100 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[July, 



itself if it were not for the aliment afforded 

 by the products of the patient, persevering and 

 farseeing farmer. Their functions during the 

 Revolution of 1776 was to sustain the soldier 

 ill the field with that which is more essential 

 than powder, balls, guns, and generalship, 

 and they are doing nothing less in 1876. 



On the ^vhole, the crop outlook for the jxes- 

 ent year seems to be one that will add addi- 

 tional lustre to our " Grand Centennial," and 

 although there is a dearth of employment in 

 many of the occupations of our countrymen, 

 still there is a reasonable prospect for an ave- 

 eragc reward to the farmer — a compensation 

 for Ills days of toil and an assurance to the 

 masses of the people. 



Many, if not all, of oin- farmers will avail 

 themselves of the opportunity to visit the 

 International ExpnsUion, now being held in 

 Faimiount Park, Philadelphia, and if, for the 

 time being, they are not so attentive to their 

 local meetings, they will l)e gathering ideas 

 for future development in their honorable oc- 

 cupation. Such an .occasion will never be 

 presented again to those who are now the 

 " bone and sinew" of thfs country. The in" 

 fo rmation we gather this year fi'om the various 

 sources now concentrated in the Centennial 

 enclosure will last for many generations. It 

 will constitute a great epoch in the material 

 history of our country, and the lessons that 

 may be drawn from it will serve as texts and 

 landmarks for many years to come, whether it 

 may result in good or evil, therefore in any 

 event it may be profitable. y- ' 



Meeting ot the Millers' Association. 



The Millers' Association held its regidarly 

 monthly meeting in the rooms of the Board of 

 Trade on ^Monday afternoon, July lOtli, the 

 President, John Strohm, jr., in the chair. 

 The attendance was fair and the interest con- 

 siderable. Several new members were elected. 

 Bcports were received from all parts of the 

 cormty concerning the wheat crop. This 

 year's crop is superior to any we have had for 

 several years. The wheat is well-filled, and 

 most of it has been harvested in good condition. 



Considerable ditlereuce exists in quality es- 

 pecially in "rakiilgs," which owing to the 

 lodged condition of tlie grain will be unusu- 

 ally aliundant. The crop is more satisfactory 

 in the southern part of tlie county than in the 

 northern. Advices from Ohio indicate a poor 

 yield, while the northwest is rqiorted as hav- 

 ing a very full crop. Foreign advices indicate 

 a fair crop. Tlie general feeling was that 

 there is little encouragement to buy beyond 

 actual needs. Choice new wheat was reported 

 from commission sources as alumdaut in 

 Philadelphia at .§1.25 and no buyers. But late 

 new wheat seems to have changed hand in 

 this count}^ and at prices ranging widely. 



Opinions difVerod somewhat as to the ]iroba- 

 bilities of tlie market in the future. It was 

 conceded that little upward chiinge could be 

 expected except in case of war in Europe, 

 when prices might rise a little. Most of the 

 members felt that there would be a little 

 change, while a few predicted a fall of not less 

 than 10 to 15 cents per bushel. 



The following jnices were reported by the 

 Gornmittee as current : wheat (old), .1^1. 25 to 

 S1.30 ; wheat (new), $1.15 to Sl.'25 ; makings, 

 SI. 05 to SI. 20 ; corn 50 cents ; oats 32 to 35 

 cents ; rye, 62 to 70 cents. 



Lancaster being a "border county," and 

 many subjects of the vegetable kingdom thriv- 

 ing eiiuaily well with those of other localities 

 we Vtelieve that the following from the Com- 

 mcrcial., of Baltimore, will be useful to the 

 readers of The Faiijier, especially those in 

 the southern portion of Lancaster coimty. 



' '• Maryland Fruits. 



The advantages of Maryland and portions 

 of the adjacent States of Delaware and Vir- 

 ginia for fruit growing are becoming daily 

 more apparent, and it is being acknowledged 

 that this central locality of this country must 

 render it the garden spot of the ^Vo^ld. In ad- 

 dition to the climate and soil for the success- 

 ful growing of fruit, especially of the peach, 



the pear and the smaller varieties, the facili- 

 ties for transportation which the central port 

 of Baltimore presents, in its numerous lines of 

 railroads and steamboats to aU sections of our 

 own countr)', and the admirable facilities af- 

 forded by our ocean steam«-s to Europe, 

 must render our city and State the great 

 emportum for the dissemination of the horti- 

 cultural productions of the country, as they 

 are fast becoming of the cereal crops which 

 now find an outlet to Europe from the gi'eat 

 granaries of the West. 



