The Lancaster Farmer. 



Prof. S. S. RATHVOUr, Editor. 



LANCASTER, PA., APRIL, 1878. 



Vol. X. No. 4. 



CLUBBING. 



We oiler The Fakheu, clubbed with otlier 

 lirst-class publications, at the foUovvinrr prices : 

 Phrenological Joiiriiiil a.m\ Fahmeu - S:5 00, J^..^ 

 ffarper's Monthly i\nt\¥\imKii - - - 5.00, 4.00 

 Harper's [Veckiy luid F.\rmeu . - - .5.00, 4.00 

 Harper's Bazar and Farmer - - - - 5.00, 4.00 

 iy«)-aW 0/ //cdWi and Farmer - - - 2.00, 1.50 

 ' National Live Stuck Journal sluAYakmek '-^.00, 2..50 

 Mount Joy Herald and F AHMiiii - - 2..50, 1.75 

 Friendi, Journal and ViRyiEK - - - ;J.50, 3.00 



The first column indicates the regular 

 prices of the two journals respectively, and 

 the second column the club rates, if the two 

 are ordered together. 



APRIL. 

 The name of this month comes from the 

 Latin Aperilis, which itself is a contraction 

 of Aperilis, from Aperire ; and means to open, 

 because it is the month in which the earth 

 usually opens for new fruits and fiowers, as 

 well as vegetation in general. In old French 

 it was called Abreen ; modern French .^lc)-i7 ,• 

 Portugese and Spanish vl6ri7 ,• Italian ^4pn7c. 

 According to our present time-calciidor it is 

 the/o!()-(/i month of the year, but anciently, 

 on account of this opening quality, it was re- 

 garded as the first month. And, indeed, for 

 all practical purposes, agriculturally con- 

 sidered, we may still regard it as the first 

 month ; for, no matter what the cliaracter of 

 the preceding winter has been — whether mild 

 or severe — not much can be expected in vege- 

 table development until the advent of April. 



Kitchen-Garden Calender for the Middle States. 

 "Now is the time to plant and .sow if we 

 would hope to reap. Those of us who do not 

 avail ourselves of the i)re.sent need not 

 expect to profit in the future. The exact 

 time, however, in which certain seeds must 

 be sown must depend not only on location, in 

 respect to latitude, but also on the nature of 

 our soil ; if it be heavy a little delay will 

 rather promote than retard our object. It is 

 impracticable underthe contingencies to which 

 we' are subjected to give undeviating direc- 

 tions — the common sen.se of each one must be 

 brought into requisition. Artichokes plant ; 

 dress. Asparagus sow, if uot attended to last 

 month. This vegetable is now cominsr into 

 season. Whenever practicable, a bed of sufii- 

 cienfsize should be made to permit an ample 

 supply without cutting every feeble shoot 

 which peeps above the surface ; indeed, where 

 space and means admit, two beds should be 

 maintained and cut alternate seasons. The 

 newcollossal appears to sustain its reputation. 

 Beans, bush or bunch, sow. Beets, early and 

 long, sow. Broccoli, Purple Cape is the best 

 to sow. Cabbages, Drumhead and Flat Dutch, 

 sow freely, that there may be enough for the 

 fly and to plant ; also, other varieties described 

 in catalogues and books, which will afford an 

 uninterrupted succession, so desirable in every 

 country family. Carrots, Early Horn and 

 Long Orange, sow. Cauliflower, late, sow. 

 Celery sow, if not sown last month. Cress, 

 sow. Cucumbers, Early Frame, sow in a warm 

 spot. Horse-radish, plant, if not already done. 

 Hot-beds, attend to. Leek, sow. Lettuce, 

 sow in drills ; also plant from beds of last 

 autumn's sowing. Marjoram, sweet, sow. 

 Mustard for salad, sow. Mushroom beds, 

 make; attend to those already formed. Nas- 

 turtiums, sow. Onions, plant Buttons for 

 table use, and sow thickly for sets. Parsley, 

 sow. Parsneps, sugar, sow. Peas, early 

 and late, for a succession, sow. Pota- 

 toes, plant plenty of the Early Rose and 

 Suow-flake for the maiu supply during sum- 



mer and autumn. Kadisli, Long Scarlet, and 

 White and Hcd Turnip, .sow, it not alreaily 

 sown ; also, the (iolden Glabe and While 

 Summer for succession. Salsify, sow. Sage, 

 sow or plant. Spinai'h, the Savoy, .sow at 

 short intervals. Thynie, sow or jilant. To- 

 matoes, sow, to .succeed those Sown in hot- 

 beds. Turnips, sow, if not sown last month — 

 they may succeed. In short, this is the sca.son 

 for the main sowin,g and planting in tlie Mid- 

 dle Stales. Some tender vegetables nuisl, of 

 course, be deferred until next month, which 

 we will then refer to. It is presumed the 

 reader full^' appreciates the importance of ob- 

 taining the seeds which he designs to sow from 

 a reliable source, else all his labor maybe cast 

 away, and instead of reaping the reward 

 whicii attends well-directed efforts, a barren 

 harvest will prove his only recompense." — 

 Landreth''s Rural Jtegister. 



Health Suggestions. 



"As the spring advances we should modify 

 our diet to suit the altered condition of nature. 

 Less cornmeal, hominy, milk and other higlily 

 carbonized articles should be eaten. In brief, 

 wtiat was said on former occasions on this 

 subject, should be urged now ; that is, if a 

 greater proportion of fruits, and especially of 

 tart fruits, were used at this season of the 

 year, we should have less of hissitude and 

 spring sickness. If a person eats properly 

 and lives correctly in other respects, there is 

 no reason why he should uot feel as well in 

 spring time as at any other season. But he 

 must not think of indulging himself in other 

 respects, and then ward olf all evil results by 

 eating fruit or some good thing. Moreover, 

 those people who eat largely of meats, fats 

 and greasy food will often conclude that fruits 

 do not agree with them, tliough the fact is 

 that the fruits and the fat do not harmonize 

 with each other." 



