26 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



by it. He never cuts a locust without digging 

 out the stump at the same time. 



Mr. Hiller said he had them talcen out 

 piece-meal by hand labor and did not find it 

 expensive, although his \yere mostly chestnut 

 and more easily taken out than some others. 



In answer to a query in regard to burning 

 them out with coal oil, Mr. Musser said he 

 had tried both coal oil and benzine, which he 

 had seen recommended, but both were failures, 

 although he had given them a fair trial. 



RUST ON FE.\US AND SMALL FRUITS. 



Mr. Erb inquired, " What is the best means 

 of preventing rust on pears and to keep them 

 from prematurely falling off?" remarking 

 that his Flemish Beauties were nearly all lost 

 last year from this caase. 



Mr. Hiller said he had no information to im- 

 part that he considered worth anything, but 

 he had an opinion which might suggest the 

 proper inquiry. He thought, ih the course of 

 cultivation, we were robbing the soil of some 

 particular ingi'edient which was necessaiy to 

 the healthy growth of the pear, and that not 

 Ijeing replaced, rust or premature decay re- 

 sulted. Some pears, which did well years ago, 

 are now worthless for cultivation. Those pres- 

 ent would remember the old " Butter Pear '' 

 which was unequalled by any now cultivated, 

 but it will no longer flourish. Then, there was 

 the old "Winter Pear," which ripened in the 

 cellar as regularly as winter apples, but now 

 it is a failure. By continuous culture we have 

 been robbing the soil of a particular element 

 which should be replaced, if we can learn what 

 it is and how to do it. We ought to study 

 what that deficiency is. He did not pretend 

 *• to know, but he was clear in his mind that 



;^, ■''this is the direction in which we should make 



* ■ our investigations. 



Prof. Rathvon said that vegetable physiolo- 

 gists claim to have discovered that the outer 

 coating of pears is a sort of wax, which is 

 formed by a certain element derived from the 

 soil, as silicate is supplied which is assential to 

 the healthy growth of grass. Whenever this 

 rust or mould olitains on the pear there 

 has not been enough of that secretion to pro- 

 tect them. To make these experiments suc- 

 cessfully requires the aid of a microscope of 

 seventy-five diameters, and hence we must de- 

 pend mainly on the researches of vegetable 

 physiologists and keep read up in their dis- 

 coveries. One variety of the same plant may 

 require more of a certain element than others. 

 Mr. Gillingham, of Virginia, had communi- 

 cated some interesting results of his experi- 

 ments with the blackberry to the agricultural 

 department. He had planted different varie- 

 ties under the same conditions of soU., &c., 

 four or five yeai^s before. Two years ago the 

 Kittitany was affected with the red rust, and 

 did not bear or mature its fruit. Both leaves 

 and stems were covered with rust. The Wilson 

 came out unscathed. Even if the theory of 

 absorbing from the soil to make the wax or its 

 - etiuivalent be true, some plants may absorb 

 more than others, the soil and the climate be- 

 ing the same. A few years ago he noticed in 

 Mr. Riley's garden, in this city, that the Phil- 

 adelphia ras|)beiTy rusted while the Black Cap 

 did not. Therefore, it would require a care- 

 ful analysis of the soil, and close observation 

 of other conditions of the plants to determine 

 this point. 



Mr. Erb said he noticed the "horse-shoe 

 nail " slugs on Ins pears which were rusted, 

 and that they had injured the leaves. 



LEAA'ES THE LUNGS OF THE PLANT. 



Prof. Rathvon — These were the "pear slug. " 

 Tlie leaves are the lungs of the tree. Injuiy to 

 them alone would cause the fruit to fall. A 

 healthy condition of the leaves is essential to 

 the health of the tree and the maturing of the 

 fruit. The same holds good with the grape or 

 any other fruit. 



CULTIVATION OF NATIVE TREES. 



