172 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[ November, 



over his manure pile. His plan is to keep the manure 

 well together, ami if it gets away brine; it baek again. 

 He frequently hauled from the roadside the washed 

 earth and Bpread it over the manure pile, then put 

 on more manure, and then again more washed earth. 

 In this way he could double the quantity of his 

 manure. 



Henrt M. Engle, of Marietta, said he had long 

 been of opinion that taking care of the manure was 

 the mainspring of a farmer's success. It is a good 

 plan to keep manure under cover if it is well cared 

 for, but unless great attention is paid to it, it might 

 be better to have it uncovered. The smaller surface 

 manure is kept in the better. He fully agreed with 

 Mr. CTrofl"s plan of adding to the manure pile road- 

 side washings. The dry earth absorbs and saves the 

 gases that otherwise would escape by a too rapid 

 combustion. 



Henry Kuktz, of Mount Joy, believes in Mr. 

 Grotl's plan of keeping the manure pile well together 

 and adding liberal quantitiesof earth. If the manure 

 runs away bring it back. Save all the liquid manure 

 possible, and use it. That's the way he raised his 

 i?>2 pound squash ; he watered the vine frequently 

 with liquid manure. -^ 



Mk. Groff added that if roadside earth be freely 

 used on the manure pile there will be little waste of 

 liquid manure. He would like to know from some 

 one who had tried the expei'iment of making manure 

 under cover how they prevented the damage of fire- 

 fang. It seemed to him that if much water was re- 

 quired to prevent it, it might be as well to remove 

 the shed and let the rain fall on the manure pile. 



Mr. Witmer advocated a liberal use of dry earth, 

 not only on the manure pile but in the stables. 

 Where straw is scarce it makes a good bedding, 

 keeps the stables sweet, and adds much to the value 

 of the manure. 



Mr. Linville did not approve the plan suggested 

 of having the barnyard hollow in the centre. The 

 accumulation of liquid would sour the manure, and 

 he would rather lose the liquid tlian have his manure 

 sour, as that would destroy its present value. 



President Cooper said he had always found a 

 decided advantage in having the manure under 

 cover. It is true there is some difficulty occasionally 

 from fire-fang, but this may be readily checked by 

 frequently spreading the manure. 



IlENRr SniFKNER Said he had fed 136 head of 

 sheep in two pens, and had hauled out the manure 

 and spread it upon his own cornfield, and found that 

 the dry manure was much better than that which 

 had been made without cover, and that the crop was 

 much larger. 



Pkesiuent Cooper recommended the sinking of 

 a vat in the barnyard, and connecting with it a drain 

 from the kitchen, so that all ofi'al and slops would be 

 received into the vat. He had tried the plan with 

 excellent results. 



The Cattle Disease. 

 The qcstion, " What measures should be taken by 

 farmers to prevent the spread of the cattle disease?" 

 was on motion of Henry Kurtz postponed for discus- 

 sion at next meeting. 



Referred Questions. 



" Does it pay to apply salt as a fertilizer on wheat 

 grounds in the fall?" 



I. L. L.iNDis, to whom the above question was re- 

 ferred, was not present, but sent in the following, 

 which was read by the Secretary : 



" Does it pay to apply salt as a fertilizer on wheat 

 ground in the fall?" was a question referred to me at 

 your last regular meeting. From personal experi- 

 ence I know nothing of the subject, never having 

 made any experiments in their application, except on 

 grass wii h some apparent success. Upon inquiry for 

 information it seems varied success has attended 

 others who have tested it— some claiming they have 

 increased their crops, and others perceiving no differ- 

 ence whatever where it was apjilied. It was, how- 

 ever, in very light poor soil, that no effect seemed 

 apparent ; in better soil better results followed. This 

 is a very proper question, however, for agricultural 

 chemistry, as so much depends on the properties and 

 ingredients contained in the soil that it is highly 

 necessary to make a chemical analysis to ascertain 

 what is wanting to the soil to increase its productive- 

 ness and supply the proper food for the plant. Some 

 other members may have made experiments of which 

 they are willing to give this society the results. It 

 seems to me that salt applied to any soil under any 

 circumstances would only serve as a temporary 

 stimulant, and then leave the soil poorer than before 

 the application, having pretty much the same effect 

 as benzine or whisky has on a toper, which makes 

 him happy, hilarious and strong while he is under 

 its influence, but for each repetition he feels worse 

 and weaker, mentally and physically. The effects of 

 those Virginia fertilizers, which are partially salts, 

 may well be seen on the lands where they have been 

 so long applied in their impoverished condition and 

 sterility." 



Mr. Linvili.e had very little faith in analysis of 

 the soil. It was supposed to be of great importance 

 a few years ago, but was now looked upon as being 

 of little consequence. He did not agree with Mr. 

