1875.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER 



Hi 



every socoml hour with the tiimiic iiuiil Uitiun, balhint' 

 the teats to draw oil" the milk, ami thus prevent iii- 

 flaninuLiinii. The milk for eii^ht days afterwartis 

 oiijrht to lie thrown away, as il" jriveii to pigs it would 

 prove eontagious. 



A NEW VETEHINAUV DEVICE. 



Tin' veterinary surgeon of one of the ehief railway 

 eonipuiiies of Paris, ha.s invented for the use of its 

 dray and hues horses, a elieap and simple niaehine 

 for self-irrii,^ating the feet in easeof any inllaniinalory 

 ailment. A hox eontainintr lour eoeks is pla('e<l ontlie 

 animal's hack hy means of a skeleton sort of sa<Idle; 

 an India ruhher tul)e eommunieates between this box, 

 anil a vessel plaeed above the manger eontaining a 

 solution; from eaeh i-oek in the box resting on the 

 baek cd*tbe animal, is a tube deseending to eaeh fet- 

 loek, terminatinir in a kind of gaiter, inside of wliieh 

 is a perforated plate, so as to allow the solution, or 

 simple eold water, to fall in a eontinuous tine spray 

 over the sprain, &e. 



A ItEMEDV run IHIIIDKII. 



Continued evidence is adduced of the destruction 

 of dodder by sul|ihuret of calcium, a salt which costs 

 fr..*) per ewt. When the we*'d is perceived, the clover 

 or lueeru is at once cut as closely to the irround as 

 possible, and after removal the soil is dusted with the 

 salt, at the rate of one-()iuirter to one-half pounil per 

 square yard; a strong dew is necessary to make it 

 act, which it immediately does, by burning up the 

 dodder roots and stimulating the crowns of the clover 

 and lucern. 



A.N E.\<'EI.I.KXT MEANS TO rHESEmE IIAUNESS, 



and, indeed, all kinds of leather trappings, from the 

 injurious etleets of the ammt)iiia of stables is, to add 

 a little glycerine to the grease ordinarily employed. 



TO FATTEN FOWLS WITHIN TEN OK FOUHTEEN DAYS, 



they ought to be plaeed iu a wooden cage two feet 

 above the soil, the bottom id' the cage to be strewn 

 with wood ashes daily : tin- food should i-onsist oi 

 rice, boiled in skimmed ndlk, adding a spixinful of 

 carbonate of soda; the ])oultry ouirhtto receive, also, 

 pure watertwice a day, and, like the food, in earthen 

 vessels. The chief object is to maintain great cleanli- 

 ness, and to avoid the iireseuce of any acid. The flesh 

 of fowls thus fatted is highly jiraiscd. 



TO DESTROY S.MUT, IIUST, EKliOT, ie., 



in cereals intended for sowing, the seeds are plaeed in 

 several steeps, and when the floating grains are re- 

 moved, the rest arc ndled in lime. Instead, there- 

 fore, of a steep composed of a salt of cojiper, diluted 

 eulpuric acitl, urine, or dissolved guano, M. Kogc 

 proposes for his steep a solution of a salt of lead; a 

 greater number of seeds have germinated when thus 

 treated as compared with other means, and subse- 

 quent vegetation has been more rapid . 



OUR.LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS. 



Proceedings of the Lancaster County Agricul- 

 tural and Horticultural Society. 



THE NOVEMnun MEETtNO . 



The regular stated monthly meeting of the Soeiety 

 was held in the rooms of the Boarded' Trade on Mon- 

 day aflernoon, the Hrst of Xovcinber, at two o'clock. 



The following members were present : Johnson 

 Miller, President; Alexander Harris, Sei'retary: Ilcnry 

 M. Engle, Ephraim Hoover. .Jacob Kollinger, .lolin B. 

 Erb. Abraham Suminy. .\aron It. Sumniy, William 

 MeC'omsey, Milton B. Eshlcman, t'aspcr Hillc-r, Ed- 

 win Keinhold, 8imon P. El)y, Pi4er \'oK']isIein, .John 

 Grossman, Jonas Buekwaltcr, .Martin D. Kcndig, E. 

