1876.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



41 



For The Lancastkb 1-'armeb. 

 THE NEGLECTED HOLLYHOCK. 



Some flirty years af;o, on a visit to an uncle 

 in Rapho tinvnshi]), I was dclislited witli 

 tlie showy display of nunu-rous hollyhocks, of 

 various colors, that adorned the yard. Their 

 toweriuj; hciijht ami majestic, stately appear- 

 ance attracted my attention. 1 thought them 

 grand, beautiful — alas, now deemed a com- 

 mon, vulfiar i)lant, that no one deems worthy 

 of cultivation ; and they are now rarely met 

 with, yet we have few llowers that contriliutc 

 more to the emliellishment of lari;e "gardens 

 or yards than the hollyhock, whose noble 

 stems apiiear like .so many banners {garnished 

 with roses of every variety of color, from the 

 jialest lilnsh to the deejiest carmine, and from 

 a faint wliite, through every shade of yellow, 

 to the richest lU'ange, from which the color is 

 carried to a dark chestnut ; others are dyed 

 of a reddish purjile, deepening to black. These 

 give gaiety to the shrulibery till a late season 

 of the year, throwing out a succession of 

 flowers till the arrival of frost. For my part, 

 I cannot see why this showy, stately plant 

 should not be planted along every hedge-row 

 around our lields, oraround our homesteads in 

 thecountry. Besides, to those who keep bees, 

 it affords a- supply of sweets later in the 

 season, an(J of which they are remarkably 

 fond. II. Smith says, truly : 



" From the nectaries of hollyhocks 

 The hxnnljle hee, e'li till he fuiiits, will sip." 



This is true of our hive bee, as well as the 

 " lunnble bee.'' It belongs to the family 

 Malvaceip, as the cotton plant does, and it 

 has been ascertained that good strong cloth 

 may be made from the tibrous bark of its 

 tlower stalks. It may have l)een forgotten 

 that in 1^21 two hundred and eighty acres of 

 land near Flint, in Wales, were planted with 

 the common hollyhock tor this manufacture, 

 iu the process of which it was discovered that 

 the leaves of this plant yield a line blue dye, 

 equal in beauty and i>ermanence to the best 

 indigo. The Althcu rosea, or common holly- 

 hock, originally came from China. They arc 

 easily raised from seed, and will 'grow in any 

 common garden. The AWuea officinalis has 

 been extensively used under the name of 

 Marsh-mallows, and, like the Okra, abounds 

 in a bland mucilage. (Abelmosclms escidentus.) 

 The flowers of the A. rosea are used in Greece 

 for the same purposes as those of the marsh- 

 mallows. The Okra, also known as Hibiscui 

 escukntH.<i, is coming into coirimercial value as a 

 paper plant, heretofore used to thicken soups, 

 by its mucilaginous quality. The pods are 

 gathered green and pickled like capers. The 

 seeds may be boiled like barley, and the mu- 

 cilaginous matter they contain is both demul- 

 cent and emollient. They have also been 

 recommended, when roasted, as a substitute 

 for coffee. A patent has now been taken out in 

 France for making paper from the fibre, and 

 for this purpose it is to be introduced into 

 Algeria. The fibre is prc])ared solely by me- 

 chanical means in a current of water, without 

 any bleaching agent, and the pulp, washed 

 and bleached, makes a strong, handsome [ta- 

 per called "banda paper." Our common 

 hollyhock will answer just as well ; the fibres 

 make clothing — hence equal to rags any time. 

 I would thus call attention to this stately 

 and much-neglected plant, the goodly, tow- 

 ering, showy hollyhock, to beautify the home- 

 stead and the fence rows, regale the honey 

 bee, and glad(UMi the hearts of children, if 

 you do not want to make cloth or paper, and 

 cultivate it for profit. We are very apt to for- 

 get the old and familiar in later introductions, 

 " sighing for something new." This love of 

 novelty rules us — new customs, new gauds. 

 Although, did we but know it. they too fre- 

 quently are fashioned after the things that 

 were. I will conclude by quoting Mrs. 

 Hemans : 



" Fill with forgetfnlnees, fill high ! yet stay— 

 'Tis from the past we sliadow forth the land 

 Where smiles, long lost, again shall light our way. 

 Though the past haunt me as a spirit, yet I 

 Ask not to forget !"— Tlie Hollvhock. 



