THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



69 



liaiid. There Ls but one main building on the 

 whole. He has quite a number of acres of 

 grazing or meadow lands, and also forests, 

 such as chestnut sprouts. Although mostly 

 sand and gravel land he has a good deal of it 

 in a good state of cultivation. 



Then about fifteen miles from Lancaster, 

 five miles north of Litiz, you will find several 

 large farms also ; one of them owned by the 

 heirs of Dawson Coleman, and the other by 

 the heirs of Ttobcrt Colinian. The first, owned 

 by the heirs of Dawson Coleman, is located in 

 Elizabeth township, used to be called the 

 Elizabeth Furnace, but is now abandoned 

 and turned into a stock farm ; it contains about 

 thirteen hundred acres. It is managed by Mr. 

 Colin Cameron, who has turned it partly into 

 a stock farm from that of a cheese factory, 

 which was carried on by his predecessor. Mr. 

 Cameron keeps mostly Alderney stock, from 

 which he sells many at a distance, and at 

 liome; he has also any number of poultry, from 

 the game to tlic Plymouth Rock. There are 

 three large houses and barns on the land, but 

 all managed by Mr. Cameron, who lives in 

 the old mansion where Mr. Coleman used to 

 live many years ago. The land is divided 

 into grazing and farming, and a good deal is 

 in forest. The most of the old furnace can 

 yet be seen, together with the large number 

 of tenant houses, for whose occupants Miss 

 Coleman built a church to worship and hold 

 Sunday-schools. 



The latter farm, west of the former, con- 

 taining about forty-five hundred acres, owned 

 by the Coleman heirs, formerly called the 

 Speedwell Forge place, managed by Mr. 

 George Youtz, who occupies the old mansion, 

 and has, among other older buildings, built 

 several large barns and houses ; scarcely any 

 of the old forge and dam being visible. This 

 farm also contains much grazing and meadow 

 lands, and chestnut timber, from which many 

 rails and posts are made and sold ; also, char- 

 coal burned from the wood. 



Mr. Youtz has, if not the greatest stock 

 farm in the State, at least one of the greatest. 

 His stock of cattle are, as far as I saw, ordi- 

 nary with the exception of a pair of oxen, 

 which he values highly ; but his stock of 

 Hambletonian horses exceeds any that I have 

 yet seen. He has about twenty colts, about 

 twenty yearlings, that many two yearlings, 

 and, perhaps, forty or fifty work horses, in- 

 cluding his stallions, besides a number of 

 what he calls Percherons, (small ponies). 



Tie has a stallion of the Middletou stock for 

 which he paid fifteen thousand dollars, ^nd 

 three and four yearling stallions which he 

 values from one to two tliousand dollars. He 

 has a number of Hambletonian colts now train- 

 ing on his half-mile course, made on purpose 

 to train, which he expects to turn out two- 

 forties, and is sending them out to different 

 points. These farms are none of our Lancaster 

 county limestone land— rich farms— nor are 

 they so pleasantly located, but it will do any- 

 one good to see some of these farms and 

 stock.— <S(ocfe Admirer. 



For The Lancaster Fabmkb. 

 WANTS TO KNOW. 



Mr. Editor : A young man wishes to 

 know where he can buy good land for $150 an 

 acre that will yield 40 bushels of wheat per 

 acre. He has seen in the papers notices of 

 Mr. Groff's system of cultivation, but it was 

 not stated where such land could be bought 

 or S150 an acre. In his neighborhood land 

 costs a good deal more than that, and the 

 yield of wheat per acre, one year in another, 

 hardly averages 25 bushels per acre. 



Will Mr. GroflE please state, through The 

 Farmer, where land can be bought for $150 

 per acre that will yield 40 bushels of wheat to 

 the* acre ? And, also, whether the farm can 

 be kept in good condition with 300 pounds of 

 rawbone to the acre ; and, if the straw is all 

 sold, what are we to use for bedding for the 

 horses and cows?— H'^amiH-, 3fay, 1879. 



