1879.; 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



123 



discussion, when Mr. Kendlg arose and said that he 

 had tried the experiment one time, but It had proved 

 a failure. This was proi)abIy his own fault. He be- 

 lieved that If the corn were kept clear of weeds and 

 the soil properly cultivated, a good crop might be 

 raised. 



Mr. Witmer said sowing wheat on corn stubs was 

 E common practice in his vicinity. The cern stubble 

 was ploughed down, and while, of course, it did not 

 make as smoofh a crop as oats stubble ploughed 

 down, the yield was generally vary good and paid 

 for the trouble. He gaveditlerent processes of culti- 

 vating wheat on corn stubble 



Mr. Engle thought the best plan was not to plow. 

 Of course the ground should be well manured in 

 the 'spring. The stubble should be cut down, and 

 a cultivator, If not too heavy, could be used. If 

 there was clean culture a good yield might result — 

 provided that wheat was not plowed too deep; and 

 by the way, that is the great trouble in cultivating 

 wheat in this county, the farmers plow too deep. 

 For his part he had better luck from wheat planted 

 in corn than in potato ground. 



Social Intercourse. 



The chair now announced social intercourse, when 

 Mr. Engle said that he looked with regret upon the 

 small number present to-day. It had beeen resolved 

 to hold a fall fair, and he had supposed that the 

 committees would be appointed and that the affair 

 would go right on; but it looked to him now as 

 though some ol the membcis were going to shirk the 

 work. We must either hold a fair or not hold it, 

 and one thing or the other must be determined 

 " quickly. After announcing a fair, it would be a 

 great shame for a society like this to back out of it. 

 He hoped to hear the opinions of some other mem- 

 bers. 



Messrs. Witmer, Kendig and Cooper were in favor 

 of the exhibition and thought it should be held ; but 

 they all agreed that they did not like to assume the 

 whole responsibility themselves, and the present 

 meeting gave them little encouragement. Mr. 

 Cooper felt confident that if premiums were offered, 

 a fine display might be made. 



Mr. Engle was convinced that something was 

 wrong. The attendance to-day was unusually small , 

 and he could think of no other reason for it than 

 that they wanted to shirk the responsibility of putting 

 their shoulders to the wheel in pushing forward this 

 important work. He referred to York's energy In 

 matters of this kind, and thought the example of 

 Lancaster county's neighbors ought to incite our 

 people to some exertion. He was so much discour- 

 aged that he felt like going to Kansas. 



The discussion ended here, with the understanding 

 that those present would do all in their power to 

 make the contemplated exhibition a success. 

 Miscellaneous. 



Two or three small bills were presented and 

 ordered to be paid, and Mr. Eby handed over a small 

 amount of money from the Poultry Association. 



On motion of Mr. Engle, five hundred copies of the 



by-laws, (now in type), were ordered to be printed 



in pamphlet form, and Dr. Rathvon was entrusted 



with the supervision of the work. 



On Exhibition. 



E. Burkholder, West Earl, pears for name; H. M. 

 Engle, Marietta, Garretson's Early, All-Summer 

 and Primate apples, and Hosenshenk, Bloodgood 

 and Osband's Summer pears. 



A specimen of "Quince Rust," by Mr. McGrann, 

 of West Orange street, city. 



Larva of "American Peacock Moth," (Saturnia 

 lo), by Mrs.JGibbons, Enterprise Lancaster county, 

 found on a raspberry stem. 



After testing the fruits the society adjourned. 



THE LANCASTER COUNTY POULTRY 

 ASSOCIATION. 



The August meeting of the Lancaster County 

 Poultry Associatiou was held on Monday morning, 

 August 4th, at 10;30, in the old Athenaeum rooms. 

 City Hall. Present, Messrs. D. C. Tobias, President; 

 Jacob B. Lichty, Secretary; W.J. Kafroth, John F. 

 Reed, Charles Lippold, J. M. Johnston, Christian 

 Cast, Walter Kieffer, Silas N. Warfel, S. P. Eby, 

 David M. Brosey, Frank B. Buch, T. F. Evans, 

 Jacob A. Buch, G. A. Geyer, J. H. Habecker, and 

 Joseph F. Witmer. 



The minutes of the previous meeting were read 

 and approved. 



Reports of officers being in order, the treasurer, 

 Mr. 'T. F.Evans read his report, showing that the 

 receipts of the association to date had been ?41.7.5; 

 expenditures, $11.45 ; balance on hand, $:iO.:W. 



Two small bills — one from The New Era and one 

 fr»m Chas. H. Barr, were approved, and then the 

 society proceeded to the consideration of 

 Unfinished Business. 



Under this head, a resolution offered at the 

 previous meeting to amend the by-laws by imposing 

 a fine of ?1 upon any member who failed, aftcr 

 acceptingthe appointment, to serve on a committee 

 or prepare a paper, came up for action. 



