126 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[August, 



article ; and strange as the fact may seem to be, there 

 are not one-half of the butter-makers who really 

 know wliat a first-rate quality of butter is or how to 

 make it. Then afain many of them ilo not eare if 

 they can get within a few cents a ]>ounil of what the 

 best of butter sella at ; th(!y woulil rather sell at a 

 less price if they cannot convince the buyer that it is 

 equal to the best, auJ if so they save a little labor, 

 but the result in the end only shows that they were 

 "penny wise and pound l^oolish." To have the 

 credit of makini;; the very best of everything which 

 we manufacture is worth more than a few pennies on 

 a pound or two of butter. 



Among the prominent faults with butter Is one so 

 needless and one that is the result of so much negli- 

 gence and carelessness that it needs a passing notice. 

 I allude to the want of sufficient working to dissolve 

 the salt. There is no fault that is so soon detected 

 as this. 



Another department of the dairy business is that 

 of making cheese. This, too, if rightly understood 

 and carefully managed, is a remunerative business. 

 It takes five quarts of milk to make a pound of cheese 

 in most seasons of the year. In September and Oc- 

 tober cows that have given mill* through the summer 

 will make a pound of cheese from about four and a- 

 lialf quarts of new milk, the milk being richer in the 

 fiill than in the spring. It is claimed "by very good 

 dairymen that just as good cheese cau be made from 

 milk after taking off what cream rises over night as 

 from entirely now milk. Certain it is that if the 

 cream is allowiul to rise it might as well be taken otf 

 and made into bultei', as it will not not go into the 

 cheese but will melt and run otf into the whey and be 

 lost. Yet I think the milk if made into cheese as soon 

 as the animal heat is gone from it will make the best 

 cheese. Yet I am aware that as good cheese can be 

 made from skim milk as the average of cheese from 

 our farm dairies, especially in the mouths of Septem- 

 ber and October. 



Another prominent fault is the want of cleanliness 

 In all its details. Without this precaution it is im- 

 possible to make a first-rate quality of butter. If 

 care is not exercised in milking, the butter will be 

 rank from the dust adhering to the can, especially in 

 the winter, when cows are kept in the stable. It is 

 true that the quality of buttcrdepends very much upon 

 the feed ujmn which the cow is kept, as well as the 

 particular breed of the cows from which it is made. 



We have in our county a man (Mr. F. R. Starr) of 

 whom I have once written you. As I before stated, 

 his cows are all Alderney, and the milk is churned 

 new without skimming. His means and preparations 

 are ample for making the best butter that it is possi- 

 ble to make from new milk, and I learn it sells for a 

 dollar a pound, and this too when other butter of 

 good quality sells for only forty-Uve to fifty cents a 

 pound, and much more is sold for thirty cents. — 6er. 

 Telegraph. 



Loss by Weeds and Insects. 



It is estimated that the value of jiroduee annually 

 raised in this country is -?2,.5O0,0()(),00U, of which 

 amount nearly or quite one-tifth, or $.500,000,000, is 

 lost, according to the American Natnralistj from the 

 attacks of injurious plants and animals. A single 

 eamp.aign of the army worm costs the farmers of 

 eastern Massachusetts §250, 000 worth of grass. Mis- 

 souri alone loses from liftccn to twenty million dollars 

 ainnially frtjm insect depredations. The annual 

 damage to the ap[)le and pear crop from the codling 

 moth amounts to several million dollars, and the work 

 of the ciu'culio is equally costly. A partial remedy 

 is to be found in a close study of insect habits, with 

 a view to ascertaining what insects there are, and the 

 means to hold them in chedc or destroy them. It is 

 hardly possible to estimate the havoc annually 

 wi-ought by the grasshopper and the potato beetle, 

 for example ; and auy bird or insect which would re- 

 duce such pests would be a substantial benefactor to 

 the farmer. As to the "injurious plants," or in the 

 common vernacular, weeds, the only method that is 

 feasible is to kill them at their very germination by 

 means of projjcr agricultural machines. Tlie Country 

 Gentleman aflirms that the ammal growth of weeds 

 in this country amounts to eight million tons, or 

 enough to load a compact train of wagons long 

 enough to span the gloljc. Precisely how the Coun- 

 try Gentleman arrives at this very definite estimate, 

 we are at a loss to determine ; but it would certainly 

 be better for the farmer if the weeds were actually 

 loaded into the "compact train of wagons" referred 

 to, rather than to have them to choke his crops and 

 leave an unwelcome legacy of liberally sown seed for 

 future seasons. Farmers have only to consult their 

 own experience to realize the extent to which the 

 depredations of weeds and insects are carried, and 

 any measures which tend to even partial extirpation 

 of these pests are worth the trying. 



Raising Chestnut Trees. 



