i40 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[ September, 



of wheiit. To provide his yard niaiuuo, he 

 usually purchased sheep in the fall aud fed 

 them during the winter on hay, straw, corn 

 and oil-cake meal, an<l sold them to the butcher 

 in the spriu}?. Sonietinies he fed as many as 

 a thousand at once, calculatiufj; that if he re- 

 ceived the market valui' of his corn an<l hay, 

 aud pay back for the oil-cake he bought, that 

 he did very well, and had full compensation 

 in the manure, thouj;h he nevi'r failed but once 

 in niakiufi a handsome direct profit on liis 

 sheep. Perhaps no man has in this country 

 been more snceessful as a raiser of wheat than 

 Mr. Joluiston, or has, on a large scale and for 

 a long series of years, averaged larger yields. 

 In talking over his methods of farming, he 

 will dwell constantly on the importance of 

 tiarn-yard niaiuire ; bntcarefulattention tohis 

 story will show that few men have used clover 

 more than he did. Some years since he .sold 

 most of his land aud reduced his farm to about 

 100 acres, a considerable part of which he rents 

 at an annual sum of .125 an acre to nurserymen 

 to raise fruit trees on, and he no longer raises 

 crops on large areas. Should he now resume 

 business on the scale of 40 years ago, he would 

 tind that other crops besides wheat brought 

 money and had a quick sale, aud he would act 

 accordingly, l)nt he would use no less clover 

 or barnyard manm-o. He would make his 

 clover till hi.s yards, and he could no longer 

 purchase oilcake meal at the prices of olden 

 times, and it is very doubtful if he would fatten 

 as many animals as he formerly did. — yew 

 York Tribune. 



OUR PARIS LETTER. 



Corresitoiuleuce of The Lancaster Farmer. 



Pauis, July 37, ISTCi. 



The harvest ordinarily commemes in the sontli of 

 Frauce aljout the 8lh olJune; this year it is nearly 

 three weeks late, exeejjt in the north. It is, how- 

 ever, now eompleteil, anil so far as can be juilgeil, 

 the yield will be .i fair average. In many cases win- 

 ter had ti.) be replaced by spring- sowings of wheat. 

 Hay in several re<rions has proved a satisfactory crop, 

 and if ilie humidity was favorable in one case, it was 

 objectionable in another from the weeds which were 

 rapidly developed. 



An agriculturist of antiquity— Varro, "the most 

 learned of the Romans," observed that a good culti- 

 vator ought to follow the errors of his predecessor, 

 then those of his neighbors, and lastly, undertake 

 some experiments. It is in this third stage that 

 France now finds herself respecting harvesting ma- 

 chinery. The price for cutting grain crops per acre 

 is 1-t francs, therein including t^Iie one-third lor bind- 

 ing. With the reaping machine, the total cost per 

 acre is one-half less, allowing for all special and Ren- 

 eral expenses. French agriculturists are not insen- 

 sible to this serious ditference, and are every year be- 

 ing compelled, from the diminution of manual labor, 

 to consider the necessity of employing machinery. 

 Native implement makers do not appear to be eijual 

 to the oecasion; they are allowing foreisners to cut 

 them out. The Imyers are numerous, for it is esti- 

 nuUeil France requires 20IJ,000 seed distributin",' ma- 

 chines, and possesses but 1.5,000; and wants at least 

 100,000 mowing anil reaping machines. The ques- 

 tion of meeting this deficiency is so important and 

 jiressing, that the government has requested its pre- 

 fects to study the best means for extending tlie use 

 of these iini)lements, as well as of steam ploughs and 

 thresliiiig machines, and if the municipal councils, of 

 which there are .'50,000 in France, that is to say, one 

 for each parish, could not allocate funds to purchase 

 these machines, and repay their cost from the taritt 

 charges for hiring tliem out. 



