The Lancaster Farmer. 



Prof. S. S. EATHVON, Editor. 



LANCASTER, PA., JUNE, 1877. 



Vol. IZ. No. 6. 



THIS PARAGRAPH!!! 

 Iiiiinecliati'ly after you have nail tliis iiara- 

 gi'upli, \i\v:\n(' look tor the httle coloivil 

 laliel iiasteil soiiicwhei-e on this paiier, with 

 your own uanu; pnnled on it ; .ami, if you 

 find " 1.S77," or simply "77 "on it, tlicndcar, 

 considerate and appreciative reader, it iiuli- 

 cates that your suhscription is only paid up 

 to the finst of January, 1S77, and thai, con- 

 sequently, you owe u.s for the present year ; 

 and which wt- wnv need so budli/ — uxmtd receive 

 so (jladUj, and the tmmt of tckicli affects us so 

 sadly. But if, on the contrary, you find 

 "1878," or simply "7S," printed on it, you 

 may feel assured that yovn- suliscription is 

 paid up to January, 1S7S, and you will nut 

 feel at all otlbnded at our importunity, but 

 will experience a soothing traiupiillity located 

 under the left breast facing of your vest, such 

 as we ardently desire all may realize in their 

 pecuniary relations to Tiik b'AUMiii;. Our 

 subsistence — yea, our very existence — is inti- 

 mately bound ui) with such stubborn facts as 

 printer's ink, paper, compositor's work, post- 

 age and other unavoidable incidentals, besides 

 our own arduous an<l self-denying labor, and 

 these require «(.«/(. Bear it in mind, dear 

 patrons, there is avast differeiicRin the mean- 

 ings of desire and require. "Wc desire the 

 prompt payment of the amounts due us, but 

 our creditors reiyMirc the amounts due tlicm ; 

 and how shall we be able to realize and satisl'y 

 these meanings, excei)t by your generous aid 

 if it so be that you are under the ban of "77y" 

 If, however, any of our subscribers should 

 lind the lable marked "1S77" or "77" on 

 their papers, and at the same time feel confi- 

 dent that they have paid up to 1S78 to some 

 one of our canvassers, if they iuforni us to 

 whom they have paid, the correction can 

 easily be made, and as there may po.ssibly 

 have been errors made iu this respect, we 

 hope no offense will be taken. Although we 

 mean that all shoidd pay, yet wo do not mean 

 that any one should jiay twice for the same 

 year. Owing to a want of certainty as to the 

 continuance of Tuk FAiiiiEit iu the early 

 part of the pre.sent year, there may have been 

 some errors made in the retmiis of our can- 

 vassing friends.- I'lT.ijsi IKK. 



MONTHLY REMINDER— JUNE. 



Early crops, such as lettuce, radi.she.s, s])in- 

 aeh, iV:e., when gathered, may be succeeded 

 by late lieets and carrots. Sow them, and 

 also bush beans, cucumbers, endive, sweet 

 corn, pnuqikin, s(iuash andokra. Transplant 

 cablwge and celery for sununer use ; also, 

 leeks and *car<lnons ; and plant common and 

 sweet potatoes. AVater canlillowers as they 

 begin to head. Iloe and thin out all standing 

 crops, and keep an eye on caterpillars, cut^ 

 worms, and ('(doradi") potato beetles, for a 

 crop might almost as well go by dcfaidt as to 

 be left a sacrifice to these enemies of tlic lield 

 and garden. 



•This i.lant Ix-louga to lli« siiine Renue as the " artii-Uoke " 

 (ry/wrn,) lUe Rl.'ins of the leiives, whicU are thitk ami cimi., 

 bfing used wbsu blaiu^heil an aaparaguHor celerv, for noups 

 •leivB, or aa a salad. It ih iu aoasoii in autllliMi .Mid i^arly 

 *'.''.''■■. *■""' '"»•'*'". liowovi-i-, will jilrase uot oufouud Ibo 

 articUoke abovi- mentioue.l with the " Joruaaleiu arlioliokf " 

 which belongs to the geuus Ueliuiilhun. ' 



A WONDKRFUL BOOK. 



