88 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[June' 



cies described out of twenty-four known. Of 

 the Italiiin 8etaria (millet) or Bengal Grass, 

 Dr. Darlington says, in his AgriciUtural 

 Botany (Ed. 1847) : ">Some years ago the cul- 

 ture of this plant was introduced into Pennsyl- 

 vania, and excited consideralile interest for a 

 time among the farmers, as affording valuable 

 fodder when the usual hay crop was likely to 

 be deficient. It was soon found, however, not 

 to be as valuable as the usual fallow crop, (of 

 oats or barley) of which it occupied the place ; 

 and was, moreover, reniarkalily liable to dam- 

 age from rain. The cultivation, therefore, 

 soon declined, and isnowgenerallyabandoned. 

 There is another species, (S. verticiUata. £am:) 

 with the spike composed of interrupted vorti- 

 cils of .spikelcts, and the involucre of retorwiy 

 scabrous bristles, in pairs, which is becoming 

 something of a nuisance about gardens in 

 many places." Cattle refuse the herbage, 

 turkeys and poultry are fond of stripping the 

 spikes of tlieir seeds in the latter part of sum- 

 mer. But the Fox-tail and Bottle grass, if 

 not serious nuisances, are, to say the least, 

 questionable grasses to plant or cultivate. 



The common name, " Grass," is often per- 

 plexing. What is termed the ■" Buffalo Grass " 

 is a forage plant. It is not true grass, but 

 comes near the clovers. The Mcdkwja 

 htpuHiia and the M. saliva are samples of grass 

 found in Green Lake county, "Wisconsin, which 

 were there known under the name-of IBuffalo 

 grass, and which Hon. Harris Lewis, at a 

 meeting of the IHica Farmers' Club, declared 

 "he believed was the most valuable grass 

 for grazing that he had ever seen. He 

 found it growing in tufts like orchard grass, 

 and stock ate it greedily." The article con- 

 cludes : " The specimen shown of the M. sa- 

 liva no doubt measured seven feet in length." 

 The M. saliva is the Lucern, upright. The 

 M. hqmlina is the Black Medick, nonesuch, 

 Iirocumbent. Another — Bvffalo-clover — is the 

 IrifoUitrn reflexiim. The clovers, ( Tr(foil) and 

 Midicayo and MeUhtvs, or sweet clover, and 

 others, belong to the order.LEGUJnNOS.E (Tulo 

 family). These are forage plants, but not 

 properly classed among grasses. 



The liuftalo grass, known to the travelers 

 over the plains of the West, according to Dr. 

 Englemann, is the Buchloe dactyloides, which 

 is quite a different plant ; also a synonym of 

 '■'■Scsteria dactyloides'''' is given it. This is a 

 true gramineous plant, but we are told the 

 noted buffalo grass of the region named may 

 be recognized at once, and be distinguished 

 from other species by its low, dense, tufted 

 growth ; also by the stalens, from which it 

 rapidly spreads. It never attains the height 

 of over two or three inches, except with its 

 male flower stalks, which sometimes reach 

 two or three inches above the leaf growth. 

 They have at their summit a few flat spikes, 

 of male flowers only. This only requires a 

 shallow soil, and will grow among taller and 

 more deeji-rootiug plants, like the Aiulropoyrm 

 and Sorylnmi. Therefore the buflalo plant 

 seven feet long cannot be the Uitchloe dacty- 

 hides of Englemann, nor a Medicago. Then 

 what is it V A fidl list of the grasses of the 

 plains and eastern slope of the Rocky Moun- 

 tains will be found on pages 217 to 22(3, Report 

 of the Com. of Agriculture for the year 1870. 

 About the Hungarian Grass, Hon. A. B. 

 Dk-KENSon wiites to the Country Gentleman, 

 1858, that the Hungarian Grass of last year 

 and the Honey blade-grass of this year are 

 nothing more tlian what A/iMet was forty years 

 ago. 



