a foreign country. It has been demonstrated on various occasions, that imported insects are more destructive than our allied native species, or than they are in their own native country. As soon as the beetles are evolved they cut a whole through the wrapper and make their escape ; so that the number of holes in the wrapper of a cigarette is no indi- cation of the number of insects that may be in it, but rather of the number that have escaped ; and yet, it is possible that more than one may pass through the same hole. In some cigarettes which we examined, and in which were a half a dozen holes in the wrap- pers, not a single insect, in any form, was present. It perhaps would not pay to unmake the infested cigarettes and make them over again ; but the foeces of the insects, in the form of a line powder, is easily separated from the tobacco that remains undestroyud, and, by submitting it to a sifting process, more than enough might be saved to compensate the labor. Of course, this would involve the disintegrating of the cigaretes, and resolving their contents into a mass of smoking tobacco. Known for More than Haifa Century. Thus far we have written, about a mile away from oiu' cabinet of Cokophra, with tlie little insects, however, liefore us. On com- paring them with specimens in said cabinet, we have no hesitation in pronouncing them AHOhiuin lemiiistriatum of Say, belonging to a genus commonly called "Death-watch," or ' ' Tick-beetles. " If our indentification is cor- rect, then we have had this same species in our collection for full forty years. Thomas Suy died in lK;it, so that this insect has been known for more than half a century. Mr. Say repre.sents it as a common species, fre(iuently occurring in museums ; also destructive to the Iris root of apothocary shops, which is useil as a cathartic. There is a remote possibility that it may be Anobium striatum, or A. pani- ceum of Europe, or a new species. Some 12 or 15 species of Anobium have been described as American, and about the same number as European. They are all very small insects, but working under cover, in secret, they are capable of doing a great deal of injury to whatever they infest, and this becomes more manifest, when we raflect that the ova, the larva, the pupa and the imago, are all foimd at the same time, in the same substance, indi- cating that, undisturbed, they may go on multiplying ad infinitum. Intense kiln drying, we believe is the only sure means of destroying them without also destroying the infested tobacco. In our ex- perience we have found heat the most effec- tive means of killing insects where it can be applied. The article from the Times, to which we referred, will be found under the head of " Selections" iu this number of the Faumeu. REPORT ON CONDITION OF CROPS. On wheat in India, and on freight rates ot transportation companies, September, l! from the facility and rapidity with which they are matured, the rapidity of their increase, their triple use for food, raiment and manure, are the most available means of sup- plying a deficiency of animal food. Nature and the art of the breeder have made the sheep the most perfect machine in existence for converting grass and grain into flesh. Two men, according to a Georgia paper, caught a wild goat in the densest part of the Kinchafoonee creek swamp in that State. This goat had made his deu in the forks of a tree, and when disturbed made for the creek pursued by a dog which he heroically fought. The goat is covered with long black hair, and his horns are as sharp and as pointed as a sword. All who have seen it pronounce it a species of goat never before seen in this country. If the squash branches are vigorous and long, stretch them over a level surface and bury every fourth or fifth joint, as wherever the plant is buried new roots are formed for the better nutrition of the stem and fruit. To use white hellebore the Practical Farmer says, take one heaping tablespoonful of the powder and thoroughly wet it with boiling water, using about a quart. This turn into a pail of cold water, and stir till it is thoroughly mixed. Don't employ foul-mouthed, bad-principled men about your place. They taint every- thing with which they come in contact, sully the mind of innocent youth, and add loss in- stead of profit to the farm account. See that the tomato vines are well staked, and pinch off the shoots occasionally in order to make them stocky. A vine is usually very prolific, and if well managed only a few are necessary for a full supply of the vegetable. It has been demonstrated by careful analysis of the mixed voidings of cow, horse, sheep and pig, that S3 per cent, of the nitrogen con- tained in the food eaten is voided in the ma- nure, and over 9.5 per cent, of the potash and phosphoric acid. The only safe plan for killing weeds and saving labor is to destroy them when they are young. If allowed to grow too large the work will not only be harder but cannot be done effectually. A CORRESPONDENT of an exchange recom- mends storing hay and straw in alternate layers in the mow, a method especially, appli- cable in the case of clover, cut, as it should be, just as it comes into blossom and apparently only partly cured. It is conceded to 1)8 unreasonable to expect large ears of corn in a hill of eight or ten stalks, but many will have that number of stems in a hill of potatoes, and then complain that their potatoes are small. If large pota- toes are expected the number of stalks in each hill should* be reduced to, at most, three or four. S.\.\ONy wool has a fine short staple; the Australian wool is longer but also fine. Com- bing wool, such as that from the Lincolns, Cotswolds and Leicesters, is usually about nine inches in length. The finest of all wool is that from the families of Merinos. One pint of cats, with a like measure of bran, is a day's ration in two feeds for a breeding ewe. A week after lambing, the ration should be increased by adding one- fourth of a pound of oil meal. She should also receive as much cut hay and straw as she will eat. The value of an ordinary ton of manure is estimated at 300 pounds solid, worth $1.40; 800 pounds of straw and litter, worth $1 and and 900 pounds of water and useless matter ; the value of the entire 2,000 pounds being S2.40. Manures, however, vary in composi- tion, and the figures are not reliable. In considering the right depths to run the plow all the circumstances must be considered. It will not do to turn up too much of the cold subsoil at once. The plowing should be grad- ually deeper every year, in order to allow of sufficient time for the upturned soil to be re- duced to a proper condition for plant food. Miller Purvis, writing in the Kansas City Live Stock Journal, advocates crossing Merino rams on Southdown ewes to get the best breed of sheep. This has been the greatest year known in the sheep and cattle export trade of Canada, the sheep shipments alone being 30 per cent, in excess of any other year. What is wanted in a sheep is a good con- stitution, large size, and a heavy fleece of fine wool. Plain farmers cannot afford to buy a breeding stock of pure bred animals, but they can use a full-blooded male with their best ewes. Mr. Parish, the father of the Angora in- dustry in Texas, according to the Texas Wool Journal says that when a man succeeds in grading up a flock of goats to shear three pounds all 'round, he has a stock business that for profit will discount any other kind of stock. William Brown, of the Agricultural Col- lege, at Guelph, Canada, says that in his view " there is no line of the farmer's work at the present moment, even with wool so low, that pays so well, gives so little trouble, fewer risks, earlier returns, and in most ways makes things so comfortable as wool." All farmers should experiment, and espe- cially so when it can be done at a mere nomi- nal outlay of cash. An outlay of a single dol- lar secures you a package of choice seed wheat nearly 1,000 grains each, of fifteen difl'erent varieties, and a newspaper for one yfear. You can't afford to miss this. Selections. WEEVIL IN THE CIGARETTE. The tobacco dealers in Philadelphia and throughout the country have become greatly alarmed over the appearance among their stock of a little bug, which they call the to- bilcco weevil, that is causing ruin iu their business. The bug is about half tlie size of a fly and has a sharp-pointed head, a hard shell back, small wings and is a dark brown color. It feeds and thrives on tobacco, especially on cigarettes and fine-cut for chewing, while it has also been recently discovered in natural leaf plug. The tobacco weevil first made its appear- ance about two years ago, but at that time it did so little damage that nothing was thought of it, but in the last two or three months it has breeded so enormously that the tobacco stores in this city are alive with the ruinous insect and dealers are losing dollar after dol- lar through its devastating work. Laying Egg in Cigarettes. J. S. Semon, a tobacco dealer on Ninth street, opposite the new Postoflice, sat at his desk one afternoon with a little glass jar in front of him. He was busily engaged shak- ing the bugs out of cigarettes into the jar to keep them prisoners for future inspection. He had before him a box of Vanity Fair, Sweet Caporal and Turkish cigarettes. Every cigarette was alive with the little bugs and hundreds of little white eggs, the size of a pin's point, were mixed through the tobacco. " I found nearly two thousand of these bugs one day," said Mr. Semon, as he pointed to a bucket in the back yard. The bucket was swarming with them. " They have ruined hundreds of packs of cigarettes for me ; in fact, my whole cigarette stock is spoiled, and every one who smokes cigarettes inhales the smoke from the burning bugs. It's the most remarkable thing I ever heard of or saw. A week ago my store was swarming with these bugs ; every shelf was alive with them, but I have managed to get rid of nearly all. I bought a lot of insect powder which will kill any insect known but this infernal little pest. I poured an ounce of the poison on one of these bugs, but it had no eflect on it and the bug simply dug its way through the yellow powder and took to its wings. .lust think of smoking cigarettes full of bugs ! I can't tell you why they breed in cigarettes more than in tobacco in other forms." Causing Large Losses. "Our store is swarming with the tobacco weevils," said Mr. Fox, of the firm of E. G. Steane & Co., on Chestnut street, below Tenth. "We've lost hundreds of dollars through their ruining stock. They eat holes in the cigarettes and lay eggs in them and we have to throw box after box of cigarettes away. If some one could devise something to banish them that person can make a fortune from the tobacco dealers. These bugs have developed enormously within the last few months and we are powerless." At this juncture a boy brought to Mr. Fox a box of fine cut chewing tobacco. Every one of the six dozen papers was utterly ruined ; the paper was perforated with holes and the tobacco was alive with the bugs, which swarmed like bees. Mr. Fox told the boy to throw the tobacco, box and all into the ash-barrel. Then came a box containing a gross of packages of cigarettes, which were also ruined, and that they went into the ash- barrel, too. "Our shelves are full of these bugs," continued Mr. Fox, "and we don't know how to get rid of them. Every day we are obliged to throw away quantities of to- bacco. The loss is simply appaling. I don't know what we'll do if they keep on multiply- ing." What Other Dealers bay. David L. Ketler, at the southeast corner of Fifth and Market streets, one of the oldest dealers in the city, said that the bugs were to be found in bright leaf tobacco mostly. THE LANCASTER FARMER. 149 •'They eat the highest grades of tohacco only," said he, " aud only the other day I dis- covered two large boxes of natural leaf plug entirely ruined. They have caused me the loss of a good many dollars, and with all my years of experience in the tobacco business I can find no remedy. They are the only species of insects that can live »n tobacco and any- thing that can live on tobacco can't be poisoned. The only way to get rid of them is to crush them, aud you might as well try to kill all the mosquitoes on a Jersey marsh as to do that." The proprietor of the tobacco store on Sixth street, near Chestnut, said that he found without any exaggeration a million bugs in a ten pound bucket of line chewing tobacco. Many other dealers gave similar testimony. The dealers have tried to suppress the existence of these bugs, believing that smokers of cigarettes in particular would cease smoking them if the facts were made public. One dealer estimated that in this city alone the loss by the bugs on manufactured stock in the last six months would amount to more than $25,000. Causmg Factories to Close. A tobacco salesman from Richmond, Va., was seen by a Times reporter at the Continen- tal Hotel the other night. He said : "As far as I can learn it is impossible to account for the origin of the tobacco weevil. They are ruining the cigarette trade. I do not see why the bugs do not breed as freely in loose tobacco, but the theory advanced is that the cigarette is like a cocoon and the bug feels more safe inside of a cigarette than in a package of loose tobacco while laying its eggs. Two cigarette factories in Richmond recently were obliged to close and move to new quar- ters on account of the old buildings being so infested with the weevill that every particle of stock manufactured was ruined. They are so thick in Richmond now that it is im- possible to ship goods that are perfectly free from them and if one bug gets into a box of tobacco it's not long before there will be a thousand in that box. The tobacco-growers have tried to discover the origin of the weevil, but it battles every eflort to trace it and cause its annihilation." _ THE CULTURE OF CARP. AVhile a great many of our readers have heard of the "Lancaster Piscatorial Com- pany " and of their German carp ponds, a short distance north of this city on the Man- helm pike, a comparatively small number are familiar with their location and extent, aud a still smaller number with the fact that they are the largest, best arranged, best kept, and best stocked carp ponds in the United States, not even excepting the Government ponds at Washington. The Lancaster Piscatorial Company was organized two years ago and consists of Mr. David M. Mayer, president ; Dr. Miles L. Davis, secretary and director, and Dr. S. T. Davis, treasurer. The ponds are located on a five-acre tract of swamp and meadow land belonging to D. L. Mayer, and are supplied with an abundance of water flowing from six large springs, all of them being controlled by means of pipes and stops and drains, so that the water of one or all of the ponds can be raised or lowered at pleasure. The company has secured a twenty years lease of these springs and the five acres of land adjoining. There are at present four large ponds and several small ones in use— the largest contain- ing two and a half acres of water surface, with an island near the centre, covered with shrubbery, flowers and choice gra-sses. The water in this pond varies in depth from one to six feet, the deeper portions being intended as winter quarters for the fish, they being thus enabled to get below the frost line, no matter how severe the weather may be, and there doze away in torpor the long winter months. The Fish House. Adjoining this pond is the fish house, a frame building 20 feet in width ^nd 100 feet long. It is provided with a large pool con- structed of boards and extending the full length of the room in which are placed the " stockers " or young fish that have attained a length of 1^ to 4 inches. The pool is so ar- ranged that the water can at any time be drained off, so that the hsh may be easily taken from it for transportation to other ponds. The fish house contains also a large boiler or steamer for heating the water in cold weather. The fish instinctively seek the warmer water and assembling in numbers in the warmer part of the pool, they are easily caught in nets and placed in large cans in which they are transported to other pools in distant parts of the country. The steamer is also used for cooking food for the fish in the several ponds in summer time. East of and adjoining the main pond, is the spawning pond. This is 130 feet in length by 1(0 feet in width. In it have been placed only fifteen large fish male and female, aver- aging about 7 pounds weight each. They breed so rapidly that there are already many thousands of small fry in the pond, which by next summer may be utilized as "stockers." The water in the pond is in general from 12 to 15 inches in depth, and in it are growing considerable quantities of swamp willow aud other shrubbery, on which the fish feed and among which tliey spawn and shed their milt. There is a deep hole in this pond for the fish to winter in. A third i)oud adjoining the above, is in a more natural condition than either of the others, being in good part merely swamp land, overflowed by a low damming of the springs. The bottom of the pond is full of rushes, aquatic grasses and small shrubs of various kinds, on which the carp delights to feed. The pond is perhaps 400 feet long and 20C feet wide. It contains not less than 10,000 carp from two to four years old, be- sides many thousand of small fry. Some of the larger fish are 27 inches in length and weigh from 6 to 7 pounds. How the Fish are Captured. During the past few days the company has had a number of men employed in draining off the water of the two larger ponds, for the purpose of catching and assorting the fish ac- cording to their size. As the water is very gradually drained off the fish seek the deep holes, above referred to, where they are easily caught in drag nets, the meshes of which are sutticiently large to allow all the small fry to escape, very few less than two inches in length being taken. From the two acre pond, Dr. Davis states, there were taken 6,100 carp of all sizes, while thousands upon thousands of small fry escaped through the meshes of the net. A representative of the Intelligencer visited the i)remise8 some time ago, at which time half a dozen men were engaged in draining the upper pond. Nearly all the water had been drained off except in the deeper part near the lower corner, and in another deep place which had been dug out around a spring that rises from the bottom of the pond. The men were fishing this spring when our reporter was there. They used a drag net ten or twelve feet long and about half as wide. At every haul they caught from one to two buckets full of fish, from two inches to eighteen inches in length. In two hours' time there must have been ten bushels of fish taken in the net. These were carried out upon the bank and assorted, the smaller ones or "stockers" being thrown into large tin cans containing water, and carried thence to the fish house, into which they were dumped to have them handy when the time comes for shipping them to other ponds. The two-year olds, or "spawners" were placed in one of the small ponds, and the large fish intended for market, and weighing from three to seven pounds, were placed in a perfectly clear pool of spring water adjacent to the fish house. This pool is 50 feet long by 13 feet wide. It is built of brick and has a depth of not more than 3 feet. The brick floor and wall are laid in cement, so that it is perfectly clean and water-tight. It is fed with pure water from a two-inch spring that boils up from a walled well four feet deep near one end of the pool. This water has a regular temperature of 52 degrees. The object in placing the marketable fish in this pool is to cleanse and purify their flesh from the taint of mud or the vegetables on which they feed while in the natural pools. It is well known that milk and butter and even flesh of animals taste of the food upon which they feed ; and hence an objection urged against carp is that as they inhabit muddy places and feed on aquatic plants their flesh is unpleasantly tainted with them. It is be- lieved that by placing them in the purifyiujg pool and feeding them on bread, boiled pota- toes and other pure food, their flesh may be made as sweet as that of pond trout. The Three Varieties of Carp. There are three well known varieties of German carp : the "scale" carp, with regular concentrically arranged scales ; the "mirror" carp, so called on account of the large mirror like scales which run along the sides of the body in a few rows, leaving the rest of the body bare ; and the "leather" carp, which has no scales at all, or only a very few on the back. There is not much difference in the merit of these three varieties of fish, though the mirror carp, or Spiegelkarpf, sells at a higher price than the others. Stockers sell at from g;5 to $15 per hundred ; and spawners of two years old at $2 per pair. The larger and older fish at still higher figures. The draining of the water from the pond gives the visitor an opportunity to see the manner of their construction. The walls or banks of them are built of peat cut from the meadow in which the ponds are located. The i.^so THE LANCASTER FARMER. [October, inner surface of the walls are lined with pot- ter's clay, which is also found in abundance on the land leased by the company. The outer surface of the walls are riprapped with stone and planted with dwarf English basket willow, the tangled roots of which do much in strongthcnin? them. The upper pond, or that nearest the springs which feed them, has a higher bottom than the one next below it, and the third is lower than the second, and so on down to the fish house, which is lower still. By this arrangement the ponds are fed by the same water which passes successively from the upper to the lower ones and thence into the stream below. To avoid the possibility of an overflow, even during the heaviest rainstorms, large ditches have been dug, with properly ar- ranged sluices, to carry off all surplus water. The company have not yet placed any of their carp on market for table use, as they have found it more profitable to sell them to persons going into carp culture, of which there are now great numbers in all parts of the country. This winter, however, it is probable the company will place their fish on the market, as besides the hundreds of thou- sands now in the ponds that have been de- scribed, they have over l-.',000 carp in Mr. Hershey's ponds, just within the city limits, many of them being of marketable size. Our citizens will then have an opportunity of judg- ing for themselves of the merit of German carp as an edible fisli. A Successful Enterprise. The Piscatorial company has been at several thousand dollars expense in fitting up these ponds, and although they have not yet placed a fish upon market, we are informed that their receipts almost equal their expendia- tures. Besides the money they have made by selling fish to stock other ponds they have cut from their own ponds immense quantities of the purest ice. Last winter they built a tem- porary frame ice house near the principal pond, and filled it with 1,400 tons of ice, and sold in addition l,(iOO loads more which was bought and hauled to town by Messrs. Sprenger, Reiker, Royer, Demuthand others. All this ice was cut from a single pond. The company is now engaged in the erec- tion of a large new ice house, 100 feet long and GO feet wide, capable of holding 3,000 tons of ice. It will be finished by the time cold weather sots in, and should the winter be a favorable one it will not only be filled, but will be stacked up on the banks as it was last winter, for the use of others. Altogether the financial outlook of the company is very favor- able, as by next spring they will have cleared all expenses anil have a clear seventeen year lease, during which time they can count their gains. We cannot close this sketch better than to say a good word for J. Martin Eckman, the manager in charge. He is the right man in the right place. Intelligent, industrious, re- liable and deei)ly interested in fish culture, he is withal a jolly good fellow, able and willing to give information to those who seek it of him. With his family ho lives pleasantly in a neat cottage erected on the company's grounds. " May he live long and prosper." Send in youi subscriptions for 1SS5. IS COLD WATER INJURIOUS TO PLANTS? Those who study works on horticultural by different writers will discover many opposing views in respect to the modes of caring for, and the treatment of plants. The proper temperature for water when applied to plants, has been frequently discussed by different writers ; some contend that cool water just drawn from a well or cistern, should never be showered upon plants, but that it should first be heated to the temperature of the room in which the plants are standing. Others, with equal zeal, claim the cold water will not in- jure the plants in the least, contending that the water vMl assume the right temperature before injury is done the plant. Now which is right ? We have experimented in this matter to a considerable extent, in order to satisfy ourselves as to which of these two views is correct. lu the month of December we took from our collection twelve large geraniums, and placed them by themselves in the conserv-atory ; six of these we watered with cold water, drawn from a hydrant pipe at the temperature of forty-five degrees, and the other six were supplied with water from a barrel standing in the conservatory, and was of the same temperature of the house, that is from sixty degrees to eighty degrees. The plants watered with the cold water gave little if any bloom throughout the winter, while the six geraniums watered from the barrel grew finely, and bloomed profusely. Always water your plants in winter time with lukewarm water, if you would have a profusion of flowers, and thrifty-growing plants. The water should be of the same temperature as tlieroom or place in which the plants are kept. There is no theory about it, this is a practiial fact. ABOUT FRUIT TREES I give personal experience for fifty and history for a hundred years to prove that the disease known as " yellows" in the peach tree and "blight in the pear tree are on the in- crease ; and I would here take opportunity to say that these shows are merely symptoms of a disease m its last and final stage, and ought to have been prevented by apprehension of the disease in a former stage, overlooked and unknewn. To seek for a remedy for " yellows" after it has thus appeared is too late for anything ta be available; while to find a preventive sooner is the part of wisdom and the only possible remedy. When yellows appears, it is positive proof of constitutional taint, and however much may be done to ameliorate, nothing is available to cure that which has come to pfiss. No tree ever shows the symp- tom we call yellows antil it is constitutionally affected, not only in its own life, but also in its seed, from which a succession is procured. This is just why we find the yellows on the in- crease, because the taint is in the seed, from generation to generation, so that many orch- ards die before ever bearing a crop, while others may be so far assisted that they will bear a crop or two at some rate, by which- they become so further weakened as not to be able to ever recover to bear another. Now, the peach derived from the almond, is susceptible of being improved by culture up to a certain degree of perfection as long as the same means that brought perfection out of imperfection is continued and moderation in our designs maintained ; but just as soon as we aim above the possibilities of nature, or fall below its requirements that has tended to the perfection attained, a marked degree of disease bgcomes apparent. But why do we not know that any devia- tion from nature's balance is disease ? A fat hog or horse, or person, is not a healthy hog, horse, or person, but a person or animal forced out of nature's medium toward some per- sumed perfection. For some purpose it may be called a perfection, for this is a quite in- definite term ; but for the good of the nature of the individual it is just so far an imperfec- tion that will, if not prevented, run back to its natural standard. I know full well that if I should say to the amateur fruit grower that his fine productions were unnatural, and con- sequently, in the light of natural philosophy, symptoms of inherent disease, he would not take quite kindly to the idea, but might tell me they were improvements on nature, which, for his purpose, they are, but not for nature's purpose. Disease is any departure from nature's primary fiat, and must be maintained by the means used to originate it. If the changed condition renders the subject liable to other disease, we must set one disease to cure another. But never imagine for a mo- ment that art is an improvement on nature, and not a diseased condition of it. The his- tory of the peach tree amply proves all that I claim. The first disease (or departure from nature) was a profit to us in an improved fruit, and while our desires were thus satisfied and the means of change kept up, our position was a tenable one ; but push for a still greater perfection, being a greater degree of depar- ture from nature, gives us a different stage of the one disease, and the last stage we call the "yellows," from which there is no return to health, and disease and death are established^ Now, what I have said of the peach is equally true of the pear, and the " yellows" and pear "blight" are but varied .symptoms of one disease acting upon different subjects ; which disease is simply a departure from na. ture, the first symptom of which is a good fruit to man, and the last symptom is "blight" of the brancnes of the tree and death in the end. To one who can trace eft'ects to their causes, all the degrees between our imaginary perfection and the end of our liberties with nature's facts may be marked at every stage. We have now millions of peach trees in a state of disease, bearing fruitg of many degrees of perfection, as we look upon the subject ; but all are more or less dis- eased, according to the degree of departure from nature's balance between our finest fruits and her original fiat. I now lie wide open to all comment that may be brought to bear upon this view of the inevitable truth of fruit culture, and though it may ill suit the amateur culturist, it is that to which nature will eventually bend the will of man, if not by reason, still by the force of fact. Art is but the handmaid of nature, and the nearer its accords with its mother energy in practice, the greater the duration of the liberties afforded us through its means.— S. F. Larkin, in Oermantown Telegraph. THE LANCASTER FARMER. 151 1 wish to state a t'cw fads about the Bur- rowing Owl {Athene cunicularia Molina) that lives in Calit'oiuia. I had almost constantly for four years opportunities of observing the habits ot this little owl, which is really one of the most notable features in the natural his- tory of California. A colony of these owls lived within one hundred yards of my cabin while I passed a frontier life ; and they were very common everywhere in that vicinity. I have seen them every day for years, hundreds and perhaps thousands of them in all. Where I hav*- seen them, they always live in the deserted or unoccupied burrows of the Ground Stiuirrel {Si)crmryphiliis Beecheyi). I came to the conclusion that they were able to drive out the Spermophilas from their habitations, but I am not certain of the fact. It is true that there were, in that region, always a large immber of unoccupied burrows wherever there was a colony of .Spermophiles ; so that there was no lack ot unoccupied habitations for the owls to take possession of. But I have noticed that wherever there was a large num- ber of the owls, very few or no Spermophiles lived. One or two owls would occasionally be seen among a colony of Spermophiles, but they never appeared to live in the same hole or burrow with the squirrel ; and I liave never seen a squirrel enter a burrow that was occupied by owls, however much tempted by fear he might be to enter the first hole he could come to. True, the Spermophile never likes to enter any burrow but his own, and will run pawt any number of inviting en- trances in order tliat he may at last hide himself in his own domicile. But aside from this, I believe that the squirrels are afraid of the owls, and do not dare to intrude upon them. The notion that the Athene digs its own burrow appears to me apocryplial and unreasonable. I have never seen any evidence of it. Negative evidence proves nothing ; but yet the absence of facts is strong pre- sumption against their existence, and it would be strange that I should never have seen any evidence of their digging powers if they have any. After a shower of rain, one sees fresh earth thrown out around the mouths of the burrows of the Spermophiles, but never any- thing of the kind around the burrows of the owls. They are not constituted for digging, and there is no necessity for it ; they can al- ways find any number of holes ready-made for them. That they live in peace and amity with the rattlesnake, I believe to be another error and stretch of the imagination. Kattle- snakes are very abundant where 1 lived, and I killed one or two almost every time that I rode a mile or more from the house, yet I never saw a rattlesnake near a squirrel's hole but once, and that hole was a deserted one. I once found a large rattlesnake swallowing a squirrel (Spermophilus Beccheyi) that it had caught, in the centre of a colony of .squirrels, but several yards distant from any " squirrel- hole. " 1 once took pains to dig out a nest of the Athene cunicularia. 