(Jeo. P. Howell & C'o.'s American Newn- 

 p((pcr Dirccliirii^ contiiining accurate lists of 

 all th(^ newspapers and periodicals pul>lishc(l 

 in the I'liilcd Slates, Tcrritoiii's, tin; Domi- 

 nion of ( 'aiiada and Newfoundland, together 

 with a description of the towns an<l cities in 

 which they artt publishetl ; a Uoyal octavo of 

 lol:! p;iges, for 1S77: i.ssued by the above- 

 named company, and edittid by t)scar (J. 

 jMoses. 



Perhaps some of our leaders on their visits 

 to the late Centennial Kxposition, at Pair- 

 mount Park, may have wautlered into the 

 department where there were placed on ex- 

 hibition spe.ciinensof i)Vi_:v i iijhtlkousand news- 

 papers and periodicals iiublished on the conti- 

 nent of North America. As thert^ were .so 

 many attractions there, it is more than likt^ly 

 that few availed tlu'inselVesof a sight of these 

 publications. l!e that as it may, the superb 

 volume under consideration contains lists and 

 notices of them all, and many more, including 

 regular advertisements of most of them, 

 printed iu fair type and on line ('alendereil 

 paper, and substantially bound. To those 

 who desire to advertise abroad, and wish to 

 become acquainted with the facilities to elfect 

 that end, this vohnne is an invaluable aid ; 

 and, as the publishers are among the most 

 extensive and reliable advertisi)i(j wjfncies in 

 the country, they are able to negotiate ad- 

 vertisements in any of the jiapers noticed in 

 their liook, at as low rates as can be obtained 

 from the pulilishers themselves, and with 

 more luompt attention. This is the ilth 

 annual issue of this Directory, and has nearly 

 reachi'd perfection. It is progressive, and 

 will ultimately attain that end. 



THE HOPPER. 



" It will be interesting to our readers to 

 learn the following fads iu regard to the grass- 

 hoppers, and the prospects for crops in what has 

 been known as the grasshopper country, which 

 The Jlau'keije has gathered from parties who 

 have made personal observations in Nebraska 

 and Ivansas. 



"Professors Riley and Thomas, of the ento- 

 mological commi.ssion, for the in(iuiry into 

 this question, have visited Kansas anil Ne- 

 braska, and have just issued tluur reiiort, 

 showing that we are at the end of this trouble. 

 The egg of this insect was laid in the fall of 

 lS7i;, in what may be called the ISlissouri 

 region, consisting of western Iowa, north- 

 western Alissouri, portions of Kansas, Ne- 

 braska, Minnesota and Dakota. 



" This egg comes to perfection only in the 

 sandy, arid regions of the far west. The rich, 

 moist soil of the Missom-i valley, and the 

 snows and rains, wrought havoc amongst the 

 eggs during the winter and spring, and tbt^ 

 young insects which hatched out during Aiiril 

 have been rapidly destroyed by the elements, 

 by liarasitesand by birds, and thesi; inlluences, 

 with the work of the farmers themselves, have 

 at this (late brought to destruction nine-tenths 

 of the young "hoppers. 



" The outlook in southern Nebraska may be 

 stated thus : West of a line drawn from Crete, 

 the eggs are all batcheil and nearly all the 

 yomig 'bopiiers annibilaled. Between Crete 

 and the Missouri river they are all hatched 

 out and annihilated, and as" fast as they ap- 

 pear they are being destroyed by the various 

 inlluences brought to bear Upon them. 



"Th(! prospect for crops is as good as it pos- 

 sibly can be, and the people are jubilant over 

 the outlook for good crops, good prices, and 

 the fact that the grasshoi>per scare is now 

 practically at an end. The condition of south- 

 ern Nebraska was never better; there is a 

 larger area of ground planted than ever before. 