We sometimes get vexed at these new 

 names, to jierplex the student of botany by 

 dropping old familiar names and giving them 

 aliases. Well, it is often comical, that the 

 farmer who was to present a specimen of all 

 the grasses on his farm had among the lot a 

 bunch of asparaejtts, which belongs to the 

 Lilacefc ; when thrown out he insisted upon it 

 that they were al' grasses, and declared that 

 the bunch objected to was ^^ Sjiarrrnr-grass.''^ 

 "Well, so it was ; and why qviarrcl about it ? 

 An article in the Report of the Department of 

 Agriculture, some years ago, treated of clover 

 under the grasses. 



This recalls how the mixing up of ideas 

 often causes ludicrous blunders, and the old 

 darkey preacher may be excused when he gave 

 out his text, " In de fust pistol of Clover, and 

 ninety-fust werse." "Hold up. Doctor I" 

 shouted one of his hearers, "you've got the 

 wrong book ; you mean the fust pistol of 

 Timothy, I s'pose." The lire.-icher hesitated, 

 with a very profound look, and said : " Well, 

 I must cave in dis time, tho' I know'd dat de 

 text was somewhere among de grasses." With 

 all deference to those who may make mistakes 

 (as I often do) — for I have been there myself 

 — nevertheless there are proper names, and 

 writers attempting to give information sliould 

 try to be explicit, if there are ditt'erent names 

 for the same thing in different localities, which 

 are apt to mislead those who apply that name 

 to something else ; but a description of the 

 flower or general appearance would always 

 separate plants to their proper order, and we 

 would not mix plants belonging to the papilio- 

 naceous Liliaceous or the carices, with the 

 l)roper Gramiiiie or true grasses, as is too 

 often done in common conversation. —J. Staiif- 

 fcr, Lancaster, May .30, 1876. 



For The Lancabteh Fabmer. 

 HOW TO STACK GRAIN. 



Stacking grain is frequently alluded to by 

 agricultural writers as a "wasteful practice." 

 So far from being "wasteful," there is fre- 

 quently a great saving in stacking grain. 

 The advantages of stacking are — less danger 

 of fire, greater security against rats and mice, 

 and immunity from barn weevil. "Where the 

 crop is a long distance from the barn, there is 

 also a saving of time in storing. The stacks 

 can be hauled in when labor is cheaper. 

 With the Mediterranean and Fultz varieties 

 of wheat, the kinds most generally cultivated 

 in this section, the loss by shelling is scarcely 

 worth notice. 



Have your sheaves of even size and well 

 bound. Badly bound and " slobbery " sheaves 

 cannot be tolerated in stacking, and should 

 not be tolerated at any time. Select high, 

 dry ground for your stacks, and begin by lay- 

 ing a foundation of rails. Some stackers omit 

 this, but it is much better to have a founda- 

 tion to cut oft" the moisture from below. 



First, lay down four large rails, spaced 

 equidistant, and across these lay about a 

 dozen rails, and you are ready to begin your 

 stack. Throw two or three sheaves across the 

 centre, and build the tops of your sheaves on 

 these, going "gee" round; that is, with 

 your right hand towards the centre of the 

 stack. Continue your widening circle until 

 you have fully reached the corners of the 

 foundation, letting the butts of the sheaves 

 rest on the groimd on the four sides. Now 

 see that your base is round and level, and you 

 have your foinidation large enough on which 

 to build from sixty to eighty bushels of 

 wheat. Lay another course or two of sheaves 

 with their butts even with those of the last 

 course on the rails, leaving the stack bottom 

 in the form of a pie-dish. Place another 

 course with their butts about even with the 

 bands of the outside course, and the heads 

 pointing to the centre, and another course 

 inside of this, and so on, until your middle is 

 full. Continue on in this way until your 

 foundation is eight or nine feet high, or as 

 high as you wish your "bulge." The bot- 

 tom may be built perpendicular, or, better 

 still, a little out from plumb at top. Begin 

 now and raise the centre of your stack very 

 high, making the sloi>e nearly as steep as an 

 ordinary house-roof, and extending well out 

 on to the last course on the bottom. You 

 have now come to the most important part of 

 your job — "laying theeave. " Having your 

 centre very high, so as to give your sheaves a 

 good pitch, you begin by taking a sheaf and 

 thrusting the butts downwards and outwards, 

 until they extend a short distance over the 

 last course. You now get on your knees on 

 this sheaf, and another is handed you, which 

 you serve in the same way, until you have 

 completed the circle. Now put some filling in 



the centre, and lay another "bulge" ring 

 with the butts as far out as the first "break- 

 ing joint," like a course of shingles. Be sure 

 and keep the tops of the sheaves well back. 

