l87(i.J 



tHE LANCASTER FARMER. 



a 



OUR LOCAT. ORGANIZATIONS. 



Proceedings of the Lancaster County Agricul- 

 tural and Horticultural Society. 



Tl.c regular stated nieeliiig of the Lancaster 

 Couuty Aericullural aud Uorticultural Society was 

 held on Monday afternoon, January Gtli, iu tlieir 

 rooms In the City Hall. The President, Calvin 

 Cooper, called the meeting to order. 



The following members were present ; Calvin 

 Cooper, President, Bird-in-IIand ; Joseph E.Witmcr, 

 Secretary, Paradise ; Johnson Miller, Corresponding 

 Secretary, Warwi.U : l.ivi W.Cirolf, Treasurer, West 

 Earl; Ilenrv M 1 n^l. . Nhimiui; W. .1. K;inVoth, 

 West Earl ;'l)i, i i -. n, riiy ; (\ M. l|„su-lter, 



Eden; F. K. Im: I ! m :,. i\; Levi S. l;,.isi , .Man- 

 lieini ; Peter S. i;> i i, l.m : M. I). Kcnili;;, Minuir ; 

 Casper Hiller, Con, stn;;a : Henry Kurtz, Mt. Joy; 

 John C. Linville, Salisbury ; Wni. McComsey, city; 

 Daniel Smeych, city ; C. L. Ilunsecker, city; Israel 

 L. Landis, Manheim. 



On motlou, the reading of the minutes of the pre- 

 vious mceliug was dispensed with. 



Phares B. Schwarr was ailmitted to membership. 

 Fertilizers. 



Johnson Miller, chairman of the Committee on 

 Fertilizers, reported that very little had been done, 

 and requested that the committee be continued. lie 

 reported the season as having been very unfavorable 

 to experiments. 



Casper lliller had done a little in the matter, bu: 

 not enough to be worth a report. 



M. Brosius, of the committee, made remarks of a 

 like kind, aud at his request the committee was con- 

 tinued. 



Joseph F. Witmer, another member of the com- 

 mittee, briefly related several experiments he had 

 made. 



II. M. Engle suggested that Mr. lliller read the 

 report he had made of his experiments, which was 

 agreed to aud Mr. lliller read the following ; 

 Artificial Fertilizers. 



Artificial fertilizers are often said to be more in 

 the nature of stimulants than manure, and occa- 

 sionally comes a wariuing against their use, as in a 

 brief article a few weeks ago iu the Nctr Era, be- 

 cause they will, after a few years, fail to produce 

 good crops, or in other words, that they will exhaust 

 the soil. This bugbear that they exhaust the soil is 

 at this age of experience too absurd to talk about. 

 Twenty-five or more years ago the late Major Hoopes 

 used guauo on the old commons of Martic township, 

 and raised twenty bushels of wheat per acre. The 

 same prediction, that guano exhausts the soil, was 

 then made. This land was so poor that not a head 

 of wheat would have made its appearance without 

 the use of the guano. Suppose it had been as poor 

 after the crop as before ; the fact was here that the 

 wheat was worth more than the cost of guauo and 

 labor combined. But it was not as poor. Major 

 Hoopes ."owed clover among the wheat, and the 

 result was a crop of Lay and a sod for future im- 

 provemeut. 



The late Mr. Boyd, of Martic township, who had 

 no superior as an improver of soil, and, as a good 

 farmer told me, that he eould distinctly trace the 

 efl'ects of an artificial fertilizer ten years after the 

 application. John I. Carter, of the Eastern Experi- 

 mental Farm, has shown that a dressing of acidu- 

 lated South Carolinarock had adecidedly better effect 

 on the crops of a five years' rotation than stable 



Prof.Stockbridge, of Conn., says that chemicals 

 are better than manure, because they may be more 

 cheaply transported, handled and carried to distant 

 parts of the farm and more thoroughly mixed with 

 the soil. They are better than yard manure, because 

 they not only enable us to grow as abundant crops 

 with less labor, but their supply can equal; any de- 

 mand. They enable the farmer to crop his land, 

 sell the crops, and yet maintain the fertility of his 

 soil. In my experience I have seen nothing to cast 

 and discredit on the professor's opinion, (iood com- 

 mercial fertilizers are composed of nitrogen, phos- 

 phoric acid and potash. These ingredients are all to 

 be found in stable manure, and when they are all 

 abstracted therefrom there is little of value left. 



I believe that under certain circumstances, and iu 

 certain localities, it would be entirely feasible and 

 profitable to sell all the hay, straw, fodder and corn, 

 except what is wanted for the few horses needed and 

 for feeding as many cows as would supply the family 

 with milk and butter. The amount of labor s.ived 

 by such a course would be very great. 



These special fertilizers have sometimes been 

 brought into disrepute by taking it for granted that 

 because an extra crop of wheat has beer raised by 

 their use, the same can be done again and again by 

 an annual dressing of the fertilizer. In many cases 

 this has proven unsatisfactory. Suppose we had a 

 field that had a proper supply of nitrogen and pot- 

 ash, and If on this we apply a fertilizer, rich in phos- 

 phone acid, and from this we raise a first-class crop 

 of grain, might it not reasonably follow, that in re- 

 peating the process for several years we would ex- 

 haust the nitrogen aud potash, and the consequence 

 would be poor crops ! 



