1876.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



75 



OUR PARIS LETTER. 



Farming on the Continent of Europe. 



Corrt'Hpoudeiice of The Lancaktf.r FAiiMF-n. 



Pakis, April 6, 1876. 

 TliP French Association for tlic .\i]v.incpmpnt of 

 Aerii'ultiUT, has liclil ils srvcntli session. The Asso- 

 ciation counts over tlirec tliowsand nicniliiTs, inelud- 

 ins not. only landed proprii'tors, farmers, ami llic re- 

 presentatives of every lirancli of collateral airricultu- 

 ral industry, tint also men distiniruislied in the sci- 

 ences, arts, anil manufactures, and whose opinions 

 have authority in the discussion of economic ((nes- 

 tions. The rcsoluMone passed hy this body exercise 

 a powerful intluencc on the governmenl, and bring 

 about impoi'tant legislative ameliorations. Pcrina- 

 uent commissions, ehargetl with special subjects, pre- 

 sent their reports at the aiuiiial sittings, and such 

 serve as tlie texts of the debates. Of course, these 

 discussions tend to modify, in the most useful man- 

 ner, the habits of the farming community throughout 

 France. Among the many interesting topics treated, 

 were the 



KtSf'OMPENSINll OP TKAcnEHS WITH (iOr.D MKUAL.S 



who have voluntarily established school gardens and 

 founded exjicrimental allotments on their own ac- 

 count. At Mettray, where offlcial agricultural pro- 

 blems are worked out. It was demonstrated that beet 

 intended for sugar ought only to be planted at mean 

 distances. Prof. Millot exposed how fo.ssll phosphates, 

 when treated witli sulpliuilc aciii, to be converted 

 Into superphosphates, after a certain time decrease 

 In value, in conseiiuencc of a certain portion of the 

 pliofiphoric acid becoming insoluble. What Is the 

 value of this acid which thus retrogrades, and how 

 can its percentage be determined in advance .' That 

 knotty question, how to determine the commercial 

 value of sugar beet, was disposed of by the resolu- 

 tion, that the nuirkct price ought to be in a ratio to 

 the richness of the root, and that the " densimeter " 

 was the best instrument for ascertaining saccharine 

 intensity. 



THE PHTLLOXER-\ 



occupied the lion's share of attention, and the result 

 of the general comparison of notes, systems and re- 

 medies, was, that no etfcctual agent has yet been dis- 

 covered for the destruction of the tmgs, which, up to 

 the present, have laid waste half a million acres of 

 vineyards. All, however, is not barren from Dan to 

 Beershcba ; the disease docs not spread, hut its 

 ravages arc more intense where it exists, and ento- 

 mologists have revealed the insect's habit of Laying 

 its eggs during winter. The difficulty to contend with. 

 Is the marvelous fecundity of the insect, which in 

 four months can produce eight hundred millions of 

 bugs. The sulpho-carbonates have lost ground. They 

 do not kill the insect so much as imparting a fresh 

 vigor to the attacked vuie. .\I. Kohart's plan of steep- 

 ing small cubes of wood in sulphuret of carbon, to be 

 deposited around the roots of the vine, was welcomed 

 warmly. These "picturesque mitrailleuses" dis- 

 charge a good office. 



Dr. Schneider, of Thionville, treats an important 

 subject from a new point of view. He demands, why 

 not encourage 



PRECOCITVIN ANIM.\LS FOR MILK, 

 as well as for meat ? In the latter case, the object is 

 to fatten an animal in thirty-six instead of sixty 

 months, by good feeding. On the contrary, the pow- 

 ers of reproduction, that is, the yielding of milk, are 

 most active or precocious where the dietary is sober. 

