68 



THE LANCASTER -FARMER 



[May, 



CoLTTMBiA, May 1, 1877. 



Frof. S. S. Rath von.— Dear Sir. — En- 

 closed in box please find a "Slutepoke" with 

 a bass in its mouth. The two struggled for 

 supremacy upon the dam iu the river for a 

 mile, and both died in battle. I sent a de- 

 scription to the Era. — S. E. 



The box containing the bird and fish came 

 safely to hand, for which we tender thanks to 

 the thoughtful Squire. The fish was wedged 

 so tightly in the bird's mouth and throat, 

 that wc did not wish to disturb them ; so, 

 instead of skinning and mounting the former, 

 with the probability of destroying the inter- 

 esting tableau, we cut oft' the head as it was, 

 and also the feet, and "embalmed" them in 

 alcohol, with a view of preserving their statu 

 quo. Of course, our readers are well acquain- 

 ted with this bird {Butorides vircscens) which, 

 in addition to the common name given above, 

 is also known under the jiopular names of 

 "Green Heron," and "Fly-up-the-creek." 

 However correct buds may be in their general 

 instincts, this subject made a woful mistake 

 in its calculation, for it attempted to swallow 

 a fish beyond its swallowing capacity, and 

 died in tliat bootless attempt. It is all well 

 enough to exliibit "grit," energy, or determi- 

 nation, in accomplishing individual ends; but 

 it is the sheerest folly to overmeasure our abil- 

 ity and then be brought to disastrous "grief." 

 2 his is OUT moral, aside from violating the fish- 

 laws.— £(t. 



Mount Holly Springs, 1 

 April 20th, 1877. j 

 Mr. Editor : — I saw a copy of the Lan- 

 caster Farmer and was very much pleased 

 with the reading matter which it contained, 

 so much so tliat I have come to the couclusion 

 to subscribe for it for one year. I consider 

 the paper is good enough to be iu any family. 

 Please send me the back numbers, starting 

 with the January number, 1877. Send me a 

 receipt for the same. I can perhaps get you a 

 small club in my neighborhood. Address, 

 Enos Staufter, Mount Iloily Springs, Cumber- 

 land county, Pennsylvania. 



Office of "Western Farmer, ] 

 Dixon, III., April 30, 1877. j 



Dear Sir : Please place us again on your 

 "Ex" list. The Lancaster Farmer "used 

 to be one of our most valued exchanges, and 

 w8 are glad to be able to notice its revival. 



Yoiu's truly, W. M. Kennedy. 



We cheerfully comply ; and feel specially 

 complimented in being solicited to do so ; and 

 also reciprocate the sentiment pervading the 

 above. — Ed. 



LANCASTER COUNTY PEACHES— 

 " SENER'S FAVORITE." 



International Exhibition, 1 

 Philadelphia, 1877. ] 

 The United States Centennial Commission 

 has examined the report of the Judges, and 

 accepted the following reasons, and decreed 

 an award in conformity therewith : 



Philadelphia, February 27, 1876. 

 Report on Aw Auon—Produet, Peaches: 

 Name and address of exhibitor, J. Frederick 

 Sener, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. 



The undersigned, having examined the pro- 

 duct herein described, respectfully recom- 

 mends the same to the United States Centen- 

 nial Commission for award, for the following 

 reasons, viz.: Two plates of yellow peaches 

 called " Sener's Favorite," freestone, very 

 large, 10 inches in circumference ; rich, sweet, 

 and delicious. 



Wii. Parry, Judyr. 



APPROVAL OF group JUDGES. 



"W. L. ScHAEFFER, Francis Meehan, 



T. T. Lyon, Suel Foster, 



JosiAH IIooPES, Parker Earle, 



E. Satterthwait, F. W. Harrison. 



A true copy of the Record. 



Francis L. Walker, 

 Chief of the Bureau of Awards, 



Given by authority of the Centennial Com- 



[Seal.] 



J. L. Campbell, 



Secretary. 



A. T. GOSHORN, 



Director-General. 

