1878.] 



THE' LANCASTER FARMER. 



133 



and tlie cutting is, of course, also intciulcd to 

 kill it, and is probably successful where the 

 eggs had been laid on the the leaves above the 

 first and second joints. Wlii'n these joints 

 are cut oil', of course all hopes of an ear are at 

 an end from that -stem, and we must hope 

 that the plant will throw out more suckers in 

 order to make up foi- those cut off, and this 

 the plant will do and make heads yet if it has 

 sufficient strength. To supi>ly this strength, 

 if the soil is nut in the very best condition, 

 a quick acting fertilizer should be applied, 

 and thi.s is i)robably thi^ reason why the ex- 

 tract is found in a fertiiizer circular, though 

 not said in so many words. 



If 1 had a lield of wheat badly infested with 

 the lly, 1 think I would pasture down (piickly 

 by putting pU'nty of stock on, be it fall or 

 spring, and then sow on some fertilizer like 

 this complete manure, or nitrate of soda, iu 

 order to hasten a quirk growth, and I have no 

 doubt but what 1 would save the wheat, and, 

 perhaps, even get an extra yield. 



May not the cultivation of wheat, which is 

 now so strongly reconunended, destroy the 

 (ly, or perhaps the eggs, and this be one of the 

 chief causes of an increased yield ? The cidti- 

 vatiou also has the effect of making the plant 

 throw out new suckers, and these having no 

 fly in them to weaken them, they would soon 

 outgrow the older parts of the plant and 

 smother it ; the new stems being strong and 

 healthy, probably gives that stiffness to the 

 Straw for whicli the cultivated helds are so 

 noted. 



I give the suggestions of the two last para- 

 graphs for what they may be worth, and hope 

 they will draw out the views of those who 

 have had the experience, both iu fertilizing 

 and cultivating wheat. 



Fertilizer Experiments. 

 The growing interest manifested as to the 

 application of artilicial manures and as to the 

 profits of such application, has made the fer- 

 tilizer dealers anxious to convince farmers, 

 fruit raisers and truck raisers, and f(U' this 

 purpose packages are jiut up known as trial 

 packages, each containing one of the principal 

 plant foods — nitrogen, phosphoric acid, or 

 potash, or a combiuation of any two or all 

 three. 



The Mape's Formula and Peruvian Guano 

 Company seem to take the load in putting up 

 these trial packages. They have two sets 

 now, as below : 



Set A. — This set has seven bags ; bag No. 1 

 contains nitrogen ; No. '2, phosphoric acid; No. 

 3, potash; No. 4, nitrogen and phosphoric acid; 

 No. 5, phosphoric and jjotash ; No. G, nitrogen, 

 phosphoric acid and potash ; No. 7, plaster. 

 Besides these there are extras, covering about 

 the same ground, but tlie materials from 

 which the plant foods are obtained aie from a 

 ditt'erent source. Thus in bag No. 1 of set A 

 the nitrogen is obtained from the nitrate of 

 soda ; in the extras in liag I o, it is obtained 

 from sulphate of ammonia, and in bag 1 h, 

 from dried blood. It will be seen that in .set 

 A all the combinations are made th.at are pos- 

 sible, except that the combination of nitrogen 

 and potash is omitted. This is, I suppose, on 

 the supposition that where these two are 

 missing phosphoric acid is also wanting. 



The intention is that the fertilizers be 

 applied in alternate strips, thus : Bag I on 

 plot No. 1 ; nothing on plot No. 2 ; bag II on 

 plot No. 3 ; nothing on plot No. 4 ; bag III 

 on plot No. .5, &c. 



These tests should show what plant-food is 

 mostly wanting. If bag IV brings an extra 

 crop, it shows that the soil contains plenty of 

 potash ; if no better than the umiiaunred 

 plot, then the soil wants potash, so the other 

 bags show the want of some particular plant- 

 food, or its existence in sufficient (piantity. 

 When it has been determined what plant- 

 food is most needed, of cour.se the experi- 

 menter will buy that fertilizer which is rela- 

 tivelv richer in that which is missing. 



