THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[ January, 



ANNUAL MEETING OF THE STATE 

 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



The fiillowiiig is the programme of the 

 aiinuiil meeting of the Pennsylvania Board of 

 Agriculture, to be held at Ilarrisburg, com- 

 inencing Wednesday, January 22, 1879, at 

 two p. m. : 



Reading of minutes ; election of ofticers ; 

 reception of credentials of newly elected mem- 

 bers ; reports of standing committees ; reports 

 of special committees ; reports of secretary. 

 Essays and Subjects for Discussion. 



1. C4rape Growing in Pennsylvania ; Varie- 

 ties and Treatment, by Dr. James Calder, 

 President of State College. 



2. Foreign and American Agriculture, by 

 John P. Edge, member at large. 



o. Tlio Industrial Education of Europe as 

 it Aftects Agriculture, by Prof. J. P. Wicker- 

 sham, Superintendent of Public Instruction. 



4. Farm Drainage, by Prof. F. A. Allen, 

 member from Tioga. 



f). Drainage with Stone, by Col. James 

 Yoimg. 



0. Drainage with tile, by the Secretary. 



7. Till' nst'luhiess and profit of farming, and 

 the relation which it bears to the other in- 

 terests of the State, by W. G. Moore, member 

 from Berks. 



8. How we may elevate the standard of 

 agriculture, by C. C. Musselraan, member 

 from Somerset. 



9. Sunny and shady sides of farm life, by 

 George "\V. Hood, member from Indiana. 



10. The Guenon system ; negative side, by 

 Eastburn Reeder, member from Bucks. 



11. The care of fruit trees, by Calvin Cooper, 

 President Lancaster Comity Agricultural 

 Society. 



12. The production of milk, by J. P. Barnes, 

 member from Lehigh. 



13. Mineralogy as related to agriculture, by 

 F. Prime, jr.. Assistant State Geologist. 



On Wednesday evening, .January 22d, there 

 will be a lecture by Dr. H. Leffmann, Micro- 

 .scopist of the Board. .Subject, "Fungi— large 

 and small — and their relations to agriculture. " 



Sulijcct for general discussion— "Tickets of 

 admission to county fairs and their price." 



Other subjects will be discussed if time will 

 permit, and any question of a proper nature, 

 handed to the Secretary by a member of the 

 Board, will be referred, by the President, for 

 an answer. 



MONTHLY REMINDERS. 

 .January is unfavorable to out-door labor ; 

 in the garden especially but little can be done. 

 The forcing-beds and green-houses will, of 

 course, require particular attention ; and the 

 active man may liud something to do in pre- 

 paring for a more congenial season. Poles and 

 rods for beans and peas may be made ready to 

 be used when needed ; manure collected ; 

 compost heai)s formed (by the way, compost 

 is beyond all comparison the best form in 

 which to apply fertilizers, to most vegetable 

 crops, and ample supplies may be readily made 

 by proper attention, as the materials present 

 tliemselves from time during the year). Fruit 

 trees pruned ; hedges clippetl- those formed 

 of evergreens not till after frost has disap- 

 peared ; asparagus beds top-dressed, prepara- 

 tory to being dug when frost has ceased ; when 

 new ones are to be made, plant the Colossal. 

 Hot-beds for early forcing may be made, and 

 other jobs will present themselves in antici- 

 pation of spring. AVhere there e.xists the will 

 to work the opportunity for useful disposition 

 of time is ever present. 



ENTOMOLOGICAL MANIPULATIONS 

 FOR THE MONTH. 

