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THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



OUR PARIS LETTER. 



Fanning on the Continent of Europe. 



Correspondence of The Lancaster Farmer. 



Paris, May 15, 187.5. 



THE TREATMENT OP LAMBS FOB MARKET. 

 France has a good deal of lee way to make up in 

 the matter of extensive horse-breeding ; but in the 

 rearing of cattle she is positively in an advanced posi- 

 tion. What has been lost sight of in the case of 

 horses is remembered in one respect in the matter of 

 stock, suiting it to the locality, thus largely develop- 

 ing two objects— precocity and fattening. M. de 

 Behague is not only a prominent illustration of these 

 rules, but is conspicuous in making known his 

 methods — their cost and their results. His specialty 

 is the production of lambs for the Paris market, and 

 this he efl'ects by selling the animals at nine months 

 old. He advocates that the lambs in their early age 

 be liberally fed, so as to increase their power for as- 

 similating food. Animals thiv* treated, in the early 

 weeks of their existence, feed better subsequently 

 and derive more profit from their food. To produce 

 meat cheaply, presupposes great precocity, an end 

 only to be secured by well nourishing the mothers 

 pending the milking period, and acting similarly 

 towards the lambs from the day of their separation 

 from the ewes till delivered to the butcher. The ani- 

 mal that consumes the most food in the least time 

 will be the most profitable for the farmer. M. de 

 Behague made an experiment on 100 lambs, which 

 were born in March, 1874, and sold to the butcher on 

 the 8lh and 2Sth of December following. Those 

 lambs fed twenty days longer sold for 38 francs per 

 head, being less by 4 francs than such as were dis- 

 posed of twenty days earlier, in addition to the cost 

 of twenty days' feeding. He attributes the difference 

 to the more or less great aptitude of the animals to 

 profit by their rations, and to the difference in pre- 

 cocity arising from the milk qualities of the mother. 

 Of course, among the 100 lambs selected, the largest 

 and fattest were sold off first. To produce meat at a 

 cheaper rate, then, it is essential to select rams whose 

 mothers have been remarked for their milking quali- 

 ties, and at the same time to choose good milking 

 ewes for breeding with. The 100 animals cost Iti 

 francs per day for their keep, which comprised maize, 

 rye and rape-cakes, lucem and clover, and the mean 

 Belling price was, wool included, 40 francs. 



FATTENING CALVES FOR VEAL. 



Veal Is a commodity very much in request in the 

 Paris market, and brings a higher price than beef or 

 mutton. But then it must be well fed. The best veal 

 comes from Champagne, and the animals generally 

 represent a live weight of 5 cwts. The veal of Cham- 

 pagne is famed for the perfection of fattening and the 

 whiteness of the flesh ; now the soil of that region is 

 poor and chalky. It is an error to believe this white- 

 ness of flesh can be everywhere produced at will, or 

 that feeding the calves exclusively on milk as in Cham- 

 pagne will secure the same end. The whiteness is at- 

 tributed to the non-sueeulent herbage the peculiar 

 soil yields, tending consequently to produce but little 

 blood. In the Causses the soil is peculiarly favorable 

 to the growth of sanfoin, and what is not a little sin- 

 gular inthecharacter of this forage, it succeeds equally 

 well after a short interval. In the same districts the 

 cows receive each a name and answer to it at milking 

 hours — four in the morning and three in the after- 

 noon ; in repeating the name the calf, which is kept 

 apart, will also present itself. Both are rewarded 

 with a little salt. The calf, with a cord around its 

 neck, is allowed to suckle the mother for a few mo- 

 ments ; then it is attached short to the left fore-leg of 

 the mother, and the milking of the latter is rapidly 

 proceeded with. 



MEAT VERSUS WOOL. 



An instance of the change that has taken place in 

 farming matters is atlonled in the districts around 

 Chateau-Thierry. During the First Empire the pri- 

 mary object was to produce wool, regarding meat as 

 less than a secondary consideration ; when the sheep 

 became too old they were disposed of at a nominal 

 price to farmers in the neighborhood of Paris to be 

 fattened. At present the production of meat ranks 

 now in importance towhatwoo! held under Napoleonl. 