— /. Stauffer. 



For The Lantasteb Fabmkb. 

 "WHAT KIND OF OIL?" 



In an article iu the February ninnberof Tiik 

 Fakmi:!!, with the above title, the editor 

 thinks that linseed oil would not do very widl, 

 because it would do.se the pores. I am not 

 certain that closing up the pores of a tiee 

 hurts it in any manner whatever, and in case 

 it would do so, neatsfoot oil as effectually 

 closes them as linseed oil. For mv part I 

 would not be afraid to use the latter, and 

 would unich prefer it, as it dries in a short 

 time, closing up the insects so elVectually that 

 they I'an never enu'rge alive from their air- 

 tight i)rison ; and, besides, the trees aie not so 

 unpleasant to work at afterwards, as woidd be 

 the case should an oil be used that will not dry. 



As a coiToboration, I was inldinied a feW 

 years ago liy a gentleman, at Millersburg, (L. 

 E. Bowman, I think.) that he had a dwarf 

 pear tree, that became badly infested with 

 "scale insects" and ceased growing. lie ap- 

 jilied linseed oil, and in a sliort time the in- 

 sects were all dead and the tre<> became very 

 thrifty. He said he was told that it w<iuld kill 

 his tree, ;is it would close up the pores, but it 

 certainly had no such elTect in his ca.se. — A. 

 B. A'., Safe Harbor, Lamaster county. Pit., 

 Feb. •2."), 1K7(). 



[Practical experience must take precedence 

 of untried, or merely theoretical suggestion. 

 We Ihowjht that linseed oil might leave a sort 

 of varnisli dejiosit on the young infested 

 branches of trees, that woidil be detrimental 

 to their subsequent development; but if it 

 does not, all the better ; it gives us another 

 safe remedy for the scale insect or bark-louse; 

 and with thanks to our contributor we jilace 

 it on record, for the benefit of oin- readera. 



We are not sure, however, that the closing 

 of the pores in the branches of trees would 

 not be as hm-tful to their growth as the 

 closing of the pores of the leaviw and fruit, 

 would be hurtful to tluir development. Still, 

 as the deposit on the bark, after the oil had 

 dried, woidd likely be a very thin one. and 

 the sub.sequent rapid iirowth of the tree (there 

 being no more lice to deplete it.) would likely 

 crack the surface of such a deposit into fissures, 

 sutiicient to allow it to jierform its usual func- 

 tions, there would be very little harm done in 

 the end. 



In re])ly to A. B. K. 's post scriptuin, we as- 

 sure him that his contributions will always be 

 " welcome " to our columns, even if they come 

 oftener than "now and then, "" and most es- 

 pecially on the subjects he has named, what- 

 ever motive may be "at the Itottom." We 

 have nothing whatever to do with motives in 

 such a case. If a man can impart information 

 on farming and gardening his contributions 

 will lie acceptable at all times, whether his 

 motives are selfi.sh or benevolent. " Self- 

 improvement." however, is not a very evil 

 kind of selfishness ; indeed it would have been 

 l)etter for human society if this kind of sel- 

 fishness had miuv largely jirevailed every- 

 where, and it would be better now.— Ed.] 

 ^ 



For The Lancasteb Fabmkb. 

 TRANSPLANTING TREES. 



One important fact in regard to transplant- 

 ing trees was brought out in the discussion on 

 orchard culture, at the last nu'Cting of tiie 

 Pennsylvania Fruit Growers' Society, held at 

 Doylestown. 



The lower limbs shoidd not lie cut off when 

 taken from the nursery and iilanted in the 

 orchard. The reason given was, the leaves are 

 the lungs of the tree, and the nearer you can get 

 the foliage to the roots in the earlier stages of 

 its growth the better. If too far removed after 

 transiilanting, the sap in circulating is not re- 

 turned in sntticient quantity to make the roots 

 keep pace in growth with the top. and this was 

 the cause of the trouble in keejiiuL; the trees 

 in an iqiright position. Our nurserymen are 

 partly to lilaine ; they trim to make the trees 

 more e.a.sily baled, and we generally finish the 

 job liy trinnning as high as we wish the trunk 

 of the futiue tree, instead of letting them 

 grow till the roots are firmly established. — L. 

 P., Christiana, Lan. co.. Pa., Feb. 28, 18715. 



