1877.J 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



107 



yield 100 per cent ; coru is from middliiif; to good, 

 promises T.l per ceut ; ajjples scarce ; jjcaclics good 

 where tlicre are trees, Imt there are not many In this 

 nelgliljorhood ; cherries very scarce. 



II. M. En<ii.e, of Doue>,'al, reported a fair averapje 

 of wheat and nearly an average of liay ; corn looks 

 well and promises a (;o(jd average: potatoes could 

 not he better, there will he the heaviest crop grown 

 for years : there hcing no )iotato hugs, new potatoes 

 are already selling for 50 cents a hushel ; apples 

 suffer from the curculio and codling moth; peach 

 crop fair, pears the same. The rainfall in June was 

 3 4-10 iuelies. 



M. I). Keni>io, of Manor, reported the hay crop 

 heavier than was expected earlier in the sea.son; 

 wheat very good ; oats fair ; potatoes gooil ; peaches 

 good ; pears pretty good ; other fi-uits not very good ; 

 cherries very scarce. Halnfall during June :i 2-10 

 Inches. 



Henrv KuiiTZ, of Mount Joy tjorough, reported 

 that in that section there would not be more than (10 

 per cent, of wheat; full crops of corn and oats; no 

 potato bugs and plenty of potatoes ; tobacco very 

 promising. The wheat in his neighborhood has been 

 much Injured by the lly. 



Levi S. Reist, of Manhelm, reported that the 

 wheat sown before the 5tli of Seiitembcr would pro- 

 duce but little, while that sown after the l;3th would 

 produce from li.'i to 30 bushels per acre. 



C. H. HuNSEcKEit, of Manhcini township, said he 

 lived near the line of Leacock and Lampeter town- 

 ships, and in his section nearly all the wheat fields 

 look well. The corn is growing vigorously; oats 

 looks well ; tobacco generally very good ; potato crop 

 immense, the tubers being already aslargc as a man's 

 fist . There were never better crops in that neighbor- 

 hood. He thought farmers were apt to estimate the 

 eapacityof their farms at too high a figure, and then 

 feel disappointed if the crops did not reach their es 

 timate. Our fathers were satisflcd with 15 to -0 

 bushels to the acre, while we expect to get from ;;o 

 to 40. 



Mr. Kurtz said that he had raised 40 busliels per 

 acre, and his neighbor Smith Patterson had raised 42 

 bushels. This year his wheat was poor, the (ly and 

 emut having greatly injured it. 



Levi Grofk asked if there was any smut in other 

 sections of the county except that mentioned by Mr. 

 Kurtz. In Earl and other parts of the county through 

 wliich he had passed he had seeu none. 



W. J. Kafeoth had seen smut in Manheim, but 

 nowhere else. 



President Cooper, of East Lampeter, reported 

 the wheat crop full ; oats never looked better ; coin 

 promising ; hay a full crop. 



On motion, the questions proposed at last meeting 

 fordiseUBsioD atthe present meeting, were postponed. 



P. S. Reist suggested that the averages of our 

 crops as st present establislied are too low. He sug- 

 gested that they be raised to the following figures : 

 Hay two tons per acre; wheat 40 bushels; oats 60 or 

 70 bushels; corn 80 to 100 bushels. He moved that 

 a committee be appointed to consider the proposition 

 and report to the society. 



Mk. Enole moved to amend by adding that apre- 

 mium be offered to the farmer who raises the largest 

 crop on a given area, the area to be specified by the 

 committee. 



The amendment was accepted, the motion as 

 amended, adopted, and the chair appointed the fol- 

 lowing committee : P. S. Reist, H. M. Engle, M. D. 

 Kendlg. 



Levi S. Reist presented for inspection a sample 

 of vfry small red wild cherries, not larger than cur- 

 rants and very sour. He had several trees of this 

 variety upon his farm. The tree grows to a height of 

 20 or oO feet, it is very hardy and the wood and 

 leaves closely resemble the cultivated red cherry. 

 , It does not bear abundantly, but he believes it might 

 be utilized by grafting upon it cultivated varieties. 

