1878. 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



109 



• ],<]\r. Bpsiilee, if tho grnunil was not lilfjhly 

 iii:iiuii(il tlii' croi) woiilil lie likely to be poor, ae it 

 1 iliHiciilt to Ret it in the grouiiil In season. Tlie 

 I 1 mtiee of Tollowing com with oats was generally 

 |iii lerred. 



Ann E. Wooil : Is there any remedy for the rose 



-hi^'? Mary Ilaiiics had trii'd a recipe, lati^ly puti- 



It-lifd, viz. : 1 pint of salt, 1 pint of soft soup and .'i 



ill. inK of water ; liiit it failed to do any i;ood. She 



I, id killed them with tobacco-water last year. 



Kinily A. Hlaeklnirn sprinkles ashes over them 

 w hen tiiey are wet . It will kill or drive them away. 

 l>peat it when they reajipear ; suapsnds are also 



-ll.Hl. 



K. D.Gatihel sprinkles them with soapsuds; begin 

 r.irly in spriM;r- 



llebeeea I). Kinir : Is it better to pnt tomato vines 

 in Irames, or let them lie ou the ground ? 



\Vm. P. Haines: Tried botli ways, and could not 

 M !• nuieh ditl'erence. If let lay, put straw or corn- 

 In. Ider under them. Straw is best. Most of the 

 .iilicr members jireferred to let them lie on straw. 



( harles S. tiatehel : If ji^round is nianure.l and 

 I l.wcd now, would it be advisable to plow a second 

 I line before putting iu wheat ? None ol the members 

 a.lvised a second plowinir, as the manure would be 

 likely to he in the way. They would keep down the 

 jrrass and weeds by eultivatint,'. 



After dinner the male portiim of the club ma.le the 

 n^iial inspection of the iarm and live stock, accom- 

 panied by the host. After reassendilingin the house 

 . liticisms on the manner of conducting tlie farm 

 were called for. 



The live stock were reported iu good condition, 

 particularly the tows, and growing crops looking 

 well. 



An addition to the house, which was iu course of 

 erection when the club last met at the place, was 

 finished, and the host and hostess were much com- 

 plimented upon the judgment and taste displayed iu 

 its arrangement and the ueat yard and pretty liowers 

 and shrubbery surrounding it. 



The host next read au iutcresting essay giving an 

 aeeomnt of his visit to the May meeting of the Ex- 

 perimental Farm Club. 



Mary A. King read from Rural Nexo Yorker, 

 "ikow to interest boys in farming?" C.S. Gatchel 

 read from /'raehV(ir/'"ar»i<;r—" Selling out," by T. 

 Leonard. Aun E.Wood read from Iknmehohl — "Sec 

 ourselves as others see us," and "The Farmer's 

 Wife " was recited by Emma Kiug. 



S. L. Gregg read from the report of Pennsylvania 

 State Agricialtural Society an article by J. 15. (iar- 

 ber, giving an account of the manner ol cultivating 

 wheat practiced by J. M. Heiges, of York county. 

 He plows deep wheat or oats stubble, manures 

 heavily, plows still deeper the second time, pulver- 

 izes thoroughly, then prepares it into ridges and de- 

 pressions, the latter twelve inches deep, ridges ten 

 inches wide, sows the wheat broadcast, then drags 

 and makes thoroughly level. Cultivates three or 

 four times. By this method he has raised seventy 

 bushels to the acre. 



The following question was theu selected for dis- 

 cussion at the next meeting : 



Risulred, That the female portion of the farmer's 

 family is more oppressed by labors and cares than 

 the male portion. 



Adjourned to meet at the residence of Franklin 

 Tollinger, regular time in August. 



AGRICULTURAL. 



Sowing Rye Among Corn. 

 A correspondent, writing in the Conntrij (leiitle- 

 iiuiu, strongly recommends the sowing of rye among 

 corn, so that it will make a fall an.l spring growth 

 for feedingortobe plowed uniler for green manurimr. 

