44 



THE LANCASTER FARMER 



[ March, 



the soil, lime will do more harm than good. As a 

 manure it is of very little value. 



Mr. HiLLER paid the tobacco growers in his 

 neighborhood limed very heavily — from 100 to lOO 

 bushels jjer acre — and in addition added large quan- 

 tities of barnyard manure, and plowed both in to- 

 gether. In this way they raised immense crops of 

 tobacco. 



Mr. Levi W. Groff did not have much faith in 

 lime. Some years ago he bought a quantity, and 

 spread it on a strip of ground through the centre of 

 a field, at the rate of EOO bushels per acre. He sow- 

 ed his seed, and when the crop ripened it was im- 

 possible to see any difference in the yield. It was 

 neither better nor woi-se than in the parts of the field 

 that were not limed. The whole field was manured 

 heavily with barnyard manure. Mr. Groff said he 

 would like to know whether a useful kind of phos- 

 phate might not be made by adding lime to green 

 sawdust. Would not the lime deprive the sawdust 

 of its acid and assist in rotting it? 



Mr S. P. Eby thought not. The lime would have a 

 tendency to preserve rather than destroy the sawdust. 

 We whitewash fences and buildings to preserve them. 

 Mr. Eby gave an illustration of the value of lime on 

 gravel soil— instancing a farm that was compara- 

 tively valueless until lime was liberally applied. 



Mr. H. M. Engle thought the action of lime when 

 mixed with the soil might be very diflerent from its 

 action when applied to wood. 



Mr. E. K. Hershey suggested that gypsum would 

 be better than lime to mix with the sawdust spoken 

 of by Mr. Urolf. 



Mr. J. C. LiNViLLE had not much faith in either 

 plan, but would use lime in preference to gypsum to 

 compost the sawdust, and would then use the saw. 

 dust very sparingly. It is well known that lime will 

 preserve wood when it is kept dry, but will not pre- 

 serve it when it is in a moist soil, as may be seen by 

 the rotting of whitewashed posts and fences at or 

 under the surface of the ground. 



Mr. HiLLEK said if he had a pile of sawdust such 

 as Mr. Grotl's, he would rot it with liquid manure — 

 with the draiuage from the manure pile in the barn- 

 yard. 



President Cooper said he had successfully used 

 gypsum by spreading it over the manure pile, es- 

 pecially when there were a great many cornstalks in 

 it. 



Mr. Maktin D. Ken-diS, referring to Mr. Groff's 

 statement, that he could see no diSerence in a limed 

 strip of land from the land that was not limed, said 

 he knew of a strip of land that was limed ten years 

 ago, at the rate of 100 or 150 bushels to the acre, 

 and that the good re.<iults of liming can yet be seen 

 by the increased crops grown on that strip. 



Mr. E. K. Heksuey, in answer to a question, said 

 that air-slaked lime is not as good as water-slaked 

 lime, because the former contains more carbonic 

 acid than the latter. 



Mr. J. C. Lixvii^LE thought the best time to ap- 

 ply lime was after the wheat has been harvested, 

 and the best niode was to distribute it in as small 

 particles as possible. Phosphates he thought were 

 of little or no value. He had covered strips of land 

 with them and failed to see any advantage resulting 

 therefrom. 



In applying lime, Mr. Engle favored putting it in 

 small heaps covered with earth before spreading it. 

 The various propeities of the lime are thus preserved 

 and absorbed by the soil. 



Mr. Levi Pow.\all believed that crops might be 

 doubled by the judicious use of lime. He believes 

 that it loses i.(me of its virtues by lying unused; in- 

 deed the lime in old mortar seems to be better than 

 fresh slaked lime. As an illustration of the value 

 of lime he spoke of what used to be known as the 

 "barrens," in the southeastern part of the county, 

 which have been made fruitful farms by the liberal 

 use of lime. These barrens were partly slate, partly 

 gravel, and partly limestone land, and all these soils 

 had been equally benefited by lime. He had used 

 phosphates and thought he had in some cases re- 

 ceived benefit from tliem, but as a general rule he 

 had been cheated in them. 



Mr. Christian Coble said before he commenced 

 liming h s land he could raise only 12 or 15 bushels 

 of corn to the acre; now he raises from 75 to 100 

 bushels. He uses on clay sod from 100 to 1.50 bush- 

 els per acre, every four years, and is certain he de- 

 rives great benefit from this method. 



Mr. Peter S. Reist said that L5 or 30 years ago 

 his father applied from ICO to 100 bushels of lime 

 per acre to part of his land. Scarcely any difference 

 could be seen at the time in the crops on the limed 

 and unlimed parts of the farm. But a great ditter- 

 ence can be seen now; where all was sterility then, 

 all is'fertility now. Those who use lime have good 

 crops and those who don't have not. All good farm- 

 ers now use lime and their farms have advanced in 

 value from .00 to oOO per cent. 



The question, " VVheu is the best time to plant clo- 

 verseed" gave rise to a long discussion and almost 

 every month in the yearwas recommended, and half- 

 a-dozen different modes of putting in the seed were 

 advocated. 



