154 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[October, 



OUR PARIS LETTER. 



Farming on the Continent of Europe. 

 Correspondence of The Lancaster Farmeb. 



Pakis, September i, 1875. 



THE YIELD OF THE HARVEST. 



Although harvestinir operations are nearly termi- 

 nated in all France, yet the exact result cannot be 

 etateil with accuracy till threshine operations be 

 completed. General opinion believes the yield will be 

 a mean average of about 2.H million quarters for whet; 

 in exceptional years double this quantity is produced. 

 Some twenty-four million quarters are required for 

 home consumption, and four millions for sowinffs. Thus 

 no wheat can be exported of this season's crop, but such 

 can take place from reserved stocks, which are lariie. 

 Natural and artificial meadows have furnished some 

 excellent aftermaths ; licet looks better, and the vines 

 promise an exceptional vintage, in quantity, at all 

 events. Potatoes leave somethiuK to be desired ; and 

 while the condition of cattle is generally good, there 

 are districts where the foot and mouth disease has re- 

 appeared. 



DEPREDATION'S OF THE VIXE-BUG. 



The importance of the vine-bug or phylloxera 

 question to France may be estimated by the fact that 

 the insect, which covers the roots like a bark, has al- 

 ready dest royed nearly half a million acres of vine- 

 yard, and threatens with ruin two millions of acres 

 more. Since three years a Government Commission 

 has been occupied at Montpellier, experimenting with 

 all suggested remedies on an affected \'ine_vard sev- 

 eral acres in extent. It may be safely said, the Com- 

 mission, composed of practical and scientific men, has 

 discovered no cure. It has, however, demonstrated 

 the happy action of manures in prolonging the life of 

 tlie vine, without, however, preserving it. The sub- 

 mersion of the vines, for thirty days at least in au- 

 tumn or winter, with running water, and the subse- 

 quent application of fertilizers, known as the Faucon 

 plan, is the sole eflflcacious remedy up to the present 

 demonstrated, and so highly is it appreciated, that a 

 project is on foot to construct a canal, to be fed from 

 the Rhone, so as to enable several million acres of 

 vineyards to be temporarily inundated. A special 

 commissioner has left for the United States to study 

 a variety of American vine-stocks, known in Pennsyl- 

 vania as the "corn grape," and reported capable of 

 resisting the phylloxera. 



REAPERS, MOWEKS AND THRESHERS. 



iSeveral agricultural societies adopted the excellent 

 practice this year of issuing instructions for the use 

 of mowing and reaping machines, and trials of both 

 have been extensively made. Since May, last, 3,000 

 of these machines have been sold in France, and 

 mostly of foreign make. A reaping machine is not 

 easy to construct ; its parts are numerous and di- 

 verse, demanding an extremely precise, if not deli- 

 cate, adjustment. French manufacturers are not able 

 yet to compete with English aud.Vmerican fabricants. 

 The total reapers turned out by tlie former do not ex- 

 ceed oOO. As France at present exports locomotives 

 to England, there is no reason why she may not one 

 day do the same for mowers and reapers. It is calcu- 

 lated that the 3,000 machines purchased within the 

 last three months represent the equivalent of oO.OOO 

 laborers. This supplemental labor is incalculable 

 where farm servants are rare, and where the military 

 are too occupied with their own duties to give much 

 practical help during harvest-time. .It is becoming 

 the custom in France to present the farmer who otters 

 his wheat to be cut by a competition of reaping ma- 

 chines with the prize reaper, the latter being pur- 

 chased for that purpose by tlie local farming society. 

 Not less noteworthy is the progress made in the 

 adoption of threshing machines. For large farms 

 steam machines of course are employed, but in the 

 ease of small holdings the little Swiss machine is pre- 

 ferred. It is portable, and so passes from neighbor 

 to neighbor. If worked by a horse, ten bushels of 

 grain per hour may be threshed ; if turned by two 

 men, one-half that quantity. 