 The writer asserts that he has done this on several 

 occasions. At the last cultivating of the corn he 

 sows ahead of the cultivator about I'.j bushels of rye 

 to the acre, which is cultivated at once, and some- 

 times twice by cross cultivation. The rye will only 

 give a spindling growth until the corn ripens and is 

 taken off, when it will spread and grow rapidly, giv- 

 ing a dense growth before winter. He has had to 

 commence to stalk up in the fall, keepim; the ground 

 so warm that be plowed it under in the winter when 

 the adjoining lands were frozen hard. The ground 

 was greatly benefitted. Inorder to sow among stand- 

 ing corn go back and forth between every third space. 

 It reiiuires skillful work when the corn is large. The 

 ideaiscertainly a good one and ought to aid every cn- 

 terprisinir farmer in his plans in securing the best re- 

 sults and largest returns. To clear the ground at cut- 

 tingtime,altbougb very heavy work, ami then plowing 

 and sowing, for late fall or early spring pasturage, 

 might also do well. Much would depend uiion the 

 quality of the soil. If it was of poor cpiality it would 

 be lienetitted by plowing the crop under. In farming, 

 to make it profitable, there is nothing like kceplug 

 the land all the time occupied In doing its best. 



per cent, in the i)roduct of drilled over tfio hill 

 system <)f planting corn, a number of farmers at 

 different points adopted the drill system, and for one 

 or two seasons thought it the best; but we believe near- 

 ly all of them have now abandoned It and gone t)ack 

 to hill-planting. We wrre satislied at I lie time of 

 the experiments alhnlcd to, that being experimi'nts, 

 much extra care had been bestowed upon the 

 crop, that they did not furnish reliable Informa- 

 tion, and that the old way could not be Improved 

 on. And this has turned out to be the case. In 

 this section, in noticing hun.lreds of cornllehls the 

 present year, we have not yet encountered one that 

 has been drilled. 



It is so with a great ninny new ways and tlilnes- 

 They a.-e sent forth with a loud blast of the trumpet, 

 and they everywhere (Iml more or less beli.'vers, wb.i 

 will not be coiivinecil that they are goimr to niak- a 

 worthless Investment until they find their liniiers 

 burnt. Then they heap curses loud and deep upon 

 those who bad maile money out of their ere. lulity, 

 when they had noboily to blame liut themselves. 

 Farmers as well as oilier people should keep their 

 eyes wide open as to new ways and things involving 

 money. 



Chemical Fertilizers. 



If commercial or chemical fertilizers are ever to 

 get into more general use the farmers of the country 

 must have some satisfactory assurance, made by 

 olllcial analysis, that they are what they arc repre- 

 sented to be. It is true that a purchaser will not be 

 likely to be taken in twice with the same manufac- 

 ture, but very many individual purchasers may be, 

 and then, too, there are scores of difl'erent kinds. 

 The farmer wants something more than the word of 

 the seller, whatever bis standing may be. Articles 

 selling at the high rate per ton as a fertilizer should 

 have a known, stamped statement of its contents, 

 and then purchasers can invest in thena with a degree 

 of knowledge of their value for their particular 

 lands, which will afford them necessary aid in 

 making a selection. 



In Eagland fertilizers find no sale unless a guaran- 

 tee analysis accompanies it. Until this security was 

 obtained the quantity of fertilizers sold had greatly 

 diminished ; but since the sales have largely in- 

 creased. All that our farmers demand is a correct 

 statement of the component parts of the fertilizer. 

 They are unwilling to buy a " pig in a poke," and 

 they are right. Give them a good article and they 

 will freely invest. 



Drilling Corn. 

 A few years ago, on the strength of an experiment 

 or two by one of our so called agricultural colleges, 

 which seemed to show a gain of from ten to fifteen 



The Wheat Crop. 