 K. Hershey, S. S. Kattivon, John (Ungrieh, Peter S. 

 Reist. and the reporters. 



yir. John .■<. (iingrich, of East Hempfield, was pro- 

 posed and elected a member of the soeiety. 



After the meeting was organized, the President 

 called for 



KEPOKTSON TlIF, CKOI'S. 



Henry M. Engle said that the corn crop iu his neigh- 

 borhood was over an average. The grain has started 

 up very finely this fall. He never saw it do better. 

 Fruit, potatoes and other crops have heretofore I)een 

 reported. The young clover is not well set thisseason. 



-Mr. Jacob Bollinger said that the crop of wheat in 

 his district does not look very well. It is inferior to 

 that of some other years. The corn is not (juite as 

 solid as he has met with in other years. He planted 

 his corn from the 1.5th to the '2.5th of .May, and aver- 

 aged eighty-seven bushels to the acre. He did not be- 

 lieve in i)rovidential dis[)ensations as regar'ds the 

 growing of crops. It is the ground and fertilizers 

 that produce crops. In his neighborhood the ajiple 

 crop was very poor. 



Mr. Engle believed thatthcrewasgreatershrinkage 

 in the corn crop this year than in former years. 



Ephraim Hoover was at his ohi farm a few days 

 ago; there the wheat crop is looking very tine. Tlie 

 corn crop was quite good this year. He also discov- 

 ered that there was a considerable shrinkage in the 

 corn crop. The fruit crop was just an averairc. His 

 orchard sh)pes to the north, and bears alternately — 

 one-third one year and lull crop the next. He be- 

 lieved iu adding fertilizers to the orchard. 



John B. Erb's crops look well. Iu his neighbor- 



hood a great deal of grain has been put in ground 

 that was intended for grass. More wheat has been 

 sown this year than usual. 



M. B, Eshlcman saiil that the greater part of his 

 neiirhbor's « heat was sow n about the middle of Sep- 

 ' ember, but he did not sow his until the betrinnlng of 

 Ucttibcr. His crop is now as large as that sinvnearlier. 



KErollT ON IM.ACE OF MEETISO. 



The committee on procuring a room for holding 



■heir meetings, re|»orted progress. On motion, it was 



ordered that the committee lie continued, and unless 



hememliers are not i fled, the next meeting will be 



held at the same place. 



I'OKN AND FltrlT I'llESENTED. 



Jacob Bollinger presenle<l the society with four 



ears of corn of his gn>wing. 



t'asper lliller presented to the society three varlc- 

 liesof |iears — D'Angou. Laurence and Oick's. 



The following question, jiroposed for discussion at 

 the last meeting, was then oth'red: What Is 



THE HKST TIMK TO I'LOW OUOINII FOK COIIN OH OATS. 



.Mr. Jacob (irossman, who proposed the question, 

 said that he was in favor of fall plowing. If thi'soil 

 is heavy it should be plowed in thi' fall, and if it is 

 light.it should be plowed in the spring. 



Johnson .Miller said that he foumi fall plowing much 

 the best for corn, and ecpially as good for oats. IJur- 

 ing the bust year he comminenced to plow a twenty- 

 acre field in the fall and finished all but about three 

 acres, which he plowed in the spring. It was lime- 

 stone land, and was planted in corn. The greatest 

 dilfercncc was noted. Three times as much matured 

 on that which was plowed in fall as in spring. In 

 other seasons he found no dilferenee. lie favored fall 

 plowing. 



H. ,M. Engle believed that no rule could be laid 

 down for fall or s|iring plowing. His experience told 

 him so. There is a dilfercnce in soil. In some it 

 would bebetter to plow in fall, in others it would be 

 better to plow in spring. Can't say which season 

 would be the best. Mucli depends on the kind of soil 

 to lie plowed. A heavy stilf clay soil is best |ilowed 

 in spring. Plowing depends upon so many contin- 

 gencies that it cannot be determined which is the best 

 time to do it in. 



