140 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[ September, 



Regular Question. 



"Is sheep raising more profitable than any other 

 business farmers can engage in?" 



If farmers depend upon hired labor sheep were 

 considered most profitable ; while if you do not have 

 to hire, dairying took precedence. A ewe was allowed 

 to gain one hundred per cent, by some, while others 

 considered it a very poor cow which would not pay 

 as much. If we had a stringent dog law sheep 

 raising would pay. The "city gunner" makes the 

 law and the farmer submits. If the farmer has a 

 nice flock of birds or has squirrels they come and 

 shoot them. It is so much trouble and expense to 

 enforce the law that it is seldom done. You dare not 

 set a snare or shoot a bird until a certain day, and 

 the "city gunner" sets the day. It was remarked by 

 one that the dog makes sheep raising profitable. 

 Upon the whole, it is whatever you are suited to that 

 pays, and not the business in itself. 



Question for discussion at next meeting — Will 

 stock pay fed upon purchased feed ? 



Appointments for next meeting : Saffle Brown and 

 Mabel Haines for selections and essays; Mabel H. 

 Haines, AUie Gregg, Carrie Blackburn and Phebe 

 King for recitations. 



Adjourned to meet at Franklin ToUinger's, on the 

 first Saturday in October. 



THE LINN.ffi;AN SOCIETY. 



A stated meeting was held on Saturday, August 

 20, Vice President Rev. J. R.Dubbs, in the chair. 

 The minutes and preliminary opening attended to, 

 the following donations to the museum were exam- 

 ined. 



Quite a number of coleoptera and other insects, 

 that were donated by Prof. Miles Rock, and collected 

 a few years ago by him in South America, and neatly 

 mounted and arranged by Dr. S. S. Rathvon, (for- 

 merly noticed,) were now beautifully displayed for 

 detailed Inspection. A pair of small gold flsh in a 

 bottle ; a spirobolus, a species of millepede from 

 Soufh America, by David Baxter; a bottle contain- 

 ing the larvse — one the pupte and another the imaga 

 or perfect insect, of the elm beetle, by Dr. S. S. 

 Rathvon ; a gall found on beech trees in the grand 

 duchy of Baden, and a bottle of sea ,water, dipped 

 up in mid ocean on his return home by Franz Bender. 

 In a clear flat-sided bottle, a full sized Attacus 

 cocropia, inserted while yet soft from its escape from 

 the cocoon ; this now tightly corked displays the 

 expanded wings of this large and pretty-colored 

 butterfly, and a new mode of preservation, per S.S. 

 Rathvon. William B. Fahnestock, through Jacob 

 StauflTer, donated a variety of coleoptera, hemiptera, 

 hymenoptera and diptera ; also four pretty, small 

 snakes, one new to our collection— the beautiful scai- 

 let snake Osceola elapsoidea (Hoi.) The ring-necked 

 snake Diadoplds punctutns, the abdominal scutillae 

 being beautifully iiuirkid with a central black spot 

 on the whitish >;rnuiMl ; ri.liir, dark slate colored 

 with a white riim .inmn.l llji- iinck ; occasionally met 

 with in LanciiftcT ((iiiniy, two specimens having a 

 dark color, orange red alidomen and three yellowish 

 spots on the back of the head. The Storeria Occipi- 

 tomaculata, -DOt new to our collection; a small lizard, 

 by some called the cameleon, a specimen sent us by 

 Mr. Charles Nauman, from Florida, named Anolis 

 principalis by Prof. E. D.Cope; also a reddish spot- 

 ted salamander, Nothalotnus punctahtni ; six small 

 sized fishes, much like our Ehinichthix and a speci- 

 men much like our striped bass, called down South 

 the "Coneras trout," but it is a percoid fish, and has 

 no analogy to our trouts. This was caught in the 

 Coneras creek, Oconee county, South Carolina ; a 

 remarkable long-legged fly, with upper joint of the 

 taris very much enlarged, like a paddle of a broad, 

 oblong and obovate shape, and skims upon the water 

 with outstretched wings. Mr. Stauffer, after figur- 

 ing it carefully, found that Prof. Glover has it also 

 beautifully figured among his dipteria, plate 1. fig. 

 16, but no name is attached, nor was it hunted up. 

 The doctor also collected and neatly pressed a num- 

 ber of plants. Mr. StauflTer has arranged and named 

 them ; some are new and not found in this locality, 

 such as the Shrankia Vncinata ; Spigelia Marilandi- 

 ca ; Oeranium Caroliiiiana, &c. 



Mr. Stauffer also presented a singular fungus, cut 

 through the centre. This was given him by his 

 neighbor, Mrs. Solomon Sprecher, found growing in 

 their garden. Itishemisphericallyconic; the base has 

 centrally a wiry root. When cut it presented a cen- 

 tral core, milk white, embracing on each side a dense 

 dark granular mass joined above, and outside of 

 this an amber colored, jelly-like mass of a shining 

 and dense consistency, next the parchment-like epi- 

 dermis. This is much like the two specimens sent 

 us by J. C. Haub, September 26, 1877, found in the 

 crevice of an ice cellar at QuarryviUe. Having cut 

 open one specimen, which was also figured and 

 described by Mr. Stauffer, and the other sent to W. 