 The birds seem fond of the fruit. 



The following questions were proposed for discus- 

 sion at the next meeting : 



"Should the grass be taken from the lawn when 

 cut by the mower ?" Referred to Levi S. Reist. 



"What causes smut in wheat ?'' By Henry Kurtz. 



"Will it pay farmers to erect sheds or roofs over 

 their manure piles '." By W. J. Kal'roth, for gener- 

 al discussion. 



President Cooper, H. M. Engle, Levi S. Keist and 

 Peter 8. Reist accepted the invitation to visit the 

 farm of Levi W. Groll on Thursday, the Mi, Mr. 

 Qroff extending a cordial invitation to all others who 

 might wish to attend. Adjourned. 



Tobacco Growers' Association. 



The Lancaster county tobacco growers' association 

 met in the Athemeum, .Monday, June 'J.">th. 



The minutes of last meeting were read. 



The following members and visitors were present : 



M. U. Kendlg, Manor; Webster L. Hershey, East 

 Hempfleld ; Wash L. Ilershey, Rapho; P. S. Keist, 

 Oregon; Henry Shiffuer, Upper Leacoek ; A. H. 

 Yeager, East Lampeter ; J. M. Johnston, city ; Clare 

 Carpenter, city; Jacob B. Wilnicr, Manor; H. H. 

 Hostetter, Oregon ; John Brady, Millersvllle. 



Visitors— Benjamin Rohrer, Levi S. Keist, Martin 

 Laudls, Emanuel Lehr, F. R. Diffenderfer. 



The discussion of the question, " What arc the best 

 fertilizers for tobacco lands?" deferred from last 

 ineetiiig was renewed. 



I'. S. Reist said he was trying this year a number 

 of ditlereut kinds of fertilizers — barnyard iiiaiiure, 

 chicken manure, iihospbates, guano, gypsum, and 

 bone dust. Chicken manure he tlioiigiit would kill 

 the jilants in dry weather if It touches them. He 

 has tried chicken manure and phosphatcfi on poor 

 patches of ground by putting it on tlu; ridges well 

 covered up antl it had a good effect, lie mixes the 

 chicken manure with earth. 



IIknkv Siin-FNKit mixes chicken manure with 

 ashes and gypsum and has obtained good results. 

 Chicken manure alone Is too hot, and will burn the 

 [ilantB. 



P. S. Keist noticed that in the plant beds chicken 

 manure was used that the plants had a yellow and 

 sickly appearance. 



WAsiiiN(iT()N L. ni:KsiiEY,of Uaplio, had last 

 year used phosphates and saw no good results, in- 

 deed the tobacco was not as good where the i>lios- 

 phatc was uscil as where there was lu, manure. 



Puesiiient ,M. D. Ke.niikj said he had no faith in 

 concentrated manures, dealers di6courag(; the use of 

 them. He thinks stable manure thoroughly com- 

 posted better than all others, and should be almost 

 exclusively used where a siillleient supply can be had. 



P. S. RmsT wished it to be understood tli.at he 

 preferred barnyard manure to all others, and used it 

 for the bulk of bis tobacco ; tint was this year using 

 the other manures as an experiment. If we should 

 have a poor piece of ground and could not get barn- 

 yard manure with which to' cnricli it, it would be 

 well to know what kind of manure is next best 

 among the commercial manures in use. 



Mr. yE.iOEii recommended plowing down green 

 rye where stable manure is hard to be obtained. 



Mr. W. L. Hershev said he last year used barn- 

 yard manure and this year is doing the same, jilowed 

 down the manure and then gave the grouinl a top 

 dressing of pig manure, and wound up by using 

 plaster and litiuid barnyard manure. 



Cro]) reports being called for, Henry Shiffuer said 

 that plants in his section. Upper Leacock, weredoing 

 well ; the cutworm has not bothered him. 



