1S76.] 



the:lancaster farmer- 



iAi 



low as $3 to ?:! a barrel. The farmers are now Ret- 

 tiiifl ready to sow. The cjrouiul is in excellent eon- 

 liition. Tliere is some wlieat alreaily "|>, "nil willi 

 favorable weather will ^row ral her rank lie woiiUl 

 prefer sowinfr from the Kith lo the 20lh of September. 

 The weather prophets prediet a warm fall, es|ieeially 

 the month of November, and if that sluiiild be the 

 ease, this will be in timi' even with linearly fall. The 

 tobaeeo erop is pretty we^l housed, althouL'h a irood 

 deal is out yet. It is of (rood quality, and will make 

 the lamest erop ever produced by this eonnty. Con- 

 siderable of it was spoiled by the worms, whieh were 

 more numerous this year than formerly, ami where 

 they have not been properly atlendeil to, they have 

 damaged the erop to some extent. A great deal of 

 tobaeeo was late in growing, and farmers should 

 give it time, and not eut it too green, on aeeount of 

 frost, wliieh he thought is not so near at hand as 

 some imagine. 



N.N. HitiitiAKKn,of East llemplield, informed the 

 members that peaches and apples in his district wi'iv 

 very [ilenty, aUbougb the latti'r erop was I'alling 

 very fast. The limbs of young peach trees were dy 

 ing olf at the ends, from ibe depredations of a snnill 

 white worm. Tlie grinind is in good e(nidition, and 

 farmers are getting reaiiy for seeding. The corn and 

 tobacco crops were liot'h good. He would like tii 

 know what w(mld be a good reuK'dy to destroy while 

 grub worms, which attack strawberry plants. 



A letter was read from A, II. Iloslctter, esq., 

 essayist for the occasion, staling that he was unable 

 to be present, but hoped to be with them at the next 

 meeting, when he would have his essay ready. 



The iiuestion for discussion at this meeting — " How 

 to keep our boys on the farm "—was postponed until 

 the next meeting. 



KiMiR.iiM IIoovEK wanted to know what were Ibe 

 best varieties of wheat to sow. At present he found 

 the Fultz wheat the best, and in an experience of 

 thirteen years, found late sowing to be the best, hc- 

 eause you would escape the ravages of the lly. His 

 Kultz ivheat yielded fully one-quarter more than any 

 other kind. " He said that late seeding was from the 

 35th of September to the end of the first week in Oc- 

 tober, and that early seeding ivas from tlic last week 

 in August until the middle of September. 



H. M. Enole said that this subject was discussed 

 at length some years ago, and at that time many 

 farmers came to" the eonclusion that land was too 

 dear to raise wheat, and that it could never be raised 

 again like our forefathers raised it. He thouL'ht a 

 good erop depended a great deal (ni bow the farmer 

 treated the soil, and what kind of seed he planted. 

 He believed in a change of seed. He then instanced 

 his exiicrieuce in planting dillcreut kinds of seed, such 

 as the red and wliite Mediterranean, the Fultz, Am- 

 ber, and other kinds. Farmers should strive to pro- 

 duce early wheat. If he would grow largely, he 

 would sow the P'ultz and Clawsou white altogether. 

 Both of these varieties eould be depended upon as 

 jiroducing a sure erop. 



Johnson Mili.eu said that lie had experimented 

 with the Clawsou wheat for two years. He received 

 the seed from the Department at Washington. The 

 first erop was a success, the latter was a complete 

 failure. 



Petek S. Reist did not believe in experimenting 

 with every new variety of wheat that was introduced 

 in the market. A few years ago he thought he 

 would try some new kinds, and sowed six ditl'ereut 

 varieties. After trying it for some time be was com- 

 pelled to fall back on his old kind — the red bearded, 

 or as some call it, the .Mediterranean. This variety 

 is very nice to work, produces a clean chalf and sure 

 erop. He thought it best to sow wheat on light 

 plowed ground, so that when the frost came, the 

 roots would not be damaged. 



EpiiiiAiM Hoover believed iu clianging seeds from 

 north to south. 