 Further, it jjays to import the greater part of tlie food 

 employed in tlic fattening of stock, the soil receives 

 so much benefit from the resulting rich manure. 



IMPROVING THE BREED OF DORSES. 



Belgium is as engrossed as France with the ques- 

 tion of improving t he breed of horses. When it pays 

 to breed and rear horses of a superior character, 

 rather than to import them, the diffleulty will be met. 

 Since 1871 there lias been a rapid decrease in Bel- 

 gium in the production of pure blood. Only 18 ani- 

 mals were registered that year in the Stud Book, 

 against double the number in previous years. There 

 are not more than 18 breeders of pui-e blood horses in 

 Belgium at present, and the number of all of the lat- 

 ter is but 115. .M. Wahl, in his lately published work 

 on Russia, where he has resided several years, speaks 

 of the Russian horses — those of the Tcherkesses — 

 with enthusiasm. The Russians proscribe winkers as 

 a barbarity. The horses of the Tcherkesses are 



reared in the midst of the wild steppes, in the middle 

 of nocturnal alarms and dangers, which develop their 

 sagacity in a remarkable manner ; the back is large, 

 the breast powerful, the hams extraordinarily full, 

 while the hoof is as hard as iron and as sure as a 

 mule's. The head and neck are light. The animal 

 is chosen from among the best in the troop, and the 

 owner admits it virtually in the family circle, as it 

 assists at meals, often sleeps in the room, the chil- 

 dren speak to it, climb up and play between its legs, 

 or pass the diiy on its back, so that the animal finishes 

 by acquiring an exceptional intelligence. But no 

 adult is ever permitted to mount till the horse is six 

 years old — the period necessary to impart solidity to 

 the frame. M. Male draws attention to the advan- 

 tages of treating horses kindly, and laments the bru- 

 tality to which they are so often subjected by 

 reckless or drunken servants. He truly says, all ani- 

 mals maltreated will, in the long run, become vicious. 

 Hence the diflieulties to make them work, to sell well, 

 or to obtain a good price for their progeny ; for it is 

 an established fact that vicious habits are transmit- 

 tible. 



THE TREATMENT OP HOVEN IN RUMINANTS. 



Solutions of ammonia are commonly administered 

 in France as a remedy against distention among rumi- 

 nants. The accident is most prevalent during the 

 season of young and succulent forage. The difficulty 

 hitherto has been, to enable the ammonia to reach at 

 once the paunch, and so combining with the carbonic 

 acid gas, the cause of the hoven, reduce the disten- 

 tion. M. Salles has patented-a trocar, having at the 

 end an india-rubber ball filled with the solution and 

 communicating with the trocar by means of a cock ; 

 when the trocar is inserted in that part of the animal 

 formed by the thigh and the abdomen, the ball is 

 pressed, the liquid enters the stomach and the infla- 

 tion at once disappears ; the gas can even be let off 

 through the trocar. The animal has only to be kept 

 on a low diet for a few days, till the little wound heals. 



SOILS AS FILTERS — MANURES FOR SUGAR BEET. 



M. Meunier has been experimenting on the power 

 of soils to act as filters in retaining their clayey mat- 

 ters from being carried away. The presence of a small 

 quantity of lime or magnesia was ever sufficient to 

 make the most troubled water pass off clear, hence, 

 why the water of field drains is so pure, and why that 

 in the form of rain, or water distilled, remains muddy, 

 even for a month, till coming in contact with mineral 

 salts, precipitation is effected. M. Lacgrange, the 

 director of an eminent sugar refinery, has for some 

 time been experimenting, practically and chemically, 

 with the various manures most suited for sugar beet; 

 he finds sulphate of ammonia to be the best, and then 

 ammoniaeal salts in general ; they augment the rich- 

 ness of the sugar, and the pulp contains a higher per- 

 centage of nitrogen, an advantage very valuable in 

 feeding stock. The chlorides are most dreaded by the 

 refiner, because they are rapidly absorbed by beet, 

 and exist largely in the juice, where the animal black 

 fails to act on them ; they thus prevent the crystalli- 

 zation of the sugar, and favor the production of much 

 molasses. 



