THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



iiiiiil)le to liiul in America. It is true tliat 

 fiiriuirif; may not " pay" in a mere ))fc'imiaiy 

 sense, as well as sonu' otluT oL'cu|iatinus more 

 inllni'Mueil by siiasnioilic ('ontractions and ex- 

 pansions, and lieiice liazardous speculations, 

 but it pays more surely in tlieouteome; for, no 

 matter what takes piaie in tlie linaueial, po- 

 litical, social or moral world, so louu' as human 

 lil'e obtains, no individual is inde|iendent of 

 the material world, and hence the occupation 

 of a farmer is a i)erpetnal and universal ne- 

 cessity in civilized society; and as human pop- 

 ulation multiplies it becoinf's,-in the same 

 ratio, an increasiuj? and always present ne- 

 nes-sity. The farmer never thinks of niliii- 

 qnishin"; his oeciii)alion — "shnttiu;; down," 

 as they call it — lettintt his fields lie fallow 

 and starving iiis slock, because he can- 

 not realize six, ten, lifleen or twenty per 

 cent, on his labor ; but he ploils on all 

 the same, at three, two, one, or no |)er 

 cent., to keep full or replenish the jjranaries, 

 corn-bins and meat-tnbsof the world, iiatieutly 

 toiling and waiting for the "better day a 

 coniinjf." Many occupations among men are 

 of a (inestionable moral character, or are con- 

 ducted in a very questionable mauner and 

 from ipiestionable motives ; but the tillers of 

 the soil and the agri<'uUnral jiroducers of the 

 country have not the shadow of a tpieslion 

 overhanging their occupation. An<l yet many 

 farmers are yearning for the uncertainties of 

 commercial, profi'ssional and nie.elianical life. 

 How superlatively visionary and foolish — how 

 suicidal to moral and material prosperity aud 

 domestic happiness! 



It does not seem to speak well for America 

 and its free institutions, to lind those who 

 have sought an asylum luuler its lienign gov- 

 ernment and laws, appealing for oiiportuuities 

 to return to their native land as the better 

 couutry of tlie two for tlie laboring man. 

 Bloated monoiiolies, commercial combinations 

 and family clanships are fast converting our 

 country into that feudal condition in Europe, 

 which turneil the tide of emigration from that 

 country to ,oin- borders, liut which a more 

 liberal and eciuitable policy there is inviting 

 back to her shores again. 



AVe do n<it believe, liowever, , that the in- 

 ducement for even mechanics to return to 

 Europe is of a very permanent cliaracler. 

 The fare is now so low that to single men the 

 sacritice woidd be trilling and easily borne, 

 but to men of families we do not think it 

 ■jvould be advisable, if they can lind any cm- 

 ploymeut here at all. 



.Tonxsox ]SriLLEii's ANXu.\i- ADDRESS, as 

 Pri'sident of the T.,ancaster County .\gricul- 

 tural and Horticultural Society, (lelivered at 

 the last meeting, will be found in our report 

 of the proceedings of that body, iirinted in this 

 number. While we disseiit in toto from not 

 only tile niutUr but also from the maniirr c(tn- 

 tained in some of tlie points of this ad- 

 dress, on the whole there is so much well- 

 timed truth in it. such good advice, and svicli 

 well deserved criticism niiiin the inefliciency 

 of the Agricnltnral and llorliciiltural oriiaiii- 

 Bations of the county o!' Lancaster, that we 

 should have published it in our columns, even 

 if it had had no claim upon us as the ])rodue- 

 tion of the presi<lent of a society under whose 

 auspices this journal has, from its very origin, 

 bt>en i)nblished ; moreover, as we liave here- 

 tofore published several papers in our columns 

 favorable to the " (iransre movement," it is 

 but fair that we should also give the negative 

 side of the (pie.stion ; and we confess that Mr. 

