46 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[March, 



this quality in a high degree. Maturity from July 

 15th to August 1st, in fieors'ia. Although this va 

 riety matures at a season when peaches are in great 

 abundance, its transcendent quality and appearance 

 will always give it the front rank among the best 

 varieties of its freestone period of maturity, and it 

 will at no distant day become one of our best known 

 sorts, whether for market or amateur culture. 



Nearly four hundred seedling peaches have been 

 submitted to the writer of this uotice during the 

 past three years. Many of these were of excellent 

 quality, but either reproductions of our well-known 

 varieties, or lacking some slight requisite to compete 

 with those already known. Out of this large num- 

 ber of selected seedlings three only have been re- 

 tained. Foremost among these we rank the Thur- 

 ber. In bringing this new peach before the public, 

 we have no hesitation as regards its ultimate popu- 

 larity. We have fully tested its merits, as we did 

 those of the Piquet, now recognized as the best yellow 

 freestone peach of its season, and which has super- 

 seded all the older varieties of its class when grown 

 together with them. 



Celery. 



Success in growing celery depends much upon 

 what variety is grown and when it is wanted for use. 

 Any good loamy or rich sandy soil will grow good 

 celery. It should be plowed very deep at first, then 

 the rows furrowed out deeply and two inches of well 

 rotted manure mingled with the bottom soil. Cover 

 with soil two or three inches deep, and set the plants 

 about eight inches apart in the row, and rows two or 

 three feet apart. If the dwarf varieties are grown, 

 two feet is enough, but if tiio giant white is grown, 

 three feet. The Boston market and Henderson's 

 dwarf white are, perhaps, the best early dwarf vari- 

 eties, and these will need no earthing up until nearly 

 full grown. When the earthing up is done for the 

 purpose of bleaching, care should be taken that it be 

 perfectly dry, and let the heads be so carefully held 

 together that no dirt can get between the stalks. 

 The giant white is most generally used for winter, 

 but the dwarf is equally good, though not of as 

 long growth. For early crop the plants should be 

 set early in May, but the w nter beds need not be 

 planted till July. Plants can be bought cheap, or 

 they are easily grown in a gently heated frame. 

 They should be once transplanted in the frame be- 

 fore going to the field or garden. — Practical Fartner. 



Tobacco. 

 Of the new crop of 1876, Messrs. Gans & Co., say : 

 The new crop which we had estimated in our issue 



of the 1st of November last at ICO, 000 cases, may, 



accoVding to the latest informatioii, fall shortof that. 



The following are the corrected estimates: 



New EiiRlaud 30,000 ciiseB, beluw ;iv. qu lity. 



PeiiUBjlvauia 40.000 " An excellent crop. 



NewYoik 15.000 ■' FuUy up to uv. 



Ohio 31,000 " 



Wiscoiiein. etc 20,000 '* 



140.0i'0 " 

 To which add old stock 60,000 " 



Total ;9O,CO0 " 



The above figures show that Lancaster county fur- 

 nished more seed leaf tobacco than any State in the 

 Union, and more than one-fourth of all that is grown 

 in all the States. Quotations of prices show that our 

 tobacco brings as high prices if not higher on an av- 

 erage than New England tobacco, the figures for 

 PennsyWania selections being ."5@45 and for assorted 

 lots licoi.S. 



^ 



Planting and Care of Trees. 



The following condensed rules are given by F. K. 

 Phoenix, of Bloomiugton, 111.: 



Most planters are so careless ! Friends, if you want 

 trees to thrive, plant early, in dry, deeply plowed 

 ground. Keep roots from the sun, air and frost, 

 burying in the ground again as soon as possible. If 

 shriveled, bury tops and all in moist ground for ten 

 days. Thin out and shorten in tops before planting, 

 to balance the loss of roots in digging. Dig large 

 holes, three feet across and two deep, or better still, 

 plow out a very deep furrow, filling up with the best 

 soil, so that trees shall stand only as deep as in the 

 nursery. Stiaighten out p.ll roots in natural order, 

 fill in with best, fine, moist earth, and then tread 

 down thoroughly, watering well if dry, before filling 

 up. Then mulch — that is, cover with earth two feet 

 each way from stems with coarse manure or straw 

 six inches deep. 



^ 



Tree Planting in Minnesota. 

 There is one State in the Union, at least, which 

 Las taken to tree planting with a vigor that promises 

 the best results. The farmers of Minnesota set out 

 during the past year over ten millions of cuttings, 

 most of which, it is reported, are doing well. The 

 young trees consist largely of cottonwoods and white 

 willows, but there is also a liberal sprinkling of ma- 

 ple, larch and white oak. Minnesota does not need 

 planting nearly so much as California. It is not 

 subject to drouths. But planting for all that is a 

 wise policy. It beautifies the waste places. The 



main effect to be expected from the movement in the 

 State in question is a reduction of the temperature 

 in summer and an elev.ation in winter — changes 

 generally conceded to be very necessary. If our 

 farmers could be induced to begin tree p anting on 

 a large scale there is not much doubt but that we 

 should hereafter have fewer drouths. — Jjiilletia. 



