96 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[June, 1878. 



ENTOMOLOGICAL. 



Habits of Curculio. 

 Prof. Riley, of St. Louis, informs us tli.at the cur- 

 culio, as a beetle, wiuters above ground, and seeks 

 shelter under the bark of trees, brush or any other 

 rulibish. The female lives sometimes a year. Its 

 operations upon fruit are mostly performed .at night 

 and during the absence of the sun in cloudy days. 

 Heuee the most successful Jarring is early in the morn- 

 ing and in the evening. The insect always becomes 

 a pupa under ground, and the grub frequently re- 

 mains in fruit that falls, which should be removed 

 and destroyed. During its beetle-life both sexes 

 feed as long as the weather admits of activity, and 

 they attack pip fruit when stone fruit is not to bo 

 had. Jarring should, therefore be repeated every 

 morning and evening from the time the fi-uit is the 

 size of a pea till it is ripe. No doubt this is correct 

 in every particular. Jarring the trees seem to be the 

 most certain mode of getting rid of this destructive 

 insect, and the best way to do this, in order that the 

 tree sliall not be injured, is by removing a low bouirh 

 of the tree within an inch or two of the trunk and 

 strike it with a mallet. A friend in Montgomery 

 county, who has adopted the jarring system, in- 

 formed us a couple of years ago that by this means 

 he always saved his plums, and that he has caught 

 in a sheet, at the first jarring, full one hundred and 

 fifty insects, and at the second about fifty. But he 

 docs not continue it so frequently as Prof. R iley sug- 

 gests. It is best to begin operations early and to con- 

 tinue them at least as long as any of the "little 

 Turks" remain. This is no doubt a "remedy," if 

 properly attended to. 



\A^ire-Worms and Corn. 



One of my neighbors, who is troubled with wire- 

 worms in his land, says he has found a remedy at last. 

 The ground whereon he planted corn this year was 

 inl'ested with the wire-worms, and on a piece adjoin- 

 ing, last year, where he did not try the experiment, 

 his corn was completely ruined. At the time of 

 planting, he soaks the seed in soft soap until it is 

 well moistened, after which it is rolled in plaster 

 until the grains do not adhere to each other, so it 

 can be easily dropped. As soon as the young blades 

 appear a mixture of lime, plaster and ashes, equal 

 parts, is applied, a tablespoonful to each hill ; and 

 he says not one hill is touched by the worms. 



LITERARY AND PERSONAL. 



Fearless Railway Threshing Machine. 



We call the attention of farmers and threshermen to 

 the advertisement of the Fearless Horse-Power and 

 Thresher and Cleaner, elsewhere in this number of 

 our paper. This machine is the only one that re- 

 ceived an award on both horse-power and thresher 

 and cleaner at the Centennial Exhibition, Philadel- 

 phia, and ranks as best of its class. An e.x-President 

 of the New York State Agricultural Society said of 

 Ilarders' Machines, "they are the best ever made," 

 and the same testimony has been borne by equally 

 good authority time and again. For further infor- 

 mation send to Minard Harder, Coblcskill, N. Y. 



The Scikntific Fahmer. — "In the interest of 

 profitable agriculture." Boston, Miiss. E. Lewis 

 Sturteviint, M. D., editor. This journal, to our ap- 

 prehension, is absolutely the best on our exchange 

 list. Its matter is solid and practical, entirely di- 

 vested of that irrelevant garbage which usually fills 

 the columns of more sensational and pretentious 

 agricultural publications. Although it usually con- 

 tains a moderate number of illustrations, yet its letter 

 press is compact, its typography plain and distinct, 

 and its contents, both original and selected, of the 

 the highest order. It contains nothing but what re- 

 lates directly to practical husbandry and domestic 

 economy. Wc believe it has never yet resorted to the 

 expediency of publishing a sensational premium list, 

 and we hope it never may. 



The Matrimonial Advocate. — Published 

 monthly in the interest of love and matrimony. 