1 lound that the burrow was about four feet long, and the nest was only about two feet from the surface of the ground. The nest was made in a cavity in the graund, of about a foot in diameter, well tilled in with dry soft liorsedung, bits of an old blanket, and fur of a Coyotte (Cants latrans) that 1 had killed a few days before. One of tlie parent birds (male or female V) was in the nest, and I captured it. It had no in- tention of leaving the nest, even when entire- ly uncovered by the shovel, and exposed to the open air. It fought bravely with beak and claws. I found seven young ones, per- haps eight or ten days old, well covered with down, but without any feathers. The whole nest, as well as the birds (old and young), swarmed with fleas. It was the filthiest nest that I ever saw. In the passage leading to the nest there were small scraps of dead ani- mals ; such as pieces of the skin of the ante- lope, half dried and half putrified, the skin of the coyote, etc.; and near the nest were the remains of a snake that I had killed two days before, a large Coluber ? two feet long. The birds had begun at the snake's head, and had pecked off the flesli clean from the vertebne and ribs for about one-half of its length ; the other half of the snake was entire. The ma- terial on which the young birds nested was at least three inches in depth. I do not remem- ber the time of the year. The Burrowing Owls do not migrate. Where I lived they were as numerous in win- ter as in summer. Perhaps in low, flat jdains, that are deluged or inundated by water in the winter, the little owl is obliged to have a far drier location, but I have never seen any such migration. They always remain in or near their burrows through the day, never leaving them to go any distance except when dis- turbed, when they make a short crooked flight to some other hole near by, and when driven from this last one return to the first again. When the sun sets they sally forth to hunt for food, etc., and are all night on the wing. 1 had seen them and heard them at all times of the night and early in the morning. They are not strictly nocturnal, for they do not remain in their nests or burrows all day, but their habits, in this respect, are about the same as those of the other owls, as Strix pra- tincola, iiyctea nirea, etc., or of the domestic cat. There are very few birds that carry more rubbish into the nest than the Athoxe; and even the vultures are not much more filthy. 1 am satisfied that the Athene canicu- laria lays a larger number of eggs than is at- tributed to it in Dr. Brewer's work. I have frequently seen, late in the season, six, seven or eight, young birds standing around the mouth of a burrow, isolated from others in such a manner that I could not suppose that they belonged to two or more families, — Americdn Naturalist. OUTLOOK OF THE CROPS. The Department of Agriculture, in Wash- ington, reports that the condition of cotton on the first of September was lower than on the 1st of August by reason of drought, which was severest in Texas, yet felt in every State east and north to North Carolina. The apprehension that too succulent early growth would wilt under higher temperature and ab- sence of rain has been realized too generally. Local areas on the Atlantic coast appear to have had suflicient moisture ; at a few points too much on low lands. The effect of these meteorological changes has been the wide prevalence of rust and the shedding of leaves and young bolls. In light soils the fruiting will be hastened, the top bolls already form- ing. In those of greater moisture there is a strong weed, and with deferred frosts a good crop may be made. There are a few losses by the caterpillar. When it has appeared it was promptly met by poisonous applications as a rule. The bollworm has been more abundant than usual, and has not had treat- ment suflicient prompt. The average condi- tion for the whole field, which was 87 in the preceding report, is reduced to 82, though Texas is the only State below that arerage. The product of winter wheat is above the average, and is generally of good quality, ex- cept where injured by sprouting in the shock. The rate of yield is not far from an average of 13 bushels per acre. The results of the har- vest of spring wheat are not yet complete, and yet the product cannot be precisely indi- cated. It is probable from the reported con- dition of the crop already harvested and threshed that the aggregate will vary little from 500,000,000 bushels. The reports of much higher figures are sensational and mis- leading, and utterly unworthy of credence. The general average condition when harvest- ed is 98, against 83 last year. The wheat States of highest condition are California, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Ken- tucky, Tennessee and Oregon. The corn crop is in better condition than in any September since 1880. The general aver- age is 04. It was 84 last September. It pro- mises to produce an average yield of 26 bushels for the entire breadth, or not less than 1,800,000,000 bushels. It will make the larg- est aggregate of quantity ever reported in the history of the country. The oats crop averages a yield per acre about the same as corn and makes an aggre- gate exceeding 500,000,000 bushels. Its con- dition when harvested was 05, which is lower than for two previous years, but higher than for prior years since 1878. Barley »verages 97, against 100 last year and 95 in 1882. It will average about •22 bushels per acre. The general average for rye is 90, and for buckwheat 93. which indicates a medium crop of about 12 bushels per acre. The condition of potatoes averages 91, against 95 last year. It will be an abundant crop, but not so large as the last. There is some complaint of rot in New England and a little in New York. There is a wide range of condition, running down to .52 in Ohio, while it is 94 in Michigan, the same in Penn- sylvania and 80 in New York. There is a fine crop west of the Mississippi. The condition of tobacco is higher than in September of any year since 1881. It averages 94 instead of 80 last September. Massachu- setts, 105 ; Connecticut, 103 ; New York, 98 ; Pennsylvania, 99 ; Wisconsin, 100. The cigar tobacco thus stands comparatively high. Maryland, 91 ; Virginia, 94 ; North Carolina, 95 ; Kentucky, 95 ; Tennessee, 105; Ohio, 63. The London agent of the Department cables to-day as a result of statistical investi- gations that the year will not be one of super- abundance ; that European wheat, though above an average in product, will be less than the aggregate of 1882. European importing 15S THE LANCASTER FARMER. tOctobei", countries need 260.000,000 bushels above pro- duction ; Euroiiean countries exporting can supply 80,000,000 bushels, leaving 1SO,000,- 000 bushels to be obtained from other conti- nents. Stocks are not excessive. There is an increased consumption of wheat, and it is the general opinion that the lowest prices have lieen reached. Potatoes and rye are less abundant than last year. GETTING RID OF STALKS. Where large crops of corn are raised, and especially where shucked out, leaving the stalks standing in the tield, it is often quite a task to get entirely rid of them. Every suc- cessful corn-raiser knows that it always pays to take pains to have his corn land as clean as possible. Masses of weeds or long coarse stubs or stalks are not only vexatious, but cause more or less loss, by tearing up hills of corn in plowing or cultivating daring the spring and summer. Experience teaches us that a lot of coarse weeds, or long corn-stalks, turned under by the plows iu the spring will not rot, but stay there seemingly tougher than ever, and then it often happens — more so than is pleasant — that these stalks will be under a hill of corn, and then in plowing across them we are almost certain to have them catch on the point of the plow or culti- vator and tear ijip the hill of growing corn. Hence, considerable pains must be taken to have the corn-flelds as clean as possible, espe- cially of long weeds or corn-stalks. There are various ways of getting rid of them. Some harrow down, taking one row at a time, and cleaning the harrow whenever full, and afterwards burning. This, to say the least, is not only a slow, but also a sloven- ly way of doing the work as the harrow leaves too many stalks, either torn up by the roots and lying fiat on the ground, or partially standing. The work cannot be done as clean as it should be, and, of course, is unsatisfac- toiy. Others take a good shaip hoe, or corn knife, and cut the stalks down one hill at a time, after which they are raked up into win- lUows and burned. This is quitean improve- ment on harrowing, but still requires consid- erable time. A much faster way, if they are to be broken down, is to take a long heavy stick of timber, twelve or sixteen feet long, and six or eight inches through, depending somewhat upon the strength and condition of the team; about three feet from each end cut notches, under which fasten a good chain, and to the other ends of which fasten the double-trees. A man and team in this way can break down the stalks very rapidly. Or if you have boys one horse can be fastened to each end, and then with two boys to drive, the work can be readily done. After they are broken down a horse spring tooth hay rake, or a strong riding rake can be used to rake them together when they can be burned. All of these plans have two operations. First, to break them down, and then to rake up and burn them. The work should be done when the ground is frozen hard, and the stalks dry, as the stalks will not break readily when damp or soft. The best plan of all is to use a stalk cutter, by this means the stalks are cut into small pieces and can readily be plowed under. The work all being done at once— that is one ope- ration gets the stalks out of the way of the plow. The manurial value of dry-cut corn stalks of course is not very high, hardly as high as the ashes obtained by burning the stalks. But the hurt stalks yield a very small quantity of ashes, so that the question of manure cuts a very small figure. I believe mysell that the stalks cut up well with a corn-stalk-cutter and plowed under are of considerable more value than the ashes obtained by burning. And as the work can be done with a stalk cutter very rapidly and well at one operation, and the work be better, and the land in a better con- dition or after cultivation, it is certainly good policy to use them wherever.'practicable, and especially where a large acreiige is devoted to the crop. As the work need not be pushed if taken in time, two or three farmers can very easily combine to purchase a cutter and in that way divide the expense. —JV^. J. Shepherd, in the Western Ploioman. FEEDING CORNSTALKS. Since the use of itinerant threshing ma- chines driven by steam is becoming common, there is danger of farmers throwing aside the smaller horsepower which they have formerly used, and which may be applied to driving stalk cutters. There are too many advanta- ges resulting from the short dropping of corn- stalks, as compared with the wasteful practice of feeding them whole, for any good farmer to omit it when it can be accomplished. In- telligent farmers, who have tried both ways, inform us that the feeding value of the stalks by cutting half an inch or less in length, is according to estimate at least two and a half times greater than when uncut, and this esti- mate accords with our own repeated experi- ments. This estimate was made from the use of good, well cured stalks, but it would not apply to fodder which has been exposed to rain, and become discolored and rotted, and which would be of little value in either con- dition. Another important advantage of cut- ting sliort is the improved character of the manure, as every one will appreciate who has attempted to pile, load or spread manure containing a large portion of tough cornstalks. The preceding remarks apply to dry stalks, and they are not less appliable to chopped ensilage. The latter has, in fact, some ad- vantages over the dry feed in several ways. The green stalks cut more easily, or nearly twice as fast with the same power ; the food more palatable and easily digested ; and it is stored iu far less space, and without exposure to the weather. But for feeding value, there is not a great difterence between well pre- served and finely cut dry fodder and succulent ensilage. Which mode of feeding is adopted is not of great importance, but in any case feeding the stalks whole should never be prao^ticed. For farms of moderate size, a two-horse lever or tread power will accomplish all that is necessary in the way of chopping fodder, where the threshing is performed by travel- ing steam threshers. Two horses, with the best ensilage cutters advertised in our columns, of suitable size, will cut a ton of dry stalks in twenty minutes, and a ton of dry stalks in a somewhat longer period. The latter may be done on rainy days or in winter, as the feed may be needed, and the feed given to animals in tubs made by sawing barrels in two, or in the feeding troughs in stalls. If cattle do not eat it freely, it is because the stalks have not been cured in a perfect condition. Animals are not fond of half decayed fodder. Large farms will require more efficient machinery. Of the millions of farmers who raise corn and feed stalks to their cattle, the great ma- jority still feed stalks uncut, and a large por- tion are half rotten by rains. The aggregate loss by this management to the farmers of the Union is enormous. It is doubtless a moder- ate estimate to put the whole amount of corn- stalks subjected to this treatment at twenty million tons, but if only half as much, it is a matter of some importance whether this ag- gregate, now worth say thirty million dollars, might not be at least doubled in value by the treatment we have described, and made sixty or seventy millions. We do not give these numbers as approachtng accuracy, but to illus- trate the importance of paying more attention to the subject. As the drouth has cut short the fodder supply in many parts of the coun- try this season, it may be well to look towards some provision for saving the existing supply. • — Uoimtri/ Gentleman. UTILIZING STRAW AND STUBBLE. In California the waste from the harvesting of grain is allowed to reseed the land, and a second or "volunteer" crop is often raised without any plowing or additional seeding. The cold winters on the Atlantic slope, in most of the States, would render this sort of seeding inoperative, except in the case of wheat and rye, which are winter-proof. It would, doubtless, surprise many farmers to know that, by plowing their wheat and rye stubble in the autumn, the land would be re- seeded with those grains from the waste of harvest. Straw can be turned to such good account for fodder in winter that it should be in the best form. There will be more and better grain by cutting it as soon as it begins to turn white, and the stiaw will be in a much more valuable condition. Farmers should take pains to secure their grain crops at this period of growth. Straw' is worth much more to feed than simply to throw into the barnyard to rot for manure. Fed with a little grain it will keep stock in as good con- dition as, if not better than, hay alone, and the manure will be more valuable than from hay alone. It is evident, then, that by harvesting the straw when in the best possible condition a large amount of stock may be kept on the farm, and the farmer can thus add to the value of the manure pile ; or he may, if he choose, utilize his improved straw for fodder and sell a portion of the hay, letting the straw and some grain take its place. The day for bunding straw or letting it go to waste for the man who has any wisdom is gone by. This fact is more emphatic, because meats of all kinds are so high and the experience of some farmers has shown that by good management, as I have indicated, the straw may be turned to a valuable account m the rearing of ani- mals and in enriching the farm. This stubble and straw, cut when full of juices, is worth 1884. J THE LANCASTER FARMER. 153 more for fertilizing the soil to plow under, and it will pay to turn it under as soon as can lie done, while it retains its moisture and the juices stored in it. Such stubble is quite an important factor for the next crop, whereas an old and driod-up one is comparatively worthless.— /t'!(7-a;jVi?u; Yorl-n: A CHAPTER ON FLIES. The subject of flies becomes of vast amount to a Pharaoh, whose ears are dinned with the buzz of myriad winged plagues, mingled with angry cries from malcontent and fl^'-pestered subjects ; or to the summer traveler in north- ern lands, where they oppose a stronger bar- rier to his explorations than the loftiest moun- tains or the broadest streams ; or to tlie African pioneer, whose cattle,his main depen- dence, are stung to death by the Tsetze fly ; or the farmer whose eyes on the evening of a warm spring day, after a placid contemplation of Ills growing acres of wheat-blades, sudden- ly detects in dismay clouds of the Wheat- midge ■ and Hessian-fly hovering over their swaying tops. The subject, indeed, bus in sucli cases, a national importance, and a few words regarding the main points in the habits of flies— how they grow, how they do not grow (after assuming the winged state), and how they bite, may be welcome to the readers of the Naturalist. The Mosquito will be our first choice. As she leaps oft" from her light bark, the cast chrysalis skin of her early life beneath the w-aters, and sails away in the sunlight, her velvety wings fringed with silken hairs, and her neatly bodiced trim figure (though her nose is rather salient, considering that is is half as long as her entire body), present a beauty and grace of form and movement quite unsurpassed by her dipterous allies. She draws near and softly alights upon the hand of the charmed beholder, subdues her trumpeting notes, folds her wings noiselessly upon her back, daintily sets down one foot after the other, and drives through crushed and bleeding capillaries, shrinking nerves and injured tissues, a many-bladcd lancet of mai-- vellous fineness, of wonderful complexity and fitness. While engorging herself with our blood, we will examine under the microscope the mosquito's mouth. The head is rounded, with the two eyes occupying a large part of the suriace, and nearly meeting on the top of the head. Out of the forehead, so to speak, grow the long, delicate, hairy, antenna;, and just below arises the long beak which consists of the bristle-like maxilla; and mandibles, and the single hair-like labrum, all which five bristle-like organs are laid in the hollowed labium. Thus massed into a single awl-like beak, the mosquito, without any apparent effort, thrusts them into the flesh, and by aid of the sucker-like expansion of the end of the labium, draws in the blood through the chan- nel formed by the five bristles and their sheath. Her hind-body may be seen filling with the red blood, until it cries (luits, and the insect withdraws its sting and flies sluggishly away. In a moment the wounded parts itch slightly, though a very robust person may not notice the irritation, or a more delicate indi- vidual if asleep ; though if weakened by dis- ease, or if stung in a highly vascular and sen- sitive part, such as the eyelid, the bites be- comes really a serious matter. Multiply the mosquitoes a thousand fold, and one flees their attacks and avoids their haunts as he would a nest of hornets. Early in spring the larva of the mos(iuito may be found in pools and ditches. It remains at the bottom feed- ing upon decaying matter, thus acting as a scavenger, and in this state doing great bene- fit in clearing swamps of miasms, until it rises to tlie surface for air, which it inhales through a single respiratory tube situated near the tail. When about to transform into the pupa state, it contracts and enlarges an- teriorly near the middle, the larval skin is thrown ofl', and the insect appears in quite a different form. The head and thorax are massed together, the rudiments of the mouth- parts and of the wings and legs being folded upon the breast, and there are two breathing tubes situated upon the back instead of the tail, which ends in two broad paddles; so that it comes to the surfiice head foremost instead of tail first, a position according better with its increased age and experience in pond life. In a few days the pupa skin is cast, the in- sect, availing itself of its old habiliments as a rait upon which to float while its body is dry- ing, grows lighter, and its wings expand for its marriage flight. The males are beautiful, both physically and morally, as they do not bite; their marners are more retiring than those of their stronger minded partners, as they rarely enter our dwellings, and live un- noticed in the woods. They may be easily distinguished from the females by their long maxillary palpi, and their thick, bushy, feath- ered autennse. The female lays her elongated oval eggs in a boat-shaped mass, which floats on the water. A mosquito lives three or four weeks in the water before changing to the adult or winged stage. .Just how many days they live in the latter state we do not know. Our readers will understand then, that all flies, like our mosquito for example, grow while in the larva and pupa state, and after they acquire wings do not grow, so that the small midges are not young mosfiuitoes, but the adult winged forms of an entirely different species and genus of fly, and the myriads of small flies, commonly supposed to be the young of larger flies, are adult forms belong- ing to different species of dift'erent genera, and perhaps of diflerent families of the sub-order of Diptera. The typical species of the genus Culex, to which the mosquito belongs, is Ctdex pipicns, described by Linna;as, and there are already over thirty North American spe- cies of this genus described in various works. The Black fly is even a more formidable pest than the mosquito. In the northern, subarctic regions, it opposes a barrier against travel. The Labrador fisherman spends his summer on the seashore, scarcely daring to penetrate the interior on account of the swarms of these flies. During a summer resi- dence on this coast, we sailed up the Esqui- maux river for six or eight miles, spending a few hours at a house situated on the bank. The day was warm and but little wind blow- ing, and the swarms of black flies were abso- lutely terrific. In vain we frantically waved our net among them, allured by some rare moth ; after making a few desperate charges in tlie face of the thronging pests, we had to retire to the house, where the windows actu- ally swarmed with them; but here they would fly in our face, crawl under one's clothes, where tliey even remain and bite in the night. The children in the house were sickly and worn by their unceasing torments ; and the shaggy Newfoundland dogs, whose thick coats would seem to be proof against their bites, ran from tlieir .shelter beneath the bench and dashed into the river, their only retreat. In cloudy weather,unlike tne mosquito, the black fly disappears, only flying when the sun shines. The bite of the black fly is often se- vere, the creature leaving a large clot of blood to mark the scene of its sur;,'ical triumphs. E. T. Cox, of New Harmony, Indiana, has sent us specimens of a much larger fly, whicli Baron Osten Sacken refers to this genus, which is called on the prairies, the Buffalo Gnat, where it is said to bite horses to death. Westwood states that an allied fly (Hhagis Columhaxchensi.i Fabr. ) is one of the greatest scourages of man and beast in Hungary, where it has been known to kill cattle. We now come to that terror of our equine friends, the Horse-fly, Gad, or Breeze-fly. In its larval state, some species live in water, and in damp places under atones and pieces of wood, and others in the earth away from water, where they feed on animal, and, pro- bably, on decaying matter. B. D. Walsh found an aquatic larva of this genus, which, within a short time, devoured eleven water snails. Thus at this stage of existence, this fly, often so destructive, even at times killing our horses, is beneficial. We have found a larva which is, probably, a young horse-fly, living in abundance on the under side of the stones in a running brook, at Burkesville Junction, Va. The body was smootli, over two inches in length, and with a few fleshy filaments at the tip. Each segment is enlarged posterior- ly, aiding the creature in moving about. Dur- ing the hotter parts of summer, and when the sun is shining brightly, thou-sands of these horse-flies appear on our marshes and inland prairies. There are many diflerent kinds, over one hundred species of this genus Taba- uus aloue, living in North America. Our most common species is the "Green-head," or Tahamts lineola Fabr. When about to bite, it settles quietly down upon the hand, face or foot, it matters not which, and thrusts its formidable lancet jaws deep into the flesh. Its bite is very painful, as we can testify from personal experience. We were told during the last summer that a horse, which stood fastened to a tree in a field near the marshes at Rowley, Mass., was bitten to death by these green-heads ; and it is known that horses and cattle are occasionally killed by their repeated harassing bites. In cloudy weather they do not fly, and they perish on the cool frosty nights of September. The Timb, or Tsetze- fly, is a species of this group of flies, and while it does not attack man, plagues to death, and is said to poison by its bite, the cattle in cer- tain districts of the interior of Africa, thus almost barring out explorers. On comparing the mouth-parts of the horse-fly, we have all the parts seen in the nioscjuito, but greatly modified. Like the mosquito, the females alone bite, the male horse-fly being harmless and frequenting flowers, living upon their sweets.— vlHierican Naturalist. Artichokes are being cultivated more and more every year as food for stock. Ib4 THE LANCASTER FARMER [October^ SUPERPHOSPHATES FOR WHEAT. One of tlie most remarkable changes that lias taken place in our agriculture during the past eight years is the general use of super- phosphates for winter wheat. That it pays the fanners to use it, there can be no doubt. Farmers are not inclined to make accurate experiments ; but they do not continue to pay out money year after year for an article the use of which is unprofitable. How long the use of phosphates will continue profitable, will depend on the amount of organic matter existing in the soil, and upon the use that is made of the increased crops obtained from the u.se of the phosphates. If all the crops are sold off the farm, we should soon, exceiit in rare cases, so far impeverish the soil that profitable crops could not be grown. On the other hand, if we use the money obtained from increa.sed crops of wheat, barley, pota- toes, vegetables, etc., to buy a small amount of bran, cotton-seed cake, malt-sprouts, etc., to feed out in connection with our straw, corn-fodder, clover hay, etc., the use of phos- phates will enrich rather than impoverish the land. Year before last the wheat crop in this sec- tion was the best I have known for thirty-two years. The Deacon has lived here much longer than this, and he says he has never be- fore known so good a crop. And farmers who cleared up the land from the original forest say the same thing. One of them told me— and he is a reliable man— that he got fif- teen hundred bushels of wheat from thirty acres. It was not phosphates in this case; he drilled in ashes and plaster ; but it was not ashes and plaster that produced the crop. Whatever the cause, it is still evident that our soil is still capable of producing crops of wheat. One thing is certain, our fanners as a rule are working their land better than formerly. We have better plows, better cultivators, bet- ter harrows, better rollers, and better horse- hoes, though the latter are not half as good as they ought to be. We do more fall plowing. Even the Deacon harrowed his corn stubble last fall, and got it ready to drill in oats this spring. We are getting more and more in the habit of preparing our land in the autumn. — American AgrieuUurUt. FACTS ABOUT IRRIGATION. It is very evident from common experience that injurious droughts are increasing in fre- quency, and the careful consideration of the subject will develop the following simple but significant truths : That whatever the cause of this deficiency of moisture, whether from the destruction of the forests or not, the simplest and cheapest remedy at the hands of the agriculturist is irrigation. That whenever a supply of water can be obtained, the cost of pumping it will not ex- ceed three cents per 1,000 gallons for an amount of 10,000 gallons per day pumped to a heighth of 50 feet above the surface of the water, which cost will include the necessary repairs and depreciation and interest on the cost of the necessary fixtures and reservior ; this is less than one-sixth the price charged by the city of Boston for metered water, and considerably less than the price charged for irrigation in any place where the present gen- eration has constructed the works and seeks to make them pay a remunerative income. That should a brook or spring not be avail- able, there are but a few places where an adequate supply may not be obtained by sink- ing wells. That the cost and arrangement of the work will vary so much with the different locations and circumstances that no schedule of cost can be given, but the cases will be rare where $750 to fl,000, discreetly expended, will not furnish ample water for the irrigation of fifteen acres of tilage land. That the preservation of a single crop, in a year of unusual drought would reimburse the whole expense. ^ That the positive assurance of immunity from the effects of drought should induce all cultivators to secure at once the means of irrigating their lands if possible. That besides the security afforded in the case of an excessive drouth, it will be found that water can be used very profitably in almost any season with a great variety of crops. And lastly — The great wonder is that our farmers and horticulturists have disregarded the matter for so long a time. FEEDING HAY. Concerning the indefinite quantity of the hay ration in the most reputed feeding experi- ments referred to in a recent issue of the Gazette, it may be observed that feeding hay is a matter that requires considerable judg- ment. Animals, like men, when the oppor- tunity for exercising preferences is presented, are apt to consider that the best only is good enough for them ; and if more hay is given than they require will pick out the tenderest and sweetest portions and leave the remainder, which not only wastes valuable feed, but en- courages the habit of daintiness in the animals which is conducive to anything but thrift. Animals that pick over their food, smelling and poking every blade and stem in apparent hesitation as to whether to eat or not, do not compare in thriftiness with the good, square eaters, whose appetites give them a good relish for a reasonable quantity of any proper food. The general practice is to "feed enough," which is correct enough when just enough is given, and very incorrect when great quantities are given to be trampled under foot or otherwise wasted. But, with hay in bulk, it is not easy to gauge the quan- tity given, and even if this were possible, it would vary materially with the quality of the product, although where good grain rations are given, variations in the quality of hay are not so important. We remember once weigh- ing some hay that had been passed through a cutting machine, and that a great big pile of it uncut, measured only a new bushel basket- ful after the machine had done with it, weighing seven and a half lbs. to the basket, or" just half the weight of coarse wheat bran weighed at the same time. It is not possible in the practical operation of the farm, to be strictly accurate in such matters, but what- ever departures there may be should be, so far as possible, controlled by calculation, and not left altogether to accident. The farmer can not have a chemical analysis made of his hay to ascertain its exact nutritive value, and he cannot weigh out to each bullock so many pounds and ounces ; but he can, considering the quantity of grain he is feeding and the average quality of the hay, make up his mind about how many pounds he should feed. If he does this, and finds part of it wasted, he can decrease the quantity, and if the quantity should be insufficient, his own practical obser- vation will soon disclose that fact to him. Having made up his mind about how many pounds to feed, he will have to guess and weigh a few times until he can approximate somewhat the desired quantity, and will have a basis or starting point from which to in- crease or decrease the ration. Besides he is pursuing a method, and there is nothing that contributes so much toward sharpening one's powers of observation and ripening his ex- perience as the habit of doing everything ac- cording to some fixed method or plan. — Breeder^s Gazette. SELF-BINDING REAPERS. There are some modern improvements which are not all gain, as, for instance, the modern self-binding reaper. An Ohio farmer thus states the case : Fifty years ago when he was a young farmer it cost him £0 cents an acre to put grain in the shock, the reaping being done with the sickle. Thirty years ago it cost 76 cents an acre to cut and shock wheat, the cutting being done with the cradle. Kow it costs SI. 40 per acre to put up grain in shock with the twine binder, and 87^ cents with the self-raker and hand binding. So that each improvement has actually increased the cost of harvesting, the only gain being in time. The inventor and manufacturer of a popular reaping machine died worth $30,000,000. This enormous wealth turns out to have been gath- ered from an equivalent loss to the farmers who have used his machines. And some farmers have actually found the purchase of a costly reaper for which they were induced to go into debt, the first step on the road to ruin. Nevertheless, neither this Ohio farmer nor any other man would be willing to go back again to the back-wearying sickle and cradle. There are some things in this life that are worth more than money, and the farmer who would sweat and worry over his one acre a day with the sickle when he can go comfor- tably over twelve rcres with his self-binder would be considered by his neighbors as hav- ing lived past his usefulness. Moreover, cheap- ness is not always profitable. A farmer can make much more money by a profit of $10 an acre on ten acres than $11.10 per acre on one ; the dift'erence, $88.90, is the exact benefit to the farmer of the self-binder. And this larger profit is made possible because with the belter system of agricultuse coincident with our present valuable labor-saving and time-saving machinery we have more land in cultivation and larger crops for each acre cultivated. Therefore no one who has outgrown his cradle should ever despise the self-binder or any other machine which does the work of ten pairs of hands. It is claimed that sway-backed horses keep in better condition on the same feed than the high-backed. THE LANCASTER FARMER. 