1877. 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



139 



the dry spell of weather which followed had injured 

 the leaf and he feared it would, not erne so welUs 

 isdesirablc. His own crop and some of his nei-hbors 

 had heeu nuich injiu'cd hy the laic hail storm espc- 

 dally that which had heen topped. '1 hat which had 

 not been topped was improved l.y removmij I he rid- 

 dled leaves, (most of wliieli were on one side only ol 

 the plant ) and thus throwiiif; additional slienKth 

 into the uninjured ones. The crop generally looks 

 promising, hut wants rain. Many farmers have 

 TOramenced cutting. Worms have not been Iroublo- 



°°T^F Frantz, of Manor, concurred generally with 

 what .Mr. Mayer had said-the crop in Manor being 

 m about the same condition as that ot Hemplield, 

 except that it had not been injured by hail, llie 

 bulk of the tobacco is larger than last year s crop, 

 and the crop equally as good. Much of it has been 

 already cut. . 



Prter S. Keipt reported an increased acreage and 

 a cood crop as to quantity; did not know enough 

 ■ibout it to report Us qualily. In some seetions it is 

 of immense growth and some of it is very backward, 

 but healthy looking. With favorable weather there 

 will be a very large crop. There are a number of 

 new sheds going up in his neighborhood, and more 

 would be built were it not for the scarcity ot lumber 

 and carpenters. On this account some larmers are 

 cleaning out their barns and preparing them lor the 

 slora.'e of tobacco. He thinks that from five to ten 

 thousluid people might be prolit.Tbly employed ii. 

 putting up she B and doing other work necessary to 

 secure the present crop. 



Henry SiiitTNER, of Leacock, thought the qual- 

 ity of the growing crop very good— especially that 

 which was planted early; believes it will cure better 

 than last year's crop. 



Henry Kurtz, of Mount Joy, hoped this might 

 prove true, but feared it would not. The tobacco 

 looks too much like that of 1872. He has noticed a 

 creat many patches with small, sickly looking leaves 

 that stand straight up as though they were looking 

 for rain. This tobacco will not be likely to sweat 

 well He believes tobacco cut off in August will not 

 cure as well as that cut in September. He would 

 like to hear from the southern section of the county. 

 J M. .JouNSTON, city, said in reply, that he had 

 seen Squire Housekeeper, of Chestnut Level, who 

 told him the crop in that vicinity would be very good. 

 He had himself paid a visit to the southern end ot 

 the county two or three weeks ago, and at that time 

 the tobacco was growing finely. Although there Is 

 not so much attention given to tobacco in that as in 

 some other sections of the county, the acreage has 

 been considerably increased, and an increased crop 



is expected. , 



President Kendio, of Manor, reported a good, 

 fair growth of the leaf, but feared it would not cure 

 so well- it seemed to be dry and stunted and wants a 

 trood soaking rain to bring it out; otherwise it will 

 not be of first quality. There are some very fine 

 patches; not ten per cent, of the crop has been yet 

 cut. Worms have been scarce. 



JoBN Brady, of Millersville, said his son had cut 

 an acre, and it seemed to be curing very, well. He 

 favored low topping. Three or four good leaves to a 

 stalk arc worth a dozen little ones. 



Aldus Gross, of East Hempfield, reported a good 

 deal of the leaf stunted by dryness. If cut now it will 

 not cure well, and even if it gets a good rain, it is 

 now too late to help it much. , , . 



Levi S Rei.st, of Mauheim, said there had been 

 rain enough until the first of August, and the early 

 planted tobacco is as good as any he ever before saw. 

 A rain now will help the late plowed. 

 Referred Questions. 

 "How soon after strijiping could and should to- 

 bacco be cased?" a question which had been at last 

 meeting referred to Henry Kurtz, was answered by 

 that gentleman, who said that the proper time to 

 pack tobacco is three or four weeks after it has been 

 stripped and ranked. It must be ranked with the 

 buts outwards and the leaves well lapped over. He 

 had packed tobacco with favorable results after its 

 first sweating, and had been told by old packers that 

 they had cased tobacco when it was so wet that the 

 water ran out of it and it turned out to be the best. 