 Mount Vernon, Ohio, June, ls78. George W. Me- 

 Whcrter, editor, and issued at 50 cents a year by the 

 United Publishing Company. This is an S p.age 

 quarto. No. 1, vol. 1 of which is now before us. 

 It is the highest toned journal devoted to its peculiar 

 specialty that has ever come under our observation, 

 contemplating the subject not merely from a business 

 standpoint or a mere mattcr-of-tiio7icy, but from 

 moral principle. It proposes to engage in what may 

 be appropriately deemed the greatest undertaking of 

 the age, and if steadfast in principle that, " Without 

 rnc ye can do nothing," it may possess the possibili- 

 ties of efl'ecting some much needed good to poor, 

 blind, self-willed and sensuous humanity. 



Western Inventor, a monthly journal devoted 

 to the interests of engineers, machinists, inventors 

 and manufacturers. "OlBce, No. 11 Pike's Opera 

 House, Cincinnati, Ohio. Price, 50 cents a year, in 

 advance. This is an exceedingly well gotten up and 

 finely-illustrated quarto of 16 pages, the fifth num- 

 ber, tor June, 1878, of which is on our table. It is 

 exclusively devoted to the subjects enumerated in its 

 title, and its low price we thint; cannot but make it 



acceptable to a large number of readers who may 

 desire such a journal at a lower rate than that de- 

 manded by the fScicntiJic American^ which has here- 

 tofore almost exclusively monopolized this special 

 field of journalism. The illustrations are equal to 

 those of the great journal named, and we must won- 

 der how so excellent a paper can be furnished at so 

 low a price . 



First Annual Report op the Pennsylvania 

 Board of Agriculture for the year 1877, with an 

 appendix. A remarkably well gotten up royal 

 octavo volume of 336 pages of let,ter press, with a 

 copious index, and a large number of well executed 

 illustrations. We are under obligations to the Hon- 

 orable Secretary for copies of this excellent work, 

 which far surpasses anything heretofore published 

 by the Stiite, and is a credit to the young_and pro- 

 gressive institution organized for the purpose of ad- 

 vancing the agricultural interests of the common- 

 wealth. The papers in this volume are all of a 

 practical character, and the tabulated statistics very 

 elaborate and satisfactory. Asthe initiatory of what 

 the State Board may accomplish in the future, it is 

 certainly very promising to those who feel an interest 

 in the organization of such an institution in the in- 

 terest of agriculture. 



Employment for Ladies and Gentlemen at 

 Home. — Our attention has been called to some new 

 and labor-saving cooking utensils — recently invented; 

 one of which, the Universal Weight and Measuring 

 Utensil, for weighing flour, sugar, butter, and meas- 

 uring molasses, milk and all kinds of liquids used 

 in cooking, entirely superseding expensive scales. 

 The Patent Centennhal Cake Pan, the best and most 

 convenient cake pan ever made, and which every 

 housekeeper will have when they see its advantages 

 over all others. Also, the Kitchen Gem, a plated 

 wire boiler to hang inside of an ordinary pot, for 

 Vjoiling all kinds of vegetables, eggs, etc., which, 

 when done, can be removed at once perfectly dry 

 without lifting the heavy sooty pot olf of the stove. 

 These goods are sold exclusively through agents to 

 families, and otter a splendid opportunity to some re- 

 liable lady or gentleman canvasser of this county to 

 secure the agency for a very profitable business. 

 For terms, territory, etc., write to L. E. Brown it 

 Co., No. 242 Elm street, Cincinnati, O. 



Harper's Maoazine for July, 1878. — Harper's 

 Maijazinc for July finds a novel field for the por- 

 tr.ayal of character and the description of scenery in 

 the lowlands of Virginia — the old aristocratic " tide- 

 water" region, rich in historic associations, and ex- 

 ceedingly picturesque in its memorial relics of the 

 old time. The opening article of the number de- 

 voted to this subject, and entitled " Some Landmarks 

 of Old Virginia," is contributed by Allen C. Ked- 

 w^ood, who uses his pencil as effectively as his pen. 



