1878.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



iOl 



Beetle" {Epilachiia borculis) or Nortlicni TiUdy- 

 Ijinl, but your iuscct is ccrliiiiily not lliat 

 species. If you tiiul another, or any small 

 iiunilier, wi' sliould like to liavo them for 

 iileutiliealiou of species. 



BRIGHTON GRAPE. 



Oil page ">1, April unnilier of The Lan- 

 f.\STEit Faumer, we save illustratiou.s aiul 

 description of this excellent and beautiful 

 grape, which is rajiidly coniiuj; into jiopnlar 

 favor ; and in order to enliance that descriji- 

 tion and convey a belter idea of its size and 

 form, both in relation tf) the berry and to the 

 cluster, we superadd to our former notice a 

 cluster of the natural size. We have very 

 little more to add to our former description, 

 except that the expectations of its patrons are 

 in process of a satisfactory rcalizat ion, and it 

 is meeting with an increased lU^niand. There 

 is one consideration we may, 

 however, be justified in re- 

 peating in this place, and that 

 is Us earlij rijinung. Whether 

 it is grown for home con- 

 sumiition or for the domestic 

 market, an early fruit is al- 

 ways most relished and must 

 Iirolital)le, whatever llic kind 

 or (piality may be. Early 

 fruit always commands the 

 best price, and is rarely if 

 ever subjected to that compe- 

 titive glut of the market, 

 which the later varieties often 

 encounter. Those who have 

 grown the " Hartford Pro- 

 lific " know how that variety 

 compares with otiier jiopular 

 varieties in regard to the time 

 of ripening, and the Uriijlitoti. 

 runs parallel with the Hart- 

 ford in that respect. 



Grown and for sale by Ed- 

 ward .1. Evans & Co., York, 

 York county, Pa. A cross 

 between the C'oncord and 

 Diana IlAMiintc, remark- 

 ably perpetuating the good 

 finalities of the parent varie- 

 ties. Price — One year old, 

 $1.00 ; two years old, $1.50, 

 by mail, including postage. 



*OUR WHEAT CROP. 



There was a time in the 

 history of our country when 

 this cereal was of less import- 

 . ance than now ; when tlie 

 poorer classes considered 

 wheat too expensive for daily 

 consumption ; wlien rye en- 

 tered largely, and with some 

 almost exclusively, into their 

 daily fare. That day has gone 

 l)y, as the great majority of 

 the poor as well as the ri<-h 

 would consider it beneath their 

 dignity to eijt rye bread. This 

 feeling also pervades the older 

 countries to a great extent. 



Not only is wheaten Hour required, but the 

 best article that can lie had, by all that can 

 afford it, and liy many who hardly can. The 

 vast amount which is exported annually, be- 

 sides tliat ('onsumed at home, has stimulated 

 wheat growing in the West to an unsual de- 

 gree; in fact, to such an extent that an East- 

 ern farmer with his high-priced laud can no 

 longer compete with his brother on his cheap 

 virgin soil. A crop like the present one will, 

 however, go far toward comitensating the 

 Eastern farmer, provided prices do not run 

 too low. 



Wheat being properly termed the "Start' of 

 Life,"' it is of the utmost importance that 

 farmers should endeavor to secure regular 

 crops and market them in the best possible 

 condition. It is but a few years since the 

 question of wheat culture was discussed be- 



*Read before the Lancaster County Agricultural and 

 Horticultural Society, July 1, 1S78, by H. M. Engle. 



fore this society, when the sentiment prevailed 

 that we ("tn no longer grow such wlieat crops 

 as om- fathers did, and iu addition, that Lan- 

 caster county Hour does not stand so high iu 

 the city markets as foinicrly. This season's 

 crop has dissipated the former notion com- 

 pletely, since tlie present is probaljly the larg- 

 est that this county and no doubt the largest 

 that this State has ever produced; and as to 

 quality, with the improved machinery, that 

 can be more than regained, ])rovided we han- 

 dli! our harvest as our fathers did tlieirs. This 

 brings up a (piestiou which must be fully and 

 squarely met in order to decide the matter. 



In the days of our fathers harvesting was 

 more laborious, in the absence of the labor- 

 saving macliinery which is brought to the re- 

 lief oif the farmer now. Population then was 

 more sparse, which made the force for har- 

 vesting not equal to the emergency, as now; 



consequently, the harvest would be entered 

 as early as it wmild possibly allow, and sel- 

 dom was any hauling off done before all was 

 cut and set in shocks, and a large i)roi>ortion 

 was cajiped. By this custom wheat stood in 

 shocks l^rom one to three weeks, subject to 

 wliatever rains might fall during that time. 