Chestnuts sell readily at llvi' dollars a bushel. Sup- 

 pose twenty trees to an acre, and that from these you 

 take half an acre, and that from these you take half 

 a bushel of nuls from each tree, this will make fifty 

 dollars — a snug little sum to foot up some of the in- 



numerable little bills arising from the purchase of 

 foreign luxuries. Who does not see the value and 

 the necessity .at this time of our great pecuniary need 

 of studiously seizing upon every item that might be 

 turned into a source of wealth ? No more need he 

 said under this head, unless it be to give some direc- 

 tions for the proper cultivation and care of nut trees, 

 which I do not propose doing at present. I trust that 

 all who read this short article will begin, if they are 

 not already in the habit of doing so, to drop a nut 

 here and there whereverthere is room for a tree, and 

 do not be deterred because the time may be long be- 

 fore you reap the fruit. Have you never eaten the 

 fruit of trees planted by those long since gone, and 

 can you deny to others what you have enjoyed your- 

 selves? Scatter the seeds far and wide, and you and 

 your children will reap a rich and lasting reward. 

 How much may not be added to the revenue of the 

 South, in a few years, by this single item alone, if all 

 who have land will follow these suggestions, and oc- 

 cupy a spare hour the coming year in planting white 

 and black walnut, pecan, chestnut, filbert, butternut, 

 and Madeira nut. — Church Union. 



Thoroughbred Stock Sales. 



Clifton Farms, Kennett Square, Chester county. Pa. 

 have recently made the following sales of improved 

 and thoroughbred stock from their choice herds : Jer- 

 sey cow, " Nellie 4th," to James Benney, jr., Pitts- 

 burgh, Pa.; Jersey bull, "Clifton Farmer," to Frank 

 Lee, esq., Madison, Indiana ; Jersey Heifer, " Clifton 

 Charm," to John F. Heazlit, Berea, Ohio; Jersey 

 bull calf, to S. M. Learning, Cape May, N. J.; Jersey 

 heifer, "Norway Belle," to Will J. Row, Greens- 

 burgh, Pa.; Jersey heifer, " Lady Velvetine," to Jas. 

 Benney, jr., Pittsburgh, Pa.; Ayrshire heifer, to Jas. 

 Smith, esq., Kent county, Md.; Ayrshire cows, "Eilie 

 Deans " and " Handsome Nellie," to Joshua Hunt, 

 Lehigh county, Pa.; Ayrshire bull, " Norway Duke," 

 to Benj. W. Passmore, Concord, Pa.; Ayshire heifer, 

 "Crystal Belle," to Jos. R. Goodell, Lancaster city. 

 Pa.; Ayrshire heifer, " May-Day Belle," and Ayrshire 

 bull, "Sir Denton," to John Van Wagner, esq., 

 Hudson City, N. Y. Also, the Jersey heifers, "Mos- 

 tilla," "Valley Belle," and "Primrose of Clifton," 

 and the Jersey bulls, "Sir Dexter" and "Clifton 

 Champion," all to the Dauphin County Agricultural 

 Association ; also, to the same society and at the same 

 time, the Ayrshire heifer, " Crystal Fancy," and the 

 Ayrshire bull, " Forrest Duke," all choice specimens. 

 Also, very many choice and prize bred " Chester 

 White Pigs " and other stock, to various parties in 

 the different States, among others the following to 

 citizens of this .county : W. L. Peiper, Lancaster ; 

 James Dufl'y, Marietta ; John Sides and James Me- 

 Kenna, Lancaster. 



^— 



Butter and Cheese. 



In the last twenty years the product of butter and 

 cheese in the United States has been more than 

 doubled. Last year it amounted to fi.50,000,000 pounds 

 of butter and 300,000,000 pounds of cheese, of which 

 more than ouc-lburth of the butter and nearly one- 

 half of the cheese were made by the State of New York. 

 The cheese factories number about 2000, employ about 

 ?;.5,000,n00 capital, and use the milk of three-fourths 

 of a million cows. The American Grocer states that 

 the production this year is likely to greatly exceed 

 that of last year, but does not believe that the pro- 

 duction will even exceed the demand. The cheap- 

 ening and improvement of butter and cheese by arti- 

 ficial means'will fend rather to overstock the market. 



— Farhi vnd Dairy. 



^ 



How Drains Act. 



The water that runs into drains dug iu tough clay 

 soil, enters from the sides and bottom, and not from 

 immediately above the drains. The toughest clay is 

 sulHciently jiermeahle to water, to allow ;it to pass 

 through readily, and after the drains have been in 

 operation some time, regular and permanent water 

 channels become cstablisheil in the soil, leading from 

 above to the bottom of the drains. In digging drains 

 in tough, conqiact clay, numerous small veins of water 

 are cut, winch show very clearly how readily the 

 water will pass through such soil, as soon as outlets 

 are provided . The advantage of deeper drains is thus 

 explained, and it is readily seen that their influence 

 extends very much further in proportion to their 

 depfli. 