Of especially humorous and pathetic interest is Mr. 

 Rideing's paper about Hospital Life in New York, 

 with sixteen bright illustrations by Reinhart, Abbey 

 and Rogers, effectively representing every phase of 

 hospital life from the coming of the ambulauee to the 

 period of convalescence. 



Porte Crayon contributes one of his characteristi- 

 cally illustrated papers on " Old-time Militia Mus- 

 ters," full of the racy humor belonging to the .ancient 

 " general training-day," the scene being laid in 

 Virginia. 



In his charming story, "Owlet," John Esten 

 Cooke also takes us to Virginia, and the interest of 

 hisioraanceis heightened by .Mr. Pyle's beautiful 

 illustrations. 



The engravings illustrating the paper on Van 

 Dyck — another of the series of " Old Flemish Mas- 

 ters," are in every way worthy of the subject. 



Among the characteristic domestic sketches pre- 

 sented in this number, " Daddy Will," by Charles D. 

 Deehler, stands out in liold, strong lines — a familiar 

 but striking picture of the trusted and faithful ser- 

 vant so well remembered in many Southern homes. 

 Especially impressive is the scene between Daddy 

 Will and little Kate, which the artist has selected as 

 a subject for illustration. 



There are two illustrated papers on foreign sub- 

 jects. A. H. Guernsey contributes one on the pecu- 

 liar features of the worship of Juggernaut in Orissa. 

 The other, entitled "A First Week in England," in- 

 troduces us to the quaint old houses and rows of 

 Chester, to Ludlow Castle, where Milton wrote his 

 "Comus," and to the fine old cathedral at Hereford. 



Dr. Abel Stevens contributes a timely article, en- 

 titled "Anecdotes of Voltaire among the Swiss," full 

 of fresh materials furnished by Gaberel, an ancien 

 paxteur of Geneva — materials wholly ignored by Vol- 

 taire's recent biographer, Mr. Morley. 



Benson J. Lossing, with the "Glorious Fourth" 

 evidently in view, contributes a spirited narrative of 

 the vindication of John Peter Zenger, a poor German 

 printer, who was arrested by the order of the Pro- 

 vincial Governor of New York in 1734, and tried" for 

 the publication of seditious articles in the New York 

 Weekly Journal. 



The serial stories by William Black and Thomas 

 Hardy are continued. Charles De Kay contributes a 

 vivacious short story, entitled "A Wife-Hunt ;" and 

 James Paj'n humorously describes an ".-Vdventure in 

 a Forest," in the vain search for Dickens's May- 

 pole Inn, 



The Editorial Departments are full of entertain- 

 ment and timely information. Among the many 

 funny things in the Drawer — including another re- 

 markable "colored debate" — is a very taking poem 

 by John Vance Cheney, entitled "Collie." 



Pettengill's Newspaper Directory and Ad- 

 vertisers' Hand-rook for 1878, comprising a com- 

 plete list of the newspapers and other periodicals 

 published in the United States and British America ; 