 John Brady, of Millersville, said when tobacco is 

 fit to strip it is fit to case. Let it cure well on the 

 scafl'old and case it at once. 



Mr. Kennedy, of Salisbury, knew that tobacco 

 could be packed more easily immediately after it was 

 stripped than if it was ranked and subsequently 

 packed ; but he was not sure that it was the way to 

 secure the best tobacco. 



Jacob F. Frantz thought this subject should be 

 well considered. We should not talk about what will 

 be the result if the tobacco is strijiped before it is fit 

 to strip. We should assume that no intelligent 

 grower will strip it until it is fit, and then we should 

 endeavor to find out how soon it should be packed. 

 His own opinion is that if stripped at the right time 

 it may be packed at once. It should not he stripped 

 when the but or ribs are green, as every sensible 

 farmer knows. 



Mr. Kurtz insisted that three or four weeks 

 should elapse between the stripping and casing, and 

 Mr. Brady was equally certain that it should be cased 



at once, and so warmly did they advocate their re- 

 spective plans that they were ready to wager money 

 on the result. ,, ,,. , 



Henry Siiifkner, of Leacock, said if tobacco was 

 not fit to case it was not fit to strip , and it certainly 

 was not fit to strip so long as the ribs remained 



Pkesiprnt Kendig thought we were driaing 

 away from our real business— the growing of to- 

 liaceo- and entering a field that is already occupied. 

 There arc plenty of export packers to take the busi- 

 ness of iiacking ofl'our hands as soon as the crop has 

 been properly prepared for them. 



Mr. Siiikfner also thoughtthe present discussion 

 premature. There is a belief entertained by many 

 tliat this society intends to establish a commission 

 house to which farmers will be expected to bring 

 their tobacco, and sell it for what it will fetch. 

 Some dealers also think the society intends interler- 

 ing with their business. The prevalence of these 

 l)cllef8 is the reason the meetings of the society are 

 not. more largely attended. We should confine our- 

 selves to the growing of tobacco, and aciiuainting 

 ourselves with the best methods. When we get 

 eight or ten miles away from Lancaster we find very 

 little tobacco that is grown or handled as well as it 



should lie. _ :, .t , ,, r 



V. S. Keist, of Manheim, favored the adoption of 

 a resolution to the eflTect that the object of the society 

 is to grow tobacco and prepare it for the use of buyers. 

 Mr. Kurtz predicted that In a few years every 

 tobacco farmer in the county would case his own to- 

 bacco, whether this society approves it or not. 



I. L. Landis thought the subject a very proper 

 one for discuesion. Farmers should know how and 

 when to pack their own tobacco. They cannot 

 always sell when they would like to, and their own 

 interest requires that they should know what to do 

 with their tobacco when they cannot sell it. That 

 the subject may be thoroughly discussed, as it is now 

 growing late, he moved that Its further consideration 

 be postponed until next meeting. Agreed to. 

 Management of Tobacco Sheds. 

 In answer to a question as to how tobacco sheds 

 should be managed after the tobacco has been hung 

 up in order to cure tobacco in the best manner, 

 Jacob F. Frantz said In order to answer the ([uestion 

 intelligently it would be necessary to presume that 

 all tobacco sheds were built alike, and this was not 

 the case. He would say that it was of primary im- 

 portance to have eflTective ventilation and light. To 

 xure tobacco properly the shed must bo so arranged 

 that light may be readily admitted or excluded. He 

 recommended the horizontal ventilators as far pre 

 ferable to the perpendicular once. The shed should 

 be built close and tight, so that ventilation and light 

 may he regulated at will. As soon as the tobacco 

 has been partially cured the shed should be closed in 

 daytime and opened at night, so that dampness may 

 be diffused through the whole mass. If there be a 

 long spell of murky weather the shed should also be 

 closed at night. It is a settled principle that to- 

 bacco, hay and grain must go through a sweating 

 process before they are fit for use. 