C. L. UuNSECKER, of Manheim, believed that the 

 Fultz wheat, which was so popular just now, would, 

 like all other new varieties, fail in the end. It would 

 be like the "Strowble" wheat of old, which for a 

 time could be grown on almost any kind of soil. He 

 spoke at some length on the diti'ereiit varieties of 

 wheat now in use. 



John M. Steiim.vn was iu favor of early sowing, 

 and preferred the Fultz variety above all others. 

 From the Cth to the 2Uth of September he regarded 

 as early sowing. In early sowing the sprouts have a 

 chance to become strong, and are not so liable to be 

 damaged by the lly. 



Levi S. Heist believed that early and late sowing 

 depended entirely upon the season. 



J. B. Eitn reported the green worms as trouble- 

 some in his district. ~ 



H. M. Engle thought that more depended on the 

 season than on the time and variety of seed planted 

 In the whole, success de|iended a great deal upon 

 many eontiugeneies, and iu such a ease it would not 

 be well to set a given time to sow. He believed in 

 changing from one variety to another, the same as is 

 done with fruit. In this way the best kind can be 

 selected and improved. 



Johnson Mili.eu said that Moses (ieisenberger, a 

 merchant on North Queen street, had a new kind of 

 wheat, whieh he had been sowing on a farm near 

 Heamslown, that was proof against the fly and would 

 Dot freeze. 



Peteu S. Keist did not believe in sowing in the 

 signs of the almanac, as was often done by some 

 farmers, but be ilid believe in heavy manuring, which 

 would bring the soil up to the old standard and large 

 crops I'onld be raised. 



J.vcon 8. WiTMKii, of Millersville, was in favor of 

 alternating seeds, that is, chanL'ing from one soil to 

 another. His larin was a slate and limestone one, 

 and he found that by pbinling in dillcniii plac'.s 

 from year to year, that dillcrciit iiualitics were pro- 

 duced. In some portions he noticed a liilfereiice of 

 live to six bushels to Ibe acre. He believed that in 

 the course of a few years seed woulil dcgeiierali-, ami 

 it would b<-(ome necc.>.sary to get a new kind. He 

 would like to know something about the Egyptian 

 wheat. Ills was very small in the grain and shriveled. 

 Johnson Mil. i. Kit said that he had iiKpiired about 

 the Egyptian wheal, and Ibiind that it proved a |ier- 

 fect failure with all whoraiseil it. 



II. M. F.Niii.E agreed with the remarks made by 

 Mr. Miller, and said our climate was not suited at all 

 for its raising. It ripens on our soil too socni, and no 

 wheat is good that ripens before its time. He hop<'<l 

 no farmer present belii'vcd in the siirnsof the almanac, 

 but that they all believed in the signs of the soil. 



.M. I). Keniiio saiil that a point was overlooked, 

 and that was the quantity id' seed to be sown to an 

 acre. He was in the habit of sowing I'rom a bushel 

 to a bushel and a peek to tlie acre, but if the season 

 is I'avorablc, one bushel to the acre is eiioiigb.. 



H. M. Enoi.e said the remarks of .Mr. Kendig were 

 very opportune. As a general thing, fanners sow 

 too imu'li seed to the acre. 



At the conclusion of Mr. Bugle's remarks, the dis- 

 cussion came to an cini. 



On motion of .Mr. Kendig, a committee of five was 

 appointed by the chair to test the different modes of 

 cultivating whi'al,aud the ]iropcr amount to be sown, 

 and'rcport the same at the next iiu'ctiug of the So- 

 ciety. M. U. Kendig, II. M. Fugle, John (liiigricb. 

 Johnson Miller and J. Frank Laiulis were appointed 

 as said committee. 



The President suggested that every other member 

 of the Society give his personal attention to this mat- 

 ter, and experiment at least to some extent in the 

 matter of drilling and cultivating wheat. 



Johnson Mili.eu read a letter of invitation from 

 the Berks County Agricultural Society, to attend 

 their exhibition on the 13lli, loth and lUh of this 

 month. He moved that the invitation be accepted, 

 and that a committee of three be appointed to repre- 

 sent the Socictv at the exhibitiini. Johnson Miller, 

 Peter S. Keist and Epbraim S. Hoover were appointed 

 as said comniiltce. 