Mr. Kafroth thought the amendment carried with 

 it a punishment that was too levere and oppressive ; 



he had never known such a law In any other associ- 

 ation, and he would oppose It. 



Mr. Reed thought it would act as an Incentive to 

 members, making them more prompt in rendering 

 the service which they might voluntarily accept, and 

 he therefore favored the amendment. 



Mr. Evans rather opposed the amendment, and 

 Messrs. Warfel and Winters also entered their pro- 

 tests, regarding the measure as quite too arbitrary. 

 Mr. Lichty explained the object of the resolution. 

 Questions had frequently been referred to persons 

 who afterward paid not the slightest attention to 

 them, although they were invariably present and ac- 

 cepted the task when it was Imposed upon them; the 

 member who had offered the amendment doubtless 

 thought the fear of this fine would stimulate them to 

 greater exertion. 



The question was now called, resulting in the de- 

 feat of the resolution "by a large majority." 

 Referred Questions. 

 "What breed of fowls Is most profitable?" Referred 

 to Mr. Witmer to answer at next meeting. 



"Are some breeds of fowls more subject to disease 

 than others, and if so, why ? This had been re- 

 ferred to Mr. H. H. "Tshudy, but as he was not 

 present, Mr. Warfel was called on to answer. He 

 said that he made a specialty of one breed of fowls, 

 and was therefore hardly prepared to discuss other 

 breeds; but he might have somethiug to say further 

 on in the discussion. 



Mr. Kafroth had observed that disease was most 

 likely to attack heavy fowls. He had sad experi- 

 ence in this matter, and in his neighborhood the dis- 

 ease was most manifest, as he before stated, among 

 heavy fowls. 



Mr. Evans had observed, in his neighborhood, 

 that disease was most common among the mongrels 

 or "dung-hills," his mother having lost more than 

 sixty chickens of the common breed in two weeks' 

 time. He believed the cause of disease to be the 

 neglect of introducing new breeds at proper times. 

 There ought to be a 'change of blood, he thought, 

 every year or two. 



Mr. Eby's experience, in the last few years, had 

 been principally with game chickens ; but when a 

 boy he had chargeofhis father's chickens, commonly 

 known as mongrels, and they never had disease 

 among them, although they frequently roosted in 

 places so exposed that their feet and combs were 

 frozen. He believed that the chicken cholera among 

 our fowls dated from the introduction of the Asiatic 

 fowls, and he gave instances confirming this belief, 

 although he did not assert it to be a fact, but merely 

 an opinion, based on the results of close observation. 

 A chicken that is too closely confined is more liable 

 to the disease than another; but he did not believe the 

 disease was confined to any particular breed. 



Mr. Geyer first noticed cholera' among his dark 

 Brahmas, then among his Cochins ; but after he 

 bought Leghorns he was not troubled with cholera. 

 Mr. Warfel believed that thorough-bred chickens 

 were more exempt from disease than others. He 

 had been breeding light Brahmas for ten years, and 

 had never had a case of cholera in his yard 

 Whether this was because of the breed or owing to 

 especial care on his part he was unable to say ; but 

 his experience and his observation and correspond- 

 ence led him to believe that thorough-bred chickens 

 were peculiarly exempt from disease. 



Mr. Witmer corroborated Mr. Warfel's opinion, 

 and he believed the light Brahmas were among the 

 most healthy and profitable breeds. 



Mr. Tobias, retinquishing the chair, took the floor 

 and gave bis experience — by request; or rather he 

 gave the experience of Mr. Tshudy, of Litiz, with 

 whose successes and misfortunes in chicken-raising 

 he was familiar. After explaining the difference be- 

 tween chicken cholera and diarrhcea,',he said that he 

 doubted whether Mr. Tshudy would like to tell how 

 many light Brahmas and Partridge Cochins be had 

 lost ; but the speaker did not believe it was all owing 

 to the breed, but thought — with no intention what- 

 ever to do injury to Mr. Tshudy — that his "run" 

 was not kept as clean as it might be. He did not 

 believe one variety was more prone to disease than 

 another, and there was no record to this effect. 

 What is wanted is pure blood— a good, solid fowl— 

 and this can only be attained by great cleanliness. 

 He advocated cleanliness, therefore, as the best pre- 

 ventive of disejise, and he also favored the building 

 of coops on high, dry ground. 



Mr. Evans made a habit of feeding salt to his 

 chickens, almost dally, and Mr. Eaby said he was 

 glad to hear it, because the popular idea was that 

 they must not have sail — not even salt bread. 



Mr. Warfel said that for years the generally ac- 

 cepted rule had been to keep hot only salt, but all 

 salty substances from chickens, and Mr. Evan's 

 plan was a new revelation to him. He, too, was glad 

 to learn that the chickens could be fed with salt, not 

 only without injury, but with positive benefit, ac- 

 cording to Mr. E.'s experience. 



