1878.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



61 



was nothins etirrinp; in tliat section. One lot of to- 

 liacco ivae sold at tti, !> anil ;i. 



Mit. Mayer reported toMapco sold at low figures, 

 and Webster L. Hersliey reported new erop seed 

 beds had been sown. A number of buyers had 

 visited tbeni but the prices they offered were too 

 low. At I'etersburff lots were sold from liO down to 

 10, 8 and :i, and even less. 



Mr. Wasii.L. Hkrshey reported a s.ale of live 

 acres of tobacco at 15, H and .'>. Three or four buyers 

 had been inspeetintj tobacco but only one of them 

 bought, and ho paid 7 cents in bulk. Auotlwr buyer 

 bought at 10 and :i, 8 and li, and :i, and some was 

 brought to [^ancaster which sold at ti and if. Mr. 

 Dully had 60 acres of tobacco for which he had re- 

 fused 21-', 8 and .5 ; 'JO and .5 ; 18 and .") ; and 1.") and .'). 



Mr. Yeackr reported onc-thinl of their crop sold 

 at prices ranirinp: from 19 down to Hi and 3. 



Mr. Johnston stated that the business was pretty 

 brisk in the city, and prices ranged IVom 1.5 and .5 to 

 8 and ii. 



Mr. Kennedy said he lived near a station, and 

 saw farmers going to the City with samples every 

 day. They found that they had to have money, and 

 would sell at any |)rice. There is so much of this 

 business in Lancaster that the buyers do not find it 

 necessary to run around the country. 



Mr. Landis reported a lot sold in this city to 

 Rohrer as low as 2 and 4. A lot was sold at Oregon 

 at 3 and 3. 



Referred Questions. 



" What variety of tobacco should be cultivated ?" 

 had been referred to Mr. Landis, who answered that 

 he could not answer the question very well, not hav- 

 ing had enough experience. The Kentucky seed leaf, 

 the Connecticut broad and narrow leaf, the Chest- 

 nut leaf, the Pennsylvania seed leaf and other varie- 

 ties each have their advocates, and he did not know 

 which was best. 



In answer to a question by Mr. Kennedy, Mr. 

 Teager described the chestnut leaf as having the 

 leaves very close together, and very narrow ; would 

 color dark. 



Mr. SniFFNER said the trouble was that farmers 

 did not know how to distinguish the varieties of leaf. 

 One man described Chestnut leaf as being wide, and 

 another narrow ; one man said Pennsylvania leaf was 

 brood and another narrow ; how are we to tell which 

 is right ? The same thing happened with Florida 

 leaf. Broad leaf Connecticut is the only leaf on 

 which we can rely. He described the properties of a 

 good leaf; when opened it must be elastic and 

 stretch ; there must be no hardness ; it must have a 

 silky back, with at the same time a good body; it 

 ought to be broad and tapered. It will never get 

 elastic if it is not grown right, and if well grown it 

 can be hung any place and when taken down will be 

 better than a poorly grown plant well hung. Slow 

 growth makes leaves thick and leathery, and rapid 

 growth makes them silky. He recommended ashes 

 and gypsum to make tobacco grow rapidly. 



Webster L. Hershey told of a variety of tobacco 

 that did not produce any suckers. 



" What is the best method of raising plants ?" had 

 been referred to John Brady, who was not then 

 present, but came in afterwards and said his plan 

 was to plow deep in the fall, put on manure heavily, 

 in the spring to rake it oil', put in the seed, cover it 

 with hog bristles, cover with laths, and" he always 

 raised the best early plants. 



Mr. Kennedy said a number of things were 

 requisite. First was a warm situation, on the south 

 or east side of the wall ; next that the ground is not 

 allowed to bake too hard ; sow early. 



