10 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[January, 



fared as well as the rest — am disgusted — won- 

 der if the others have an intention of quitting. 

 I believe that most of them will, and com- 

 mence on something else. Shouldn't wonder 

 but what this will be the case, and then there 

 will be a rise in prices. Guess I will try it 

 another lick." 



And he does try another "lick," but hosts 

 of otliers have djue this also, and the conse- 

 quence is there is a still further decline in 

 prices, sweeping away all but the tirmest. 

 This was the case in the hop business, in Wis- 

 consin, a few years ago. Hops had been 

 bringing thirty to forty cents n pound, paying 

 extraordinary profits and attracting many 

 into the business, until at last there was an 

 over-supi)ly, and prices fell below the paying 

 point. The course of reasoning indicated 

 above, was adoi)ted by many, and the conse- 

 quence was still lower prices, and in the third 

 year of the decline, I believe some were sold 

 as low as live and seven cents a pound for the 

 new crops, and two and three cents for the 

 cl I (one yo.ar old) crop. Great distress re- 

 sulted in the hop districts, as not only the 

 farmeis failed, but also merchants, who ad- 

 vanced goods on long credits in expectation 

 of being paid when money came in from crops 

 sold. 



In this county the tobacco fever is raging 

 at present, ;\nd there is scarcely any doubt 

 but what there will be another hop story, with 

 the variation of a dilference in crop and terri- 

 tory, and yet there will be more than this 

 difference. As is well known, hops are at 

 their best and consequently at the highest 

 price just after they are harvested and until a 

 new crop comes in ; the one year old crop sel- 

 dom brings more tliau one-tliird to one-half 

 what the new incoming crop can be sold for, 

 and when two or tliree years old is scarcely 

 looked at. Tobacco, on the contrary, when 

 cased, becomes more valuable for a number of 

 years, in comparison to the new crop, but just 

 here the danger is the greater, for there may 

 be a large accumalatiou before prices shovv 

 any slacking off, but when the downward 

 course has begun it will be a long time before 

 bottom is reached. Of course the reasoning 

 on the hop question will be applied to the 

 tobacco, iiud it will be a few years over- raising 

 before tljt re is a halt called; and to make mat" 

 ters wort e tobacco is a somewhat easier though 

 not less costly crop to raise than hops, when 

 laised anf tended as it now is. This will 

 tempt new districts to come in, and such dis- 

 tricts are proverbial for careless handling, but 

 Ihey may make what thf,y consider pretty fair 

 protits ai:d continue to raise this low quality 

 and throwing so much on the market, tliough 

 much of it would be only called "stulf" by 

 the more experienced growers, help to depress 

 the prices of all but perhaps the very finest 

 grades. 



This crash in toliacco may not happen for 

 years, particularly if otlier" crops are fairly 

 renmnerative, but should tliese latter bring 

 low prices for some years, there will then be 

 attention turned to the better paying one of 

 tobacco, and this is one of the crops that can- 

 not bear the increase of area that wheat, corn 

 or cotton can. 1 believe that the oidy safe 

 coiu-se for the farmers of this county and 

 other tobacco growing districts lies iu less 

 acreage and better farming. 



The raising of sheeii for their wool has at- 

 tracted a great deal atteutiim in parts of the 

 far west for a number of years and there 

 have been individuals wlio counted them by 

 the thousands. Several times witliin our re- 

 collection has wool fallen to such low prices 

 that whole flocks have been slaughtered for 

 pelts, in some cases the tallow biing saved, iu 

 others not. Tliis killing is not to be con- 

 founded with that whicli is done to work oft' 

 old sheep, whose best days are over, and are 

 therefore consianed to the tallow kettle, as 

 there can be more money made by this course 

 than to keep them. Aside from the waste of 

 good meat, many condemn this on the score 

 of inhumanity, ba' the same plea could be 

 nrged in favor of supcianuuated horses, which 

 are usually killed when their working days 



are over, or when there is a loss in keeping 

 them longer. 



Just now there is an unusual interest taken 

 in chickens, &c., and one^can scarcely take 

 up a paper devoted professedly to agriculture 

 without seeing the headings: "Profit in 

 Raising Fowls," "Profit in Raising Egn-s " 

 "Profit made from a Dozen Hens," &c. Some 

 of these articles are written by persons who 

 have really made money from raising fowls or 

 eggs, or that have known others to do so ; but 

 there are also many articles sent in lo the papers 

 by fanciers who raise and sell a particular 

 breed and recommend these as the only ne 

 2)lus ultra for all purposes, or the only kind 

 out of which profit is sure when raised for 

 market fowls, or when raised for eggs. My 

 make up may be at fault, but I am always 

 suspicious when a particular thing is so 

 strongly urged to the exclusion of all others 

 of the same kind. There is no doubt tiiat 

 many of those that go into the business of 

 exclusively raising fowls, will find in this as 

 in ail other business ventures, that the sun 

 does not shine all the time. 



It may be claimed by some that specialties 

 are a necessity in some parts, as nothing else 

 can be raised that will pay. This may be in- 

 deed the case in a few, very few, places, luit 

 may not the majority of cases be the result 

 of popidar (sectional) opinion, and not based 

 ou real and trustworthy experiments '? 