Stable manure has a similar effect. I know of a 



case where stable manure was applied annually on 

 wheat ground, with the following result : First year, 

 forly-flve bushels ; second do., about twenty-five ; 

 third do., twelve ; fourth do., almost a totil failure. 

 Would you say the manure exhausted the soil? 

 \ery little of our land is adapted to special crops. 

 It wants rotation. Our main crops are clover, corn 

 and wheat. Oats should be discarded altogether. 

 They rarely pay cost of production, and are the most 

 exhaustive of all cereals. Our artificial fertilizer 

 rotation should begin with a clover sod. Apply a 

 fertilizer rich In the elements that corn requires. In 

 the fall sow the corn-stalk ground Iu rye, and the 

 following summer, when iu bloom, plow it down 

 and let It lie fallow until time to sow wheat. Or, if 

 you will raise tobacco, haul on this ground the 

 manure made by your stock. When the time for 

 seeding wheat comes, apply the proper artificial 

 fertilizer for wheat. Follow with a one or two year's 

 run of clover, and the laud will belli better condi- 

 tion without a doubt than if it had received the 

 usual dressiug of stable manure. Better, because in 

 the rotation, it received two dressings of fertilizers 

 and had a green crop plowed down. 



If we depend on stable manure for our fertilizer. 

 We must see to it that our mauure pile is not only of 

 large dimensions, but it must be of good quality. I 

 have known farmers who would not sell a load of 

 straw for love or money and who hauled stuff on 

 their fields which they called mauure, while others 

 called it straw. If we want a good manure pile we must 

 put all the hay, straw, cornfodder, oats and corn 

 that are raised on the farm Into the pile, and if we 

 can run several car loads of Western corn into it, it 

 will be all the better. When all this is done there 

 will still be a goodly corner of the farm crying for 

 more. When we take into consideration the value of 

 these raw materials, together with the vast amc 

 of labor required we find it to be a very costly pili 

 I do not say that it does not pay to do all this, 

 I do know many farmers who follow this plan that 

 are eminently successful. But we cannot all be 

 cattle feeders. The experience of the last ten years 

 with artificial fertilizers has fully shown that it is 

 not necessary that we should be. 



William McComsey stated that he had also read 

 the article in the New Era, and hail cut it out. He 

 requested the Secretary to read it, wln'ih was done. 

 H. M. Engle said that in this proijiessivu a"e when 

 fertilizers have been tested so thon. uglily we cannot 

 regret the beneficial effects known to arise from 

 them. It is a mistake to regard fertilizers as mere 

 stimulants. In some crops they may not be so good 

 because they contain elements not required by the 

 crop. But some other crop ma> take up the ingredi- 

 ents and in this way tliey are not wasted. Tlie soil 

 will hold them until needed. However, we cannot 

 dispense with barnyard mauure. What'a fertilizer 

 is worth cannot be told from a single crop, but a 

 test of a number of years must decide the question 

 We should have fertilizers adapted to the crops in- 

 tended to be grown, and for this reason they should 

 all be labeled with the ingredients they contain to 

 show the farmer what he needs. He told of an ex- 

 periment made with a fertilizer on corn and potatoes. 

 The results in the first named crop were excellent 

 but very discouraging in the latter. ' 



William .McComsey advocated the use of barn- 

 yard manure. He hiped the committee will continue 

 their experiments aud determine how valuable arti 

 ficial fertilizers are to our soils. He had tried them 

 but the results hardly wrrranted their use largely 

 If they are all that is claimed for them, it is well 

 that fact should be known. 



Henry Kurtz had tried various kinds of artificial 

 fertilizers aud believes they are a stimulant. They 

 may benefit one croi> but fail in another. Clover 

 plowed down is worth all the fertilizers. The price 

 of fertilizers is too high ; the manufacturers make 

 all the money and the farmer can make nothing 

 Most of them are not worth the bags that hold them 

 One hundred bushels of lime are worth two tons of 

 fertilizers. 



H. M. Engle said that if the farmers of Pennsyl- 

 vania have been humbuged it is their own fault and 

 not the fault of the fertilizer. And it will be so until 

 the Legislature enacts that every manufacturer mark 

 on each bag exactly what it contains. An aiticle 

 sold in a State in which the law prevents adultera- 

 tion of fertilizers may be very good, but when sold 

 in this State it is not worth anything. We should 

 have a law to protect fertilizers. 



John H. Linville seriously questioned whether it 

 paid to use fertilizers ; to put $10 worth of fertilizer 

 on an acre of ground and get §20 worth of wheat off 



Casper Hlller said it certainly would not pay to use 

 »K' worth of fertilizer for wheat only, but it is well 

 known that the fertilizer benefits all the crops in a 

 five years' rotation. But we must learn what the 

 ground needs, and apply it. 



Progressive Agriculture. 



On motion, the rules were suspended to allow 

 1 eier b. Keist to read an essay on "Progressive Ag-ri- 

 culture." [Seepages.] ^ 



Election of Officers. 