"ir/ie Completf M(uxur< <S'cf."— This set of 

 experimental packages consists of Init four 

 bags : Bag A, a complete fertilizer, containing 

 nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash in about 



the same proportion as stable manure, but in 

 a more soluble and concentrated form ; bag 

 B, same as A, with nitrogen omitted ; bag C, 

 same as A, with phospiioric acid omitted ; 

 bag 1), same as A, with potash omitted. 



It will be seen that this set has no bag with 

 only one of the jilant-foods, as in set A, but 

 that we have all the mixtures as in that set, 

 and in addition have a bag containing only 

 nitrogen and potash, which, as we have called 

 attention to befoie, is for some unstated rea- 

 son omitted in set A. 



I wovdd give iirefercnce to the "Complete 

 Manure Set," as the experiment is in a sim- 

 pler and more easily understood form, and 

 certainly should show what ingredient, if any, 

 is not in relative proportion to the others. 



I am watching these experiments with some 

 interest, and will let our readers know the 

 result as soon as jiractieable, and I hope there 

 will be some Lancaster county folks heard 

 from. In this county nearly all the lerlilizers 

 used are very deficient in potash, and yet the 

 crops respond very well to them. Should any 

 experiments be made with potash, and the 

 result be better than by the use of simple or 

 nitrogenized phosphates, then will it be to the 

 interest of thai experimenter to buy a different 

 fertilizer, or apply sulphate or muriate of pot- 

 ash in addition. 



It may be, as I have intimated before, that 

 the soils of our county have plenty of iiotash, 

 and I have seen no cau.se since to change my 

 opinion. At that time I took the position 

 that as we were a cattle raising people, and 

 that as we did not sell much hay, and no 

 si raw or fodder of any account, that we kept 

 our potash on the form, it being well known 

 that hay, straw and fodder contain the bulk 

 of the iiotash ; the cattle to which we feed 

 these articles or use for their bedding, retain 

 very little potash, but it i\early all passes off 

 in the manure and urine ; but they do take 

 up the phosphoric acid to make bones, and as 

 soon as they are sold lieyond our reach we 

 have, of course, lost the phosphoric acid con- 

 tained in their bones. It will be seen that 

 our soils may be relatively rich in potash, and 

 this be one reason why phosphates have been 

 so long in favor. — A. Ti. K. 



MOONSHINE. 



Editor L.vncasteb Farmer : A writer 

 (J. G.) in the last issue of your journal, in 

 discussing "tlie best time to sow wheat," 

 says " a cl.iyey soil should be plowed in the 

 rising of the moon ; it will not get so compact 

 as when plowed in the setting of the moon," 

 and "a soil that is too loose should be plowed 

 in the setting of the moon." Exactly what 

 is meant by the terms "rising" and "setting" 

 as he uses them, I do not certainly know ; 

 whether he refers {o the daily rising and set- 

 ting of that (H-b, or to what is usually termed 

 its increase and deerease, though probably it is 

 the latter, as this corresponds with the usual 

 ground maintained by believers in the moon's 

 inrtueucc on crops, &c., as I understand the 

 doctrine. I was under the imi)rcssion that 

 very few intelligent people in these days of 

 scientific research and investigation believe 

 that the various i)h.ases of the moon have the 

 influence on vegetation and crops which was 

 generally, if not universally, suppo.sed in by- 

 gone ages of less intelligence ; but it seems 

 there are still some who — for reasons as plain 

 and conclusive to their own minds as the Hev. 

 .John .Jasper adduces for lielieving that the 

 sun goes round the earth every day and the 

 earth stands still — hold fast to the old faith in 

 the potency of "lunar influences." 



Now, if the Moon's changes and position 

 toward the Earth have the inthience s\ipposed, 

 it ought to 1h^ comparatively easy to prove the 

 fact by experiment — not liy one, two or three e.x- 

 periments selected and reported from memory 

 by nii'u who have already made uj) their 

 minds, but experiments recorded when made 

 by unbiased, competent and careful en(|uirers 

 aher truth, and extending over a considerable 

 period of time. 