155 OUR LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS. LANCASTER COUNTY AGRICULTU- RAL AND HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. The I.aiioiistcr County Agrieulturnl Society met statedly OD Monday aaernoou, October Otii, In their room. The following members were present : Calvin Cooper, Bird-in-Hand ; Casper Ilillcr, Conestoga; Johnson Miller, Warwick ; Martin D. Kendig, Manor ; C. L. Hunsecker, Manheim ; Joseph F. Wttmer, Paradise; John H. Landis, Manor; J. M. Johnston, J. B. Hippie and F. I{. DilTenderffer, city ; W. n. Brosius, Druraorp ; S. P. Eby, city; E. S. Hoover, Manheim. In the absence of the President, Calvin Cooper was elected to serve as as temporary chairman. Reports. The committee which had charge of the Farmers' Institute last June made the following report : Mv. President and Members of the Lancnster County AgricuUnral aud IforlicuUural Society : Your committee have been somewhat tardy in making this rejjort, from a misunderstanding as to whose duty it might be to write it out. One of the most learned members, who is undoubtedly the best parliamentarian in the society, says " that duty de- volves on the chairman of the committee." The idea of holding a Farmers' Institute seems to have originated in the State Board of Agriculture, and an attempt made in one or two of the counties to hold such an institute. As to their success or failure your committee have not learned. Our member of the Board introduced the subject here, and was met with sufficient encouragement to make the experi- ment in this county, and authorized your committee to make the arrangements and conduct the same. A general invitation w:is given by both large posters and private letters of invitation, in which every one interested was freely invited to attend the sessions of the Institute and take part in the exer cises. Excursion rates were also secured from the railroad companies at reduced rates. Each of the daily papers generously contributed frequent local notices, calling the public attention to the enterprise. Lectures and addresses were delivered by men of the best talent in the Commonwealth, and also by the United States Commissioner of Agriculture, Dr. George B. Loriug. Each in his specialty exhaustively ■ discussed the subject assigned him in the most en- tertaining aud instructive manner. The attendance was not what had been hoped for by your committee. After the general notice that had been given ; with such prominent men as Dr. Loring, Governor Pattison, Dr. Atherton, Col. Piollet, Dr. Harvey, Mr. Hazzard, Secretary Edge, Dr. Caldcr, Profs. Jordan and Ileigcs, and other essayists with contributions that made a programme of exercises that would profitably entertain any one intrusted in agriculture or horticulture. But when we take into consideration the indifference of our people in scientific and experimental agriculture, we have reason to congratulate ourselves that some of the best citizens attended tlie several .sessions, and congratulated us upon the excellency of the lectures and address. If we had had some musical enter- tainment, horse race or side show, it would have doubtless filled the Court House to sulTocation. Of the results of the experiment, your committee have reason to believe in future it will be better patronized. The subjects discussed were such as to attract the attention of all practical men, although there is so much diversity of opinion as to what pro duces the best results in the various crops of the husbandman. The science of chemistry tells us there are certain ingredients requisite to produce certain crops, and without them available iu the soil, failure is the inevitable result. Hence we conclude the thought and query will create a search for such knowledge as was imparted by the professional men who addressed the institute. As to finances the Institute was not a success. It had been suggested that the admission should be free, and the accessions In membership to the society might be sufficient to pay all expenses. Such, how- ever, did not occur, but the eenerous donation of Dr. Wickersham, one of the committee, has reduced the actual outlay by the society from $122.98 to fH3.4S, all of which has been paid from the treasury of the society. On motion, the report was unanimously adopted, and a vote of thanks was tendered the committee. Johnson Miller also read a report made by him as one of the commitee sent from this society to visit the State Fair at Philadelphia. Crop Reports. Casper Hlller said they had nothing to complain of in Conestoga. There were good wheat, hay and corn crops. The latter might be better, but It will average about 80. The fruit crop was plentiful. Apples are nearly all off the trees. Those on low landsdid best. Winter apples will be a partial failure. Some seeding has been done. Many have not been able to sow— cannot plow their ground . Johnson Miller said they had considerable rain. The ground Is now in excellent condition. The corn crop has come out well. There has been a good sup- ply of apples. M. D. Kendig said seeding is ten or twelve days later than usual ; much remains to be sown. Farm- ers are busy in buying their stock cattle. The price runs from 4'i to .5 cents per pound. The quality is poor. W. H. Brosius, of Drumore, said their crops were good ; seeding Is nearly completed ; apples have fallen very badly. Joseph F. Witmer was surprised to see that corn on corn stubble land was better than that planted on sod ; usually this is not the case. C. L. Hunsecker, of Manheim, said all the crops taken together are good ; wheat, oats and potatoes are all good ; sowing is going on rapidly ; the tobacco crop is excellent ; on the whole, the present Is the best crop year he had for twenty years. Mr. John H. Landis read the following essay on Protection to Farmers. The chronic'grumbler complains that we have so great an over-production that our crops have yielded too heavily, and that as a consequence of this over production the prices are so extremely low that agricultural labor is but slimly rewarded. Bounteously has the Almighty blessed the efforts of the American farmer in this year of grace 1^84. Five hundred million bushels of wheat, and nearly two billion bushels of corn, reward the industry of the American agriculturist. God's sunlight, dew and showers joined hands with the son of toil in the production of this unparalled yield. Good crops will insure cheap bread for man and cheap food for beast. Wheatjand corn may bring a low figure per bushel, but with a big crop, so much more can be turned into beeves and porkers. There is always a demand for good beef and pork, and they always command a fair price. So, while the price for the grain may be low, to convert it into meat will bring ample compensation to the farmer ; besides, his own bread will be cheaper and his cost of living will be comparatively less. The farmer must plow and sow and reap all the same for a poor crop as for a full crop. The fuller the yield the better be is paid for his labor. He who realizes forty bushels of wheat from the acre can afford to sell it for much less than he whose yield Is only thirty bushels per acre. His labor and expense In prepalring the ground, sowing the seed, reaping and threshing, is very near, if not altogether, the same, yet if his yield Is forty bushels per acre, and he sells it for eight cents, he dealizcs thirty-two dol lars per acre, while if his yield is thirty bushels per acre and gets one dollar a bushel he realizes only thirty dollars from an acre. So we have no occasion to complain, and we should look upon our heavy grain crop as a blessing. The average farmer appears to be puzzled to know what to do with his wheat. He feels as though he ought to have a higher price. At the same time there is a lingering suspicion in his mind that per- haps he had better sell after all, as there Is nothing within sight that satisfies him that there Is much likelihood of an early advance. Hopefully he casts his eyes toward to the cast and looks for " a foreign demand." There is nothing, however, beyond At- lantic's waves that gives him substantial encourage- ment. Now, what does this show ? It points out the fact that " a foreign demand " Is an uncertainty. It shows the uncertainty of a foreign market and It should lend our agriculturists to Ih'; conclusion that the only safe market for the American farmer Is the American market and that the only reliable buyer from the American producer is the American con- sumer. There Is a duty of 20 cents on every bushel of wheat imported into this country, a duty 10 cents on every bushel of corn, a duty of 10 cents on every bushel of oats and so on, and it is to this protective policy of our government ihat the farmer Is largely Indebted for his prosperity of recent years and they are those protective features of our tariff laws that lie cannot afford to have wiped out. The acreage devoted to agriculture in Southern Russia, Iu India and in other fon-lirn lands Is yearly Increasing with astounding rapidity. India alone has .55,000,000 acres of fertile soil thus far untouched with the plow, through which the British Govern- ment contemplates building railroads, and there are strong reasons for believing that at no very distant day this entire region will be turned into one vast wheat field. In India laborer feeds on rice and on millet seed, which costs him but a few cents a day, while his wages range from eight to ten cents a day. In this way India can raise her wheat at a cost of not more than thirty-five cents a bushel. The American farmer cannot compete with thirty- five cent wheat in the European markets. His only hope is in a home market. So it is to be hoped that he will know his interests sufficiently well not to allow the protective policy of the government to be changed, but that under It a home market for the farmer may be continued, and in that way enable him to dispose of his surplus crop at home and se- cure him a fair price for the products of his soil without depending upon the uncertainties of a for- eign demand to have the fruits of his labors duly re- warded. This essay led to a prolonged discussion, which was participated in by nearly all the members present. Mr. Johnston was the principal member who took no stock in the protection theory, although some of Mr. Landis' views were pretty severely assailed from several quarters. At times the discussion was very lively and a good many very peculiar views were ad- vocated. It was the liveliest affair that has taken place in the society in years. A motion was made and carried that Mr. Geo. W. Hansel, of Quarry ville, this county, should be in- vited to give the society his observations iu farmlog and farm life in Europe. Calvin Cooper presented some handsome apples for a name. Daniel Smeych had a late seedling peach, of good size and quality. F. H. DIffuuderffer had some very fine specimens of Hubbardston's Nonsuch and Uomanite apples from Cass county, Missouri, and some handsome Tompkins King from Lancaster county. He also ex- hibited specimens of Sumatran tobacco — a foreign article and a home-raised article grown from pure Sumatran seed. On motion the society adjourned. FULTON FARMERS' CLUB. The Fulton Farmers' Club held its September meeting at the residence of E. H. Haines, in Fulton township. The members' families were all repre- sented, except Lindley King. Visitors present by Invitation— Timothy Haines, Franklin Tollinger, Wm. Ingram and Layman C. Blackburn. There was a great variety of fruit on exhibition. 8. L. Gregg exhibited Howell pears and three varie- ties of apples. C. C. Cauffman, Gravenstein and Madicns' Blush apples and a variety of apples for a r5« name. William King, grapes and two varieties of apples for a name. B. H. HaineF, six varieties of apples, two of pears and six of grapes. Also, a bunch of hops, some of which measured iiy, inches in length. Moulillion Brown, six varieties of grapes and two of pears. Layman C. Blackburn, three va- rieties of pears. Marshall Nesbit, potatoes for name. Joseph R. Blackburn, Heiges' prolific wheat. Timo- thy Haines, two varieties grapes and Seckle pears. Solomon L. Gregg asked if apple trees that had been re-topped by grafting bear as well as others. The experience and observation of all present went to show that they would do well, although some thought that they did not live long. Montlllion Brown : Fallawater apple trees are short lived. Would they do better if grafted in an- other variety high up ? E. H. Haines thought that it would be a good Idea. The borers work on Fallawater apple trees more than other trees. They might be suved by grafting some distance from the ground. Timothy Haines has one that has been grafted about six feet up. It is healthy yet, but may not remain so. Several questions were handed to the Secretary, as follows : 1. After the fruit is formed on a grape vine, will It do any harm to keep a part of the new growth cut away ! Wm. Ingram had tried it. It did not do any bet- ter, either in growth or ripening. E. H. Haines thought it might be better to keep some of the foliage cut away so as not to shade the fruit. Timothy Haines thought that grapes ripened bet- ter in the shade. When the foliage is eaten away by worms, they will not ripen at all. 2. Will a walnut tree standing in a field do barm to the crops. E. H. Haines used to think it did not, but thinks differently now. Wm. King : It depends on what crop it is. If timothy, it will grow under it ; clover and other crops will not. Layman C. Blackburn : If timothy will grow it is about the only crop that will. Wm. Ingram : Timothy and wheat will grow, under a walnut, but corn will do no good. Day Wood did not think there was much differ- ence between a walnut and chestnut. Wheat will grow under them but will not fill. :i. To J. K. Blackburn : How did the oats on the ground plowed last fall compare with that on the ground plowed this spring ? J. R. Blackburn : There was very little difference. 4. Will apples that are ripe now make good vinegar ? 5. L. Gregg : They will not make as good vinegar as late apples. Early cider is not near so rich as late cider. J. K.Blackburn: They will make good] vinegar, hut probably not the best. E. H. Haines did not think they would. Layman C. Blackburn : What does it cost to make 100 pounds of beef when corn is fiO cents per bushel, and what sized cattle are most profltalile to feed ? There was no one present ready to answer this ques- tion fully. Day Wood calculated on feeding about fifty bushels of corn to each of his steers, and expected them to gain four hundred pounds per head. Viewing the Host's Farm, The criticisms on the farm were mostly of a favor- able character. The buildings in good order, fine hogs, etc., but tlie hedge around the orchard was thought by some to be rather too high for a fence, and not high for a wind break. The host read an article on the " Unestlmated In- come of the Farmer." Belle Mooney read an essay, entitled " Our Pro- gression," showing the progress in the acts and all the various ways and doings of men since the dis- covery of the continent. E. H. Haines read a letter that he had received from Joseph A. Roman, a former member of the THE LANCASTER FARMER. [October, Club, who went to Missouri over a year ago. The writer spoke feelingly of changes in the Club occa- sioned by the death of two of its members during the last year, and was afraid that if he ever was per- mitted to meet with it again, he would find that it was no longer " Our Club." He was satisfied with his location, and thought that raising short-horns would pay better than making giltcdged butter for twenty cents per pound. But he would leave the bright side for others to show. He would show the dark side. He was living in a log house, with some of the chinking out, so that the moonlight could stream in. His wagon shed was a post oak grove. Weeds are a great nuisance, especially the sand burr cockle, burr and horse nettle. The latter is dis tributed all over the Mississippi Valley. Ticks and fleas are also very abundant. They are of the kind that wade right in, and he would advise any one coming out there to have his shirt made open in front ; it's handier. Carrie Blackburn recited " The Way of the World." A. E. Wood had seen a recipe of a Michigan woman for canning corn, and was thinking of giving it a trial, when she noticed an article in the paper giving the results of a trial made by another woman. She had the corn packed, the tops of the cans screwed on and placed in a boiler of cold water and a fire started under it. When she came to look at it she found corn and broken cans all mixed together in the boiler. She would not give her thoughts about that Michigan woman ; they would not look well on paper. Adjourned to meet at G. A. King's at the usual time in October. LINNiEAN SOCIETY. The Linnaean Society, after an adjournment of three months, met on Saturday afternoon, September 27th, at 2 o'clock in the museum ante-room. The presi- dent, Hon. J. P. Wickersham, was in the chair, and ten members in attendance and several visitors pre sent. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved and dues collected. Donations to the Museum, A large specimen of a " tarantula" — a species of Mygale— apparently Mygale hentzii, from Mr. Charles Peters, dealer in general merchandise, No. 302 Mid- dle street. This specimen was brought from South or Central America in a bunch of Bananas, reaching Lancaster about the middle of last June, and it came into Dr. Rathvon's possession a few days after our last meeting Mr. Peters placed live flies in the jar with the animal, which it d id not devour. On the day Dr. Rathvon received it he introduced a living male specimen of Corydalns cornuius, but the spider did not seem to recognize its presence. On the next morning thereafter, the insect was dead, but there was nothing to indicate whether it died by violence or a natural death, as no part of its body had been consumed, but remained entire. He then conceived the idea of testing its power of endurance without food, and it survived until the 25th of July, showing remarkable tenacity. It was kept in a fruit jar, with the top screwed on, and therefore must have had a limited supply, even of atmospheric air. The fact of insects and other animals being brought from Southern regions, packed in bananas, is very interesting, and of frequent occurrance. Last year Mr. S. M. Sener found two very large flies in a bunch of this fruit that had just been opened on the corner of North Queen and Orange streets. They appeared to belong to the genus Syrpuus, or an allied genuf . Two years ago an agent of Philadel- phia, informed me that a beautiful blue and green lizzard, about six inches long, sprang from a box containing a bunch of bananas, that had been sent up by a friend in Central America, but it made its escape before it coukl be secured. From his descrip- tion of it, it evidently belonged to the Lacertid^ or true lizzard family, and probably to the genus Lacerta. In the Daily Exmniner of July 25, 1884, there aip- peared a paragraph to the effect that a small bird had dropped from a bunch of bananas that had just been hung up by a fruiterer at Concord, N. H. The bird seemed to be nearly starved, but revived, fed greedily on flies, and was very lively, but died the next day, it is supposed from a surfeit of North American flies. No other description was given than that it was small in size, " spotted black and white, and somewhat resembled a wookpecker." It may have been a " Titmouse," a " Sapsucker," or a ■' Creeper," or possibly a small species of Picus. But the most remarkable " find " is that recorded in " Ward's Natural Science Bulletin," for July, 1884, in which it is stated that a gentleman of Roches- ter, N.T., purchased a bunch of bananas, and on removing the fruit from the stem he discovered a small female "opossum"' {Didelphis dorsigera), which had come all the way from Surinam, S. A., hidden within a bunch of bananas. But more re- markable still, she was accompanied by six young ones, all clinging by their naked, prehensile tails, to the tail of their mother. Five of these died in at- tempting to wean them, and the sixth was eaten by the mother. From this it would appear that the banana trade might be made a prolific source for the collection of small foreign animals, for, doubtless, there have been many similar cases that have "never been recorded, or the records of which have not been brought to our notice. Mr. Charles A. Heinitsh donated a small specimen of the " pipe fish," (Syngnathus peckianus), taken from the throat of a blue fish, captured near Barne gat, N. J., in July last. This is one of the most in- teresting little subjects of the aqueous realm. It be- longs to the limited order Lophobranchii— includ- ing those fishes which have the gills in small founded tufts along the bronchial arch, instead of resembling a fine-toothed comb, as in the case of fishes generally. The order contains but one family {Syngnatlddoe), which also includes the sea horse {Hypocainpns hud- soniiis) and its cogeuers. What gives it additional interest is the fact that it may be said to represent in the class Juices, the marsupial animals in the class Mammalia. During incubation the eggs are carried in an external abdominal pouch, and the young issue from it in due time, perfectly formed ; but the most anomolous circumstance of all is, that the males possess this pouch, and carry and hatch the eggs, and not the females. Mr. Heinitsh also donates a small specimen of the " Bait Shrimp" (Crango7i septemspinoms) or "ieven Spined Shrimp." Two infant specimens of the " King Crab," (Limulus polyphemus) or " Horse- shoe Crab," were donated by Mr. Wm. Beukert,who received them by mail from a friend at Sag Harbor, N. T. Doubtless all the crustaceans are very pro- lific, but this species in particular is known to be so. In an adult female sent to the society nearly twenty years ago, were found and secured at least half a pint of eggs. The whole cavity of the anterior por- tion of the animal {Carapace) was filled with eggs, indeed, the whole body appeared to be nothing but shell and eggs, and many of them were not secured. No doubt their normal function is to produce suste nance for other marine animals. They have been taken from the stomachs of fishes, and perhaps,when quite young, they may furnish a luxurious repast, but there seems to be a very small quantity of an edible quality in the adults. The adults attain to two feet in length, and they use the same organs for both walking and eating. They constitute the family Limulvid^, in the order Mitomostracha of the class Crustacea. They are organically lowest in their class. On the 17th of July last, near the camp of the "Tucquan Club," at York Furnace Spring, Miss Annie Friday, of Lancaster, captured a very beauti- ful specimen of Amhhjstoma coccinea, perhaps the first specimen taken In Lancaster county. (Nearly forty years ago Dr. Rathvon found it very abundant, in a much decayed old log hut, at the head of Hunt- er's Lake, in Lycoming county, but this was the first living specimen he ever saw in the county of Lancas- ter, although it may abound here.) This little reptile Is not quite three inches in length, has two rows of orange colored spots margined with black ; one row THE LANCASTER FARMER- 157 on esich side of the dorsal ridge ; six spots In each row ; and the spots do not extend beyond the articu- lation of the posterior feet. This little animal dilTers from most of the family of salamanders in that its skin is not moist and shiny ,but, on the contrary, dry, soft, finely granulated and velvety. Nor does It even resort to the water, but lays its eggs in moist decay- ing wood. It is of a uniform reddish-brown, rather orange red in color, finely punctured or dotted with black ; habits terrestrial. It may thus be classified : Family, SalatnandrhUe ; order, Ihodela, or tailed Catrachians; sub-class, Batrachia. The aquatic species of this order have flat, vertically compressed tails, used as an instrument of propulsion ; whilst the terrestrial species have long, round, tapering tails. They arc perfectly harmless animals, and tbey look so Inoffensive that it only needs this as- surance for even the most timid to handle them with impunity, for they do not excite the repugnance that attaches to reptiiia generally. Two specimens of "hair worms" (^OonUacea) found under widely different circumstances, one from Dr. B. F. Herr, of Millcreville, Lancaster county. Pa., and one from W. II. Slout, of Pine Grove, Pa., the first named taken from a well of fresh water,and the last named taken from aa apple. (See Lancaster Fakmer, for August, 188-t.) A large specimen of White Fungus, twenty-three Inches In diameter by eighteen inches, and eight Inches high ; was found near the York Furnace Spring, during the late encampment of the "Tucquan Club," July 15, by Major Jere Rohrer, and donated to the Linnaean Society. It has diminished some- what In drying, and the color has assumed a yellow- ish tinge. It was found growing out of a much de- cayed piece of timber. Before it was dry it emitted a strong fetid odor, which Is still present In a dimin- ished degree. Prof. Farlow, of Cambridge, Mass., to whom a fragment of this fungus was sent, determines it to be " Folypurus lubalus," Fr., and says that it resem- bles somewhat I'ohjimroHs sulfureus, but that the pores in that species are different. A small but very neatly constructed spherical nest, of a supposed species of Fe-s^Hi, probably " Texpa tnduarU," var. " Americana," found on the ceiling of an outbuilding and donated by Dr. S. S. Rathvon. A moderately large spider, seemingly a species of Lycosa, has occupied the various recesses in the Large Fungus, already alluded to, where it has been occupied in capturing flies, a goodly number being attracted to it daily. This occupant never leaves the premises he has possessed ever since the discov- ery of the fungus on the Kith of July last, and he seems to be quite content with the " situation." He sometimes may be seen with two flies in his posses- sion at the same time.* (August ith.) Two perfectly denuded specimens oi the fruit of (Juglons cine reaor butternut,) from Tucquan Camp, also specimens of " Myra arenaria," temporarily from same locality. Six specimens of cones of fir, probably " abies bul- mmica," from farm of Dr. H. Carpenter. Two mounted specimens of reddish colored " C'uii- fenm," a variety of algae, " frog spittle," .'"rom a pond of Lancaster, donated by Mr. I. L. Landis. A denuded specimen of young English sparrow (Passer domesHcits) picked up on North Queen street. A deformed egg of the common domestic chicken from Mr. B. F. Getz, Lancaster county. Specimens of minerals picked up at Minnehaha Falls, Minn., by C. A. Heinitsh. Specimen of common red bat ( I'chpcrtirHn ifovo- boracetisiii) ; a mounted specimen of the mole (Scnlops Canadeims), from Kocky Springs; specimen of the northern tree toad {Hyla versicolor), all donated by Walter P. King ; specimen of white mottled rat (Mus decumanus), from George Flick, taxidermist, city ; specimeii of fresh water crab (Astacns Bar- /»)iii), donated by S. M. Sener ; Mrs. Gibbous do- *Tlie spider is now deoea.sed. and along, with some beetles, also tenants of the I-'ungus, is deposited in the natcd a box containing corn, which had been placed in the sun to dry on September 9, 18S4, and which had become burnt black from the Intense heat of that day ; Miss S. S. Lefevre exhibited a growing specimen of the pawpaw tree (Carica papaya), which alie raised from seed sent from Burmah, East India, also exhibited seed of the custard apple (Aiwna Muricata), from Burmah, East India. Three bottles of miscellaneous insects, collected during Tucquan excursion, l)y Dr. S. S. Rathvon. Dr. B.F. Rogers, U. S. Navy, corresponding member of Linnieau, donated through M. L. Davis, M. D., a pairof Corean shoes, worn by the people in Corea. These shoes arc beautiful in appearance, and are made from a felt substance, leather soles, and pro- tected by spiked nails at toes and heels. They are known In Corea by the name.'of Chemulpo. Twenty four specimens of plants, new to the flora of Lancas- ter county, and accompanying descriptive list, col- lected and donated by Walter P. King. J. J. Carter, Lyle postoflfice, donated specimen of Lactucca Scariold, Lin., which he found In the [county, and this is also a new plant to our local flora. Donations to Library. The donations to the library consisted of a volume of the Centennial History of Charleston, S. C, do- nated by WilliamJA. Courtenay, Mayor of Charles- ton. The work is printed on calendered paper, finely bound, and illustrated ^^by numerous maps, autographs, plates, etc. Circular of Penn- sylvania State Agricultural College for 1S83-4. Report upon the area of coin, potatoes and tobacco for July, 1881. Facsimile of Fcnnsghaiiia Tucket and Dally Adrei-tiser, the first daily newspaper printed in America, dated September 21, 1784, and a copy of the centennial number of Its lineal successor, the N'orth American, September 20, 1884. Circulars of information. Bureau of Education, Nos. 3 and 4, 1884. Preliminary Circular of Exhibition of Educa- tion at the World's Industrial and Cotton Exposition. Revolution in Wheat Culture ; Camping'and Cruis- ing In Florida, by James A. Henshall, M. D. Lan- caster Farmer for July, JAugust and September, 1884. Liniimai BiMelin, June, 1883,'No. 3, U. S. Patent Onice Gazette, Vol. 18, No. 1-13, inclusive; Annual Report Commissioner of Patents, 1883 ; Index of Patentees and Inventors for quarter ending March, 1SS4. "Wages and Tarifis," by E.J. Dowel 1. Vol. '21, No. 115, Proceedings American Philosophical So- ciety, Philadelphia. Publisher's Weekly, No. (151. Third Annual Report U. S. Geological Survey, a large quarto volume, handsomely illustrated bv about seventy-five colored and plain plates, maps, etc., from J. W. Powell, Director. Two envelopes of 22 biographical and historical scraps. A number of newspapers, pamphlets, Iprospectuses etc., and four letters on file. A vote of thanks was given to Dr. Rogers, Mayor Courtenay, J. J. Carter, W. P. King and United States Geological Suivey for their iutercstlng and valuable donations to museum and library. Mr. King's list of new plants was ordered to be printed in the Farmer and Bnlletin. J. K. Shirk, M. D., and J. M. Yeagley, M. D., of Lancaster, were nomi- nated for associate membership, which under the rules, lies over one month. H. M. Engle, of .Marietta and J. J. Carter, Lyle, P.O., were nominated and elected corresponding members. Bills for $1.75 for June Bulletin., 70 cents lor binding Academy proceed- Inos, 75 cents for stuffing mole, and 35 cents for postage, etc., in all ?3..55 were ordered to be paid. The Secretary was authorized to have bulletin of September meeting printed, to proenre a copy of August number of magazine of American History, and to procure and send to Mayor Courtenay a suit- able book in return for his interesting book donated to the society. Adjourned to meet on Saturday, October 25, 1884, »t 2 P. M., In the museum ante- room. List of twenty-four new plants found in Lancaster county and donated to the Linn;can Society, by Walter P. King : Betula leiita, Lin., Polecat Run, Providence tw p.; Betula alba, Lin., Liberty Square and near McCall's Ferry; Echiiiospermum loppula. Lchm., near Millport (Lehigh Forest); Sabbatia stellarls, Pursh., Silver Mine Run, Pequea twp.; Ornithogalum Longibacteatum, Conestoga Rnn.near Big Bridge, Rothsville ; Llatrls squarrosa, along the Cocalico, near Rothsville ; Elatlne amerlcana. Cones- toga, near Lancaster ; Eriocanlon soptangulare, With., Susquehanna, near mouth of the Pequea ; Plantago pusilla, Nutt, Smithvllle ; Plantago hetero- phylla, Nutt, Binkley's Bridge ; Viola rostrata, Lin., Fishing Creek ; Ilepaticaacutlloba, Conestoga Creek, below Millersville ; Clematis vertlclllarls, Liberty Square and Buck ; Lobelia Nuttallll, Rocm and Sehlt, Witmcr's Station, P. R. R.; Tllia heterophylla, Manhelm pike, near Lancaster ; Proserpinacea pec- tluacca. Lam.. BInkley's Bridge; Drosera flllfolla, Stuart's Run, Drumore twp.; Viola Canadensis, Rohrerslown ; Ludwigia sphaerocarpa. Ell., Smith- vllle, New Providence and Millport; .Mentha aqua- tica, L., FurnaceRun ; Habenarlablepharlglotis, G., Rohrerstown, Fishing Creek ; Drosera longlfolla, L., Clay township and Smithvllle ; LInum sulcatum, Riddle, near Little Britain Church ; Peltandra Vlr- ginica, Raf., swamp between the Blue Bell and New Providence. New plant added to the county list, found and donated to the Linii»an liy J. J. Carter ; Lactucca Scariola, Lin.,N(:w Texas. Domestic economy. Baskets of Paper. Almost any shaped baskets and work-cases can be made of plaited paper. White, brown, or newspaper may be utilized for this |)urpose. To make a white basket, cut into narrow strips, three-quarters of an inch wide, tliiu cartridge paper ; double each strip lengthwise into two and plait it. When you have plaited a sufficient quantity, stitch the pieces to- gether into the shape you wish the basket to be, using a small basin, jar or even anothej basket to assist in shaping the work. When the basket is stitched into shape, and the handles put on, give It two coats of hot gelatine and water, and when thoroughly dry varnish. Baskets of newspaper or brown paper must be painted with oil color and afterward varnished. — American Queen. Eggs and Coffee. Boil three-quarters of a pint of milk till It Is re- duced to half the quantity. Then add a quarter of a pound of powdered coflee. Let it simmer for half an hour, and then press the creamy mixture through a very fine sieve. Incorporate with It the yelks of three eggs, and also three whole eggs. Pass it again through the sieve, beat the cream a little, and pour it Into six small cake moulds which have previously been buttered. Have a saucepan ready containing boiling water. Take it off the fire and place the moulds In it ; allow the cream to settle, and turn the moulds upside down in the dish the ojufs au cafe are to be served on. Lift the moulds carefully off their contents, add to the latter a sauce made of good coffee, well sweetened, and served quite hot. Is Baking Powder Healthy ? Some folks must think so from the way they mix it largely in almost every kind of bread ; some use it in the place of shortening as well as yeast. We cannot see any element of shortening in it. I think I have seen a recipe for cake that calls for three tablespoons of baking powder, and wondered how any " poor, perishin' body" could stand such an ex- cess of it. I have seen hot butter cakes for break- fast so loaded with it that they were green, " ring streaked and spncUled," and the odor from them absolutely sickening, and sooner than eat such stuff I would hunt up any dry crust of good, sweet, light bread and soak It in my coffee, or, failing in that, I would send out for crackers. Make up your batter ciikes the night before and let them rise with good old lashinned hop yeast. If too light in the morning and a little on the turn, stir In a very little soda dissolved In a little water or m\\k—hatf of a little child's thimble even full will generally be enough. 