ADfLTERATlOX OF COMMERCIAL MANURES. 



The Minister of Agriculture, alarmed at the ex- 

 tensive adulteration of commercial manures, and 

 which is progressing rather than diminishing, re- 

 commends each Department to establish a laboratory 

 for testing the sincerity of the selliT, and he urges 

 every agricultural society to obtain samiiles of ma- 

 nures oliered for sale in their neigliborliood, sending 

 same to be analyzed, and in case of fraud, placing 

 the matter in the hands of the public prosecutor. 

 France has sutlicient laboratories already in connec- 

 tion with her agricultural schools and "stations ; " 

 the obstacle to conquer is the apathy of the farmer, 

 who in too many cases is already the debtor of tlie 

 seedsman and manure dealer. The easiest and best 

 guarantee is to order c<inimercial manures at the 

 fountain head. The newest substance for falsifyhig 

 guano is a compound of gjpsum and [ihosphate of 

 lime, colored to imitate real Peruvian. M. Coren- 

 winder, of Lille, draws attention to the baiicoul nut, 

 belonging to the euphorbUwfe family ; when deprived 

 of its thick shell, it yields 02 per cent, of oil, suitable 

 for burning or industry ^ the cake is as rich as 23 per 

 cent, in nitrogenous matters, and the phosphates are 



also in large quantities, hence the cake would make 

 a capital manure. The nut is peculiar to Cochin 

 China, Tahiti and New Caledonia. 



HAY FARMING AND BALING. 



A fresh impulse has been given to hay farming by 

 the employment of machines for compressing the fod- 

 der. A cubic yard of hay, ordinarily bundled, weighs 

 about 1 cwt.; by pressure, and well corded and wired, 

 five and six times that quantity can be forced into 

 the same space. It is thus that Cherbourg sends hay 

 to Paris, and the same facilities prevent a region 

 from suffering from any penury of fodder. The 

 presses are of various sizes, the portable ones being 

 iiired out. Reports of late have been very unfavora- 

 ble ti-> the giant maize of Nicaragua, so much es- 

 teemed for green feeding. On examination it has 

 been found tliat the seed had not been imiiorted from 

 South America, but raised in the vicinity of Mar- 

 seilles; the seed germinated very unequally and 

 sickly, and was fonnd to be black in the centre, and 

 suflering from a dry rot. Apart from any question 

 of degeneracy, the climate of France cannot ripen 

 this maize, and hence why farmers are falling back 

 on the variety known as "horse-tooth." M. Goffaft, 

 who has become the authority on the preservation of 

 green maize and rye in trenches for winterand spring 

 feeding, asserts the plan has never failed, where the 

 instructions have been minutely followed. The amount 

 of moisture contained in the plant is no obstacle to 

 its preservation, as maize contains 90 per cent, of 

 water when put in the trench, and revealed on analy- 

 sis the same jier centage, four months later, when 

 taken out to be consumed. M. Gotfart thinks that the 

 reason why so many complain of green rye not con- 

 serving well is owing to its being relatively dry, con- 

 taining but 70 per cent, of water, and hence, one rea- 

 son, perhaps, why a watering with salt in solution 

 proves so beneficial. The colder the state in which 

 green stutt' is put into the trenches the better; thus, 

 after filling some pits in December, M. Goffart found 

 that such as had a layer of ice on the surface before 

 being covered in, maintained the desired low tempera- 

 turetothelast. 



SHEEP AND WOOL. 



The CentrJl Agricultural Society has resolved that, 

 as yet, there is not sutlicient practical evidence, that 

 in the case of Merinos, precocity is compatible with 

 relative amelioration in the staple of the wool. Pro- 

 fessor Sanson combats this doctrine, by producing 

 specimens of wool, of an excellent character, belong- 

 ing to Merinos, that had their full permanent teeth at 

 the age of twenty months — the grand proof of pre- 

 cocity. In other instances, Merino rams had their 

 dentition perfect at twenty-six months, thirty being 

 the general period for such. 



