1879.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



101 



■When standing on one end the "spiral cord " 

 attached to each end is on a strain. This 

 cord is attached to the yolk and suspends it 

 in the centre, and keeps the same side of the 

 yolk uppermost all tlie time, each one being 

 twisted the contrary way. You can tnrn the 

 shell but not the yolk ; therefore, on the side 

 is the proper way to keep them. 



It is true Mr. P.'s system relates to breed- 

 ing and the others to pnckinrj for market ; 

 yet, inasmuch as it covers nearly two months, 

 it might just be as good a way to keep eggs as 

 any other, because the production and con- 

 sumption of eggs is so rapid and continuous 

 that there is liardly a two months' supply on 

 hand at any one time, except in special cases. 



We have given these views tliinking our 

 readers may be able to gather something from 

 each of them. 



HOW TO PRESERVE GRAPES. 



Will some of our patrons try the following 

 remedy to preserve grapes in a fresh and 

 luscious state beyond the usual grape season^. 

 We find it in the columns of an esteemed con, 

 temporary, but we are not able to vouch for 

 its practicability. The remedy is simple and 

 may be easily tried : 



" Travelers say that the Chinese have a 

 method of preserving grapes so as to have 

 them at command during the entire year by 

 cutting a circular piece out of a ripe pumpkin 

 or gourd, making an aperture large enough to 

 admit the haTid. Tlie interior is then "com- 

 pletely cleaned out, the ripe grapes are placed 

 inside, and the cover replaced and pressed in 

 firmly. The pumpkins are then kept in a 

 cool place, and the grapes will be found to 

 retain their freslmess for a very longtime." 

 We would gratuitously suggest, that the 

 pumpkin be thoroughly ripe— else a rot miglit 

 follow— and that the " plug " be so cut as to 

 be self-wedging when it is replaced — that is, 

 the knife should be inserted obliquely so as to 

 make the plug or stopper widest at the outer 

 part; so shaped, that it could not be pushed 

 through. 



MONTHLY REMINDERS. 



In the Middle States, this, like .June, is a 

 month of labor, in the garden. Weeds are 

 in rapid growth, plants are to set out, seeds 

 saved, and various matters require attention. 

 Beans plant for succession. Beets, the Long 

 Blood and Sugar ; also Mangold Wurzel may 

 be planted for stock, as late as first of July. 

 June is, however, much better. Beets, for 

 late AVinter and Spring use, may now be 

 sown. Cabbage plant. The Winter sorts of 

 Cabbage should now be planted out ; where 

 many are to be transplanted it is proper to 

 await a suitable time — a heavy rain or show- 

 ery weather ; but in a small garden Cabbages 

 may be transplanted almost at any season, by 

 careful watering, and, if need be, shading. 

 Celery plant. Endive .sow. Peas, a few may 

 be sown ; tliey seldom do well at this season. 

 Turnips sow. 



Drumhead Savoy Cabbage. 



An excellent Winter and Spring family 

 Cabbage, partaking partially of the size of 

 the Drumhead and the curled leaves of the 

 Savoy. Market-gardeners usually find it pro- 

 fitable to provide a limited quantity for dis- 

 criminating customers; for family use, it is 

 only equaled by the Curled Savoy. It may 

 reaclily be kept until late in Spring, and ap- 

 pears to improve by the process of ripening- 

 becoming marrow-like and free from the rank 

 flavor which sometimes attaches to the Cab- 

 bage. It really seems incredib.e that with 

 such a variety as this attainable that people 

 should be found cultivating the "Mammoth 

 Drumhead," except for pigs; and is poor 

 food for them in comparison with Beets, Pars- 

 nips, Carrots and other Roots which may be 

 provided at moderate cost. 



With progress in every art, and improving 

 taste in all which interests us, it is curious to 

 observe the persistence with which some peo- 

 ple stick to old and obsolete varieties of vege- 

 tables — satisfied with what was familiar to 



them in their youth— apparently unconscious 

 the world is moving onward, and satisfied to 

 pick up tlieir garden-seeds at the cross-roads 

 store, where they may have been depo.sited 

 for sale by an itinerant seed-seller- the rem- 

 nant, perchance, of a box exposed elsewhere 

 the preceding year. 



It is not agreeable to make such comments, 

 but this publication is designed for public 

 benefit, and it becomes a duty to point out 

 error. — Landreth^s lliirul lirginter. 



Contributions. 



For The Lancasteb Fabmeb. 

 SUMMER TIME. 

 Summer time Is coming now, 



Summer time is here ; 

 And we sit beneath the bough, 



When the sky Is clear. 

 For the sun Is burning hot, 



And we love the shade ; 

 And the sweet forcet-me-not 



Hides within the glade. 

 And we love the cooling breeze, 



As it fans our brow ; 

 Coming through the leafy trees, 



Ah ! that sound is now. 

 Out upon the harvest field, 



Wliere the men do reap ; 

 Gather in the golden yield, 



Pile it up on heap. 

 Some do rake and bind the sheaves, 



Others load the wain ; 

 Some do hear the rustling leaves, ^ 



Soon it will give rain. 

 Some do haul it to the barn, 



There to store away ; 

 Vfe can lessons from them learn 



For a future day. 

 Hark ! I hear the dinner bell, 



Pealing out so clear ; 

 As it echoes through the dell, 



Giving them fresh cheer. 

 Now we hear the farmer's voice, 



Calling to the men ; 

 " Till this evening we'll rejoice, 



For the grain is in." 

