164 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[ November, 



States fell off 4 per cent., the South Atlantic 

 States 2 per cent., the Gulf States 27 per cent., 

 the southern inland States 8 per cent., the 

 States north of the Ohio river 14 percent., 

 the States west of the Mississippi river 27 per 

 cent.,' the Pacific States nearly 2 per cent. 

 These figures point to a yield of about 245,000,- 

 000 busliels. This, however, will be the sub- 

 ject of furtlier examination and inquiry in the 

 November returns. The October returns as a 

 general thing indicate an advance in the wheat 

 yield of those States in which tlie yield of 

 187.5 has fallen below that of 1874, and vice 

 versa ; but in some States, especially in the 

 northern, there is a falling ofl' from even the 

 reduced yields of 1875. 



The rve crop of 1876 is reported 4 per cent, 

 less than that of 1875, but in quality it 

 averages somewhat above its predecessor. 

 The barley crop of the country yields about 

 six per cent, less than last year. In all the 

 States east of the Mississippi river the yield is 

 deficient, except in Coimecticut, Georgia and 

 Kentucky. A great fallins off is reported in 

 the middle States, in the States north of the 

 Ohio river, and in the States between the Mis- 

 sissippi and Missouri rivers, and in Oreg;on, 

 but in Kansas, Nebraska, and especially Cah- 

 fornia— the largest barley raising State in the 

 Union — have realized a large incl'ease of yield, 

 which, to a great extent, counterbalanced the 

 short crops of the other States. The buck- 

 wheat crop is reported as full average or above 

 in Rhode Island, Virginia, Arkansas, Ken- 

 tucky, Ohio, Wisconsin and California ; in the 

 other States it is lielow average, the minimum, 

 50, being m Delaware. On the basis of the 

 October returns the oats crop of 1876 shows a 

 falling off of 23 per cent. Every section of 

 the Union is deficient. The States reporting 

 a yield equal to that of )a.st year are : Penn- 

 sylvania, 102 ; Delaware, 109 ; South Carolina, 

 126 ; Georgia, 115 ; Florida, 107 ; Alabama, 

 110 ; Louisiana, 104 ; West Virginia, 113 ; 

 Ohio, 102 ; California, 100. The condition of 

 the corn crop in the New England States is a 

 little above average. 



The middle States, excepting Delaware, re- 

 port a depressed condition from drought dur- 

 ing the growing season and from heavy rains 

 in harvest when the crop was not well ripen- 

 ed ; in New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania 

 heavy storms prevailing about the middle of 

 September prostrated many fields. The South 

 Atlantic States, especially in comities near the 

 coast, suffered serious injury to this crop from 

 the September storms, with prostrated fields 

 left uncut, while the heavj' rains that followed 

 spoiled a large amount of both grain and 

 fodder. Maryland and South Carolina are full 

 average, and Georgia largely above, but tlie 

 deficiencies of Virginia and North Carolina 

 cut down the general condition of this section 

 to two per cent, below average. The crop in 

 the Gulf States, on the whole, is about average, 

 Texas reporting an especially fine condition. 

 North of the Ohio river there is a deficiency 

 on the whole, the low condition in Illinois and 

 Michigan overbalancing the extra promise in 

 the other States. Ohio reports a superior 

 crop generally of good quality. In Michigan 

 crops on low wet lands are reported very poor. 

 Illinois is below the average, though several 

 counties report the finest crop for years west 

 of the Mississippi. The small deficiency in 

 Missouri is more than repaid by the fine con- 

 dition reported in all the other States. In 

 Iowa croijs were poor in low, wet lands and 

 the condition in several counties reduced 

 greatly by grasshoppers. In Missouri local 

 damage by storms is reported, but low prices 

 indicate an abundant yield in the larger por- 

 tion of the State. Kansas is full average in 

 spite of tlie grasshoppers and chinches, and 

 Nebraska is consideralily above. 



linnjEan notes. 



