76 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[May, 



are lost and the plant assumes the appearance of 

 ■woody fibre. None of the grasses change more 

 rapidly or show a greater contrast between early and 

 late cutting than Hungarian. 



And I am confident that the prejudice against and 

 possibly unfavorable results from Hungarian haj'are 

 caused by this error, as there is a wider diflerence of 

 opinion on this than on any other grass grown in this 

 section. One of the principal causes of so much in- 

 ferior hay being made is the custom of sowing clover 

 and timothy together, which do not ripen at the same 

 time; therefore cutting is put off until the timothy 

 has bloomed ; meanwhile the clover has become so 

 ripe that it can by no method be cured into good hay. 

 If cut in such advanced stage and get a few soaking 

 rains while curing, it will smell and taste much like 

 cloverseed straw, and not be much better as hay. 

 On the other hand, when clover is cut when it con- 

 tains the largest amount of sweet juices, although 

 more difficult to cure, it will bear more rain, and at 

 the same time will not sustain the damage that it 

 will when cut over ripe. I have for years made it a 

 rule to cut grass earlier than my neighbors, and have 

 frequently wished I had been a little earlier. I am 

 also quite confident that any reasonable farmer that 

 will cut part of his grass quite early, and some quite 

 late, and feed it separate to milk cows, week about, 

 his hay crop will not suffer afterward by getting too 

 ripe on the stem if he can avoid it. What I have 

 said refers more emphatically to clover, but have no 

 doubt will to a great degree apply to all grasses for 

 hay. A word with reference to curing. When the 

 haying period arrives the general anxiety is for a 

 clear sky and hot sun, which will of course facilitate 

 haymaking, but invariably at the expense of much 

 of the best qualities of hay. 



This will no doubt be considered heterodox doc- 

 trine, but only because it is unpopular. I do not wish 

 to be understood as recommending damp or wet 

 weather for curing hay, but if it were possible to dry 

 it in the shade, it would vastly improve its quality. 

 Another serious mistake is that of housing hay too 

 dry, which leaves it brittle and dusty always, while, 

 when put away just sufficiently dry so as not to 

 mould or mowburn, it is far superior. 



Over-ripe and over-dry hay will, however, be much 

 improved by cutting and steaming or scalding, which 

 will make it to be easier digested, and the nutriment 

 which it contains more available : but no artificial 

 preparation can restore tlje saccharine elements that 

 had been lost by over-ripening or over-drying. The 

 hay-tedder plays an important part in curing hay 

 properly, as by no other method can grass he so 

 evenly cured with the same expense. 



It seems strange that our farmers of this section 

 are so far behind with this almost indispensable im- 

 plement. 



In conclusion I would say, in order to secure hay 

 of the best quality, such as will make most milk and 

 butter and keep animals in best condition, cut grass- 

 es when they contain the largest amount of saccha- 

 rine matter ; cure, if possible, without too much 

 hot sun ; get it dry as evenly as possible, and gather 

 it as damp as it will allow without mow-burning, 

 and you will have all that can reasonably be desired 

 for good hay. 



J. C. Linville said he agreed with the essay- 

 ist in every particular. It is very necessary to cut 

 timothy early, as by doing so a second crop will im- 

 mediately spring up, which will not be the case if it 

 is cut later ; the ground is thus well covered with a 

 second crop and protected from drying out. It is bad 

 policy to have .the ground bare in July, as it will be- 

 come baked and burn out the roots of the grass. 



William McComsey spoke of the subject as being a 

 very important one; he agreed with the views ex- 

 pressed by the essayist. 



S. P. Kby, esq., city, asked the essayist if he ap- 

 proved of salting the hay before putting it in the 

 mow. 



Mr. Engle said he did not ; salting was sometimes 

 done by persons who cut their hay too late, to make 

 it more palatable to the stock. 



Henry Kurtz did not believe in cutting hay too 

 early. If clover is cut too green it is apt to mould ; 

 it won't dry right. Early cut hay may be best for 

 milk cows, but it is not so good for horses or other 

 stock. Besides, by cutting later a much larger 

 quantity of hay is obtained. 



Levi W. Groif, of West Earl, differed from Mr. 

 Kurtz. For cattle he is very sure the grass should 

 be cut young. As to salting hay, he had done it to 

 his sorrow some forty years ago ; the result being 

 that his horses coughed all winter. 



Mr. Kurtz said perhaps the hay was dusty, or 

 perhaps the horses ate too much of it because of the 

 ealt. 



Mr. McComsey said if grass be allowed to mature 

 it will yield more hay. If he was making hay for 

 market he would allow it to mature and thus get 

 greater weight. 



Wm. II. Brosius, of Drumore, asked if timothy 

 should be cut as soon as the heads are in bloom. 