Mr. J. Hartman Hershey had hie fence very 

 tight, 60 that the wind could be kept out of the yard, 

 which had a southern exposure. He took three or 

 four spoonfuls of seed, and mi.ved them with a half 

 bushel coal sievings which he sowed over the whole 

 bed two or three times. Then he presses the ground 

 down with a spade. After this he puts bristles on 

 and kept the ground moist. 



"Is early plowing good for the culture of tobacco ?" 

 was referred to Harry M. Mayer, who answered in 

 the affirmative. 



Mr. Wash. L. Hershey plowed both in spring 

 and fall. 



Mr. Landis thought that working and pulverizing 

 of the soil was highly beneficial. He had heard of a 

 good crop being raised on laud from which an early 

 crop of hay had been taken. 



Mr. J. Hoffman Hershey advised early plowing, 

 as early as possible in the spring if not in the fall. 



Mr. Kendio also gave the same advice. If you 

 wait till it gets late to plow, the ground gets rough. 

 Plowing should be done as soon as the ground is dry 

 enough to crumble. Mr. Yeager also gave the same 

 advice. 



Mr. J. Hartman Hershey asked If he plowed 

 now if it would be advisable to plow again about a 

 week or two before he planted. 



Mr. Shiffner advised him not to plow again if 

 he plowed now. 



The Visiting Committee. 



J. M. Frantz, chairman of the Visiting Commit- 

 tee, reported partially, and on motion the committee 

 was continued to make a fuller report. 



Business for Next Meeting. 

 " When is it proper to plant tobacco ?" To Harry 

 M. Mayer. 



" Should the diminution of the area now planted in 

 tobacco be encouraged ?" tJeneral dlBcusslon. 



" Will it pay to pack and store tobacco at present 

 low prices C To Washington L. Hershey. 

 Adjourned. 



^ 



LINN/EAN SOCIETY. 



A stated meeting of the Linna^an Society was held 

 on Saturday, March liOth, the President, J. S. Stahr, 

 in the chair. Seven members present. After at- 

 tending to preliminary matters, the donations to the 

 museum were found to consist of the mounted skele- 

 ton of a turkey (Afclcagris gallopavn) per Mr. Geo. 

 Flick. Oi. motion, a vote of thanks was given him. 

 Branches of peach trees, one showing the excavations 

 of a beetle like that of Scolytus or tomieus, per Mr. 

 U. Smeych ; the other infested with the Lecaneum 

 persicum or peach tree scale insect, per Mr. Gun- 

 dakcr. Flowers of the Kuphorhia poinsetii, raised 

 by Mr. Kathvon, the Nectaries overflowing with 

 honey so as to drip profusely ; taste agreeably sweet. 

 A large-sized oyster shell, densely incrusted with the 

 tubular stony cases of the Serpula, per Mrs. Haines, 

 of this city. Some Micaceous sand; the numerous 

 glistening scales were deemed of mineral value by 

 the finder, per "Charley." Two blown canary eggs, 

 per S. M. Sener. 



Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 

 of Philadelphia, vol. xvii.. No. 100, .May to December, 

 1877 ; pamphlet containing list of surviving members 

 of said society ; annual report, explorations and sur- 

 veys in the Department of the Missouri, by E. H. 

 liuffner, 1st Lieut, of Engineers, U. S. A., sent per 

 Henry Landis, M. D., the corresponding secretary of 

 the "Historical Society," of Reading, Pa., with a 

 printed card asking reciprocal exchange. On motion, 

 a vote of thanks was unanimously given to the so- 

 ciety through their secretary, and the request agreed 

 to. Mrs. Gibbons laid on the table No. 9 of the 

 ./oKrart;, edited by Dr. Jos. Gibbons. The Lancaster 

 Farmer, for March, 1878 ; January and February 

 Nos. of Field and Forest ; four old newspapers, a list 

 of Botanists, United States pamphlet, an old coin, 

 and eight envelopes containing about seventy-flve 

 clippings from papers of Biographical or Historical 

 value, per Prof. S. S. Rathvon. No papers were 

 read ; sundry verbal remarks were made on the 

 honey dropping Euphorbea; query as to its use for 

 bees ; also on the insects on the peach, by S. S. Kath- 

 von ; J. Stauffer made some remarks about these 

 parasitic AnelHdians found on sundry shells and other 

 substances in the sea, with their tortuous stony-cases 

 open at the free end, tapering to a point of attach- 

 ment to the shell, in dense clusters, known as the 

 genus Serpnla. Those are small ; some of the family 

 attain a length of three feet in the exotic oceans. 