Ephraim Hoover gives a preference to'spring jilow- 

 iiig. He believed the matter of spring and fall [ilow- 

 ing depended altogether on locality. Plowing should 

 be done as early in spring as possible. Manure should 

 be placed on the ground as early as possible so as to 

 give it a chance to soak in. Leave only as much ma- 

 nure in the barn yard as is necessary. There is great 

 advantage in thus applying the manure. This is the 

 way he prepares his land for corn. As regards oats, 

 it makes little ditferenee whether the plowing be done 

 in the spring or fall. 



Jacob Bollinger believes there are as many ditferent 

 opinions about s|]ring and fall plowing as there are 

 individuals. His plan is to have the maimre on the 

 oats stubble and then plow it down. This has always 

 been his practice. He has tiecn very successful in 

 growing corn. As regards wheat, he has not been 

 very successful. He averaged seventy-five bushels of 

 corn to the acre. Fall plowing, in his opinion, is the 

 best. 



On a question being asked Mr. Bollingi^r in regard 

 to the cut worm, he said that it was the worst in 

 spring plowing. 



H. M. Engle thought the members should confine 

 themselves to the question. The question for discus- 

 sion was about plowing, and not manuring. Forcorn 

 ('ultivation he bclieveil in top dressing. 



Mr. McComsey thought some latitude should be 

 allowed in the discussion of (piestions. as it bringsout 

 very many interesting facts that can be made use of. 



J. B. Erb said that his experience in ph)wing was 

 to turn the furrow ui> on its edge. Corn planted in 

 this kind of ground will become much better than if 

 the furrow was turncil clear over. This will holdout, 

 whether it be sprinir or fall plowing. 



H. M. Engle said that he found the stirface soil to 

 he always the most profitatile. He agreed with Mr. 

 Erb, and showed that the .strength of the soil was 

 more in the surface .soil than in the sub soil. If the 

 surface soil could all be kept on the 1(^p, so much the 

 better. It is the l)est for tender plants. 



Ephraim Hoover believed this was so. as you turned 

 the best soil to the best advanta'jc. There was one 

 objection, however, and that was it was very dilticull 

 to plow. If plowed by a iw)or plower, a great many 

 weeds would spring up and create a great deal of 

 trouble. As far a? putting the soil to the best ad- 

 vantage for planting corn is concerned, he believed in 

 surface soil. 



.\I. 1). Kcndig never plows in the fall for oats. He 

 alwavs plows in the spring, as he has faith in that 

 kind of plowing. For corn he plows partly In the fall 

 and partly in the spring. His land is limesti>ne. and 

 he always plows it as early iu the spring as is conve- 

 nient. Fall plowing was more destructive to the cut 

 worms. He had full confidence iu spring plowing, 

 and was decidedly in favor of it . 



H. M. Engle regardedihe farmer that waslrouhled 

 with weeds as being far behind the age. If we under- 

 stood farming ariglit, we would not be troubled with 

 weeds. If you once get your farm clear of weeds you 

 will never be bothered with them again. The best 



way to destroy them Is to cut them down with a 

 reui>or, rake them together ami burn them. 



Mr. Hix>ver believed in the old maxim that "an 

 ounce «)f prevention was worth a |M>und of cure,'' and 

 that the closer you come up with the furrows In plow- 

 ing the belter. This thing id' not a Mowing any weeds 

 to grow. Is all very well, but on a larL'c farm it is lin- 

 |)Osslble to keejj them down. The best way to destroy 

 weeiN in tlidshing up corn was to plow them down 

 and not shovel harrow tlietu. 



Mr. McComsey bellved the only way to settle this 

 (piestioll was to 



INSTITITE A SEllIES (IK KX I'EIIIMENTK, 



to go throuL'h a perloil of years and appHed to dllfer- 

 ent soils. This, he thoiigiit, would he the only way 

 to settle a <|Uestiou of this character. If he were a 

 practical farmer he wiiuld test questions of Ihiskliid. 

 He thoughl tIn-re was a L'reat ailvaniaire In fall plow- 

 ing. If he was a farmer he wouhl plow forcorn and 

 oats between the current work of fall and freezing 

 up time. 