Webster L. Hershey, East Heuiplield, said he 

 planted 10,000 plants this spring, all of which are 

 growing finely except about 200 which had been 

 destroyed by the cut-worm. These were in ground 

 plowed this spring. In ground that was plowed last 

 fall the cut-worm has done no harm. Plants in his 

 section of the county look very well and are growing 

 rapidly. 



P. S. Reist said the plants were well started and 

 were thriving finely. But few cut-worms have been 

 found, and but little replanting has been done. He 

 spoke of a field of tobacco some di.stance north of 

 this city, which had attracted his special attention, 

 the plants having leaves already from ten to twelve 

 inches long. 



Israel L. LANnis, who was prevented by busi- 

 ness from attending the meeting, sent in a paper con- 

 taining his observations of the tobacco crop in the 

 northern section of the county. Mr. Landis writes 

 that the plants are nearly all set out and that there 

 has been less trouble than usual in getting them well 

 started, the warm rain that fell enabling farmers to 

 start the plant without watering. The cut-worm is 

 not so destructive as in former years, and hence 

 there has been but little replanting. Many farmers 

 maintain that when there are few cut-worms there 

 will be correspondingly few green worms to cut the 

 leaf during the growth of the plant. This may be a 

 matter worthy of future observation. The acreage 

 this year will be very considerably increased — many 

 are planting this year who have not heretofore plant- 

 ed, while others are planting more than usual — the 

 prices received for last year's crops having stimula- 

 ted growers to do their best, and caused others to 

 fall into the error of trying to. farm more than tl;;y 

 can jiropcily <'are for. Along the sandy hills of the 

 Conewago, in Dauphin, as well as in our own county, 

 growers rake the manure close together for the to- 

 bacco crop. Unless this is done the crop remains 

 short, and if it is done it results In injuring other 

 crops — corn, wheat, Jkc, by keeping away the man- 

 ure they should have. This is a grave trouble that 

 stares us in the face, and is of great importance to 

 the whole community. How can the fertility of our 

 farms be best maintained, and as much tobacco be 

 ol)talued as now i This question should receive the 

 serious attention of farmers, and should be thorough- 

 ly discussed by this association. There are many 

 good tobacco barns being built in the northern section 

 of the county, and others are already completed. 



President Kendio said the crop in Manor is look- 

 ing well. Not many cut-worms have appeared, ex- 

 cept in a few patches. Everything looks favorable 

 for an increased crop of better tobacco than we had 

 last year, there being a feeling everywhere mani- 

 fested to bestow greater care on the crop than has 

 heretofore been done. 



"■ Webster L. Hehsuev said that In the northern 

 part of East HempHeld the new crop was in about 

 the same condition as has been reported from other 

 sections — large healthy plants and but few cut- 

 worms. There Is an Increased acreage of plants set 



out; his neighbor, Mr. Minnieh, has 32 acres that 

 look well. He manures liberally with ashes and 

 scrap, purchased from a linn in Perry county, pay- 

 ing lor it 11 cents per bushel. He cultivates thorougly 

 both with hanil and horse power. 



A. 11. Veai.er, of East Hempfield, reported the 

 plants well started. Most of the fielils have already 

 iieeii once cultivated, and the tobacco looks well. 



Wasiii.noton L. Hershev, of Raiilio, reported 

 the growing crop as being In good condition, and 

 stateil that of last year's crop there are still lying In 

 bulk seven lots of tobacco. .Mr. Hershey has cased, 

 but has not yet sold his own crop. 



The question referred to P. S. Keist at last meet- 

 ing — "Can fertilizers be properly applied to tobacco 

 after the plants grow, and If so, what kind, and how 

 should they be applied?" was not discussed, Mr. 

 Reist stating that he had nothing more to say about 

 It than he had already said. 



Tlie (piestlon — "What is the best method of culti- 

 vating tobacco from the first working uji to finishing? 

 What machines and utensils are best adapted for use 

 in the toliaeco lands known?" referred to Jacob 

 Frantz, at last meeting, was taken up for general 

 discussion, Mr. Frantz not being jireseut to answer It. 