CONSERVING GREEN MAIZE FOR FODDER. 



The Central Agricultural Society of France, has, 

 by its practical and scientific commission, made an 

 exhaustive report on the process for confcrving green 

 maize for stock feeding, during winter and spring, in 

 covered trenches. The farm selected was that of 

 M. Goffart, the agriculturist who has adopted the 

 plan since 18.53, and who has also made it first known 

 in France, in 1870. There is nothing positively new 

 in the idea. Since time immemorial vine leaves 

 have been preserved in a green state, in the district 

 of Lyons, and which has made the reputation of the 

 famous Mt. Dore cheese. In eider-making countries 

 the apple puli> is similarly conserved. In various 

 parts of Germany, several vegetables are preserved 

 in a green state for fodder, being generally seasoned 

 with a quantity of celery ; the same respecting beet 

 pulp. M . (iotfart's soil is peculiarly suited for maize ; 

 he prefers the South American varieties, the eara- 

 gua especially, the stems of which often reach twelve 

 feet in height. The maize is sown after rye, and is 

 cut green, the latter receiving the manure. He cuts 

 the maize before pitting it, and mixes cut straw and 

 chaff with the mass. This induces regularity in fer- 

 mentation, and best excludes the air. The larger the 

 trench, the better the mass is jireserved. Tliose who 

 do not chop the maize, sow it thickly, to have fine 

 stems. M. Goffart obtains as high as 65 tons of this 

 green fodder per acre — double what beet would i)ro- 

 duee. He nourishes 30 cows with the conserve, and 

 they eat it with avidity, despite its alcoholic odor and 

 sliglitly acid taste. The cows yield from 25 to 30 

 quarts of milk daily, and their calves had the silkiest 

 of skins — the eyes brilliant. No belter test than this 

 to demonstrate the value of food given to the mothers. 

 About 00 lbs. per day per head is the average con- 

 sumption of the conserved food. The commission 

 testifies to the results obtained by M. Goffart, valu- 

 iible in dry climates, but thinks much remains yet to 

 be accomplished as to the best plans for presprving 

 autumn green forage for spring feeding. 



THE VINE BUG DISEASE — PHYLLOXERA. 



There has been much erroneous news of late touch- 

 ing an alleged perfect cure for the ^ine bug disease — 



the Phylloxera. Unhappily, the question is just in 

 the same state as it was in November, when both the 

 vine and its enemy went into winter quarters. The 

 evidence appears to accumulate in favor of manuring 

 the vines, in order to fortify them against the insects ; 

 and the only poison powder to employ is that sug- 

 gested by the distinguished chemist, Dumas — sulpho- 

 carbonate of potash or soda, at the rate of 85 lbs. per 

 acre, dissolved in .500 times its weight of water — no 

 small task for a vineyard — and to be applied after the 

 manure ; guano is preferred, at the rate of 5 cwts. 

 per acre ; has been incorporated with the soil. Tlie 

 salt, as it slowly decomposes, generates sulphuret of 

 carbon and sulphuretted hydrogen — two ixiisons 

 which kill the phylloxera ; the potash or soda, set 

 free, nourishes the roots at the same time. The pre- 

 sent season will witness these remedies fully tried. 



FRUIT TREES BT THE ROAD SIDES. 



Like Belgium, France protests against the authori- 

 ties arbitrarily planting elm, ash, poplar trees, &c., 

 along the road sides, and demands that fruit trees be 

 employed instead, as is the case in Switzerland and 

 Germany, and whose roots would be less objectionable. 



AGRICULTURAL PROGRESS IN ITALY. 