The cultivation of peanuts appears to be on the in- 

 crease in those States where this plant succeeded best. 

 The crop in North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee 

 for 1S7.5-76 is reported to have reached nerrly 800,000 

 bushels, and it promises to be still larger for ls77. 



The Massachusetts Agricultural Society hasofiered 

 several prizes, the highest of which is $1,000, for the 

 best five acres of trees, to be planted in the spring of 

 1877 and awarded in 1887. 



DOMESTIC ECONOMY. 



Farm Sacks over Sixty Years Old and in Con- 

 stant Use Still Doing Good Service. 



Mr. E, L. Resh, of East Lampeter, one of our 

 most intelligent farmers, has a number of grain bags 

 in use, which ajrtly illustrate the kind of material 

 and workmanship our fathers and mothers put into 

 goods of home manufacture, as well as their careful 

 and economical habits in the use of perishatjle arti- 

 cles. Among the earliest recollections of the writer 

 are the "flaxbreak," the "scutching machine," and 

 the "heckle" on which the flax, grown on the farm, 

 was prepared for spinning and weaving, and the 

 spinning wheel, and the loom itself in theold kitchen 

 on which the elder sister wove the stuff for our sum- 

 mer trousers, which even the wayward "Boy," so 

 graphically described by Col. Arms, might outgrow 

 but could not wear out. Then everything the "Boys" 

 wore was made at home except, perhaps, his head- 

 gear. The shoemaker went round in the fall mak- 

 ing the shoes for each family out of leather manu- 

 factured from the hides of beeves killed on the place. 

 Many a "Boy" had to suffer with cold feet on the 

 frosty ground because the shoemaker was late in 

 journeying his way. In going to bring in the cows 

 in the morning, it was not unusual for him to chase 

 up a cow and stand on the place where she had lain 

 until he got his feet warm; and if he was a pious 

 boy of the goodey-coodey kind, he would improve the 

 occasion by invoking a "blessing" upon the tardy 

 shoemaker. 



But we are digressing. Old-time memories are 

 running away with the diamonds on the point of our 

 gold pen, and we must beg our friend, Mrs. GiLi- 

 bons' pardon for not sooner introducing herself and 

 neighbor, with his old-time farm sacks, to our read- 

 ers. 



^Well Preserved Farm Sacks. 



To the Editor of the Examiner and Express : 



Having heard mention of some well preserved farm 

 sacks at the place of a worthy neighbor, I requested 

 information upon this and kindred subjects, from a 

 younger branch of the family, and received the fol- 

 lowing excellent letter, which you may publish if 

 you wish. 



I can scarcely agree with my young friend, that 

 the most remarkable occurrence is the adaptation of 

 means to ends in the first manufacture; for it is won- 

 derful that anything so perishable should have been 

 preserved through so many hands; that they were 

 not allowed to lie in the stable entries to be nibbled 

 by rats and mice; hung over the doors and chewed 

 by cows; left lying on the ground and partly devour- 

 ed by hogs; or half buried and rotted in the manure 

 of a farm yard. 



In the elements of wor'dly success, enumerated by 

 Franklin, (is it not?) as industry, economy and in- 

 tegrity, our "Pennsylvania Dutch" farmers may be 

 considered to excel. 



We know that they are not Dutch, but so long as 

 they continue to use the language of their ancestors, 

 we cannot consider them entirely Americanized. 



Tours truly, p. E. G. 

 Bird-in-Hand, Jan, 131877, 



Mrs, P, E, Gibbons Dear Madam: We have in 

 use some six or eight grain bags marked with the 

 name of the owner in lsi;6, also about the same 

 number marked in 181,5, and a few evidently older 

 than these but without date. These last bear a close 

 likeness in quality of material and other respects to 

 some we had until a short time ago — now worn out 

 — which were marked in 1S07, and without doubt, 

 made about that time. They have all been in con- 

 stant use s nee they were manufactured, which was 

 about the dates they respecti%'ely bear. By constant 

 I do not mean daily use, but such use as bags are 

 put to on a farm in carrying the yearly product of 

 grain, potatoes and apples to market, making the 

 journey to .and from the mill, and such other uses 

 as those familiar with the life of a farmer's grain bag 

 can readily imagine. 