As an historical curiosity, the French in ancient 

 times employed a machine, where the idea of the 

 modern reaper may be found. I'liny states that the 

 (iauls, in the case of large and level tracts of land, 

 employed an implement, liavins,' sloping teeth placed 

 in planks, and when driven forward, liy a bullock 

 pushing from behind, plucked off the ears of corn 

 which fell on a receptacle board. Palladius attests 

 that this rude reaper was in use in the fourth century, 

 that two women and a bullock were sulheient to 

 gather the entire harvest of a tounland in a short 

 time, especially where straw was no object. 



Wurtemburg has three official breeding studs, con- 

 sisting of 80 mares and 1.50 stallions ; the chief stud 

 is at Marl)ach, where the land is stony, dry, and the 

 layer of arable soil, very thin. One-half of the oats 

 consumed are produced on the farm, as is also the 

 hay, peas and much of the straw. The stallions and 

 grooms sullice to cultivate tlie land, save in spring, 

 when the stallions being distributed at the various 

 depots for covering purposes, bullocks are employed 

 for the light work of that season; often three year 



old mares are similarly employed. The peculiarity 

 about the products of these studs is that the animals 

 arc not wicked, and are devoid of vicious habits. The 

 climate is very severe, the winter endures seven 

 months, and there is no sprintr; cnttin;; winds aboiuid 

 — the Suabian Alps lieini;' in the neii;hl)orhood — and 

 the ni^fhts, even in the middle of summer, are cold. 

 This climatic severity tells on the health of the ani- 

 mals, the mortality alfeetiuff exclusively mares and 

 colts. t)n the contrary the horses are proportional Ij' 

 robust and vigorous, to which may be traced the ex- 

 cellent reputation they possess as hunters. Since ten 

 years the Ansxlo-Norman is the type of horse pre- 

 ferred and aeelimatised. 



Baron de Wollwarth has done much to settle the 

 vexed question as to the efllcaey of sliearini^ or clip- 

 pini; animals as a means to promote rapid fattening. 

 He selected 22 bullocks, 12 of which he clipped after 

 they had been without food for IS hours. The result 

 was very unfavoralile for the shorn lot, especially im- 

 mediately after that process, and the more luarkedly 

 so, as lieiiire the experiment there was no sensible 

 difference in the daily auifmontatiou of the 22 ani- 

 mals. Clippinir is thus far from beinsr a universal 

 panacea; tliat operation increases generally the wants 

 of the animals, for deprived of a portion of their 

 coats, they are more exposed to the action of cold, 

 and the increased diijestibility means a jjreater pro- 

 duction of heat to supplement what has compulsorily 

 disappeared. The beast irets warm at the expense of 

 its fat, or in other words, the shearim:; necessitates a 

 supplement of I'ood. There are exceptions, as in the 

 case of horses of a lively disposition, and otdy so- 

 journina; in the air pending work; here clippinj dim- 

 inishes transpiration, whieli from its exhaustive ten- 

 dency demands even an excess of food. There are 

 eases where sheep and cattle can be shorn if the 

 sheds be too warm, but improved ventilation might 

 tell better on th? stock. Then again there are ani- 

 mals sensible to cold and others much less so. 



Professor Sanson draws attention to a general error, 

 and which is important to rectify now, that uuiize- 

 fodder is liecoming so larselyeultivated for preserva- 

 tion in trenches. " The liest moment to cut maize is 

 when the seed commences to form in the ear;" such is 

 the common belief and error. The nutritive value of 

 maize as a forage plant is subject to the same laws 

 as clover, hay, &c. Now it is well known, as proved 

 by scientific investigation and practical experiment, 

 that a plant is richer in nitrogenous and protein mat- 

 ters, in proportion as its development is advanced, or 

 is, in fact, yoiuig ; that in proportion as it becomes 

 old it becomes more woody, tiie cellular tissue in- 

 creasing and the protein diminishing, and that the 

 digestibility of the forage and the assimilation of its 

 principles diminish with the maturity of the plant. 