The experiment of killing the larvte of 

 Pieris rapfM with Paris Green mixed with flour, 

 alluded to in my "Notes for -July," has met 

 with considerable success. Most of the mem- 

 bers of our family were afraid to touch the 

 cabbages to which the poison had been ap- 



plied, but one msisted on preparing it, and ate 

 a quantity of it fin- dinner, raw, with vinegar, 

 and apparently witli entire impunity. The 

 poison liad, however, not been applied for 

 several weeks previous. Of course, care will 

 always be necessary. 



The same vegetable, raw, would doubtless 

 be more dangerous than when boiled, as the 

 water would take off the poison, if there were 

 any. 



The insect alluded to (Pieris rryxc) appears 

 to be exceedingly hardy. I saw several ac- 

 tive ones the day after the severe gale of 

 October 17, 1876. 



At this date (Oct. 23) I have found one of 

 the larva alive, and fiourisliing upon a liead 

 of cabbage in the garden. 



We are now eating freely of the cabbage to 

 which the Paris Green was applied, and all 

 hostility to it appears to be disarmed in our 

 own family. I would suggest that the Paris 

 Green, when applied at all, should be used at 

 the very earliest appearance of the insect, in 

 order to prevent, as far as possible, a second 

 brood of the animals— that it should be applied 

 in a minimum quantity of the poison to a 

 maximum proportion of flour or powdered 

 gypsum (plaster-of-Paris) and that the vege- 

 table should not be eaten for several days 

 after the last application, allowing two or 

 three heavy rains to take place in the inter- 

 val. Should there not be a rain, the heads of 

 cabbage might be soaked in running water. 



Persian Insect Powder. 

 In a recent magazine article, (A Lady's 

 Visit to the Herzegovinian Insurgents— -Lir- 

 ing Age, Aug. 12, 1876,) I find the following : 

 "Our road towards Gravosa lay tlu-ough a 

 country bright with almond and orange blos- 

 soms. One crop, of which we saw many 

 fields, excited our particular attention. It con- 

 sisted of a yellows-flowered plant, creeping 

 thickly and closely over the ground, and we 

 were told that this constituted the principal 

 article of commerce of Ragusa, and was the 

 far-famed "Persian insect-destroying powder, " 

 (the ''^botanical name of which we were not 

 able to ascertain) which is principally grown 

 on the shores of Dalmatia. It can be pur- 

 chased at wholesale prices, and requires to be 

 used in wholesale quantities, if you travel in 

 the interior." 



The September Storm. 



The storm of September 17, 1876, was, ac- 

 cording to Dr. G. 's recollection, the most se- 

 vere one in this neighborhood for over fifty 

 years. It was remarkable for the length 

 of time that the wind continued to blow. 

 There were very few, if any, electrical dis- 

 charges. The temperature appeared to rise 

 during the storm, the wind shifting about 

 night-fall, from northeast to southeast. Fifty 

 years ago, or more, a very destructive storm 

 occurred in this locality. 



Germination of Seeds. 



The following is from the Christian Register 

 of October 21, 1876: "The question of the 

 possible germination of long-buried seeds is 

 likely to be set at rest ^by the germination of 

 some poppy seeds, found by Prof. Hendrick 

 in Greece, in some refuse slag of Laurium 

 mines, over two thousand years old, heated to 

 extract the metal. The plant, of a kind de- 

 scribed by Pliny, but now extinct, has an 

 abundant crop, with briglit yellow flowers. 



A Flat Seed-Beetle. 

 Ou the 13th of October I found on a locust- 

 log a very peculiar flat 'black insect, ^accom- 

 panied by its young, or some parasite, which 

 clustered upon the under-side of its body — 

 brown little things, active looking, like little 

 spiders. The parent, (?) or largest insect, was 

 inactive. 



Insect Tenacity. 



About October 10th I captured a fine speci- 

 men of Danaus archippcs, and pressed the 

 thorax ; aud also made a cut into it, as I 

 thought, with my finger-nail. Then I pinned 

 it down and pinned out the wings. Finding 

 afterwards that it was still alive, and not 

 having chloroform, I applied considerable oil 



upon the thorax and head. On the 15th of 

 October I observed by the motions of the 

 antenna: and the tongue that it was still alive. 