 J. R. Hawley, 



Prcmlent. 



INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION— 1876. 

 U. S. Centennia* Commission, 

 Philadelphia, March 20, '77. 



Mr. j. F. Sener, Lancaster, Pa. — .%-; 

 The enclosed is a copy of the Report of the 

 Judges as accepted by the United States Cen- 

 tennial Commission, .and in conformity with 

 which an award was decreed to you. You 

 will be notified when the Diploma and Medal 

 will be readyfnrdelivery. Please acknowledge 

 the receipt of this report. 



Yours Respectfully, 



A. T. GosnoRN, 

 Direclor-Gei^eral. 



[We feel a local pride iu the foregoing hand- 

 some and authoritative recognition of the 

 "Sener Favorite Peach," because it was 

 through the colunnis of the Lancaster 

 Farmer (Vol. 3, pages 189 and 190) that it 

 was first brought to the notice of the public ; 

 and for the delectation of peach growers, we 

 reprint what we wrote u])on the subject in 

 1871 ; and, in view of the many inferior va- 

 rieties of this sjiecies of fruit which have 

 annually been put upon our market, since that 

 time, we feel that we cannot too strongly 

 recommend its extended propagation, especi- 

 ally since it costs no more labor or risk to cul- 

 tivate a r/ood variety than it does for a had one ; 

 and the former is always sure of a market, 

 and ample compensation,] 



The Sener Peaches. 



The credit of originating these luscious 

 peaches, we are of opinion, belongs to Mr. 

 Gotlieb Sener, of Lancaster city, and their 

 history, characteristics, and qualities are 

 worthy of record in the archives of horticiU- 

 ture, and especially of our local horticulture. 

 These peaches have been iu Mr. Seller's fam- 

 ily, and have maintained their integritj', 

 through three generations of the fruit, cover- 

 ing a period of 33 years. In 1S38 Mr. S. ob- 

 tained two seeds — from whence miknown — - 

 and planted them in his garden in Lancaster 

 city, and from these seeds grew two trees, 

 which in three years produced fruit, slightly 

 difl'erent in size, in flavor, and in appearance, 

 one of which was known in the family as tlie 

 "Landis peach," and the other as the "fa- 

 vorite ;" the last named being rather the 

 largest and most symmetrically formed. 

 The first name originated something in 

 this manner. Tlurty j'ears ago a Mr. Lan- 

 dis was on a business visit to Mr. Sener, in 

 the third year of the young tree, and when it 

 had three ripe peaches on it, which Mr. S. had 

 himself not yet tasted. On passing the tree, 

 the fruit of which looked so exceedingly fine, 

 Jlr. L., could not resist the temptation to 

 pluck one of the peaches and eat it. It proved 

 so luscious and generous to the taste, that on 

 repassing the tree, Mr. L. , plucked another; 

 Mr. S., all the while burning with anxiety lest 

 he should not get an opportunity of tasting a 

 fruit he had been so carefully cultivating, and 

 the quality of which he desired to knoiv, and 

 yet too modest to inform Mr. L. of the state 

 of the case, he, (Mr. L.), of course, being al- 

 together unconscious of the anxiety he had 

 caused. Through tins circumstance, this 

 peach, in the fiimily, received the name of 

 the "Landis peach," and to distinguish the 

 other from it, it was called the "Favorite," 

 although not the best fruit. Our descriirtions 

 will therefore refer specilically to the first 

 n.amed, or Landis variety, and only incident- 

 ally to the Favorite; for although both vari- 

 eties were on exhibition at the late fair of the 

 Horticultural Society, yet the kilter were dis- 

 posed of l)efore we had an oppoiluuity of test- 

 ing them. Tlie first named has retained all 

 its qualities through three successive propa- 

 gations from seeds, perfectly intact, but the 

 other, in some instances, has undergdne some 

 slight change. 