H. M. Encu,e called attention to the pomologieal 

 exhibition at the Centennial, and urged the members 

 to contribute fruits, as there would be no exhibition 

 held here this year. The exhibition commc^iiees on 

 the f Itb inst., to conlinue until the lljlh. 



On motion, a committee of three (including the 

 chairman) was ap]ioiiilcd to represent the Society at 

 the next meeting of the National Hortii'ultural Cini- 

 gress, which meets next week, at Belmont Hotel, 

 Centennial grounds. The committee consists of H. 

 M. Engle, Dr. Elam Hurst and Israel L. Laudis. 



H. M. Enole presented some grapes that were 

 considerably cut. He stated that they were dam- 

 aged by bees, the opinion of the bee keeper to the 

 contrary notwithstanding. 



C.^LVIN CooPEK reported the amount of rainfall in 

 his district for the month of August at 1 "li-IOO; Mr. 

 Engle as I 10-lU, and Mr. Kendig as 1 39-100. 



A committee of five, consisting of Messrs. Johnson 

 Miller, Calvin Cooper, M. D. Kendig, Peter S. Keist 

 and H. M. Engle, were appointed to revise the by- 

 laws of the Society, to report at next meeting. 



Mr. Kendio moved that in the future all persons 

 presenting fruits to the Society, give a history of such 

 exhibits. 



IsuAKL L. Landis gave notice that there would be 

 a meeting of tobacco growers next Monday at S 

 o'clock, al the Black Horse Hotel, this city. 



*' Ilow can we disjtose of our corn crop to tlie best 

 advantage?" will be the i|Ueslion lor discussion at 

 the next mcetiUL'. 



Epiiuai.m S. Hooveu had a fine stalk of tobacco 

 on exhiltiti<in. 



Si.MoN p. Env said that he made a visit to the 

 orchard of Elias Eby, in Hapho township, a few days 

 ago. The orchard contains some lifty trees, all ol 

 which are in line bearing conditiim. The tribes are 

 about twenty years old, among the varieties licingtiic 

 "Northern Spy," "Siiitzcnberg," "lialdwin," "Kox- 

 bury Kussctt," and " Swcitzer," all of which are full 

 of fruit. The soil of the orchard is limestone, lies 

 level and is not protected by any licilge. Some of the 

 apples were |ihiced on I'Xhibition. 



The display of fruits was one of the largest placed 

 on exhibition for simie lime, the following being a list 

 of the exliibits and exhibitors : 



President Calvin Coopeh presented to the Society 

 the following varii'tii's of grapes : Rogers, No. 4, 

 (Wilder); .Martha; Christine, or Telegraph; North- 

 ern Muscadine; Hartford Prolific; a while seedling for 

 name; Merrimac (Kogers, No. 4.) 



Heniiv M. Enole presented a number of Seckle, 

 Bartlett, Howell, Des .Moines and other pears, and 

 several bunches of grapes. 



Mr. J. B. Eiiii, of Lime Valley, exhibited the fol- 

 lowing: Jeffries and Early Bellllowcrapples, Concord, 

 Clinton, .Martha, While ('linton and loua grapes. 



Lkvi S. Keist incsented Bartlett, Onondaga and 

 McLaughlin pears. 



Elias Ehv presented fine Kambo and Sweitzer ap- 

 ples. 



After tasting and passing judgment on the fruit 

 exiiibiled, the Society adjourned. 



The Bee-Keepers' Society. 



The society met in the Athemeum rooms at 3 o'clock, 

 111! Monilay," .\ngnst 31sl. The first question dis- 

 eussc'd was, " What brings on the swarming impulse 

 with a colony of beis, and how are we to control il ?" 

 Die. BoVEU said the bi st plan to |iriveut bees from 

 swarming was to give them plenty of room Id work. 

 Space has more to do with it than anything else. 



Several members said that they have bail cnloiiics 

 to swarm several times in a season, altluiugh the 

 brood cbanibcr was not more than three-quarlers 

 tilled with comb. 