 Landis that salt was a mere stimulus ; he thought it 



might be applied with advantage under certain con- 

 ditions and in proper quantities. 



EpuRAiji Hoover had always looked on an analy- 

 sis of the soil as being of great value, and had held 

 it is almost as necessary for a farmer to be a practical 

 chemist and understand the nature of his soil, and 

 thus be able to select the fertilizer best adapted to 

 its wants, as it is for the doctor to be acquainted 

 with the physical infirmities of his patient, and thus 

 be able to prescribe for his ailments. He had always 

 supposed that the practical chemist, having a know- 

 ledge of the soil, knew how to treat it ; if this be not 

 so, then the application of manure must be made at 

 random and the best kind found out by experiment. 



Joseph F. Witmer believed agricultural chemis- 

 try to be of great account to the farmer. By it he 

 could learn what the various plants fed upon, and 

 what kind of fertilizer was best adapted to promote 

 their growth. He did not think that salt should be 

 applied to wheat in the fall or winter, though it 

 might do some good in the spring. 



E. K. Hersiiet, of Manor, said that one of his 

 neighbors had in the fall applied salt to two acres of 

 wheat ; salt and manure to two adjoining acres, and 

 manure alone to two more adjoining acres. Where 

 the salt had been applied the wheat had grown much 

 more vigorously than where it had not been applied, 

 the straw being fully three inches longer than the 

 other. 



Henrt M. Engle said a single experiment was 

 not a sufficient test of the value of anything. We 

 may apply salt on some occasions and under certain 

 conditions with good results, and on other occasions 

 and conditions of the soil, with bad results. A good 

 rule, he thought, was to vary the fertilizers from 

 year to year. 



M. D. Kendig had applied salt to his wheat with- 

 out noticing any good result. He had used 400 

 pounds to the acre. 



John C. Linviele wished to set himself right on 

 the question of agricultural chemistry. He did not 

 mean to say that he had no faith in agricultural 

 chemistry ; on the contrary, he had great faith in it, 

 and believed in making a careful analysis of the 

 fertilizers used. But he believed that no practical 

 good would result from the analysis of a shovel-full 

 of earth taken from a twenty-acre field. 



C. L. Hdnsecker had high authority for saying 

 that the application of salt to wheat was in some 

 cases beneficial and in others not. Near the ocean 

 it may do more harm than good, as the ocean vapors 

 supply sufficient salt ; but far in the interior salt 

 may be applied with advantage. 



Joseph F. Wither had known corn and tobacco to 

 be killed by the application of salt. 



Henrt M. Engle had applied salt to melon seeds 

 and they never came up. 



Levi W. Groff had freely applied salt to the 

 Canada thistle and killed it. 



Casper Hiller had no doubt that salt was a 

 manure, but judgment must he used in applying it. 

 It will, of course, kill the plants if used too freely ; 

 so will any other kind of manure. 



Examination of Fruits. 



The President appointed Messrs. Ephra'm Hoover, 

 Henry Erb and M. D. Kendig as a committee to ex- 

 amine and report upon the fruits on exhibition. 



Casper Hiller laid before the society some very 

 larger persimmons, and stated that they had very 

 few seeds in them . A neighbor of his had grown 

 them for years without any seeds. They were almost 

 as easily grafted as the apple, and if any of the 

 members of the society wanted grafts they could 

 have them by sending to him. 



Medal and Diploma. 



The President laid before the society a large bronze 

 medal and diploma, awarded the society for fruits 

 exhibited at the Centennial exhibition. The Libra- 

 rian was directed to have the diploma framed. 

 Business for Next Meeting. 



" What is the best method of destroying bark lice 

 on fruit trees?" Referred for answer to Prof. S. S. 

 Kathvou. 



" Does it pay to steam feed for stock ?" For gen- 

 eral discussion. 



Groff's Patent Wheat Cultivator. 



Frank Sutton exhibited a model of Levi W. 

 Groff's new grain cultivator and explained its ad- 

 vantages. 



A Squash. 



Henrt Kurtz called attention to an immense 

 squash which he had brought with him. It weighed 

 132 pounds and measured 81}^ inches in circumfer- 

 ence. It was grown on his premises on a vine some 

 thirty feet long, and was the only squash on the 

 vine. He had applied to it occasionally liquid manure 

 from the barnyard. He presented it to Prof. S. S. 

 Kathvon. 