The dimensions of an average specimen 



were as follows : Fr^dt ; lateral circumference, 

 eight inches and three-quarters ; transverse 

 circumference, eight inches and five-eighths; 

 weight, five ounces; form almost spherical, and 

 very perfect; skin tender, thin and velvety; 

 color, a yellowish tinge, with a deep red cheek; 

 the lateral suture, which so distinctly marks 

 some varieties of the peach, is very slight in 

 the one under consideration. The stem is 

 rather short, and the indentation, or concav- 

 ity where the stem is attached, is only of me- 

 dium depth; flesh faintly tinged with yellow, 

 and a deep pink around the seed; taste sweet 

 with a slight pleasant tartish after-taste, juicy 

 and melting. Seed ; very free, clean, mod- 

 erately flat, and small in proportion to the 

 size of the fruit. Lateral circumference, 

 three inches and a quarter ; transverse cir- 

 cumference, two inches and three-quarters; 

 indentations of the seed, very deep; internal 

 cavity small and shallow, exhibiting a propor- 

 tionately thick shell, kernel,- length, three- 

 quarters of an inch, and fiat in form. 



AVe have been thus minute, because we do 

 not think we have ever seen and tasted so fine 

 a fruit, undistinguished by some proiuinent 

 name ; and the fact that it has not degenerated, 

 nor diverged from the original stock, by being 

 successively raised from the seed, during a 

 period of thirty-three years, goes very far in 

 favor of its character, as worthy of cultivation. 

 Doubtless cultivation, by budding and grafting, 

 woul<l work an improvement in its quality, its 

 size, and its general character. To facilitate 

 this end, Mr. F. J. Sener requests us to say 

 that he will cheerfully furnish any persons 

 with scions who may desire them. Of course, 

 we do not feel that we alone have authority to 

 name those peaches specifically, but they may 

 be provisionally regarded, for the present, as 

 " Sener 's Seedlings," Nos. 1 and 2, or may 

 retain the names they are known by in the 

 Sener family, until they are propagated by 

 others, and "formally baptized by a competent 

 committee. As the trees are healthy, and 

 constant and prolific bearers, adapted to osr 

 locality, they may prove more advantageous to 

 the peach growers of our country, than many 

 of the introduced crack varieties cultivated 

 now. 



These two peaches have now blended by 

 proximity of cultivation into one, which has 

 all the good qualities of both, and is known as 

 "Sener's Favorite." The "Landis" variety 

 was somewhat ovate in form, and the " Fa- 

 vorite" almost perfectly spherical — the former 

 was the sweetest, and the latter the roundest'; 

 it therefore retains this form, and of late years 

 but one variety with all the size, color and 

 quality of the originals is recognized ; and 

 since the above description was written (1871) 

 a new generation has been produced, retain- 

 ing its original integrity, as demonstrated in 

 the award of the commission. 



In addition to the foregoing, within the 

 past month we have been informed by Mr. J. 

 F. Sener, that he has entered into an arrange- 

 ment with Mr. Daniel Srae3ch, of Lancaster 

 city — a very competent and successful fruit 

 cultivator — to propagate and .sell the Sener 

 pcadi stock ; and therefore all who desire them 

 from henceforward are respectfully referred to 

 him, as possessing exclusive control over the 

 subject for the present. After such a compli- 

 mentary recognition by such a competent com- 

 mittee of " Group Judges," perhaps a prophet, 

 after all, may have some honor in his own 

 country and among his own kin. We often 

 think of the little kitten whirling " round and 

 round" in punsuit of its own tail, when, if the 

 little simpleton would only stop and look, it 

 would find the end of its tail right at its nose. 

 Hundreds of dollars have been thrown away 

 by the citizens of Lancaster county within the 

 past few years, for inferior nursery stock, 

 brought here from remote or obscure corners 

 of the country. 



A "one-horse farmer" in Decatur co., Ga., 

 made 400 bus. corn, 10 bales cotton, .^OO bus. 

 ground peas, 2"! bbls. .syru|i, and.'iOO lius. sweet 

 I)otatoes the past season. And this with 1 mule, 

 1 regular hand, very little extra help or manure. 



il 