 G. Farlow, M. D., of Boston, our most noted Fungio- 

 logist, who, in his letter of October 18, 1877, informs 

 us that during the time it had developed into a 

 species of P/iailus, of which genus Mr. StauflTer has 

 five species figured. These show a sack of jelly-like 

 substance at the base, a stout central stripe, with a 

 perforated cap on its upper end, and wholly different 



from this puflT-ball like fungus at this stage In ap. 

 pearance- 



Additions to the Library. 



Pamphlets : Collections of the Old Colony His- 

 torical Society ; papers read during the year 1878 ; 

 report on the Chaco cranium, &c., by H. J. HoflTman, 

 M. D.; Moore's Rural Life, No. 1, Vol. I, for 1879; 

 The Lancaster Farmer for July and August, 

 1-.N79; United States Patent Office Gazette up to 

 August 26, 1879. Circulars : Preble's History of the 

 Flag of the United States. Report: Central Park 

 Menagerie ; Book Catalogues, new publications ; a 

 copy of the Cherokee Advocate, in part in that 

 language. 



Papers Read. 



Dr. S. S. Rathvon read a paper making special 

 notes of information given him by Prof. Miles Rock. 

 When here on a late visit from Washington, on see- 

 ing his collection displayed, pointing to a large 

 hemipterous insect of the Reduvian family, which 

 the Spaniards call Vinchucas. This secretes itself in 

 and about beds, and is a bloodthirsty villain to the 

 poor sleeper who has been careless to exterminate 

 him. This giant bed bug gorges itself without dis- 

 turbing the sleeper often, and a dozen of them might 

 prove fatal. Another was the luminous beetle — the 

 Elater Noclilucus, a kind of skip-jack. These at 

 night emit a steady phosphorescent light. Three or 

 more put in a bottle will enable one to read by them. 

 The Spaniards call them "Quco," and decoy them 

 by a torch light, and the words repeated, "Quco 

 toma-pan," that is Quco take bread ; but these night 

 flyers are rather attracted by the light than the invi- 

 tation to take bread. In looking over them Mr. 

 Rock associated mHch of interest which the memory 

 brought up that we cannot here report. Paper No. 



J. Stauffer read a list of the names of the objects 

 deposited by Dr. Wm.'B. Fahnestock, with remarks, 

 to put on file. No. 525. 



Mr. Rathvon read a detailed account of his obser- 

 vations of the Elm Tree Beetle, to put on file, 

 No. 526. 



New Business. 



Dr. David B. Wilson was nominated by Dr. Dubbs 

 and Mr. John Burrowes by J. Stauffer, as active 

 members. A balot was had for each, and both were 

 unanimously elected active members of this society. 



Mr. Rathvon reported, as chairman of the com- 

 mittee appointed to number and catalogue the sub- 

 jects in the museum, that J. Stauffer having made 

 accurate drawings of the cases and compartments 

 in and around both rooms, with letters and num- 

 bers, in accordance with which a portion have been 

 numbered and catalogued in such divisions; but 

 much remains to be done, and members are 

 earnestly requested to come forward and assist in 

 speedily completing the work. 



Under Scientific Miscellany. 



Mr. J. B. Kevinski made a verbal report of a late 

 visit, in company with Mr. J. T. Reading and Mr. 

 J. Gumpf, to the blowing cave on the Susquehanna. 

 On their way Mr. Henry Yost, near Good's mill, 

 on the Pequea, called their attention to his luxuriant 

 tobacco patch ; which surpassed anythnig they had 

 yet seen in that line. They measured one leaf which 

 was 50 inches h ng, 36 broad quentrally and 24 inches 

 wide, 18 inches in from the ends. Arriving at the 

 foot of the mountain they tasted the temperature of 

 the Spring. They then zigzagged their way up the 

 hill side, and inspected the several openings through 

 which a cold current escapes, and went up to the 

 higher opening. Into this Jhey descended to a 

 ledge, down from which a rope ladder was dropped 

 about twenty feet. Messrs. Reading and Gumpf, 

 being less in bulk, could descend, and found a 

 number of fissures and tortuous galleries In every 

 direction and at various angles from 45° to 80° but 

 nothing like an open chamber. It seems as if the 

 rocks had been rent and the seams laid open by 

 some upheaval; but no truly scientific inspection was 

 made, only they found the temperature the same as 

 the water in the spring 100 feet below them, and 

 that the wind fell above was the draft that entered 

 beneath, through the flue-like crevices rising up- 

 wards. 



Mr. Kevinski, at the close of his remarks, made a 

 formal donation of his case containing thirty draw- 

 ers now in the room, but excepted the contents. A 

 vote of thanks was cordially offered, but he objected 

 to having it published. A vote of thanks to Dr. Wil- 

 liam B. Fahnestock and other contributors was also 

 given. 



No further business offering, on motion, ad- 

 journed. 