Prop. Ratitvon accepted the gift, and read the 

 following paper in reply : 



Mr. H. Kurtz — Mij Dear Sir: In designating me 

 as the subject of your munificent gift, allow me, in 

 my humble reception of it, to give pome expression 

 of my sincere gratitude ; not so much from consider- 

 ations solely personal to myself, as from my repre- 



sentative character as editor of a local journal, which 

 I have endeavored to make a refiex of the agricul- 

 tui-al status of the great county of Lancaster. With- 

 out arrogating to myself any special merit for what 

 may have been accomplished in that behalf, I can- 

 not but feel thankful to you and to other members 

 of this society, for your manifestations of apprecia- 

 tive kindness, and the disinterested assistance you 

 Iiave vouchsafed me on various occasions. As I 

 intimated on former occasions, my labor as editor of 

 The Farmer has mainly been a " labor of love ;" 

 and because I believed, and still believe, that a jour- 

 nal representing the agricultural interest of our 

 "garden county," ought to be morally, intellectually 

 and financially sustained ; at the same time, I am 

 not independent of, nor insensible to, the sentiment, 

 that " the laborer is worthy of his hire." Coupled 

 with your local approbation, and the endorsement of 

 many able journals from abroad, I have the assur- 

 ance that The Lancaster Farmer has become a 

 factor in the field of agricultural literature, which is 

 gradually gaining a flattering recognition ; and this 

 fact stimulates in me a desire for Its continuance, 

 and I doubt not the members of this society entertain 

 the same desire. Some of us here are now on our 

 downward decade towards our allotted -'three-score 

 years and ten" — if some of us have not already 

 passed that Rubicon of life's span — " and if by reason 

 of strength they should be four-score," "yet," ac- 

 cording to the inspired psalmist, " is their strength 

 labor and sorrow ; for it is soon cut off, and we fly 

 away ;" but, if we can recall the records which we 

 have made, and are now making in the history of 

 our lives, without remorse of conscience, we may 

 entertain some feeling of assurance that we have not 

 lived entirely in vain. If we can transmit to our 

 successors a live organization, and a flourishing 

 journal, devoted to the development of the agricul- 

 tural resources of our county and our State, we shall 

 benefit society more than he who founds an evanes- 

 cent empire that perishes when the power that 

 created it is overswaj'ed. Too much importance 

 cannot well be attached to agriculture, too much 

 laudation cannot well be accorded to those "who 

 have felled the sturdy oak and guided the unwieldy 

 plough ;" those whom " mid-day suns have browned 

 their complexions, and whose hands, by rustic toil, 

 have grown callous as a horn." Ralph Waldo 

 Emerson says : " The glory of the farmer is, that in 

 the division of labors, it is his part to create. All 

 trades rest at least on his primitive activity. He 

 stands close to nature ; he obtains from the earth the 

 bread and meat. The food which was not, his co- 

 operative energies causes to be. The first farmer 

 was the first man, and all historic nobility rests on 

 the possession and use of land. Men do not usually 

 like hard work, but every man has an exceptional 

 respect for tillage, and a feeling that this is the only 

 original calling'of the race ; that he himself is only 

 excused from it by some circumstance which made 

 him delegate It to other hands. If he has not some 

 skill, or other quality, which recommends him to the 

 farmer — some product for which the farmer will 

 give him corn, he must himself return unto his due 

 place among the planters. And the profession has 

 in all eyes its ancient charm, as standing nearest to 

 Uod, the first cause." Not that farmers are neces- 

 sarily without the failings aid imperfections which 

 are the common heritage of humanity; but that 

 their function is fundamentally the basis upon 

 which the superstructure of society securely rests, 

 and from whose resources all our most essential 

 physical wants are anticipated and supplied. 



Why, there is not a healthy man in this room, 

 who, within three hours from this time, will not be 

 a zealous devotee at the shrine of agricultural pro- 

 duction ; and whose stomach would not break out 

 " in growling mutiny and bold revolt " if, on cross- 

 ing the threshhold of his domicil, he found his do- 

 mestic altar bare — he could compromise with his 

 head, his feet, or his back, but not with his stomach. 

 That restive organ periodically demands "the full 

 amount or forfeit of the bond," and happy is he, in 

 these times of financial reverse, who can "enter 

 satisfaction." 



As an appropriate sequel to the foregoing senti- 

 ments, allow me to add a few concluding remarks, 

 in reference to the historic, scientific and domestic 

 position of this magnificent subject of the vegetable 

 kingdom, which you have so kindly donated to the 

 use and behoof of the conductors of The Lancas- 

 ter Farmer. This royal representative of the 

 Cucurbitaoe^, or Gourd famiiy — and of which 

 there are several genera, many species, and a very 

 large number of varieties — is said to be a native of 

 Persia, and was introduced into England prior to the 

 introduction of the cucumber (In the reign of Henry 

 VIII.) and is the vegetable which figured in the 

 English annals of agriculture, of that period, as the 

 "melon." It is supposed to have been brought over 

 to this continent by the Puritan fathers, and has al- 

 ways occupied a prominent position in the festivities 

 of our eastern brethren, and especially on thanks- 

 giving occasions. The problems involving genera, 

 species, and varieties, have become considerably 

 "mixed up," and I will not attempt to solve them 

 here, but may do so in a special article in some 

 future number of The Farmer. Its generic name 