 Farmers, gardeners, fruit-growers, and even 

 citizens of the towns, should now give some 

 attention to«their trees, .shrubbery and plants, 

 as well as outhouses, sheds, fence-corners, 

 and otlier "nooks and corners." During the 

 season when the trees and shrubljery are leaf- 

 less, the cocoons and chrysalids of such in- 

 sects as hibernate, in that form, may be dis- 

 tinctly seen adhering to, or dangling from their 

 branches. If these are now collected fmd 



burned a great nuisance will be abated, and 

 much vexatious labor saved through the sum- 

 mer season. The spindle-shaped follicles of 

 the "basket worm" may now be plainly 

 seen. The egg-bands of the "American tent 

 catterpillar" may also be seen encircling the 

 branches. Clusters of the eggs, or of the 

 young, of the "spring web-worm" may also 

 be seen in the forks of the branches. If they 

 are out of reach a small swab of tar, on the 

 end of a pole, will effectually remove them if 

 properly used. The naked chrysalids of the 

 "white cabbage butterfly" will be found hang- 

 ing angularly on the undersides of fence rails, 

 window frames, door frames, or in almost any 

 secluded corner. A few days ago we saw one 

 in the angle of a window sash, one about mid- 

 way on a vertical sash, and one absolutely 

 fastened to the glass itself. If these are care- 

 fully gathered in this and the next month and 

 destroyed it will not only save a great deal of 

 vexatious labor next summer, but also much 

 of the cabbage crop. It will not do to delay 

 this work until too late in the season, for only 

 a year ago we found some of these butterflies 

 evolved and on the wing in the months of 

 February and March, in one in.stance even 

 when the ground was still covered wit4i snow. 

 Look also under the loose bark of dead trees, 

 and under the chips of bark of living trees, for 

 the "apple moth," the "squash bugs," and 

 the large "northern lady bird," (yellow with 

 black spots). The "potato beetle" also hiber- 

 nates in cellars, under door steps, and many 

 other places ; therefore keep a bright lookout 

 for them early in the season, and get before- 

 hand with them. 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTES AND 

 QUERIES. 



Gold Fishes. 



To anxious inquirers in regard to " Gold 

 Fishes "or " Golden Carp " ( Cyprinus atira- 

 ius,) we would say that most of them die for 

 the want of oxygen ; the most vital element 

 in the composition of atmosphere and water. 

 The great mistake people make is in getting 

 fishes that are too large for their aquariums. 

 Two fishes of six or seven inches in length 

 should have at least six gallons of water, and 

 a sufficient number of healthy and growing 

 aquatic plants to maintain the normal equili- 

 brium. Plants absorb carbon and give off 

 oxygen. The fishes absorb oxygen and give 

 off carbon ; so, it will be seen, tliat one, when 

 rightly proportioned, supports the other. 

 When fishes suspend themselves vertically in 

 the water with their noses at the surface 

 gasping for air, it is a certain indication that 

 they do not find enough oxygen in the water 

 to support their lives. If one or two persons 

 were confined in a small room, as entirely cut 

 off from nature's great reservoir of oxygen as 

 fishes are in a small tank, the would soon 

 suffocate for the want of oxygenated air. It 

 is true, this difficulty may be in a great mea- 

 sure, or entirely overcome by the frequent 

 changing of the water ; but then this involves 

 a vast deal of labor— more than is commensu- 

 rate with pleasure. 



The gold fish was originally brought from 

 China, about two hundred years ago, when it 

 was a greater curiosity than it is now. Some, 

 therefore, imagine that they must be kept in 

 water that is several degrees above the freezing 

 point (or lukewarm,) because they originally 

 came from China. If other things are "all 

 right," they will live and thrive iii water that 

 is thickly covered with ice. They do not want 

 much food, and need not be fed more tlian 

 once or twice a week, and then nothing more 

 than they will devour at a time. The over- 

 plus if it remains in the tank will ferment or 

 putrify, and this renders it unhealthy, and 

 often leads to their death. They don't want 

 to be pampered, they only want ajdain living. 

 Many ponds are in the United States aiid 

 Europe where they thrive and greatly multiply 

 withouthout the least care ; but, if from any 

 cause the water becomes impure, they are 

 almost certain to die. They can "stand" a 

 good deal, but not poisoned water. 



A New Grain. 



A new grain, resembling rye somewhat, 

 only twice as largo, with straw and beardless 

 head, resembling wheat, is the subject of com- 

 ment in some of the California exchanges. 

 When cut, as it is passing into milk, it is said 

 to make hay far superior to wheat hay. The 

 discovery of this grain is claimed by a farmer 

 in Surprise Valley, in the north part of the 

 State, who took it from the crop of a wild 

 goose which had been shot. Sowing the seed 

 innnediately lie had the satisfaction in due 

 time of reaping more than a hundred fold. 