158 and perhaps less will do. You will be surprised how litMe will answer if you attend to it yourself; but if you leave it to your house help she would be likely to think a heaping teaspoouful quite a moderate quantity, and your cakes would then be unfit to enter any respectable stomach. We would like to know if a sreat deal of dyspepsia is not produced by the almost constant use of baking powder and soda. And may they not also produce blood poisoning, and do not the teeth decay sooner ? We want light on the subject and would be glad to hear from others. — Oermantown Telegrnph. Food for Dyspeptics. A member of my family was 'ncapable for mouths of retaining any food except beef, slightly boiled, and only a small portion of this could be eaten, but at short intervals. After a while the crust of stale bread could be digested. One person told us that he could eat nothing but parched corn pounded ; an- other, only whol"! wheat boiled the entire day. Neither agreed with our patient, but when early apples ripened they were freely eaten and digested. All other fruits followed gradually, pears last, and now the dyspeptic apparently has as sound a stomach as ever. The patient should remain out doors as much as possible. — Country Gentleman. To Make a Fish Napkin. Boiled lish, like corn, is best brought to table in a cloth to keep it warm. For fish, a piece of linen about forty Inches long by twenty-three wide, is re- quired. It may be of tea toweling, fine crash or butcher's linen. Out of each corner cut a piece ten inches long by seven wide, which will leave the proper sized flaps to turn over at the four sides. On either flap embroider a bunch of coral, a fish-net, a spray of sea-weed, or some such design in washing silk, which is sold at the Art Needlework School here. Spread the napkin on the dish, garnish it with parsley, lemon or egg, turn over the corners, and you will have a prettier dish than painted china. French table napkins are always long and narrow, like a towel, so that they cover the sides of the dress as well as the lap. This is a sensible improvement on the square napkin, which has as much too much one way and too little another as Dick's hat-band.— miadelphm Ledger. How to Keep Cider Sweet. Pure, sweet cider that is arrested in the process of fermentation before it becomes ascetic acid or even alcohol and with the carbonic acid gas worked out, it is one of the most delightful beverages. When the saccharine matters by fermentation are being con- verted into alcohol, if a bent tube be inserted air- tight into the bung with the other end into a pail of water, to allow the carbonic acid gas evolved to pass off without admitting any air into the barrel, a beve- rage will be obtained that is a fit nectar for the gods. A handy way is to fill your cask nearly up to the wooden faucet when the cask is rolled so the bung is down. Get a common rubber tube and slide it over the end of the plug in the faucet, with the other end in the pail. Then turn the plug so the cider can have communication with the pail. After the water ceases to bubble, bottle and store away. — Fann, Field and Fireaide. Wash Out The Buttermilk. From some elaborate experiments made in Ger- many, it appears that where extra fine butter is made from cream separated by the centrifugal pro- cess the choice quality is preserved better than the same quality is preserved when the butter is made from cream which " rises " either in a deep or shal- low vessel. From this it would seem that the prac- tice of separating cream as quickly as possible is good. And it seems, too, that danger to the butter comes rather from the milk left in the cream than from the cream itself. All this emphasizes the ne- cessity of thoroughly washing out the buttermilk as soou as ciiMTaei.— Philadelphia Press. THE LANCASTER FARMER. [October Teaching Girls How to Cook. There comes a time in every little girl's life when she is seized with a longing to cook ; by all means indulge her. Do not wait until she is a young lady and then send her to a cooking school to learn how to make a pudding or cake — what she might have learned in the kitchen at home ; and been happy in learning. A neighbor of mine who jput this theory in practice presented me with a plate of cookies made by her daughter of five ; they would have been creditable to a much older cook. The child faith- fully and diligently followed her mother's instruc- tions. If some older member of the family superin- tends, but does not lend a helping hand, a good deal of valuable knowledge will be acquired in this way. Let them begin with something very simple ; try, for instance, this rule for crackers : To three pints of flour put one teaspoonful of soda, dissolve in sour milk ; melt a tablespoonful of butter, or of butter and lard mixed ; make the dough very stiff ; roll it very thin ; bake slowly. — New York Post. Repairing Children's Stockings. It is too early to think of putting cotton stockings on the children, and yet it is possible that in many cases this must be done, or new woolen ones must be bought; this you may not care to do, so I will tell you of a way by which the old ones may be repaired. The knees are worn out, of course, so cut the worn part off, and piece the stocking up with parts of other worn stockings, or with a strip of stockinette. If you make a fine seam, and sew it carefully so that it is smooth, it will not " rub " or hurt the tender flesh of the smallest child.— iV«i« York Post. Rag Carpets. Bright, durable rag carpet is used on many kitchens. Where people do not employ several ser- vants it is a great saving of labor. If it is thorough- ly swept every day it will keep fresh and clean a long time. The majority of housekeepers do not pay as much attention to their kitchens as they should. This should be kept scrupulously clean, and should not contain but the necessary articles of furniture. Some people carry the craze for decoration into their kitchens, and ornament the walls with all kinds of gim cracks. This may be well enough on a flat, where the housekeeper does most of her own work, and when she is a dainty individual ; but it does not do in an ordinary kitchen. Painted walls, a painted or rag-carpeted floor, and well-starched white Swiss curtains are what are needed in kitchens.— American Queeti. Open Grates. An open grate adds nothing to the attractiveness of the sitting-room in summer, and it is a positive annoyance if it is closed by the unsightly black cover; It may have instead of this a pretty Japanese para- sol for a cover, on a small screen made of a large round fan, with the handle cut off, with the excep- tion of an- inch or two, which should be glued into an opening In a small block of wood. This block may be bronzed or painted. If you care to make a very handsome screen the fan maybe used for a founda tiou simply, and it may have a silk and velvet cover upon which a great deal of effective ornamentation may be lavished. If j'ou choose, some other shape rather than round may be used. Household recipes. Cider Jelly.— Select good cider apples, run them through a cider-press, and put the cider on im- mediately, and boil rapidly until it forms a firm, traHsparent jelly. It should not stop boiling a mo- ment. Test by dropping on ice or into very cold water. Sweet Apple Pickles.— Sweet apples make de- licious pickles. Peel and quarter them, boil them until tender in vinegar and water; to one quart of vinegar add two pounds of sugar : heat the vinegar and dissolve the sugar in it ; add cloves and cinna- mon and pour over the apples while hot. Marmalade.— Select very ripe fruits — grapes, crab-apples or quinces. Cut the fruit having a core, iu halves, and stew until tender in water enough to cover the bottom of the kettle ; strain through a fine colander or sieve, to remove the skin and seeds. For each pint of pulp allow a pound of sugar, and boil half an hour, stirring constantly. Spice may be added if desired. The marmalade should be hard and firm when cold. Apple Tapioca.— Pare six or eight apples ; re- moves the cores, leaving the apples either in wholes or in halves. Add a little hot water, cover closely, and cook until they will ciit with a spoon. Put them In a dish, and pour over them a cup of tapioca cooked just as for lemon pudding, but with the juice of only two lemons and not any of the yellow rind. Set in the oven for ten or fifteen minutes ; serve cold or warm with rich cream and sugar. White Cake.— One cup butter, two of sugar, one of sweet milk, three of flour, whites of five eggs, two teaspoons of baking powder. King Cake. — Three-quarters of a pound of butter, one and a quarter pounds of sugar, one nutmeg, six eggs and cup of milk ; flour to make an ordinary batter. PovBHTV Cake. — One pint of milk, one teaspoon- ful salaratus, two eggs. Make them just stiff enough with Indian meal to work into balls, and boil them in hot fat. To be split open and eaten with hot but- ter. Cnp Fkuit Cake.— One cup of butter, two cups raisins seeded and chopped fine, four cups flour, two cups brown sugar, one cup sour cream, three eggs well beaten, one teaspoonful soda, one of cloves, four of cinnamon. Bake slowly and serve hot or cold with sauce. Chicken Salad.— Boll a chicken ; while warm mince it, taking out the bones. Put in a stew pan with boiling water. Then stir together until smooth, one quarter of a pound of butter, one teaspoonful of flour and yolk of one raw egg — all of which add to the chicken one-half at a time, stirring all well to- gether. Season with salt and pepper. Let it sim- mer ten minutes ; then add half a gill of Madeira wine, and send it to the table while hot. Cocoanut Cake.— Five eggs beaten separately, three cups sugar, four and a half cups flonr, one cup butter, one cup of sweet cream, one teaspoon even full of soda, two teaspoons even full of cream tartar, one half of a grated cocoanut. Ice the top and sprinkle the remainder of the cocoanut over it. This will make more than one cake. Charlotte KnssE.— Take half a pint of milk and yolk of four eggs for a custard ; boll one ounce Isinglass in a pint of water until it Is reduced one- half; strain this into the custard, flavor and sweeten; for this, whip one quart of cream, letting It drain on a sieve and re-whipping what drains through ; mix the custard well with the whipped cream and pour into howls or glass dishes. You can, If you chose, line the dishes with lady's-fingers or spliced sponge cake, before pouring In the russe, and then it will turn out beautifully when hard ; use an egg beater for whipping the cream. Fricasseed Oysters. — 1 quart oysters, 1 egg, 2 tablespoonfuls of butter, i tablespoonfuls flour. Brown 1 tablespoonful of butter in same pan, turn in the oysters, well drained, and when they com- mence cooking add salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoonful of butter rubbed with flour, then the egg, well beaten in cream or rich milk. Have buttered toast ready, and turn the oysters over it, serving immediately. Lunch Biscuit.— Make a nice baking powder bis- cuit and roll out about about '/^ inch thick, then sprinkle over it 1 teacupful of finely crushed coffee sugar and the least dust of cinnamon. Koll up tightly, and cut the biscuit from the end about 1 inch thick, and place carefully on buttered tins and bake quickly. Stewed Beef.— Cut cold beef In small pieces; take cold gravy without the fat, put Into a spider to heat, when it bolls up season with salt and pepper 1884.J THE LANCASTER FARMER. 159 and put in the meat; cover It and let It atand on the Are long enough to heat thoroughly, then stir In a email piece of butter; toast bread and lay in the dish, and put the meat over it. Stewed Potatoes. — Slice cold potatoes, put into a buttered saucepan, season and dredge well with flour, add milk, almost to cover them, add a bit of butter, cover and cook slowly. Gkeen Cokn Oysters.— 1 pint of grated sweet corn, 1 egg, '^ cupful sweet milk, % cupful sifted Hour. Season with salt and pepper. Drop from the side of a spoon in the form of an oyster and fry on a spider in half butter and half lard. CuRKANT Wine Sauce.— Four tablespoonfuls sugar, 2 teaepooufuls corn starch, 3 teaspooufuls butter, li cupful currant wine, >^ pint boiling water, ],i a nutmeg. Lemon Sauce.— One lemou cut in.thin slices, 1 coffee cupful of sugar, 1 pint boiling water, 1 table spoonful corn starch or flour, 2 tablespoonful butter. Boil lemon in the water a few minutes, add the sugar, corn starch and butter. Cream Sauce. — Two-thirds pint of sweet cream, 2 eggs (whiles), 1 teaspoonfull vanilla, 2 table- spoonfuls sugar. Scald the cream in a basin set in boiling water, sweeten and pour it slowly over the beaten whites, then add flavoring. Peach Sauce. — To the juice of canned peaches add a little water, sugar, and 1 dozen raisins ; boil a- few minutes, then strain and flavor with almonds ; or, still belter, boil 2 peach pits with it. Fruit Cream. — One pint of cream or rich milk, 1 ounce of gelatine dissolved in water, H cupful sugar. Scald cream and sugar, strain into it the gelatine, beat thoroughly, and when nearly cold place fruit or sweetmeats in a glass dish and pour the cream over. Very nice with raspberries or peaches. Veal Loaf.— 6 pounds of raw veal, J^ pound salt pork, 6 eggs beaten, .3 tablespoonfuls butter, 18 crackers, salt and pepper. Chop the veal and pork fine, mix with it the egg, '2 the rolled cracker and seasoning ; make into a loaf, cover with the re- mainder of the crumbs, and bake l\i hour, basting frequently. Cream Cakes.— l;^ cupful of flour, -A cupful of butter, li pint boiling water, .5 eggs, 2 teaspooufuls of baking powder. Boil flour, butter and water to gether, and when cool, beat in the eggs by hand, one at a time. Bake in gem-irons, or patty pans. When cold make a small opening and fill with cream of 1 pint of milk, 2 eggs, 1 cupful of sugar, % cupful of flour, 1 pinch of salt, lemon or vanilla flavoring. Boil as for custard. When cool fill the cakes. London Confection Cake.— Two cupfuls of sugar, 1 cupful of milk, % cupful of butter, 3 cup- fuls of flour, 3 eggs, 2 teaspoonfuls of baking powder, 1 teaspoonful of flavoring. Bake half in 2 layers, and add to the other half 1 cupful of chopped raisins, 1 teaspoonful of cinnamon, ],i teaspoonful of cloves, '4 teaspoonful of allspice. Roll fruit in flour. Bake in 2 tins, and put together alternately with jelly. Spanish Cream. — One pint of uew milk, y^ box of gelatine, .5 eggs, beaten separately, 1 cupful of sugar, 1 pint of cream, 1 teaspoonful of vanilla. Dissolve the gelatine in the milk, add the yolks and sugar, and stir over boiling water until creamy, then remove from the fire ; beat in the whites. When cold add the whipped cream, which should be very cold. Flavor and pour into a mould. Live Stock. Feed Young Pigs Often. To feed young pigs six times a day is better than to do so less often. By " a little " is meant enough to fill the stomach moderately full, but in no case to the extent of stuffing or gorging. This latter man- ner of feeding will destroy the appetite or produce an inflated or poddy condition, and stunt the pig. "Blind staggers " are caused by disordered stomachs. Rubbing turpentine on the top of the head causes an active evaporation, and no doubt has a stimulating etfect on the whole system ; but the best remedy is more care in feeding, and feeding In such a way that the stomach is kept in a vigorous and healthful state, and then there will be no rush of blood to the head, but it will be equally distributed all over the body, and the stomach will retain its portion. Young pigs should have an opportunity to get grass or some kind of green food, as it helps them wonderfully. They like to root in the ground, and this, too, is a natural condition. They will cat more and thrive better when they can have these benefits. Selecting the Breeding Ewes. It is useless to keep old breeding ewes, not so much on account of their greater liability to disease, as for the reason that by frequent changes the flock is more quickly Improved. The breeder who keeps old ewes is not one that improves, especially if the flock is a coma on one. In selecting young ewes, the largest and best formed must be retained. Exami- nation of each one separately is the proper mode, the length and fineness of the wool being also consider- ed. A good ewe has something to do besides merely becoming the mother of a lamb. She must supply it with food, and the capacity of her udder is not alone sufficient. She must be sound, healthy, a good feeder, and possess a depth of carcass and length of body generally. The future growth and early maturity of the lamb depends upon the care of it in the beginning, and any ewe that has been found deficient in those points necessary for a dam should be cast aside for a better animal. The march of im- provement has been mostly in the use of the blooded sire, but the characteristics of the dam largely influ ence her offspring. It is true a bloodei ram confers rapid improvement to a flock, but his influence will be more powerful and lasting if he is allowed in a flock where the ewes have been carefully selected. Some ewes are entirely unfitted for crossing with rams of the Cotswold breed, for the lambs, being heavy feeders and quick growers, cannot procure a suilicieut supply of nourishment from their dams, and if the dams are old and inactive, the difficulty is augmented by their inability to help themselves. Dutch Cattle. There has been very much discussion, often neither good-tempered nor profitable, on the name of the black and-white cattle imported from Holland. The name Holstein is most common in this country, being more generally recognized by agricultural associa- tions. Holstein formerly belonged to Denmark, now to Prussia. It lies north of Holland, Not many of the cattle called by the name are imported from Hol- stein. It is claimed by some that ihe good qualities of the Dutch cattle are partly from importations made from Holstein. Friesland is in the north part of Holland. Those who prefer the name Friesian, or West B'riesian, claim that the best and purest-bred dairy cows are obtainable from that part of Holland. The belted Dutch cattle so persistently show this peculiarity of coloring as to entitle them to be classed as a distinct breed or sub-breed. They have been longer introduced in this country than have the black and-white spotted cattle, but less attention has been given to their breeding, and they have not been so popular. A few years ago a few of this class were brought, from New York we believe, to Odin, III. In general characteristics they resemble the Holsteins or Friesians.- .Bx. Feeding Stock. As the feeding season is again approaching, it is well for stock men to carefully study this matter. It is true that the time to make hay is while the sun shines, for the simple reason that the sunshine is necessary for the drying process. It is equally true that the time to fit stock for winter is while we have, without artificial protection, congenial temperature, combined with such varieties of food as the growing season gives us. By supplementinir this with grain and meal, we are enabled to put our stock in the best condition for winter. These favorable conditions will soon be gone, and It is the poorest kind of economy to delay the giving of grain till the stock Is put in the stalls for winter. Corn Is perhaps the best feed suited to the fattening of stock. Kegularlly in the amount of rations fed is of prac- tical Importance. All animals should be fed at reg- ular hours, and just what they will eat up clean. If any Is left, it should be removed and fed to the other, hungrier animals. As for the time of feed- ing, three times a day Is sufficient for all except horses and swine ; the best results are obtained by giving them what they will eat clean four times a day. Cattle should have water twice a day In win- ter, and in summer as often as they nceil It, If It can be 60 arranged. Unprofitable Cows. It ought to be quite apparent to an owner of a cow that if it costs ?30 to feed the animal, and the product of the milk Is $2.5 only, there is an actual loss in money, besides all the use of the laud and labor expended in care. But It is a fact that thousands of farmers continue to feed cows, year after year, that do not pay f. CLOTHING. M' DRUGS AND MEDICINES. GW. IIIIL.1., Dealer ill Pure DruBsand Medicines , Chemicals, Patent Medicines, Trusses, Shoulder Braces, Supporters, &c., 15 M'est King St., Lancaster, Pa r«HN F. LOKfJ'S SONS, Drugifists, No. 12 North I Queen St. Drugs, Medicines, Perfumery, Spices, le StufTs, Etc. Prescriptions carefully compojnded. HATS AND CAPS. JEWELRY AND WATCHES. HZ. KHOAIt.S * BKO., No. 4 West King St. . Watches, Clock and Musical Boxes. Watches and Jewelry Manufactured to order. PRINTING. JOHN A. HIESTAND, 9 North Queen St., Sale Bills, Circulars, Posters, Cards, Invitations, Letter sndBill Heads and Envelopes neatly printed. Prices low. BOWMAN & MUSSER, Successors to Wholesale Dealers in AT L,«WEST POSSIBLE PKICE8, Fully guaranteed. No. 20 EAST CHESTNUT STREET, Opposite P. R. R. Depot. GREAT BARGAINS. A Urgeaeeortmeut of all kinds of Carpets are etill sold at lower ratee than ever at the CARPET HALL OF H. S. SHIRK, No. 202 West King SU Call and exAtnine our Btock and Batisfy yourself that we can show the largest asaortment of these Brussels, three plies and ingralu at all prices— at the lowest Philadelphia nplete assortment of Rag Carpet. Satisfaction guaranteed bath as to price and (quality. You are invited to call and see my goodB. No trouble in to purchase. e money here If you Alao on hand a full assort ment of Counterpanes O GLOVES, SHIRTS, UNDERWEAR. H SHIRTS MAdFtO ORDEK, .\ND \vai;k.\nted to IIT. E. J. ERISMAN, 17 West King St., Lancaster, Pa. Thirty-Six Varieties of Cabbage; 26 of Corn; 28 of Cu- cumber; 41 of Melon; .33 of Peas; 28 of Beans; 17 of Squash; 23 of Beet and 40 of Tomato, with other varieties in proportion, a large jiortion of which were jIe aiiJ'£l01I and „tl.cr>I!UIT TREE8. ^^ ^KWEW BERRIES S^.S.f«*i?«":J^ h^m©EftRLYtlUSTER!»«- T /CURRANT iqCARLYGLUSTEB ots.Cnewblackberrv r •■ l^^^l.,.n.lK.il. ..l-v FROM A -';■',H^''■'j;v.-v^^V:VHMin'^;■•/ Single Hill : :Earlies(LargeBeriy WIDMYER & RICKSECKER, UPHOLSTERERS, And Manufacturers > FURNITURE pD CHAIRS, WAREROOMS : 102 East King St., Cor. of Duke St. ■LANCASTER, PA. THE EXAMIIIKR OmCE I North Queen Street, Lancutcr, Pa IITO.N, LL.D.. JOSEPH DELLET, LANCASTER Steam Cigar Box Factory, 416 North Market Street, LANCASTER, PA. Edj,aiig,s, Isabels and Supplies of ki al\va)'s on hand. BEST MARKET PEAR. i»i>,i)99 PKACH TKEES, all the- bcHt varietii-8 of New and Old STKAWBKKBIES, CITKRANTS, GRAPES, KASPBEKKIES, rtc. EARLY CLUSTKK lU.Vf KnEKRY, si, ml- liMI .Ni.ldvd 13 icn(chmi. N.J. LANDRETH'S SIEIEIIDIS ARE THE BEST. North, South, East or West. inustrat«<] and descriptive catalogues free. Over 1500 acrefl under cultivation, growinK I^ndreth's Garden Seeds. Founded 1784. D. LAHDRflTH k SONS, Philadelpbia. Pa. THE LANCASTER FARMER. EJfXSYI-VANlA RAILROAD 8CHEI»UI,E. On and after SUNDAY, JCXE 24, 1SS3, trains leave ,y, as follows r the Depot WE TWABD. Pacific Express' News Express* Way Passenger* Mail Train via Mt. Joy*... Mail Xo. 2 via Columbia.' Niagara Express Hanover Accommodation, Fast Line- Frederick Accommodation. Lancaster .\ccommod'n . Harriaburg .\ccom Colombia Accommodation.. Harriaburg Express We8t«rn Express EASTWARD. Mail Express* Philadelphia Express.. Fast Line* Harriaburg Expreea Colambia Aocommodati Seasliore Express Johustown Express Day Express' Harriaburg .\ccom 9:50 a. m, l:3.'5p. m 1:45 p. m 2:30 p. m. Lancaster, 12:42a. m, 2:27 a. m 5:35 a. m 11:05 a. m. 10:55 a. m. Col. 1U:20 a.i 2:55 p.m. Col. 2:15 p. Col. 8:15 J 8:50 p. I 12:25 a. I 7:50 a. m. 10:20 a. m. 11:45 a. m. 3:15 p. m. The Frederick .\ccommodation, west, connects at Lancas- ter with Fast Line, west, at 1:35 p. m., and runs to Frederick, Uaniiver Accommodation, west, connecting at Lancaster with NiuKiiru E.xprcss at 9:45 a, m, will run through to Hanover daily except Sunday. JlnrrisburK ICxjiress, west, at 7:40 p. m. has direct con- nection to (.Dlunibia and York. The Fust i^ine, west, on Sunday, when flagged, will stopat Downiiigtown, Coatesvillc, Purkcsburg, Mount Joy, Elizabelhl..wnand Middletown. The ,Jolinstowii i'^xpress from the west, will connect at Harrisburg on Sundays with Sunday Mail east, for Philadelphia, via Marietta and Columbia. vhich 1 1 daily. NORBECK & MILEY, PRACTICAL kmm Builders, cox & CD'S OLD ST.4\ft, Co[iief of Duke and Vine Streets, LANCASTER, PA. THE LATEST IMPROVED SIDE-BAR BUGGIES, PHAETONS, Carriages, Etc. Prices to Suit the Times. REPAIRING promptly attended to. All work guaranteed. tR in ttftA per day at home. Samples worth $5 f 9«/ lU 9£U AddrsasSTIKSON & Co., Portland. Ma EDW. 1, ZAHM, AMERICAN AND FOREIGN WATCHES, SOLID SILVER & SILVER PLATED WARE, CT.OCKS, JEWELRY I TABLE CUTLERY. Sole Agent for the Arundel Tinted SPECTACLES. Repairiug strictly attended to. ZJ^HIA'S CORNER. North Qaeen-st. and Centre Square, [Lancaster, Pa. 79-1-12 ESTABLISHED 1832, G. SENER & SONS, r-XTlVEBEIFl, PATENT 0. G. WEATHERBOARDING OFFICE AND YAED : Northeast Corner of Prince and Walnnt-sts., I-.A.NCA.STER, FA..{ PRACTICAL ESSAYS ON ENTOMOLOGY, Embracing the history aad habits of NOXIOUS AND INNOXIOUS INSECTS, Bv S. S. RATHVON, Ph. D. LANCASTER, PA. This worli will be Highly Illustrated, and will be put in prosh (as soon after a sufficient number of subscribers can cover the cost) as the work can possibly be Cut This 0||t*".