The Lancaster Farmer. 



Prof. S. S. SATHVON, Editor. 



LANCASTER, PA., DECEMBER, 1878. 



Vol. 1. No. 12. 



TO THE PATRONS OF THE FARMER. 



Tli;\iikl'ul lor Uu' patrDiiaiji', the coiuti^'.sii'S 

 iincl tlic kiii(liR'S.scs cxli'iKlcd lowiinls us, ;is 

 publislu'iol TlIKl^.VNC.VSTEUF.VK.MEU, forllic 

 l):i.st two years, we woulil respectfully inform 

 tliciu tliaL we luivc ilisposed of all imr riglit, 

 title and publisliiiig interest m that journal 

 to .John A. IIikst.wd, Escj., the enti rini.sing 

 and genial publisher anil proi)rirtor of the 

 ICxautincr and iiVjov.v.s, and we earnestly ask 

 for him a eontinuanee of their moral and 

 pecuniary support, lender the auspiees of the 

 new publisher the liist number of Tiik F.\i!- 

 JIEK will ajjpear in January, 187'.). Throuj^h 

 ten long years, the last live of whieh have 

 been adverse to many of the enterprises of om- 

 common country. The L.VNeASTEu F.vumeu 

 has struggled through, and has maintained 

 its existence intact ; and we hojie that now a 

 better day is dawning for it for our county, 

 for our State, and for our nation. There is 

 material enough in ]>an<-a.ster county alone to 

 support a lirst-class agricultural jiaper, and 

 we hope it may now be made available. 



L. Katiivon, Publisher. 



OUR ANNUAL GREETINGS. 



With this number we complete the tenth 

 volume of Tjie Laxcasteu Fakmek, and 

 viewing its progress retrospectively, we can 

 hardly realize that a decade in time has passed 

 away since it lirst made its diJnd before the 

 public. Like many of its contemporaries in 

 the held of agricultural journalism, it has had 

 its vicissitudes, its discouragements, and its 

 shifting responsibilities, but by the persever- 

 ance and self-denial of its siionsors it has 

 withstood the trying tests of time, and has 

 readied that adolescent period, from which 

 we hope a vigorous and useful manhood may 

 be developed. The publication of a journal in 

 Lancaster county rein-esenting its agricultural, 

 .mechanical and domestic interests ought to 

 be no longer considered a mere experiment ; 

 it ought to be recognized as an established 

 /act, and every head of an agricultural e.stab- 

 lishment in the county and the State ought to 

 feel it incumbent upon him to lend a hand in 

 sustaining such an enter|irise, and in trans- 

 mitting its ennobling inrtuences to an en- 

 liglitened and grateful posterity. 



The yeavthrougb which we have just passed 

 has been a remarkable one in the annals of 

 our country, and still more so in the annals of 

 •agriculture. It is true the farmer does not 

 realize the prices for his leading crops that he 

 may have realized in former years, yet he has 

 been blessed with health, employment and 

 abundance, whilst many other interests and 

 peoples have sullered— "sadly suffered by rea- 

 son of the ab.sence of the.se blessings. 



As the editor of this journal, we have never 

 been entirely without hope in its ultimate 

 success, and if we have " hoped against hope," 

 even in that contingency we have had a valu- 

 able compDU.sation. t)ecause it h;is taught us 

 to " hope on ;" and accordingly we look hope- 

 fully forward to the consunnnation of our 

 eleventh volume. By the announcement of 

 the publisher it will be perceived that he has 

 transferred his interest to. loiiN A. IIiEsrAND, 

 Esq., the popular and widely-known publisher 

 of the Exoininir and KrprcsK, who, after the 

 first (Lay of .January, 187'.), will be the sole 

 proprietor and publisher, .and we bespeak for 

 him a successful career in the ranks of agri- 

 cultural journalism. As stated elsewhere, the 

 editorial department will remain in the hanils 

 of the present editor. 



