74 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[ May, 



supply the strength it has taken from the soil. 

 Heavy manuring makes the straw heavy but not 

 strong. We shoulk try and get something to 

 strengthen the straw and prevent it Jrom lodging. 



Mk. Herf hey suggested an increase of silica to 

 strengthen the straw. 



Mr. GiioFF believed that farms in his neighbor- 

 hood were going down for want of manure. He ad- 

 vised the growing of less wheat and less tobacco and 

 more rye. He favored tying up cattle, as the man- 

 ure could be better secured by so doing and the cat- 

 tle thrived better. He instanced a case in which the 

 straw of very heavy wheat (40 bushels to the acre) 

 grown on new ground stood straight up, while the 

 crop on old and heavily manured ground was not 

 nearly so large and yet the straw lodged and I'cll 

 down. 



Mr. Linvii.i.e thought that most of our farms 

 .needed jiotash. He noticed that wheat grew better 

 on ground that had been burned over, the ashes sup- 

 plying the potash. A friend of his argued that farm- 

 ers should keep more cattle and let them run at 

 large in the pasturage. The farmer is thus saved 

 the trouble of spreading the manure. He had him- 

 self noticed that a good crop of corn always follows 

 in ground on which sheep have been pastured. 



Mr, p. S. liEisT thought it good policy to keep 

 only a few cows in the summer and buy stock cattle 

 for winter from the west, where they can be kept 

 during summer at much less cost. Fatten the stock 

 cattle and put the manure on the farm, and its fer- 

 tility will be kept up. 



Mr. Henry Kurtz, of Mount Joy, said he be- 

 lieved in the plan advanced by Mr. Kendig: to keep 

 oniv a few cows through the summer, feed stock 

 dnrlng the winter, and keep the cattle tied up. He 

 had one season fed three hundred head of cattle and 

 had lost money on them, but had in the end been 

 well paid by the value of the manure. He spreads 

 the manure on corn stubbles, and plows it up for to- 

 bacco. The tobacco crop he follows with wheat. 

 He manures to the extent of six wagon loads per 

 acre, adding the ashes made under the boiler in his 

 tannery. By this alternation of crops ten acres out 

 of a hundred may be each year planted in tobacco 

 without impoverishing the land. He thought farm- 

 ers paid too much for their cattle and might 'get 

 them for less if they refused to pay the high prices 

 demanded. 



Johnson Mii.i.er said that Mr. Kendig had stated 

 the true theory — keep only six or eight head of cattle 

 during the summer to every thirty or forty during 

 the winter. 



Mr. Encile said from the remarks made it was 

 evident that there were many varieties of soil, and 

 that they require different modes of cultivation. 

 There can be no uniform rule for soiling ; Mr. Grotf's 

 ground being too rich, contains too much vegetalile 

 matter. This is probably the reason his wheat 

 loilges. Farms may become too rich, though many 

 mure no doubt are too poor. A fertilizer that is suit- 

 able for one may do the otlier no good. We must 

 endeavor to find out just what our land requires and 

 then apply it. He had not much faith in commer- 

 cial fertilizers, but they will in time become a neces- 

 sity. The mamifacturers should be compelled by 

 law to state what chemical ingredients their fertilizers 

 contain. Then we could buy the one that contained 

 the ingredients our land needed for the crop we pro- 

 j)0Scd to grow. It will not do to take a fertilizer 

 simply because our neighbor had good results from 

 it. He favored the soiling system for small farms, 

 but believed there may be found a better system of 

 keeping up the fertility of our farms than any now 

 in use. 



The question was further discussed by Messrs. 

 Grolf, Engle, Kurtz and Ueist, during which Mr. 

 Grotf said it was his intention to sow rye and plow it 

 down green for tobacco; and Mr, P. S. Reist reolied 

 that a neiglibor of his had done the same thing and 

 had a perfect failure. In alluding to concentrated 

 manures he stated that one farmer had said to an- 

 other that the time would come when he could carry 

 in his coat pocket enough manure to supply a five 

 acre field ; to which the other replied that when that 

 time arrived he could carry home the crop from the 

 field in his vest pocket. Mr. Keist maintained that 

 the manure that comes from animals, birds, Ac, is 

 the only true manure. In using still-house manure 

 he had found that it left the land hard and compact, 

 and it required stable manure to loosen it up again. 

 The use of guano has the same bad effect, and prob 

 ably is one cause of wheat lodging. He advised that 

 only three or four good cows should be kept in sum- 

 mer instead of eight or ten . 



Mr. Kurtz thought farmers sow too much seed 

 per acre, and that this makes tjie straw weak and 

 the heads small because there is not room for it to 

 grow. 



Mr. HnNSEOKER spoke of the good results that 

 followed the use of plaster on poor land, and the 

 question was further discussed at some length by 

 Messrs. Groff, Engle and Eby. 



Mr. Engi.e distributed to members circulars 

 issued by the State Board of Agriculture, relative to 

 their meeting on the ll-'d inst., the substance of 

 which paper will be found on page 66. 