 Those were the days of that excellent flour 

 whose decadence many at present bemoan, 

 and strange that they cannot see the cause of 

 it. The present custom is well known. With 

 his im]iroved mac'lnnery the farmer can wait 

 to suit himself, then cut his harvest in a few 

 days, and he is then readv to haul it off. He 

 generally waits until it is fully rijie before 

 cutting, so as to avoid rains; thus there are 

 but a few days between cutting and hauling; 

 in many cases it is even left lay in the hot sun 

 so as to dry more quickly. As the tiuestion 

 of early or late cutting is .still a mooted one, 

 and as one of the members of this society 

 read an essay at oiu: hist monthly meeting 



taking tlie side of late cutting, I do not feel 

 like letting his theory and arguments stand 

 forth as the sentiments of this entire society. 

 When he says that wluat should Ik; cut as 

 soon as it passes from tlie milky to the doughy 

 state, I fully agree willi him, but when ho 

 says that it should be so ripe that it may Ixf 

 hauled to stack or into the barn so .stion as in 

 sheaf, then I emphatically dissent; for wlien 

 it is cut just as it luw pas.sed the milky state, 

 it requires from three to live days of fair 

 weather to dry snfliciently for gathering in. 

 Of course, if it is left lie in tiie swath or 

 bunch to dry before binding, the ca.se is quite 

 difl'eiint, but the farmer can take no surer 

 method to injure the quality of his wheat tlian 

 to cut it in tile doughy slate, and let it lay in 

 the hot sun to dry quickly. 



Now, as to the reasons for tlic llicory of 

 early cutting: 

 1st. When cut as it reaches the doughy 

 state, the bran is thin and 

 clastic, and can be separated 

 more closely from the Hour ; 

 when dead ripe the bran be- 

 comes thicker .and more brit- 

 tle, and cannot jiossibly be 

 8e))arated s o well without 

 being cut by the burrs, and a 

 portion will iiass through with 

 the Hour. 



2nd. In addition to the Hour 

 being finer from the early cut 

 wheat it will also be increased 

 iu (luaiitily in consccpienee of 

 the bran being lighter than 

 when dead ripe, for in the 

 latter case more Hour will 

 have to bo carried off with 

 the bran in order to make 

 Hour that will stand inspec- 

 tion. 



:!iil. The great saving of 

 wheal which is otherwise lost 

 by shelling in the Held from 

 being over ripe. 



4tli. The s;iving of room by 

 binding and packing more 

 closely than when dead ripe. 

 All these advantages will 

 more than overbalance the 

 risk of its getting wet, and 

 consequently more diflicult to 

 dry than wlien fully ripe, which 

 seems to be the strongest 

 argument iigainst cutting it 

 early. The essayist referred 

 to says, harvesting wheat too 

 green will cause it to lose in 

 weight as well as in flavor, but 

 I claim that it is not too green 

 when in its doughy state, and 

 will no more shrivel than 

 corn, when cut off and .set in 

 shock iiarlially green, but 

 either will shrivel some if cut 

 young and laid down in the 

 iiot sun for one day, while 

 that same wheat or corn may 

 not shrivel a particle if set to- 

 gether, butts down as soon as 

 cut. 



I The above essayist says further, " the pre- 

 mature gathering of any vegetable substance 

 interferes with its maturity, and whatever 

 injures its growth injures its taste,'' and 

 refers as an argument to the ])eac!i, cherry 

 and gooseberry, which is not a fair compari- 

 son ; but let "it pa.ss. AVc will take com, 

 which comes nearer to wheat, and let him an- 

 swer how much flavor green corn will gain by 

 lettin;j( it get ripe, and as be has comparetl 

 wheal with fruits, of wliieh he is not ignorant, 

 he must admit that nine-tenths of the pears 

 improve in (piality by house-ripening, and 

 apples in nearly as great proportion, and 

 neither will lose a fraction in bulk or weight, 

 when full grown. To carry the comparison 

 further, I would ask how much would peas, 

 snap beans and cucumbers improve in (juality 

 by letting their seed get fully ripe, or how 

 would cabbage, Ijeets, turnips or asparagus 

 be reli.shed after their seeds are fully ripe ; 

 but enough of this. 