As its name might naturally seem to imply, 

 The LANtASTEK Fakmer is not, strictly 

 speaking, a local paper, but on the contrary, 

 it embraces all legitimate topics which re- 

 late to the agricultural interests not only of 



the home locality, but all those of the State, 

 and its belt of latitude from one end of the 

 country to the other. Lancaster county is a 

 sudicienlly distinguished basis to rest its claims 

 upon, but it will make an ellort to truly say — 

 " No pent up Utifa cinilraols our powers, 

 Tlie wliole uiitioumied coutiiienl ie ours." 



With this laudable ambition, and the co- 

 operation of its friends everywhere, it hoi)es 

 to be uidimitedly diffused. With gratituile 

 to the patrons of the past, we look for a rea- 

 sonable accession of moral and material 

 strength for the future. But we will not 

 anticipate ; our business at this time is nuiinly 

 with the pcuiling now, and that now ad- 

 monishes us of the si)eedy return of time's 

 most momentous cycle, when '"glory to God 

 in the highest, on earth peace, good will 

 towards men" was proclaimed, and to the 

 inrtuences of that great event we commend 

 our readers during tlie approaching Ckristmas 



Holidays. 



-^ 



OUR PERSONAL RELATIONS TO THE 

 FARMER. 



If any of the patrons of The Lancaster 

 Farmer, or any of the public, have an appre- 

 ciation of our labor in editing it for the past 

 ten years, and feel tliat we have not been 

 adequatelv compensated for our labor, we 

 would respectfully sugtrest that their intiuence 

 now in the increase of its subscrii)tion list and 

 extending its circulation, would be as ac- 

 ceptable to us as a direct contribution. The 

 Farmer iieeds at least one thousand additional 

 (jiiod jKU/iiuj riubscribcrs to place it on a self- 

 sustaining basis, and relieving the mind of its 

 publisher from the anxiety usually attending 

 such an enterprise. That there is a "vacancy" 

 in the county of Lancaster alone to amply 

 sustain a (irst-class agricultural journal is 

 un<iuestionable, and the necessity of such a 

 journal is equally apiiarent ; therefore, what- 

 ever assistance may be directly rendm-ed to 

 the fiublisher will he indirectly rendered to 

 us, both morally and materially. The new 

 base The Farmer will occupy on the .advent 

 of the new year will amplify its sphere of use- 

 fulness, and command additional conlideuce 

 from the farming peoiile. T'he name of.Toiix 

 A. IIiestaxo, Esq., who has been for many 

 years identilied with the i)ublishing business in 

 Lancaster county, is favorably known far be- 

 yond our lo(!al Ijorders, and the iulluence which 

 his long and successful experience can bring to 

 l)ear upon the interests of this journal will be 

 identilied with its progress and improvement. 

 We are now, perliaps, occupying that dark 

 period in our country's liuancial and commer- 

 cial history which immediately precedes the 

 breaking forth of a brighter day. Tlierefore, a 

 little more of that iuHexible perseverance 

 which has brouirht us to our present i)oint is 

 only required " to carry us through." If our 

 friends will now put their shoulders to the 

 wheel, they miy make TuE Lvn'caster 

 Farmer thi' peer of anv agricultural journal 

 in the country. "This we ask, and nothing 

 more." 



TO OUR LITERARY CONTRIBUTORS. 



We particidarly desire to avail ourselves 

 of this opportunity to return our sincere 

 thanks to all tliose w'lio have contributed 

 to the cohumis of The F.VRMER during our 

 incumbency as publisher: and also to express 

 our regrets that the pleasant literary relation 

 heretofore existing between us is now about 

 to come to a clo.se; lio|)ing that under 

 more favorable aii.spices we may be able to 

 reciprocate their kindness. We especially 

 mention Messrs. 11. M. Engle, A. B. Keise, 

 .Jacob Stauflfer, I'j. L. Hershcy, .1. B. Garber, 

 Levi S. Reist, Peter S. Heist, F. K. DifEeu- 



derffer, Casper Ililler, \V. II. Spera, Wm. .J. 