"If one is bilious or troubled with humors 

 and a dyspeptic tendency, he should find relief 

 and strength and satisfaction in a diet which 

 includes wheat meal bread, crushed wheat 

 mush with date sauce, cornmeal mush with 

 fig sauce, oatmeal mush with grape sauce, 

 rye bread with apple sauce, Graham crackers 

 with canned fruits, &c., &c. Vegetable eggs 

 are excellent if you insist on the name of 

 animal food. Mix equal parts of Graham 

 flour and cornmeal with the coldest water ; 

 knead thoroughly into a stiff dougli ; make 

 into cakes of the size and shape of anj' fowl's 

 egg you please, with a stewed fig inside, and 

 bake in a hot oven." — Wells'' Annual Ikalik 

 Almanac. 



To one having a great a petite, a large 

 stomach, powerful digestion, and much vital 

 energy, we would suggest an ostrich egg — if 

 not a "mare's egg" — as the proper "size and 

 shape" of the egg to be formed. Under cer- 

 tain conditions and in the present physically 

 demoralized state of the human family, the 

 foregoing suggestions are no doubt, in the 

 main, good ; but there has been many an oc- 

 togenarian and ccntennarian wlio never heard 

 of them. No doubt we are all in the habit of 

 eating too much meat and fat, and do not 

 make the necessary seasonable discrimination 

 in the use of food, but we find the bread used 

 among our farmers generally far preferable to 

 the stufls called bread in the above paragraph, 

 and as likely to prolong life and healtli as they 

 are. Poor families, compelled to live on 75 or 

 80 cents per day, could hardly atlbrd to pur- 

 chase the fruits therein named. Fruit, and 

 especially canned fruits, are about the most 

 expensive articles any one could live on. It 

 will be a good time for poor afflicted and dis- 

 eased humanity, when the time comes when 

 the poor can atlbrd to freely use it as articles 

 of daUy food.— Ed. 



SOMETHING GOOD AND TRUE. 



We call the special attention of the readers 

 of The Fah.mkh to tlie card of ilr. C. H. 

 Anderson, in the advertising columns of this 

 number of our journal, not only as something 

 new, but also something "good and true." 

 The intrinsic mt^rits of "Iron .Stone" as a 

 water and drain pipe, are sullicient of them- 

 selves to recommend this material to the con- 

 fidence of the ))ulilic. Mr. Ander.sou is so 

 respectably endorsed by those who have used 

 the "Ardeidieim Iron Stone Pipes," and is 

 .socially so highly connected in this county, 

 that we believe our farmers may repose the 

 utmost confidence in him, especially as 

 through the superiority of his wares he has 

 Ijcen enal)led to build up a llourislnng busiuess. 



MILK, CHEESE AND SUGAR 

 Are all articles of prime necessity, and are 

 also products of agriculture ; the first two are 

 now produced largely by co-operative effort 

 among the farmers, and tlie last can t)e as well, 

 if the cheese factories now organizeil would 

 add tlie retpiisite machinery for grating and 

 pressing the sugar beets; such as is now used 

 for making cider, and such pan as is used for 

 evaporating sorghum juice, will answer the 

 jnirpose as well as that more costly. If the 

 farmers .sliould raise the Sugar beets, the pulp 

 and leaves of which are good for stock, par- 

 ticularly milch cows, improving the quality as 

 well as increasing the quantity of the milk 

 produced; the patrons of the cheese factory 

 would be benefited pecuniarly, and as cheese 

 is an article of large export demand and 

 sugar principally imported, if these interests 

 were united, as suggested above, it would bene- 

 fit the whole county, and the dairy interest in 

 particular. The cost of the necessary appa- 

 ratus is but little and the product large ; it 

 adds another remunerative crop to those now 

 grown, and as all the mineral elements are 

 again returned to the soil, its capacity for 

 larger crops is increased without any extra 

 expense, which enables the farmer to carry 

 more stock, and consequently increase his 

 profits from the sale of its products. — Andrew 

 If. Ward, Bridyewater, 3Iass. 



UNITED STATES ENTOMOLOGIST. 



We understand that Prof. C. V. Riley, late 

 State Entomologist of Mis.souri, and the head 

 of the United States Entomological Commis- 

 sion, is a candidate for the position of Ento- 

 mologist of the Department of Agriculture. 

 Professor Riley has a record unequaled by 

 any entomologist in the country for actual 

 work iierformed during the insect plagues of 

 the last few years. In the above-mentioned 

 capacities, he has done work of great value to 

 the whole country, especially in the study of 

 the potato beetle and the Western grasshop- 

 per. It is true, that he was most favorably 

 located ; but he saw the opportunity, acted 

 at once, and so intelligently, energetically and 

 effectively as to i)Ut the means in the farmers' 

 bands to conquer their terrible enemies, and 

 no more can be asked of the greatest general. 

 He has shown himself master of the situation, 

 and it is due to Ike country that he be placed 

 in a position where he can do the most effec- 

 tive work Tltrec hundred million dollars is 

 the amount of lo.ss ascribed annually to insect 

 pests in this country ; yet wliile the past 

 entomologists of the Department of Agricul- 

 ture may have been able men, they have not 

 l)een made of the metal required to battle 

 such powerful hosts. Professor Riley does 

 possess tlie ability to act in such emergencies, 

 and sliould be given the opportunity to do the 

 most possible good. 



With him as the Entomologist, the Depart- 

 ment o£ Agriculture would not be placed in 