Ephraim Hoover, of East Hempfield, said in re- 

 gard to the relative merit of horizontal or perpen- 

 dicular shutters he would not express an opinion ; 

 but he knew of one man who built a shed with per- 

 pendicular shutters and used It for some time. The 

 shed was blown down and he rebuilt it with horizon- 

 tal shutters and found that he did not like them as 

 well as the old kind. This summer he built another 

 shed with perpendicular shutters, saying they were 

 cheaper and better than the others. The water that 

 gets into the crevices soon dries off, while it lies 

 upon the horizontal shutter and is often blown in 

 upon the tobacco. Several other farmers have told 

 him they prefer the perpendicular shutter, although 

 they are more troublesome to open and close. Mr. 

 Hoover's own shed had upright shutters and he 

 found them to answer very well. He though a to- 

 bacco shed should lie built with a view of using it for 

 the storage of grain as well as tobacco. 

 A Plea for the Birds. 

 Mr Sins K. Eshleman, of Leaman Place, read 

 a long and interesting essay, in which he took the 

 ground that birds- and especially partridges— were 

 the farmer's best friends ; but as the law has made 

 the partridge a "game bird," farmers as well as 

 others join in their destruction. He deplored the 

 cruel " sport" as it is called, and hoped the law 

 would soon be amended so as to give all InseetlTorous 

 birds the protection they are entitled to. If there 

 were more birds there would be less insects to destroy 

 the crops. Since the senseless destruction of prairie 

 hens, pheasants, quail, Ac, by Western si)ortsmen, 

 the crops in the West have been devastated by grass- 

 hoppers. It may not be generally known that a brace 

 of partridL'CS will destroy a whole colony of ants that 

 are so destructive to corn, cucumbers and other vege- 

 tables There are no doubt other birds that feed up- 

 on the tobacco worm and would assist the farmer in 

 ridding his fields of this pest if they were protected 

 and permitted to live. He hoped the cruel " sport 

 of murdering the innocent birds would soon be aban- 



°A%ote of thanks was given to Mr. Eshleman for 

 bli able essay. 



Hanging up Tobacco. 



" What IS the best method of hanging up tobacco 

 to cure it best ?"— a question whicli had at last meet- 

 ing been referred to Harry Mayer, of East Hempfield 

 —was answered by that gentleman. To illustrate 

 his filan, he exhibited before the society a jiretty lit- 

 tle model of the trestle and lathe be uses in hanging 

 up his tobacco. The tri^stlc is over live feet in height, 

 anil long enouch to hold a hit h four feet in length, 

 one and a-lialf inches In width, and three-quarters of 

 uii inch thick. In this lath six sixpenny nails are 

 driven obliifuely (three on each side) eight Inches 

 afiart. The obll(iue oiieetlon is given to tlia nail so 

 that its point, when the l.ath is hungup, may be a 

 little higher than Its head, and thus form a sort of 

 hook on which the tobacco can be hung. To give 

 uniform direction to the nails, the lath, before they 

 are driven. Is placed upon a graduated piece of hard 

 wood in which beveled slots have been cut to turn 

 the point of the nail in the desired direction. The 

 lath having been thus prepared to receive the tobac- 

 co is [ilaced in the trestle, which is also furnl»hcd 

 with slots to receive It. The cut tobacco Is hauled to 

 the trestle on wheelbarrows, and the butt ends of the 

 stalks forced upon the points of the nails, and the 

 lath of tobacco hung In Ita jilace In the shed. Mr. 

 ' Mayer says that by this plan ho can hang up tobacco 

 nearly twice as fast as by any other method. Ho 

 has entirely discarded the patent tobacco hook In 

 general use. When the tobacco is ready for strip- 

 ping the trestle is taken to the cellar under the shed. 

 The lath containing the tobacco Is placed In the tres- 

 tle and the leaves are stripped while it hangs there. 