 Miller has elaborated .some idga.s on that snli- 

 ject that have not heretofore occurred to us, 

 whetlier tlii'v l>e true or otherwise. In refer- 

 ence to the itineratiie.: habits of many of the 

 members of the society durim; its sessions, he 

 made some good hits, which recall forcibly 

 to our mind the rebuke administered by an off- 

 hand Methodist preacher to a somewhat shift- 

 ing congri'gation. Klevatinij his voice and 

 rising on his toes he exclaimed with earnest 

 emiihxsis. " I have no objection to be called a 

 trareliiig pretuJiery but I do most unqualiliedly 



object to preaching to a IrdfcVinij rmKirdjal'mn. " 

 It is a poor compliment to an essayist to greet 

 him with a slampedi^ the moment he begins 

 to reail his paper. We do not suppo.se that 

 any one Hica/i.s to ))e disrespectful, but it is 

 nevertheless embarrassing under any circum- 

 stances, and exhibits that want of culture to 

 which the [jresideiit of the society alhuled in 

 his address. We have never seen this habit 

 so common anywhere else, a.s we have in the 

 great and Wealthy county of Lanca-sler, an<I 

 nothing— not even a poorly written or poorly 

 delivered essay — can justify it. 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



The arrangenunts for transferring TllK 

 Fau.mur I'l the present publisluMs were com- 

 lileted at too late a day to enable them to in- 

 troduce all the improvements into this issue 

 which are in contemplation. Among other 

 matters now (h'cmed of importance in publi- 

 cations of its character, are occasional engrav- 

 ings illustrating certain subjects of practical 

 importance which an- thus more easily and 

 satisfactorily explained than it is possible to 

 do in a mere letter-press description, however 

 full and complete. For example, it might be 

 dillicult to write a desca-iptiou of a trellis for 

 grape vines ami the most approved method of 

 in'uniug and training them, so that the ama- 

 teur might 111' able to do (he work correctly as 

 descril)ed; but liy the aid of an engraving, illus- 

 trating the cousiruetion of the trellis, the ar- 

 rangement of the vines at their different stages 

 of growth, and how t(j prune them, the pro- 

 cess can be made so plain that the merest tyro 

 in small fruit culture can comprehend the sub- 

 ject at a glance. These illustrations are, of 

 course, expensive, but the publishers have faith 

 that the farmers of Lancaster county will be- 

 stow such a liberal patronage iiixm The 

 FAi!?.[Eri, since it has taken its "new dejiart- 

 ure," as will justify them in making a venture 

 in this direction, and they hope to be able to 

 nnike a beginning in the February number. 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



OxFouD, Pa., Jan. lltli, 1S7.5. 



S. S. K ATll vox— Z>rar Sir: Please deci- 

 ])hcr these animals and let us kn')W tlie result 

 of your investigations. Please report to Rev. 

 (). L., of this borough. Very respectfullv, 



J. P. A. 



The embryotic "animals" alluded to in the 

 above, wi're the eggs of the "Oblong-winged 

 Katydid " — I'liiilhijilcrn I'hhiiKjifii'iu—ci large 

 green and loiig-liuibed grasshopjjer, more fre- 

 (piently found, and ]ierhaps betterkuown, than 

 the true Katydid. (I'luHiiihiiJInm cini-nnan.) 



These eggs are always found obliipiely ar- 

 ranged in two rows along the side of a twig, 

 very .seldom any larger than tlu^ one iijclosed. 

 This is not the insect that emits the stridula- 

 ting noise during summer evenings, which 

 sounds like Kul'iiVil. It is a vegetarian in 

 habit, but W(- never have known it to be snlli- 

 ciently numerous to be consi<lered noxious. 

 The coldest Weather has not the least utTect 

 upon the vitality of these eggs. — Ed. 



Tlll.s xuMliKU will be sent to many who are 

 not now, or have not been heretofore, sub- 

 scribers to The FAmiKi!, but a.s we only de- 

 sire vohuitary subscriptions they need not go 

 to the trouble of returning it. Still, we hope 

 that tho.se within the county of Lancaster, at 

 lea.st. will respond favorably, and .allow us the 

 privilege of placing their names upon our list 

 of subscrilHM's. It will only cost them aur d'll- 

 htr a year, as there is no postage on publica- 

 tions circulating: within the county. 



We are eonlideiit thai they will not regret 

 it: and will have the additional satisfaction of 

 feeling that they h.ave made a worthy and 

 judicious investment in behalf of the airricul- 

 tural inti'rests of our irreat county, and have 

 contributed their mite in developing its mate- 

 rial, moral anil intellectual resources. If they 

 will only sustain The Faumek at home, as it 

 is sustained abroatl, we cannot fail to make it 

 a .success. 