We see it stated in local papers here and there 

 that the crop of wheat this season is seriously dam- 

 aged by the Hessian fly; but the damage by this in- 

 sect is not, as these papers suppose, universal or at 

 all general. The fly In sonic sections has done 

 some damage — but altogether its depredations are, in 

 the aggregate of but little account. What has done 

 serious damage, however, esiiecially in the south 

 and southwest, is the rust. This is owing to the 

 protracted cool, wet weather; but even this, so far 

 as we can learn, will not sensibly diminish the crop, 

 as the acreage this year in wheat is muidi larger than 

 ever before, and the aggregate yield will perhaps be 

 more than ever before. 



The seeding of wheat is now done so early in Sep- 

 tember that in mild, moist autumns like that of last 

 year, the young wheat grows so rampant as to sub- 

 ject it to the attacks of the fly before winter sets in, 

 .and they are more destructive than they are in the 

 spring. The particular advantages of very early 

 sowing we have never learned. Fifty years ago the 

 seed was seMom in the ground liefore Ocl,ober, and 

 as late as from the 10th to the IStli. 



A Wheat Crop Saved by Skunks. 



The skunk is one of the best friends of the farmer. 

 I sowe.l eii;hteen acres of wheat a few years since, 

 and while fitting the groun.l notieeil an unusual 

 number of white gruljs, and when the wheat came 

 up the grubs began to work in It, and the skunks 

 began to bore their sharp noses after the grub until 

 it seemed as if there was not a place four feet square 

 in the field where there was not a little hole bored, 

 and a grub taken out; audi harvested .550 bushels 

 of wheat, which I sold for ?2.I1 per bushel ; so I am 

 indebted to the skunks yet. Your last correspondent 

 made it clear that it was not necessary for him to 

 stanil on his feet to work the muscles for his brim- 

 stone extinguisher. I had a friend who 8up|>osed 

 that if you held a skunk by the tail you were holding 

 the safety valve; and so, finding one behin.l the 

 partition in a basement, be took him by the tail and 

 started for the woods with a dog to kill him ; after 

 be had gone about ten rods .Mr. I'iebald drew a 

 Crecdmore bead on him and hit him Just under the 

 eye; in a short time he let go of the skunk's tall, 

 and has not tried that plan since. — Frotn a Farmer'* 



Letter. 



^ 



Grass Seed for Mowing Lands, 



In reply to a eorresjKindent who asks how much 



seed must be sown in seeding an acre of stubble with 



June and orchard grass mixed, (or mowiug and not 



for pasture, the Nea England Farmer says : " For 



land that Is In good condition, we gliouhl sow two 

 Inishelh of orchard i^rass anil one bushel of ,Iunc 

 grafs to the acre, and il would be well to sow on 

 clover, also, in the spring, If there Is a prospect that 

 It would germinate, ii8 all Ihesi' grasses mature 

 nearly at the same season. Orchard grass should be 

 sown as early in autumn as possibb-, as It Is a lilllu 

 tender the first winter, if very young when the 

 ground freezes. The .lune ^rass will not make niuith 

 show the first year, l>ut will hold out, probably, 

 longer than the orchard i^rass. Both will pay well 

 for annual top-ilressini^ of stable or cummercial 

 manures, an<l each will |irodiiee two or tfiree heavy 

 crops per year, If the land is IkjIIi moist and fertile 

 on which it gniws. Orchard grass shouhl not be 

 I'liv.-ri-d by water or ice, in the winter, but shouhl tie 

 thrown u|»in moist, drained land. Then It will give 

 satlbfaclion." 



Dressing Grass Land with Fish Scraps. 



Some of our farmers already begin to talk of fuming 

 over olil sward ami slubble for seediiii;l<i[rra«s this fall. 

