92 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[June, 



of strawberries presented by Henry M. Engle, all of 

 which were very fine. Tbey were Crescent Seedling, 

 the Charles Downing and the Jucunda. 

 On motion, adjourned. 



MAY MEETING FULTON FARMERS' 

 CLUB. 



The May nieetinsf of the Fulton Farmers' Club 

 was held at the residence of Day Wood, Fulton town- 

 ship, on the 4th instant. Visitors present bv invita- 

 tion — Isaac Bradley, Amos K. Bradley, William 

 Shoemaker and Granville B. Wood, M. D. 



The President, Joseph R. Blackburn, being absent, 

 E. Henry Haines was called to the chair. The 

 minutes of last meeting were read and approved. 

 No agricultural or horticultural specimens were ex- 

 hibited. The question, "Is the cultivation of broom- 

 corn profitable?" was asked by S.L.Gregg. The 

 members all thought that in late years corn would 

 be more profitable, though several of them raised 

 enough for their own use. 



Josiah Brown asked if this \\ouId be the proper 

 time to sell A-heat? Nearly all thought it would be 

 better to sell than to hold on to it. E. H. Haines 

 said that you could decide the matter as easily by 

 pitching pennies as by any other way. A few years 

 ago he had gone to the trouble of examining the 

 New York market reports for years back, anil had 

 found that the best time for selling wheat had gen- 

 erally been in September, and February for corn. 



G.B.Wood asked— What is the proper time for 

 BOwing Hungarian grass ? Answer— As early as 

 possible after the corn is planted, though it will do 

 well as late as the 1st of June. Late sbwing, how- 

 ever, is apt to make the harvesting of it come in bad 

 weather. Cut it, when the stalk begins to get yel- 

 low, after the seed is shaped. 



Josiah Brown : Would it not be better to cut grass 

 earlier than we usually do? 



Amos K. Bradley : It is better to cut young for 

 quality, but the quantity is increased by 'letting it 

 stand. 



Isaac Bradley : The^iay is better if you succeed in 

 getting it well made, but it is more difficult to make. 



Wm. King: If hay is cut for sale, the weight of it 

 will be much increased by letting it stand until it is 

 ripe. Wm. P. Haines ailded : And accoi-ding t6 city 

 ideas such hay is preferable. 



C. Sumner Gatchell has been cutting clover when 

 one-third of the heads are dead, but thinks of cutting 

 earlier hereafter . He would cut timothy just before 

 the pollen comes off. 



Josiah Brown had long thought that grass had 

 been left too long before cutting, and spoke of the 

 practice of an old farmer in the neighborhood, who 

 died a few years ago, which was to CAit belbre any of 

 his neighbors. This man was said to have fed his 

 horses very little grain, but they were always in good 

 condition. 



Day Wood asked if it was profitable to raise sugar 

 cane? Only one present thought so, and he did not 

 raise it. 



Dinner and Inspecting the Host's Farm. 



After partaking of a good, substantial dinner, the 

 club, as usual, viewed the live slock and farming 

 operations of the host. After reassembling in the 

 house the nice condition of the fine herd of dairy 

 cows, young cattle, sheep and hogs, were spoken of 

 by nearly all present. The host is a successful 

 breeder of Poland China hogs, and it was noticed 

 that the quality of even this thoroughbred stock had 

 been much improved since the club had last met at 

 the place. 



An article from the Country Oentleman, on the 

 early cutting of grass, was next read by the host, 

 statmg that hay from such grass was worth from 

 four to five per cent, more than when made from 

 grass cut when over ripe — such hay being but little 

 I better than straw. 



This revived the hay question again, and Dr. G. B. 

 Wood asked if it would be advisable to procure hay- 

 tedders? No one present had any experience with 

 them. Several had heard very favorable reports 

 about them, but the general opinion was that the 

 cost of them would overbalance the advantages with 

 ordinary farmers. 



The question— Has the fertility of the farms in this 

 section been decreasing during the last fifteen years ? 

 — was then taken up. 



Win. King thought that if we go no further back 

 than HIteen years we must answer that the fertility 

 of our soils was increasing. For a period previous to 

 that time he thought the productiveness of our farms 

 was not so great as formerly. 



The land had first been enriched exclusively by 

 the use of lime, and farmers had come to the con- 

 elusion that it was all sufficient to keep them up. 

 This was a mistake. Now other fertilizers were being 

 used in connection with it, and the land wag be- 

 coming more productive. 



S. L. Gregg did not think the land less productive 

 than formerly. The seasons for the last five years 

 had not been very good, and as a general thing less 

 hay and straw was raised. With him the lime busi- 

 ness was about played out. 



Wm. P. Haines d"id not think the land better than 



it was'fifteen years ago. The land about here was all 

 made up with lime. Fifty years ago his farm was 

 poor, but lime has brought it to its present state. 