[We apprehend that either of the proposi- 

 tions might be realized singly, but the com- 

 pound proposition may be difficult to realize.] 



For The Lanoasteb Fabmeb. 

 SPRING DAYS. 

 And DOW the merry days have come, 



The gladdest of the year, 

 Of meadows preen and daisies bright, 



And streamlets running; clear ; 

 The buttercup and cowslip, too, 



Peep from their mossy bed, 

 They love the gentle sun's warm ray. 



Above their lowly head ; 

 The apple tree is in full bloom, 



And from their tops the Jay 

 Is piping out his welcome notes, 



Throughout the live long day. 



The little lambs upcfti the hills, 



They skip and run about, 

 And children on the village green, 



They give a noisy shout, 

 And say that merry spring is here, 



And in the woods they hie. 

 To gather flowers and make a wreath, 



Beneath the bright blue sky ; 

 For school books now are laid aside, 



And all their tasks are done. 

 And in the fields they roam about. 



Beneath the genial sun. 



The plowman hurries to the field. 



To turn the mellow sward. 

 And drop within the golden grain, 



And wait the rich rewaril ; 

 Full well he knows that it must die, 



And rise to life again. 

 Ere he can reap the sweet reward 



For all his toil and pain ; 

 He thinks not of the gentle breeze. 



That funs his sweaty brow. 

 He only thinks of those he loves. 



For those he's toiling now. 



The ice-king now no longer rules 



This beauteous world of ours, 

 The gentle sun upon us beams. 



And brings us southern showers ; 

 For now the trees are decked in green, 



And everything is bright, 

 0, welcome to the lovely spring, 



It is the heart's delight. 

 Let us enjoy it while we may. 



And do what good we can. 

 And leave the rest to Him above. 



It is the better plan. 



Then welcome, welcome to the spring. 



It brings us birds and flowers, 

 It brings to us the breezes soft, 



It brings us April showers; 

 It brings to us the rippling rill. 



From out the mountain glen, 

 It makes the blood leap in "our veins. 



It makes us young again ; 

 The insects, too, have sprung to life, 



In every woody dell. 

 Oh, how we love the spring time, 



The hungry heart can tell. 



But some are grieving for their loved. 



Whom they have laid away. 

 Forgetful of the blessings here 



That thev have every day ; 

 Nor thinking of the time they'll meet 



Upon the golden shore. 

 And walk within the light of God, 



And live for evermore ; 

 We there shall walk the golden streets. 



It is the spirit's rest, 

 It is the spring time of the soul, 



The sweetest and the best. 



—Leoline. 



FOB The Lancaster Fabmzb. 

 ABOUT EGGS. 

 Mr. S. S. Rathvon— De(tr Sir: In read- 

 ing over your valuable paper. The Lancas- 

 ter Farmer, I see many questions are asked 

 by the Lancaster County Poultry Association, 

 and not all being able to agree I will here 

 give a few ideas of my own experience. E-'gs 

 will keep for one month and hatch well if 

 they are laid on their sides, instead of stand- 

 ing on either end, but not air-tighted. When 

 standing on end the spiral cord is on a strain, 

 as the yolk is hung in the centre, having a 

 spiral cord attached to each end, and each one 

 being twisted the contrary way from the other 

 keeps the yolk on the one side up all the time ; 

 you can turn the shell but not the yolk ; there- 

 fore, on the side is the proper way to keep 

 them, the same as when the hen is brooding 

 over them. Fertile eggs are tliose that show 

 the air bubble at or near the big end. AVhen 

 it cannot be seen the egg is not fertile. Some 

 are not full, and we can see the light through 



the top of the egg ; and, move it backward 

 and forward slowly, you can see the contents 

 move on the inside. These are non-fertile eggs. 