 If not miserable. Poor families are most prolific, and 

 weeds most productive. Fecundity Is the ally of 

 humble rations, and fat the emblem of opulence, is 

 not an attriliute of virility. Embonpoint Is incom- 

 compatlble with the faculty of generation. If a sterile 

 cow or an ox exact thirty-six mouths and good diet, 

 to be precociously converted Into meat, a heifer could 

 in that period have produced, upon a modest regi- 

 men, one calf, perhaps two, and from twelve to four- 

 teen months of milk. The production of milk is less 

 costly than that of meat. It can be less expensively 

 disix>sed of, and if meat has increased in price so also 

 have butter and cheese. The properties for fattening 

 are but oneand the same thing, and pre-exist In the 

 animal, only both aptitudes cannot he developed at 

 the same time. Thus in France, Dutch or Normal 

 cows are kept for the express purpose of yielding 

 milk to the calves of the Durham breed. 



M. Weiske, of Pros Kau (Prussia) has conflrmed 

 the results now generally admitted to flow from 



SHEARING SHEEP, 



viz: that animals so treated are better suited for fat- 

 tening than such as have not beenstiorn. Two merino 

 sheep, in full fleece, received during seventeen days 

 a dally ration for each, of 2'^ lbs. of meadow hay ; 

 half a pound of crushed barley, and less than half a 

 quarter of an ounce of sea salt. After beingshorn on 

 the eighteenth day, the same ration was continued for 

 an equal period. The examination of their manure 

 showed there was no diflercnce as regards their di- 

 gestive [lowers ; they consumed less water after, than 

 before the clipping ; respiration and perspiration be- 

 ing less. The appetite was increased by the removal 

 of the fleece ; the temperature of the body being less, 

 more food was necessary to maintain the natural 



warmth, and the more rapid fattening is simply to be 

 attributed to this Increaseil ap[)etite, and not to any 

 marked superiority In the power of assunllaling fixHl. 

 •M. Weiske has also given from one-half to three 

 grains of arsenic— llie dose rising gradually, per day 

 to sheep, In a solution of water; he found the animal's 

 appetite, and capability of assimilating fcmd, in- 

 cnased ; they drank more water and ra|)ldly aug- 

 mented In flesh. 



DEI.EKTERIOUS INFLUENCESOP CHE.MICAL MANDRKR. 



M. Lacroix, of Belgium, conflrms the complaints 

 that of late are too fr<vpiently heard, of the delelerlous 

 Inlluences of chemical manures on germination, in the 

 case of light soils and pending dry seasons. He has 

 lost, as well as some neighbors, during the last year, 

 his maize, carrots, turnips and iiotatoes, from this 

 cause, the too close proxunlty of the seed with sidphate 

 of ammonia and animal refuse. Thi' sci'd pushed reg- 

 ularly and the plants throve vigorously, where there 

 was no contact with the chemicals. In a humid sea- 

 son, or wliere the mamu-es ari' aiipllcd before sowing, 

 and well Incorporated with the service-layer of the 

 soil, the danger Is less. In France, as a general rule, 

 the fertilizers arc distributed some llnn: before the 

 sowings ; the process is said to be more conducive to 

 the " nitriflcation" of the soil, iu addition. 



THE BEET-SITOAR WAR 



has assumed large proportions in the north of 

 France. Putting aside the leglshitlvc elements of 

 the question, the manufacturers and farmers 

 have been at loggerheads. The agriculturist 

 wishes to cultivate beet for feeding, as well as 

 sugar-making, hence, he aims at a large yield of 

 roots, a result that the manufacturer resists. The 

 dispute will likely be less ardent. If the " densime- 

 ter " proves a reliable instrument for marking the 

 saccahrlne value of the roots, irrespective of their 

 size. The manufacturer, In general terms, cannot 

 conduct his business jirofitalily, if a quai-t of beet 

 juice doet not yield a good quarter of an oueicc of 

 sugar. The farmer who produces twenty tons of 

 beet per acre can count upon a price i<( fi'.'M per ton, 

 being a money yield of ./V .400 an acre. The agricul- 

 turist Is ambitious to have two strings to bis bow, to 

 raise beet for sugar and for stall feeding. This latter 

 object is making way, since the Count llicilerer lias 

 successfully preserved his pulped beet — which has 

 never passed through the distillery or the sugar fac- 

 tory — In trenches, with chopped green maize. The 

 beet preferred for sugar is the variety not larger than 

 a good carrot, not growing much above the soil, with 

 leaves drooping, rather tlian erect, ripening early, 

 and yielding eighteen tons per acre. 