The following questions were proposed for discus- 

 sion at next meeting : 



By P. S. Reist — " Will sub-soiling pay?" 

 By Mb. Engle— "Are county fairs beneficial to 

 farmers and fruit growers ?" 



Several packages of seed received from the Agri- 

 cultural Department, were distributed among mem- 

 bers, and the society adjourned. 



Proceedings of the Tobacco Growers' Asso- 

 ciation. 



A meeting of the Tobacco Growers' Association 

 was held in the Athenaeum room, Monday afternoon, 

 April 16, at S'^ o clock . The following members 

 were present : M. D. Kendig, I. L. Landis, Peter S. 

 Reist, Jacob Frantz, W. L. Hershey, J. W. Johnson, 

 A. L. Landis, Andrew Lane, E. Hoover, H. Mayer. 



Visitors : A. Bard, .John Stauffer, N. Hostetter, 

 Christian Hunseckcr, Messrs. Shifi'ner and Kennedy. 



Reading of the minutes of the previous meeting 

 was dispensed with. 



The following persons made reports on the crops : 

 Crop Reports. 



Mr. Frantz said that so far as his neighborhood 

 was concerned thei'e was no tobacco on hand ; the 

 preparations for the coming crop are extensive. 

 There is an unusual area of ground prepared for 

 plants, some of which are up ; upon the w hole, we 

 have reason to believe the crop will be put out on an 

 improved basis ; cultivators have learned to plant in 

 the right kind of ground, and this was owing partly 

 to the experience obtained by attending the meetings 

 of the association. A few lots of tobacco, he said, 

 had been sold lately in his section at an advanced 

 price. This was of an inferior quality. 



Mr. Reist said that he did not know that there 

 would be more planted than usual. A great number 

 of those who are raising plants with whom he has 

 spoken say they are up. The price in his section for 

 tobacco has varied from S to 10, and from 30 to '15 

 cents. Nearly all are trying to improve on the 

 quality. He then spoke of the good the association 

 is doing for tobacco culture. 



Mr. SniFFNER then spoke of some of the mistakes 

 made in preparing tobacco. One was that too much 

 is topped too high ; it is length the buyers want. 

 When stripping you ought to have a standard length. 

 In his section (Upper Leacock) prices have been 

 better, and a quantity is not sold. 



Mk. Kennedy, of Salisbury, said about one-fourth 

 ,of the crop is on hand. Tobacco plants are coming 

 up very well. There will be at least one-half more 

 planted than heretofore. He believed it was im- 

 portant to plant early. 



Israel L. Landis said there may be a few lots to 

 sell in bis section, otherwise he agreed with the 

 former speaker. 



Mr. Stauffer, of Salunga, said there were a few 

 lots to sell yet in his section. 



Mr. Kendig said in regard to Manor township 

 that the same amount would be planted as hereto- 

 fore ; the object is to raise the standard of the 

 quality ; there is still some on hand. In regard to 

 plants, he said, fair weather will bring plants in good 

 condition. 



Mr. Hershey, of Rapho, said that prices vary 

 from 8 to 20 cents ; there is a feeling to raise better 

 tobacco ; not more than half is sold. 



Mr. Lane, of Neffsville, said the tobacco is pretty 

 well sold in that section ; there is still some on hand, 

 but it is of an inferior quality. There is an eflbrt to 

 raise better tobacco. 



Mr. Hershey, of East Hempfield, said there is 

 some on hand yet. The same spirit prevails to raise 

 better tobacco. Preparations are made to begin to 

 plant. Some are using ashes aa a fertilizer. 



Mr. HunskCker, of Hempfield, said that fine to- 

 bacco is raised in his section, and that preparations 

 are being made to plant. 



Essay by Mr, Landis. 



Mr. Israel L. Landis then read an essay sub- 

 stantially as follows : 



He commenced with a statement of the magnitude 

 of the tobacco crop of Lancaster county, (being 

 valued at ?i;,.500,000,) and the great wealth this adds 

 to the community at large. He spoke of the magni- 

 ficent warehouses built, and being built, in the city 

 and county, and feared the growers did not realize or 

 appreciate the opportunities they have of raising 

 their crops and handling them, preparatory for 

 market, as the dealers do in searching suitable ware- 

 houses and shipping facilities. He advised that great 

 care should be exercised in the selection of seeds and 

 in propagating plants, and recommended early plant- 

 jug — say from the i;5th of May to the 10th of June — 

 as thej have a better chance of escaping the worms. 

 Mr. Landis next referred to the artificial fertilizers, 

 and warned growers to be careful and use nothing 

 that would have a tendency to impair the fertility of 

 the soil. He pointed to Connecticut, which some 

 years ago stood first in growing fine leaf, but now 

 stood second, this result being brought about by 

 over-production. It is to be feared, too, that our 

 grain crops may sutler by supplying the tobacco fields 

 too heavily with the manure essential to its growth. 

