44 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[March, 



acquaintance with the means of nutrition of vegeta- 

 bles, and with the influence of soils and actions of 

 manure upon them. 



This knowledge we must seek from chemistry, 

 which teaches the mode of investigating the compo- 

 sition and studying the characters of the different 

 substances from which plants derive their nourish- 

 ment. He thouglit the time had come when every 

 intelligent farmer should acquaint himself with at 

 least the elements of chemistry. 



Mr. Staupfer related an incident of his boyhood. 

 In the neitfliborhood of Chiques there was a spring in 

 a field which was at that time a perfect swamp. Near 

 it was a hill on which were a great many hickorynul 

 trees. In time they were all cut down, and now that 

 which was a swamp is a nice field, perfectly dry. The 

 spring is also almost dry, and so great has been the 

 change that he could hardly recO£rnize it when he 

 visited the sjrat a short time ago. This great change 

 occurred within the past forty years. The Chiques 

 creek is one-third less now than it was then. As re- 

 gards rainfall, he said it is always greater where 

 there was timber, instancing the lower end of the 

 county, where it is one-third greater than it is in any 

 other part of the county. 



Mr. EsHLEinx knew of a place where there was a 

 swamp, and the only way it was drained was through 

 a pipe which was laid down for that purpose. This 

 was a decided improvement in respect to the drain- 

 age, but before the pipe was laid the water was car- 

 ried oft' somehow — cither by evaporation or an under 

 ground current. He felt sure tliat the water of our 

 springs and wells come from the mountains. He had 

 studied this question and could see no other reason. 

 It must come from a higher place. Water must seek 

 its level. The more it is sheltered by trees, the less 

 it is evaporated, and hence it has a longer time to 

 sink into the ground, and thus feed our springs and 

 wells and nourish the land. 



Mr. Ebv said that he had read that since trees 

 were planted along the Suez canal, rain had fallen, a 

 circumstance that never happened before. 



Mr. Sr.MMY would like to know why Donegal is 

 called '' Dry Donegal," when it is a well wooded dis- 

 trict. If the existence of trees produces rainfall, why 

 does it not do it in this particular case ? 



Mr. Staiiffer said that the current of atmos- 

 phere had something to do with it, in support of 

 which he cited a few instances. 



Mr. Ebt said that after a long, dry season, when 

 a heavy shower came up, it was generally followed 

 by others. 



Mr. Engle said that the eastern partof the county 

 is noted for having greater rainfalls than the western. 

 He noticed that near his place is a mountain gorge, 

 and when it rained you could not see across the 

 river. In fact, the rain was so heavy you could not 

 see the mountain, while one mile above this point no 

 rain could be seen falling at all. He believed that the 

 mountain range had something to do with it. The 

 circumstance, he said, was not at all a common one. 



There being no further discussion, a vote of thanks 

 was tendered Mr. Hunsecker for his essay, and the 

 subject of Hungarian grass was next introduced. 



The Merits of Hungarian Grass. 



Mr. Pownall said his only experience in raising 

 the grass was that wheat could not be grown so well 

 after the grass had been sown. He had grown it for 

 the last six years, and was well satisfied with the re- 

 sult. He would not let a season pass by without put- 

 ting in some of the grass. It only takes sixty days 

 to mature for a good hay crop. It can be sowed any 

 time between the planting of corn and July. The 

 only trouble with most farmers who raise it is that 

 they let it get too ripe. When this is the case it is too 

 hard to feed, because it is more like straw than hay. 

 It cannot be cut too early. If cut at the proper time 

 it is a valuable feed. As regards his wheat, it never 

 failed when sown after it, although that appears to 

 be the general complaint against it. He believed that 

 nine-tenths of the grass sown in this county was 

 allowed to get too ripe, and, as a matter of course, it 

 does not give satisfaction. When it is cut at the pro- 

 per time it will not exhaust the soil, but if let go to 

 seed it exhausts the soil very much. He sowed from 

 one to three pecks to the acre. If the seed is good a 

 half bushel is ample. 



Mr. Grossman always found good crops follow 

 where he had sown Hungarian grass, but for all this 

 he would rather have good timothy than any other 

 kind of grass. 



Mr. Brackbill said that in his neighborhood 

 there was not much of the grass sown. He was not 

 in favor of it, and believed it would soon die out. The 

 increased demand for Hungarian grass he thought 

 was caused by the drought. It was first introduced 

 in the west, and now almost every farmer in that part 

 of the county sows two, three and four acres of this 

 grass to fall back on. He did not think it was good 

 to feed too much of it to horses, as it affects their eyes. 

 In some instances in the west, where it was fed exten- 

 sively to horses, it affected their eyes so much they be- 

 came blind. He did not think farmers could afford 

 to sow this grass, as it was so exhausting on the soil. 

 For his part he preferred good grass and clover. In 

 the lower end of this county it is grown to a large ex- 

 tent. Instead of Hungarian grass he urged the plant- 

 ing of King Philip corn. This corn brings forth a 



good fodder, and it is just as well, if not better, for 

 feed than this grass. 