INCREASING THE BREED OF HORSES. 



Belgium is very much occupied with the meaus to 

 increase the breed of horses, to supply the deficiency 

 caused by foreign purchases. The favorite plan is to 

 award annual jirizes to the best stallions, aged from 

 four to nine years, and which shall have covered thirty 

 mares at least, in the locality. France, in addition, 

 gives prizes for the best brood mares, but which 

 must not be exported. Belgium being very rich, can 

 aflbrd to pay good prices, there the rent per acre of laud 

 is frOO, and for its purchase fr-t,000. The land is fer- 

 tile, excepting the heath district of Campine, and fifteen 

 quarts of milk is the expected yield of a Dutch cow. 

 When the quality, as well as the quantity diminishes, 

 the animal is at once (attened for the butcher. Some 

 of the small farmers employ dogs, in a separate out- 

 house, to turn the churn crank. It is by means of 

 beet pulp that Belgian farmers are able to fatten so 

 much stock. Manual labor is not dear, farm ser- 

 vants receive fr30 per month, with board and lodg- 

 ing, and day laborers three sous per hour. 



NEW PROCESS OF PLANTING POTATOES. 



The Telliez process of planting potatoes, horticul- 

 tural rather than agricultural, consists in being able 

 to have new potatoes in January and February, equal to 

 those ordinarily produced in May and June. Having 

 selected a light friable soil, at least twelve inches in 

 depth, make a hole ten inches deep, place a little ma- 

 nure therein, then the potato, afterwards some ma- 

 nure, and then fill in the soil. The holes ought to be 

 twenty-lour inches assunder. The seed potatoes 

 should be preserved in charcoal dust till first of 

 August — the moment for planting — and to be steeped 

 for one hour beforehand in a solution of half a pound of 

 salt and one quart of w.iter; about the middle of Sep- 

 tember mould, and at the same period in October 

 weed and earth up, irrespective of the faded stems; 

 then cover with a little straw; the tubercles will in- 

 crease imderground, independent of all exterior vege- 

 tation, and may be gathered in the early part of Jan- 

 uary, although they will not be fully ripe till the close 

 of February. 



MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS. 



M. Duponchel recommends an effective means for 

 destroying dodder. Mow the spot affected as close as 

 possible to the soil, afterwards raking it clean; then 

 strew a quarter of a pound of sulphuret of > calcium 

 per square yanl ; the dodder will be burnt, but the 

 clover and lucern ^^ ill in no way sutler. 



To destroy the terrible bugworms which attack the 

 young hop stems, M. Breithaupt pours some carbolic 



acid on a heated shovel; the fumes cause the worms 

 to fall dead in masses. 



Canadian poplar seems to be proscribed for road- 

 side planting; instead, ordinary poplar is recom- 

 mended for humid soils; elms for strong clays, and 

 oak for land unsuitable for any other tree ; the dis- 

 tance between each tree to be thirty-three feet. 



It is alleged that one of the obstacles to the rearing 

 of horses in France, is the absence of oats. In the 

 southern parts of the country, barley is the favorite 

 grain for horses, as is i)racticed at present in Spain, 

 Algeria, Arabia, itc. The Romans fed their cavalry 

 horses only on barley. A new variety of oats, called 

 SuUnes, has been introiluced in the neighborhood of 

 Lille, which yieldsovcreighty bushels per acre, where 

 formerly but half that quantity was produced; hence, 

 the cultivation of this grain cro]! is now rapidly spread- 

 ing; oats sell at frll to frli per cwt. 



OUR LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS. 



Proceedings of the Lancaster County Agricul- 

 tural and Horticultural Society. 