Italy is actively improving her agriculture, by the 

 foundation of special schools ; she lias now established 

 some for the cultivation of apples, a product of great 

 importance. The government has opened several 

 depots for agricultural machinery, and has instituted 

 lectures on mechanics. The soldiers have to attend 

 the courses of agricultural lectures, two years pre- 

 ceding their discharge. 



OUR LOCAL ORGANIZATION. 



Proceedings of the Lancaster County Agricul- 

 tural and Horticultural Society. 



The June meeting of the Lancaster County Agri- 

 cultural and Horticultural Society was held on Mon- 

 day, June 7th, 1875, at two o'clock p. m., in the Or- 

 phans' Court Room. The following members were in 

 attendance : Henry M. Engle, J. B. Garber, Hon. J. 

 B. Livingston, Martin L. Kendig, Milton B. Eshle- 

 man, Simon P. Eby, esq., Abraham Bollinger, John 

 Grossman, J. H. Musser, F. B. Bomberger, Jonas 

 Buckwalter, Wm. McComsey, John B. Erb, Dr. P. 

 W. Hiestand, Christian H. Herr (Manor), Jacob 

 Witmer, Levi S.Reist, Peter S. Reist, John M. Krei- 

 ter, John Miller, esq.,!Henry Buch, S. S. Rathvon, 

 Henry Erb, Christian Coble, Thomas Wood, Tobias 

 D. Martin, .John Brackbill, Benj. Ritter, Reuben 

 Weaver, Johnson Miller, and Alexander Harris. 



Johnson Miller presided, with Alex. Harris, esq., 

 acting as Secretary. The meeting was well attended, 

 and reports on condition of the crops being the first 

 thing in order, President Johnson Miller, of Warwick, 

 submitted the following : 



Winter wheat has somewhat improved since last re- 

 port, and, with favorable weather, may be set down 

 as three-fourths of a crop, as compared with last year. 

 It is fast coming in the head now, and fields begin to 

 look more even than they did six weeks ago. Rye is 

 now in bloom, and looking better than wheat in gen- 

 eral. In my field of stubble were sown last fall wheat 

 and rye, side by side ; the rye makes about four times 

 as much straw and double the number of bushels in 

 grain ; so that rye is the crop for corn stubble when 

 wanted to seed in the fall. Oats has been a little re- 

 freshed by the showers we have had ; while com is 

 coming up nice, and looks promising. Potatoes are 

 growing finely, while the Colorado bugs are quite 

 numerous in my neighborhood. One man has caught 

 some 2,000 or 3,000, and, if others would do likewise, 

 it would have an effect upon their ranks. As to my 

 own, I have very few so far, and am not at all anxious 

 to get more. Tobacco-planting is now in order with 

 growers, but they have some difficulty in getting 

 plants started, on account of dryness and the cut- 

 worms, (irass is rather short for the season, with 

 some fields thinly set ; will not make much more than 

 half a crop with the best weather. Clover is coming 

 into heads now, but will not make much growth, 

 even with wet weather. Fruit prospects in general 

 are very encouraging. Caterpillars have made their 

 appearance in full force on fruit trees, and should 

 be visited with a long pole with corn-cob attached, 

 saturated with coal oil, and burned. 



Milton B. Eshleman, esq., ofParadise, also made 

 a written report, as follows : 



Wheat — One-half crop, unless the late should be 

 damaged by mildew, midge or blight ; then one-quar- 

 ter crop. Straw very short, but heads generally long. 



Corn — Came up well, and is growing amazingly, 

 considering the drought. I have some stalks of early 

 corn that will strc^tch three feet high. 



Oats and barley look very well — I think better 

 prospects for good crops than for several years, and 

 they will help to make out the sujiply of straw very 

 materially. 



Grass — Poor ; the clover is fully out in bloom, and 

 scarce a foot high, and beyond redemption. Timothy 

 scarcely perceptible, but may come to something by 

 the time the harvest has passed away. 



Potatoes — Came up sparingly ; in some places one- 

 fourth of the seed rotted, and those that are growing 

 are well patronized by the Colorado beetle. I saw 



