The Lancaster Farmer. 



Dr. S. S. EATHVON, Editor. 



LANCASTER, PA., JANUARY, 1879. 



Vol. XI. No. 1. 



TO OUR PATRONS AND THE PUBLIC. 



With tills nuiuber we commence tlie XI. ' 

 Volume of The Lancaster Faumek, and ; 

 our expuriencos ihu-ing the past ten years . 

 utibrd us some appreciatioi.i of the task tliat | 

 is before us. 'We have never abated any of 

 the feeble energies with whieh we are en- 

 dowed heretofore, and we have no intention I 

 to abate them now. We are on tlie thresliuld 

 of the new year— young, vigonms and Impc- 

 ful 1870— and we have not lost eonlidenee in \ 

 its ultimate propitiating influences. AVe con- 

 tidently look to it as a puinl of departure to a 

 better"an(l more prosperous state of things ; 

 not only for our patrons and ourselves, but 

 also for the "toiling, moiling millions," who 

 have been suffering almost to the last stretch 

 that patient waiting can sustain, for the past 

 three or four years, and for whom humanity 

 desires a surcease of idleness. We l.u.k for 

 such times as will enable, them to become 

 more liberal and punctual patrons of the farm- 

 ing public. That the return of prosperity to 

 our whole i)eople will increase the existing 

 "vacancy" for our journal in the county, the 

 State, and elsewhere we have not a doubt, 

 and our aim shall be to make it worthy of 

 public i)atronagc. There arc many new fea- 

 tures we desire to introduce into its general 

 composition, and we look chiefly to our agri- 

 cultural friends to sustain us in oiu- progressive 

 enterprise. The great county of Lancaster— 

 a conimonwealth"of no mean dimensions in 

 itself— occupies a too prominent position in 

 the Union to act the part of a mere subordi- 

 nate in the march of events. The eyes of the 

 whole country are upon her, and she is 

 looked to as a second " mother country " to a 

 large portion of the agricultural population 

 in other counties and States, who either have 

 resided within her bordei-s themselves, or 

 whose ancestry have had their origin here. 

 Editorial intercourse with our farmers during 

 the last ten years has convinced tis that they 

 possess the literarv and inti'llectnal abilitv to 

 make their Ib.iuglits and experiences known 

 through the medium of the press to an extent 

 that will compare favorably with any other 

 portion of the " Keystone State," and in this 

 respect, during the same period, they have 

 made much more than the ordinary progre.s.s. 

 'We desire to make this ability — which we 

 know they possess — more available in tlie 

 future than it has been iu the past. liesides 

 the general good of difl'tising their knowledge 

 among their agricultural brethren, they will 

 be instructing and greatly benefiting them- 

 selves, intellectually, morally and socially. 

 The minister in his pulpit, the professor in his 

 laboratory, the tutor in his school room, and 

 the editor in his sanctum are equally bciie- 

 lited in the exercises of their various functions 

 with those whom they are instructing. These 

 acts come under the denomination of those 

 that are "twice blessed," blessing the giver 

 as well as the receiver. The practical deduc- 

 tions of the farmer's experiences in his honor- 

 able calling are not exempt from the ojiera- 

 tions of the same rule. Every experience or 

 observation he records, and every essay he 

 composes and writes out fixes the facts and 

 principles involved in them the more deeply 

 in hi<> own memory. ]?y such a process many 

 men have educated themselves who have 

 never had the opportunity to become educated 

 at a school, a seminary or a college. 



Our aim is to difrnse the furts pertaining to 

 agriculture among the people— such facts as 

 experience has demonstratt d to be of para- 

 mount value in the field, the orchard, the gar- 

 den, the barn and the household. If the light 

 exists it should he shed abroad. We arc ad- 

 monished, from the very highest authority, 

 that our candle should not be hidden under a 



bed, or under a busluO, but should be set on a 

 caiulle.stick, and none are so poor but that 

 Ihev have s<,„„ light. We are not always the 

 best judges ot tlie (piality of our own light. 

 The i r feriymau knew nothing about alge- 

 bra, and astronomy, and poetry, and the 

 classics, but he could swim; and, therefore, 

 when the boat foundered in the middle of the 

 stream, that knowledge was worth more to 

 liiin tlian all the philosopher's lore, and for 

 the want of which the latter went to the bot- 

 tom, whilst the former reached the shore in 

 saf'etv. This is not intended to discredit the 

 learn'ing of the philosopher, but to illustrate 

 the worth of the practical knowledge of the 

 illiterate or the humble. Therefore, friends, 

 give us your facts, no matter how common- 

 place llu'y may be, or how ungrammatically 

 thi'y ace written. We will sec that they are 

 not' discreditable to vou, nor prcjiulicial to 

 oursehvs, iiiphu-in- them bel'ure tlie public. 

 It is not absolutely neccssarv that we should 

 be a practical farmer to edit an agricultural 

 journal (although it would not disiiualify us 

 if we were), our function being to make our 

 columns a reflex of the thoughts, the experi- 

 ences, and the practices of those who con- 

 tribute to them for the instruction and edifica- 

 tion of the farming public. 



By an announcement in another column, 

 the patrons of TuE Fahmer will perceive 

 that there has been a change in the publisher. 

 This arrangement was absolutely necessary 

 from the very nature of the case. The former 

 publisher's duties as a printer, precluded the 

 possibility of giving the necess.ary attention 

 to the usual details so essential "to the suc- 

 cessful issue of the publication. Hence a 

 change was made, and we congratulate our 

 patrons on the change as a progressive one. 