 Gather all the precious gold, 



Every sheaf but one ; 

 And at eve we'll raise the pole, 



When the work is done. 

 For the little feathered tribe 



Cannot live on air; 

 And we ought, while it is ripe. 



Give at least a share." 

 Hark ! we hear the thunder roll, 



See the lightning Hash ; 

 And anon descends the bolt 



AVith a deafening crash. 

 And the rain comes pouring down, 



Filling all our springs. 

 And the dry and parching ground, 



Now the farmer sings. 

 For he thinks of shriveled corn 



That does need the rain. 

 And of weary limbs so worn. 



That can rest again. 

 Farmers with their busy bands, 



Woik with iron will ; 

 And they want no idle hands, 



They cannot stand still. 

 For the summer slips apast. 



Ere we think it near ; 

 But the wealth we have amassed, 



Sometimes costs us dear. — Leoline. 



For The LAtJCASTF.n Fahmeh. 

 LARGE CATFISH. 



Dear Editor : As promised in a former 

 letter, I will give a little sketch of our big 

 fish that dwell in this big, muddy stream. 



There are two varieties of the cat tribe. 

 The one called the 131ack or Channel cat. Tliis 

 one is usually found in the swift currents, and 

 seems to follow in the wake of the steam- 

 boats, as they are often caught with food in 

 their stomachs that is thrown overboard. 

 Nothing seems to come ami.ss ; from a dish 

 of potatoes to the shin-bone of an ox. They 

 also prey upon their own species, as they are 

 frequently taken with one of their own sort, 

 nearly half their own length, inside of them. 



One instance, close here, three fish were 

 taken on one snood; one of about two pounds 

 took the bait, anotiier of about ten pounds 

 swallowed tliis one, when a thirty pounder 

 gobbled this one, and wtis taken in ; the hook 

 still remaining in the small one's mouth. Re- 

 member this is not a fish story, but a fact. 



I have never caught any of tliese big fish, 

 but have witnessed with great satisfaction the 

 operations. Some years ago I helped to -skin 

 one that measured live feet eight inches in 

 length, measured fourteen inches between the 

 eyes, and weighed one hundred and eighty- 

 five pounds. When the head was cut oft a 

 little three year old boy present miglit easily 

 have crawled through its mouth. Tlie manner 

 in which this fellow was caught may be new to 

 some of your readers and therefore 1 will give 

 it. Large hooks are used, fastened to the lines 

 about three feet long, baited with old bacon, 

 dead birds, chicken entrails, or in fact almost 

 any kind of meat. This short line is tied to 

 the handle of a jug tightly corked ; a block of 

 light wood will also answer. Thus provided, 

 a skift" is rowed up the river as far as it is in- 

 tended to fish down. These blocks or j..g8 

 are cast afloat, considerably scattered, and as 

 they float down the stream the fishermen let 

 their craft follow. It is a pretty sight to look 

 at ten to twenty of these afloat, and when one 

 begins to bob there is excitement : but now is 

 the time to keep cool, for it is well to let the 

 fish tire himself before taking it in. At the 

 proper time they approach quickly but quietly; 

 one takes the jug or block in hand and raises 

 the fish, while another stands with a sharp 

 hook, with which he strikes the fish and helps 

 the other to lift it into the skift. This latter 

 is no small task when a very large one. 

 Another plan is similar to the mode in the 

 eastern streams called outlines, here trot 

 lines ; which 1 think should be taut, as they 

 are stretched pretty tightly. 



The Yellow or Mud Catfish are heavier in 

 proportion to their length, and dwell in still 

 water, where there is plenty of mud. 



This is very dillerent fishing from what I 

 did years ago in the Pequea creek, six miles 

 southeast of your city.— -S. Miller, Bluffton, 

 Misaouri. 



For The Lanoasteh Farheb. 

 A GLIMPSE OF THE WEST. 



Editor Lancaster Farmer : In these 

 days of unusual migration, when almost 

 every one has a frieiid or relative in the 

 West, those in the East usually feel an in- 

 terest in their welfare ; and especially while 

 so many reports are circulated of the priva- 

 tions they have to endure, and the homesick- 

 ness they sufler on the rainless, treeless and 

 shelterless praii'ies of Kansas, Nebraska and 

 othe. States. 



A few weeks' travel in Kansas, where I 

 came in contact with a large percentage of 

 Pennsylvauians, not a few of which were 

 former residents of our own garden county, I 

 tliink justifies me to make a brief report of 

 what 1 saw and heard. 



The colony from this and neighboring 

 counties, which settled in Dickinson county 

 this spring, have nearly all located, and seem 

 quite at home ; no complaints were heard, 

 and homesickness is emphatically denied. 

 And, although they are obliged to put up 

 with some inconveniences to which they were 

 unused in the East, they have no doubt al- 

 ready imbibed some of the go-ahead spirit so 

 characteristic to western people, that a few 

 years hence they will be pretty well fixed, 

 unless some unusual or unexpected reverses 

 should befall them. 



To the eastern explorer who has never 

 before seen a prairie, this reputed rainless 

 desert presents attractions of which, " in his 

 philosophy," he had never dreamed. The 

 broad, living green expanse of level and 

 rolling prairie, interspersed with bluffs 20 to 

 50 feet in height, presents landscapes truly 

 enchanting to the beholder. The rivers, as 

 also the smaller streams, are lined with tim- 

 ber, which adds charm to the scenery. 



The many beautiful and fragrant flowers, 