^ 



Benefits of Advertising. 



One of the patrons of the advertising department 

 of TiiK FAitMUU writes us that the money he has ex- 

 pended in making known, through this cluiimel,what 

 he had for sale, has paid him a handsome return. There 

 can be no doubt that this holds true generally. We 

 believe Tliii FAiiMEii is more thoroughly read than any 

 other of ourloeal publications. It comes to the home 

 only once a month and is prized for useful information 

 it contains. It is, moreover, read by a special class, and 

 those who wish to reach this special class can not do 

 it as eifeetivcly through any other channel. It should 

 be borne in mind, too, that while there arc more solid 

 farmers in Lancaster than in any other county,' The 

 F.VUMEU is the only journal devoted exclusively to 

 their interests. 



[For The Lancaster FAnMEu. 

 WE ARE GROWING OLD TOGETHER. 



BT JANE GBET. 



We are growing old together, 



Friends of childhood, ye and I — 

 We who crossed o'er blooming heather 



Under childhood's cloudless sky : 

 We who gathered springtime's flowers 



In the same delicious May ; 

 We who rested 'neath rose bowers 



When aweary of the day. 



We are growing old together. 



You and I who in life's morn 

 Lightly crossed the blooming heather, 



And through fields of tasseled corn. 

 Many, many who were fairest 



In that dawning glad and bright. 

 Have been gathered where the rarest 



Buds shall blossom without blight. 



But if care our brows have shaded, 



Or our locks be turning gray. 

 Or if morn's sweet bloom be faded 



And our roses swept away ; 

 We have kept the breath of blossoms 



In the spirit's inmost fold. 

 We have treasui-ed in our liosoms 



Faces that can ne'er grow old. 



We h.ave sunlight ever, ever 



Shining brightly in the heart. 

 And the dove of Peace can never 



From such shelt'ring home depart ; 

 For the horizon glows brightest 



When the sun rolls down the west. 

 And th' immortal soul gleams whitest 



As it nears the land of rest. 

 Laiicaatcr, Pa.y July, 187.5. 



BEES AND BEE CULTURE. 



Time for Dividing and Preparing tor Winter. 



It would be very strange if, in years of experience, 

 we had learned nothing that would change our prac- 

 tice in bee-keeping in some important particulars. 



We have been slow to make changes, but on look- 

 ing back we find that in manj' things we cannot now 

 give the same advice which we would have given ten 

 years ago. 



In nothing has our practice changed more than in 

 the time and manner of dividing bees. We used to 

 make all divisions as early as possible^aiming to get 

 our luimher of colonies as large as we could, consist- 

 ent with strength, by the time of the Lime harvest. 



The last three seasons we have succeeded better by 

 keeping as many bees as possible in our hives, and 

 making no divisions until after the best honey is 

 gathered. 



We use large hives and keep them crowded with 

 bees, preventing the swarming fever by giving the 

 queen ample room for brood. 



If the object be to receive large amounts of honey, 

 there is no better way than this. It is from these 

 large colonies that the quantities of honey are taken, 

 which seem almost fabulous to those who do not un- 

 derstand the size of the hive from which they are 

 obtained. 



Before this number of the Magazine reaches our 

 readers, the Lime and white clover harvests will be 

 over. 



In some places this is the last abundant yield of 

 honey, but still in most localities, nine seasons out of 

 ten, bees will gather ample stores for their own sup- 

 port until frost. 



Iu localities where buckwheat is raised much sur- 

 plus honey is secured. 



We do not find that large colonies winter as well 

 as smaller ones. 



In our experience, hives containing from 3,000 to 

 3,200 cubic inc^ies, winter best, all other things being 

 equal. \Ve then, after the Lime harvest is over, di- 

 vide our colouies, proceeding just as we used to do 

 when dividing iu May or June. From one of these 

 large hives we mal<c two small ones, taking most of 

 the honey from the combs, and supplying to each 

 half, if possible, a fertile queen. These queens may 

 be easily reserved during the honey harvest in nuclei, 

 which every progressive bee-keeper will keep in his 

 apiary in order to have spare queens on hand for any 

 emiTgency. 



We made last year twenty colonies from eight of 

 these large hives, each oue of the twenty containing 

 nine frames a foot squ.are each. When divided, not 

 one of them contained any honey and very little 

 brood, but by the first of September all were stocked 

 with honey and brood, and all of them wintered well. 

 Some seasons it will be found advisable to feed occa- 

 sionally during the very dry or rainy weather, but 

 even without this, such strong colouies as these will 

 be from the start, will fill up without trouble. 



In our Western autumns, with these abundant fall 

 blossoms, we often get considerable surplus honey 

 from these divided colonies. 



We cannot too strongly advise beginners to exam- 

 ine every hive at the close of the Lime harvest, and 