 He considers it in every respect superior to rye. 



If it is only superior to rye it may not be 

 quite the thing we want at this time, but let 

 it "circulate," it may have quantiti/ if not 

 qualil'j, and that is somelhiny. 



Mr. W. L. II., liapho township, Lancaster 

 county, Pa. — The long whip-like or tail-like 

 I)lant, growing at two places along the mar- 

 gin of the Ijiltle Chickies creek, on your 

 farm, is called " Scouring Rush" (Eqidsctum 

 hyemale,) and is used in some places where it 

 abounds plentifully, for purposes of scouring. 

 This property is derived from its finely corru- 

 gated external structures, and the presence of 

 an immense number of minute silicious gran- 

 ules on its surface and in its internal composi- 

 tion. It belongs to and is the typical genus 

 of the EcjuiSETACE.E, or "Horsetail" family ; 

 the name of which is derived from cquus, a 

 horse, and seta, a hair. We need not tell you 

 that it never bears leaves, for that fact must 

 have been apparent to you whenever you saw 

 it during the summer. It only, however, 

 exhibits one of those singular links in the long 

 chain of vegetation which unites in a har- 

 monious whole, the various productions of 

 the vegetable kingdom, and of which every 

 clime produces its counterparts. 



As Others See Us. 



Newark, Dec. l~Hi, 1878. 

 Mr. Ratuvon— I'm)- ,Sir: I am so well pleased 

 with TiiF, T,ANiAfTEi: Fakmeu Ihaf I have received 

 tliis last vrai- that I i-ii-lnsr Sl/_5 lurtlic renewal of 



™r»"cV .!'/.///'-'/«',• ,i„~l /,.<// jj'uu'.-. Hopin-'all your 

 patrons will do the same as I have done, I remain, 

 respectfully, yours, W.Ii. .1., J.-t3 BellcviUe avenve, 

 Newarlr, New Jersey. 



[Next to the echoes from home, where Ave 

 ought to be be best known, we value those 

 from abroad, and none are more welcome than 

 those that reverberate from the " Jarseys." 

 Thank vou kindly ; these are the oases in the 

 desert of our editorial days. iMay they ever 

 continue fresh and green.— Ed.] 



Snlisbi'uy, N. C, Dec. IG, 18~S. 

 Mr. Editor— i>C((r tiir : On Saturday last, by 

 request of Ransom Jaco' s, I sent you for him by 

 mail (to^'ether with the extra papers you mailed to 

 him,) $1. "11 ill currency to pay his subscription up 

 to lirst ot .laiiu.uy, Lsi'.i. You may continue sending 

 The Lam A>ri:u rAiiMKK to me upon former con- 

 ditions, llilii- iuMjic.-iiii.ii meets with your appro- 

 bation let nie kiinw tlin)iii;li TliE Fakmek.— ro!(fS 

 tnihj, Martin liirhwbir. 



[All right. Let us hear from you often, 

 and send us all the new names you can, for 

 we do not wish to conceal our light "under a 

 bushel."— Ed.] 



QUARRTVILLE, Dec. 1.5, 1S78. 

 Dn. S. S. Rathvon — Dear Hir: I send you this 

 morning the lonn; looUed-for female opossum. I am 

 sorry it is dead, and not " playing possum." Possi- 

 bly I may send you a live one some of these days. 

 Please let me know if you received it all right, and 

 oblige yours truly, J{. C. E. 



[Your " opossum " {Didclphis virfjinianus,) 

 came safely to hand, and in due time will be 

 ■scientifically, if not gastronomically, dis- 

 cussed. Please accept our thanks:— Ed.] 



"IT STANDS TO REASON" 

 That The L.vxcasteii Farmer must be 

 the best advei'tising medium in the county of 

 Lancaster, in everything of a permanent and 

 useful character that relates to farming, gar- 

 dening and housekeeping. It is a fireside 

 journal ; is (.•onvenient to refer to ; always 

 near at hand ; and is a permanent institution 

 of the household, the workshop, the manu- 

 flictory and the farm. This ' 'stands to reason. " 