*JouUgetb7r that will bring y.,u In MArE MONET, hi One Month, than anything else in America. AbsoluteCsrtalntT. Need no capital. al.Yaune,17>ar«eaincliStN.Tark, OFFICE No, 9 Nottli Queen Street LANCASTER, PA. THE OLDEST AND BEST. THE WEEKLY LANCASTER EXAMINER One of the largest Weekly Papers the State. Published Every Weddnesay Morning, Send for a specimen copy. T-wo Dollars per Annum. THE DAILY LANCASTER EXAMINER The Largest Daily Paper in the county. Published Daily E.wept S today. The dally is' published every evening during the week. It is delivered in the City and to surrouuding Towns ac- cessible by railroad and daily stage lines, for 10 cents a week. Mail Subscription, free of postage— One month, ffO cents: one year, $5.00. JOHN A. HIESTAND. Proprietor, No. 9 NortU Queen St., LANCA.STER. PA.. For Good and Cheap vVork go to F. VOLLM£R*S FURNITURE WARE ROOMS No. 309 NORTH QUEEN ST.. (Opposite Northern Market), AU«, all kinds of pioture frames. uor-lf The Lancaster Farmer. Dr. S. S. BATHVON, Editor. LANCASTER, PA., NOVEMBER, i88'i Vol. xyi. No. 11. Editorial. NOVEMBER. Then followed one who bore a staff, And from the forest trees, He struck the brown nuts in their hull With every passing breeze. Behind him, in a hamper, borne By two daft rugged swains. He borught the choicest winter fruit. Just gathered from the plains. Where're he trod the moistened earth Incrystal'd hoar-frost rose. And lulled the vegitating world, In winter's grim repose. Clad in a Leopard's spotted garb. He bid the earth surrender The empire of the season to The despot of yovember. This month is numerically the eleventh, but nomenclaturally the ninth of the year. This month was remarkable in English history, as the one in which was culminated and exposed the famous "Gunpowder Plot," intended to de- stroy James I., with the Lords and Commons assembled in the House of Parliament, on the 5th of November, 1605. Robert Catesby originated the plot, and Guy Fawkes under- took to tire the gunpowder. The 17th of this month also commemorates the accession of Queen Elizabeth to the throne of England, which was first celebrated in 1570, and is still kept as a holiday by a select few, or by certain public institutions. The 25th of the month is remarkable in American history as being the day on which General Washington made his triumphal entry into New York, after its evacuation by the British troops, when our Independence was achieved. In the political history of our country, under the Constitution, it is the month in which our Presidential election is held, throughout its entire jurisdiction ; and in which party spirit temporarily culminates and subsides. It is the month, too, in which is outwardly manifested the last vital kick of the destruc- tive insect world. From hence onward until their vernal rejuvenation, with few exceptions, all are lulled into hibernal sleep. The festal occasion of Thanksgiving Bay is now also rapidly becoming one of the social landmarks of November, where it is not reli- gU/ushJ celebrated. The Latin name of the month is November or Novemhris; French, Prussian and Italian, Novembre; Spanish, Noviembre; Portugese, Jfovembro; Sancrit, Mensis. The name is de- rived from Novem, nine, being the ninth month of the old Roman year, which began in March. Our Anglo .Saxon ancestors termed it Wind-monath, that is Wind-month, in which old blustering Boreas asserted his sway. It hold* about the same relation to winter that March does to spring, being a transition month. It was the ancient custom of sea- faring men in November to "clew up" and remain at home until the month of March had bidden the year " good-bye." The cooler temperature and the falling of tiie russet leaves admonish us that grim winter is rapidly approaching. Therefore, the careful farmer will now set about doing these things wliich are necessary to his own comfort, as well as tlie comfort of his various kinds of live-stock, by putting his dwelling, his barns, stables and out-houses, in provident winter trim. Water- courses should be examined and put in order. The pasture now begins to fail and stock de- mands increased attention. Root-crops, if any are still out, should be gathered. Asparagus beds should receive their winter dressing, and cabbages, carrots, parsnips, turnips, raddishes and salsify should be stored for convenient winter access. Celery should be finally earthed up and onions carefully examined. In the long ago it was customary to admonish farmers, and people generally, to pay special regard to tlie " wood-pile," but the wood-pile is not so prominent a winter provision as it once was (being largely superceded by stone coal), but still it cannot be entirely ignored. The long evenings and nights, and the short mornings and days are now upon us, giving the farmer an opportunity to store his mind with that knowledge without which he cannot expect to breast the march of human progress. A wonderful change has been wrought in the states of the human family, and farming, as well as other industrial avocations, must recognize the /act tliat "the world is moving. " INSECT PARASITES. There are a vast number of animal Parasites that are not, strictly speaking, insects ; but in these remarks we shall refer only to a few of those that are, in a restricted sense, insects, or that prey upon insects. Of course, the true state of the case can only be approxi- mated, but if all of the truth were known, there is not a doubt in our mind it would be found that every denizen of the insect realm is, at least at one period of its life, infested by one or more parasites, and that these para- sites are now doing, and have always been doing, and will continue to be doing more to diminish or "checkmate" the destructive or noxious species, than the application of all the artificial remedies that ever have been, or ever will be discovered or invented. Thous- ands of these parasites are never seen or recog- nized by the ordinary observer, and many of them are so minute that their presence can not be recognized even by the most astute ob- server without the aid of the microscope. Whilst this is so in an eminent degree, there are hundreds that are conspicuous, some of which are nearly as large in size as the hosts upon which they prey ; but these, and the good offices they perform, are not noticed by the common observer — not even by those whose pecuniary interest it is to know tliem. and to avail themselves of the advantages of such knowledge. The very best nrlificlal remedies can only be partially or impeiicctly applied under the most favorable aus;>iccs. They are often applied impulsively, spas- modically, at irregular intervals, and without ' effective intelligence. One man in twenty may apply them and the other nineteen refuse or neglect to do so in cases where it is plainly the duty of all to co-operate. Even if the in- dividual knmcs that he possesses the proper remedy and does not apply it in the proper manner, at the proper time, and at the proper place, his labor may be in vain. Moreover, he may give his attention to it only for a few minutes, or even a few hours, "now and then," during the day, and then rest in a sort of repose, under the impression that '• he did it," whilst the insects may be " pursuing the even tenor of their way," indulging in their luxurious repast and smiling (it smile they can) at his most egregious simplicity. Tliis is, however, not the modus operandi of the insect parasite. Born with all the instincts necessary to the development and perpetua- tion of its species from the very moment it is excluded from the egg, or evolved from the pupa, it knows exactly what to do, how to do it, and when and where it can most effectu- ally be done. If not held in durance, or thwarted by human intervention, it never makes a mistake. It seeks a nidris for its progeny in the body of a living insect and never in a dead one. If there were five hun- dred dead caterpillars — or other insect larv8&— and only one living one, that living one would De selected for its prey, and all the others re- jected. Many insects have but a single para- site, but some of them have as many as a hundred. This may be owing to the size of the host, or may dependent upon other causes, but it rarely occurs that the provident mother furnishes less food than is necessary for the full development of her family, however numerous it may be. Not only are very minute insects infested by parasites, but their eggs are also infested, and often the parasite itself is infested by still smaller parasites be- longing to a different Order ; thus practically illustrating that— " The little fleas that do so tease, Have smaller flease that bite 'em, And these again have lesser fleas, And so ad iiijlnitnin." Some of these parasites deposit their eggs in the bodies of larvie that are not at all ex- posed to the outer vision, but are secreted within solid timbers, or inclosed in tough en- velopes or sacks ; and for that purpose they are provided with long ovipositors— in some instances three or four inches in length, and they can reach a l|j,rva that is just so many inches from the surface of the timber, and they also know where the host is located. We verily believe that if it were not for parasites the vegetable kingdom would ultimately dis- appear from the earth : and doubtless when destructive species disappear, and are not seen again for a number of years, the cause has been parasitic infestation. Of course, when the host is extinguished in a locality the parasite will also disappear in that locality. The following cases will illustrate the potency of these insects, so far as they go : 162 THE LANCASTER FARMER [November, The Sack-Worm. ( Ths/ridopteryx ephemarre/ormis.) The "Sack-worm," alias "Bag-worm," "Basket-worm," "Drop-worm," and other local names, has been numerous and destruc- tive the past season, and especially so iu some of the Southern States, and 7nost especially so, about Atalanta, in Georgia; at least, a special wail came up from that locality, both by pub- lic and by private communication, as may be perceived on page 132 ^September No.) of the present volume of the Farmer. The first specimen of this insect that came under our observation (to the best of our re- collection) we found on a locust tree, about 1844 in York county, opposite Marietta. Nothing come of it ; for, it either died in its sack, or had issued from it, before it came into our possession. About a year thereafter, a short paragraph cut out of a Philadelphia paper, was given us, the purport of which was that Mr. Peal, of Philadelphia, had found two of these sacks pending from a branch of a tree on the banks of the Wissaliickon, in the year 1813 or 1814 ; from the brief description of which we concluded they were the same as the one we found in York county. We did not see or hear tell of anotlier specimen, until we removed to Lancaster city in 1848, where we met them in great abundance during the years 1849, 18.50 and 18.51, when we com- menced a series of observations on them, and traced them through all their transformations, from the ova to the imago. These observa- tions we committed to paper, but the manu- script remained in our possession until the summer of 1854, when, at the request of the publislier of the Pennsylvania Farm Journal, they were published in that paper under tlie provisional name of Oiketicus pensylvaniciis. About the same period an article by Dr. Har- ris, on the same insect, was published in, we think, the Rochester Horticulturist, Dr. H. naming it — from specimens sent to him — Oiketicus coniforum, because the specimens had been taken from a pine tree. It appears however that it had been previously described, and named as above. So much has been pub- lished in reference to this insect that it is hardly necessary to say anything, eitlier de- scription, or on the manner of destroying it. Its operations are so conspicuous, and it is so accessible withal, that if any one suffers by it, it must be purely their own fault. What our special purpose is on this occa- sion is to refer to the fact that this insect is preyed upon by several parasites, which, if proportioned to the number sent us, are suf- ficient to keep it in reasonable check. We placed four of the Southern specimens in a glass jar, and it was wonderful to see how deftly they could crawl up its sides, drawing their sacks after them, and mooring them at auy time or place in a moment, and retreat- ing witliin them. Seeing that they would not feed we set the jar aside, and did not examine it again until the 1st of October, when we found three empty brown pupa-skins and three Tachina flies, something larger than the domestic house-fly. On opening the sacks we found in one a male pupa, and in tlie other three the shriveled bodies of tire partially con- sumed larvft. Here were three out of the four destroyed by parasites. We are not prepared to say that three out of four 2)er see would be subject to parasitic infestation ; but, on the otlier hand, it might possibly be a greater per- centage. Now, the wonder is liow a parasite could approach this insect at all, much less succeed in depositing an egg in or on its body. From the period when the young larva is excluded until its evolution as a male moth (the female never leaving the follicle or sack) tliese larvse are enveloped in a tough silky sack, covered on the outside with shreds or dry leaves, and so well protected that we think no bird can dislodge theni— at least, we have seen chick- ens attempt it and abandon it with disgust. But it appears they are not inaccessible to parasites. As early as 18.59 or 60 we opened one of these sacks and found the inner cavity filled with white silky coccoons, numbering a half dozen or more. These, in tlie multiplicity of other more pressing occupations were set aside, and when subsequently examined the insects had escaped, if they had not already escaped before we discovered their coccoons. This is, perhaps, the Hymenopterous insect found under similar circumstances, and described by Prof. Riley as Hemileles thyridop- teryx, p. 1.50, First Report on the Noxious In- sects of Missouri. Mr. Glover, in his unpublished plates, figured Cryptus inquisitor, of Say, as parasitic on the sack-worm. Say describes several species of cryptus perhaps without knowing tlieir parasitic habits. The parasites described by Say and Riley, are however Hymenopterous insects ; but the one we refer to is Dipterous, and to illustrate that they could not have been introduced into the jar extraneously, one of the pupa shells was found within the unopened sack, the fly of which escaped no doubt through an elastic, or collapsed apercure, through which the young sack-worms escape, at the lower end of the sack. This fly is pretty large in proportion to its host; and therefore a sack- worm may only afford sustenance to one parasite. Very little more than the heads and two of the anterior segments of the sack- worm remained unconsumed. In a practical sense, tliat is as much as can be desired. Tlie destruction of one female sack-worm defeats the possibility of a subsequent brood of two or three hundred. The benefits of these parasites are, therefore, very evident because nothing but these, and hand-picking can reach them. Tlie application of a liquid or a powder would be of little avail. These sacks hang upon the trees all winter, and no matter how cold and wet, and freezing it is, inside of the sack it is "dry as powder," and the eggs, or embryotic sack-worms, are be- yond the evil influences of " wind and weather." Our limited entomological litera- ture yields no instance of tachinic infestation (or we have overlooked it) so far as it relates to the sack-worm, and from a peculiar cliarac- teristic of these flies — tlieir rapid or swift flight — they would seem to possess the neces- sary activity to enable them to oviposit in, or on the body of a sack-worm ; for in endeavor- ing to discover liow they managed to draw themselves perpendicularly over the side of a glass jar, only the sounds caused by our breathing would cause them instantly to draw in their bodies, and collapse the upper end of the sack. Under such circumstances, as we have before intimated, the sack would not drop to the bottom of the jar, but would re- main fixed until the worm would project its body again. The secret is, they spin a very fine, strong, elastic and adhesive silk cord, which is constantly in communication with the mouth-parts, and this seems to immedi- ately adhere to any substance which the in- sect touches — indeed, in traveling over a ver- ticle glass surface, the head seems to be more employed than the feet. This insect then, which has heretofore been regarded, to some extent, as proof against parasitic infestation, is as likely to become, tachinized at least, as any other insect. According to observations made by Harris, Walsh, Riley, Kirk and others, there are some fifteen or sixteen species of Tachnib^e that are parasitic on Army-worms, Canker- worms, Cotton-worms, Maple-worms, Leaf- crumplers, the larvse of Attacics cecropia. A. polyphemus, Dryocampa rubicunda, and the Colorado potato beetle. Namely, seven of Tachina, six of Exorista, and one or more of Lydella ; and we think that two more may be added, namely, those of the Thyridopteryx and the Empretia. Of these genra Curtis has catalogued twelve species of Exorista, eight of Lydella, and four of Tachina ; and many other allied genera and species. Whether the two individuals to which we refer in this paper are new species, or whether they are among those that have already been described, is a matter left to future determi- nation ; not being essential to the economic discussion of the question. Our object is merely to illutrate that insect paracitism ex- ists more widely than is usually suspected, that it is becoming yearly more manifest, and that it exercises a greater influence over the development of the insect world than the ordinary observer ever dreams of. Suppose that the Bag-worm and the Saddle-back were to become as numerous and wide-spread as the Bocky Mountain Locust and the Western Chinch-bug ; what, except hand-picking, could more effectually exterminate them than para- sitic infestation ? True, the Saddle-back moves so very slowly that it might easily be destroyed by poisonous compounds, but no- body would care to remove it with the naked hand, seeing that they might suffer more than they would by handling poison. Here then the ubiquitous parasite comes in most appro- priately as the friend of the human family, for the preservation of tlie plant world effects the interests of the consumer as well as the producer. Saddle-Back Moth. (Eniprelttt stimuhi.) We never knew the larva of this insect to be more abundant than it has been the pres- ent season (August and September, 1884) ; nor did we ever before meet with so many people who had seen it for the first time, and who were more completely ignorant of its previous existence. "Certainly something new " was reiterated by every one who brought us specimens. Neither did it ever before be- come so manifest to us what a destructive scourge this insect might become, if it ever ap- proximated in number, tlie "Army-worm," " Canker-worm," Cabbage- worm " or "Colo- rado Potato Beetle." Apple, pear, quince, plum, lilac, rose, elm, linden, corn, plantain. THE LANCASTER FARMER. 163 cabbage, and various species of grass, were vegetable substances upon which it was found feeding, and upon some of tliem so numerous that it had entirely defoliated the parts of the trees, shrubs and plants it infested. Usually this larva has been brougnt to us in single and isolated numbers, but during the season Just closed it was frequently brought to us in tens. Indeed, very early in the spring (1S84) Mr. H. Zahm gathered, on one occasion, between twenty-five and thirty of their coccoons, found about the base of a hop vine, which he de- stroyed, supposing them to be an enemy of the hop vine, although he had not noticed any larvae on the hop vines the previous season. He brought us two of these coccoons in the beginning of the month of April, (he not knowing what they were,) and on opening them they revealed the larva of Empretia stimula, living and almost as fresh in colora- tion as it usually is found before it spins itself up. The anterior and posterior fleshy ht/rns were backward and forward compressed upon the back, and partially divested of their spiney barbs. On seeing the larva in its full state of development, it is difficult to under- stand how it can manage to compress itself within such a small, symetrical, spherical coccoon. Intimately related to the possibility of this insect ever becoming a serious infesta- tion, is the redeeming/oct, that it is itself the subject of parasitic infestation, and perhaps this may be the cause of this irregular and in- frequent presence. We confined seven of these larvic in a glass jar with a wide mouth and a wire-net cover. Only one of them seemed to relish the food we gave them (pear leaves) and that one soon spun itself up in a nicely shaped cocoon. The other six ate sparingly, and finally abandoned the food entirely, affixing themselves to the sides of the jar, never removing from the spot first selected, although on various occa- sions we introduced fresh leaves. Supposing them, of course, to be dead, on the first of September we essayed to remove them. Al- though they adhered to the glass by the whole ventral surface, yet we found their bodies shrunken and empty, aad the anterior and posterior spiney horns almost meeting on the centre of back. Beneath them respec- tively on the bottom of the jar, we found six specimens of a brown (evidently Dipterous) pupa, 15 millcmetres in length, and from four to five in diameter ; tapering from the middle towards the ends, but more abruptly towards the one end than the other; but no fly has yet (October 15) evolved, and probably they all have died of drouth. These larvaj were very probably "tachinized" before we received them, and the evolution of the parasites de- feated by their unfriendly surroundmgs. Not suspecting their presence, we did not happen to see the larvse of the parasites, but suppose they approximate those of Tachinct. We are, at least, practically impressed with the fact< that Empretia sti7nula is infested by a parasite that totally destroys it. According to our observations this insect is gradually, but slowly increasing in numbers every season. Forty years ago we only found an occasional specimen or two, during the en- tire summer season—indeed, we have no dis- tinct recollection of ever having found a speci- men at all until we made Lancaster city our residence in 184S. Lamicodes scapha, an allied species, we occasionally found at Marietta, Pa., but we have never found it in Lancaster. The family to which these insects belong (CoNCHir.opoi)iDmonella), whence the Uirvte penetrated into all parts of the apple, working small cylindrical burrows about one- sixteenth of an inch in diameter." W. C. Fish has also sent me, from Sandwich, Mass., specimens of another kind of apple worm, which he writes me has been very common this year in Barnstable county. " It attacks mostly the earlier varieties, seeming to have a particular fondness for the old fashioned summer, or High-top Sweet. The larvfe enter the apple usually where it has been bored by the Apple- worm (Carpocapsa), not uncom- monly through the crescent-like puncture of the curculio, and sometimes through the calyx, when it has not been troubled by other insects. Many of them arrive at maturity in August, and the fly soon appears, and succes- sive generations of the maggots follow until cold weather. I have frequently found the pupse in the bottom of barrels in a collar in the winter, and the flies appear in the spring. 163 THE LANCASTER FARMER. [November, In the early apples, the larvse work about in every direction. If there are several in an apple, thej make it unfit for use. Apples that appear perfectly sound when taken from the tree, will sometimes, if kept, be all alive with them in a few weeks." Baron Osten Sacken informs me that it is a Dropsophila, " the species of which live in putrescent vege- table matter, especially fruits." The allied fly is the parent of the cheese maggot. The fly itself, Piaphila casei, is black, with metallic green reflection, and the legs are dark and paler at the knee-joints, the middle and hind pair of tarsi being dark honey yellow. The Wine-fly is also a Piophila, and lives the life of a perpetual toper in old wine caks, and partially emptied beer, cider, and wine bottles, where, with its puparium, it may be found floating dead in its favorite beverage. We now come to the more degraded forms of i»iptera which live parasitically on various animals. We figure, from a specimen in the Museum of the Peabody Academy, the Bird- tick, Ornithoniyia, which lives upon the Great Horned Owl. Its body is much flattened, adapted for its life under the feathers, where it gorges itself with the blood of its host. In the wingless Sheep-tick Melophagus mi- nus, the body is wingless and very hairy, and the proboscis is very long. The young are developed within the body of the parent, until they attain the pupa state, when she de- posits the puparium, which is nearly half as large as her abdomen. Other genera are para- sitic on bats, among them are the singular spider-like Bat-tick, Nycterihia, which have small bodies and enormous legs, and are either blind, or provided with four simple eyes. They are of small size, being only a line or two in length. Such degraded forms of Diptera are the connecting links between the true six-footed insects and the order of Arach- nids (spiders, mites, ticks, &c.) The Flea is also a wingless fly, and is pro- bably, as has been suggested by an eminent entomologist, as Baron Osten Sacken informs us, a degraded genus of the family to which Mycetobia belongs. Its transformations are very unlike those of the fly-ticks, and agree closely with the early stages of Mycetophila, one of the Tipulid family. One of the most serious insect torments of the tropics of America is the Sarcopsylla pene- trans, called by the natives the Jigger, Chigoe, Bicho, Chique, or Pique. Tlie female, during the dry season, bores into the feet of the na- tives, the operation requiring but a quarter of an hour, usually penetrating under the nails, and lives there until her body becomes distended with eggs, the hind-body swelling out to the size of a pea ; her presence often causes distressing sores. The Chigoe lays about sixty eggs, depositing them in a sort of sac on each side of the external opening of the oviduct. The young develop and feed upon the swollen body of the parent flea until they mature, when they leave the body of their host and escape to the ground. The best preventive is cleanliness and the constant wearing of shoes or slippers when in the house, and of boots when out of doors. — American Naiamlul. RASPBERRY CULTURE. Raspberries are attracting more attention at this particular time than ever before. Raspberries have always been appreciated more or less on account of filling in the place nicely between strawberries and blackberries. It is a fruit much admired by many, though never so popular as the strawberry. Up to within a few years there were but few varie- ties. The Red Antwerp, American, or com- mon Black Cap, and Brinkle's Orange, were popular as far back as I can recollect. As much improvement has been made in late years in the raspberry as in any other fruit. We are now not confined to three or four va- rieties, but varieties of distinguished merit can be counted by the dozens. I have grown the raspberry for market now twenty-six years, but never to the same extent as at present. I now plant largely of them because I find their culture profitable. Any of you can do as well if you have suitable soil, varie- ties, and understand the proper mode of cul- ture. To grow raspberries successfully, you must select good soil, well underdrained ; let it be clay loam or sandy soil, but prefer upland clay loam. I have known them to do admir- ably in almost any soil, provided it is rich and not wet. Plow as j'ou would for any other crop, the deeper the better if your soil admits of it. Harrow well ; plow out furrows six or seven feet apart, and plant in said rows three feet apart— a partial shade I find to advan- tage. My patches that do best are in an old orchard. Black raspberries are usually planted shal- low, an inch or two deep. If it is your inten- tion to tie up your canes that is deep enough, but if you wish them self-supporting you must plant them so that by after culture they will be at least three to four inches deep, other- wise they will not be self-supporting. By so planting and pinching back, as hereafter de- scribed, I never have trouble about my canes blowing, or falling down by the weight of fruit. The first year's growth I pinched back when eight to ten inches long. The second year and every year thereafter, I pinched back the tips of the growing shoots when from twenty inches to two feet high. They then cease to grow in height, but throw out laterals in all directions, balancing and sup- porting the main stem effectually. The fol- lowing spring, early in the season, I cut back all laterals with hand pruning shears, leaving them from one foot to two feet long, accord- ing to the number and strength of canes in the hill. This operation is quickly done and inexpensive. After pruning, I gather and carry out and burn all the debristbetween the rows. I then cultivate, first with a double shovel or barshear plow, then in time with a cultivator, as often as it is necessary to keep them clean, free from grass and weeds, up to August, after which I let them rest. It is not a good plan to cultivate too late in the season; you thereby cause them to grow too late to mature the wood sutticiently to withstand the cold of the winter. I plow and cultivate them three or four inches deep. You need have no fear of injuring the roots by so cultivating. I plant the same distance as black three by six feet. This takes 2,420 plants to the acre. I do not cut back the canes of red varieties (as 1 do the black) until the following spring, except strong growing varieties like the Turner, Shaffer's Colossal and others of like character. These I cut back during the sea- son of growth, when about three feet high ; otherwise they may grow to seven or eight feet, as I have seen them grow, necessitating the cutting away of too much wood in the spring. Treat suckers between the rows as you would weeds, unless you want plants; cut them out when young and tender. Sprouts, or suckers, are a great annoyance in growing red raspberries. If taken in time, they need scarce no care. Red raspberries, to do their best, must be kept in hills, same as black. This can be done by cutting away with a sharp hoe all sprouts, when young, between the hills in the rows, allowing from four to eight canes to the hill. Many growers allow them to grow all along the rows, ^though not too thick. There is a diflerence of opinion among raspberry growers as to the best way to cut away the old or bearing canes. I have tried both methods, namely, leaving the old canes all winter and cutting them in spring, or cut- ting them as soon as I find time after fruiting, carrying out and burning them. I am satis- fled by adopting the latter method, I destroy many noxious insects, worms in various stages of life, that would live over winter were I to practice the other system. It is argued that the leaf of the old cane has much to do in the growth of the canes that are to bear fruit the following season. I take no stock in that opinion. If your plants are in good condition there will be leaf enough on the young canes to mature them without the assistance of the leaf of the old canes, that have already performed their functions by maturing the crop of berries jugt gathered. Then, again, the old canes are certainly not ornamental. Having ar eye for the beautiful as well as the useful, I get rid of them as soon as I can after the fruit has been gath- ered. For a long time I advocated and prac- ticed the tying up of canes, first to stakes, then to an iron wire stretching along the rows fastened to posts every 25 to 30 feet. Either of the systems I found expensive, and slow work. It did well enough when I had but an acre or two, and did not know any better. But when I had many acres I found that it was not the thing to do, especially so when I learned that stakes and wire were of no use, I might say entirely unnecessary. I cannot help but sympathize with those who are so far behind the times as to follow that system now. By adopting the pinching back process, at the proper time, I save the ex- pense of stakes, or posts and wire, and the time necessary to tie the canes to them, and raise as many bushels of as nice berries per acre. EXPERIMENTAL PEAR ORCHARD. I herewith give the record of an experimen- tal pear orchard in which over fifty of the most popular and highly recommended varieties were planted says : "My father started this orchard about thirty years ago, and there have been occasional additions made down to the present time. The character of the soil is a fine rich sandy loam. Most of these varieties are still advertised and recommended in nursery catalogues. I give tha result of THE LANCASTER FARMER. experience with tliem in Eastern Bucks coun- ty, thirty miles nortli of Philadelphia, for the benefit of the readers. The varieties which possess superior merit and have been very profitable, can be counted on the fingers, I would name Beune Giftard, BufEum, Bartlett, Sheldon and Rutter, as being the most profitable. And as the second five. Early Catherine, Doyenne D'Ete, Abbott, Seckle, Natural or Choke. I have always found a good market for fruit near home, in Trenton, N. J., and sell whatever grows on the trees : large and small, good, fair and indifterent. Where fruit can be disposed of in this way, without much ex- pense for the freight, commission, etc., almost any kind of fruit trees (if not totally barren) will be profitable ; that is, they will more than pay for the land which they occupy, but the pears which are really valuable for the majority of the planters are very few. The first and most essential requisite for a tree to be valuable, is productiveness ; second size and appearance of fruit ; third, time of ripening ; very early and very late fruit bring- ing the highest price ; fourth, quality of fruit. Fine looking fruit will command a fair price, even in a glutted market, regardless of its quality, when small or unattractive stock al- though of the finest flavor, will go begging for a market or not. Nearly every variety named in this list has been affected, more or less, with blight at some period. Those which have suffered least from it are Beurre Giffard, Buflom, Shel- don, Rutter, Chinese Sand and natural fruit. Those which have suffered most are Beurre D'Anjou, Lawrence and Vicar of "Wakefield. The only remedy that I know for blight is to remove the injured branch and burn it ; keep the tree growing vigorously and let it re- pair the loss. If a tree dies plant another, but don't grub out an old pear root while there is life in it. It will send up a sucker that will soon commence bearing or form an excellent stock for grafting. Pear trees seldom need trimming after they get to bearing, except cutting out dead wood, if there is any. Beurre Giffard and Manning's Elizabeth, two of the best pears and some others, are feeble growers while young, requir- ing several years to come into bearing ; but are vigorous and soon become productive if worked into the top of a thrifty large tree. I believe the best condition for a pear or- chard is to keep the land in sod and never plow it, but not allow the grass to grow with- in two or three feet of the trunks of the trees : keep the circle mulched with manure, leaves or stones. Manure the land liberally once in three or four years. Allow hogs to root in the orchard and devour all the defective fruit. Seckle pears especially are large, fairer, and higher colored when grown in sod than in cul- tivated land.