When we look to tlie rice fields of Carolina, 

 the cotton acres of the "Cotton Belt," the 

 sugar cane bottoms of Louisiana, or any 

 other place where specialties are carried on to 

 the exclusion of nearly all other farm produc- 

 tion, we find that the few become vastly 

 wealthy ; some make a living but the majority 

 remain poor, and the majority of people in 

 such districts are bound to remain poor; for 

 those that have been more successful will in 

 time possess the lands, and they or their 

 children will be at the beck of the few who 

 have made a specialty pay. 



It may be claimed by some that introduc- 

 ing the cultivation or raising of something 

 new to the district is rather risky, on account 

 of ignorance in cultivation, harvesting and 

 disposing. This might have been the case 

 years ago, but now there is hardly a product 

 raised that has not a special treatise thereon 

 l)y which any ordinarily intelligent person 

 can learn all the ins and outs of the same, and 

 the only contingencies that must be .settled 

 by the undertaker are climate, soil and situa- 

 tion. 



Variety is the antidote of the poison — 

 specialty, and in the district where the great- 

 est variety is raised will be comparatively the 

 greatest number of the class of well-to-d<i and 

 independent farmers found. Another happy 

 result from viiriety will be that the area of 

 land possessed will become less and less, as in 

 a \'ariety one man cannot oversee so much. 

 This will make a closer neigliborhood, land 

 will rise in value with the increase of conve- 

 niences, such as churches, schools and stores, 

 and individuals possessing small farms who 

 have not made much money, but a good liv- 

 ing merely, will find as old age comes on that 

 they arc really pretty well off, on account of 

 the increased value of their possessions. — A. 



B. K. 



* 



FoH The Lancaster Farmer. 

 CHOLERA AMONG FOWLS. 



This disease, so common among fowls of 

 late years, is not, in my estimation, neces- 

 sarily fatal. It may continue on the premises 

 for years and break out occasionally among 

 the fowls, with but little loss, if proper care is 

 extended to them. In this disease, an ounce of 

 preventive is worth far more tlian a pound of 

 cure. A flock of common fowls, especially, 

 win and do become naturalized to the disease, 

 so that but few cases prove fatal, though the 

 whole flock are somewhat affected by it; as 

 for turkeys, and the web-footed family, I can 

 not speak, 



I have a cheap and simple remedy for the 

 prevention and cure of cholera, which I can 



recommend to the readers of The Farmer 



as one, if properly used, that will always 



prove effectual. If the disease is bad among 



them, and there are many deaths, tupentiue 



should be poured quite fi-eely on their perch, 



if they roost iu a house, that they may be 



compelled to breathe its fumes during the 



night. All whole grain, particularly corn, 



should be kept out of their reach as much as 



possible ; and feed them twice a day, with a 



wet feed composed principally of wheat bran, 



with the addition of a little corn meal to 



make the particles adhere better, and render 



the food more edible. This food should always 



be wet, in part at least, by water that has had 



asafoetida in it. For this purpose, a small 



lump of this gum should be kept in a quart 



bottle, fllled with water, and one quart of this 



water will contain a sufficiency of asafcetida 



for one feed. Under this treatment the deaths 



will rapidly decrease, and in less than a week, 



though the disease may still prevail to some 



extent, yet no deaths iuay occur. The cure 



behig now eftected, a return can be prevented 



by using this kind of food occasionally, at 



least once in every two weeks, or every week, 



particularly iu the spring and fall, when the 



disease is most likely to prevail. Tliis food 



is the cheapest that can be provided for a 



flock of fowls, and if they were fed two or 



three times a week with this kind of food, I 



am confident that no deaths will ever occur 



from cholera.— IT. M. W., Fulton, 1st mo. id, 



1878. 



^ 



For The Lancaster Farmer. 

 GUINEA FOTVLS. 

 Were it not for the great prejudice to 

 Guineas, on account of their cruelty to other 

 poultry and their disposition to wander afar 

 from home, they would certainly be one of our 

 most popular barnyard fowls. As it is, we 

 consider that the Guinea is judged of much 

 more serious drawbacks than it possesses. 

 Both the faults named can, to a great degree, 

 be overcome — the first by kind treatment and 

 liy hatching the eggs under hens. This also 

 has t!)e eifect of making them more domestic, 

 and then, if they have secluded nests, or there 

 are bushes or coarse grass near Ijy, where they 

 can make their own nests, there will be little 



trouble on account of their roaming. Now, 

 for the merits of the Guineas — no donresli- 

 cated fowl furnishes such rich, game-like 

 flesh, or is so prized by epicures. Their eggs 

 also iiartake of an elegant, rich flavor, highly 

 esteemed. Wliile their eggs are not so large 

 as ordinary hen's eggs, yet they are pro- 

 duced in great abundance, which more than 

 compensates. In rearing young chicks they 

 should be fed very often, as they have small 

 crops and can digest only a small amount at 

 each time. Guineas make excellent " watch 

 dogs," so to speak, giving ample notice of the 

 apiiroach of hen-roost roljbers. In the wild 

 state they mate in pairs, but a domesticated 

 male will readily serve a couple of hens. The 

 small cut given lierewith was drawn from life 

 of a couple of snow white Guineas. These, 

 with their spotless plumage, form a most 

 pleasing contrast on the green grass of the 

 lawn or field. Tliey are more rare than the 

 common pearl Guineas, and while they have 

 no extra merit, yet their beauty will commend 

 them to favorable notice. — W. Atlec Burpee. 



i^ Readers of The F.-vrmer will do well 

 by consulting our club rates. See page 5. 



