The Lancaster Farmer. 



Prof. S. S. EATHVON, Editor. 



LANCASTEPx, PA., MAY, 1878. 



Vol. X, No. 5. 



CLUBBING. 

 We ofter The Faumek, clubbed witli other 

 first-class iniblications, at the following prices : 



r/irciioloi/icitl Journal ami F.iUMEU - ?'.! 00, $.'..50 



Jlarper's MoutUhj aud VMiiii!.ii - - - .5.00, 4 00 



Harper's Weekly and F.mimhk - - - 5.00, 4.00 



Harper's Bazar ami F.^k.mkk - - - - 5.00, 4.00 



Herald of Jleallh&mWkHtiKn - - - 2.00, 1.50 



National Liiv Slock Journal Ai\A.Vk\n\v.v. H.OO, 2.50 



Mormt Joy Herald siwii V \lii\EYi. - - 2.50, 1.75 



Friendi Journal ami F.\ii.mer - - . ."..50, S.OO 



The first column indicates the rcgidar 

 prices of the two journals respectively, and 

 the second column the club rates, if the two 

 are ordered together. 



ABOUT POTATOES. 

 " Circumstances alter cases, " as a general 

 rule, nevertheless, there are occasionally 

 "hard cases" which no circumstances can 

 alter. But it is not with the.se that we have 

 to do in these remarks. The contribution of 

 A. B. G., in another place in this number of 

 The Faiimer, on early and late planting of 

 potatoes, recalls one or two very peculiar ex- 

 periences we had thirty-five or forty years ago. 

 On one occasion we planted a lot in potatoes 

 in the month of May — neither too early nor 

 too late — and we realised the best crop and 

 the largest tubers of anj' one in the town 

 where we lived, in th.at season, and the fol- 

 lowing are the circumstances that altered the 

 case. The seed consisted of "small pot.atoes," 

 planted whole. The se.ason was a remarkably 

 dry one, and adil to this the fact, that from 

 certain causes, that were beyond our control, 

 we were unable to give thena much cultiva- 

 tion. We hired some boys to hoe and weed 

 them, but they did the work very imperfectly, 

 for in a short time the whole enclosure be- 

 came overgrown with rank weeds, and, singu- 

 lar enough, the weeds seemed to be the only 

 vegetation in the lot that showed any special 

 thrift, and the potato toivs became entirely 

 hidden by them. The drougth was so very 

 severe, just at the period too when potatoes 

 need moisture, that, of course, we expected 

 np potatoes. In the fall a neighbor proposed 

 to dig them out "on the halves," to which we 

 readily assented. The result surprised us, it 

 also agreeably surpri.sed our neighbor, and 

 everybody else who saw it. It is true the crop 

 was only an ordinary one, but it was extra- 

 ordinary when compared with the crops of 

 others, for there was no "[latch" of the same 

 area in the town, or perhaps in the township, 

 that produced such a yield, either in quantity 

 or quality. The qualifying circumstances 

 were these : The weeds overshadowed tlie 

 ground and prevented the evaporation of the 

 moisture, and that altered the case ; but, of 

 course, it would never do to let rank weeds 

 grow, per se, in order to secure a crop of pota- 

 toes. On another occasion the season was an 

 exceeding wet one, and we put the same lot 

 in potatoes, from fine large seed, which had 

 been brought down the Susquehanna, on an 

 ark, from "York State." The stone-coal 

 ashes from three sliups, on the lot, were dis- 

 tributed pretty thickly over the lower end, 

 ■where the ground was also low ; indeed, in 

 some places the seed were covered entirely 

 with ashes. The yield in the fall was large 

 on the whole enclosure, but the jiotatoes 

 there, and also elsewhere, rotted in the ground. 

 But on that part of the lot which received the 

 coal ashes, there was not only an abundant 

 yield, but al.so a fine and healthy one. Xone 

 of the potatoes rotted, either in the ground, 

 or after they had been taken out of it. In 

 that part of the lot which received no ashes 

 the potatoes were embedded in solid earth, 



and they left their impre.ssions in it as clear 

 and distinct as if they had been enveloped in 

 a plaster of Paris mould, and the one-third, 

 or one-half of every tuber was black with the 

 "rot." The modifying circumstances which 

 altered this ease, we appreliend, were the.se. 

 The healthy development of the tuber of the 

 potato re<iuires a medium (pianlity of mois- 

 ture at a certain period of its growth. It also 

 requires air, but little or no light. The loo.se 

 ash soil permitted the excess of moisture 

 either to pass off by evaporation or to pass 

 downward, and thus prevented unhealthy 

 saturation, and it also admitted air. The.se 

 conditions were neutralized by the super- 

 abundant moisture at other places, and also 

 the want of air. Although this case may 

 illustrate the value of coal ashes in mellowing 

 the soil in a very wet season, yet it does not 

 indicate their absolute necessity under other 

 more favorable circumstances. 



At best, these exi)eriences are merely em- 

 pyrical, and inculcate no general principles in 

 the cultivation of the potato ; nevertheless, 

 they may shadow forth, or faintly hint what 

 might be, or what ought to be done under 

 similar contingencies. The potato crop is 

 often destroyed, or the quality of the tuber is 

 marred by too much or too little moisture and 

 heat at a particular period of development. 

 In the same season it often occurs that those 

 planted early make a good crop, both in 

 quantity and quality, whilst those planted 

 late may be a total failure. The reverse of 

 this is also as frequently the case. It has 

 also occurred that very early and very late 

 planting have matured good crops, whilst the 

 intermediate plantings have failed, and the 

 converse of this has also occurred. But still, 

 these results are Ijy no means arliitrary, but 

 are the effects of existing causes, which we 

 have failed to recognize or comprehend. Of 

 course, we can exercise no control over either 

 a wet or a dry season — we cannot stop the 

 rain when we have enough of it ; neither can 

 we compel it to rain when we greatly need it. 