Pullets' eggs will hatch as well as hens, but 

 it is neccBsary to give them the cock in the 

 fall, and by spring they will be all right ; but 

 they will give more cockrels than pullets. The 

 "egg-tester " is of no use to test the fertility 

 of an egg ; this fact should be ascertained 

 before the eggs are set, by the air bubble ; the 

 tester is very useful, after they have been sit 

 on one week, to test the life of the egg. If 

 the vitality has not been destroyed by the hen 

 or hens it will show itself by the use of the 

 tester. I have one of my own make, werth 

 20 cents, far superior to those sold at 75 cents. 

 Fresh blood should be introduced every year, 

 and not bred in and in ; and it matters not 

 whether it is a cock or a cockrel, providing 

 they are vigorous ones. White Leghorns, if 

 well bred, will lay 225 eggs per annum, and 

 will average seven to the pound. Where I 

 have one that will fall short of this number I 

 have two that will overreach it; or 19 doz. per 

 annum for each hen, at a clear profit of $3.00 

 per year, and the hen gratis, so if one dies I 

 lose nothing, only minus one chicken. Gen- 

 tlemen, it is eggs that ))av, not poultry 

 flesh.— Fours, *c., Wm.J.Pyle, West Chester, 

 April nth, 1879. 



P. S. Here is something for the society to 

 debate on. In the spring of 1870 I had 35 

 hens and one cock. About the first of April 

 I lent the cock to a friend to nm a few days 

 with his fancy hens (White Leghorns). He 

 kept him five weeks, and during this time I 

 sold 32 settings, and sit 8 settings myself ; but 

 I examined every egg, and some of my cus- 

 tomers ordered the third setting, reporting to 

 me of hatching 12 out of every 13 eggs. At 

 the fifth week they began to show non-fertile 

 eggs — nearly one-half of them. I then had 

 him sent home again, and in four or five days 

 they were all right again.— IF. J. P. 



For The Lancastee Fabmeb. 

 THE MOON'S INFLUENCE. 



Editor Lancaster Farmer : I am 

 obliged to your correspondent J. G. for his 

 communication in the Aiiril number in answer 

 to mine of the preceding month, though I 

 regret to say it was not in all respects satis- 

 factory. He makes clear what he meant by 

 the expressions "rising" and "setting" of 

 the moon in his former communication, so far 

 as the almanac is concerned, but he does not 

 explain what the moon's "ascension" or 

 "descension" consists in, or how we are to 

 know, aside from the almanac, whether it is 

 in one or the other of those periods, so that 

 we might be the better able to jtidge if the 

 change from one to the other is likely to have 

 the important eftects attributed to it. But 

 let that pass. It must be admitted that the 

 belief in the moon's influence on the crops is 

 to be established or overthrown by facts and 

 actual experience rather than by abstract 

 reasoning' or theory ; but I fail to find in 

 either of J. G.'s two conmiimications in The 

 Farmer any statement of facts or reference 

 to experiments that demonstrate the correct- 

 ness of his belief, or that go very far to show 

 even a probability in its favor. 



He tells us, it is true, that he plows and 

 plants when the moon is in such and such 

 signs, and leads us to infer that he has thereby 

 succeeded in raising good croi)s ; but it seems 

 to me this is not enough, unless he has also 

 tried the experiment or known of somebody 

 else trying, not once only but a number of 

 times, of plowing and planting in the opyyosite 

 sign, and proving by actual experiments that 

 the crops were inferior in the latter ca.se to 

 the former. This test seems necessary from 

 the fact I referred to in my former communi- 

 cation, that many of our most intelligent and 

 some of our most suco'iisfitl farmers pay no 

 attention whatever to the signs or phases of 

 the moon, and do not believe they have lost 

 anything bv their incredulity in this particu- 

 lar. Of course these men plow and plant 

 about as often in what J. G. would call the 

 wrong sign as in the right one, and if it is a 