 All damage to the leaves is thus avoided, and Mr. 

 Mayer Is enabled to sell as "seconds" a great deal of 

 tobacco that would otherwise be counted as fillers. 

 The little model was much admired, and several 

 members expressed a determination to adopt Mr. 

 Mayer's plan. 



On motion of Mr. Landis the president and secre- 

 tary were appointed a committee to confer with the 

 ollicers of the .Agricultural and Horticultural Society 

 as to the expediency of having tobacco exhibited at 

 the proposed horticultural exhibition In the Northern 

 market house next month. „ . o 



The following question was referred to Peter a. 

 Keist to be answered at next meeting : 



"What method of preparation of soil is best adapt- 

 ed to promote the prospectsof a good eroi>of tobacco, 

 having reference to kind of fertilizers and time and 

 quantity of application ?" 

 On motion adjourned. 



THE LINN/EAN SOCIETY. 



The Linniran Society held their stated meeting on 

 Saturday, August 2.5th, 1S77. Seven members (.resent, 

 the President, Kev. I. S. Stahr, in the chair. After 

 the preliminary business had been attended t(», the 

 donation^ to the museum were examined, and found 

 to consist of nine small jars and bottles, containing 

 sundry mammals (upland mice), reptiles, arachno- 

 Ides or spiders, mirlopods and sundry insects, snails 

 and eggs of lepldoptera, the fruit of a day's hunt by 

 Prof S. S. Rathvon, In Sadsbury township, near 

 Christiana, Lancaster county, while on a visit to Mr. 

 Levi Pownall, on the 17th ult. , , .u 



A very minute egg, fully formed, taken out of the 

 yolk of a common barn fowl egg, sent per Col. Joel 

 LIghtner. , . ,, 



Prof. T. K. Baker, Millersville, brought a small 

 fish which he Informed us, however small, is wholly 

 rejected for bait by fishermen. Without special in- 

 siieetion. It was pronounced an exoglosson, originally 

 so named by Mr. Ilaldeman, a fish quite abundant 

 in all the tributaries of the Susquehanna, and as yet 

 not known in other waters and easily known by its 

 peculiar under lip or mouth : a sluggish fish, but 

 ready to take the hook, and never deemed worth 

 having, even if fully grown. 



Beetles In wheat, per Prof. Baker. 

 Bottle of beetles, per J. StauR'er, one a fine large 

 specimen of that beautiful beetle, the Calislma 

 Scrutator. , ^, . , 



A large sexton, or burying beetle, Necrophrls 

 gr.andis, per Mrs. Gibbons. 



\ siiinous leaf of the agave, by Mr. Zimmerman. 

 I)r Baker submitted sundry plants for names- 

 four species of verbena, one of which seemed new ; 

 a thistle, closely resembling the Canada thistle ; the 

 singular long-leafed clgrass valisnaria, found grow- 

 ing In the Conestoga, near Kockville. 



W P. Bolton sent a letter (with a specimen ol a 

 very remarkable growth of the joe pie, F.upatorlum 

 puipureum) to, and It was read by .'^Ir. Stauirer. 



Addltionstothe library : Charles V.; Kiley s book 

 on " The Locust Plague of the Kocky Mountains, 

 illustrated; the Lancastek Farmer for August ; 

 two copies of the XoturalUt'ii Monthly linlMw, per 

 A. Foot, M.D., Philadelphia. 



Papers read— No.. 570. J . StaufVer read an Illus- 

 trated paper on the abnormal growth of tiro Eupa- 

 torium purpureum, found by Mr. W. P. Bolton near 

 the mouth of the Fishing creek, In Drumore tow-n- 

 ship, this county. Tills common plant in low grounds, 

 growing from 2 to 12 feet high, on a simple stem, 

 withthcleiivesinwhorlsof 3 or 6 at a joint, the 

 dense corymb of fiowers terminating the stem, M also 

 those growing from the axillary of the upper leaves. 