President Cooper would sow the seed on top of 

 the snow. 



Christian Coble would sow it on the ground 

 when it was hard and dry and cracked open by bak- 

 ing. 



Levi W. Groff would sow on wheat stubble and 

 trust to wet weather for crop. 



Levi S. HeIst sowed in April and failed ; some of 

 his neighbors sowed in the spring with no better re- 

 sult and some did well by sowing on wheat stubble. 



John B. Erb sowed during harvest and failed. 



M. D. Kendig sowed after harvest with good re- 

 sult. 



Mr. H. M. Engle thought spring was the best time 

 to sow, but the weather had much to do with the re- 

 sult. He believed the ground should be as well pre- 

 pared for cloverseed as for any other crop. The best 

 clover he had was when he sowed the seed with 

 his oats. 



Mr. Levi PowNALL had sown seed in well culti- 

 vated ground and also in wheat stubble, and the one 

 turned out just as well as the other. Spring sowing 

 might be done from the middle of March to the last 

 of April. 



Mr. Levi S. Reist in sowing seed used about four 

 quarts to the acre. 



Mr. E. K. Hershey suggested as an experiment, 

 first, that the seed should be sown and harrowed in; 

 and second, on another plot, the ground should be 

 harrowed the seed sown afterwards. The harrow 

 should be made of a piece of plank with 20-peuuy 

 spikes driven through it. 



Mr. Levi W. Groff said he intended to experi- 

 ment by sowing cloverseed on young wheat, and fol- 

 low the seeding with a drag, a kind of sled without 

 teeth. He feared that teeth would injure the roots 

 of the wheat. 



"How shall we build agood and cheap pump house 

 with a fruit cellar under it?" was a question proposed 

 by Mr. John B. Erb. 



A debate followed in which several gentlemen 

 agreed that a pump house would not be a fit place for 

 a fruit cellar, as the dampness from the well would 

 injuriously affect the fruit. Mr. Erb was of a d ffer- 

 ent opinion. The cellar under his house was too dry 

 lor fruit, and as a consequence the fruit shrank. He 

 thought the dampnefs of a properly constructed 

 pump house would not injure the fruit. He had fre- 

 quently buried apples in the ground covered with 

 straw, and they kept very well. 



Mr. Hershey had done the same last fall, and had 

 examined his buried apples a few days a^o and found 

 them in good condition, while those in his cellarwere 

 rotten. 



Mr. Engle would not hnild such a fruit cellar as 

 that proposed by Mr. Erb, nor bury his apples as 

 pnpposed by Mr. Hershey, as buried apples are apt 

 to have an earthy flavor. The common plan of pack- 

 ing winter apples in barrels, and keeping them as 

 near the freezing point as possible, is a good plan. 

 Barreled apples will stand several deerecs below the 

 freezing point without material injury. 



Prof. S. S. Rathton read a very interestin? paper 

 in answer to the question: "Will the unusually 

 large crop of tobacco worms, of the last season be 

 likely to produce a correspondingly large crop of 

 worms next season?" See page 37 in this number of 

 the Farmer. 



Mr. P. S. Reist read a paper in answer to the 

 question as to whether it was an advantage to select 

 seed corn from the middle of large and well devel- 

 oped ears. He said it had been his custom to select 

 the largest and best grains for seed, but some of his 

 neighbors, who were not so particular in this respect 

 raised just as good corn as he did, and as much of it. 



Mr. H. M. Engle made a stronsr argument in fa- 

 vor of selecting the best seed for corn, as well as all 

 other crops. He exhibited .'e.'er,nl very fine ears of 

 corn, and advised that in selecting seed the lai-gist 

 and most fully-developed grains should be chosen, 

 and the grains near both ends of the cob rejected. 

 He also exhibited some fine specimens of pe.-re ^, 

 snowllake, and Brownell's beauty potatoes, and re- 

 commended that the largest and best potatoes should 

 be selected for seed, on the same principle that the 

 largest and best cattle and'horses are selected for the 

 propagation of fine stock. 



Mr. P. S. Reist reported that he had obtained 75 

 subscribers to the Lancaster FARiitR and hoped to 

 increase his list to 100. He spoke a good word for 

 allou' local newspapers and hoped his fellow mem- 

 bers would subscrilje for as many as they could read 

 and pay for, without regard to sect o\ politics. 



Mr. Geo. H. Becutel, by permission called the 

 attention of the society to the merits of a patent seed 

 cleaner and separator. 



The following questions were proposed for discus- 

 sion at next meeting; 



„ What is the best method of exterminating the 

 peach tree borer? Referred to H. M. Engle. 



Is there any advantage in selecting the larger 

 grains of wheat for seed ? Referred to P. S. Reist. 



Is it not dangerous and criminal to use Paris green 

 on cabbages and vegetables or fruits for market ? 

 Referred to Johnson Miller. 



"Corn culture and its best varieties" was selected 

 for discussion at the next meetins:. 



Levi Pownall was selected for essayist at the 

 next meeting, * 



Mr. Levi W . Gboff presented samples of "mam 



moth rye," the grains of which are unusually large 

 and of a fine amber color. 