 The new publisher was boru and reared on a 

 farm, and is allied by consanguinity with 

 some of the best farmer blood of the cotmty. 

 His experience, and his position as publisher 

 of one of the oldest and most influential news- 

 papers in Lancaster county, is a guarantee of 

 his ability to make our local journal the peer 

 of ,any in our country. Of course, the more 

 hearty and liberal the co-operation of the 

 people is in his efforts the more efliciently 

 will the progressive work be accomplished. 

 Every subscriber iu the comity, or elsewhere, 

 should at least add one name more to his own 

 to begin the volume of 1ST'.). " Knowledge is 

 power," and knowledge also dissipates preju- 

 dices and .suspicions. The knowledge we have 

 gained during the last two years has given us 

 clearer ideas of what it costs to print a paper 

 than we ever had before. And now, dear 

 liatrons, we have endeavored to portr.ay our 

 objects, aims, ends and needs, as well as the 

 relations we sustain to each other and our 

 joint relations to the world at large. Having 

 said this much, we cannot more properly con- 

 clude than by wishing you a healthful, a 

 prosperous and ii Happn iVcio Ytar. 



WRXTE FOR THE FARMER. 



The County of Lancaster, we are convinced, 

 has as many practical thinkers and workers 

 among its population, proportionally, as any 

 other district in the State of Pennsylvania ; 

 and any one who is a practical thinker and 

 worker, in this age of the world, is able to 

 write or dictate a practical article on subjects 

 relating to his secular occupation. We are 

 not particular as to the grammatical construc- 

 tion of the article, so that it contains the 

 fads of the subjects, as they have been de- 

 veloped througii the experience of the writer 

 or dictator. We know that m.iny competent 

 persons plead that they cannot write, but 

 this may be owing to the circumstance that 

 they wont try, lather than to a want of time 



or ability. Writing stimulates research and 

 develops ideas that would lie unu.std and rust- 

 ing without such stimulant. There is no 

 merit in keeping our knowledge "hidden 

 under a bushel," merely becau.se we liave a 

 notion that it is of no impmfance, or we may 

 not be able to difTuse it in as eU ;.'aiit phrase- 

 ology as we would like. " I'reely ye have re- 

 ceived, freely give " ought to admonish us to 

 let our "liglit so shine that men may see it." 

 And to facilitate this end, if the patrons of 

 The Faioieii will kindly funiish us with 

 the results of their experiences in relation to 

 the various departments of agriculture, we 

 will see that they appear in our columns in a 



creditable l'(U-m^ 



TO CONTRIBUTORS. 



As it is proposed in future to issue The 

 Faumsu within the first week of each mouth, 

 our contributors will confer a special favor 

 by sending in their papers intended for publi- 

 cation, at least williiu llie last week of the 

 preceding month— rather earlier than later. 

 If those having essays to read before the 

 society will furnish us the manuscript in time 

 we will put them in type and furnish them 

 with a slip, as well as return the manuscript. 

 This will give them an opportunity to read 

 their papers from a printed copy, and also 

 make the nece.s.sary connections, before they 

 appear before the public. By this means we 

 will be able to issue our journal within a day 

 or two after each meeting of the society. The 

 regular publication of the proceedings of the 

 society and the discussions which take place 

 will constitute a valuable epitome of the agri- 

 cultural progress of the county, especially as 

 the society contains some good and practical 

 off-hand speakers, who may not have the time, 

 even if they have the inclination to write 

 their remarks on paper. AVe hope we are 

 understood. 



All cs.says, contributions, communications, 

 queries and other papers intended for publica- 

 tion in Tin: FAioiElt .should be sent to the 

 editor, No. 11*1 North Queen street. All mat- 

 tei-s of finance, subscriptions, advertisements, 

 exchanges and general business should be 

 transacted, whether personally or by letter, 

 with the ptiblisher. No. OXorlh Queen street, 

 (Kra);i(iifr building). Also all accounts due 



FAiniEii 



iptions, advertising 



or otherwise, previous to .Tanuary 1st. 1879, 

 which have not been settled up to that date, 

 .should be settled with the iircsent publisher as 

 above, who has full authority to .settle and re- 

 ceipt for the same. 



SECOND CROP PEARS. 

 Mr. .Tolin (irossmaii, of Warwick township, 

 Lancaster county, has a pear tree which has 

 bloomed twice every season for twenty years, 

 but the present is the first year that he has 

 noticed that it formed any fruit. The fruit it 

 formed this year, a specimen of which is now 

 before us, measured nearly two inches in cir- 

 cumference when green, and about an inch iu 

 length. Of course second crop fruit, even in 

 thi.s latitude, is not an unusual thing, but it 

 is not usual for fruit trees, especially pears, to 

 bloom twice every season for twenty years in 

 succession. This'is a small yellow pear, with- 

 out anv .special name, which ripens about the 

 middleof .luly, and seldom, if ever, fails to 

 bear a crop, "if such a pear tree were re- 

 moved to thcCarohnas. (Jeorgia. or Alabama, 

 or perhaps to any of the Southern States, 

 might we not reasonably suppose it would 

 m.ature two crops of pears; for a sec- 

 ond blooming for twenty years in succession 

 seems to indicate that this extra effort at 

 fruition has become a fixed characteristic V 

 This tree seems never to have been enervated 

 , by its duplicate bloom. 