 Mr. Landis continued as follows : ^ 



The inducements for sub-dividing large farms were 

 never greater in our county than now, The plan is 



usually to secure a good tract of land and erect 

 buildings for a home. On a tract of say ten acres, 

 which may cost from 8200 to $:i00 per acre, accord- 

 ing to location and quality, there may be raised 

 fi-om ?200 to .SfiOO worth of tobacco per acre, good 

 crop and season; so that one crop from an acre clears 

 the land, sometimes doubles it, and in a few years 

 the purchaser has his land paid wilh the crops" that 

 it produces. There are no less than half a dozen 

 such properties now bordering on the Lancaster and 

 Petersburg pike running north of Lancaster, of 

 tracts varying in size from six to thirty acres, and 

 within three miles of the city. There is in all direc- 

 tions building going on. There will be many a new 

 tobacco barn erected this summer that is now in con- 

 templation, and the discussion 'of this subject of 

 building tobacco barns to-day, it is hoped, will throw 

 out some valuable hints and suggestions for the ben- 

 efit of those persons interested; so that with each 

 succeeding season we may improve all that pertains 

 to raising and caring for the crops and securing the 

 best rewards for the honest labor and toil that pro- 

 duce them. 



There seems to be a considerable portion of the 

 present crop of 1876 in the county unsold, the offers 

 of buyers not suiting the views of holders. There is 

 some left over of nearly every crop each year till next 

 year following. The quality of this year's crop is 

 admitted to be fully as good if not superior to any 

 raised for years, and it would not seem much of a 

 risk to put such crops into cases and take the 

 chances of the market with them. This might be 

 the true course to pursue for the farmers with their 

 tobiicco; for when they sell their crop it is not ready 

 for market. It must go through the process of fer- 

 mentation, or sweating. The best sweating and col 

 oi ng is secured by casing, and it only becomes ready 

 for the cigar maker after this process. While at 

 the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia last sum- 

 mer, Bucks county farmers called and saw my ex- 

 hibit of Lancaster county tobacco at my place in Ag- 

 ricultural Hall and stated that they received from 37 

 to 4:i cents per pound for their crop of 1875, average 

 no better than mine. When asked how they man- 

 aged to sell it so high they said they cased and 

 sweated it, and that plan is generally pursued there. 

 They have a warehouse among themselves. 



Different packers have stated that some of the best 

 selections of our crops may and will bring from 50 

 cents to 75 cents per pound. It would hardly be 

 considered good farming for the farmer to send his 

 corn green to the merchant from the fields or to the 

 mill green by large quantity. He would not get full 

 price, for his crop would not be in a merchantable con- 

 dition, and so, too, with tobacco; it is not fit for market 

 until it is sweated and cured. In conclusion, it may not 

 be out of place to throw out a suggestion in regard to 

 our superior tobacco crops. The amount of annual 

 sales aggregate millions of dollars of the crop in a 

 raw unmanufactured state. The peculiar flavor and 

 good cjuality is established beyond a question. In 

 evidence we offer the fact that dealers come from 

 great tobacco States to purchase our crop — from 

 California, the South and Southwest, the Eastern and 

 Northern States; all come to buy our crop. They 

 raise it in Wisconsin for three cents and yet come 

 and pay us thirty. They raise it in Maryland, Ken- 

 tucky, Ohio and other States, for from S to 12 cents, 

 and yet they come to purchase our crops at high 

 rates. And why ? Because of its superior quality; 

 it makes money andis good. Now if these undisput- 

 ed facts stare us in the face, why cannot some of our 

 enterprising capitalists establ sh a cigar factory on a 

 lar<re scale, on the plan of Kerbs it Spiess, oi' New 

 York, and employ hundreds of idle hands here, in- 

 stead of sending away our good raw material to 

 make profit and market elsewhere with what we 

 should manufacture here and give employment 

 to home labor and industry ? It would be an 

 easy matter probably to establish as good a 

 market for the Lancaster cigar as its leaf tobacco 

 now enjoys. In Lancaster there are now some un- 

 used buildings that could in all probability be secured 

 that are well adapted for the purpose. Lancaster 

 would not be now what it is if the able and skillful 

 management at the head of our cotton mills had not 

 had business tact and foresight enough to keep them 

 running and give employment to such large numbers 

 of people, if it is a good thing to import cotton 

 from the far South to give employment to our worthy 

 and willing labor, why is it not good to let them have 

 a chance at our own productions from our own farms, 

 and manufacture a good Lancaster cigar? Let us 

 have a cigar factory and manufacture at least some 

 of our vast crops that go to enrich other sections. 



Mr. Honsecker remarked that the gentleman 

 said tobacco brought a great deal of money into the 

 county, which is true ; farmers will cultivate that 

 which brings in the most money ; the question is 

 whether we cultivate the best tobacco ? Should mid- 

 dlemen come in and reap the benefits ? He argued 

 that we should keep the benefit derived from its cul- 

 ture in our midst. The culture of tobacco would be 

 more profitable by having manufacturers in our 

 midst. 



Mr. Frantz said the difficulty was in getting the 

 proper quantity of manure. He had purchased two 

 tons of Pacific soluble guano, and was ordered to 