THE ANNUAL HORSE SHOW 



has just opened in the Palace of Industry ; the num- 

 ber of entries Is o!l6, of w hich Normandy alone con- 

 stitutes two-thirds, and one breeder no lesstlian forty- 

 six animals ; the south of France, where Arab blood 

 predominates, sends only 3o exhibits, the north four, 

 and the east one. There is an improvement to be noted 

 in carriage and saddle horses, as for draught cattle the 

 Percherons cannot be surpassed. The question of 

 horse breeding In France is one that Is passionately 

 debated; the truth, sc|iarafed from the dust and din 

 of the strife. Is this, that the governmeni, thougli 

 neighboring nations do tlie same, ought to abstain 

 from supiiorting state studs, and leave the market 

 open to the general operation of demand and supply ; 

 if the army wants gooil horses it can obtain them 

 when the commercial |irice is paid for them. Those 

 regions of France that repel the government crutch 

 toassist horse breeding are exactly those best sup- 

 plied with the best horses. 



THErULTtTRE OF PARSNIPS 



is largely extending in France for cattle feeding, and 

 as an ordinary garden vegetable it is also In great 

 demand ; the soil that suits beet will satisfy the 

 parsnip, and the manure is plouglied down or dug 

 In ; the seed is sown either in rows by the machine, 

 or broadcast, and the plants receive but two weedlngs 

 and hoeings — when the plants are five and fifteen 

 Inches high respectively ; the leaves are cut In the 

 month of September, ami allowed to fade for twenty- 

 four hours before being given to the cattle ; the roots 

 can be taken up during the winter as reiiuired, frost 

 does them no harm ; the ration is, U) lbs. three times 

 a day, and the roots are cut ; when given to jiigs they 

 ought to be cooked. In the west of France the par.s- 

 nip replaces oats for horses, and being very nutritive 

 all animals quickly put up flesh when ftd on this 

 root. 

 The agricultural community warmly supports 



THE PROJECTEK INTERN ATIONAI. EXHIBITION, 



and Is resolved that its Interests shall not be shelved 

 on the coming occasion, as was the case In IStiT. 

 Several gigantic plans are already sketched. Nothing 

 like taking time by the forelock. There is one idea 

 that will be carried out i>cndliig the exhibition, viz.: 

 an International Congress, where the leading features 

 of each nation's agriculture will be explained and 

 compared. 



M. (iasparin has made an analysis, which amounts 

 almost to a discovery. Boussingault and Freseulus 

 have each drawn attention to 



THE ABSENCE OP IRON IN WHEAT. 



Oasparln has found, after several minute tests, SOV^ 

 per cent, of iron in the grain of wheat and IS^ per 

 cent. In the straw; and that while the phosphoric 

 acid, magnesia and iron concenlrati-d IhemselvcH In 

 the grain, the silica and the lime uccumulaled in the 

 straw. The same relative uceumulallon of salts were 

 observed respectively In the kerni'l and the shell of 

 oak glands. In every |H>und of whealen bread there 

 is then P.., grains of Iron. M. (iasparin also states 

 that the quantily of plio8|ihorlc aclil extracted by 

 wheat from the soil Is lesslhan is generally supjxised. 

 The same distinguished chemist analyzed stinio 

 lichens, growing on calcareous r<iilis, and'foiuid their 



ashes to be iireci.ely e iHMcil of ihi- »ami' udnerals 



asihe soil derived Ironi I he disintegration of the rock. 

 .M. .lahnke, of Berlin, has adopted tli.' Mrlayer 

 system In the cultivation of Ids estate, and it neigh- 

 bor has followed his example. The plan has suc- 

 ceedeil as well as It does here; pro|irli'tor and Me- 

 tayer divide the proHls, share and share alik.-. 



OUR FARMERS IN COUNCIL. 



Proceedings of the Agricultural and Horticul- 

 tural Society Crop Reports How to Keep 

 Our Lawns Interesting Discussion. 



The regular monthly meeting of the Lancaster 

 County .\grlcultural anil Horticultural .Society was 

 held In the rooms of the Atlienieum, on Monday, 

 .May 1st, the President, Calvin CiKiper, in the chair. 

