58 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[April, 



For The Lancasteb Farmer. 



SUMMER-BLOOMING BULBOUS 

 FLOWERS. 



Lilimn (Lily) liolds tlie first rank. Tlie 

 species and varieties are numerous, and of 

 surpassing beauty, of many colors of blooms, 

 spotted, striped, etc. Laucifalium or Japan 

 lily is exceedingly beautiful ; six varieties. 

 Golden lily is wonderful for large size, beauty 

 and fragrance. All the above bloom in July 

 and August, when other flowers are wilted. 

 The White lily perfumes the whole garden in 

 June ; of pure white. The famous "Orange 

 lUy " accompanies the AVhite in June bloom- 

 ing ; so do Superbium, Pennsylvanicum, 

 Philadelphicum, etc. — all orange, and spotted 

 with maroon. The Tiger lily is well known ; 

 there are several new, superior varieties ; one 

 with double blooms. We can remember when 

 the Candidum, Chalcedonicum and the Tlum- 

 bergianum — all of several varieties and of 

 great splendor — were universally grown and 

 highly prized. All the above species are 

 hardy, and may stand in the same places for 

 five years. The following genera are tender ; 

 planted in spring, the bulbs kept in cellars in 

 winter : QlailMus is now very popular ; of 

 hundreds of splendid varieties of many shades 

 of blooms, and bloom in July and August. 

 /?-is, the bullions Iris, is very beautiful, with 

 much blue in blooms. Tiijriduv (Tiger flower), 

 two species : the blooms are beautifully spot- 

 ted. Tuberose — now of several varieties of 

 single and double blooms — blooms in late fall, 

 and deliglitfuUy fragrant. The variety named 

 Pearl is of late introduction ; grows only half 

 as tall as the otliers ; it produces thrice as 

 many blooms, all doulile and sweet scented. 

 Variegdta has leaves striped with white and 

 green ; is a gem without blooms, j'et it 

 flowers as freely and sweet scented as the old 

 species. — W. -E., Philadelphia, April 1, 1870. 



For The Lancaster Farmer. 

 OLD INVENTIONS AND INVENTORS. 



As the Millers of Lancaster county are 

 forming a " Millers' Association," I will con- 

 tribute a few items about the inventors of 

 the olden times, and other matters relating 

 thereto. 



Why does a barrel of flour weigh 196 

 pounds ? This originated in England, and 

 was explained at a meeting of the "Corn 

 Exchange" in London, attended by our late 

 Minister, Mr. Schenck, thus : a "stone" is an 

 English weight of fourteen pounds. Seven 

 stone makes ninety-eight pounds, which is a 

 half-barrel, and fomteen stone make 19(5 

 pounds, or a barrel. 



One of the most noted Lancaster county 

 mills of the olden times, was the LiTiz Mill, 

 now owned by Benjamin Ritter, and upwards 

 of one hundred years ago by the Moravian 

 society of that place. It was then leased to a 

 man by the name of Klaus Keln, who made 

 and sent cargoes of his flour to Jamaica, W. I. 

 On its arrival in the West Indies, on one oc- 

 casion, it was discovered that the barrels con- 

 tained shipstiiff.* 



On the return of the vessel information was 

 madifto the Philadelphia merchants, who at 

 once i)etitioned the Government for the ap- 

 pointment of a Fhmr Inspectm- for the port 

 of Philadelphia, and this was the origin of 

 that oflice in this State, t 



The machinery in mills at that time was 

 very clunisy and complicated. After the 

 wheat was ground, it required the presence 

 of a boy to work on the bolted stuff in the 

 bolting apparatus. 



There once lived a man on Hammer creek, 

 at a place now known as Brubaker''s Mill, 

 but formerly Peter Staufter's mill. This 

 Peter Staufier, the former proprietor, had 

 seven sons, one of whom was the great- 

 grandfather of the writer, aod the seventh 



son was the great-grandftither of Mr. Jacob 

 Stauffer, the patent agent of Lancaster city. 



In those days it required a boy to attend 

 the hopper, called the "hopper-boy." The 

 Stauffers, however, went to work and invent- 

 ed an attachment called the Hopper-hntj, first 

 used in 1764, and continued in use from that 

 day down to 1840, and is still in use in some 

 localities. The Stauffers were great mill- 

 men. At one time there were no less than 

 eight ''Stanfler Mills," in Lancaster York, 

 and Franklin counties. 



