106 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[July, 



LETTERS, QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Entomological Correspondence. 



Grape Vine Plume Moth, (Pterophonis 

 pericdidactylus.) We would inform our corres- 

 pondent at Buck P; O., who.se communication 

 appeared in our June number, page Si), that 

 about the time The Faioier was mailed to 

 our subscribers (June 15) the moth bred from 

 the little caterpillar he sent us, emerged, and 

 proved to be what wc suspected, as above 

 named. It is a very delicately formed insect ; 

 the wings of a tawny yellowish color, marked 

 with white and ])ale brown, and the abdomen 

 is marked with the same colors. The legs are 

 long and slender, dark at the joints and con- 

 spicuously distinguished by long spurs on each 

 side. It is called the ptaiiie, from the fact tliat 

 the wings are divided into separate lobes, the 

 liinder ones fringed aiound^ like feathers or 

 l)lunies. It is very probable that there will be 

 another brood of them the present season; for 

 maturing so early, '"it is difficult to understand 

 how the race could be perpetuated witliout an- 

 other brood." Now that we have developed 

 tliis much of its history, it recurs to our mem- 

 oi'j' tliat we bred it out on a former occasion, 

 fully twenty years ago, but we have not seen it 

 lately, until the present season. The best 

 remedy we can suggest is hand-picking, and 

 this .seems to be the opinion of all the authori- 

 ties to which we haveaccess. This moth be- 

 longs to the family Alucitid^e, and was first 

 named and described by Dr. Fitch, of New 

 York, in his "Eeports," vol. 1, pp. 13'J, 140, 

 141. 



Prof. S. S. Rathpon: 



Dear Sir : As you will see, from the specimen I 

 herewitli send you, that this worm is maliinfr sad 

 havoc amoiisj; the grain fields in tliis section of tlic 

 country, will you be kind enougli to give us what 

 information you can bearing upon the subject. 

 Very respectfully, 



H. L. ECKERT. 

 Gordonvillc^ Lancaster Co., /*«., July o, 1875. 



The " worms," above alluded to, were de- 

 livered to us by the liearer of this note, and are 

 the "White-lined Army Worm" (Lurania 

 alhilirtea) a history and description of which, 

 in their larva, i^ipa and imaijo states, will be 

 found on pp. 105, ICO, 107 and 108 of the ninth 

 volume of the proceedings of the "Pennsyl- 

 vania State Agricultunil Society, ' ' for the years 

 1872-3, one hundred copies of which, we be- 

 lieve, were distrilnited in Lancaster county, 

 (we gave away 20 copies ourself ) and we ob- 

 served some days ago a local notice in one of 

 our dailies, to the effect that Senator Warfel had 

 a number of copies for distribution. We have 

 nothing additional to add on the subject, ex- 

 cept that Ibis insect seems to be becoming more 

 numerous in Lancaster county every returning 

 harvest season, and should its increase make 

 any approach to that of the "Common Army- 

 Worm," it may T)e easily seen how destructive 

 this insect may become to the wlieat and tim- 

 othy crops in the future, miless it is "check- 

 mated" by a parasite, or by human interven- 

 tion. 



The Egg Controversy. 



To the Fditor of The Lancaster Farmer : 



I liave received the tiack uumliers oCThe Farmer, 

 and am much pleased with them ; they contain mucli 

 good reading. 



I see in tlie May numtier, on page 73, a little com- 

 ment tm my egg mystery, by Mr. .T. Y. Bieknell, of 

 ■VVestnioreland, NewYorli. Mr. Biclincll, as well as 

 olliers of the poultry ring, arc a little sore over my 

 mode of testing the sex of eggs, because it was not 

 discovered l)y some one in tile ring. Nol, only tliis, 

 but many other things they do not like to .admit, in 

 which some one outsid(w)f the ring got ahead of them, 

 esjiecially if it happened to be a plain farmer. I will 

 here give you a few facts concerning the difference 

 between Mr. Bieknell and myself. 



About a year ago be pulilished a challenge in the 

 Fani'imi' Junfinil (published by .Jos. M. Wade, Phil- 

 adeljihia) , otferiiig ([uite a sum if a hen would be 

 produced wliich would lay out a full laying of eggs, 

 tlie eggs hatching from a single intercourse with" I lie 

 cock. I answered it, saying tliey would, anything out- 

 side the Leghorns, and tluat I could show him each 

 and every egg which contained the life-principle ; that 

 by so doing be could tell the last egg which contained 

 it ; and he could then give her the male bird again. 



He became somewhat excited over this, and answered 

 through the Journal. The controversy was kept up 

 until he found he was getting cornered. He then 

 communicated with me by mail, which continued 

 about three months. Finally he wrote thus, under 

 date of August 4, 1874 : 



"I will send you to-morrow nine eggs, three from 

 each of three bens, all numbered. 1 wish you to ex- 

 amine them before a light, and tell me which will 

 hatch and which will not, and give me the numbers. 