The increase in stock has lieeu enormous, and 

 business generally is lirisk. 



"The (Jovernor of the State has just pub- 

 lished the ri^sult of an examination into the 

 surplus iiroiluce shipped out of southern Ne- 

 braska during the ' grassbop]ier year,' lS7fi. 

 It is nuide iq) from the freiglit department re- 

 turns of llu^ four railroads, and shows that 

 during the 'grasshopper year,' l.S7(i, this lit- 

 tle region of the south I'latte country uot 

 only raised enough for lioiiie consumption, Init 

 actually shipped out over 4.')O,U0O,Ot)0 pounds 

 of wheat, oats, rye, barley. Corn, cattle, 

 sheep, hogs, etc.,- a quantity of bread anil 

 meat sulUciently large to feed over half .a mil- 

 lion of peoiile for a whole year. 



" These are .sterling fads which spe.ak for 

 themselves, and refute entirely the gross ex- 

 aggerated statements so frecify circulated in 

 regard to southern Ncliraska. " 



The above article, on the prospective status 

 of the " llopiicr," during the i)resent season, 

 we extract from the columns of a late num- 

 l)er of the Diiibj BiiriiiKjton (foWa) Ilaukene, 

 as a matter of interest to tho.se who live iu the 

 "inl'ested regions"— tho.se who have friends 

 living there — or those who have in contem- 

 plation the removal there themselves, but who 

 liave hesitated, on account of the depreda- 

 tions of an insect that science has failed to 

 dignify by a respectable cognomen; but which, 

 by common consent and common contenq)t 

 has won for itself the signilicant name of 

 "llascal (irasshopper," now pretty generally 

 designated by the slang abbreviation of " Hop- 

 per. " We are in entire sympathy with the 

 rejoicing of the people over the happy pros- 

 pect, Ibr no two men in the Union are more 

 capable of uttering a prophecy on this subject, 

 than those who have been referred to in the 

 article quoted ; and, moreover, it may stimu- 

 late that ronjidem-e which has been so long 

 abs(>nt from our inilustrial and linancial insti- 

 tutions, and without which there cannot be a 

 return of permanent prosperity. Whatever 

 may have been our api)rehen.sions, under a 

 combination of favorable circumstances, in 

 reference to the pestilential increase of our 

 local grasshoppers, for some years, we h.ave 

 entertained no fears aliout the Kocky Moun- 

 tain species visiting I'eunsylvania. Like boys, 

 iu a game of ball, who venture loo far from 

 "base," they would lie apt to be overtaken by 

 climatic disaster, even if they should happen 

 to reach our State in time to deposit their eggs 

 here. 



Nor do we think the people of the West have 

 had as miU'h to fear from the linxjils that bred 

 there, as from those hungry hordes that come 

 sweeping down from British America, Mon- 

 tana and Dakota; and, if the same contin- 

 gencies which inlliicnced their migrations on 

 l)revions occasions should exist there the pre.s- 

 ent season, this proclamation of immunity 

 Iroin grasshoppers this year may liave been 

 premature. 



* THE SEVENTEEN YEAR LOCUSTS. 



" Notices to the elTeet that the .seventeen 

 year locust has made its aiipearance in dilfer- 

 ent sections of the country, have recently 

 been i)ul)lished,an(l have raised the inquiry as 

 to what is the character of the pest which 

 travels under that name. AVe sui)pose the 

 most of oiu' readers who have heard the 

 seventeen year locust spoken of have had the 

 idea that the name was an arbitrary one, and 

 that a locust which makes its re-appearance 

 at regular intervals of .seventeen years each 

 was a jiure liction, but there is positive proof 

 that such an insect does exist and that its 

 character was so well understood by entomolo- 

 gists several years ago as to enable them to 

 predict its appearance this year with the ut- 

 most coulideuce. Iu his lirst rei)ort, Prof. 