 also the prominent European and Australian news- 

 papers. New York : S. M. Pettengill & Co., publish- 

 ers. No. 37 Park Row. An excellently well gotten up 

 royal oetavo volume, printed on fine tinted calendered 

 paper, with 332 pages of letter press and 44 pages 

 of advertisements, together with fine portraits of 

 distinguished literary and newspaper men. This 

 work is not only beautifully printed, but it is also 

 admirably arranged geographically by States, and 

 alphabetically by towns ; with time and days of issue, 

 politics or distinctive features, names of publishers, 

 circulation, etc.; together with such information as 

 to the advantages offered by newspapers as has been 

 furnished for the purpose by the publishers ; includ- 

 ing sketches of prominent newspapers, and statisti- 

 cal and historical notations of hundreds of others 

 throughout the body of the work; and also archi- 

 tectural illustrations of some of the great newspaper 

 establishments. This book recognizes ten newspaper 

 publications in Lancaster city and twenty-seven in 

 the county. Many interesting items may be gleaned 

 from this book. For instance, there is but a 

 single county in Pennsylvania in which but a 

 single newspaper is published, namely, Sul- 

 livan; in all others they are duplicated. Lan- 

 caster county leads "Old Berks" by a majority 

 of seven. The city and county of Philadelphia issues 

 periodically 163 newspaper publications. This, of 

 course, includes newspapers and magazines. What 

 would Ben. Franklin say if he now could witness 

 what is going on in the newspaper realm in this 

 nether world ? It doesn't seem so long since his 

 prospective mother-in-law thought th.at Philadelphia 

 would be "crowded" with tiiv papers in it. But, if 

 we are surprised at Philadelphia's publications, 

 what must be the nature of our emotions when we 

 leaj-u that in the city and county of New York there 

 are 443 newspapers and magazines published peri- 

 oilically. New York leads Philadelphia much farther 

 than Lancaster does Berks. This certainly illustrates 

 that the art of printing constitutes a great factor in 

 the industrial interests of our country. 



The portraits — that of S. M. Pettengill is a most 

 exquisitely executed piece of art, and exhibits an in- 

 tellectually cut face and a w.ell-formcd and "level 

 head," the outlines of which are brought out all the 

 more prominently by the absence of the usual pro- 

 fusion of hair. That of Geo. W. Childs is almost 

 equally well executed, but lacks the life-like shading. 

 Mr. C. looks like a healthful, good-natured and 

 well-balanced man. We had imagined his features 

 angular, but they are symmetrically rounded and 

 well formed. He seems to be unquestioiuably intel- 

 lectual, but to our apprehension the affectional pre- 

 dominates. Bayard Taylor; well, everybody that 

 reads knows Bayard Taylor, but we had looked for 

 another sort of head and face. Mr. T. has sojourned 

 so long and so often in Europe that externally he 

 seems to have become Germanized. If no name had 

 been attached to his portrait, we should have said 

 that th.at man had once upon a time had drunk a 

 gl.ass of "bier" — could do so .again if occasion re- 

 quired it, and probably would do so, rather than 

 appear mawkishly eccentric. On the whole, he re- 

 fleets " a sound mind in a sound body," " the right 

 man in the right place." James Gordon Bennett 

 has an approximation to the Jeff. Davis face. Was 

 he oblique-eyed ? (cross-eyed.) The portrait makes 

 him so. It seems to be a very clever wood-cut. Of 

 course, he was a man of" intellect, energy and enter- 

 prise, but seems to have a finer texture than we 

 thought he had, as retlected through the Herald and 

 the commentaries of his contemporaries. 



Samuel Bowles, of the Springfield SepiMican, is 

 more practical and artistic in appearance than any 

 of the foregoing, and withal exhibiting intellect and 

 energy of character In an eminent degree. Of course 

 these random cogitations relate to the pictures, and 

 not to the men themselves, for we have never seen 

 any of them. Bret llari-ranft — no, no, no, not that — 

 we mean Bret Hart. If the name, had not been 

 attached to this portrait we might have taken it for 

 Gov. Hartrauft, or his brother, or his son, or broth- 

 er's son, and but for the mustachios, for his father, 

 in his earlier days. He looks, however, as if he was 

 fond of fun, satire and wit ; and that he might have 

 written "Truthful James" and the "Heathen 

 Chinee." The features are large and heavy in ap- 

 pearance, and although intellectual and knowing 

 enough, yet it appears to us that we have seen and 

 known half a dozen men that looked like him at one 

 period of their lives. 



The book we have been discussing no doubt fills 

 an important place in the advertising and publishing 

 concerns of the country, and its absence would create 

 an uncomfortable vacuum in the business world ; one 

 of those vacancies, however, which so many enter- 

 prises are anxious to HIl, 