Mr. Engle answered that he sometimes cut timothy 

 before it was in full bloom. When timothy and 

 clover are sown together it is impossible to cut them 

 when both are at their best, because the clover 

 matures before the timothy. He would, however, 



cut the hay before the clover heads begin to fade. 

 He does not think that salt in hay causes horses to 

 cough ; it is more likely caused by the dust from 

 over-ripe hay. Landlords often prefer over-ripe hay 

 because horses eat less of it. 



The Place of Meeting. 



S. P. Eby, esq., from the committee appointed at 

 a former meeting to procure a room for the perma- 

 nent meetings of the association, reported that the 

 hall of the Young Men's Christian Association could 

 be secured for $2.5 dollars per annum, including 

 furniture, fuel, janitor, etc. 'The room in City Hall, 

 lately vacated by the Athenaeum, could be had at a 

 nominal rent of $5 per year, but the association 

 would have to repair and furnish it, and find fuel 

 and janitor. 



After a long debate, in which some of the members 

 strongly favored going to the T. M. A. Hall, and 

 others as strongly advised remaining in City Hall, 

 the matter was recommitted to the committee, to 

 ascertain whether one or the other of the proposed 

 rooms cannot be leased for four or five years. 



A vote of thanks was extended to Mr. Engle for 

 his interesting essay. 



" How to make chickens profitable," was the sub- 

 ject of a lengthy essay read by S. P. Eby, esq., who 

 gave minute and elaborate instructions, from the 

 selecting of the eggs and the hatching of the chicks 

 up to the time the full-grown fowls are marketed. 

 (Seepage 71.) 



The essay was followed by a debate, in which 

 several members participated, most of them agreeing 

 with the essayist, to whom a vote of thanks was ex- 

 tended. 



The Visit to Groff's Farm. 



The committee appointed at last meeting to visit 

 the farm of Levi W. Grotf, West Earl township, to 

 examine and report upon his new mode of cultivating 

 wheat, reported that they had set four different days 

 upon which to make the visit and were as ofteu pre- 

 vented from going by heavy storms of rain. As it 

 was now getting late in the season, the committee 

 suggested that it would be well to defer the visit 

 until just before harvest time. The committee sin- 

 cerely regretted the untoward circumstances that 

 prevented the intended visit. 



Mr. Grofl' said he did not censure the committee 

 for not calling upon him, for he knew the weather 

 was unfit on the several days they had set for their 

 visit; he hoped they would have better success next 

 time. He would suggest that a good time would be 

 a few days before the wheat was cut. He would 

 then be pleased to see as many of the association as 

 chose to call. He extended a general invitation to 

 all. Mr. Engle said there were a good many farmers 

 in his section who would like to see his cultivated 

 wheat, and that Mr. Groff had better make prepara- 

 tions for a big crowd. 



Mr. Groff replied that he would be glad to accom- 

 modate all that might come. 



Mr. Groff's mode of cultivating wheat was dis- 

 cussed and approved by several members, those who 

 had seen it growing describing it as being far better 

 than that sown or drilled in the ordinary way. While 

 the latter is much lodged, Mr. Groff's grain is stand- 

 ing straight. 



Levi S. Reist, by permission, presented a circular 

 descriptive of a farm in Rockingham county, Va., 

 now owned by Jaekson Myers, formerly of Lancaster 

 county. 



The Bee-Keepers. 



Notice was given that a meeting of the Bee- 

 Keepers' Society will meet in this city on next Mon- 

 day afternoon, at IJj o'clock. 



Business for Next Meentig. 



Mr. Kendig, from the Business Committee, pro- 

 posed the following business for next meeting : 



" When is the best time to harvest wheat?" Re- 

 ferred to Peter S. Reist. 



" Root crop culture." Referred to Calvin Cooper. 



Mr. McComsey moved that Mr. Groff's invitation 

 to the society to visit his farm be accepted, and that 

 at next meeting the time for making the visit be 

 fixed, so that the society may go in a body. Agreed 

 to. 



Levi S. Reist presented for a name an apple from 

 the farm of Joseph Eby, Rothsville, Warwick townj 

 ship. The history of the apple is that some tf jirty 

 years ago Frederick Swope, of Leacock, had some 

 apple grafts sent him, which were said to produce 

 apples that would keep from two to three years. He 

 used the grafts and grew a tree, from which the 

 apple here presented was taken. The apple is below 

 the medium size, with smooth glossy skin, of a red- 

 dish golden hue, fine flavor and solid flesh. 



There being no further business offered, the asso- 

 ciation adjourned. 



^ 



TOBACCO GROWERS' ASSOCIATION. 



The regular monthly meeting of the Tobacco 

 Growers' Association was held on Monday afternoon, 

 April 15th. In consequence of the preparations for 

 removal to the Y. M. C. A. rooms, in South Queen 

 street, the Athenteum rooms were not in a condition 

 for use, and the association met in the Common 

 Council chamber instead, 



In consequence of its being court week, of many 

 members being compelled to attend to their political 

 arrangements, and perhaps because of the demoral- 

 ized condition of the market, the attendance of mem- 

 bers was unusually small. 