M r. Keed described a disease among chickens, the 

 name of which he could not give, but the symptoms 

 of which were very peculiar. No one present had 

 experienced the same disease among his poultry, and 

 no explanation of the disease or remedy for it was 



Chairman Tobias had come to the conclusion that, 

 as chicken dlseasos were most prevalent in the hot 

 season, they were attributable In a large measure to 

 drinking loo much water. No creature of Its size, 

 to his knowledge, would drink one-half the quantity 

 of water on a hot day that a chicken would. He 

 believed that If chickens were given water in the 

 morning, at noon and In the evening, instead of 

 having it constantly around them, the disease* now 

 so prevalent would be greatly reduced. 



Mr. Evans related his experience on the matter of 

 giving chickens water, and the discussion then 

 closed. 



Mr. Witmer, to whom a question had been refered 

 for next meeting, declined on the plea of being loo 

 much occupied, as secretary of the Agricultural 

 Society, in getting up an exhibition for the near 

 future. 



In the matter of holding a poultry show, the 

 chairman explained that through a misunderstand- 

 ing, the committee had not yet held a meeting, but 

 would meet before the next stated mertlng. 



Mr. Lippold proposed William Klump andObadiah 

 Kendig of Lancaster, for membership; Mr. Evana 

 proposed Franklin Carpenter, of Brunnervillo ; the 

 three were elected. 



Adjourned. 



WARWICK FARMERS' CLUB. 



The Warwick Farmers' Club met on the small 

 farm of John Grossman, jr., near Mlllway Station, 

 C. & R. R., on Saturday, August 2, 1879, the Presi- 

 dent, Uriah Carpenter, in the chair. In the absence 

 of the Secretary, John Grossman was appointed 

 secretary ;>ro tein. 



As there was no particular question before the 

 meeting Mr. Grossman proposed one, which wa« 

 agreed to: 



"What is the best way to prepare the soil for sow- 

 ing wheat, and how and when to sow ?" 



Mr. Grossman said : Haul manure on the land and 

 spread it evenly; plow early and then roll it; let it 

 remain in that condition till near seed time, then 

 harrow it ; when it is lumpy shovel, roll and harrow 

 until it becomes fine. Sow about the 'JOth of Sep- 

 tember; the quantity of the seed varies from IJ^ to 

 2 bushels per acre, according to the quality of the 

 lands. 



H. Huber said he once plowed early and rolled a 

 part of a field early, and the balance of it later, and 

 then it was dry and hard. After it was sowed a dif- 

 ference was seen until winter. The early plowed was 

 the greenest, but in harvest he noticed no difference. 

 In average he agreed with Messrs. Grossman and 

 Carpenter, and the most of the meeting. 



Messrs. Huber and Carpenter, however, differed 

 from Mr. G. as to rolling. They thought it ought 

 not to be rolled until the weeds grow, and then har- 

 row first and roll afterwards. 



Much was said on the subject of deep and shallow 

 plowing, but no conclusion was reached which was 

 best, 



On wheat : Some of the members liked the Foltz 

 wheat best, because it yields more to the acre than 

 other kinds: but the millers don't like it so well; 

 but if it yields most grain farmers ought to raise it. 



This question is open for discussion at the next 

 meeting of the club. 



A New Question. 



How best to keep milk cows and other stock. Ad- 

 journed to meet August 30, at 1 o'elo.-k P. M., at 

 the house of John Grossman, near New Haven 

 (Kissel Hill). 



LINNiEAN SOCIETY. 



Nearly the whole of the working force of tlic 

 Linnaean Society being at Ocean Grove on Saturday, 

 July i;6th,the July meeting was informally organ- 

 ized, in a pavilion, on the beach. In front of Joseph 

 Ross's restaurant, with the president. Prof. Slahr, 

 in the chair. The reading of the minutes of the last 

 meeting was dispensed with. Fine corallne speci- 

 mens of *Madr(pora cnlycnlaris and Tubipora 

 mnsica, were donated lo the museum by 8. S. Rath- 

 von, and specimens of quartz pebbles, and Algea 

 from the beach, by Mr. Slauffer. 



The prevaling rains prevented any explorations 

 along the beach or Inland, and hence the pailcity of 

 the donations, which would have been far other- 

 wise, had the weather been more favorable. The 

 novelty of the occasion, however, which was entirely 

 impromptu, with the foaming ocean in front and the 

 beautiful town of Ocean Grove in the background, 

 rendered the meeting peculiarly interesting, although 

 brief. After some further social Intercourse, on 

 motion of Prof. Duhbs the society adjourned to meet 

 at the usual place on the last Saturday in August. 



Mr. Stauffer reports that on his return home he 

 found quite a variety of snakes, lizards, fish and 

 insects, as well as a variety of finely-pressed plants, 

 collected by William B. Fahnestock, M. D., on his 

 late visit to (icorgia. They have not yet been 

 examined fully. 



