The Lancaster Farmer. 



Prof. S. S. RATHVON, Editor. 



LANCASTER, PA., DECEMBER, i876. 



Vol. VIII. No. 12. 



TO OUR HATRONS. 



This nuuibfi- ends the ci<;htli volume of the 

 Farmer, and it linds our institutions, our 

 country, and our .Journal, in a very peculiar 

 situation, coniniercially, financially, jioliti- 

 cally and morally. Wliatever else may be 

 wrong, ice, during the year of our Centennial 

 advent, have labored ;is faithfully as we knew 

 how, to enlighten, to benefit, and to instruct 

 our patrons and readers, and if we have failed 

 to do this, it must be attributed to the head 

 rather than to the heart— to a want of ability, 

 ratlier than to a want of jcill. We have re- 

 ceived many kind and encouraging words, 

 both fri)m home and abroad ; but it may be 

 that there were many more good wishes and 

 good wills towards us, that were never mani- 

 fested in a material or practical form; and 

 lackiu" these, our usefulness has been circum- 

 Bcribecl, our strength enervated, our labors 

 unrewarded, and our very existence rendered 

 precarious. But, we make no complaint, and 

 under all these adverse circumstances, we have 



k endeavored to " possess our soul in patience." 

 From a combination of adverse causes, we 

 are not enabled to record either an entirely 

 fruitful, nor yet a pecuniarily profitable year, 

 (187(3) to the agriculturists of our county, or 

 the country at large ; and yet, we think there 

 is abundant reason to be thankful that things 

 liave been no worse. Wiien we look abroad 

 and see the suflering, the devastation, and the 

 death-demon in war, in pestilence, in famine, 

 and in the furious cyclones, which have visited 

 other lands, we discover that our special gra- 

 titude is due to Him, who has so signally pre- 

 served us (luring the past year — a year ever to 

 be remembered as the centennial of our 

 national being, our jubilee, the ultimation of 

 the grandest international exposition ever 

 witnessed by the world. 



For the encouragements, the favors, the 

 contributions and condescensions vouchsafed 

 to us by our patrons, we desire to express our 

 unfeigned thankfulness, and we assure them 

 that there are many passages and incidents iu 

 our intercourse with them, that will be long 

 and fondly remembered. 



If we have ever said, done, or written any- 

 thing tliat seemed to them amiss, we interpose 

 the plea of inadvertence— so)is sinister intent 

 — and the general imperfections incidental to 

 unregouerate humanity. 



Although busine.ss depression and financial 

 disaster have continued throughout our be- 

 loved comitry during the year how coming to 

 a close, we still hope our patrons may have 

 liad occasion to join in the national thanks- 

 giving recommended by the President of the 

 nation and the Governor of our good old com- 

 monwealth; for, in the main, we perhaps 

 have been blessed beyond what we deserved ; 

 and, as the Saviour's natal day is fast ap- 

 proaching, and will soon be upon ns, there 

 will be additional cause for a season of ador- 

 ation and thanks— thanks for those "glad 

 tidings of great joy " which were proclaimed 

 "to all the people," nearly nineteen centuries 

 ago. If the blessings of that great occasion 

 do not reach us as individuals, the fault will 

 be with us, and not with Ilim who came " to 

 seek and save." And finally, as we will not 

 have another opportunity to address you 

 within the present year, we embrace this occa- 

 sion to wish you " A Merry Christmas and a 

 Happy N(.w I'enr." 



THE PAST, THE PRESENT, AND THE 

 FUTURE OF THE LANCASTER 



FARMER. 

 As this, so far as we know at this writing, 

 is probably the last number of this joiirnal 

 that will appear, under its present auspices, 

 we deem it our duty to say .something about 

 its origin, its progress, and its final destiny. 



In the spring of 1808, some of the; members of 

 the Lancaster Ccnmty Agricultural and Horti- 

 cultural ISocieli/ conceived the idea of publish- 

 ing a Yeau-IJook, to contain the es.says read 

 before said society, as well as the important 

 reports on grain and fruit culture, and the 

 standing resolutions that relate to the perma- 

 nent interests of the same ; and made sug- 

 gestions to that effect at the April meeting of 

 that year; when a committee of five was ap- 

 pointed to take the matter into consideration, 

 and to report thereon at the next stated meet- 

 in^;- the writer of this being the chairman of 

 said committee. When the committee came 

 together to consider the subject, it was con- 

 cluded that if the contents of the work were 

 of any importance to the farmers, it would be 

 too long to wait a whole year before they 

 could have an opportunity to consult the pro- 

 posed l)Ook, and therefore a member sug- 

 gested that it ought to be published quarterly 

 and the committee reported so to the society. 



When the committee made its report at the 

 following May meeting, a member of the so- 

 ciety suggested that it would be better still if 

 the work could be published monthly, and the 

 subject was recommitted for report at a future 

 meeting ; and the society, as a committee of 

 the whole, was authori7,ed to canvass for sub- 

 scriptions. The subject was continued 

 through the summer of 18G8 and progress was 

 from time to time reported. At the October 

 meeting the committee reported that a sufli- 

 cient number of subscribers had been received 

 to justify a beginning of the publication, at 

 least ; but the society did not feel sutficiently 

 compact in its organization to assume the re- 

 sponsibility of the publication, and the matter 

 was deferred to the November meeting. The 

 late Stuart A. Wylie, who, in the' mean- 

 time had been consulted upon the subject — as 

 well as other printers— attended that meeting, 

 and when the matter was brought up, and he 

 saw the difficulty iu the way, he proposed to 

 print the journal on the responsibility of his 

 firm (Wylie & Griest) if the society would en- 

 dorse the publication and appoint an editing 

 and a publishing committee, thus relieving 

 the society from any expense — he to realize 

 his compensation out of the subscriptions 

 and the advertising patronage. 