 Then set them and see how they turn out." 



I did not ask for tliese eggs, nor know of their com- 

 ing, until I received the above. Under date of August 

 10, 1874, I replied as follows : 



*' I received those nine eggs, all in good condition, 

 and have given them a thorough examination. I find 

 eight of them non-fertile ; the air-bubble is not to be 

 seen. More than this, the eggs are not full ; by look- 

 ing about three-eighths of an inch down from the top 

 of the large end you can see the egg move on the in- 

 side of the shell. Such eggs will never hatch, the 

 life-principle being absent. The ninth one has the 

 appearance of having been sat on some tliree or four 

 days, or tampered with in some way. This one pur- 

 ports to have been laid July 37th, this being the mark 

 and date." 



I received no reply to the above. After two weeks 

 setting, I examined the eggs with the egg-tester, and 

 wrote Mr. Bieknell again, under date of August 18, 

 1874, as follows : 



" I examined those eggs to-day with the egg-tester, 

 and found them in accordance with ray previous ex- 

 amination. The one marked July 3it, the one I 

 su|.>posed to have been tampered with, was rotten, 

 streaked with blue and yellow, and did not smell very 

 pleasant ; the others were clear, and had the appear- 

 ance of fresh eggs, but the yolks run when broken, 

 and no smell from them." 



I received no reply from Mr. Bieknell until after I 

 had the transaction published in the Fanciers' Jour- 

 nal, some time in Sejitember. He then answered by 

 saying, Ihatl knew nothing about them by my exam- 

 ination. I thought I did, and that he did also; but 

 he would not acknowledge the corn. — Wm. J. Pile, 

 West Chester, J'a., July 1, 1875. 



Something About Eggs. 



I often hear the question asked through the poultry 

 papers, " How long will an egg keep that I may rely 

 on its hatching, provided I turn it over every day?" 



I have given the answer in the papers aforesaid, but 

 still the question continues to be asked, showing that 

 the experiment has not been tried or they surely 

 would be convinced. Break the shell on one side, 

 and on looking you will see a small yellow speck on 

 the yolk. Paste paper over the hole, turn it over, 

 and break it on the opposite side, and you will see 

 the same, showing that you can turn the shell but 

 not the egg. The flesh and bone of the chick are de- 

 veloped from the white of the egg, and when properly 

 advanced the yolk is drawn to the navel, or umbili- 

 cal orifice of the fe^tU, or chick, by two blood veins 

 protruding from the navel, enclosing the yolk. This 

 yellow spot is drawn towards the navel of the chick, 

 and from this is derived a portion of its nourisliment, 

 but it is very little diminished in size, until a few 

 himrs before it is hatched. It is then drawn into the 

 abdomen, the umbilical orifice closes, and the shell 

 " i)iped," and we soon see the beautiful work of 

 nature in the form of a chick, after the egg has been 

 brooded over by the heu for three weeks. — W. J. P., 

 West Chester, Pa., July \st, 1875. 



Post iScriptum. — The yolk is hung in the centre of 

 the egg, by two spiral cords, or springs, attached to 

 each end, each being twisted contrary to the other. 

 The one at the big end of the yolk is enclosed partly 

 by the life principle of the male, and the small end is 

 the life principle of the female. If the air bubble is 

 not to be seen the life princijile of the male bird is 

 not there; the egg, therefore, is only fit for culinary 

 use.— W. J. P. 



[Our correspondent seems to have a proper 

 knowledge of liis subject, and to discuss it from 

 a philosophically physiological stand-point, and 

 those who engage in a "tilt" with him on the 

 subject must meet him on the same level.] 



The Cultivation of Celery. 