It is evident in every direction that the 

 taste for horticulture and the propagation of 

 line fruits is daily increasing, and the efforts of 

 the admirable Horticultural Society of Mary- 

 land to encourage and extend this taste is 

 bringing forth corresponding results liy the 

 beautiful disjilay which from time to time is 

 made in our city under its auspices. The last 

 monthly exhibition was indeed a triinnphant 

 .success, and the show produced specimens of 

 flowers and fruits which it would be difHcult 

 to surpass. 



The Society last year sent a deputation to 

 the biennial meeting of the American Pnnio- 

 logical Society, who secured the adoption of 

 Baltimore as the place for holdhig the next 

 meeting of the National Society in 1877, the 

 • arrangements for which will be made under 

 the auspices of the Maryland Society; and 

 'from the well-known energy and efficiency of 

 its officers, a success will no doubt be secured, 

 which will redound to the honor of the ama- 

 teur and ])rofessional gardeners of otu- State. 



At the meeting in, 1875, of the American 

 Pomological Association, Mr. W. D. Bracken- 

 ridge, adelegate from Maryland, made a re- 

 port upon the " Fndts of Maryland, " in which 

 he says that " Maryland, in her geographical' 

 position, the fertility of her soil, mildness and 

 uniformity of climate, embraces one of the 

 finest fruit-growing regionsof our whole coim- 

 try. By this We refer more particularly to 

 what is known as our Eastern Shore counties, 

 bounded on one side by the Chesapeake Bay 

 and on the other bj' part of the State of De'a- 

 ware, where the peach and the pear may be 

 said to have found their homes. The soil of 

 this Maryland tract is generally wliat may be 

 termed a light loam, and therefore easy to 

 work. It is computed that about sixty thou- 

 sand acres of this is planted in peach trees, 

 and the remarkable yield the present year of 

 this fruit is estimated at five millions of bush- 

 els. The fruit begins to ripen about the mid- 

 dle of July, and continues until the first of 

 October. Some of these orchards are over 

 twenty years old, and still continue in a 

 healthy conditioii'. The stimulants used thus 

 to maintain the trees are liberal applications 

 of barnyard manure, or to the extent of one 

 thousand pounds Of ground bones to the acre. 

 Sometimes muriate of potash and other fertil- 

 izers are applied, while the surface' of the 

 gr<iund is kept open by frequent plowing and 

 harrowing during each .season ; judicious prun- 

 ing and shortening-in being considered essen- 

 tial to the healthy condition of the orchard." 



Mr. Brackenridge says that the usual rem- 

 edy for the peach borer or worm is to use the 

 knife freely, and then apply a shovelful of 

 slacked lime on the surface m close contact 

 with the tree. 



Some seasons the curculio does'great'flanl- 

 age to the fruit. To prevent this no remedy 

 has yet been fomid. With regard to what Is, 

 called the "Yellows," a few of the more in" 

 telligent growers attribute it to tlie action of 

 an aphis on the roots, and is considered by 

 some to be the Grape-Vine Phylloxera, al- 

 though some entomologists call it the Aphis 

 Persica. These insects, though small, nlake 

 sad havoc on the roots, and their pres- 

 ence underground is made very evident by the 

 yellow and sickly appf'arance of the leaves,' and 

 on the few that have lieen examined l^y myself 

 the insects were found following out and de- 

 stroyiiig the healthy bark to the extreme points 

 of the rootlets. Uur intelligent and most exten- 

 sive peach-grower. Col. Edwai-d Wilkihs, of 

 Kent county, is now carefully investigating 

 the character and habits of this destructive 



pest, and from him we expect such informa- 

 tion as may lead to measures calculated to put 

 a stop to its ravages: ' An opinion prevails al- 

 most universally among our orchardists that 

 of late years the season of ripening of many 

 kinds has materially changed. Those ]3eaches 

 which used to ripen late now come in with 

 earlier varieties, thereby occasioning fre- 

 (juently a glutting of the market. Some at- 

 tribute the cause to an mdiscrimin'ate use of 

 seed for stocks got from tlie preserving estal>- 

 lishments, or to the small and wcak'hog w' 