Soiling 

 saves fences, one of the most expensive features of 

 ordinary farming; prevents the seeding of weeds ; 

 and keeps stock from trampling down and wasting 

 more fodder than they eat. It doubles the amount 

 of stock which can be kept on any given amount of 

 land, and there is a vast increase in the amount of 

 valuable manure that may be saved. There is some 

 additional labor, but the returns are so much greater 

 that soiling is the system of the present as well as 

 future agriculture. 



Entomological. 



The Snake Worm. 



This singular little animal is only met with occa- 

 sionally, but Its singular habits never fail to elicit a 

 good deal of interest, and especially among the 

 uninformed or those who have seen it for the first 

 time. On this occasion it appeared on Thursday 

 morning, (24th) in the back yard of Mr. G. M. Zahm 

 West Chestnut street. It Is not a single worm, as 

 the above term might imply, but thousand^ of small 

 worms which mass themselves together In sections 

 of greater or lesser numbers, the heads of the one 

 section seemingly attached so the tails of a preced- 

 ing section, thus forming a long, ropy, snake-like 

 procession, and to keep the resemblance to a snake, 

 the column Is usually enlarged in the middle and 

 tapers toward the ends. They come up out of the 

 ground, and move very slowly ih an obtuse zigzag 

 or wavy line, which still more'enhanees their snaky 

 appearance, and finally they disappear in another 

 locality. Each little worm, or maggot, is almost a 

 quarter of an inch in length, and about the thick- 

 ness of a common knitting needle; their color Is a 

 dirty white, with a middle longitudinal streak of an 

 earthy color, and a small very black head. The 

 streak is caused by the contents of the stomach seen 

 through the translucent tissues and skin of the 

 worms. The whole mass Is protected from the sun 

 by a shiny secretion from their bodies similar to the 

 protecting slime of the "pear slug." The proces- 

 sion of these worms in Mr. Zahm's yard was over 

 three feet long, and It moved northeasternly, from 

 nearly opposite the kitchen door, to the southeast 

 corner of the main building, where it ensconced 

 Itself in a crevice between the house wall and the 

 paving. We think it made a mistake, for the sun 

 shone on them hot and dry in the afternoon, and 

 many of them no doubt perished. The nature, or 

 object of these migrations, is more or less conject- 

 ural. Some suppose it is seeking a more favorable 

 feeding ground, while others suppose it for the pur- 

 pose of selecting a better place to pupate and under- 

 go final transformations. 



These maggots are the larvae of small dipterout 

 insects (two-winged flies) and which to the family 

 of TiPUDiDjE, which includes the craneflies, 

 mosquetoes, and others. The individuals under con- 

 sideration belong to the genus Sciara and although 

 it Is difficult to name them specifically from the 

 larva alone, yet it is very probable that they 

 are toxoneura. There are many species of them 

 however, and they are liable to be confounded. 

 Some years ago specimens were sent from Bethle- 

 ham. Pa., that had come up between the cracks in 

 the floor, of a part of a house under which there 

 was no cellar. It is diflScult to continue artificially 

 the conditions necessary to their successful develop- 

 ment, and hence — although they have been observed 

 more than a hundred years ago on the continent of 

 Europe — there is a lack of definite knowledge in 

 reference to their life, habit, and transformations. 

 They have been observed from May to September at 

 various periods. 



'Saddle-back Moth." 



Dozens of these insects in their larva state have 

 been brought to us during the past month, which 

 were found feeding on apple, cherry, pear, quince, 

 plum, rose, cabbage, corn, gladlola, willow, currant, 

 and other species of vegetation, illustrating the ex- 

 ceeding omnivorous character of their feeding hab- 

 its — indeed, they seem to have been more numerous 

 the past summer than we have ever known them In 

 any previous season; or, it may be that the observ- 

 ing habits of the people are more active than they 

 have been at any other time. Many of the people 

 had never noticed them before and these thought 

 that they must have been something new and rare, 

 and very pretty withal. There Is a number of genera 

 that are more or less allied to this insect, and they 

 are commonly called "Hag-moths." They belong 

 to the section Heterocera, their antennm being 

 very variable and the forms and habits of the larva 

 still more variable. They are included in the family 

 CoNCHiLOPiD.*, and the Genus Empretia, the most 

 numerous species of which is, stimula. The "body 

 and forewingsof the moth are a uniform ferru.inous, 

 with two small subaplcal white spots, and in the 

 male, two more near the base of the wing beneath 

 the median nervure ; but they are rarely seen in the 

 moth state. The body of the larva is semi-cylindri- 

 cal and obliquely truncated at each end, with a pair 

 of anterior and posterior, long, fleshy, and slenderly 

 spined horns, and two smaller pairs beneath them. 

 That part of the body which is between the anterior 

 and posterior horns, is of a fine bright green color, 

 bordered with white, with a central dorsal, oval, 

 reddish brown patch, bordered with white and black. 

 The lower part of the body Is fleshy and whitish, 

 and they do not appear to have any forelegs, but 

 seem to glide steadily along rather than walk. The 

 spines on the horns produce an exceedingly painful 

 sensation, when they happen to come In contact 

 with the naked back of the hand, or any other 

 tender portion of the body. 