Oliver Evans, the author of the "Mill- 

 wright's Guide," took out a patent for tlie 

 Hopper-boy, and comnienced to collect 

 patent-right fees about the year 181'2, and 

 when his agents came to Lancaster county 

 they were refused payment by the Stauffers 

 and others, as it was a well known fact that 

 the Ilopper-boy was a Lancaster county in- 

 vention, and quite as well known that the 

 Stauffers were the inventors. 



Evans brought suit, several cases of which 

 appear in the legal records of that period, t 

 These suits came off in Philadelphia. Sons 

 and grandsons of tlie original inventors were 

 still living, and tho.se who were too old to 

 go to Pluladelphia-made aflidavit before the 

 uncle of the wiiter of tliis imperfect sketch, 

 who was a justice of the peace — a country 

 "squire." There was one of these machines 

 in Frederick's mill (now Ritter's mill) and 

 Mr. Frederick took it along to Philailelphiit. 

 When it was exhibited to the jury as one of 

 the original machines as invented by the 

 Staufters, they immediately rendered a ver- 

 dict in favor of the defendants (the Staufters.) 

 Inventions are often claimed by persons who 

 have no right to them, and who never siiould 

 have been granted a patent on them. 



Within the the last three years a writer in 

 the yorth Ainerican, in speaking of Oliver 

 Evans as a great inventor, among other 

 things accords to him the invention of the 

 Hopper-hoy. — L. S. i?., Warwick, April, 

 1870. 



• How diflfereni it was with the flowr which Washington 

 Bhipjed to the B;'me jiort; his "brand" was eutficient, aud 

 therefore, it needed no inspection. 



t This otlice seems to have originated in conseqneuce of 

 fraud, wliich perhaj'S may account for its sulisquent fraiul- 

 ulent administration in bo may cases — no great credit to 

 Lancaster county. — Ed. 



For The Lancaster Farmed. 

 ANNUAL AND BIENNIAL FLOWERS. 



All hai'dy annual and biennial flower seeds 

 should be sown in April. The new varieties 

 of the well known species are very superb. Of 

 annuals, Sweet Alyssum and Mignionette are 

 sweet scented. Drumoiulii Phlox, Candytuft 

 and Portulacca, are pretty dwarfs. Esch- 

 schaltzea, Calliopsis and Larksjjurs, are 

 showy. So are Marigolds, but their smell is 

 unpleasant. The above may all grow where 

 they are sown. The following may be sown 

 in warm spots, or in frames with glass saslies, 

 in May, and transplanted when two or tliree 

 inches higli: Double German Asters, Balsams, 

 Zinnias Browallia, Globe, Amaranthus, Gail- 

 ardia, &c., all very beautiful. 



mevnials. — The new varieties and species 



t In a collection of patent cases decided in the upreme 

 and Circuit Courts of the United States. By James B. Robb, 

 cousclor-at-law. Boston 185A, vol. 1, page 166. Evans vs. 

 Hettick, [3 Wasli. 408]. Action for an infringement 

 of the plantiflF's right to the hopper-boj , described in his 

 jjateiit. Plea not guilty. The evidence was the same ae in 

 the case of Evans vs. Eaton (1 Peter's Rep. 322,) save that 

 David Aby, one of the defendant's wituesaes.said the hopper- 

 boy used by the defendant, was the Staufcr^f* hoppcr-bny. 

 This consists of aii uprif^ht shaft with a cog-wheel that 

 turns it, gei'red with the water-power of the mill. An arm 

 or board, somewhat resembling an S, with strips of wood 

 fixed on one side, and so arranged as to turn the meal l>e- 

 low it, cool and dry, aud conduct it to the bolting chest. Of 

 course, sundry legal quibbles were brcught to bear as to the 

 identity of the original invention of Staffer and the patent 

 sulwequently granted Oliver Evans. On page 193, the case 

 concludes thus : "If it was in use, in any part of the world, 

 however unlikely or impossible that the fact should come 

 to the knowledge of the patentee, his patent for the same 

 machine cannot be supported." *' Verdict for tltf dcfentl- 

 an'." We find another case of the same, Evans vs. Eaton, 

 [:i Wash. 443]. The defendant upon testimony of numerous 

 witnesses, proved that Daniel Stauffer first saw it in opera- 

 tion on his father's, Chrisaan Stauffer's mill, in the year 



1774. In 1775 or 1776, he erected a similar one in the mill of 

 his brother Henry; and another in Jacob .Stauffer's mill, in 

 177Kor 1779. Philip Frederick swears, that in the year 



1775, hesaw a Stauffer's hopper-boy in operation in Chris- 

 tian Stauffer's mill; and another in U. Charles' mill, and 

 that it was always called "Stauffer's machine," (page 19S). 