Mr. MeCom.sey then said. If no other inenihorK 

 wished to speak on this (piestion, he would like to say 



A WOItl) ON THE DAIItV (^lESTION, 



which was discused at the last meeting. .Some two 

 or three weeks agohe visited thebirthplaceor Itolx-rl 

 Fulton, which is in the extreme southern |Mirtion of 

 this county. He had long held a desire to visit the 

 birthplace of this ceh'bral.ed man. whose genius and 

 skill contributeil so much lothe wellfare of his fellow- 

 man and the whole world. In passing through that 

 part of the country, he was struck by the modes of 

 farming and living. It was forty years since he was 

 there last, and he noticed trreat changes in the niethoil 

 of farming. The plans, principles and successes were 

 entirely ditferent. He wouliKiiistance that of dairy- 

 ing, and speak of a .Mr. Hussell, who owns a fine 

 large farm ofsome three bund red acres. It is among the 

 best, if not the best land in that portion of the county. 

 He has nearly abandoned the raising of wheat and 

 general farming, and has turned his attention to 

 dairying. His largest crop was corn. He visited his 

 fields and it gave him great pleasure InlrKjkingat the 

 stock, almost as much as at those entered at the late 

 exhibition. There were forty odd head of dairy cows. 

 They were not of the I'ancy or imiHirted stock, f)Ut 

 seemed to lie a cross of the best breeds. .Mr. Hussell 

 is doing a thriving business, and sells every pound of 

 his butter for cash. He buys butter for eating. The 

 milk he feeds to his hogs, calves and sheep, all of 

 which bring to him the highest cash iiriees, lie Is 

 frcd to admit that he is making money. Dairying is 

 less exhaustive to the soil, and he is bringing up his 

 land to a high state of cultivation. Ills now worth 

 six thousand dollars more than when he coninienced 

 dairying a fvw years ago. He is only one out of several 

 who are engaged in this business in this section ofthe 

 county. In concluding, .Mr. .MeCoiiLscy urged that 

 this brain h of business he encouraged. 



H. M. Eugle was also a strong advocate of dairy- 

 ing. He believes there are strong indnecmeiils to 

 certain farmers in this county to go intfi this branch 

 of business, (ireat wealth alone is made from this 

 branch of business inChestercounly. Of course, the 

 land is better adapted for dairving, but he Ix-lleved 

 that there were a great many places in this county 

 that were equally as irooil. .Ml wc have to ilo is to 

 test it. At iiresent there is a great demand lorchoioj 

 and fancy butter. A grand o|K'niiig is now ofl'en*d lo 

 the farmers of Lancaster county to go Info this busi- 

 ness. Let them drop tobacco and take up dairying. 



On being asked, Mr. McComsey said that 



TUE rOUN (HOP IN THE I.OWEK END OF THE ( OfNTY 



w as very good, some fanners averaging I'ighly-scveu 

 bushels t o the acre. At one I ime t he sout hern end of this 

 county was believed to be the imonst iu thi' county, 

 but now it can raise crops that are ecpial andean Ik- 

 compared with any in the county. 



The (piestioll propo.sed at the last mcctliifjf by 

 Ephraim Hoover, " What herds of cattle are the most 

 jirofitalilc to be raised by Lancaster eonnly farmers (" 

 was, on motion, |)osll)oned until next meeting lordis- 

 cussioii. 



TUE I'LOWINO (Jl'ESTION KESUMKII. 



■Johnson Miller said plowing in fall has many ad- 

 vantages ov(;r spring. The ground stands the dry 

 weather better, and it is easier cultivafeil. Weeds are 

 not so trouliiesome. 



John B. Erb slated that oiic-tliini more corn can l>c 

 raised by fall plowing than by spring plowing, on ar- 

 (■(Uint ofthe land taking up a great deal of wilier 

 from the sikuvs and rains of winter. 



.Johnson .Miller siigirested that It would Im' well to 

 take a vote hereafter on all i|iicslions which are sug- 

 gested and discussi'd. 



H. .M. Engle believed that each subject should Im- 

 left to the members themselves to decide. 



Ephraim Hoover: After the mcmliers Jiave hcani 

 the discussions, let ihcm go home, compare their 

 locality with that of others, and 



<iO INTO EXrEllLMENTIXO. 



This would he a great deal belter than rushing in and 

 following the advice of a Society vole, which, iu the 

 end, j>erliaps, would Ix* wrong. 



Wm. McComsey said if a vole would l>e taken on a 