Those of 1M5, though bearing the marks of an oc- 

 casional mishap, from protecting splinter or obtru- 

 sive nail, and worn thin in places by the pressure of 

 overgrown tubers or refractory ears of corn, can with 

 ordinary care last twenty-five years longer. I need 



hardly say they were literally manw-factured; that is 

 hand made, at home, from flax and hemp grown on 

 the farm where they have always been in iise. The 

 fact that they were home-made, accounts for their 

 existence at the present time. Though they are but 

 grain-bags, their pi-eservation through so many years 

 of use aflbrds not only, as you remarked, a good il- 

 lustration of the economical habits of farmers in 

 some of the older settled sections of our country, but 

 it impresses me more with the proofs it furnishes of 

 the good judgment shown by those who made them 

 sixty years ago, in the selection of material for their 

 purpose and the thorough manner in which they did 

 their work. 



All these characteristics were, I think, possessed, 

 in full measure, by the people. Somehow and some- 

 where misnamed Dutch, iu whose hands the largest 

 part of Lancaster county has become what it is. 



I am quite sure that plenty of instances could be 

 found, did we make a point of looking for them, tend- 

 ing to show this yet more fully than these grain-bags 

 of ours — about which I have, I believe, given all the 

 facts vou desired. 



Very Respectfully, E.L.R. 



Facts Worth Remembering. 



Gout. — An English medical writer states that 

 rheumatism and gout can be cured by the free use 

 of asparagus. 



To Bend Glass. — Fill glass tubes with fine dry 

 sand, close at both ends, and they will bend easily 

 alter heating. 



Warm Feet. — The New York S«« says that a 

 handful of sawdust worn in each stocking will keep 

 the feet as warm as toast. 



Warts. — Apply creosote freely, and cover over 

 with a piece of sticking plaster. Follow this treat- 

 ment every two or three days until the wart disap- 

 pears. 



Frosted Feet. — They may be cured as follows: 

 White oak bark, taken fresh and boiled in water for 

 a stronsr liquor. Bathe the feet in the liquor. It is 

 pronounced the best of all remedies. 



To Polish Tins, — First rub your tins with a damp 

 cloth; then take dry flour and rub it on with your 

 hands; afterward take an old newspaper and rub 

 the flour Wf, and the tins will shine as well as if half 

 an hour had been spent rubbing them with brick 

 dust or powder, which spoils the bauds, 



Windows, — Ventilation would be more eas ly ac- 

 complished and more certainly performed, and 

 rooms kept with purer and healthier air, if windows 

 were made to slide easily. If not hung by pulleys 

 and weights, let a carpenter add good freely-working 

 catches. Never permit a broken pane in the house. 



Cellars. — Cellars should be kept constantly 

 clean, as much so as your parlor. It is the easiest 

 thing in the world, if you attend to it daily, and only 

 becomes a heavy task when you allow a month's ac- 

 cumulations to remain undisturbed. It is hardly 

 necessary to add that fevers have been contracted by 

 breathing the miasma created in an ill kept cellar. 



Colds, — Hot lemonade is one of the best remedies 

 in the world for a cold. It acts promptly and effect- 

 ively, and has no unpleasant after effects. One 

 lemon properly squeezed, cut in slices, put with su- 

 gar, aud covered with half a pint of bo ling water. 

 Drink just before going to bed, and do not expose 

 yourself on the following day. This remedy will 

 ward off an attack of the chills and fever, if used 

 promptly. 



Doors. — Never allow a door to creak for want of 

 oil, or to shut so hard as to require slamming to 

 make it latch. For this purpose pass round once a 

 week at some regular time, say Saturday evening 

 or Monday morning, with a drop of oil on a feather, 

 or on the tip of the finger, and give every rubbing 

 part, latch, hinge, etc., a touch. Scissors, which are 

 inclined to work hard, can also be greatly improved 

 in this way. 



Exercise. — Friction of the body is one of the gen- 

 tlest and most useful kind of exercise, either by the 

 hand, a piece of flannel, a tolerably coarse towel, or 

 a flesh-brush. Friction cleans the skin, promotes 

 perspiration, and increases the warmth and energy 

 of the body. In rubbing the stomach, perform the 

 operation in a circular direction, as that is the most 

 favorable to the course of the intestines and their 

 natural actions. 



Chilblains, — Bathe the feet for half an hour 

 in water hot as can be borne; add hot water after 

 the feet have been in a few moments, as they will 

 bear more than the first. Let the water be as hot 

 when the feet are removed as when put in. This 

 draws the inflammation out and allays the itching 

 which is so very painful. Dry with a cloth; then 

 bathe well with hemlock oil, (which can be got at 

 any druggist's at a trifling cost); dry it by the fire. 

 Repeat the application three or f^our nights if needed. 

 Care should be taken not to chill the feet immedi- 

 ately. 



Perfected Butter Color. 



Occasionally, during the past two years, we have 

 received for trial, samples of butter coloring prepa- 

 rations from Messrs. Wells, Richardson & Co., of 

 Burlington, Vt., with the request that they should 