 On citjier soil there should be applied a lilieral dress- 

 ing of some kind of manure before see.Uni; to furnish 

 assistance for at:ood catch and a line crop of ijrass next 

 s|irinir. To supply this need. If any one lias to buy 

 fertilizers, we would Migi:cst to those who have not 

 tested them that they us<' lUh scraps. Not alone, 

 however, as they contain only nitrogen and phosphc- 

 rie acid, l>ut in eonneetiitn with sulphate of iMitasli, 

 applying about, a ton of scraps and seventy pounds of 

 potash to the aeri — if more scraps, then js.tasli in 

 proportion. The plan wc have jiiirsiied in the past 

 and shall again this fall is to broa^least the scraps on 

 the furrow, harrow, sow on the potash as you would 

 oats, and harrow till ri'ady for seed. 



Scientific Potato Culture. 

 .\ French agricultural journal, the Jlnme Cour, 

 describes the result of some experiments in potato- 

 growing recently conducted by some seientllh' men iu 

 Germany, in which it is ilenifnist rated that the 

 "eyi;s" at the top of the potato produce a mindi more 

 vigorous offspring than those in the lower part, and 

 the consetpience is, that those airrieiilturisis who cut 

 their potatoes in half before jilantintr them are not 

 well advise. 1 in cutting them vertically, but should 

 always divide them liorizontally, planling the up|K"r 

 half and using Ihi^ other as food for the cattle. But 

 the best plan of all is to plant the tulie whole, gut- 

 tim; out, nevertheless, all the "eyes" except those 

 iu the top part. 



How Superphosphate of Lime is Made In- 

 effective. 



Superphosphate is simply insoluble phosphate of 

 lime that has been trcate.l with sulphuric acid so as to 

 separate a portion of the phosphoric acid from Its 

 base, the lime, and render it free and soluble. If 

 the superphosphate is brouirht into contact with 

 lime, as on newly limeil land, the free phosphoric 

 acid at once unit.'s with tin' lime, goes back or 

 " reverts " to the condition in which it was (ireviously, 

 an.l becomes insoluble and inert. Theiefoie, when 

 superphosphate is used on land that contains fresh 

 lime, it is practically useless, and is lost so far as 

 present efl'ects are concerned. Superphosphate 

 should not be used until the second year after lime. 



Field Mulching. 

 The Germantown Telrgrapli, a reliable autliorify, 

 gives the following seasoiiatile advice : In ri'inoving 

 the hay from the fielil the "rakiiiL's" should be al- 

 low c.l to remain, for two reasons : One Is that It will 

 not iiay for the labor In gathering them up; I he other 

 that it does pay, and twice over, in being scattered 

 over the field ami acting as a mulch to the exposed 

 roots of the stubble. It keeps the rfiols cool ami 

 moist and will adil lari.'cly lo the ni-xt year's yiehl of 

 timothy or orchard grass. .Many first class farmers 

 already do this, but there are so many who do not 

 that It" may be worth while to remind them of the 

 ailvantagcs of it. 



Late Sowings of Grain. 



Ilaberlandt continues Ills researches as to the value 

 of the late .sowings of grain. His conclusions for 

 the last t»(i years are deelihilly unfavorable to spriug 

 sowings. He linds that, in pro|H)rtion to the lateness, 

 so does the qualify and qu.intity of the grain dlmlii- 

 isli ; that the steins, roots and iiusks alone are liciie- 

 fited, that the plant is more liable to be attacked by 

 rust, an.l, in the case of rye, by ergot ; and the grain 

 thus raised will, if employeil for seed, be remarkable 

 for its slow germinating |K)Wers. 



The gri^at erroi in wheat husbandry consists in 

 this : Sufficient time is not suffered to elapse between 

 plowing for wheat and siedliig to admit of that pack- 

 In;: of the soil and that pndlniinary decomposition of 

 crude vegetable matter which, on most soils, is an 

 iudisiicnsable prerequisite to a good wheat crop. 



Cai.ifoiinia fanners are cultivating fig trees for 

 the sole pur|)06c of ralsini; and fatteiiiiii.' hogs. This 

 fruit contains large quautitles of saccharine matter, 

 hence Is very fattening. The fig tree, once well 

 started, requires little attention, bears several crops 

 a year and Is very prolific. 