On motion, the society proceeded to elect officers 

 lor the ensuing year. 



Calvin Cooper was nominated for re-election &i 

 President, but immediately arose to decline. lie said 

 that he had served the society faithfully for three 

 years, sometimes under pecuniary loss, and tliou"ht 

 they might relieve him for one year at least. 



II. M. Engle objected to his declination. He be- 

 ll -ved In adopting any measure that conferred the 

 greatest good on the greatest number, and moved 

 that Mr. Cooper be re-elected. The members were 

 unanimous for his election and Mr. Cooper gracefully 

 submitted, declaring that he would do his best to 

 advance the interests of the society, but that If busi- 

 ness callc.1 wluii I lie Kr.,i,.tv also claimed his atten- 

 tion he woull i.i . \ 1 1 r I, I ,,,,.,. call. 



•■"o'" Vi.. I \\\ II. Bi-osius, Jacob B. 



Garber, .M. |i I, ,, I, M \l. Eniile and Casper Ilil- 



nominated ; for Corresponding,' .-^n rii;ir\ . .Jnhnsoii 

 Miller; for Treasurer, Levi W. (imil : to, l.iinariaii 

 Simon P. Eby; for Agricultural ( hdniht, Jacob 

 Stauffer, and lor Entomologist, IJr. S. S. Kathvon. 



The nominations then closed, and C. L. Hunseeker 

 was instructed to cast the vote of the society for the 

 ofliccrs nominated. 



Auditing the Treasurer's Accounts. 



On motion, a committee of three, Cusper lliller. 



Johnson Miller and W. J. KaflVotli, were appointed 



to audit the Treasurer's accounts. They reported 



them correct, and a balance in the treasury of i>i>;:£i. 



Fair or no Fair. 



C. M. Hostetter proposed that the question of 



holding a fair be opened for discussion. 



John C. Linville thought the hour was too late to 

 begin such a question. It should be deferred until 

 next meeting. 



William McComsey thought the question should 

 be settled to-day or some day in the near future. If 

 the discussion is postponed until next mouth mea- 

 sures should be takeu to have a full attendance on 

 the day of meeting. It has been sai4 that the State 

 Agricultural Society meets at llarrisburg soon to 

 select a place for holdiug its next fair. If the society 

 has any inducements to oiler to persuade them to 

 hold the fair in this city, he thought a committee 

 should be appointed to lay them before them. 



Daniel Smeych moved that a committee be ap- 

 pointed to confer with other societies, and bring the 

 matter in a business shape before the next meeting 

 of the society. 



His motion was carried and the following com- 

 mittee was appointed : D. Smeych, C. M. Hostetter, 

 H. M. Engle, M. D. Kendig and John C. Linville. 

 Essays to the Farmer. 

 Dr. Rathvon, editor of The Lancaster Farmeh, 

 said it was proposed to issue The Fahmek as early 

 in the month as possible, and therefore he requested 

 all who were to read essays to send them to him not 

 later than the 2.5th of the month. They can then be 

 put in type, and the essayists can read them from 

 printed slips. 



Business for Next Meeting. 

 It was announced that John H. Landis will read 

 an essay next month. 



A question, "Will it pay to chop . 

 was referred to Joseph F. Wltnior. 



"Witl) • ■ 

 raise ' 

 Gioff. 



Lecture in Prospect. 

 H. M. Engle said that he had written to Professor 

 Caldcr, President of the State Agricultural Colleo-e, 

 asking him to deliver a lecture before the society. 

 The professor had consented, and will probably lec- 

 ture next month. 



as suggested that there would be too much 



for hogs?" 



Vith labor and land at present prices can we 

 wheat at §1 per bushel '(' Keferred to Levi W. 



On motion, it was resolved to hold the February 

 meeting at one o'clock iu the afternoon, thus gain- 

 ing au hour. 



On motion, it was also resolved to postpone the 

 lecture uutil the March meeting. 



Business Committee. 



President Cooper appointed the following Business 

 Committee : M. D. Kendig, I. L. Landis and JohnC. 

 Linville. 



Report of Fruit Committee. 



The Fruit Committee reported the following varie- 

 ties of apples as of most importance in such dry and 

 hot seasons as the one just past. They hang well on 

 the tree and are keepers: York Imperial, Koxbury 

 Russet and English Kusset. .\djourned. 



THE LANCASTER COUNTY POULTRY 

 ASSOCIATION. 



The following named gentlemen interested In 

 poultry breeding, met iu one of the parlors of the 

 Cooper House on Monday afternoon, December IG, 

 and took steps to organize a permanent county asso- 

 ciation. 



Totiias D. Martin, New Haven: Jlilton J. Kaffroth, 

 West Earl; Frank B. Buch, Lititz; B. F. Evans, 

 Lititz; Rev. D. C. Tobias, Lititz; Jacob A. Bueh, 

 Lititz; L.B.Martin, Spring Garden; G. A. Geycr, 

 Spring Garden; Chas. E. Long, Lancaster; J. B. 

 Lichty, Lancaster; H. G. Hirsh, Lancaster; J. H. 