The stated monthly nieetingof the Lancaster County 

 Agricultural and Horticultural Society was held in 

 this city on Monday, Oct. 4th: Present, Messrs. .John- 

 son Miller, President; Peter S. Reist, Calvin Cooper, 

 Simon P. Ebv, John Crossman, Win. J. Kafroth, 

 Henry M. Edgle, M. B. Eshleman, Elias Brackbill, 

 S. S. Rathvon, Mr. Buckwalter, Martin Brubaker, 

 Ephraira Hoover, John M. Stehman, Reuben Weaver, 

 John Gross, and Alexander Harris, Secretary. 



W. J. Kafroth, of West Earl, and Henry Webb, 

 were elected members of the Society. 



The President read a report on the condition of the 

 crops in Warwick township. He said the State Fair 

 is now among the things of the jiast, and our minds 

 are again directed to our work at home. In looking 

 over our farms, we find that the wheat crop sown 

 only a few weeks ago is coming up finely, and the 

 fields look as if very well set and in good growing 

 condition. The seeding has varied from the first of 

 September to the first of October, and there is some 

 to sow yet. The corn crop is the largest and heaviest 

 we have had for years, and at this time is nearly all 

 cut. Potatoes, both white and sweet, have turned out 

 large crops, and in spite of the bugs Lancaster county 

 has a very fine crop of jiotatoes. These being plenty 

 and cheap, will be a relief to the poor during the ap- 

 proaching winter, which, from present indications, 

 will be marked with a scarcity of labor for a large 

 class of our population. Agriculturally, this has been 

 a year of plenty, and people have no reason to com- 

 plain. An all-wise Providence has proviiied for all 

 who feel like earning an honest living by labor, and 

 those who do not will receive the just reward of their 

 indolence, in not working while work could be had. 

 While we have fine weather farmers should not lose 

 a day in putting things to rights about the farm and 

 farm buildings, especially to procure the proper pro- 

 tection of their stock from the inclement weather of 

 winter. 



.Mr. Kafroth agreed in the main with the President. 

 The farmers in his township had fair crops of wheat 

 and fruits. 



Peter S. Reist made an encouraging report. The 

 farmers are now busily engaged in feeding, and for 

 some time they have been selecting more clioice stock . 

 They are sowing more corn ground in wheat this fall 

 thaii has been done for years. Apples are rather 

 scarce. Potatoes, notwithstanding the bugs, have 

 yielded a good crop. 



Johnson Miller agreed with Mr. Reist in the matter 

 of sowing wheat on corn stubble. 



John Grossman was in favor of cutting offthecorn, 

 then plowing the ground, and afterwards harrow- 

 ing it. 



John Brackbill differed somewhat in his plan. 



Reference having been made to a particular drill, 

 Mr. Engle said he had not tried it, but he had seen 

 it. Hcand Mr. Carter had carefully examined the 

 drill at the fair, and they had formed the same opin- 

 ion of it. The drill which he (the speaker) used, had 

 the shovels eleven inches ajiart. He thought the 

 drills, as now generally used, would not give general 

 satisfaction. He believed we would yet be compelled 

 to adopt the method pursued in England — to culti- 

 vate our wheat like corn. 



Mr. Kafroth presented apples, grown by Mr. Ens- 

 niingcr, of .Manheim, and he desired the members to 

 examine an. I pronounce upon them. 



Joljnson .Miller thought something should be done 

 to secure a meeting room. 



On motion, a committee of four was appointed to 

 see the County Commissioners with reference to a 

 room for the future meetings of the Society. The 

 following gentlemen constitute the committee: S. P. 

 Eby, esq., Epliraim Hoover, D. G. Swarlz, esq., and 

 Wm. McComsey — the committee to rejiort through 

 the papers for next meeting. 



Mr. Engle spoke of the success of the State Fair. 

 One of the leading managers stated to him that the 

 fair was the. niost^ complete success which the State 

 Society had ever known. He thought we should soon 

 go to work to arrange lor the next fair, which he be- 

 lieved would be held in our midst next year. Many 

 who did not participate this year now regretted it, 



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