 The followlnL' members were present : Calvin Cooper, 

 Henry .M. F.ngle, I.evI S. Heist, Johnson .Miller, Peter 

 S. Ueist, Alex. Harris, .Jacob B. (iarber, .1. H. H.>r. 

 shey, Levi W . (irolf, Martin D. Kcndlg, Pharus P. 

 Swarr, K]iliralni S. lliMiver, .lolin C. LInvlllc, Simon 

 Hershey, S. S. liathvoii, John Basler, Mr. Hover, 

 Samuel Lanilis, 1). W. Swartz, Henry Krb, Israel" L. 

 Landis, .\ndrew Lane, Henry Iteist, John .M. Steh- 

 man, Heubcn J. F,rb, and the reiiorters of the press. 



Condition of Crops. 

 The report of crops being in ordir, .Johnson Miller, 

 of Warwick, said that the wheat crop from present 

 appearances will be an average one. The Follz wheat 

 takes the lead of all other varielics. The ( larvson 

 white winter wheat, four quarts of which were sown 

 last fall, Is entirely winter killed. The Jennings 

 white wheat, as well as some other varieties, |ircsent 

 a better prospect for a good crop than they did this 

 time last year. The cold and dry weather Is very 

 disadvantageous to oats. The grass Is in a very bad 

 condition, some of the new fields having been plowed 

 up by the farmers for corn and Hungarian grass. 

 The latter article will be extensively raised this year 

 to take the place of hay. The old grass fields arc 

 well set, but from all appearances the hay crop this 

 year will be shorter than the crop of last year. Mr. 

 Miller thought it wiiuld be well to plow up all new 

 grass fields that would not be worth leaving for hay- 

 making, and sow them with Hungarian grass, and 

 he would recommend the sowing of one bushel of 

 clover and one bushel of timothy seed to every ten acres 

 tliuspreiKircd. By this arrangement nothing would be 

 lost and the fields wfiuld be set down with grass in a 

 favorable season. The grass quest Ion should be made a 

 study and the frequent failures accounted for. A great 

 many farmers are getting ready to iilant corn. Some 

 have planted already. The prospect for fruit could 

 not be fully reported, many of the trees l)eing in full 

 bloom, particularly the peach trees. The cold snap 

 of Sunday night and Monday, lie thought, would be 

 destructive to some fruit. 



Pi-.TEK S. Heist, of .Manheim, remarked that with 

 the thermometer at 40 on the :>(llh day of April, and 

 :iO on the first day of .May, he could not give a very 

 favorable report of the crops in his nelghliorhood. In 

 accordance with the reigning planet, .Mars, he hxiked 

 for a general destruction of the fruit crop. .So far, 

 wheat was the only promising grain. The new fields 

 of grass look poor. The oats, he thought, was nlp|)cd 

 by the late cold weather. In view of these facts, and 

 further, that It was only six weeks until the com- 

 mencement of haymaking, he had cause to fe*'l dis- 

 couraged. Farmers had yet a great deal to do — the 

 burning and hauling of lime being the most Import- 

 ant. He then referred to the cost and troubleol pre- 

 paring this article, and said that on the 0,000 farms 

 in this county, 1,000 bushels of lime were used on each 

 farm, w Inch, at a cost of ten cents a bushel, would 

 amount to ?<iOO,(HKI. 



Ephriam Huovek, of Manheim, noticed In his 

 drives alxiut the township, that there was only here 

 and there a good wheat field. In most of the fields 

 large bare sjiots were noticed. This was occasioned 

 by two causes— the destruellon by Ihefiy and I he late 

 spring. With all these disadvantages, nothing but 

 second rate crops could be lo<iked for. The Foltz 

 wheat looks more uniform and isthelK*sl. The grass 

 is very short and as far as observeil will \h- a light 

 crop. The gra-ss in the new fields Is generally winter 

 killed. The young clover has been nipped by the 

 frost and cold winds. A great many farmers have 

 ploughed up their fields for Hungarian grass and 

 corn . 



Martin Kenuio, of Manor, aud Mr.HKRSBEY,of 