Mr. Kendig had no experience in the growing of 

 this grass, but he has two or three neighbors who 

 speak very highly of it. One of them says he prefers 

 to plant it in June and cut it when it blossoms, and 

 that he prefers it to good timothy hay. This neigh- 

 bor of his intends to sow ten acres this year. Before 

 sowing, the earth should be well warmed up. He was 

 shown a sample of last year's grass this morning, and 

 it was good, fine and sweet scented. Does not see any 

 exhausting qualities in the land when wheat is sown 

 after it. If any crop exhausts a soil, then you must 

 resort to manure. 



As the president, Mr. Cooper, wished to make a few 

 remarks, Mr. Engle was called to the chair. 



Mr. Cooper said he had made inquiry in his neigh- 

 borhood in regard to this grass and found that a con- 

 siderable interest was taken in the matter. One of 

 his neighbors, Mr. John Beiler, was a warm admirer 

 of it. This gentleman had been experimenting with 

 the grass for several years. Last year he cut ten four 

 horse loads of the grass, from a four acre field. He 

 sows one bushel to the acre, and puts it in the ground 

 generally after corn. When he intends to sow wheat 

 after it he sows less than one bushel of the grass to 

 the acre. It is raised with less care than any other 

 kind of grass, and when fed to cattle it puts them in 

 better condition. Wli*at follows where it was planted 

 as well asoats. This was one gentleman's experience. 

 He would now refer to the experience of another gen- 

 tleman — Mr. Benjamin Beiler, of the same neighor- 

 hood. Last year he received six four horse loads of 

 the grass off a two acre field. This grass was cut on 

 a Monday and left lie until Saturday before it was re- 

 moved to the mow . For all this, it was nice and soft, 

 and the horses were very fond of it. He recommended 

 the selecting of grass with black heads for sowing, as 

 it was the best. Someof the heads are white. These 

 he did not think were so good. In this county the seed 

 is very much mixed. Mr. Cooper said that he him- 

 self had received four one horse loads from less than 

 half an acre. From it he fed two horses all winter, 

 and there was enough still on hand to feed until 

 April. He had also fed it in the green state. If cut 

 green, it is very hard to cure. He said that some of 

 his Amish friends did not think their wheat thrived 

 as well when sown after it, but he thought it would 

 grow just as well. He would sow all the land he had 

 to spare in Hungarian grass. He prepared the ground 

 the same as for planting corn, and harrows the 

 ground the same as for oats. 



Mr. Kendig said that his friend rolls his ground 

 first, then scatters the grass seed over it, and harrows 

 the same as for oats. 



Mr. Hertz said that twelve or fifteen years ago 

 his brother from the west sent a peck of the seed to 

 his father. The seed was sown and the grass let go 

 to seed. It was then mowed and threshed. The 

 grass was more like straw, and the cattle would not 

 touch it. The seed could not be sold, as the grass 

 was considered worthless. Two years ago he sow^d 

 some of the seed in a strip of ground where oats were 

 in the year before. The ground was well plouehed 

 and the grass produced so bountifully that he let it 

 go into seed. From this crop he produced six bushels 

 of seed. He put wheat in the same place and found 

 a great difference. The wheat was very imperfect. 

 The next time he experimented in Hungarian grass, 

 he would cut it before it became ripe. He found that 

 his soil was injured more by the Hungarian grass 

 than any other crop he ever raised in his short expe- 

 rience of farming. There may possibly be a differ- 

 ence in the soil. His was limestone. 



Mr. Pownall said that when the grass was fed 

 to cows it gave a rich color to the milk and butter. 

 The experience of all his neighbors was that it was 

 hard on the soil. 



Mr. Brackbill said the farmers in the lower end 

 grow it for the money that is in the seed. They get 

 eighty cents a bushel for it. He spoke at considera- 

 ble length against the sowing of this grass. 



MB.KEisTgave his experience. He had noticed 

 no difl'erence in the soil after the grass was sown, 

 but, after hearing the discussion on the subject, he 

 thought it would be better to plant corn. 



Mr. Groff was a strong advocate of Hungarian 

 grass. After giving his experience, which appeared 

 to be about the same as the others who favored the 

 grass, he said that he had twelve acres out last year 

 and that he received $1..50 a bushel for all the seed 

 he had to spare. 



The discussion was carried on for some time, but 

 no new points were elicited further than it was re- 

 garded as a mere " foxtail " by Mr. Brinton. It was 

 only a fall grass and was entirely worthless. 

 Miscellaneous. 



Mr. Kendig moved that a committeeof three be 

 appointed by the chair to report the best variety of 

 apple trees for planting — the committee to make their 

 report at the next meeting. 



The chair appointed Messrs. M. D. Kendig, H. M. 

 Engle and Casper Hiller as the committee. 



Mr. Keist moved that hereafter only practical 

 questions on agriculture and horticulture be dis- 

 cussed. The motion received the approval of the 

 Society. 