 When farmers made more use of lime they did not 

 break up as they now do. 



C. S. Gatchel knew of some farms that had been 

 brought up with lime," and although lime was still 

 applied to them they were going down, which was 

 evidence that a change of fertilizers was needed. 



Isaac Bradley did not think the land is getting any 

 poorer. For several years there was less rainfall, 

 the streams were low, and vegetation affected there- 

 by. Last year it was better; the steams were full 

 and crops better. 



Dr. G. B. Wood thought the volume of water in 

 Conowingo creek still much less than formerly. 

 There is more clear land, and consequently more 

 evaporation. He cited the experiment of John I. 

 Carter on the Experimental Farm, with 200 bushels 

 of lime per acre. It showed a decided advantage, 

 but did not pay. 



Josiah Brown thought the land as good as former- 

 ly, if not better. The reason why as good crops 

 were not raised was owing to the season. Had been 

 on the farm whei-e he now resides for twenty years, 

 and can raise as good corn as ever, but not as good 

 grass. Has been keeping his place up with lime 

 until within a few years, when it did not seem to be 

 doing as much good as formeiiy ; has been trying 

 other fertilizers since. 



After some other miscellaneous business the club 

 adjourned to meet at the residence of E. Henry 

 Haines, Fulton township, at the usual time. 



REMINDERS FOR JUNE. 



General Suggestions.— Now that strawberries 

 — the most delicious of summer iruits — are coming 

 in, we may be excused for making much of them. 

 Attend to the beds closely, and keep the plants fresh 

 and vigorous, and your daily pickings of the luscious 

 berry will be generous. Put the fruit on the table 

 unhullcd, and eat them with the fingers, or make 

 them into a lily with rice. Put the largest and 

 sweetest currants upon the table on stems. Stew 

 them also with sweet dried apples. Have an abun- 

 dance of the best cherries ; if possible, enough for 

 yourselves, the birds and the children. Teach the 

 latter not to eat I'ruit between meals, and set them 

 the example. Can berries of all sorts, or dry them, 

 and save the juices of all these fruits, too. 



See to the children, their work and play, that all 

 things may be conducive to good. The garden 

 abounds with object lessons. Make them to "under- 

 stand, as far as practicable, whatever they do. 

 Teach them to see and know weeds, and to pull 

 them ; but don't overwork them. That will be the 

 principal work for the garden this month. Put in an 

 abundance of sweet corn for eating green. Where it 

 fails, put in beans, also beans for the main crop (in 

 abundance), more Limas iwd.,white wax. In the 

 house, so plan your supplies That you will have as 

 little as possible in the meal-room to keep through 

 the hot, sultry month. 



It is a good plan in gardening to label everything 

 when planted, and aiso put it down in a blank-book, 

 so that if labels are lost, the kinds can be identified. 

 This book should also record dates and experiments, 

 and therefore be of much value. Watch for currant 

 worms, squash bugs, etc., and destroy the flies and 

 eggs on the leaves before they are hatched. Care- 

 fully put all weeds and garbage into compost heaps 

 and cover with earth. See "How to Raise Fruits " 

 for directions. Price only %\. 



Asparagus beds keep clean. Beans, Bush or 

 Bunch, plant for succession, and cultivate those in 

 growth. Beets, thin the later planting. Broccoli, 

 plant out those sown in April. Cabbage ditto, es- 

 pecially the sorts which it is desired shall come into 

 u.se in September and October, in advance of the 

 winter varieties. Celery, plant out a portion for 

 early use. Cucumbers, sow successive crops. Corn, 

 Sugar, plant for a succession. Endive, tow. Leeks, 

 thin or transplant. Peas, a few may be planted as a 

 succession. 



AGRICULTURAL. 



Hovir to Use Fertilizers. 

 In general, the use of a single fertilizer will be 

 found profitable as a farm practice only in connec- 

 tion with manure or on land in strong heart, and the 

 poor farmer will never succeed in enhancing the 

 cropping capacity of his farm to an increased profit- 

 able position through the use of one fertilizer alone. 

 Much of the discredit which artificial fertilizers have 

 won has arisen from a non-appreciation of the fact 

 that they cannot supersede dung, but must be used 

 in connection with other plant food. A superphos- 

 phate, or a nitrogenous, or a potassic manuVe can 

 always find place on a farm, but can never take the 

 place of manure in farm practice, and the sooner 

 this false hope is destroyed the better it will be for 

 all concerned. A mi.xture of chemicals or other 

 elements containing the food that plants require 

 does, however, offer promise of practical results on 

 the farm, and can be offered in competition with 

 dung, so far as the result in crops is concerned. This, 



then, is the promise of the complete fertilizer ; if the 

 farmer has dung sufficient for five acres only, and 

 wishes to cultivate ten or twenty or more in addition 

 to what his dung supply will allow, then he must 

 rely on the complete fertilizer for every acre in ad- 

 dition to what his dung will cover. The experience 

 of ages has shown the reliability of dung ; all the 

 best modern experiments we have show the efficacy 

 of a mixture of chemicals in taking the place of 

 dung, provided they supplement the soil supply so as 

 to furnish to the crops the elements shown by analysis 

 to exist in dung. We cannot fairly compare a super- 

 phosphate in its results with dung ; a single element 

 with a complete fertilizer. The recognition of this 

 fact by farmers will make a revolution in farming 

 and will disperse much of the fog which iuterested 

 parties have thrown about the question of fertilizers. 