 Wolff has demonstrated that red clover in its first 

 growth contains 22 per cent, of protein, and only 10 

 when nearly arrived at maturity ; the increase of cel- 

 lular tissue being respectively as 25 to 42. It is well 

 known to graziers that the extent of meadow suffi- 

 cient to fatten an ox pasturing would never accom- 

 plish that end with the hay produced on the same 

 superficies. The seed of a plant absorbs and concen- 

 trates the elements of its stems, and hence the entire 

 plitiit oitght to bo more nutritive when it is in it» 

 (lowering than in its grain-producing stage. Payen 

 also has shown that in this younger state the juices 

 of digestion act more iiowerfully and uniformly. 



Having alluded to M. WnlH I may remark, that 

 eminent fierinau's great work, "The Kational Alimen- 

 tation of Domestic Animals," has appeared in a 

 French dress. He is director of the Agricultural 

 " Station " of Holicnheim, and since 25 years has de- 

 voted his attention to the scientific and practical 

 study to the comparative richness of the food of 

 animals, its relative digestibility and its constituents. 

 On these points he is perhaps the first authority of 

 the day. 



Messrs. Heiden, Von timber and Brunner have 

 condui'ted a series of delieate experiments, to decide 

 whether it was more profitable to give to milch I'ows 

 potatoes raw or steamed ; they found that a ration of 

 28 His. of potatoes per day produced no effect either 

 on the quantity or quality of milk, or on the animals 

 putting up ficsli. Messrs. Wagner and Schaffer's ex- 

 periments on the cooking of the tubes, conclude 

 that unpeeled potatoes ought to be boiled, and the 

 peeled ought to be steamed. 



The French Legislature has decided that fish cid- 

 ture shall form a part of the progrannne of all the 

 farm schools. This was a brancli of rural industry 

 formerly nuich cultivated in this country, especially 

 in reference to carp. The latter is a most prolific 

 and easily propagated fish; weight for weight, it 

 fetches nearly as high ti price as beef, and no farm 

 stock can manufacture tiesh so rajtidly as carp. Any 

 pool of water can raise the fry; at two years of age, 

 they must be transferred to larger spaces of water, 

 and even then can command at the rate of 200 francs 

 per 1,000 head. 



The bean crop is severely attacked this year with 

 the black hug; ashes, soot, and guano scattered in 

 the early morning while the dew is on the plant, a 

 solution of urine, etc., have been tried with more or 

 less etl'cet. Steeping seeds in a poisonous solution 

 and hastening the growth of the young plant, are 

 amongst the most efficacious preservatives. M. Bur- 



venieh recommends that an excellent means to pre- 

 vent the root of cabbages from being attacked by the 

 worm, is to plant them in furrow^ somewhat like 

 celery; the cause of the disease he asserts is due to 

 the aridity of the soil. 



If no cure has yet been found for the vine bug 

 malady, the attempts to conquer the phylloxera are 

 far from diminishing. Submersion of the vines is, up 

 to the present, the sole remedy that has everywhere 

 succeeded where tried ; the suli)luiret of carbon h.as 

 given but chequered results. A feeling in favor of im- 

 porting American vines, on which French stocks 

 could be grafted, has set in, and the governrnent has 

 nominated a commission to go to Philadelphia and in- 

 vestigate the sutiject. 



(iermany has decided to establish an AgrienUnral 

 "Station," exclusively devoted to the culture of the 

 best varieties of sugar beet ; in that empire the manu- 

 facturers themselves raise 60 per cent, of the beet 

 cultivated. For the production of 1 cwt. of sugar 11 

 ewts. of roots are necessary, and the expenses of 

 mamifacturing vary from fr. ^5 to 40 per cwt., the 

 duty being fr. 11 on that quantity. 



.Messrs. Transon, of Orleans, find that rolling the 

 seeds of larch, pine, the glands, ifec, of other trees 

 in a paste of red lead, and drying them before sowing, 

 completely wards of the attacks of birds and field 

 mice. 