In the absence of the President, M. D. Kendig, 

 Israel L. Landis was, on motion, elected temporary 

 chairman. 



The regular secretary being absent, Washington 

 L. Ilershey was elected to take his place pro tem. 



The following members and visitors were present : 

 Jacob M. Frantz, Wabank ; Henry Shiffner, Upper 

 Leaeock; Israel L. Landis, Manheim ; Winfield S. 

 Kennedy, Salisbury ; Washington L. Hershey, 

 Rapho ; J. M. Johnston, city ; Clare Carpenter, city ; 

 Frank R. Diffenderffer, city ; Andrew Lane, Man- 

 heim ; Ephraim Hoover, Manheim ; Christian Mus- 

 ser, Pequea, and Mr. Denlinger. 



Report of Visiting Committee. 



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

 mittee, appointed during the winter, made the fol- 

 lowing report : 



Mk. Chairman: The committee appointed by 

 you to visit some of the tobacco growers in different 

 parts of the county and report the result of their 

 observations to this association, attended to the busi- 

 ness assigned them sometime during the month of 

 January, by visiting the eastern portion of the to- 

 bacco-growing area, along the line of the P. R. R. 

 and north and south of it. While the committee do 

 not propose to make any invidious distinction between 

 any of the producers, they nevertheless must report 

 that they found a great difference in the crops of the 

 .the same locality, for which they could only account 

 upon the principle of a difference in the manage- 

 ment, as only a rail fence or a public road divided 

 the good and bad fields. They found crops that gave 

 evidence of careful as well as skillful and intelligent 

 attention, some leaf that was stripped being well as- 

 sorted as to quality, length, &c., and others that 

 showed the want of proper attention in cultivation 

 and handling. 



Your committee next visited parts of the county 

 west and north, taking in the range the localities of 

 the early pioneers in the production of the weed. 

 Here, by reason of a long period of experiments and 

 practice; we found a more advanced state of the 

 various details in the production and handling than 

 elsewhere; particularly is this the case in the appli- 

 ances for handling, housing and storing the crop. 

 Sheds of the most approved kind, with basement 

 and cellar under all, and many other contrivances 

 and devices for the cultivation, spearing, hanging up 

 to wither, removing to the shed, transferring from 

 the wagon to the upper and different parts of the 

 shed, creating and maintaining proper ventilation 

 and moisture in the crop after curing and during and 

 duringthe stripping process, and all the way through 

 all the stages of its passage from the field to the 

 case — all of which must be seen to be appreciated. 

 The committee could not be too strong in their 

 recommendations to all interested in this industry to 

 make a visit through this section of the country and 

 observe for themselves. It is only in this way and by 

 these means that we can save ourselves many annoy- 

 ing and expensive experiments, and save ourselves 

 years of time in attaining that state of improvement 

 (I will not say perfection) which we must attain if we 

 expect to make and continue the business profitably. 

 If there is any one thing over and above another that 

 came to the notice of your committee, it was the ap- 

 parent greedy effort made by too many to overdo the 

 good thing, and thereby destroy, as it were, the 

 whole business. Endeavoring to grow too much is 

 the great evil with too many of our farmers. For 

 reasons not necessary to mention to the intelligent 

 producers, short and imperfect crops, coarse and 

 rough, indifferently assorted and carelessly put up, 

 are found almost everywhere, and furnish the best 

 evidence of over-production and careless farming. 



Your committee are of opinion that some benefit 

 may result from their visit, observations and report, 

 if they refer to errors of omission as well as com- 

 mission on the part of producers, as we sometimes 

 profit from the errors of others more than from their 

 virtues. We do not think that there are as great 

 differences in the soil or kinds of tobacco planted that 

 some ascribe to them ; but that any of the different 

 kinds in cultivation in the county, if planted at the 

 proper time and in soil properly prepared, will pro- 

 duce a desirable quality of tobacco. 



If the farmer will put the same quantity of manure 

 on one acre that he generally puts on two (and we 

 have no doubt barnyard manure is preferable to any 

 other,) and applies the same labor to one acre that 

 he applies two, tops his plants down to 12 and none 

 over 14 leaves, he will raise a quality of tobacco that 

 will astonish him. The leaves will be long and 

 regular, and have that lively elastic body and regu- 

 lar color that constitute a first-class article, and the 

 only kind that will make money for him. He will 

 then have no three-cents-a-pound stuff, but will find 

 eager buyers at 120 cents and upwards all the time. 

 There will be no over-production of this kind of 

 tobacco — never. 



While barnyard manure is preferable to any other, 

 gypsum, wood ashes, hen droppings and varioiH 