 In a final word, all the best experiences and experi- 

 ments, as we interpret their meaning, point certainly 

 to the facts we here claim, that the single fertilizer 

 element must find its profitable use in connection inth 

 other manures, while the complete fertilizer alone 

 can be expected to furnish material in a form adapted 

 [or farm practice, and is the only form of artificial 

 fertilization as yet discovered which offers a meansof 

 extending an arable land beyond the ability of the 

 dung heeps to supply. — Scietitiflc American. 



Hoeing Wheat. 



The Practical Farmer, in reply to a question as to 

 the practicability of hoeing wheat, says: " The ad- 

 vantages would seem to be the same, in degree at 

 least, as in hoeing corn or any other crop. It de- 

 stroys weeds, loosens up the soil, letting in air and 

 sunshine to tiie roots, giving increased life and vigor 

 to the plant. Hoeing wheat is a new business, com- 

 paratively, in this country, and yet we have records 

 of experiments sufficient to prove that the plant re- 

 sponds to cultivation in a marked manner. We have 

 before us accounts of experiments in Michigan, last 

 spring, with a machine constructed for the purpose. 

 Strips of equal size were hoed and left unhoed, and 

 not one of some five or six experimenters estimate 

 the gain of tfie hoed over that left unhoed at less 

 than twenty-five per cent., and the general opinion 

 seemed to be that the net profits could be doubled by 

 proper cultivation. 



Hoeing wheat in the fall after the plants are fairly 

 established would appear to be beneficial, but the 

 principal benefit is in the spring, as then the ground 

 has become solid and packed. This should be done 

 as soon as the ground has well settled, and grass or 

 cloverseed sowed immediately upon the fresh, mel- 

 low surface. Machines for hoeing have the seed 

 sowing attachment, which does the work all at once. 

 Timotliy or clover will rarely miss when sowed in 

 this way. Wheat that has been drilled in is in the 

 proper shape for cultivation, but, perhaps, as ordi- 

 narily drilled, it is too thick for the best results. It 

 will require a number of well-directed experiments 

 to determine all these points, but these can be con- 

 ducted with so little trouble and expense, that tlie 

 wonder is we know so little about the whole matter. 

 Would it not be well for those readers who have 

 drilled wheat, to try this spring what a single hoeing 

 will have on both wheat and grass or clover sowed 

 after hoeing? Stake out a small plat of definite 

 area, if only a square rod ; give it one good hoeiug 

 as soon as the ground will admit, in the spring, har- 

 vest this square rod by itself and see how it compares 

 with the rest of the field, or with any otiier square 

 rod equal in soil and condition previous to hoeing. 



The Value of Hen Manure. 

 By what we see on the most of farms we are led 

 to believe that but little value is placed on the hen 

 manure, which is left to accumulate wherever it is 

 dropped, until arouud some farmers' premises it 

 might be gathered up by the wagon load. Now this, 

 when properly applied to corn or other crops at 

 planting time, has given the best of satisfaction, and 

 the experiences of those who have used it is that it is 

 far ahead of any fertilizer that can be bought iit the 

 market at §iO per ton. Among farmers there is a 

 difference in the manner which this home-made ■ 

 fertilizer shall be mixed and applied. But the pres- 

 ent opinion of those that have tried it for some timej 

 is, that equal parts of hen manure and plaster be j 

 well mixed uj) together and applied on the hill, asJ 

 soon after planting as it can be conveniently done.l 

 Some have tried mixing ashes with the hen manure,* 

 but after a trial are well convinced that this isj 

 wrong, as the aslies do more hurt than good ; theyj 

 weaken the mixture by letting much of its valuable j 

 properties escape in the atmosphere. Again, others] 

 have applied a mixture of plaster, ben manure and j 

 salt, a small handful on the hill and the corn droppedi 

 on it. But when this is done care must be used or it j 

 will prove too strong for the corn. It may be placed j 

 so close to the corn as to injure the germ so that the 

 seed may not sprout. I once saw a neighbor apply 

 about a quart of hen manure, as an experiment, to I 

 some cabbage plants that he was setting out, which 

 his brother said would surely kill them, but it did ■ 

 not : on the contrary it made them grow very finely, 

 and lie had a very fine lot of cabbage, while some of 

 his neighbors had "uary"one, although their gardens 