 Pyle, .J. Grossman, Martin Kicliwine, Sanmel 

 MilUr, Daniel .Sineych, Von Ihnnbolt, Leo- 

 line, Hev. A. B. (irosh, and all others who, 

 diiectly or indirectly, have favored us in that 

 behalf. We know that they have always felt 

 kindly towards our joiu'iial — took an interest 

 in all that related to its welfare ; .sympathized 

 in its struggles ; and will feel joyed in any 

 change of circumstances or personal relations 

 which may culminate in the join-nal's success. 

 We therefore know that we are not asking 

 moi-e than they are willing to cheerfully ac- 

 cord, when we exju-ess the hope that they will 

 continue to our successor those contributions 

 from the stores of their minds and pens, whieh 

 they have so freely and so kindly tendered to 

 us. Our personal ('fforts hereafter, as hereto- 

 fore, will bedcn'oted to the mechanical "make- 

 up" of The Farjier, anif we believe we are 

 able to realize the most .sanguine expectations 

 of its friends in that department. 



Publisher. 



NOTICE EXTRAORDINARY. 



The editor of The Farmer (Xo. lol North 

 Queen street,) is authorized to receive sub- 

 scriptions due the paper and to receipt for the 

 same, but he is not in charge of the subscrip- 

 tion lists, nor the accounts ilue for advertisiug, 

 those being the property of and in the hands 

 of the publisher, at the office of the Examiner 

 and Expr(S!<, Xo. North (iueen street, near 

 Centre Square. The printed label on each 

 paper will show subscriliers how their accounts 

 staiid, unless by receipt or other evidence they 

 can show them to be otherwise. We wish to 

 be distinctly understood that we have V)een. 

 merely acting as editor of The Farmer, and 

 never, except for a brief period, eight or nine 

 years ago, have we assumed the responsibili- 

 ties of its publication, nor have we bad an 

 immediate pecuniary interest therein ; al- 

 though, from its very origin, we have per- 

 formed many services other than those which 

 pertained to its editorshii), and have al.sobeen 

 collaterally resi>on8ible during the jiast two 

 years in s|)ecial cases. We have, however, 

 always felt a deeper interest in its success than 

 a merely i)ecuniary one, or our services anil in- 

 tiuence would have been withdrawn from it 

 years ago. 



Those, therefore, to whom it is most con- 

 venient to make iiaymenl to us, we will thank- 

 fully receive them until .lamiary 1, 187'.), and 

 report them to the publisher, but all adjust- 

 ments of accounts must be made with him. 



NOTICE! 

 We have a number of full volumes of Thb 

 Lan'caster Farmer— quarto edition — for 

 the years 187."), 187(5, 1877 and 1878 which we 

 oiler for sale cheap for cash. For a single 

 volume, unbound, §1.00; bound. SI. .50; any 

 two volumes unbound for $1.7.5 ; bound, S2.75; 

 any three volumes unbound for S2.25 ; bound, 

 $'i.7i> ; the whole four volumes unbound, 

 .?:i.OU ; bound, !?.">. 00. In selecting matter we 

 have l)een careful to adopt that which was of 

 the most iiermanent interest to the farmer 

 and housekee|ier ; the paper is neatly, plainly 

 and conqiactly printed ; each volume is ac- 

 comi)anied by a copious index ; and on the 

 whole it will form a volume of local ready 

 reference such as may not be accessible to the 

 citizens of Lancaster county for many years 

 to come. It has been asserted by some that 

 in many respects The Farmer was locally 

 somewhat in advancti of its time, and that in 

 ten or twenty years hence it will be more 

 fully appreciated than now. It is not for us 

 to say whether this is so or not ; but if so, a 

 copy would be a desirable acquisition now. 

 We have also sixty copies of "The Art of 



