THE LANCASTER FARMERS 



[Janual'y, 



STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE OF 

 BERKSHIRE SWINE. 



Adopted by the American Berkshire Asso- 

 ciation. 



Color. — Black, with white on feet, face, 

 tip of tail, and an occasional splash 

 on the ami. 4 



Face xsd Sxout. — Short, the former 

 fine and well dished, and broad be- 

 tween the eyes - - - - 7 



Eye. — Very clear, rather large, darkhazcl 

 or gray ...... 2 



Eae.— Generally almost erect, bnt some- 

 times inclined forward with advanc- 

 ing age, medivnn size, thin and soft - 4 



Jowl. — Full and heavy, running well 

 back on neck - - . - 4 



jSTeck.— Short, and broad on top - - 4 



Hair. — Fine and soft, medium thickness .3 



Skin. — Smooth and pliable - - - 4 



Shoulder. — Thick and even, broad on 

 top, and deep through chest - - 7 



Back. — Broad, short and straight, ribs 

 well sprung, coupling close up to hip 8 



Side. — Deep and well let down, straight 

 on bottom line . - - - 6 



Flaxk. — Well back, and low down on 

 lesr, making nearly a straight line 

 with lower part of side - - - .5 



Loin. — Full and wide - - - - 9 



Ham. — Deep and thick, extending well up 

 on back, and holding thickness well 

 down on the hock - - - - 10 



Tail. — Well set up on back, tapering 

 and not coarse . - - . 2 



Legs.— Short, straight and strong, set 

 wide apart, with hoofs erect, and 

 capable of holding good weight - - 5 



Symjietry. — Well proportioned through- 

 out, depending largely on condition 5 



CoxDiTiON.^In a good healthy growing 

 state, not over-fed - - - - 6 



Style. — Attractive, spirited, indicative 

 of thorough breeding and constitu- 

 tional vigor 5 



100 



JAPANESE PERSIMMON orDATE PLUM 



We embellish this number of The Farmer 

 with illustrations of two of the best varieties 

 of this delicious and valuable fruit, (see 

 illustrations preceding first page,) which is 

 now being grown in different parts of our 

 country — especially along the Pacific slope, 

 in California — where its successful culture 

 seems to be fully established. Competent au- 

 thorities claim tliat it commends itself to the 

 public in possessing the following qualities : 



1st. The tree is highly ornamental, a pro- 

 lific bearer, hardy as the pear, and fruits 

 early. 



2d. Its fruit is solid, and may be easily 

 transported to any part of the country. 



3d. Its season is from October to March, 

 when other fresh fruits are scarce. When 

 dried, it is equal to figs, and can be kept a 

 long time. 



4th. It is of a bright yellow, orange, or ver- 

 milion color, according to variety ; is unsur- 

 passed for the table, and is considered equal 

 to the peach or pear for that purpose; some 

 specimens of the fruit have attained the 

 weight of one pound each, although the usual 

 average is about three-quarters of a pound. 



.5th. The six best varieties are the Im- 

 perial, NiiioN, Daimio, Mikado, Yamato, 

 and the Taikoon. The two choice varieties 

 are those accompanying this numljer of our 

 journal, namely, the Yamato, and the 

 Mikado, the others being approximations to 

 these forms. 



6th. They will fruit in from two to three 

 years, and are as successfully grafted as 

 peaches or pears. 



Trees can be sent liy mail, on orders to the 

 amount of five dollars and upwards ; and 

 may be obtained from Ilcnry Leomis, Nos. 

 419 and 421 Sansom street, San Francisco, 

 California. Trees from 1 to 3 years old, from 



one to three dollars, and seeds, one dollar per 

 dozen. 



This fruit is recommended to be planted the 

 same as the apple or pear. A light gravelly 

 soil is preferable. The older the trees are, 

 the better is the tlavor of the fruit. The first 

 and second year after bearhig, the fruit is 

 somewhat astringent, and contains no seeds ; 

 but the older it grows, it improves in size and 

 flavor, and is never affected by the curculio. 

 The trees are said to attain the age of one 

 hundred years, and grow very large. Among 

 the testimonials as to the quality of the 

 fruit, and the character of the vender of the 

 trees, are such names as Prof. Asa Gray, 

 Admiral Rodgers, Hon. W. M. Evakts, 

 Prof. E. I^^orth, X. Y.; Hon. B. G. North- 

 rop, Conn., and many other notable names 

 in various parts of the country. 



Japan, or rather, we may say, the Japanese 

 Islands — for there are are a number of these 

 known to foreign nations under the collective 

 name of Japan — lie mainly l)etween the 30th 

 and .55th degrees of north latitude ; and be- 

 tween the 133d and 1.53d degrees of west 

 longitude from AVashington ; or, the 130th 

 and 150th east from Greenwich. Between 

 the degrees of latitude above named lies all 

 the territory belonging to the United States 

 (except Alaska,) includhiga portion of Canada 

 on the North, and a strip of Mexico on tlie 

 South. The peninsula of Florida extends be- 

 low the southern line of latitude we have 

 above mentioned, a considerable distance. 

 The United States lie between the 7th degrees 

 east, and the 47tli west, from Washington, in 

 their longitudinal location, and between the 

 G9th and 127th west from Greenwich. We 

 don't pretend that this is geographically cor- 

 rect to the minute, but the territories we liave 

 mentioned are included within the latitudinal 

 and longitudinal lines we have enumerated, 

 except, as before mentioned, Alaska on the 

 north, and Florida on the south ; and our ob- 

 ject in making these geographical notations, is 

 to illustrate, not only the pussihilitij of suc- 

 cessfully growing the "Japanese Persimmon"' 

 in latitudes of our country that are parallel 

 with tliose in its native country, but also its 

 probability. It is true tliat temperatures of 

 latitude are not always the same in difierent 

 longitudes, and limited territories surrounded 

 by water are also more or less affected cli- 

 matically by such situations, and this is also the 

 case, in some degree, by coast or inland locality. 