Has .1. G. ever investigated the subject in 

 that way, or does he know anybody that has V 



It is, no doubt, the easiest thing in the world 

 to prove by one or a few experiments, at par- 

 ticidar times, that a clayey soil will produce 

 best when plowed iu this or that phase of the 

 moon ; but there is little doubt in my mind 

 that if the experiment were tried a sufficient 

 number of times, or in a mnnber of dilferent 

 localities at the same time, it would be found 

 that there is nothing it. 



The (piestion, however, has been investi- 

 gated very thoroughly in France, and after 

 numerous prolonged and careful exjieriments, 

 the great astronomer, Arago, declared his 

 conviction that there is no ground for the 

 common belief that the position or changes of 

 th(; moon have an influence on the growth of 

 crops. This was many years ago, and since 

 that time, so far as I am informed, the cor- 

 rectness of his conclusion has not been qucs- 

 tioned by any respectnble authority in that 

 country. Where is the record of a scries of 

 careful experiments which tends to establish 

 the contrary ? 



Before concluding, I may mention that 

 many years ago, I myself tried an experiment 

 in regard to the moon's alleged influence in the 

 aninial kingdom. It was then maintained by 

 many, and I doubt not there are not a few 

 who still believe, that beef killed at the time 

 of the decrease of the moon (as it is called) 

 woidd shrink on the bone, in cooking, while 

 that killed in the increase of the moon would 

 not shrink. Being in the way of getting beef 

 every week from a butcher cart at the time 

 referred to, I took the pains to note the stage 

 of the moon every time, and then observed 

 the condition of the meat when it came to the 

 table. Without mentioning particidars here, 

 it is sufficient to say that the result of the 

 experiment was entirely adverse to the belief 

 that tlie moon had any influence of the kind 

 claimed. In fact, so far as it went, (^some 

 seventeen trials) the preponderance oi evi- 

 dence seemed in favor of the very opposite 

 theory — that is, in a majority of cases the 

 meat shrank most when killed in the increase 

 of the moon. 



Now if .1. G. expects intelligent farmers to 

 accept his opinion of the moon's action, I 

 trust he will make an effort to sustain it by 

 facts and argument^ — by something more con- 

 vincing than mere general assertion, or a 

 statement that such and such is his belief- 

 otherwise we will have to conclude that he is 

 poorly qualified to enlighten the farming com- 

 miniity respecting "the best time to sow" 

 their grain. — J. P., Lancaster, Sept. 1, 1878. 



^ 



AROUND THE FARM— No. ii. 



There are many farms in this county with- 

 out running water, and asaconseciucnce must 

 raise it by means of a pimip. The wafer thus 

 raised is led into tanks or troughs for the con- 

 venience of cattle. Thus far it is all right ; 

 but if many of my readers, who are blessed 

 with the pure, sparkling rill meandering 

 through beautiful green meadows, could sec 

 the green, slimy, solutions of hen manure 

 which some of our shiftless farmers compel 

 their cattle to drink, they would with me unite 

 in raising the battle-cry for pure water for the 

 cattle. The water should never be left stand- 

 ing in the troughs more than a day and then 

 it should lie swept out clean with a broom, 

 and above all keep a cover on it to prevent the 

 dust, leaves, etc., from blowing in. 



Potatoes. 



Some iieople, (and we were formerly of the 

 number) after digging their potatoes stored 

 them in some shed or barn-floor for a week 

 or so before putting in the cellar. 'W^e have 

 IHit ours into the cellar the .same day they 

 were dug for the last 4 years and have not 

 noticed any evil effects to proceed therefrom, 

 leading me to the conclusion that it is labor 

 thrown away to handle them twice. 

 Plant Fruit Trees. 



After considerable (V) reflection I came to 

 see one redeeming trait in the tree agent. If 

 he does .sell us inferior stock sometimes he 

 nevertheless reminds us to plant. If we only 

 would heed his admonitions to plant as much. 