Levi S. Reist had noticed that the Buerre 

 Diehl and Duchesse pears are liable to rust 

 when grown as standards, while they do very 

 well as dwarfs. He therefore suggested that 

 more attention should be paid to native 



varieties. In illustration, he referred to a na- 

 tive pear grown at Reading, which flourishes 

 there, but fails elsewhere ; and the Vicar of 

 Wakefield seems to do better in Lancaster 

 than anywhere else. He had no doubt that 

 native seedlings would be free from many of 

 the diseasesiucident to foreign varieties. 



THE STRAWBERRY PEST. 



Mr. Erb desired 'some information on the 

 subject of raising strawberry plants. He said 

 he had failed to raise both plants and berries. 

 He planted a half acre last spring and before 

 the summer was over he could scarcely see 

 where the rows were. A kind of lice had 

 eaten the roots. They were of a whitish, dull 

 blue color. He couldn't even raise the Wilson, 

 conceded to be the liardiest variety. 



Prof. Rathvon said this insect belonged to 

 the same order as the Phylloxera vastatrix, 

 which had been creating such terrible devas- 

 tations on the vines in France, that 100,000 

 francs had been oftered by the French Acad- 

 as a standing reward for a remedy. They 

 were called " the Grape root and leaf aphis, 

 or louse." You might have noticed little 

 tuber-like projections on the leaves of the 

 grape. Cut them open and you will find a 

 female aphis and several eggs. In the fall of 

 the year they go down to the ground where 

 they attack the roots. They are analagous 

 to the aphis which attacks the strawberry. 

 Prof. Riley, of 8t. Louis, recommended pierc- 

 ing holes in the ground and putting in acid 

 and lime, keeping oft" far enough not to injure 

 the roots. His remedy was tried in France, 

 but did not seem to do much good. 



Without, however, seeing the insect itself, 

 it would be impossible to determine its species, 

 its genus, or perhaps its family even. The 

 insects that attacked the roots of Mr. Erb's 

 strawberries may have been a species of 

 "Spring-tail" or "Snow-flea" (Poduridce). 

 Two years ago Mr. Mehaffey, of Marietta, 

 brought me several thousands of these insects, 

 that occurred in his garden in millions, with- 

 out however doing any perceptible injury to 

 the vegetation therein; but Dr. Fitch describes 

 them as injurious to vegetation. Pulverized 

 gas lime or sawdust saturated with carbolic 

 acid, and mixed with the soil, has been recom- 

 mended as a preventive. I would recommend 

 experimentation on these subjects by farmers 

 and fruit growers, and a publication of the 

 results. A failure may be of as much impor- 

 tance to be known as a success. 



MANURING CORN-STUBBLE LAND FOR OATS. 



Johnson Miller proposed for discussion the 

 question, Would it be profitable to manure 

 corn-stubble land for the oats crop ? He pro- 

 po.sed the question because the oats crop has 

 become a failure, and he attributed it to the 

 fact that we manure for all other crops but 

 this. He proposed to try it next spring, 

 but he wanted tli^e opinion of older farmers. 



Mr. Musser said he need not be afraid of 

 manuring too heavily for oats. 



Mr. Levi S. Reist looked upon that propo- 

 sition as a progressive" step. The time was 

 when oats came to maturity without manur- 

 ing, iind would have grown rank with it ; but 

 now that the soil is less fertile he thought 

 manuring on the corn-stubble would not only 

 produce a good crop of oats but would mater- 

 ially benefit the succeeding crop of wheat. 



Mr. Erb thought one cause of the failure of 

 the oats crop was to be found in the loose 

 manner it was put in. It dries out in our 

 seasons and hence will not mature. He be- 

 lieved in more thorough cultivation. 



Johnson ^Miller said his plan is to cultivate 

 as thorougly as for other crops. He plants 

 "broadcast" with^the drill, but not in rows, 

 which he ccrasiders better than hand-.sowing. 