 George Roup, states that in 1784 he erected one of these 

 hopper-boys in liranueman's, and iu 1782, he got the de- 

 scription from Abraham Staufi'er, as iu use in his father's 

 mill. This case concludes on page 207, in these words, 

 ^'verdict firr defendant." 



These abstracts from the lengthy reports, are simply 

 given to confirm the statement made by Mr. Reist, 



J. S. 



are very lovely. The seeds are sown, and the 

 plants transplanted, when large enough, of all 

 the species, and bloom the second year. Sweet 

 Williams and China pinks of many colors, and 

 double and single blooms. Canterbury bolls, 

 white, sky blue and dark blue. Foxglove, the 

 original rose-colored species, a white ami 

 yellow-white varieties. Columbiue, a rose 

 color, a blue, purple, white, violet, &c., with 

 both double and single blooms. Carnation 

 pinks of various colors, single and double 

 blooms. Heddewigi pinks and Laciniatus 

 l)iiiks are both fancy pinks of great beauty. — 

 Flora. 



For The Lancaster Farmed. 

 WHICH POTATO IS THE BEST? 



The potato is more extensively grown and 

 more generally used than any other culinary 

 vegetable; and the good varieties are, per- 

 haps, the most wholesome of all vegetables. 

 We have had a large number of varieties for 

 trial ; many have been of good (luality, but 

 not so productive as the inferior varieties, so 

 cultivators have grown the inferiors for profit. 

 The PcaclMow yields large crops upon sandy 

 soils, but it is too much of the coarse Iwrse- 

 yeim. Its hard core makes only two-thirds of 

 it fit to eat. The following are good for early 

 use : Early Rose, Extra Early Vermont, King 

 of Earlies, Snowflake, Aljiha, &c. For late 

 crops grow Late Rose, Brownell's Beauty, 

 Peerless, aud White Peachblow. They are all 

 good varieties. The Early Rose and Late 

 Rose arc well known as first-rate, both in 

 tpiality and productiveness. Brownell's 

 Beauty is a splendid looking tuber, of first 

 (juality ; and, so far as we have grown and 

 seen it in many places, is very productive. 

 The Peerless is also excellent and productive. 

 We almost fear the White Peachblow, as 

 coming from the old Peachljlow. It is well 

 to try all new kinds, as one tuber can be 

 bought, which can be cut into many sets for 

 a fair trial. They may jiroduce a bushel for 

 next year's planting, so the experiment is 

 not expensive. — Solarium, 



For The Lancaster Farmed. 

 HOW I RAISED MY TOMATOES. 



I may as well state at the outset that my 

 experience in the cultivation of this delicious 

 vegetable has neither been derived from a long- 

 continued series of experiments, nor from its 

 production on an extended scale. Nor is the 

 system pursued original with me; on the con- 

 trary, the hint was taken from the agricultu- 

 ral corner of a counti'}' newspaper, and for 

 aught I know, may be the plan continually 

 followed by truck gardeners. I sim|>ly wish 

 to relate my own experience, from which the 

 reader may draw his own deductions?. 



The ground set apart for my tomato patch 

 was only sixteenfeet long and seven feet wide: 

 it is what is known here in the city as "made" 

 ground; that is, not the natural surface soil, 

 but made up of earths of several kinds, dug 

 out of cellars and excavations, and used to fill 

 up low places. This was not the most pro- 

 mising sort of material out of which to con- 

 struct a garden soil; Ijut there was no help 

 for it, and the only thing to do was to make 

 the most out of it. It was heavily manured 

 in the spring of 1874 with chicken droitpings, 

 dug over several times in the siiring, and again 

 in the fall after the few vegetal)les that grew 

 on it had been removed. Contrary to the oft 

 repeated assertion that tomatoes do not require 

 a rich soil, I gave the ground another heavy 

 manuring of the same kind in the spring of 

 1875. Tlie backward season also permitted it 

 to be spaded over deeply two or three times 

 before the plants were finally set out. Care 

 was taken to mix the earth and the fertilizer 

 as tlioroiighly as jiossible, and in this I was 

 ])retty successful; but even now, with a liberal 

 addition of sifted coal ashes, it is iminviting 

 and heavy. 



Into this contracted piece of ground, three 

 rows of plants were carefully set out, the rows 

 running the long way, aud each one contain- 