For 'rilE I.ANrASlEll Fahmeb. 



HOW TO RAISE OATS CHEAPLY. 



For several years past there lias been much 

 comiilaining among tlie farnuMs of Lancaster 

 coindy tliat the oat crop does not pay for the 

 trouble of producing it. It therefore seems 

 desirable, since it cannot well be dispensed 

 with, either on account of the siicce.s.siiin or 

 because it is desirable as feed for horses, that 

 it be raised as cheaply as pos.silile. 



I.et the com stidibles Ih' broken down early 

 in the spring or winter, when the ground is 

 frozen hanl, by dragging over them a pole .six 

 or eii;lit inches in diameter, and long enough 

 to reach across six or more rows. Fasten a 

 hors<' to each end of the iiole, and havi' a 

 driver for each horse ; drive the horses along 

 the rows, letting the pole drag over those lie- 

 tweeii them at an angle of about :iu degrees 

 with the direction of the rows. If once going 

 over does not break off the stubbles sutli- 

 ciently, go over them again in the opposite di- 

 rection, when it will l»e done quite as well as 

 witli the hoe, and in very much less time. 



The usual way of prefiaring thegmund is to 

 plow it, but the writer and many others have 

 jiroven beyond doidit that more Oats can Ite 

 raised by stirring it with a cultivator, and 

 with a great saving of work. 



The successive freezings and thawings dur- 

 ing the winter make the siu-face of the ground 

 ill much Ijetter condition for starting the 

 young oats iilants than the more coiiipaci soil 

 under would be if turned up by the jilow ; 

 besides, the ground does not have "to he worked 

 so early, and consequently has more time to 

 dry, so that it does not Ijecome so cloddy as 

 when plowed. 



The olijection usually made to cultivating 

 in oats is, that the ground is harder t*i plow 

 for the fall cro]i ; but my experience with a 

 clay soil is quite the reverse, even in dry sum- 

 mers. Most farmei-s plow shallow for oats, 

 for the reason that more grain can lie raised 

 by doing so. If the plowing is done when tlie 

 ground is very wet, as is usually the case, the 

 soil in the bottom of tlie furrow must necessa- 

 rily lie packed down, both by the Jiressure of 

 the plow and by the horse that walks in the 

 furrow ; then, if the ground is dry when it is 

 plowed for wheat, it is almost ini)»ossibIe to 

 get the plow to run deeiier than it did in the 

 s])iiiig, and if it does it will turn up cloddy. 

 While, if the ground is cultivated in tlie 

 spring, and then not until it is well dried, the 

 plow will go as deep as is desired in the fall, 

 and the soil will pulverize nicely. 



Another rea.son why cultivating is prefera- 

 ble to plowing, is that nearly all the weed 

 seeds near the surface are germinated and de- 

 stroyed by the cultivation of the corn during 

 the previous summer, .so that but few are left 

 to grow among the oats. If the ground is 

 ploughed, all the seeds that had collected on 

 sod before it was ]iloughed for corn are turned 

 to the surface, and having lain but one year, 

 will grow. This differen<-e was i>articularly 

 noticeable last summer, when jjloiii/hed oati 

 fields were unusually full of weeds. 



If the oats is sowed broadcast, the com rows 

 serve as a guide in sowing, so that furrows 

 or poles arc unneces.sary. The seeds falling 

 upon the smooth surfiice of the ground are 

 evenly distributed, whereas, if the ground is 

 i ploughed, they are liable to collect in the dc- 

 ' prcssioiis iK'tween the furrows and grow un- 

 evenly. If the oats is planted with a drill, the 

 gniuiid should be cultivated for drilling. 



The two-horse corn cultivator, now exten- 

 sively used in this county, is the best invest- 

 ment fin- cultivating oats grounds, because it 

 can be pa.s.sed on both sides of the rows of 

 stubbles ill the same way as when working the 

 corn, without turning iiji the corn roots; lie- 

 sides, it stirs the soil deeiier and more thor- 

 oughly than the old A cultivator. It cannot 

 he successfully used in "crossing," however, 

 even when the corn is "checked." liecaiise it 

 will choke with the roofs. It is better to cross 

 the ground with an ordinary spike harrow; 

 this will tear up very few roots; and when the 

 , ground is rolled it will lie quite as smooth as 

 when ploughed. 