 But we may fairly infer that time will as suc- 

 cessfully work an acclimation in this fruit, as 

 it has done witli melons from Asia, pears 

 from the East Indies, filberts from Greece, 

 walnuts and peaches from Persia, beans from 

 Egypt, cucumbers from the Tropics, apples 

 from the East, chestnuts from the Sardis, 

 cherries from Asia, apricots from Armenia' 

 and many other species of vegetation, now 

 successfully cultivated within our territory, 

 whicli were originally brought from remote 

 localities. The proper northern protection 

 and southern exposure are also involved even 

 in the successful cultivation of many of the 

 fruits which are now acclimated amongst us, 

 and we may expect that it will be equally, if 

 not more important, in this fruit. We are 

 advancing in years — on the downhill of life — 

 and we therefore are not sanguine of seeing 

 the Japanese Persimmon becoming a subject 

 of general culture, but we verily believe that 

 our posterity u-ill, and if we can benefit pos- 

 terity we are willing to abnegate ourself. 



There is a latitudinal belt including the 

 Soutliern and Border States, in which it can 

 unquestionably be successfully cultivated, if 

 it will not thrive farther north ; in Southern 

 and middle California it thrives as well as it 

 does in .Japan itself, and as a general rule 

 averages larger fruit. Among the liill and 

 forest locations of southern Lancaster cAunty 

 it ought to flourish, and no doubt will, if pro- 

 erly cultivated. We remember well the time 

 when our common tomato was regarded as 

 exclusively a house plant, and was i)otted 

 and raised merely for an ornament. Nobody 

 thought of growing it out in the garden, and 

 this was the same witli the egg-plant, but 



time and practical experience has solved the 

 problem and has wrought such a change as 

 demonstrates that there is no crop more hcalth- 

 fid than the tomato crojj, and as a general 

 thing it is also remunerative. 



If those of our patrons who desire to make 

 a trial in cultivating the fruit will send to 

 Mr. Loomis, as above directed, for a descrip- 

 tive circular, they will learn all the particu- 

 lars in reference to its liabits, prospects, and 

 sponsors, and may thus be alile to act with 

 reasonable intelligence upon the sidsject. 



MYSTERIES OF A COLD AIR SPRING.* 



Interesting Description of the Martic Town- 

 ship Cave — Scientific Theories 

 Concerning It. 



Hearing wonderful and seemingly reliable 

 reports of stalactites, immice or volcanic 

 scoria, etc., being found at and in the vicinity 

 of the Wind Cave, in the northwestern sec- 

 tion of Mavtic townslup, Lancaster county. 

 Pa., my mineralogical friend, Geo. S. Lam- 

 born, and myself, recently visited the place to 

 ascertain the facts. 



At York Furnace station on the Columbia 

 & Port Deposit Railroad, we were joined by 

 Mr. .James Clark and his son, of Mount Nebo. 

 We ascended the river hill to the cave by a 

 path purposely prepared for visitors by Mr. 

 John Bair, of York Furnace, distant one- 

 third of a mile south-east of the station. En- 

 tering one of the openings, about large enough 

 to admit one man at a time, and creeping 

 about fifteen feet, we descended into a cavity 

 twelve or fifteen feet in diameter and of equal 

 height, from which a number of horizontal 

 galleries extend in different directions. The 

 largest of these we followed for about eighty 

 feet, to a point where it is closed with loose 

 stones, the passage way varying in width from 

 one to seven feet and from four to fifteen feet 

 high. The smaller galleries do not exceed 

 twenty feet in length. 



Ten yards northeast from where we first 

 entered is another open fissm-e, forty feet of 

 which, to where it is closed with fallen stones, 

 can be seen from the outside. Beyond these 

 stones we descended perpendicularly from an 

 opening above to a depth often feet, by means 

 of a pole and the assistance of the Messrs. 

 Clark. Here the fissure is four or five feet 

 wide, narrowing and deepening as we proceed- 

 ed until it became so narrow that we could not 

 get fiu'thcr. This point we estimated to be 170 

 feet distant horizontally from the place where 

 wu ent(-red, and 85 feet belovv the top of the 

 ground, directly overhead. At least a hun- 

 dred feet of this gallery is so narrow that but 

 one man can pass at at a time, being from ten 

 to thirl y feet high. Tlie sides are regular and 

 mostly solid. We concluded that with proper 

 appliances the narrow point, which was at 

 the extent of our exploration, might be 

 passed. Beyond, as far as we could see, 

 there seemed to be more room. 



There are, however, no indications of a 

 very extensive cave here — a thing not to be 

 expected anywhere in the oldest stratified 

 rocks. The dip of the rocks is from northeast 

 to southwest, with many parallel seams ex- 

 tending northwest and southeast. It would 

 seem that at some great upheaval two of 

 these seams opened, when large blocks of 

 stone fell in and prevented them from clos- 

 ing when the rocks subsided. On the hill 

 above, there are a number of "sinks," show- 

 ing that the stones and earth have subsided 

 into openings below. 



These caves or crevices have been known 

 for forty years as the Cold Air Spring, so 

 named on account of a cold current of air 

 which issues from the openings at times. 

 There was no such current at the time of our 

 visit, but Mr. tUark informed us that lie had 

 observed it so strong as to disturb the leaves 

 around the opening. Our theory for this 

 strange current was that the northwest wind 

 would drive tlirough the lower crevices of the 



'Read before the Linuffian Society Decerober 29, 1ST7, by 

 W, P. Bolton. 