— i^arwi Journal. GRAPE CULTURE. The best vines are those grown from cut- tings having two eyes, in which a single system of roots radiate from the lower eye like the spokes of a wheel, and the vine grows out of the top bud. One-year old vines are to be preferred in all cases, if first-class, even if two years old, root pruned and transplanted vines should be offered at the same price. In planting vines, the single tier of roots should be set as low in the ground as may be and keep the upi)er node, from which the vine has started, out of the ground, so that new roots will not grow from it. Unless this precaution i.s taken, a new upper tier of roots, thus encouraged to grow, will, after a time, usurp and displace the others, and the action of frost in claj'ey soil will gradually, and sometimes in a single winter, throw the vine out of ground and expose these upper roots in an injurious way, and this condition re- mains permanent. The best time of the year is that which occurs first, always promising that the soil should be mellow and friable, and if in autumn, a shovelful of loam should be used so as to completely bury the two or three buds only that are left upon the vine above the surface. The earlier in autumn or spring that the work is done, the better, pro- viding the conditions are as stated. The distance at which vines should be set will depend somewhat upon the strength of the soil and the mode of training adopted. If in all "respects as above advised, the best distance is believed to be primarily, in rows eight feet apart with the vines six feet apart in the rows which perfectly run north and south. It will be a matter of great conven- ience to have the row.s consist of but twenty- five vines, thus occupying 144 feet in length ; then by omitting one vine, a space of twelve feet will be left for access between two vine- yards. If circumstances favor, or rather if they seem to require, as the vines get age and strength, each alternate vine, including the two end ones in each row, may be removed, thus leaving twelve vines in each that will stand eight by twelve feet apart. Almost any hoed crop may be grown in the vineyard for one or two years if an equivalent amount of fertilization be given, but after this time grape vines only. Many and various are the implements that have been tried for cultivation and discarded. The plow is here inadmissible. Cultivation should be shallow, perhaps two inches is ample, and this should be done in a way that will not disturb the larger roots, the great body of which lie from three to six inches deep. The last summer's experience has proved the one-horse " Acme " harrow to be exactly the thing. It is is an im- plement that disturbs the soil from oue to five inches deep, at the will of the driver, or in hard grouud the rider, and never cuts off the larger roots even if lying at the surface. Cul- tivation should begin each year as soon as the ground will pulverize in the spring and be re- newed after every packing rain, or in the absence of rain, before a crop of weeds has time to show the third leaf. — Farm Journal. SETTING OUT FRUIT IN THE FALL. One of the principal advantages in setting out fruit in the foil is that there is more leis- ure and the work can be done better without interfering too much with other work. iSpring work is always pressing, and it is often diffi- cult to get the soil in a suitable condition and find time to properly set out the trees. You cannot expect the best results with fruit of any kind unless you are willing to take con- siderable pains to properly take care of it. After having selected the soil or plot it should be well plowed in the fall ; plow deep and well ; if the soil is rich no manure is necessary, but if it is not it will be economy to make it .so from the start by giving a good application of well rotted stable manure, and work thoroughly into the soil. I am aware that the old custom was to dig a hole for the tree and put the manure in this, but experi- ence has shown that the feeding roots soon get beyond this and fail to receive as much benefit as they should. Surface manure well worked into the soil furnishes the food in the best condition for the largest number of feed- ing roots to reach and be benefited by it. Make out some time ahead a list of what you want; get good varieties, and do not let a mistaken notion of economy induce you to select poor varieties simply because they cost a few cents less on the tree. Good trees of good varieties cannot be raised for nothing and it always pays to give a little more and get the best. Secure a selection that will give you fruit all the year around. This can be done if you are careful in selecting your varieties of fruit. There are so many claimants for the best, and such close competition among dealers, that it would hardly be proper in a newspaper arti- cle to give a list of what we might consider the best; then again, what we might consider th': best in this section and in one kind of soil, would not pass as among the best in an- other section on a different soil. Hence in securing a variety it is best to have some knowledge of what has done the best .in your immediate neighborhood, if possible. Do not set your trees too thick — thirty feet each way is plenty clo.«e for apples, and six- teen by twenty for peaches, cherries, crabs, apricots and quinces. It does not pay to crowd too closely. In setting out take some pains to have the trees in as straight a line as possible. The best device to aid in doing this work is the easiest way is to have a board six inches wide, oue inch thick and four feet long. Cut a notch in the center, and equal distance from this in each end bore a good sized hole ; have two pins that will fit these holes, easily reach into the ground deep enough to hold it steady. Mark off the places where the trees are too stand, put the notch exactly where the tree is to stand, fasten with one pin and turn the plank around out of the way, dig the hole the proper depth and put in the tree, bring back the plank and fasten in the original holes, put the tree in the notch and you will make no mistake or get the tree out of line. In setting out the trees do not set too deep. There is as much danger of smothering a tree by setting too deep as of injuring the roots by setting too shallow. My plan is to set in as deep as the tree stood in the nursery. If the roots are in any way dry wet them thorough- ly before setting out; take pains to spread out the roots as evenly as possible. In filling up the hole see that the space between the roots is well filled with soil ; have the soil ratlier hollowing about the stem so as to re- tain moisture. Later on, before severe cold weather comes on, mulch well around the roots. I have also found that it pays, when setting out trees in the fall, to wrap well with old rags or tarred paper too keep off the rab- bits and mice; they seem to especially like the bark of the young, newly-set trees, and by I7C THE LANCASTER FARMER [November, doing this work ahead much vexation may be saved. Cut back the tops of the trees well before setting out. To many this looks like considerable work, but if it is it will prove profitable work, far more so than to perform the work carelessly and leave the trees and your work, besides a year's loss in obtaining a supply of fruit; all things considered, it pays to take pains to do the work well at the start.—/. JV. Shepard in City and Country. A QUERIST IN A FRUIT GARDEN. How can I best fill out vacancies in rasp- berry and strawberry rows caused by plants dying from the effects of drouth ? With strawberries peraiit the plants that survive to make new plants, and take up the new plants with a mass of earth about the roots in September, and plant where vacan- cies occur. Or, better, train the runners into quart baskets or small pots, and transplant from these when well rooted. With black raspberries, layer the youngjcanes as soon as long enough, and transplant these young plants next spring where vacancies occur, after the tips of the young plants have grown an inch or two, leaving earth about the roots. With red raspberries fill vacancies now with gn:een sucker plants that have sprung up about old plants about your place. Do not order green plants as they will not often endure shipment. Remove the leaves on planting. Is it necessary to remove blossoms from newly set strawberries ? If set early, and the weather continues moist, the plants may come through in good condition, bearing fruit the first season. But if a drouth occurs after planting, the plants might perish from the drain upon their vitality in attempting to produce fruit before becom- ing established. I have known plantations to be saved in such cases by removing every blossom and green berry. What is the best plan for carrying plants through a drouth V I never water them. As ordinarily done, watering is detrimental. 1 mulch each plant with muck or sawdust, or in the field with loose fine earth. Even where the soil in the row has become hard this mulch of fine earth often saves the plants through a long drouth, if the spaces between the rows are cultivated frequently. When is the best time to head black rasp- berries and blackberries ? If you wish to grow without stakes (the ap- proved method) pinch off the tips of the young canes as soon as they get about two feet high. If you wait until the canes are four or five feet high and then cut off a foot or more, you check growth and lose some of the best buds. I cut back the bearing canes of red raspber- ries, and shortening in side branches early in the spring, securing more and better fruit than if the entire canes were left on and giving better opportunity for the pickers to move about without ')rcaking off the ripe berries. Is summer pruning of tlie grape advisable ? Grape growers thin grapes by pulling off surplus buds and shoots and shortening-in canes, allowing but three or four bunches to each cane, when the trellis is well covered. If left to itself the grapevine sets twice as many clusters as it can bring to perfection. If a large part of the clusters are removed early those remaining will be much larger, will ripen earlier and be of better quality and the vitality of the vine be perpetuated. How long is it profitable to allow straw- berries, raspberries, etc., to grow on the same soil without renewing ? Some varieties run out much sooner than others. Ordinarily three years with straw- berries, five with blackberries and currants is the extent, though many are profitable mucli longer, and strawberries might continue an existence for a lifetime. The better the cul- ture, and the richer 'and better drained the soil, the longer the plant endures. Where land is very high-priced strawberries are only allowed to remain long enough to produce one crop. Where land is cheaper there is no limit to the ingenuity that may be applied to keeping the beds renewed and productive year after year, keeping in view the fact that the young plants possess the most vigor. Are large fruits as profitable as small fruits' As a rule they are not. Our small fruits seldom fail to give a crop, while the pears, apples, peaches and plums often hav^e their barren years. But the trees require less at- tention than plants and vines, and we do not feel the loss of a crop so seriously from them. While engaged in the business one should de- sire to grow the large fruits as well as the small. Does fancy fruit growing pay ? No. If growing fruit as a business you must learn'the cheapest method of producing it. It pays to fertilize well, to give good cul- ture, to offer in attractive style in market, and to raise the best varieties, but there is a limit to high culture, and to everything con- nected with the business. Every man must be his own judge as to when he has reached this limit. Some men can grow fruit at half the cost of others. Some men can manufac- ture shoes for less than others. Good com- mon sense carries a man a long way toward success in this country.— CTiar/es A. Oreen in N. Y. Tribune. GOOD OCTOBER CROPS. The department of agriculture at Washing- ton, reports that the October returns of corn average higher for condition than in the past five years, but not so high as in any of the remarkable corn years from 1875 to 1879 in- clusive. The general average is 93, which is very nearly an average of any series of ten years, and indicates about twenty-six bushels per acre on a breadth approximating 70,000,- 000 acres. The region between the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountain slopes again presents the highests figures, which in every state rise a little above the normal standard of full condition. No state east of the Mississippi returns condition as high as lUO. The lowest figures are 73 in West Virginia ; Ohio, 74 ; Louisiana, 74 ; Texas, 80 ; South Carolina, 83. The reduction was caused by drought. Thera is complaint of drought in the Ohio Valley and in the Atlantic and Gulf states. but not sufficiently severe to reduce seriously the yield. The early planted is everywhere matured. Late plantings in the Southern states have sufi"e»ed for want of summer rains, and will be light and not well filled. Very little injury has been done by frosts. There was frost in Vermont on the 25th of August, and in several border states about the middle of September, with slight injury to late corn. Damage by chinch bugs and other insects has been slight. The wheat crop will exceed that of last year by about 100,000,000 bushels. Thrashing is slow and late, with results thus far confirm- ing tlie indications of former reports. The yield per acre will average about I35 bushels. The quality of the present wheat crop is gen- erally very good, especially in the Eastern and Middle States, in the western slope of the Alleghenies, Michigan, Wisconsin and Min- nesota. Some depreciation in quality is noted in Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Kan- sas. Tlie average for the entire breadth is 96. The indicated yield of rye is about 12 bush- els per acre. The quality is superior. The yield of oats is a little above average, yielding about 27 bushels per acre and mak- ing a crop approximating .570,000,000 bushels of good quality. The barley crop make a yield of nearly 23 bushels per acre and a product exceeding 50,000,000 bushels of average quality. The condition of buckwheat averages 87, indicating a crop slightly under an average. The condition of the potato crop is repre- sented by 88, which is five points lower than in October of last year. It is two points lower than in 1879 and 1882, and the same as in 1880. The October returns of cotton indicate a reduction of nearly 8 points in the average condition from 82.5 to 74.7, as the result of a continued drought in arresting development and destroying vitality of the plants. The prospect of a top crop is reduced to a mini- mum. Drought has been general and its effect manifest in ever State. Of ten succes- sive crops only two have averaged lower con- dition in October. These were 1881 and 1883, when the averages were 66 and 68 respective- ly. The average was 68 in the great crop year of 1S82. The State averages are as follows : Virginia, 81 ; North Carolina, 79 ; South Carolina, 80 ; Georgia, 79 ; Florida, 84 ; Ala- bama, 74 ; Mississippi, 76 ; Louisiana, 77 ; Texas, 62 ; Arkansas, 76, and Tennessee, 85. The returns of local estimates of yield per acre in fractions of bales indicate an average rate of yield of 36-100 of bale per acre. BUILDING FARM HOUSES. First.— The site must be chosen where the cellar will be perfectly dry or can be made so by easy and thorough drainage; where the house can be sheltered from the northwest winds and be open to the east and south, and where the surfiice water will flow away in all directions, leaving the foundations quite free. Second. —The water supply must be ample and perfectly pure, and be brought so close to the house as to be easily reached. Third. — The necessary outbuildings should be located conveniently for access, but with perfect safety as regards drainage, that the water supply shall not be contaminated. Fourth.— The kitchen should be the piv- otal point of the establishment, around whicli the rest of the house may be grouped with regard to convenience and comfort. It should be large, well lighted, face the east, have a high ceiling and be provided with a I range, water-back with boiler, a sink provided 1 884. J THE LANCASTER FARMER. 171 with a drain, and a pump from tiie well, or by means of a two-way pipe this pump should be connected with the well and the cistern both. It should have a laro;c closet and a store room large enough to hold a full supply of groceries for at least half a year. Fifth.— The cellar should not be more than five feet below the ground and be fully three feet above it, having plenty of windows to let in light and air when necessary. There should be no wood about the cellar; the doors should be cemented and the walls and piers made of brick. Sixth.— The main living room should be on the south side of the house and have large bay-windows, through which the blessed sun may come in and bring life and health and happiness all the day. Never mind if the carpets fade or the furniture covers are bleached white; the mother's cheeks will have the roses and the children will be brown and hearty. Seventh. — There should be a hall through the house, running from west to east, so that w^.th both doors open a stream of pure, fresh air, laden with the sweet scent of the roses, may pour through the house. The parlor may be on the west and north, and here the good, careful housewife may cherish her bright carpet and her unstained furniture, fearless of the sun's rays, excepting those golden ones which come low, slanting in from the west. A broad veranda may run from the west front around the north corner, providing a cool retreat for summer evenings. The hall should be wide, giving room for broad stairs ; and these could have an easy slope, with low broad treads and landings be- tween the floors, so that the old folks may go up and down with ease and comfort to the now stiffened limbs and wearied muscles. The living room should have an open fire-place, and no account should be made of the dust of it as compared with its cheer and comfort. Space forbids more than a word or two as to the upper rooms, but if we can fully ajjpreci- ate and understand these hints, so far as given, it will not be difficult to arrange these success- fully ; but one must never forget that abun- dant fresh air is iudispensible to healthfulf rest, and sleeping rooms should have high ceilings and, if possible, every one of them an open fire-place and large windows. SENDING PLANTS BY MAIL. So much progress has been made by nur- serymen and florists that now it is compara-- tively an easy matter to send plants any reasonable distance by mail with perfect safety. Of course, such plants require care- ful packing ; not only must they be kept moist, but they must be packed so as to insure them against damage in handling while in the mail. Mail pouches do not always receive the kind- est treatment in the world, and unless pack- ages are well packed serious damage will result. Testing as I do a large number of varieties, I receive a large number of pack- ages through the mail, and uniformly have received them in good condition. The first essential in having good plants live is to keep the roots damp and uninjured. For this pur- pose moss is used ; over this was generally placed two or three layers of oiled paper, and then over this stout wrapping paper, each wrapper being well tied on, and in this way packages came through long distances without injuiy. I had occasion to send to Chambers burg. Pa., for a collection of roses ; they came as nice and fresh as though they were just out of the ground. They were packed first in damp moss, then a layer of oiled paper ; the package in this condition was put in a stout pasteboard tube and then wrapped with wrapping-paper, on which was the address. These must have been three or fo\ir days on the road, giving them every advantage of close coimection, and yet were in first-class condition, the leaves fresh and green. They were set out and grew right along. Many are deterred from purchasing plants from the fear of their not being able to come long dis- tances through the mail without injury, but my experience is that with the present plan and knowledge of doing the work of packing this risk is reduced to a minimum. At any rate, so fixr as my experience is concerned, I have always had good success with such plants if proper care were given them after they were received.— .iV. J. Shepherd, in Ger- mantown Telegraph. Our Local organizations. LANCASTER COUNTY AGRICULTU- RAL AND HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. In conseqneooe of the absence of a quorum no formal meeting was held on the first Monday in the month. Its near approach to .the Presidential elec- tion may have been the cause. Perhaps it mi^ht be wise to place such contingencies under the holiday provision hereafter. FULTON FARMERS' CLUB, The Fulton Farmers' Club held its October meet- ing at the residence of Grace A. King, of Fulton township, its members all present except E. H. Haines. There were also several visitors present by invitation. Joel King exhibited Golden Russian and Key's Pniliflc wheat, and a sample of corn ; C. C. Caulf- man, three varieties of apples for name, also Catawba and Clinton grapes, and a variety for name ; Mar- shall Nesbit, Smith's cider and Blockley Pippin apples; Mellissa Gregg, Hubardston's Non Such and Fallowater apples ; Phcebe A. King, a mitten curi- ously knit by herself and looking as if it would be very comfortable on a cold day. L. S. Gregg asked if it was a good plan to roll the ground after it had been seeded for wheat. Marshall Nesbit did not think it was. Day Wood said rolling was of no advantage if the ground was not very dry. Montilliou Brown thought injurious if a haid rain should happen about the time. He liked to have the ground level for the machine, but for wheat it was of no advantage. He rolled his wheat last spring, which he preferred to rollinir in the fall. C. C. Cauflman would rather roll before the drill. He thought that clover seed took better if the ground was left unrolled. .Joseph K. Blackburn had some experience. He once hurried to get his wheat rolled before a rain came up, and when the rain came it proved to be a very heavy one, the ground baked after it and the wheat did not come up well. William King asked if we could afford to raise Golden Russian and Foltz wheat, when they would not bring so much as red wheat by five cents per bushel. Day Wood : It takes a very good red wheat to grade No. 1. Foltz will grade with most red wheat, and besides it will yield enough to make up the dif- ference in price. M. Nesbit thought he had better sow red wheat. LIndloy King preferred Foltz; It made a better ylel.l. Montillion Brown raised red wheat to eat and Foltz to sell. Montillion Brown : What is to be done with the English sparrow ? Marshall Nesbit would kill them. Lindley King considered them a nuisance, but did not know how anything could be done to abate It. S. L. Gregg thought we had better cage them and send them back . Montillion Brown thought that after other birds had left for the winter they might be poisoned. Elmira Wood asked whether it was better to sell pork when butchered or salt It and sell the cured meat. S. L. Gregg : It is better to sell before salting. It requires a great deal of care and labor salt it proper- ly—besides the offal, which is diflieult to dispose of to advantage. Afternoon Session. The minutes of the last meeting held at the place were read and criticisms on the larm management were called for. S. L. Gregg thought that things about the place were looking quite as well or rather better than common. Montillion Brown had noticed some very fine ho^, and other things are looking well. C. C. Cauffman spoke of a very substantial new fence along the road. Literary Exercises. Grace A. King read an article entitled " Warning Mothers." li. D. King read " Forgive and Forget." Adjourned to meet at Joseph R. Blackburn's, on November 8. LINN/EAN SOCIETY. The Linnajan Society met in their museum rooms on Saturday, October L'.")th, 188-t, at 'J'i o'clock in the afternoon. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved, roll called, and dues col- lected. The President, Hon. J. P. Wickersham, oc- cupied the chair. The donations to the Museum were examined and found to consist of the following : A botMe of different species, or young and adult hair worms, donated by Mr. David Gibson, corner of North Duke and James streets, found in a stream among water cress. A bottle of white silicioussand, from Minneapolis, Minn., donated by Mr. C. A. Heinitsh ; used by the Flint Glass Company, of that place. A box of specimens of the hornet ( Vespa maculala) from Maryland, donated by J. M. Westhaeffer. The donations to the Library were as follows : Lancaster Fakmek for October, 1884. Bulletin of Linnspan Society, September, 1884 ; Circular of Information, Bureau of Education, Nos. 4 and 5, 1884 ; 11 Scientific Bulletins, Annual Report for 1^84, and Register of the University of California, located at Berkeley, Col.; Book Worm for October, 1884; Catalogue of Second-Hand Books, United States ; Patent Ollice Gazelle, Vol. 28, No. 14, and Index to Vol. 28; Vol. 29, Nos. 1, .5; Index of Patentees and Inventors for quarter ending June 30, 1884 : Report to Minister of Instruction, France, on the Ashburnham Manuscripts ; Report on the Llbrl Collection, and Observations of American News- papers on the two collections from Harrison Wright, Secretary Wyoming Historical and Geological Socie- ty ; a number of prospectuses, etc. Dr.S. S. Kathvon read the following additional notes on deposits at last meeting : " As an appendix to the remarks on the specimen of Polyp/torus Lo- halus, I would further state that on the 5th and 6th of September five specimens of Diaperit Hydni — a species of Jfeleromeroutt Coteoplera — were evolved from it ; the eggs or larv:c of which must have been in it when it was found on the l.'Jtli of July. It may also be worth while to state that these beetles only come forth from their burrows at night, being care- fully hidden during the day. A peculiar character- 172 THE LANCASTER FARMER. [November, Istic of these beetles is— like the DOtorious eurculio— when they are disturbed, they immediately draw in their antennae and feet close to the body and drop down, lying as if they were dead, and you might pick up and dispose of half a dozen or more before any of them would attempt to move. When the fungus arrived in Lancaster, on the 17th of July, I found that a species of Lycom or Dolomedes (a spider), had possession of it, and he remained there until about the 15th of September, having moulted at least twice and increased a hundred per cent, in size. The semi-putrid odor of the fungus was a special attraction to the flies, and the spider fairly gorged himself with them. He spun no web, but merely occupied a favorable spot on the disk of the fungus and captured the (lies in rapid succession, they eeeraiug to have no consciousness of his pres- ence, but feplessly approached him, indeed running over his feet while he was in the act of devouring his victims." S. M. Sener read a few notes on the small red seeds with the black eye, often seen in shell work, etc., and stated that they are the seeds of a plant called Orrnosia Coccinea, which is a native of New Guinea. The seeds in question are very pretty, and they are used by the natives of Guinea as beads and are strung together in necklaces, bracelets, etc. The name of the family of plants is derived from " Orms," a necklace. Also on the hard, brown shelled fruit, of which our Chinese residents in Lancaster are very fond, and which they receive from China, which is the fruit of the Nephelium Litchee, and they are called Lychee nuts by the Chinese. The eatable portion of the nut consists of a kernel somewhat like a raisin In appearance and tastes like Muscatel grapes. Papers were read on the " f arasites of Insects ;" "Sack Worm," and "Saddle Back Moth," which were ordered to be printed in the Farmer and SuUetin. J. K. Shirk, M. D., and J. M. Yeagley, M. D., were elected associate members. A vote of thanks was given to the donors to the Museum and Library. The members of the Teachers' Institute were invited to visit the Museum between the hours of 1 and 2 P. M., each day of the session, if they desire to. Mr. Walter P. King will be in attendance and show them around. Billsjof ?1.50 for BuHetin, and 50 cents for postage were ordered to be paid. A number of let- ters were received and the Secretary authorized to acknowledge such ones as needed answering ; also to have Bulletin of October meeting printed. The Society then adjourned to meet on Saturday, November 29th, 1884, at 2).i o'clock P. M., in the \ ante-room. AGRICULTURE. planted his corn, count, off in separated parcels as many rows as he devotes to a row of shocks ; they may be counted off In fives or sevens as may be pre- ferred in harvesting the crop. Drive stakes or set other marks so that each set of rows may be kept separate in cultivating. One set of these strips is to be kept constantly mellow by passing the horse cul- tivator every five days; the others by cultivating or hoeing just often enough to keep the crop tolerably free of weeds. He may, if he chooses, devote one or two spaces to trying the effect of " hilling " the corn as compared with flat culture. A record should be kept of each. When the time arrives for cutting up the corn and placing it into shocks, all that is requisite is to ob- serve from the record the stakes, the different strips and portions so as to keep them distinctly and sepa- rate. When these rows of shocks are separately husked each rowjis carefully weighed or accurately measured, and the amount noted on the record. Here there will be a lesson, or a piece of practical information, right before the eyes, telling him how much he has gained by the continued mellow culti- vation, and how much he has lost by omitting it, and what is the comparative value of hilling. He may also estimate the greater time required for the fre- quent cultivation, as compared with the neglected treatment, and see how much net profit he has gained in the Increased crop. From the results which we have occasionally witnessed in frequent tillage, we have no doubt many farmers ".would be surprised at, the rate of increase. An hour or two of extra time given in keeping these accounts with a single field would probably give the owner a knowledge of facts worth hundreds of dollars to him in the long run. It is Important that there be no half-way work in the experiment, and that the cultivation of the corn be continued from the time of the first harrowing before the young plants have made their appearance, till they have grown tall enough to overtop the back of the horse employed in the cultivation. — Rural Era. Experiments in Corn Culture. Like many other subjects, there may be always something said about experimental corn culture. The following article clipped from an exchange con- tains many valuable suggestions, and will no doubt be read with interest and profit. Field experiments are often performed by active farmers to determine the best modes for cultivating crops, but unfortunately they nearly always omit other modes side by side to,deterinineiby comparison or contrast the compaiative advantages of the best. A farmen thinks he has found an improved way, for Instance, in the cultivation and management of his corn crop, and he applies the new treatment to the whole field, instead of trying both modes side by side, and measuring the product of each. We often meet with cultivators who are satisfied that repeated horse-cultivation of their corn crops increases the product, as compared with only one or two thorough dressing; Out to what extent this increase has been made, is mere conjecture. Some have placed it by guess as high as twenty bushels or more to the acre, and under the most favorable circumstances this amount Is not probably an over estimate. But dis- tinct and accurate facts are wanted, and fortunately hey are easily obtained. Let any farmer who has Nuggets from New Jersey. The last report of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station says : "We are wasting great quantities of cattle food, such as straw, corn-stalks, etc., which could be profitably used, and we have in our markets waste products, such as cotton-seed meal, malt screenings, etc., sold at a low price, which are really worth more than many of the farm products which can be sold at a high price." Rations can be made up from these coarse farm products, and the rich waste products, which will be palatable and nutritious, and which will cost far less than those made from good hay and grain. As a forage crop, sorghum possesses some advan- tages, lis weight is equal to that of Indian corn, and when cut and crushed for green fodder it is eaten with great avidity. It stands dry weather bet- ter than most other crops. The seed is a valuable part of the crop — in quality it is equal to Indian corn; and the yield on our experiment plots this year was thirty-two bushels per acre. Ensilage is a wholesome and nutritious food Milk from the dairy, and produced from cows fed daily upon ensilage, has been uniformly satisfactory in quality to the numerous customers who have taken it. Green fodder corn, dried in shocks, was preserved quite as well as that which was packed in a silo. Dried fodder corn, properly cut and crushed, was eaten by cows with as little waste as ensilage. In three cases out of four the yield of milk was not increased when ensilage was substituted for dried^fodder corn. Eighteen per cent, of dry matter was lost in the process of preserving green fodder corn. The loss fell entirely upon the class of carb- hydrates. The loss was the same, both when the corn was packed in the silo and also when it was dried in shocks. When the rations contain the same weights of di- gestible food, ensilage, in the majority of cases, has no more influence on the milk yield than dried fod- der corn. A good milk ration can be made by mixing young rye with sufficient nitrogenous food. The claim that rye at a certain stage in its growth becomes unfit for soiling is doubtless correct. Cut while tender and stored as ensilage, rye can be preserved for more than a year and then be sub- stituted for green rye, pound for pound, without noticeably decreasing the yield of mxXk.