July is the chosen month of practical gardeners in 

 the northern half of the nation for transiilanfing cel- 

 ery, which is of the must .■^ini|)Ie culture. Formerly 

 it was only grown and used by the wealthy, the 

 blanched stalks being used as a winter salad. Within 

 the past score of years, by chemical analysis, it has 

 been discovered that celery is one of the most valuable 

 vegetables, both as a part of food and for some dis- 

 eases. The bleached stalks, eaten along with other 

 food, allays nervousness and undue anxiety, and gives 

 placidity to the mind, thereby imparting vigor to the 

 system. Chemists now extract its essence to use in 

 all seasons to flavor drinks. > 



A skillful physician of Baltimore has of late years 

 compounded tiie essence of celery with that of 

 camomile, which has proved to be a panacea for all 



nervous diseases and undue irritability ; and it also 

 lessens pain in other maladies ; thousands of lives 

 have already been saved by it. A farmer may open 

 furrows with small corn plows, running forward and 

 back in the same furrow ; spread dung in the fur- 

 rows as much as for potatoes ; work it in the soil 

 with a spade or lioe or dung drag ; set the plants 

 six inches apart in the furrows, and the furrows may 

 be five feet apart. Draw back the loose soil from the 

 edges, and upon the ridges between the furrows plant 

 husk beans. They will be all used before the celery 

 needs earthing up. Keep the weeds down between 

 the rows with a cultivator, and hoe between the 

 plants in the rows. Transiilant in the evenings and 

 give a heavy watering at once, and every evening for 

 a week after. On the second week water every 

 pecond evening, and give occasional waterings after 

 that. If there be much rain, no artificial waterings 

 will be needed. Every farmer should grow a portion 

 for the good of his family, and it is a most profitable 

 crop to sell in the market. Those who have no plants 

 can procure them from the seedsmen and nursery- 

 men, who raise thousands for sale. No earthing up 

 is needed until the middle of September, when other 

 farm work is less jircssing. Two men in an hour 

 will earth up several hundred celery plants. We may 

 notice the progress of the earthing up in a couple of 

 mouths after this.— An Old Hu.sbanuman. 



The Crops in North Carolina. 



I am not now, and have not been engaged in farm- 

 ing for ten years past, but having been solicited to 

 contribute to the columns of The Farmer, I will en- 

 deavor to do the best I can for you, so far as my 

 ability goes and my opportunities to give infonnatifm 

 extend. I shall deal in facts, so far as I can command 

 them. 



At present I can only say that, so far as I have seen 

 and heard generally, the wheat crop, from appear- 

 ance in the field, promised well, but on harvesting it 

 I hear persons from different sections of this (Rowan) 

 county say that they have smut in their wheat, some 

 more and some less. I am inclined to believe that the 

 crop of wheat here this season will be less in quantity 

 and inferior in quality, owing to the cold weather and 

 frost in April. In this opinion some agree with me, 

 while others express themselves otherwise. I hope I 

 and those who agree with me will be disajipointed in 

 our judgment. 



The oats crop, fall and spring sown, is universally 

 good, so far as I have seen and heard, in this and ad- 

 joining counties. The grasses, such as clover, or- 

 chard and natural grass, were certainly fine, and 

 much good hay has been made. The corn, cotton 

 and tobacco so far promise well, and a large acreage 

 of ground has been planted ; and it is believed if 

 nothing hereafter interferes there will be good crops. 

 From present prospects, there will be more corn made 

 in Kowan county than has been made herein anyone 

 year since 1800. 



If I can do so, I will contribute monthly to TuE 

 Farmer until further notice, such matter relative to 

 crops, lands, productions, climate, «fcc., &c., as may 

 come to my knowledge from time to time. 



No rain here in the last ten days. We are not, 

 however, suffering yet for want of it. The prospect 

 for rain now is good. — M. K., Halishury, N. C, Jnty 

 3, 1875. 



^ 



Cut off the Decayed Blooms. 



The lovers of ornamental gardening can double 

 their pleasures by cutting olf all decayecl blooms, and 

 thus prevent the plants i'rom bearing seeds. By this 

 method roses and most other tlowering plants will 

 push out new shoots and blossom afresh. All the 

 ever-blooming roses can be kept in bloom from May 

 to December by cutting off the blooms after they 

 fade. All tlowering shrubbery will grow better and 

 bloom more profusely in their natural season by dis- 

 placing faded blooms. Many smaller Ilowering 

 plants can be re-invigorated and made to bloom again 

 by nijiping off the faded blooms ; such as mignonette, 

 sweet alyssum, drummoud phlox, coryopsis, sweet- 

 williams, canterburybells, snapdragons, larkspurs, 

 and many others. But if they are allowed to bear 

 seed, they will die off, as do the farmers' grain crops 

 when they go into seed-bearing. By a little care, all 

 blooming plants will keep green and bear blooms 

 longer and more iirofusely ; all of which will double 

 the pleasures of ornamental gardening. 



There is a pale green worm which comes upon the 

 mignonette and swcct-alyssnm, and eats their leaves 

 greedily ; and as these two annuals are the most 

 sweet-scented in their Itlooms, the worm should be 

 watched for and destroyed. When the leaves appear 

 eaten, search for the worms and kill them at once. — 

 Walter Elder, I'hiladclphia, June 32, 1875. 



"Jots and Tittles " from Dauphin County. 



1. In making board fence break the joints ; it will 

 last twice as long. 



3. Handle the I'oUs when young ; when you wish 

 to break them in they are already half broke. 



3. Weeds are advantageous to hoed crops ; the more 

 we have to jiuU and hoc the more we stir the soil ; the 

 oftenerthesoilis stirred the faster the crop will grow. 