Mr. Musser — The best plan is first the ]ilow, 

 then then the drag. He weighted the drills so 

 as not to get beyond a certain depth. The 

 best crop he ever raised was put in in this 

 manner. 



EXPERIMENT AND REPORT RESULTS. 



Mr. McComsey hoped the president, who is 

 one of om- most progressive farmers, would 



make this experiment of manuring corn-stub- 

 ble for the oats crop and give the farmers the 

 benefit of his experience, if it was only on a 

 single acre. The question in his mind was 

 whether on farms where manure is scarce it 

 would pay to rob other crops of fertilizers. 



The president urged the importance of not 

 only experimenting, but of reporting results. 

 This was the only certain way of investing the 

 meetings of this Society with interest and 

 profit, and of advancing the members in prac- 

 tical agricultural knowledge. 



THE LANCASTER FARMER COMMENDED. 



Mr. Rathvon presented the Society with the 

 ninth volume of the Proceedings of the State 

 Agricultural Society, calling the members' at- 

 tention to two articles of his it contains, one 

 on Potato Beetles, another on "White Cabbage 

 Butterflies." He also advised them to read 

 the article on the Potato Bug in The Farmer 

 of last July, and if they would keep up with 

 the literature of this and other important 

 subjects to subscribe for The Lancaster 

 Farmer for 1875— a recommendation which 

 the President and others heartily seconded. 

 The Farmer now contains more reading mat- 

 ter,and on a greater variety of subjects relating 

 to the farm and fireside, than any other onedo 

 liar journal in the Union — only a fraction over 

 cu/ht cents a month — and no matter how many 

 other papers he may subscribe for, the Lan- 

 caster county farmer should patronize his own 

 home journal; not only by his subscription, 

 but also by his contributons to its columns. 

 The more he gives in this way, he will find the 

 more he will have to give. 



business FOR THE NEXT MEETING. 



Casper Hiller was appointed essayist for the 

 next meeting. Subject—" Our Orchards." 



The following questions were proposed for 

 discussion at the next meeting: 



1. What is the best method of wintering 

 cattle ?— W. P. Albright. 



2. What trees are most profitable to grow 

 for fencing and fuel ? — E. S. Hoover. 



3. What is the best food for milch cows ?— 

 Jolmson Miller. 



4. What variety of corn produces the most 

 bushels to the acre. 



WHAT OUR FARMERS OUGHT TO DO. 



This being the first meeting of this Society 

 at which we listened to all the discussions, we 

 cannot close without expressing our deep con- 

 viction of the wide field of practical usefid- 

 ness which it is in the power of the members 

 to occupy and improve. Although it is now 

 over thirty yeare since we held the plough, 

 swung the scythe, or drove the ox, and there- 

 fore do not claim to be " much of a farmer," 

 we are free to confess that we were deeply in- 

 terested in the discussion of the various topics 

 presented, and pleased with the ])ractical off- 

 hand manner in which they were treated by 

 the different members. If the farmers gene- 

 rally would appreciate the advantages of par- 

 ticipating in these meetings and become mem- 

 bers, the benefit which would result to the 

 agricultural interests of Lancaster county 

 would be incalculable. As the President re- 

 marked in his annual address, the large court 

 room ought to be filled with farmers at every 

 meeting; and it would be, if every one inter- 

 ested would take some special pains to impress 

 the importance of the organization upon the 

 fanners generally. There is a vast fund of 

 practical and valuable information "lying 

 around loose " among them which could thus 

 be brought together and utilized for the gen- 

 eral good. J. M. w. G. 



So FAR as practical agriculture is concerned, 

 the great storehouse of fertility is in the soil, 

 and not in the atmosphere. We must plow 

 better and perhaps deeper and more fre- 

 quently. Very few of us work our land 

 enough. Mr. Geddes says he plowed up this 

 old pasture because it "did not produce one- 

 quarter as much feed, as when newly seeded ;" 

 and yet many people think that grass and 

 clover " enrich " land. — Am. Ayr. 