 We might overcome some of the evil efl'ects of 

 the former by drainage or absorbents, and of 

 the hitter by irrigation, if we just knew be- 

 forehand that these contingencies would super- 

 vene, but our knowledge of meteorology is 

 yet too limited to reach any safe conclusions 

 upon tlie subject, except, perhaps, in a few of 

 the most simple cases. 



AN AGED APPLE. 



To-day, May Gth, Mr. L. S. Heist placed in 

 oin- hands an apide of the crop of 187(5, which, 

 from all external appearance, might remain 

 in a sound condition a year or two longer. It 

 seemed to be a sort of "Busset," and was as 

 solid and unspecked as when it was first 

 gathered from the tree, and retained in a re- 

 markable degree its apple flavor. 



Mr. B. obtained it from Mr. .Joseph Eby, 

 of Hothsville, Warwick twp., in this county, 

 who states that thirty years .ago Mr. Frederick 

 Swope, of Leacock twp., had grafts sent to 

 him of a "hasting winter apple," but the 

 name it was known by then has become lost, 

 and it is now offered for a re-name. 



We would respectfully refer the subject to 

 the Agricultural and Horticultural .Society ; 

 and as Mr. Swope seems to have been the first 

 propogator of it in the county, so far as we 

 have any positive information, we would sug- 

 gest "6'(('o;)o".s- ia,--(i'»f/." There are many va- 

 rieties of the api)le — and good varieties too — 

 "laying around loo.se," in different parts of 

 the county, without a name ; except, perhaps, 

 some local name not known outside the fami- 

 lies of those who pos.sess them. And, when 

 these are oll'ered "for a name" at the meet- 

 ings of the local society, very often they are 

 not even noticed iu the proceedings. Now 



tliis, to us, seems to be all wrong. In a pro- 

 gressive as.sociation that which is unknown by 

 a distinctive title ought to be as important an 

 obj(>ct of its solicitude as that which is already 

 known. Such societies should have a conijie- 

 teut, responsible and aggressive committee on 

 nomenclature, and new or unknown fruits 

 submitted to them should be recognized, and 

 named at once, iit least provisionally, " with- 

 out fear, favor or afl'ection." 



ATTRACTION EXTRAORDINARY. 



The Art Exhibition and Liunaan .Museum, 

 now open at the Hall of the Y. M. C. A., No. 

 22 South (^uecn street, in Lancaster city, is 

 the finest exhibition of the kind that has ever 

 been presented to the public of our county, 

 and we would advise all our readers to go 

 and see it on their visits to the city. The 

 three stories of the building are entirely occu- 

 Iiied by rare work of nature and art, and no 

 one can examine them and go away without 

 being in some way informed or benefited, for 

 it presents a feast to the mind of man that inci- 

 dentally must benefit his body al.so. As this 

 exhiliition in its jircsent collective form will 

 oidy be kejit open for one week yet, go and see 

 it immediately. 



The I>inua'an Museum on the .'?d story will, 

 however, bo permanently open to the public, 

 under such rules as may hereafter be announ- 

 ced. 



^ 



ABOUT MAY. 



The first of May, 1878, (May-day,) goes on 

 record as niarvelously fine ; fully realizing the 

 most i)oetic idea of our youthful days. A 

 beautiful first of May had, of late years, so 

 far resolved itself into a myth that the august 

 fathers, who direct our school system, had 

 long since entirely ignored it and changed 

 "May-day" to the first of .luiie, which the 

 present year seems likely to throw into the 

 lap of harvest — hay-harvest at least. 



Mai) is not derived from Maia, the mother 

 of *Mercury — according to the usual, or com- 

 mon idea — because the word existed long be- 

 fore either Mercury or Maia had been intro- 

 duced. It is from the Latin Maius, i. e. Mii'jus, 

 which is from the root 3I(uj, the same as the 

 Sanskrit Mith, to grow, and means the grow- 

 ing or shooting month. The Roman youths — 

 according to Polydore Vergil — used to go into 

 the fields and spend the Calends of Jilay in 

 dancing and singing, in honor of Flora, god- 

 dess of fruits and tlowers ; and from this cus- 

 tom the English, and our May-day, was de- 

 rived, but we have seen our " youths and 

 maidens" shivering around a stove on that 

 day. 



Kitchen-Garden Calender. 



In the Middle States, during the past month , 

 some of the hardier vegetables have been 

 sown, and by the middle of the present one 

 all will have been put in ; hence the labor will 

 now mainly consist of tlu' various operations 

 of transplanting, thinning, weeding, hoeing, 

 iVic. Tlie following alphabetical directions 

 will serve as a reminder to the uni)racticed 

 gardener, who is also referred to the directions 

 lor April. 



Beans, Bush, jilant for succession ; Lima, 

 Carolina, and other pole-beans may now be 

 planted. Ilrdu, long, sow. Cabbaye, i)lant ; 

 sow seed if not done last month. Cupskum 

 (pepper), i)lant. Carrot, long orange, sow. 

 Caulijiotcrr, in frames, remove gla.sses. Celery, 

 weed ; crops which have failed when first 

 sown repeat .sowings. Cuntntber, early frame, 

 plant. Lettuce, Large Cabbage, and India and 

 Dutch-Butter, sow in drills to stand ; thin out 

 if too thick. Melons, plant ; of the Water, 



'Rev. S. Cobtum Brewer, 