— Weekly Press. Pruchasing Commercial Fertilizers. There are four requirements involved in the eco- nomical purchases of commercial fertilizers. Farm- erg should, first, buy what is needed ; second, buy in large quantities and'of responsible dealers ; in other words, co-operate ; third, buy concentrated material that Is really available to plants. I will suppose that in the county grange there are fifty farmers who wish to use an average of two tons of commercial fertilzer each year, or one hundred tons in all. This being the case, let the business agent of the grange contract with some responsible large dealer in fertilizers for five carloads of fertil- izer, to consist of the following materials : Eighty- five (85) tons of dissolved South Carolina rock, guaranteed to contain not less than 12 per cent, of available phosphoric acid ; five (5) tons of muriate of potash, containing 50 per cent, of potash ; and ten (10) tons of nitrate of soda, containing 15 per cent. of nitrogen. These materials will be shipped In bags, each bag containing two hundred (200) pounds. Each farmer would then take seventeen (17) bags of dissolved South Carolina rock, one (1) bag of muri- ate of potash and two (2) bags of nitrate of soda, at a cost of $26 per ton. The materials I have mentioned are undoubtedly the cheapest sources of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash in efficient forms that this year's market affords. When these materials are mixed together in the proportions I have indicated, a fertilizer is produced that contains 11 per cent, of available phosphoric acid, 2.5 per cent, of potash and 1.5 per cent. of nitrogen, and it is certainly very rarely the case that a mixed fertilizer comes into the market that offers for §36 an equal amount of equally valu- able plant food. Bought in small lots mixed fertil- izers containing no greater quantity of valuable in- gredients cost about $35 per ton. It may be objected by some that it is a great deal of trouble to mix a' fertilizer. By turning the fertilizer out on a clean barn floor two men with shovels will thoroughly mix a large quantity in a ha.\t da.y .^Philadelphia Press. H0RT:CL -TLlRE. Hints on Berry Culture. In cultivating berries we expose them to the sun, thus depriving them of the protection with which nature favors them. Nature associated the wild strawberry with the grass and other low vegetation or means of shade, the bush berries with large growth sufficient straggling to form a partial shade the con- dition of existence, both dense shade and full ex- posure to the hot sun being avoided. I have known of good success with raspberries in orchards where the ground was kept well enriched, and also on steep land facing the North, but never on a Southern ex- posure lying bare to the sun all day. The heat and drouth of our seasons shrink and dry the berries and check growth and ultimately cause the disappear- ance of the plant. This is true, not only of the raspberry, but the strawberry, blackberry, and, as it now seems the gooseberry also. All are affected by mildew of some kind, as we see in the rust spots of the strawberry and the red dust of the raspberry and blackberry. There are doubtless other conditions that favor mildew, such as wet, undrained clay soil and ill-treatment. With partial shade relieving the plapt, especially during the middle or after part of the day, -when the heat is greatest, and with the proper soil and treat- ment, thus securing a free growth and healthy con- THE LANCASTER FARMER. 173 dltlon of the plant, there will be little mildew to annoy, and the continuation of the plant in vigor and health during the natural term. Is assured. I have known the blackberry to extend its roots downward over six feet in sandy soil, the stalk a (Treat growth where the surface of the soli was too poor to grow grass or other small plants. It was the great extent of feeding space for the roots and the moisture in the depth that here favored. The soli in the clearings of the North Woods is an example of this, being nearly all sand with very little fertility, and yet the blackberry, as well as the raspberry, thrives there to a remarkable extent, requiring only to be left sloue. With a little manure, perfection may be reached in these clearings, with their second growth of timber, which affords a partial shade for the berries. The cultivation is next to nothing; the ground is easily kept clean, and may be worked im- mediately after a rain, always being loose as an ash heap. But as most of the country is largely com- posed of clay, a considerable outlay of labor is re. quired. Draining and deep working of the soil — plowing, sub-soiling and fining it — are the require- ments here, in connection with the partial relief from the sun, for putting berry culture on a safe basis, securing the finest fruit and largest returns even with the strawberry, and, no Joubt, the goose- berry Si}&o.— Cotttttry Gentleman. Shaffer's Colossal. The editor of the Rural Home recently visited some of the farms in Western New York, belonging to the Wayne County Evaporated Fruit Company, and says as follows : Mr. Van Dusen has taken a great fancy to the Shaffer raspberry, and is planting them as fast as he can make plants. As we saw it bearing on the Lyons farm we are not surprised at his enthusiasm in his favor. It was bearins an in: mense crop. The Shaffer was, evidently, a chance hybrid of the red and black found on the farm of a Mr. Shaffer, of Wheatland (we think), Monroe county. Was intro- duced by Charles A. Green, of Clifton, in the same county. When we first saw it on Mr. Green's grounds, about four years since, we said that it was the largest raspberry we ever saw, but thought its color— a dark purple — would prove an obstacle to its ready sale in market. But that objection has been avoided by not offering it for sale in its fresh state, but by canning or evaporating. Mr. Van Dusftn evaporated his crop last year, and disposed of the dried fruit at 50 cents per pound, 20 cents more than he received for black caps dried. He was offered, this year, 10 cents a quart for his Shaffer's for can- ning. So it would appear that no difficulty need be feared in disposing of the fruit. It loses consider- able more in drying than Ohio or juciest blackcap. We believe that it will yield as much or more than any other variety, and as it is perfectly hardy and a wonderful grower, it will readily be seen that it has strong claims. We have seen no other red raspberry which equals it for canning purposes. Flowers Grown from Seed. I am often asked what hardy flowers I like best, both annual and biennial, that are sown in garden beds with a view to usefulness, to be picked for their fragrance, either as corsage bouquets, or to makeup for table or hand, and not exactly for show, as many flower beds are kept. To be sure there are "the roses, and lilies, and violets sweet," the elegant bon- vardias and fragrant heliotrope, but these are to be grown from slips, and many people like to raise plants from seed to fill their little flower pots, and to wear. Petunias, though fragrant, cannot be made up well, and many other flowers have the same fault. If I am to be restricted to six of such as live one and the same number that survive for two years I would choose mignonette, sweet peas and ten weeks stocks for fragrance, with Phlox Drummondi, verbena and asters for variety and richness of color- ing. The biennials that are hardy lo live over the winter of their lives and give best satisfaction are pansy, carnation, columbine, forget-me-not, polyan- thus and daisy. The small seeds are best sown in the house in shallow boxes early In spring. They must be placed where they will not be likely either to dry or to damp off: and transplanted into other boxes as they grow. The sweet peas and mig- nonettes are best sown out of doors as early as the season permits, and just now there Is nothing more in favor for corsage bouquets, the blended fragrance being very rich, and the mignonette toning down the rather gay coloring of the peas. To select any six from the formidable array in the catalogues is quite an undertaking, but the old, tried friends surpass many of the newer lavorites, and from early summer until frost conies, sharp and decisive, the pansy, phlox and verbena will remain In their beauty to brighten the garden, when others are frost-blighted. — Annie L. Jack. Frost on Strawberries. All berries set and all blossoms open were killed on all varieties. Wilson's Albany about one-halfout in blossom; many killed which were not open. Crescent Seedling, about one-fourth out ; not many killed not out; plenty of blossoms left for a crop. Very promising. Kentucky and Captain Jack, not many out, but few hurt not out. Daniel Boone, Man- chester and James Vick, just beginning to open ; not hurt to any extent. These appear to be safest against late spring frosts of any of the varieties thus far tested. It is safest to plant such varieties as Crescent Seedling, Daniel Boone, Manchester, James Vick and Captain Jack ; for large plantations they will give the best satisfaction of the many varieties we have tested. — Canadian Agricultural. The Father of the Concord. Mr. Bull did not weary in well-doing. Year after year he planted grape seeds, and from the seedling he obtained many rare and excellent varieties of grapes, narrowing down the selections from 22,000 until there remained twenty-one, which he recom- mended for cultivation. TheHon. Marshal! P. Wilder, Patriarch of Pomolo- gy, in a recent letter to me, says that Mr. Bull " Is and ever has been a most worthy, unpretending gen- tleman. Far a long course of years he has devoted his energies and skill to the production of new grapes, by which he secured the famous Concord Grape some thirty years ago, since which no other modern variety has been so extensively cultivated in our northern climes, or so appreciated by the pub- lic. Had Mr. Bull done nothing else for the benefit of mankind his name would be held in grateful re- membrance while the fruit of the vine shall cool the parched tongue or its juice make glad the heart of man." — Rural Nem Yorker. Russian Mulberry. This valuable fruit, timber and ornamental tree was brought to this country from Russia, latitude forty-nine degrees, by the Mennonlles, and is, as near as I CB,n learn, a cross between the Morus Nigra, or Black Mulberry of Persia, and the Morus Tartarca, a native Russian variety. The tree is a very rapid grower, and grows to be Very large, often reaching the height of fifty feet and from eight to five feet in diameter, and is perfectly hardy, standing heat and cold, dry and wet weather alike. The timber is hard and durable, and is used in the manu- facture of cabinet ware, and proves as lasting for fence-posts as oak or red cedar. It comnnences to bear when three years old, is a prolific bearer, the fruit being about the size of a Kittatinny Black- berry ; ninety-five per cent, of the berries are jet black, the balance a reddish white. They have a fine aromatic fiavor and sub-acid sweet taste, and are used for eating out of hand or table use. Its fruit is ripening for six weeks or more, and during that period your cherries, blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries will never be molested by birds, as they prefer mulberry to any other fruit. The leaves are mostly lobed or cut, and are valuable food for silk worms. The bark is grayish white, branches drooping. The Mennonites use It as an ornamental hedge plant, and It makes a beautiful hedge, and stands shearing as well as the Osage, and will make a hedge so dense that a rabbit can scarcely get through. In Nebraska young trees have been ex- posed to summer's heat and winter's cold In every possible form In order to test their hardiness In the bleak climate of this state, standing the test well and making a larger growth than the Cottonwood. The scarcity of fuel In this state Is like to make the people plant largely of the mnXbdTry .— Exchange. The Le Conte Pear. It is getting to be very common of late years to hear complaints from all sections of the country of blight In pears, and from the numerous remedies pre- scribed, and the number of failures reported. It li likely to continue, as heretofore, a great drawback to the best of fruits. In fact, it appears extremely doubtful whether there be any certain remedy for the relief of the pear-grower while the old varieties are planted. The Le Conte pear, so far, has been free from blight, and is fast taking the place of the Bart- lett, which it very much resembles, both In shape and flavor. The Le Contre is a very thrifty grower, often making a growth of six or eight feet the first year — not from the seed, however, as this pearl* grown only from cuttings. This variety begins bear- ing at from two to three years, and at five they will have attained a size sufficient to yield a nice lot of fine luscious fruit. They are easily grown from cut- tings or limbs taken from the trees In pruning. The limbs are cut about ten inches long and set In loose soil, leaving about two Inches above ground, and you can count on one-half or more of them growing; often ninety per cent, will take root. This pear is comparatively a new variety, and tree peddlers have sold them at exorbitant prices, often making the purchaser pay from $1.00 to $1.50 per tree, when they ought not to cost more than half the amount at which they are sold. As they can be bought, now, at about fifty cents each of the nurserymen, every one owning even a small piece of land ought to secure a dozen or two trees, and after a second year the cut- tings from them will supply all the trees that are needed on an ordinary farm. The fruit bears ship- ping much better than ordinary apples, and so far has found ready sale In the large cities at from three to five dollars per bushel. Try some of the trees; you will not regret it; or, at least, I never have re- gretted, even the price 1 gave. — S. L. Barker, in Oer- tnatUoii'n Telegraph. Planting a Nut Grove. Black walnuts, hickory nuts, chestnuts and butter nuts for planting should never be allowed to dry and the fresher they are from the tree the more cer- tain they arc to grow. If the ground can begot ready for planting In the autumn it Is well to put them in the rows in the vegetable garden, where they are to grow for the first two years. All of the four kinds mentioned should be planted in rows three and a half or four feet apart, and five or six or eight inches apart in the rows, and all about three inches in depth. If the ground cannot be got ready in autumn, place the nuts in a shallow lx>x of sand, and bury them In the garden where they may freeze during the winter. The bottom of the box must be loose enough so the water can run out. Whether planted in autumn or In spring In the garden they should be cultivated as soon as thg young trees make their appearance. They should be kept perfectly clean the first summer and also the second summer. Some of the nuts may not come up until the second spring. When they are two years old they are ready to transplant. It is best to wait until early In spring, however, to do thts work. The ground should be thoroughly plowed and leveled. A crop lA potatoes upon sod ground is a good prepara- tion. Select the largest, straightesi trees in the rows fur >uurown use. If any of the trees have grown puny and crooked from the first, throw them away. They will never overtake their more thrifty neigh- bors. 174 THE LANCASTER FARMER. [NoTember If the young trees are to be set in fence corners or upoii the roadside, they must be kept thoroughly mulched with coarse straw for at least five or six years. An ancual spading about the roots will also promote the growth wonderfully. If they are set in an orchard by themselves, they should be placed in rows thirty or forty feet apart each way, and kept cultivated until they begin to bear. The ground can be occupied by corn, potatoes or beans or squashes, keeping up the fertility by the use of barnyard manure. After the trees begin to bear, the ground may be seeded and pastured by sheep or calves. Sheep will keep the grass short, which will make it eesler to gather the nuts that have fallen to the ground. The trees will begin bearing in from six to eight years from the time they are transplanted, and will increase In height at the rate of one and a half to two feet each year, for the first twenty years at least. The walnut and chestnut will grow the most rapidly, the butternut next and the hickory slowest of all. They will need no pruning except to form the heads from four to six feet from the ground, and to cut out any limbs that may become crossed or broken. The above directions, with many additional details for which unfortunately we have no space, are from the pen of Professor Satterlee, and appear in the current report of the Michigan Horticultural Society. The paper concludes as follows : " I know of no more enjoyable thing about a far- mer's house than a small orchard of nut-hearing trees. An acre or two devoted to this purpose will do as much to keep the boys and girls at home while young, and to make the memory of the old home blessed in after life, as anything that I could name. Do not say " it takes too long to get the trees in bearing." I have young trees growing that are the grandchildren of those that came from the nuts that I planted only twenty years ago. I was 16 years old then and am not a very old man yet. I feel as keen enjoyment in raking over the golden leaves and searching for the rich, brown nuts as any of my younger friends, and I hope to experience the same enjoyment, and appreciate it, too, for many years to come. Watering Newly Set Trees. That newly planted trees in certain unfavor- able seasons and certain conditions of the soil do oc- casionally require watering will not be denied. But the ca.<;es are so rare that they are scarcely to he taken into account. A tree properly planted, with the soil in the right condition, immediately goes to replace roots which had been severed in removal. The earth grows warmer every day, and the young rootlets feel the influence of this heat, and new fibers Immediately break from them, as may be seen by ex- amlnation twenty-four hours after planting. The soil has probably a temperature of 60° or 05°, and perhaps more, but just as all is going well enough, along comes the planter with a pot of cold water, which bedashes around the tree, chilling the earth, and, indeed, often killing the young fibers. Trees can stand a great deal, or twice as many would never survive. The tree leaves out with the great heat of the sun upon the soil, and again the fibers begin to put out ; once more comes the shower-bath, often a third time, and if the tree does not die it is in spite of the planter. It is rare that a tree planted very early needs any water ; certainly only in a very dry soil, and it should then be given at the time of planting. But later in the season, when the sun's rays are more powerful and evaporating more rapid, possibly one or at most, two waterings are all any tree needs. If the planter has nothing to do, and wishes to show his affection for his trees, he can safely take his syringe, or even a fine rose water pot, and moisten the whole top of the trees, which will do far more good than to drown the roots. — Canadian Fanner. Manuring Fruit Trees. It is singular how long some fallacies retain their hold, even after they have been disproved by facts, ' and of these, one of the most mischievous is the be" lief that fruit trees and bushes are liable to injury rather than benefit from the application of manure. All sorts of disease, such as canker and other ail- ments to which fruit trees are liable, are set down as the result of applying manure to the roots ; whereas> in nine cases out often, it arises from poverty of the soil, causing the roots to run down into the bad sub- soil. I am continually hearing complaints from owners of fruit trees as to their unsatisfactory con- dition, and on examination have invariably found scarcely any fibres of any kind, nothing but long, thong-like roots, that run right down to the subsoil. On inquiry I have usually found that manuring or top-dressing had not been practiced for many years, their owners having come to the conclusion that such practices were dangerous. I do not say that manure will prove to be a cure for fruit-tree ailments of all kinds, but I will briefly detail a few facts that have come under my observa- tion at various times, to prove that starvation of the roots is a far more prolific source of injury than abundant feeding of the surface roots, both with solid and liquid manures, and growers must form their own conclusions as to the best course to pursue. The fruitful or unfruitful state of orchard trees in nine cases out of ten is entirely dependent on the at- tention which they receive as regards manuring. In fruit growing parts of Kent, where large orch- ards of standard trees planted on grass land is the rule, it is a well-established fact that if the grass is cut for hay and carried away, the trees soon become unfruitful and die out ; while, on the contrary, if the grass is fed off, so that the nutriment is returned to the roots in the shape of manure, the trees keep truit- ful and healthy. I have seen some of the most moss-grown, miserable specimens of starved orchard trees restored to fruitful condition by making the ground beneath them the winter quarters for sheep and pigs, feeding them at the same time as if they were in the farmyard with roots and corn. The finest old specimens of apple and pear trees are generally those in an orchard next to the homej stead that is used as a run for calves, sheep, pigs and poultry the whole year around. In these orch- ards the turf is short, and being full of nutriment the trees keep healthy and prfolific for an indefinite period. Ashes, garden refuse, or any kind of road scrapings, or even scavengers' rubbish may be util- ized for increasing our supply of orchard fruits. They should be spread roughly on the surface in winter, and in spring harrowed and rolled down firmly. The result will soon he a marked improve- ment in the size and quality of the crop. Difference of opinion prevails as to the pruning or non-pruning of trees, some adopting one system and some another; but, be that as it may, I never knew fruit trees con- tinue to yield good crops for any length of lime un- less the roots were supplied with manure in some form ov othar.— London Garden. trees. An orchard, properly treated, may be made profitable if the fruit is sold, dried or "evaporated," or converted into cider or vinegar. There is no bet. ter time to prepare for an orchard than during the fall months of October and November, whether the planting is to be done this fall or next spring. The most important work of preparation is drainage. Trees are planted upon soil that is too wet, with the intention of laying the 'drains afterward. It is much better to drain before planting.— «lied them with raw material, have telegraphed them, oflerlng anything they may have that could be used in the construction of their implements, at low prices and long credits. Their Insurance is about $250,000, distributed among 61 flrst-elass companies in this Country and Europe, and the adjusters are now there and at work aiid expect to finish the whole thing soon. Tfie Company has commenced building one shop 22.5 feet by 40 feet, 2 stories high, and SCO feet of shedding, to be used for work shop and paint room, and they expect to be ready after August 1st to fill any orders in their line of goods. SedpickSteelWireFence ABOUT PHOSPHATES. Tlierc are so iiiaiiy ailiclcs offered that farmer.s hardly know what to l>uy. But no one can make a mis- take buying an Animal Bone Super- Phosphate for $25 per ton of 2,000 pounds, delivered on board car or ])oat at Pliiladelj)hia. TWENTY FIVE DOLLAR PKGSPHATE CHEAPEST AND BEST For circulars giving Jinalysis and further information, call on or ad- dress BAUGH tt SONS, Solo Mauufac'tiircrs, 20 S. Delaware Ave., Philadelphia. II PRIZE. filroDg Net- Work Wlthoat Bftrbl. fence or Btocb. It nythin^ else in this ^ 9 absolutely .sure. A .VK & CO., Aiigustn, i.pig", s-tinn. It !• Superior to Boardi or Barbed Wlro in ecery respect. We ask tor it n fair trial, knowing it will wear iHalf The S«dBwieh «iite», made of V 1 pipe and steel "^my''^' all competition-ID neatneu. r Self-Opening Ol toU. also I Wire Wtrelvlier and Posil Aueer- tarp Ku»Hell*M excellent Wind Knirines for pumitinlf n'at«r, or geared engines for crindinj OS.'raV'«."Kle'uilloird; lnd> DEDERICK'S HAY PRESSES. fTREE-S Fruit, Shade and Ornamental Trees. Plaut Ti-eeR laise.liii this county and suited to this climate. Write for prices to LOUIS C. LYTE. Bird-in-Hand P. O., Lancaster co., Pa. Nurstry nt Smoketown, nix miles east of LimcaRter. SPRir^^'lD ENGINES THRESHER c? -^ 8PR8NCFBELD, O. __ ' ' ^ -<- loBuea -ia.. -TT. ■ , --TJUftJ .1,/' jJl-il f MilTH. "Tilinr_ . a)Mi^miai>mmwi\MHMi\miai\m\aj\Mi\Mj^aj\u\Mi\a2\u\ai\aj\Mi\MJmjaBvmn A BEAUTIFUL LAWN Cftn b« qnloUy obUlned by towing | HENDERSON'S CENTRAL PARK" LAWN GRASS SEED, S''"* i ! I identical with \ aw.18 ol New 1 60,000 pack- I season, tine quart of j , 15x20 Ieet=300 square g bushels are required. rice, 26 centA feet, or for a iDstructions for sowing sent free with every order. _ _ _ per quart. (If by mall, add 10 centa quart for postage.) If by freight or expn $1.50 per peck. f"). no per bushel. CatalogneE '"---"- ^ ■*'-—-'--* on appUc4lioiL | IPETER HENDERSON & CO.. ^.^.^^.^.^.^ ^ A HOME ORGAN FOR FARMERS. TIIELliraillFffli, A MONTHLY JOURNAL, Devoted to Agriculture, Horticulture, Do- mestic Economy and Miscellany. Founded Under the Auspices of the Lancas ter County Agricultural and Horti- cultural Society. EDITED BY DR. S. S. RATHVON. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION : ONEDOLLpPERANNUI^, POSTAGE PREPAID BY THE PRdPillETOR. All subscriptions will commence with the January number, unless otherwise ordered. Dr. S. 8. Rathvon, who hae bo ably manaRed the editorial department In the past, will continue in the position of editor. Hie coutributione on subjects connected with the science of furming, and particularly that specialty of which he is so thorouhly a master — eutomoloeical science — some knowledge of which has become a ueces8ity to the success- ful farmer, are alone worth much more than the price o thifi publication. He Is determined to make *'The Farmer' a necessity to all households. A county that has eo wide a reputation as Lancaster county for its agricultural products should certainly be able to support an agricultural paper of Us owu, for the exchange of the opinions of farmers Interested In this mat* oter. We ask the co-oporatlon of all farmers interested in this matter. Work among your friends. The "Farmer" I only one dollar per year. Show them your copy. Try and induce them to subscribe. It is not much for each sub- scriber to do but it will greatly asglst us. All communications in regard totho editorial management sbould be addressed to Dr. S. S. Rathvon, Lancaster, Pa , and all business letters ia regard to subscriptiouB and ad- vertising should be addressed to the publisher. Rates of advertiaing can be had on application at the JOHN A HIE:) f AND No. 9 North Quean St., Lancaiter, Pa. THE LANCASTER FARMER [November, Where To Buy Goods IN LANCASTER. BOOTS AND SH.')ES. MAICSIIAI.I, A- SOX. No. 12 CiMlIre Square, Lan- . Mslcv, Dfihi- ill Hoots, Shoes and Rubbers. Ee- nnirins Ijroiiiptly ;iIhTi-. Centre Hall, No. 12 East KinK St. Largest.Clotliing.House in Pennsylvania outside of I'hiladelpliia DRUGS AND MEDICINES. G. W. Hl'I.I.. Bealer in Pure Drugs and Medicines Cheniicals, Patent Medicines, Trusses, Shoulder s. Supporters, Ac, 1.^ West King St., Lanca.ster, Pa roIIN F. LOXG'S SONS, DrugBists, No. 12 North I Queen St. Drugs, Medicines, Perfumery, Spices, ^•e Stuffs, Etc. Prescriptions carefully comjjoinded. HATS AND CAPS. C." Prices 1 JEWELRY AND WATCHES. HZ. RHOAOS A- BKO., No. 4 West King St. • Watches, Clock and -Musical Boxes. Watches and Jewelry Mainifactured to order. PRINTING. JOHSi A. IIIKSTAKH. 9 North Queen St., Sale Bills, Circulars, }*osters. Cards, Invitations, Letter andBill HeadsandEnvelopesneatlyprinted. Prices Ipw. BOWMAN & MUSSER, Succesisoi-s to Wholesale Dealers in AT L,eWEST POSSIBLE PRICES, Fully guaranteed. No. 20 EAST CHESTNUT STREET, Opposite?. R. R. Depot. GREAT BARGAINS. CARPET HALL OF H. S. SHIRK, No. 202 jrest King SU Call and examine our stock and eatisfy yourself that we ean show the largest assortment of these Brussels, three plies and ingrain at all prices— at the lowest Philadelphia BatUfaction guaranteed bath as to price and quality. You are invited to call and see my goods. No trouble id tbowing them eTeu if you do not want to purchase. Don't forget thU notice. You cau save money here if you vant to buy. Pfcrtlcular attention giyen to customer work. Alio on hand a full aiiortment of Counterpanes O Cloth* nd Blanketi of eT«ry Tariety. GLOVES, SHIRTS, UNDERWEAR. t?d — - W SHIRTS MADE TO.ORDEE, .\ND V,AHI;.\.VTKD TO 1 IT. E. J. FRSSMAN, 17 West King at., Lancaster, Pa. Thirty-Six Vaiieties of Cabbage, 26 of Corn, 28 of Cu- cumber; 41 of Melon 33 of Pea>., 2S of Beans; 17 of Squash; 23 of Beet and 40 111 Tonnto w ith o.her ^arletles in proportion, a large pcid ii . ■■ w Iii. li \\ »_n thrown on my five seed farms w dl li i. n ■! m ln^ tpiiciable and Flower Neetl 4 Hi (l<>:.Solipn<1. Early Corn, the Hubbard Sqnash. Dlarblehcid Cabbage, cbinne.v'!* Melon, and a score of other New Vegeta- bles, I in\'ite the patronage of the public. New Vegeta- bles a specialty. JAMES J. H. CiREGORY, Marblehead, Mass. Nov-6mo] EVAPORATE YOUR FRUIT. ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUK FREE TO ALL. AMERICAN DRIER COMPANY, tf^bauihorsburs,'. Pa. C. R. KLINE, ^TTOF^NEY-AT-|:iAW, OFFICE : 15 NORTH DUKE STREET, LANCASTER, FA.. mmt PIANOFORTES. U.NEUUALLED IN Tone,Toncli,Worla]iansliiii and DiiraMity. WII.I.IAIII KNABE oftpiUU. U.Youaff.l7aar«MiwiohakN.Torl OFFICE No, 0 Nortli Queen Street, LANCASTER, PA. THE OLDEST AND BEST. THE WEEKLY LANCASTER EXAMINER One of the largest Weekly Papers the State. Published Every Weddnesay Morning, Is au old, well-established newspaper, and contains just t news desirable to make it au iuteresting and valuable Family Newspaper. The postage to subcrib outside of Lancaster county is paid by the publisher. Send for a specimen copy. T"wo Dollars per Annum. THE DAILY LANCASTER EXAMINER The Largest Daily Paper in the county. Published Daily Except S inday. The dally is' published every evening during the week. It is delivered in the City aud to surrounding Towns ac- cessible by railroad and daily stage lines, for 10 cento Mall Subscription, free of postage— Ooe month, ff» cents; one year, 83.00. JOHN A. HIESTAND. Proprietor, No. 9 NortU Queen St., LANCASTER. FA.. For Good and Cheap vv'^ork go to F. VOLLM£R'S FURNITURE WARE ROOMS No. 309 NORTH QUEEN ST.. (OppoBit* Northern Market), AlM, aU kind! of plotnr* framM. MT-ly The Lancaster Farmer. Dr. B. S. BATHVON, Editor. ■LANCASTER, PA., DECEMBER, 1884. Vol. vn. No. 12. Editorial. DECEMBER. " The last fell object of this scene That passed before my view, Was a scowling; aged man Dressed in ambi<;uous hue. Around his humped shoulders hung A shagfiy coat of wWte, Made I'rom the polar bear's rough skin, The emblem of stern might; His upraised right hand clutched an axe, His left a faggot gnarly. And from his belt a canteen hung Filled with the "juice of barley," Out from his glaring eye balls shot A glance I'll e're remember, And from his lips a shiv'ring blast That echo'd "Old December." This was the tenth motith when the year began in March with the vernal equinox ; but since January and February liave been placed before it the term has become quite incorrect, it now being the twelfth month, and also the last one of the year. The month of December is.perhapS, now the most remarkable month in the year, as con- taining the festival of Christmas-tide, the original period of which was transferred from the 6th of January to the 2.jth of December, by Julius I., in the fourth century of the Christian era. Tlie advent of this month heralds the death of the pending year, and the birth of a new one ; and also the appa- rent deatli of Northern vegetation, which, however, be(iueaths to posterity the germs of its future resurrection. "December, says Vekstegan, had his due appellation given him by our ancestors, in the name of Winter monath, that is, Winter month; but after the Saxons received Christi- anity they then, out of devotion to the birth- time of Christ, termed it heligh-mmath, that is, holij-month.'''' It would have been much better to have at- tached January and February to the end of the year, than to the beyinninij ; commencing the New Year when nature begins her annual renewal. Under any circumstances, the months of January and February are employ- ed mainly in preparation and transition. There is still some out-door work on the farm where the weather permits ; governed by locality, previous vigilance, and fore- handedness. The care of hot-beds, the pre- paration of composts, manure for hot-beds, transplanting trees, draining trenches, and many other matters may still be attended to. To those who pay any attention to market gardening, raddislies and salads may be sown in frames. Still, December with the provident farmer may be the opportunity for domestic enjoy- ment, provided he is not too fond of spending his leisure hours in the tavern and the town. He has passed through the hurried labors of seed time and harvest, and his crops have been marketed or are safely stored away for future use. If he wills it, now he may have time for reading, for reflection, and for social intercourse. Tlie farmer, unconsciously per- haps, occupies an exalted position in life's social and physical economies, for he minis- ters not only to his own and his families wants, but also to those of the community of which lie is a member; and not to these alone, but often to communities in remote parts of the earth. From the general isolation of the farmer, and his deprivation of social fellowsliip, more than many other occupations, he and his family are in a measure thrown back upon themselves for recreation and enjoyment. This, however, is not always a subject of re- gret, because under such conditions good books and flowers, and where practicable, music and innocent diversions, may afford a purer recreation, tlian much that obtains in social intercourse. Away back in the memory of our juvenile school days, we recall a signi- ficant "copy " set by the master, viz : ^^ Evil communications corriqit good manners ;^^ with- out knowing exactly what it meant. Since that period hundreds of thousands of fellow beings have sadly realized its meaning, and some of them have come from the farms too. " Better is a dinner of herls and love there- with, than the stalled ox and hatred there- with."' ANNUAL GREETINGS. It seems to be a common custom for repre- sentatives of periodical publications, to hold a "confab" with their readers and patrons, at the end of each year at least ; it may be oftener, but not less than once in twelve months, is considered as almost obligatory, and we have no desire to "shirk" the obli- gation. There are circumstances, no doubt, under which such a confab might constitute a most agreeable and reciprocal medium of intercommunication, and there are also cir- cumstances under which it might not. It is not for us to say what the relation between us and our readers and correspondents may be, for even if we had ever intentionally offended, that offence could not possibly have extended to one hundred thousand, especially if restricted to contributors and correspondents. But that is neither " here nor there, " what we desire to say just now is to the effect that this num- ber of the Farmer completes our sixteenth volume, and we beg leave to apologize for telling our readers a tiling that common sense dictates they certainly know, or ought to know themselves. By the sheerest economy the Lancaster Farmer has "pulled through " a somewhat precarious tenure of sixteen years; and, so far as the obligation or responsibility ought to rest upon the should- ers of the yeomanry of Lancaster county, there is no reason why it should not survive sixteen hundred years. If man ate " baker's bread " sixteen hundred years ago ( Vide Her- cidaneum and Pompeii j, and still eats it, it is more than probable that lie will continue to eat it until the end of time, if grain should be cultivated so long. Many things in this world have been ephemeral, but it has been demon- strated that the Farmer has not been among these, for it lias already lived 5,S40 days, and if those interested in domestic and agricultu- ral progress only put so much as one of their fingers to thfe wheel its existence can be pro- longed to twice that number, if not made perpetual. Many important events in the history of our country, and of mankind at large have transpired, since our last annual address to our patrons and readers, but none of those events seem more absorbing, or exercise a greater influence upon the social progress of tlie iiuman race than the advent of the base- hall and the roller-rink. These twin institutions can make or un- make even fashion, and demonstrate that the social fabric is not impelled and sustained by mind and brain, but by a lower combination of sound and muscle. It is true, that during the past year we have been successful in culti- vating some wheat,a little corn,a moiety of to- bacco, and a handful of fruit, but these tame and common-place products cannot be com- pared with the great moral progress of this enlightened age, as illustrated in the ma- nipulations of the ball and rink. Badinage aside, dear reader, we offer our gratulations to all, high or low, rich or poor, wise or otherwise ; but do we duly appreciate our status as progressive American citizens V Are we more anxious to aypear, than to 6e? Do we prefer to bow before the shrine of a shadow, rather than grasp the suhstance ? As a community, a nation, and a people, we are, and always have been signally blest, ajud at each annual cycle of Time's impetuous wheel, we probably think upon those bles- sings and feebly endeavor to impart them to others. But these may be only temporary impulses engendered for special occasions, whereas, they should always be "close denote- ments working from the lieart that passion cannot rule." Do not let the new fangled elements of social progress obliterate the tiiue-lionored Christmas-tide, the spirit ot which compreliends humanity. Before we "turn a new leaf," let us read the old one over again, else we may only grope again through another year. Let "peace on earth, good will toward man," always be the predominating senti- ment, then shall we practically know and feel the meaning of a happy Christmas-tide. "POLYSOLVE." And now comes a new remedy for the de- struction of noxious insects, called the '■'■Poly- solve Freparations" — the plural is used be- cause there are three preparations, numbered one, two and three, designated by red, blue and yreen labels. Each has its special use. One pound of the preparation diluted with from one gallon to a gallon and a half of water, applied to the trunks, roots or branches, is said to destroy the insects, their larvffi, or their eggs. The implements used to apply it are a whitewash brush, a steel brush, I7S THE LANCASTER FARMER [December, or a basswood Inrush. Tlie steel brush alone, perhaps, without any other preparation except a solution of soap would destroy plant-lice and bark-lice, if it were well rubbed on or in. This scrubbing with a stiff brusli of any kind, has certainly some merit, but it would in- volve an immense amount of labor, where a large orchard of apple trees is infested, or a forest, a willow or locust grove. We have before us a neatly executed 8 vo. pamphlet of 24 pages (including covers), and 19 wood cuts illustrating branches, insects and implements used in applying the remedy, according to which, this remedy has been "Adopted by the Department of Public Parks of the City of New York." Brustlin, Sury & Co., are " Sole Proprietors and Manu- factories," No. U Dey street, New York. People now-a-days have such a horror of monopolies, that the soU proprietorship of any- thing deters many people from making a trial of such wares for fear of extortion; but, if a thing really has merit, that fact ought to be no objection to its patronage; moreover, it is generally conceded that the discoverer or in- ventor of any device, is entitled to due com- pensation. If it is a good thing, there will soon be a demand for it, and if a demand, then depots for its sale will soon follow. Thirty of the most common, and most noxious insects are briefly described, and the time, place and manner of application of the remedy detailed. An index of the scientific and common names of the insects is given, and also a list of the common names of the trees they infest. To the question, " What is Polysolve?" the author of the pamphlet makes this reply ; "The name 'Polysolve' has been applied by the inventor to a new and powerful solvant AND DiLUTANT, suitable for a variety of sub- stances. When concentrated it forms a clear light yellow, oily, viscid neutral liquid. (Speci- fic gravity 1,02a.) It is soluble in alcohol, in all proportions, and is mixable with a small quantity, say one or two parts of water, with- out losing its oily character. With a large quantity of water it produces a clear or faintly opalescent, foamy solution, remarkable for its extreme affinity for water and penetrability. The chief property of ' Polysolve ' is this, that it may be combined with relatively large quantities of a great variety of substances, which are powerful agents on organic matter, but could not heretofore be introduced for general use, on account of being either in- sufficiently soluble, or in other regards not easy to handle. Specially in agriculture and horticulture many chemicals have been long ago known to have properties for destroying scales, larva; and in.sects of every description, but their use has been liindrcd by the form in which they were brought on the market. Such chemicals which could not be dissolved in water, at any rate, are now brought to everybody's use in a soluble state by being prepared in Polysolve. " That, and more to the same effect, is an answer to the question, "What is Polysolve ?" Should tlie reader in- sist that that relates more especially to what polysolve does than to what it is, we confess he is a little of our way of thinking. Perhaps anythiny is Polysolve that acts as a " solvent and dilutant, although the name implies many. Under any circumstances, the insect- ridden farmer, gardener or nurseryman, will care little what it is, provided it proves an unfailing antidote to insect depredations, and that fact can only be realized by making due trial of it. Perhaps the first step would be to send to the address above given for a coi)y of the pamphlet under review. OUR CORRESPONDENTS AND CON- TRIBUTORS. Before the end of the present year of grace, we desire to return our sincere thanks to our correspondents and contributors (perhaps it is fortunate for us that the number is so limited, or we might not have had sufficient of the virtue of thankfulness to serve them all,) for the literary assistance they rendered us during the year that is now rapidly fading away ; also for that which they could have rendered had they willed it, or had not forgot- ten it ; as well as that which they now may wish they had rendered. Ten quarto volumes (and six octavo) of the Lancaster Farmer are now in existence, many of which have been carefully pre- served and substantially bound, and will be transmitted to posterity as a epitome of the agricultural and horticultural history of Lan- caster county; and the generations existing a hundred years hence, may be astonished at the paucity of the number of those who placed themselves on record as contributors to the agricultural literature of the " grand ould county." It always does our heart good when we pick up an ancient local journal, and find therein a goodly number of contributors, to talk again with them— as it were— face to face; no matter how common-place the sub- ject, or how poor and humble they may have been. Perhaps when their productions were written they found no readers, no matter how true, how practical, and how common sense they may have been — indeed, some of the best writers the world ever i)roduced, never found a respectable audience, until after their mouldering bones had long mingled with the dust. With what an unerring prophecy it was announced nearly 1900 years ago, that " man hath honor, save in his own country and among his own kin." Notwithstanding all this, u-e desire to feel grateful for the help that has been rendered us, however small it may have been in the past — the future must take care of itself. MAMMALS OF LANCASTER COUNTY. In the " long, long ago," without a doubt, the deer, the bear, the panther and the wolf were local inhabitants of the territory now recognized as the county of Lancaster, but these have long since been driven before the march of civilization and improvement to regions far beyond its borders. Perhaps some sojourning octogenerian may still have a recol- lection of the presence of one or more of them, or of some "old settler," who may have been familiar with some of them in his early days. The class Mammalia had probably always a limited existence here, excepting the ground- hog, the opossum, and the squirrel, which even now only requires to be "let alone " to insure their rapid increase. Before the ad- vent of the white man the " Norway rat " was probably altogether unknown, but it now has become localized and may legitimately be regarded as a native. Of the smaller species of animals, belong- ing to other classes, and especially of the Insecta, there is a redundancy, and civiliza- tion and cultivation seem rather to increase their numbers than to diminish them. But whether this state of things existed when the dense primitive forests of Lancaster county were inhabited by the Redman and his animal contemporaries— the quadrupeds and birds- is a matter gravely to be doubted. The "Canada Lynx " or wild cat, has been shot in this county within the last twenty years, and it is barely possible that a very few indi- viduals may still be found in the woody regions. Forty years ago a stray panther was seen, or supposed to have been seen, within the county ; but it needed a further corrobo- ration to redeem the assumption from passing into a mere myth, and the corroboration was never secured. Civilization has, however, vastly increased the numbers of a few mam- mals, especially of those called rats and mice. Domestic mammals, such for instance as the horse, the ox kind, the sheep and the pig, are of course not included in this list, because it is too manifest that ihey have been introduced and moreover are only found in a domestic state. , ORDER CARNABIA. Family I — Cheiroptera. Vespertilio. Lin. noveboracensis. Idn. Red-Bat. pruinosa. Say. Hoary-Bat. carolinensis. Oeof. Brown-Bat. subulatus{?) Say. Sharp-nosed Bat. FAsnLY II— Insectivora. SoREX. Lin. brevicaudus. Say. Shrew. SCALOPS. Cuv. canadensis. Cuv. Mole. CONDYLURA. III. cristata. 111. Star-nose. Faotly III— Carnivora. Procyon. Str. lotor. Lin. Raccoon. Mustela. Lin. lutreola. Lin. Mink, vulgairs. Lin. Weasel, erminea.' Lin. Ermine, pennanti.'ft Ere. Marten. Mephitis. Cuv. araericana. Des. Skunk. Lutra. Br.i. brasiliensis. Ray. Otter. Canis. Lin. fulvus. Des. Red-Fox. cinereo-argentatus. Gml. Gray-Fox. Felis. Lin. canadensis.' Gtof. Wild-Cat. Family IV— Marsupialia. DiDELPHis. Lin. virginiana. Pen. Opossum. ORDER RODENTIA. Family I— Claviculata. Fiber. 111. zibethicus. Lin. Musk-Rat. SS4.J THE LANCASTER FARMER- 179 Arvicola. Lacp. xanthognatus. Leii. Meadow Mouse, liparius. Onl. Short-tailed Mouse. Mus. Lin. (k'cumanus. Pitl. Cominoa Kat. irtltus.' Lin. Black Rat. luusculus. Ldii. Com. Mouse, agrarius. Gml. Field Mouse. Gkkbillus. Uen. canadensis. Dis. Jumping Mouse. Akctomys. Gml. monax. Gml. Ground Hog. SciURUS. Gml. ciuereus. Lin. Cat Squirrel, caroilnensis. Glm. Gray Squirrel. . hudsonius. Frs. Red Squirrel. niger(?) Lin. Black Squirrel. Tamias. striatus. Kin. Ground Squirrel. Ptekomys. 111. volucella. Lin. Flying Squirrel. Family II— Inclaviculata. Lepus. Lin. aiuericanus.'' Lin. Common Hare. 1. Very rare, if at all in existence in this county at the present time. la A specimen of this animal was shot in Martic township in 1870, and the skin, under the name of "Black Fo.k," was brought to us for identification, and we have never ceased to regret that we did not secure it for the museum of the Linna^an Society. 2. This animal is also becoming rare in this county, and a very few years may chronicle its total extinction. 3. This animal, according to authors, is very improperly called the Bablnt. It appears, however, that excepting the " English Rab- bit, which has been introduced and domesti- cated here, we have not a tme rabbit in this county, or even in North America. "CARPET MOTHS." Of course the term moth is used here in its general sense ; for people regard everything as a moth that does the evil work of a moth, and yet it is very manifest that the different in- sects that do so much damage to carpets, furs and woolen fabrics in general, do not all be- long to the (scientifically restricted) moth family or families ; nevertheless, all the.se depredators pass the longer periods of their lives in a larva'., or worm state, and it is during this period entirely that they do their destructive work, and it is also during this period that remedies for their expulsion or ex- termination can be most effectively applied. The few that arc, or by any possibility can be destroyed, after tlieir final evolution to the imago or winged state, amounts to compara- tively little and may amount to nothing. If female insects are destroyed before they have been fertilized, or before they they have de- posited their eggs, it means xomethiwj, but if not until before oveposition it moans notliiny; because, after that act, and without being able to do further injury, they soon die of their own accord. There are various substances, either of which will destroy carpet-moths, if the reme- dies are intelligently and perseveringly ap- plied. Coarse linen or cotton cloths, thorough- ly saturated with a strong solution of alum. or camphor, or with coal oil, kerosene, ben- zine, creosote, or a decoction of Cayenne pepper, or tobacco ; and these saturated cloths laid under the infested parts of the carpet will be an effectual extinguisher, but as these substances are volatile they need to be fre- quently renewed. As these insects usually work along the edges of the carpet, if before the carpet is laid the floor be thoroughly painted with any of those remedies, it will prevent them from making a lodgment there ; saturated cloths, however, are better, because they retain the antidote longest. None ol the carpet insects are very active in their larva states, nor do they make any rapid effort to escape, hence they are accessible at all times. There is a species of "Silver-tail" (Lepisma), sometimes in damp and dark places, that are very active, but these are not very destructive to carpets. All the moths that infest carpets are very small insects, the largest of them in their imago state, scarcely measuring eight-tenths of an inch from "tip to tip" of their ex- panded wings, and many of the species are supposed to liave been introduced from Eu- rope. The larvaj of those that belong to the true moth family live in small cylindrical coccoons made of fine white silk, and covered on the outside with small fibres, granules and shreds of tlie material upon which they are feeding. These little coccoons are open at each end, and through the posterior end the little worm casts its granular fteces, the head and two or tliree seeraents of the body pro- truding from the anterior end, when they are at their destructive work. They are not as readily affected by remedies as those that con- struct no coccoon; but still perseverence in the remedies we mentioned, will finally overcome them. The "clothes-moth" {Tinea cestianell(x) some times gets into carpet, especially fine in- grained carpets. "The true "cariiet" or "tapestry moth" is the Tinea tapetzella, and for a long time no other insect was supposed to infest carpets. The "hair-moth" [Tinea crinella) has also been found in Brussels car- pets, but it is more frequently found in the hair stuffings of furniture, carriages, sleighs, etc. The Knea pcllionella confines itself mainly to the diflerent kinds of fur, and hence its name "fur-moth;" but as we happen to know from experience the members of this moth family can adapt themselves to varied circumstances, there is no reason why this latter species may not also be occasionally found in carpets. These moths, including the "grain-moth," (Tinea granella) have been known as pernicious destroyers for very many years, some of them away back in tlie times of Pliny and Columella; but perhaps the most destructive enemy to the carpet is of recent date, and belongs to a very different order of insects, although people generally include it among the true moths. This is a Coleopterous insect, and may be more properly be called a "Carpet-beetle," [Anthrenus scrofula riu.s). It belongs to the family DEinrKsriud;, which includes the "Bacon-beetles," "Bone- beetles," " Peltry-beetles," '■ Museum- beetles," etc., etc. It has been especially de- structive to carpets in Xew York and the Eastern States, and has also ajipeared in sev- eral localities in Penn.sylvania, and perhaps is even in our own county. Its pernicious cogener the "museum-beetle" {Anthrenus variens) is a most prolific and de- structive insect, and when it once gets a lodgment in museum specimens, and particu- larly in a cabinet of insects, it is impossible to destroy or expel it, without the greatest vigilence and perseverence. Its larva is a small brownish hairy worm, about a quarter of an inch long and has six anterior short feet, and seems to glide along in sliort jerks, rather than run or walk. The beetle is scarce- ly the eighth of an inch long, and about half as broad as long, and moves similar to the larva. The color is mottled gray and brown. The antenuic are short and clubbed, and when disturbed it is apt to feign death, but soon attempts to scamper off. There is not sufB- cient difference between the carpet and museum beetles to necessitate a particular notice of it. The carpet-beetle is usually found along and under the edges of the carpet, and there is where the remedies are to be applied. In the summer it flies abroad, and is often found in the flowers of different plants, especially those that are very polonaceous. But carpets are subject to the attacks of still another insect, which, by way of distruc- tion may be named the "carpet-maggot," or " carpet-fly." Although, perhaps, not as for- midable as the afore named species ; still, on two or three occasions, it has been found under carpets in the City of Lancaster, and has also damaged them, particularly on one occasion. This insect belongs to the dipterous order, which includes all the various two- winged flies: and it has a remote alliance to the domestic house-fly. The larva is a slender white worm, with a light brown cone-shaped head. (See Proc. Lin. Soc. in this number of the Farjier.) This is the Scenopinus pallipes, described by Mr. Say, more than half a cen- tury ago, although it is probable he knew nothing about its larva or its habits. The fly itself is of a blackish color, with a metalic lustre, and expands less than half an inch. We think this insect would succumb to any of tlie remedies we have mentioned more readily than any of tlie others we have men- tioned—indeed we think that boiling water would be suflicient to destroy it, although we found it lived longer in alcohol than we sup- posed it would from its apparently delicate organization. It will be thus seen, that "a poor mans' labor is never done." — -*- THE PEACH BORER. A Delaware man sends the New England Homestead some heretical views as to the proper way to fight tliis pest. " I am very much opposed," he writes, "to digging ont the grubs with a knife. I believe it is a great injury to the tree. . I prefer to plow the earth away from the trees in the spring after they have blossomed. Plow as near as convenient with a two-horse plow, and finish with a sin- gle horse plow, taking care to run a shallow ifnrrow. With a hoe draw away what earth remains about the trunks and leave the trunks exposed to the sun. The earth thus drawn away contains the eggs of the grub. Scatter wood ashes around the trees. It will keep the trees in good healthy condition and the grubs do not like it. A neighbor who digs out the grub with a knife always has a poor crop, while my method gives good crops." The foregoing paragraph clipped from the Weekly Press, is something more than hereti-r 180 THE LANCASTER FARMER. [December, cal, it is palpably ahsunl. We do not deny tliat the " neighbor who digs out the grub with a knife always has a poor crop," nor yet that the writers " method gives good crops," for we know nothing about it. But this we know; the "Peach-tree borer" does not de- posits its eggs iu tlie spring, much less does it deposits thera in the soil around the tree. Nor is tlie grub in the soil in the spring, nor any other time, it is in the base of the tree itself. Neither plowing with a one or a two-horse plow, nor yet drawing away the soil with a hoe will dislodge, it. It would be pretty safe to assert tliat that " Delaware man" did not know what a " peach borer" was, when he wrote to the New England Homislead. It is much more dangerous to expose the lower part of the trunk and roots of tlie peach ti-ee to the hot sun during summer, than to let them remain covered ; because, when the proper time came for the insect to deposit its eggs (July and August) the parent insect would have free access to them. And yet, there is a possibility that the eggs of the Peach-tree borer, or even the newly hatched grubs would suffer, if their vitality was not destroyed by the hot rays of the sun, but that could not occur in the spring, because the in- sect does not deposit them in the spring. Doubtless, advanced specimens of the "Peach- tree borer" (yEgeria exitosa) may be found in the latter part of June ; but we liave always found them most frequently in July and Au- gust, and on the buckwheat when it was in bloom. It is a Lepidopterous insect, (moths) but, in company with various species of Hymenoptera (wasps) and other small moths, we have found both male and female plenti- fully on the buckwheat bloom. Various kinds of protection to the base of the tree have been recommended to prevent the moth from depositing her eggs there, but when the grub is once located, there seems to be no other remedy but to cut them out care- fully; the injury the tree may sustain can surely not be worse than to let them remain. Attempting to destroy this borer with a plow, is akin to plowing under the "canker worm." People are too proue to look for some easy wholesale method to destroy insects in cases where a careful and persevering manual effort is required and that alone. EXCERPTS. In beating butter always use the back of your spoon. Pour coal oil in the entrance of ants nests ; it will completely destroy them. Paint splashed upon window-glass can be easily removed by a hot solution of soda. Fish may be scaled much easier by dipping them into boiling water about a minute. Pickles or vinegar will not keep in a jar tliat lias ever had any kind of grease in it. When soaking salt fish before cooking, add a little vinegar to the water ; it improves the fish. Milk which is slightly turned or changed may be sweetened and rendered fit for use again by stirring in a little soda. To SCOUR knives easily mix a small quanti- ty of baking soda with your brick-dust, and see if your knives do not polish better. Salt will curdle new milk ; hence, in pre- paring milk porridge, gravies, etc., the salt should not be added until the dish is prepared. Cream cures sunburn on some complexions, lemon juice is best on others, and cold water suits still others best. Kerosene lamps if kept full will never ex- plode, as there is then no room in the lamp for the accumulation of explosive gas. Paint spots may be removed from any kind of clothing by saturating with equal parts of turpentine and spirits of ammonia. The best of a potato is just under the skin ; therefore, pare very thin. Cover with cold water and boil gently till done. TuE excellence of baked potatoes depends upon eating thera as soon as done, and not before. They are worthless till cooked, and dry rapidly as soon as baked through. A MONSTROUS earthworm— six feet five inches in length and proportionately thick- has been sent from Cape Colony, Africa, to the Koyal Zoological Society of England. The following rules are commonplace enough, but we can assure our readers that if they will observe every one of the rules they will be anything but commonplace men and women : Don't stop to tell stories in business hours. If you have a place of business be found there when wanted. No man can get rich sitting arouud stores and saloons. Have order, system, regularity, and also promptness. Do not meddle with business you know nothing of. Pay as you go. A man of honor respects his word as he does his bond. Help others, but never give what you can not afford to, simply because it is fashionable to give. Learn to think and act for yourself. To REMOVE white lead paint from worsted goods of any kind scour the spots with a nail brush and sponge dipped in spirits of turpen- tine. The process is tedious but sure. When one has had a fever and the hair is fall- ing off, take a teacup of sage, steep in a quart of soft water, strain it off into a tight bottle. Sponge the head with the tea frequently, wet- ting the roots of the hair. For "greasing" the griddle, cut a white turnip in halves, and rub the griddle with it. It causes no smoke, smell, taste or adhesion, and is better than butter or grease. Fish may as well be scaled, if desired, be- fore packing down in salt, though in that case do not scald them. Salt fish are quickest and best freshened by soaking in sour milk. Lemons will keep better and fresher in water, than under any other conditions. Put in a crock and covered with water, they can be preserved in winter for two or three months." Many experienced housekeepers, in order to prevent the formation of a crust in the tea kettle, keep an oyster shell in it. The shell attracts all the stony particles to itself. If a rat or mouse get into your pantry, stuff in its hole a rag saturated with a solu- tion of cayenne paper, and no rat or mouse will touch the rag for the purpose of opening a communication with a depot of suppUes. Don't waste your time scouring your bread pans; bread never bakes as well in a bright tin. Indeed, the best bread pans, if one can afford to have them made, arc oblong ones made of Russia sheet-iron. Flowers may be kept very fresh over night if they are excluded entirely from the air. To do this wet them thoroughly, put in a damp box, and cover with wet raw cotton or wet newspaper, then place in a cool spot. Stale buns may be made to taste as nicely as when fresh if they are dipped a moment or so in cold water, then put into a hot oven for five or ten minutes. They will turn out mceaii Bulletin, Vol. 1, No. 5, October, 1884; Magrzine of Western History, Vol. 1, No. 1; prospectuses of scientific books, etc. Dr. Baker read an interesting and valuable paper on " The Curious Effects of a May Storm." As the paper contains his investigations of a curious effect that occurred here in Laiicatter during a rain storm, the paper was ordered to be printed in daily papers, Farmer and i?«?;e(i)!. Dr Baker was requested to make his observations by the members of the Lin- na;au. Bills amounting to $2.25 for Bulletin, postage, &c., were ordered to be paid. It was reported to the Society that the greater number of all the teachers present at the Teachers' Institute had availed them- selves of the opportunity to visit the Museum, and the members were pleased to hear of it and would be still more gratified to see some of them become active, working members of the Society. Several letter on file and one answered. The Society, on motion, then adjourned to meet on Saturday, January 31, 1885, at 2:30 o'clock in the afternoon, the December meeting being passed on account of being so near Christmas. THE LANCASTER FARMER ; The Newark Machine Co. will arise at once from its ashes. The Newark Machliu- Co., of Newark, O., whose factory burned on Saturday moriiint', July 5lli, con- eumed a large number of Clover Ilullers, Orain Drills, Kakes^ Monarch Fans, &c. A larire force of men are now at work building Clover Ilullers, (iraln Drills Ac. They arc getting out material at the B. &0. Shops, at Zauesville, and John H. Thomas & Sons, Springfield, who have kindly tendered them their factories, al which plftces they are getting out the woodwork for Clover Hullers, &c., and expect to have some on the market by August 1st. They have received many letters and telegrams from different manufacturers throughout the U. S., offering them aid in any way. Tlie firms that have heretofore sup- plied them with raw material, have telegraphed them, oflcring anything they may have that could be used In the construction of their implements, at low prices and long credits. Their insurance is about $•250,000, distributed amonir 01 first-class companies In this Country and Europe, and the adjusters are now there and at work and expect to finish the whole thing soon. The Company has commenced building one shop 211.5 feet by 40 feet, 2 stories high, and .'!00 feet of shedding, to be used for work shop and paint room, and they expect to be ready after August 1st to fill any orders in their line of goods. SedpckSteelWJreFence chctpeit AU Iron AutomMlc or SeK-Openlns a»t«, alio Obelpait and NeaUst AU Iron Fence. Best Wire NIreKriK'i- aiMl I'uiS ,liis«-'-. .%1»« luaiiuliic- ome and durable. Clrculnm with hnn* dredn of teBtlraonluliik free* , 47TiardAve., Chicago, lU. J ENGINE 8 THRESHER CO SPRINCFJELD. O \ Tlir lirst Trnrtiin, nnd rort- ^ nMf j:,i,ihios, Srprtralnrs and =^ Jlorse fnu-rm in //;<• U'nrltl. Handsome Illustrated Cata- loguca sent fret mtitiSBMUd^KdStitiSUMiSiSiSiSiUISUXiSiSUSiSiSiMSUSiMM^USSUi A BEAUTIFUL LAWN quickly obt&loed by Bowlog HENDERSON'S " CENTRAL PARK " LAWN GRASS SEED, a mixture of selectod those used In formii: York's lamous park- , , ages sold by us last season, line qaart ol seed will sow an area 15x20 feet=30. Marblolia-ad, Early rorn, the Hubbard Sqnasb. ^Iarb!t«'heAIEK J. H. OKEOORY, G.V^f . Dialer ill Pure Dnigsand Medicines I'aleiil Me.lieiiies.Tri Nov- Marbleliead, Mass. ..„, -russes, Shoulder ^ing St., Lancaster, Pa HATS AND CAPS. ClI A.tlKIt, No. .39 Wcs . Hats, Caps, Furs, Robes Prices Low. EVAPORATE YOUR FRUIT. ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE j FREE TO ALL. j A M E R 1 C A N DRIER C O M PA NY, ('hanibprMbiirg:, Pa. JEWELRY AND WATCHES. HZ. RHOAI>.S * BKO., No. 4 West King St. . Watches, Clock and Musical Boxes. Watches and Jewelry Maniifietiireil to order. PRINTING. HIEST.\M>, il North Qu St., Sale s, Letter sand Knvelopesneatly printed. Prices low. - & Co., Augusta. Main BOWMAN & MUSSER, .Succeeeors to 3EI. 3?". 3BOX»«7-33t