THE FUTURE OF THE LANCASTER 

 FARMER. 



Is it destined to live, (lourish and grow, 

 or to i>ine, languish and die V This question 

 ajiplies to farmers generally, but to those of 

 Lancaster county most emphatically. Will 

 tla- farmers of Lancaster county patronize, 

 ai<i and support a periodical that bears on its 

 title iiage so honorabh' a name V .Vol that 

 farmers ontsiile of our county are less honor- 

 ablir than those living within its borders, but 

 that the latter bear, if not a world-wiile, at 

 least a national reputation. The title of 

 "garden county" has not been vaguely 

 lavished upon il. There is scarcely ad iascn ting 

 opinion, among those who have traveled exten- 

 sively over our cnitntrii, that Lancaster lias 

 Scarcely a rival county in this broad agricul- 

 tural domain ; not so iiiueh on aceoniit of its 

 natural advantages, as for the excellent tillage 

 bestowed upon it, and its tlioroiigh im|)rovc- 

 ments in buildings and fences. It .seems 

 natural that such a re|iutation should stimu- 

 late the dignity (I will not say (iride, for our 

 plain farmers spurn jiriih} of our tillers of the 

 .soil to have at coniuiand a medium through 

 which they can disseminate their knowledge 

 to others as well as among tliemsidves. Look- 

 ing ui)on the reputation of our county from a 

 distant standpoint, the natural inference 

 would be, that in a county which has so high 

 a reputation for intelligent farmiiii;, tln^re 

 must be a corresiionding degree of mental 

 culture, and conseipiently there would \ye 

 found among us a large amount of valuable 

 literary productions on the subject of farming 

 and its auxiliaries. When, however, we scan 

 the pages of The LwfASTKii FAttMEK and 

 find so few contributors from its nativ.' county, 

 the conclusion must be that our fanners cannot 

 or will not aid in building up an <n'gan to rep- 

 resent their standing in the agricultural world. 



And, further, when we learn that not five 

 hundred fdniirr.t of this county Wi're regular 

 subscribers to The FAioiElt during the pa.st 

 year, wc conclude they are not even a reading 

 people, or else patronize foreign publications 

 to the exclusion of those at home. Since the 

 publication of The Fahmeu hius pa.ssed into 

 the hands of Fkausol & Geist, whose rejiu- 

 tatiou as imblisliers is a sullieient guarantee 

 that they will leave nothing undone on their 

 jiarl to make it a success, we trust there is 

 a brighter future liefore it. The continuation 

 of I'rof. llATHVox as Editor, is an additional 

 guarantee that matter will be regularly fur- 

 nished for its pages, even if he will have to 

 write a large proportion of it himself between 

 his regular business hours; a t:isk which he 

 has iierformed since The FAiorKU has been 

 in existence, without any remuneration. 

 While all this labor of the eiiitor liitlu'rto has 

 been brKlniral to the public, shall not the 

 farmers of I,ancaster county res>)lve that with 

 the year 1 ST.") a new era shall commence for 

 The Fahmei:, in which they will not only 

 piitronize il by subscrii>lions, but also by con- 

 tributing to its columns! Then, ho! for the 

 Centennial — when Lancasti'rcounly shall pre- 

 sent an .\gri(ailturaland llorticnltural periodi- 

 cal worthy its nanio and fame. ll. M. E. 



THE PATRONS OF HUSBANDRY. 



The "Pennsylvania StatetiraiiLTe." of this 

 organization, convened incouncilat William.s- 

 jiorl on Ihi^ (llh in.st., and \w have conversed 

 with some of the returned <li'legates from Lan- 

 caster county on the subject. Over one thou- 

 .saiid members from differi'iit parts of the 

 State were ip atten<lance, and the business 

 seems to have b('eii of an inti-restin;; and im- 

 portant character. They speak in the highest 

 terms of the kind and aci-ommodatiiig spirit of 

 the peo))le of Williamsport. Among other 

 things, it was determined to hold the next an- 

 nual meeting of the SiHti (Inniijt in Lancaster 

 city on the "Jil of December next, provided hotel 

 accommodations and a suitable liall can Ik'oI)- 

 taiiied here. This is surely a distinction that 

 Lancaster county did not I'xpect, for the order 

 is yet in its infancy here. They expect a larger 

 attendance than that at William.sport. 