 natural .seed procured in Virghiia, and my 

 friend. Col. E. Wilkins, thinks this evil can 

 be obviated by budding "Early Yorks on 

 Early Yorks and Smocks on Smock stock." ■ 



A list of fi'uits that have proved to be well 

 adapted for this State and vicinity, arr^ugcd 

 in .iccordance with the Society's programme 

 and the report of Mr. Brackenridge,' is found 

 in the published proceedings of the National 

 Association : 



Peaches — One Star — Early Troths, profit- 

 aljle as a market fruit ; Stump tlie World, 

 large, of medium quality. Pineapple, White 

 Heath, Cling, Salway. 



2'roo Stars — Early York, good for table and 

 marketing ; Early Crawfdrds, one of the most 

 profitable ; Reeve's Favorite ; Old Mixon 

 Free, mucli sought for preserving ; Crawford's 

 Late, in high esteem for marketing ; Silver 

 Medal, poindar here and in Delaware; Key- 

 jiort White ; Beers' Smock, the most profitable 

 grown, ■ 



Dayijcr — Early Beatrice, promises well. , 

 Early Louise, Early Rivers, flavor high. 



Pears — One Star — Manning's Elizabeth,; 

 a great bearer, fruit small, yet profitable. 

 Clapp's Favorite, a line grower and good 

 * bearer, but fruit inclined to rot at the core, 

 li'lemish Beauty, rots at tlie core and slieds, its 

 leaves before the fruit is ripe, still it Is worth 

 growing. Vicar of Wakefield, good beaaer on 

 both Dwarf and Standard, much grown; 



Two Stars — Tyson ; one of the very best, 

 but tree long in coming into liearing. Beurre 

 Giffard ; in some localities the fruit is liable to 

 craclv. Bloodgood ; high flavored, and much 

 esteemed. Bartlett ; the most popular of all 

 ])ears. Howell; an early and good bearer on 

 Dwarf or Standard. Beurre d'Anjou one of 

 the very best pears, grows, bears and eats- 

 well. , Sheldon ; is all that can be desired. 

 Bergen ; this is gj'adually growing in favor. 

 Duchess d' Angouleme ; on dwarf very reliar 

 ble. Seckle ; good everwhere. Lawrence ; 

 docs well all over oiu- State. 



Da(j(jer — Andrews ; promises so far to do 

 well here. Mount Vernon ; this, so far,, proin- 

 ises well. Triomphe de Jodoigne ; a fine 

 grower, fruit of high flavor. British Queen ; 

 fruit large, flavor high, keeps well, tree rather 

 a poor grower. Dana's llovey ; tree a fine 

 grower and coming into bearing early — fruit 

 high-fiavorcd. 



Note — The Doyenne Boussock and Swan's 

 (Grange do well in some localities, and we 

 think the last when better known will become 

 a popular market fruit. 



Apples — One Star — Early Harvest ; a 

 moderate bearer, fruit excellent. English 

 Russet ; does well on warm land. Long Is- 

 land Russet ; an early and abundant bearer. 

 Peck's Pleasant ; flavor good, requires to be 

 more generally known. Robertson's White ; 

 an abundant bearer. Summer Rose,; a deli- 

 cate fruit for table, not much grown. 



Tico >S<ars— Astrachan Red ; bears weU only 

 on aged trees. Drap d'Or ; the only objection 

 to it, tbc; trees grow slowly. Jefferis, ; in 

 some counties does well. Rawles' Genet ; a, 

 good bearer and keeps well. Summer Pippin ; 

 one of our best early apples. Smith's Cider ; 

 the most profitable sort grown here. Smoke- 

 house, highly esteemed and widely dis.semiu- 

 ated. Tulpehocken Pippin (Fallawater); tree 

 good bearer, fruit large — much grown by our 

 farmers. Tewsbmy Winter Biu.sh ; a good 

 bearer and keeps long. York Imperial ; this 

 and Smith's Cider are the two leading apples 

 of Maryland. 



IJagger — Alexander ; so far this promises to- 

 suit here. 