 It lived for some days afterwards. 



Butterflies may be" kept alive for an indefi- 

 nite period by feeding them with sugar aud 

 water. — P. H. G., Enterprise, Lan. Co., Pa. 



5Wc have found Lepidopterous larvae in 

 every mouth of tlie year, active and feeding. 

 On the 23d of October, we saw two speci- 

 mens of the larva of Philampelis satelitia, 

 which had just descended from a grape vine, 

 aud were "crawling into winter quarters. 

 Larvte which do not mature before winter sets 

 in, often survive tlie winter, and finish their 

 larval development in the spring ; and this is 

 particularly tlie case with the various species 

 of "cut-worms." When two or three soft 

 mild days succeed each other during the 

 winter, they will revive, come forth and feed, 

 and we have seen tliem do this in December, 

 .January, February and March. There seems 

 to be a suspension and revival of the animal 

 function, as the temperature changes from 

 cold to warm, and vice versei. On one occa- 

 sion we found two specimens of a hairy cater- 

 pillar {Arctire) frozen in ice, aud we cut them 

 out ; in doing so, one of them snapped in two 

 like an icicle, the other we removed to a warm 

 temperature, and within half an hour it re- 

 vived and became as active as we find them in 

 mid-summer. Even in the imago state some 

 Lepidoptera must either hibernate in that 

 state, or evolve from the pupa during mild 

 winter weather. In February, 1874, Mr. 

 Voigt of the Lancaster Intelligencer oflice, 

 brought us a living specimen of Pieris rapa — 

 "white cabbage Butterfiy"— which flew into 

 the office througli an open window, aud at the 

 same time there were six inclies of snow on 

 ground. This is rather an uncommon occur- 

 rence. 



[1. The minimum quantity of good Paris 

 Green, is usually one part, and the maximum 

 quantity of the diluting substance is ivmdy 

 parts, well mixed together ; i. e. one pound of 

 the poison to twenty pounds of flour, pulverized 

 gymsum, road dust, fine ashes, corn-meal, &c. 

 I'lour, on account of its adhesive quality, is 

 considered the best. If the green is inferior, 

 a less quantity of the dilutaut will be required, 

 but if it is very superior, twenty-five parts of 

 the dilutaut may be required. It should be 

 applied when the plants are wet with rain, 

 dew or artificial surinking. 



2. The "botanical name" of this plant, may 

 be found in Mr. Stauffer's paper on " Insect 

 Powder" on page 167 of this number of the 

 Farmer. 



3. We question very much whether evidence 

 will "set at rest" the germination of long- 

 buried seeds : . The paragraph is ambiguous. 

 Granting the slag to have been two thousand 

 years old ; does it follow, as a matter of 

 course, that the seeds were so old V 



4. Doubtless Hololcpta cequalis, belonging to 

 the colopterous fiimily, Histeridce, sometimes 

 called "Mimic-beetles." This insect is very 

 liable to parasitic infestations, and we 

 have frequentally found it under similar cir- 

 cumstances. The parasites are species of 

 acari. 



5. In the absence of chloroform, strong 

 volatile ammonia is very effective in destroy- 

 ing the life of insects, if a bell-glass or 

 tumbler is turned over them, preventing the 

 escape of the ammonia. 



For The Lancaster Faemee. 

 CARE OF YOUNG ORCHARDS. 

 This is the proper time to look after young 

 apple-trees. As the late summer was very 

 wet, and the latest post grass grew luxuriantly 

 around the bases of the trees, that grass 

 should at once be removed, to prevent the 

 mice from nesting and harboring in the rub- 

 bish accumulated there. In such places these 

 little animals are apt to gnaw off the bark — 

 especially of young trees— upon which they 

 subsist during the 'winter, and this they are 

 as likely to do under a deep snow as when 

 there is no snow. "^ 