The Agricultural Society of the Lower Seine, find- 

 ing all existing instruments unreliable for detecting 

 the adulteration of milk, now otfer a prize of a gold 

 medal and fr. 700 to the inventor of an instrument 

 capable of indicating if milk has been skimmed or 

 watered. 



OUR LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS. 



Proceedings of the Lancaster County Agri- 

 cultural and Horticultural Society. 



The regular monthly meeting of the Lancaster 

 County Agricultural and Horticultural Society was 

 held in the Athenjeum rooms, on .Monday afternoon, 

 September 4th, at 2'; o'clock. 



The following members were present : 



Henry M. Engle, Johnson .Miller, Peter S. Heist, E. 

 S. Hoover, Wm. MeComsey, John B. Erb, S. S. 

 Uathvon, Martin D. Kendig, M. M. Brubaker, John 

 M. Stehman, Levi S. Reist, Andrew Lane, Harry 

 Wolf, Jacob Witmer, Mr. Hersbey, David Swartz, C. 

 L. Hunseeker, Harry Keist, D. Snieych, John tjing- 

 rich, Casper Hitler, John Miller, Mr. Landis, Phares 

 Kaufman, Israel L. Landis, Dr. Hertz, and Reporters 

 of the press. 



In the absenceof the Secretary, Alex. Harris, (who 

 is now on a visit to some of the Southern States,) 

 Johnson Miller was appointed temporary Secretary 

 until his return. 



The report of crops being first in order, Henry M. 

 Engle was called upon to state their condition in his 

 district. He said the corn crop was a full one. The 

 jjolatoes were almost a failure, and were small in size. 

 The young clover was not promising, while the apple 

 crop was far above an average, although many va- 

 rieties showed a tendency to ripen too soon; especial- 

 ly so was this the case with the winter fruit. Peach 

 eroji fair, but not so perfect, on account of over-bear- 

 ing. A fair crop of grapes; same may be aaid of 

 pears. The season was an excellent one for sweet 

 potatoes. 



M. D. Kendio, of Manor, reported the tobacco 

 crop not so good as expected, it haviitglJcen damaged 

 eonsiilerably tiy the drought. 



J. B. EuB, of Beaver Valley, gave generally en- 

 couraging accounts of the crops in his district. The 

 fruit crop, he thought, was two or three weeks ahead 

 of time. Bees have not been doing so well as on 

 former occasions. Potatoes would not; he half a crop; 

 corn three-quarters of a crop. Tobacco would also 

 be about three-quarters of a crop, the worms being 

 very troublesome this season. Trees that were 

 planted last spring have made a vigorous growth. 

 Caterpillars were less numerous on trees than for- 

 merly. The summer grass was good. 



Petek S. Reist stated that the wheat crop was 

 not as good a one as was e.xpeeted, and that corn 

 would make about three-quarters of a crop. Tobacco 

 was injured very much by worms. Bitter weeds were 

 high and very troublesome. Trees that were planted 

 last spring have made more wood than ever noticed 

 by him belbre. The peach crop was good, and young 

 eloviT had recovered. 



D.VNIEL Smevcii, of Lancaster, said that grapes 

 were poorer than they had been for the past nine 

 years. Concords were almost a failure, while many 

 other varieties were very little better. He had thir- 

 ty-five varieties, all of which were defective, more or 

 less. 



Johnson Mii.i.er, of Warwick, reported corn as 

 growing finely since the late rains, and will make a 

 good crop ; perhaps not equal to last year in quan- 

 tity, but of a better quality. Young clover is poorly 

 set, and potatoes yield rattier poor with most farmers. 

 The bugs have destroyed them with some fanners, 

 and also the season had been rather dry for the late 

 plantings. Fruit in abundance. Apples are drop- 

 ping fast, with no prospect for a large supply of 

 winter apples. Cider is abundant, and selling as 