At the December meeting of the society 

 (7th) it took definite steps with reference to 

 the publication of the Lancaster Farmer 

 — the name previously adopted— accepted Mr. 

 Wylie's proposition, and named Jacob B. 

 Garber, H. M. Engle, Levi S. Reist, Dr. W. 

 S. Diffenderfter, Dr. J. H. Musser and S. 8. 

 Rathvon, as editorial committee; and Dr. P. 

 W. Hiestand, H. K. Stoner, Jacob M. Frantz, 

 Casper Hiller, Levi W. Groff and Alexander 

 Harris, as publishing committee; and early in 

 .January, 1869, the first number of the journal 

 .appeared, "under the auspices of the Lancas- 

 ter County Agricultural and Horticultural 

 Society," obligating itself to publish monthly 

 the essays read before the society, and a 

 synopsis of its proceedings. With the under- 

 standing "that the entire membership of the 

 society, to whose patronage the paper was in- 

 debted for its existence, would constitute 

 itself a comniitlee of the lohole, to collect ma- 

 terial for its subsistance," the journal went 

 into oi)eration, and was issued in royal octavo 

 form, with as fair a prospect of success before 

 it as usually inures to enterprises of the 

 kind, and during that year everything seemed 

 to indicate that it had a prosperous career 

 before it — a contingency never fully realized. 

 As "too many cooks spoil the broth," or, 

 " what is et'e?\i/body's business is jiobody's 

 business ;" therefore, at the completion of the 

 first volume, the editorial and publishing 

 committees were dispensed with, and S. .S. 

 Rathvon and Alexander Harris were ap- 



pointed editors by the society, and they also, 

 in connection with Mr. Wylie, became the 

 publishers. As many of the sulwcribers on 

 the original list had only volunteered their 

 names for one year—" merely to encourage it 

 in starting "—the Farmer had greatcu- dilH- 

 culties to contend with in its second, than it 

 had in its first year. 



This was almost equivalent to no encour- 

 agement at all, for who ever dreamed oibeyin- 

 i(i«y such a publication without a thought of 

 continuing it V Such an eiihemeral enterprise 

 had belter never been entered into. But by 

 extra efforts this contingency was partially 

 overcome, and the publication was continued, 

 but hot without a struggle and some sacrifices, 

 both on the part of editors and publishers. 



At the completion of the second volume, S. 

 S. Rathvon discontinued his relation as one 

 of the publishers of the journal, but continued 

 as senior editor ; and his place in the publish- 

 ing firm was supplied by John B. Develin. 

 Subsequently Mr. Wylie also withdrew as a 

 liublisher, and during a few months the work 

 was temporarily conducted by Develin and 

 Harris— Mr. Harris also continuing as junior 

 editor. 



At the commencement of the fourth volume, 

 Messrs. Harris and Develin entered into a 

 definite partnership, in which only Mr. Deve- 

 lin 's name appeared in the journal as pub- 

 lisher, and Rathvon and Harris as editors ; 

 and this relation continued until January, 

 1873, at the commencement of the fifth vol- 

 ume, when Mr. Develin became the sole pub- 

 lisher and S. S. Rathvon the sole editor, and 

 Mr. Harris retired. During the publication 

 of the sixth volume, Mr. Develin acted as as- 

 sociate editor, in addition to his other function, 

 and, on the completionofthat volume, he trans- 

 ferred all his "right, title and interest" in the 

 journal to the firm of Pearsol & Geist, edi- 

 tors and publishers of the Daily and Weekly 

 Express, by whom it was continued until the 

 end of the eighth volume, (December, 1876) 

 having been changed from an octavo to a 

 quarto form, with variousother improvements, 

 apparent to its patrons on a very casual ob- 

 servation. 



From the last two numbers of the Farmer 

 our readers and patrons will perceive that the 

 Express Printing and Publishing Establish- 

 ment has passed into the hands of a new 

 proprietor ; and in those very peculiar and un- 

 certain financial and commercial times, pru- 

 dence will dictate retrenchment in business 

 affairs. Therefore, for reasons which will be 

 made manifest in the following, our journal 

 will be very probably discontinued ; all'will 

 depend upon whether or not a satisfactory ar- 

 rangement can be made. Therefore, if no 

 nuriiber for .January, 1877, appears within that 

 month, the journal may be considered dead. 



Our connection with" the I^ancaster Far- 

 mer as its editor was rather inadvertent, and our 

 long continuance as such altogether unexpect- 

 ed. Not that we had no love or no will for the 

 occupation ; for, under certain circumstances, 

 and with no other conflicting duties to inter- 

 pose, we would rather have liked it, and 

 probably could have been more eflicient in it. 

 It is said that "some men are born great, 

 .some achieve greatness, and others have great- 

 ness thrust upon them." We may say that the 

 editorial mantle was thrust ui)on us. Not 

 violently, however ; but through the earnest 

 wishes of our friends in the Society we permit- 

 ted it to be thrown upon us. At the time, 

 however, we verdantly supposed that ourfunc- 

 tion would be only a temporary one, and that 

 time would develop an abler and more worthy 

 incumbent. J5ut tliat time never came — not be- 

 cause a competent siicce.s.sor could not have 

 been found, perhaps, but Ix'cause no one cared 

 much to enjoy the responsibilities and emoju- 