Mii. LiNTNi'.ii said that the swarming was caused 

 bv the hive liciug lilleil with comb, and the comb 

 with brood; the queen having no place to deposit 

 eggs. In this case the bees will coiMtruct ipiceu 

 eells'aiid swarm. To |iievcnl Ibis he ui'cs a movable 

 frame hive, and when his colony gels too strong he 

 removes a couple of the frames with the adhering 

 bees into an empty hive, and the bees will at once 

 commence to work on the empty frames. In this 

 manner he had no trouble in preventing his bees 

 from swarming. 



What causes bees to die out, having a good supply 

 of honey in both the brood and honey chambers ( 

 was the next (picstion. 



Dit. HoVKu thought the cause was in the queen not 

 being a good breeder, and hence the colony grows too 

 weak. If the colony is not strong, Ihcy will die if 

 tlicv have ten galhms of liiniey. 



.Mil. Detwilek said much depended in the winter 

 care of bees. A quilt or hi unci it her absorbent should 

 be placed in the top of the hive to absorb the mois- 

 ture arising from the bees. If this is not done, this 

 moisture will form into ice, and the sides and top of 

 the hive and the bees will freeze. 



Mil. MvKiis thought it was owing to the weather 

 being extremely cold for a long i)eiiod. He had no- 

 ticed that on warm days in winter the bees removed 

 t he honey from the outside combs, and stored it up 

 in the centre of the hive. If the weather was too 

 cold, they could not reach the outside honeycombs. 



At this point some of the members got to discuss- 

 ing queens. Mr. Funk said bees will not cease to 

 work on the death of the qiieen, but will continue to 

 store honey until all the brood iu the hive is hatched 

 out. 



Dit. BovEU said that wh"n a hive lost a queen, a 

 fertile queen should be inserted, as from tiMi to llf- 

 teen days would be lost iu waiting for a queen to 

 hatch out, explaining the process of making a queen 

 by the worker bees. 



Some argunMiit ensued as to whether the Society 

 was not entirely olf the original question, and another 

 question was proposed, viz.: 



What kind of a bee hive is recommended as han- 

 diest, cheapest and most convenient to handle bees 

 in, with the least injury to the colony '. 



Mil. KiitKi'ATKicK said he Imd long used the 

 " Langstroth," " Buckeye," " King," and a hive of 

 his own manufacture, called the " Doubledeeker." 

 The latter he considered the licxt. 



All the members seemed to agree that a movable 

 frame hive should be used, with the frames of uni- 

 form size. 



The question " What is best to do with bees when 

 honey is scarce ?" was well answered by Dr. Boyer, 

 who said that when stock pasture becomes scarce, 

 the only thing left was to feed the stoi'k, and when 

 honey became scarce, bees should be fed, or they 

 would certainly starve. 



" .\re bees injurious to fruit?" was discussed at 

 considerable length. 



Mk. Fink said they were. He had had bis entire 

 grape crojj destroyed by bees. 



Dit. BovEK said that was a mistake; bees will w'ork 

 in grapes, apples, etc., if the skin is lirst broken, but 

 in no case can they puncture the skin. He explained 

 that the eurculio, asinall insect, lirststung the grape, 

 and then the bees would very naturally work on the 

 sweets that oozed from the wound. 



Mil. Lintnek sent to the clerk's desk and had read 

 an article froni the Lancaster Kxnminer, (published 

 several months ago) giving a deseri[itiou of the mau- 

 ner in whii'h the owncrof a vineyaril, near Schoeneck, 

 destroyed nearly ;ill the bees in that section of the 

 county. .Noticing that the bees were eating his grapes, 

 he made a trap, eimsisting of two large planks. These 

 planks were raised by means of a prop a foot apart, 

 and baited with molasses, and after a large number 

 of bees had congregated he sprung his '• infernal ma- 

 chine" and destroyed thousands at a lime. In this 

 manner the bee" colonies in the vicinity were so 

 weakened that one apiarist lost eight out of twelve 

 colonies. 



Will bees gather more from flowers by being fed a 

 little every day through the summer S 