Reference was made to a meeting of members at 

 the residence of J. Stauffer, on Friday evening, 

 March 22, to consider the propriety of a change of 

 rooms since the removal of the Athenaeum to the 

 rooms of the Y. M. C. A. No action was taken 

 then. A motion was now made and carried that the 

 former committee appointed to confer with a similar 

 committee of the Y. M. C. A. in regard to the third 

 floor of their building on South Queen street, have 

 plenerary power to make an arrangement mutually 

 satisfactory, if that can be accomplished. Commit- 

 tee on behalf of the Linnaean, S. S. Rathvon, Charles 

 A. Heinitsh and Rev. J. S. Stahr. Four subscrip- 

 tions were signed and given to circulate, granting a 

 certificate of stock and other privileges to all who 

 subscribe ?.5, in order to raise funds to furnish proper 

 cases for the rooms. ?40 dollars were subscribed by 

 members present. Mrs. P. E. Gibbons being about 

 to leave on her mission to the Paris Exhibition, asked 

 for and received a certificate of membership of this 

 society, signed by the President, Rev. J. S. Stahr, 

 and countersigned by the Recording Secretary, J. 

 StaulTer. 



Under scientific miscellany various topics were 

 discussed and suggestions offered. Adjourned to 

 meet on the last Saturday in April. 



AGRICULTURAL. 



Pennsylvania Wheat Prospects. 



The later crop returns to the Prfts and the De- 

 partment of Agriculture at Washington, for Penn- 

 sylvania, show in the average of winter wheat an 

 increase of 3 per cent., or lO:!, as compared with last 

 year, the results of that period being accepted at 

 100. Winter rye stands 101, or an increase of 1 per 

 cent, in acreage. The county in which the greatest 

 increase of acreage of winter wheat is reported is 

 Elk, which stands 1.50 or 5(1 per cent, above the acre- 

 age of last year. Sullivan stands next at 125, and 

 Fayette, Tioga, Erie and Clearfield at 120 ; Wayne 

 at 115; Adams, Cameron, Cambria and York at 110; 

 Chester at 105; Cumberland and Berks at 100. The 

 greatest falling off in acreage of winter wheat Is 

 shown in Monroe, which stands at 40 or 60 per cent.; 

 next is Lehigh, 75; Montour, S5, and Columbia, 90. 

 The remaining cereal producing counties of the 

 State range from 100 to 105. The aggregate pro- 

 duction of last year's crop was 18,000,000 bushels. 



Value of Special Manures. 



At the present time, when there Is so much effort 

 to legislate on special manure matters. It Is well to 

 consider fairly both sides of the question, that no In- 

 justice may be done. It is not the intrinsic cost of 

 the materials sold that gives them their value, but 

 the nature of the soil Itself. A bushel of lime may 

 not be worth twenty-flve cents, but It might be worth 

 a dollar In Its effects on some erop, and the man who 

 discovers this fact deserves some share In the extra 

 seventy-flve cents over and above the first cost of 

 the lime. But the tendency Is to take the market 

 figures of the ingredients as the full measure of 

 value, and to legislate accordingly. 



There is no doubt there Is mucli fraud in fertilizers. 

 Some profess to give an article of great value that Is 

 oidy brick dust and elay. If there is any way to pro- 

 tect cultivators from these scandalous impositions It 

 should by all means be done. 