Four apple tree borers, found in the trunk of a 



dead tree on the premises of Mr. Pownall, were pre- 

 sented to the members by Prof. Rathvon. They were 

 shown to he the larvse of the long horned beetle, sev- 

 eral of which the professor had with him. An arti- 

 cle explainingtheir nature appears in another column 

 of The Farmer. 



A small bag of Russian grass was distributed 

 amous the members by the Preident. It was sent to 

 the Society Ijy Mr. Benjamin Beiler, of Bird-in-Hand. 

 The grass was said to resemble the Hungarian in 

 some respects. 



Two potatoes, known as " Bonnell's Beauty," were 

 presented by Mr. Eshleman. 



Grafts of " My Favorites," an apple raised by Mr. 

 Grossman, were distributed among the members. 



The subjects for discussion at the next meeting 

 will be " Fruits," and " Our lawns and how to take 

 care of them." 



Adjourned. 



^ 



THE EXPERIMENTAL FARM CLUB. 



Interesting Essays and Reports of Practical 

 Experiments. 



At the last stated meeting of the Experimental 

 Farm Club, held on the farm near West Grove, the 

 proceeding were marked by unusual interest. Super- 

 intendent Carter read an essa) on 



Profits of Raising Corn in Chester County. 



Many farmers do not appreciate the value of corn 

 as a paying crop. I, therefore, wish to briefly call at- 

 tention to a few facts and figures. Our crop of corn 

 on the Farm this year was a good one, though not 

 better than we have had some other seasons^ Our 

 main crop, I am confident, made over one hundred 

 bushels to the acre — estimating 73 pounds of green 

 corn to make .56 pounds of shelled corn. This field 

 was a clover sod in good heart, and had 800 pounds 

 of acidulated South Carolina Rock per acre on part, 

 and part had 660 pounds of Philadelphia Bone. 



We had some plots that were accurately measured 

 and the corn carefully weighed, and these I can speak 

 positively about. I shall therefore refer to them to 

 prove what I have to state. Some of these plots made 

 98 bushel per acre, with no fertilizer since seeding 

 wheat three years previous. This corn was drawn in 

 and shelled, and the shelled corn weighed in the grain, 

 when it w'as found that 73 pounds of ears made .56 

 pounds — making $.50.96 per acre of corn. An acre 

 made 364 sheaves of fodder, which sold in the field at 

 four cents per sheaf, or $10. .56 — making for the whole 

 crop on an acre $61 ..52. These prices were only such 

 as any farmer could have realized this season, and 

 the amount raised per acre has often been exceeded, 

 and is certainly within the reach of any good farmer 

 owning natural corn land. 



The expense for labor, seed, &e., is not far from 

 twelve dollars an acre. This, of course, is exclusive 

 of fertiiizers, which, if judiciously selected, will not 

 only increase the corn but show for several years. We 

 have no other field crop that will make as good show- 

 ing, or can be raised and marketed with as little ex- 

 pense. 



Our plan of planting corn is to sow a good phos- 

 phatic manure on the sod early, plow shallow — say 

 four or five inches — cultivate well, drill corn in rows 

 four feet apart, and stalks from sixteen to twenty- 

 four inches apart in the row, according to the strength 

 of the ground. It should be well worked and kept 

 clean, but neither the plowing or planting should be 

 very early. Plow the first of May and plant the second 

 week. 



Moses Brinton inquired the comparative values 

 of South Carolina rock and bone. Mr. Linville had 

 grown better corn with South Carolina rock than 

 bone. .1. P. Ambler had tried rock and bone and 

 measured corn raised, and was of the opinion that 

 neither of them had paid. 



Howard Hoopes inquired the best means of 

 destroying ants in corn. Mr. Linville said wood ashes 

 mixed with common salt would usually be found 

 effectual. 



Eastburn Reeder, Secretary of the Solesbury 

 Farmers' Club, of Bucks county, read an essay on 

 Dairy House Ventilation. 



JIh. Reeder referred to the old plan of making 

 butter in farm house cellars, where the temperature 

 frequently reached seventy degrees in summer and 

 would fail to forty degrees in winter ; and the fre- 

 quent plan of keeping the milk pans in the kitchen, 

 exposed to the fumes of cooking, which contributed 

 nothing to the sweetness of butter. 



The essayist was of the opinion that milk should 

 be kept at a uniform temperature of about sixty de- 

 grees, thinking it would secure as good a quality of 

 butter in January as in June, or in other words, have 

 June butter all the year round. Being about to erect 

 a dairy house he had visited quite a number of promi- 

 nent dairies, and carefully observed the arrangement 

 of each and the results obtained, and thus gained 

 much valuable information. His plan adopted was 

 to build an ice house and milk house combined , divided 

 by an eigliteen inch stone wall, with a cooling cham- 

 ber in it, with pipes arranged to admit the cold air 

 into the milk room. He ventilated from the centre 

 of the ceiling, to carry off the light gases that arose, 