 They are liable to gain forward, and this will 

 spoil the stack. They should all point to the 

 centre, like spokes in «, wheel, and should be 

 closely crowded together. If there is a sheaf- 

 hander, he should stand as nearly as possible 

 in the middle, so as not to move the outside 

 eounses. Tlie third course is drawn in a lit- 

 tle, and each succeeding course a little more 

 rai)idly, until the job is finished. Have a few 

 small sheaves for finishina, and have a stick 

 five or six feet long, made very sharp at one 

 end. Thrast this down the centre of the 

 stack, taking care to have it perpendicular. 

 Fix a band or two around the tops of the last 

 course, and your stack is topped out. 



Next morning, when the dew is on, is the 

 best time to rake it oft". Pull the butts where 

 there are unsightly holes, and beat down pro- 

 tuberances. Stacks built in this way will 

 .stand for months in the wettest seasons, and 

 sustain no injury. 



Long stacks or ricks are built on two or 

 more squares of rails placed together. Where 

 there is a large quantity of grain to stack, 

 ricks are economical. The chief objection to 

 this kind of stack is the long row of lieads ex- 

 posed to the weather on top, unless you thatch 

 or cover with boards. Ricks should always be 

 built with their length running east and west. 

 The east sides of stacks and shocks are always 

 more liable to be damaged by rain than any 

 other parts. 



The main points to be observed in stacking 

 are : 



First. Keep your centres full, thereby giv- 

 ing your outside courses a steep pitch. 



Second. Always have the tops of your 

 sheaves point to the centre. 



Third. A symmetrical form of stack. 



Inexperienced stackers are apt to build too 

 high, and rim their stacks up to a spire-like 

 point. This is unnecessary and unsightly, 

 and the tops are liable to be blo^vn off. It is 

 the pitch of the sheaf, and not the pitch of the 

 toj), that makes it water-proof. An egg shape 

 is the best form for a stack.— t/l C. L. 



For The Lancaster Fabmeb. 

 SOMETHING ABOUT BEES. 



Permit me again, through the columns of 

 your valuable journal, to make some remarks 

 on bee-culture, for I liave had many years of 

 experience with these insects, and have always 

 had "good luck" with them. With strict 

 attention to their habits and their wants, and 

 a little pride attached to the same, one be- 

 comes master of his trade, and therefore he 

 feels able to speak out boldly of what he 

 knoivs to be facts. ■ "W^riters ovi bee-culture 

 differ very much. Some say in natural swarm- 

 ing the old workers, as well as the old queens, 

 leave the hive. It seems uimatural that the 

 young bees should drive out their parents. I 

 heard an old bee-keeper say he had a hivo 

 fourteen years old, with the self-same queen 

 still living, because he clipped her wings 

 when he put her in with an artificial swarm, 

 and he believes they never leave the hive 

 imder any circumstances, except when 

 swarmed or swarming ; they have too much 

 ease at home. I have lifted them from the 

 groimd after the swarm has come out, being 

 too young to fly, and returned them to the 

 hive again. The swarm will return also, but 

 on the morrow they will come out again, and 

 all will be right. There will also he many 

 workers too young to fly until the sun has 

 strengthened them. They will then mingle 

 with the swarm, or return to the mother- 

 hive. Drones are privileged characters ; they 

 go in and out of such hives as they see proper. 

 By this means they cross or hybridize with 

 others, which is an improvement in both. 



I have had six natural swarms from five 

 stocks already (May 22), one as early as the 

 first of the month, and 1 shall have four or six 

 more before the month is out. This will give 

 them ample time to lay up a good store of 