Henry .Shikkxek said the best method is to cul- 

 tivate constantly. As soon as the young jilant has 

 taken root, commence using the hoe and continue 

 using It. Cultivate deeply with the harrow as long 

 as you can walk between the rows ; keep the ground 

 constantly loose aliout the roots of the plant. To- 

 bacco will not grow well in hard ground; It Is a 

 "rooty" plant and must have room to spread. 



P. S. Reist, Webster L. Hershey, Washington L. 

 Hershey, Levi S. Keist and President M. D. Kendlg 

 united in declaring that constant cultivation with 

 both hoe and harrow, "weeilsor no weeds," was the 

 true principle. Let the harrow follow the hoe, and 

 the hoe in turn follow tlie harrow, that the ground 

 may be constantly kept mellow and loose. Every 

 alternate day is not too often to go through the field 

 with the harrow, if time can be spared to do It. No 

 matter If a few good leaves are tramped down ; bet- 

 ter ones will grow and take their places. 



The question — " Does the growing of tobacco ex- 

 haust our soils so as to affect other crops?" was next 

 taken up and discussed at some length. 



Mr. Yeager said he had not had much experi- 

 ence, but as far as his experience went, tobacco ex- 

 hausted the soil much less than some other crops. 

 He believed if two pieces of ground of equal fertility 

 were j)lanted, one in tobacco and the otiier in pota- 

 toes, that the ground in which the tobacco was grown 

 would be found in better condition in the fall than 

 that in which the potatoes were grown. He believed 

 that any crop that was allowed to grow until the seed 

 matures — as wheat, oats, corn and potatoes, will 

 exhaust the soil much more than tobacco, which is 

 cut off green, and the roots of which, if allowed to 

 rot In the ground, make a good fertilizer. 



Washington L. Hershey agreed with Mr. Yeager, 

 and added that tobacco stalks cut up Into small pieces 

 and composted, make an excellent manure. He has 

 now on his manure pile the stalks from ten acres of 

 tobacco and finds that they ferment easily, and that 

 there is no more trouble in composting thein than 

 cornstalks, straw or other vegetable matter. 



President Kendig agreed with Messrs. Veager 

 and Hershey. He had planted tobacco and |)otatoe8 

 side by side in the same field; used the same kind of 

 manure, and gave both crops equal care and atten- 

 tion; and he found that the succeeding crop of 

 wheat was decidedly better on that part In which 

 the tobacco was grown. He cuts his tobacco stalks 

 into short pieces and plows them under. He would 

 much rather have a tenant |>ut tobacco into his land 

 than potatoes, as the latter will exhaust It more rap- 

 idly. 



John Brady, of Millersvllle, took the same view. 

 It had long ago been said that if we keep on raising 

 tstiacco we will ruin our land; and yet we find that 

 our farms are every year getting better. He believed 

 this was owing to tobacco farming. Last fall his 

 lioys piled some tobacco stalks around the butts of 

 fruit trees to protect. This spring he pulled from 

 under the tree grass that was fifteen inches in length, 

 while a little distance oft', where there were no to- 

 bacco stalks, the grass was only two or three Inches 

 long. He believes tobacco stalks to be among the 

 best of fertilizers. His neighbor, Mr. Warfel, uses 

 on his tobacco ground two hundred bushels of lime 

 per acre, plows it down in the fall and manures In 

 the spring. His tobacco this year is very fine, and 

 his wheat in that part of the field in which there was 

 tobacco last year Is decidedly better than elsewhere. 



W. L. Hershey saiil he had last year a tract of 

 land planted in tobacco, pot.itoes and corn, all of 

 which received the same kind of manure and equal 

 attention. This year it is planted In wheat, and the 

 crop looks better In that part which was planted lu 

 tobacco than in that which was planted in potatoes, 

 and better in the potato land than the corn laud. 



The following questions were proposed for discus- 

 sion at next meeting : 



"What Is the proper time and height for topping 

 tobacco ;" Referred to Henry Shiffuer. 



"Is there any advantage in scaffolding tobacco In 

 the Held '." For general discussion. 



On motion adjourned. 