The librarian was, on motion, directed to have the 

 library brought from the court house to the rooms 

 of the Linnsean society. 



On motion the society adjourned to meet on the 

 last Wednesd.ay in March. 



AGRICULTURAL. 



Minnesota Wheat and Flour. 



The American Miller, an able periodical of Chica- 

 go, devoted to the milling interest, contains an article 

 on the great staple of Minnesota, which is of consid- 

 erable interest. The superiority of the flour manu- 

 factured in this State is acknowledged, as is also 

 the fact that the lime is not remote when all the ex- 

 ports of breadstuffs from Minnesota will be in the 

 shape of flour, instead of in the raw material as here- 

 tofore. The American Miller then continues its com- 

 ments, which are particularly commended to the at- 

 tention of the agriculturists of .Minnesota, as follows: 



The rapid growth of Minnesota as a wheat pro- 

 ducing State, and the building up within her bound- 

 aries of a milling interest scarcely less than that of 

 Hunu'ary, has naturally given rise to much gratuitous 

 prophecy and criticism on the part of competing sec- 

 tions of the country. In their zeal to disprove that 

 Minnesota can ever become the milling center of the 

 country, many have even asserted that the flour 

 made in her mills is of a really inferior quality, and 

 only needs time to demonstrate its unfitness for gen- 

 eral use in the culinary department of home." A 

 statement so erroneous hardly needs to be disproved, 

 for it is well known that th.at Minnesota flour is un- 

 usually strong and possesses all the elements of nu- 

 trition to a superior degree. But there is one declar- 

 ation which has been uttcr.'d which really seems to 

 have a foundation in fact. It has frequently been as- 

 ser ed tha'- the soil of .Minnesota is too light to stand 

 the continuous production of wheat as a remunera- 

 tive crop, and that she would soon go the way of 

 her older sister States, and adopt some other gr.ain 

 as her staple. This statement and prophesy have in 

 a measuie been verified, if it is fair to take a single 

 year as a ciiterion. We find it stated on standard 

 atiricultural authorities that, the soil of Minnesota 

 alriady shows signs of exhaustion, and that the aver- 

 aire crop in most sections of the State last year was 

 only a little over eight bushels to the acre. Much 

 of this decline in her crop is directly attributable to 

 other causes, but there can hardly be a doubt that 

 the best days of wheat raising have passed away in 

 many sections of the State. If it is true, as assert- 

 ed, tliat the soil of Minnesota is already becoming 

 weak, a steady decline in the average production of 

 wheot per acre may be expcc'ed, though the supply 

 may be quite as lar^ic as heretofore owing to the in- 

 creased numberof. acres which may be putinto wheat. 



In view of the fact that scientific farming would 

 hardly pay in a State so youn r as iSIinnesota, the in- 

 quiry naturally su'isests itself, "What will become 

 of her SDlcndid milling industry if her supply of 

 wheat fails? ' We do not anticipate that any disas- 

 trous r^sul's would accrue to the millers of Minne- 

 sota, even if the supply sh.ould become inadequate. 

 It must be remembered that a c'ood share of Minne- 

 so'a's annual wheat crop is shipped out of the State 

 to be maniifiiclured at other mills. This margin 

 clearly would be available to the millers nearest the 

 wheal field, and all the more so since these fields are 

 at a distance from our exporting centres, and only 

 sent there because i's superior excellence commands 

 a superior price. Moreover it must be remembered 

 that wheat was first planted in Minnesota as an ex- 

 periment, and it has not yet been satisfactorily de- 

 i.erniined how far north the limit of the sprinr wheat 

 section may extend. The millers of Minnesota may 

 yet render the future wheat fields of Dakota and 

 Manitoba tributary to their mills. One point, how- 

 ever, has more force than all o-hers looking to the 

 perpetuity of the millinT industry of Minnesota, and 

 that is the superior enterprise and skill of her mill- 

 ers. Raw material always seeks those places of 

 manufacture where these two qualities are displayed. 

 Great Britain and Mew Enirland do not raise a pound 

 of cotton, and yet they manufacture cotton itoods 

 for half of the world. The superior skill manifested 

 in these two localities has naturally made them the 

 factories of the two continents, and Minnesota mill- 

 ers would supply themselves with wheat from Texas 

 or Oregon if nece.'^sary to the existence of their mills. 

 Manufacturing centres do not change so easily as 

 those of airriculture, \vliich change their location nat- 

 urally as the soil becomes poorer. Costly apparatus 

 arc not abandoned in the first struggle; and having 

 already made a world-wide reputation, the millers 

 of Minnesota will stand for years to come in the van- 

 guard of the niillins industry of our country. It is 

 not likely, however, that any perceptible diminu- 

 tion of the wheat supply will occur for some time to 

 come from the exhaustion of the soil. Minnesota is 

 yet a young and undeveloped State, and we see no 

 cause for dark prophecies respecting the future of 

 her grain supoly until the unwelcome fact is demon- 

 strated by the failure of more than one crop. 