In regard to the difference between the practical 

 value and the commercial value of these manures, we 

 are glad to see that the chemist of the State Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture of North Carolina, holds the 

 same views with us. In a recent letter Dr. Ledoux 

 says : 



The nqriadtural value of a fertilizer Is measured 

 by the benefit received from Its use, and depends 

 upon its fertilizing efl'cct, or crop-produeing power. 

 As a broad general rule it Is true that Peruvian 

 guano, superphosphates, fish scraps, dried blood, 

 potash salts, plaster, fie., have a high agricultural 

 value which is related to their trade value, and to a' 

 large degree detertnines the latter value. But the 

 rule has many exceptions, and in particular Instances 

 the trade value cannot always be expected to fix or 

 even indicate the agricultural value. Fertilizing 

 effect depends largely upon soil, crop and weather, 

 and as these vary from place to place, and from 

 year to year, it cannot be foretold or estimated ex- 

 cept by the result of past experience, and then only 

 in general or probable manner. 



Right Kind of Farm. 



Nearly every adult in the united countries Is more 

 or less ac(juainted with that large properly situated 

 about six miles out of the town, on the I'erth road 

 and known as the Flint farm. It has for a number of 

 years been owned by .Mr. Samuel .McCrea of this town, 

 who has continued to rent it out from year to year, 

 deriving from its rental quite a handsome amount. 

 For the past four years it has been managed tiy .Mr. 

 Frank McCrea, formerly from Mcrricksville, who 

 has put it in the best possible condition, and has 

 reaped from it some of the best crops ever raised in 

 this section. This spring Mr. McCrea bought the 

 farm out and out, paying for it the handsome sum of 

 $25,000. Our reporter yesterday obtained from Mr. 

 McCrea the following statistics in reference to this 

 year's business on the farm, together with the quan- 

 tity of land tilled. He has reaped and housed 125 

 tons of hay, 1,800 bushels of oats, 900 bushels of 

 barley, 100 bushels of sjiring wheat, 900 bushels po- 

 tatoes, 1,800 bushels of turnips and 100 bushels of 

 peas. Fifty-four cows are kept on the place, the 

 milk being sent to the factory, and during the best 

 part of the season aggregating 0.50 pounds at each 

 milking. Four hired men with seven horses do the 

 work, and they are now engaged in putting In shape 

 50 acres of ground, which will this fall be sowed In 

 rye. The farm comprises .500 acres, half of which 

 (250 acres) Is in a g(X)d state of cultivation, and has 

 upon it some of the best farm buildings in Canada. — 

 JiockviUe {Onl.) Jiecord. 



The Oats Crop. 

 Notwithstanding that so many consider the oats 

 crop to be not so profitable as wheat, rye or corn. Its 

 cultivation is on the Increase, and will continue so In 

 the future, for as a rotation It possesses many advan- 

 tages. Just now we do not hear much as to what 

 there is new in oats. Latterly, since the exposure of 

 the Ramsdell <.fe Co. swindle and the depreciation of 

 the famous Norway there is little change. Our own 

 opinion— whatever It may be worth — has all along 

 been that the best variety of oats for a general crop 

 Is that which has for a series of years been cultivated 

 in any locality with uniform success. By selecting 

 plump, bright, fully-matured seed, sowing It early 

 and giving it fair cultivation, the result will Invari- 

 ably give satisfaction If the season Is propitious. 

 Buying new, untried, high-priced seed, we take addi- 

 tional care in extending to the proihictlon of the crop 

 far more attention than that usually bestowed ; and 

 this Is one of the principal reasons In most cases, 

 why these much-lauded varieties sometimes give 

 very large yields for the first year or two. It has, 

 too, become a well-established fact that imported 

 i seed, whatever may be its reputation abroad, retains 

 Its reputation only for two or three years here, when 

 It is no better than our own old varieties. 



Hauling Manure. 

 In drawing manure, I use no wagon box ; with two 

 stout plank* for the bottom, and two wide boards for 



