1879.J 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



165 



iloue in tiiue ofu droulli, aiul no doubt it is 

 nuicli pleasiinti'i- working in the ditch at sucli 

 a timt than in the spriui; when the soil is full 

 of water. But unless .vou are one of the 

 heroic sort, that detenumes what should be 

 done and then does it, do the draining in the 

 spring: or anv ollu-r time that the soil is full 

 of wati'r, for then you can tell exactly what 

 is needed. If the drainiiii; is done in adrouth 

 you may extend tlie drain only so far as to 

 where water will cease to come into the ditch,, 

 and the ne.xt spring, or the lirst wet spell you 

 will discover that your work has not been 

 carried as far as it should have been. 



Xot Ining able to get drain tiles without 

 much tnmlile, recourse was had to the folio w- 

 injj method : 



A .saw-miller was directed to rip some inch 

 hoards into three incli and four inch .strip.s, 

 and these were nailed loucther in the form of a 

 sloped troufih (V), nailinj; the strips so thatthe 

 inside of the trouuh was three inches. Had 

 the strips been laid on each other it would 

 have made a light joint which was to be 

 -guarded auain.st. \u old leather trace, less 

 than a (piartcr of an inch thick was therefore 

 cut into inch scpiare pieces, and the pieces 

 laid between the edges, thus leaving a place 

 along the whole length of the trough for the 

 water to enter. These troughs were then laid 

 in the drain, sharp end down, at the places 

 where two troughs came together to make a 

 joint; short pieces of trough (twelve inches or 

 less long) were laid under so that the ends of 

 the main trough mbt about in the middle. 

 This prevented either end from sinking below 

 the level of its adjoining neighbor. Strips 

 from five to si.\ inches wide were used as a 

 cover to these troughs, taking care that the 

 joints of the cover did not meet those of the 

 troughs, the idea l)eing to always i)reak 

 jomts," as it is termed. As soon as this 

 cover WHS on, the earth was tilled back, and a 

 drain was had that worked as nice as any 

 drain ever made. The only objection against 

 it is that it will rot out in the course of some 

 years, while a drain made of earthen tiles is 

 practicably indestructible. 



But why was the trough laid iii with the 

 sharp end down V Would it not bo (jp,sier to 

 lay down the wide board first and then invert 

 the trough over this ? 



It would be easier to lay it in this manner 

 but it was done in the other way for this pur- 

 pose : If the broad l)oard was laid down and 

 the trough inverted on this, the surface of the 

 bottom I'f the drain jiipe — as it might be 

 termed now — would be some "3 inches or more 

 wide and when little or no rain had fallen for 

 some time, the water would be extremely 

 shallow on this bottom, and move very slug- 

 gislily, allowing all sand and other heavy for- 

 eign matter to sink to the bottom, and in time 

 close up the drain. On the other hand with 

 the sharp part down a very little water soon 

 makes a brisk curri-nt and carries all such siit 

 to the outlet.— ^1. B. K. 



COPTIS TRiFOLIA, SALISB, 



Three-leaved Gold Thread; Mouth Root. 



This interesting' littU^ plant derives its name 

 from the (Jreek woid '-/vi/jz/.s" to cut, allud- 

 ing to the divided leaves, and its eoimnon 

 English name "Gold-thread," from its long, 

 bright yellow, bitter fibres of the root. The 

 leaves are evergreen, shining, obovate-wedge- 

 form, sharply toothed, obscurely 3-lobed, scape 

 1-tlowered, sepals 5-7, petal-like, deciduons. 

 Petals 5-7, small, club-shaped, hollow at the 

 apex, stamens 15-25. Pistils 3-7 on slender 

 stalks. Pods divergent, with three parted 

 root-leaves, tlowers small, white. An old au- 

 thority says the name Coptis is derived from 

 the Greek word sKimla, in reference to the cut 

 leaves. Mr. Salisbury changed its generic 

 name given it by Linnajus, which was IkUf- 

 horiia trifnliun, liifVering, however, in having 

 a caducous corolla, &c.. forming anew genus. 



Tliis plant, although much sought for, is 

 rarely found outside of shady and cold boggy 

 situations. 1 met with it at Ilauch's Gai) — 

 above the cold springs and other sections of 



Lebanon cc. Pa. We are informed that the 

 dark sphagnous swamps, which iu the north- 

 ern parts of our continent are covered with a 

 perpetual shade of firs, cedars and pines, are 

 the favorite haunts of this elegant little ever- 

 green. The oldest situations seem to favor 

 its growth, and it flourishes alike in the mo- 

 rasses of Canada and Siberia. On our highest 

 mountain tops it plants itself in little bogs 

 and watery clefts of rock, and perfects its 

 fructilicalion in the short summer allowed in 

 tho.se situations. Our Alpine regions of the 

 White mountains foster it among the Uiaptn- 

 sia and Azuhvs of Lajiland, the blue Mf„zi- 

 esla, the IVa-nml .Mpine Hnlr„s and other 

 plants of liigh iicirthcrn latitudes: it forms the 

 link of botanical connections between the two 



mis 



Here we have a delicate plant to all appear- 

 ance, thai will not abide hot-liouse culture, 

 nor open sunshine — but has to be sought for 

 in solitary, damp and cold situations; hence I 

 presume it is hard to raise or cidtivate. .John- 

 son in his Gardener's Dictionary— says of 

 Coptis— (the^ only mentioned species "tri- 

 fnlia,") •■Tlie iiKits ot this plant are used in 

 the United .^lalcs medicinally, under the 

 name of 'Gold Thread." Ilanly, herbaceous 



perennial, division of the roots and seeds; 

 sandy, peaty soil; requires the protection of a 

 cold 1)11 in winter." I cannot see why it 

 should need such a protection. As to its 

 medicinal ]n-oiierties. Dr. J. Bigelow in his 

 American Medical Botany (1817) says : "The 

 root of this plant is a pure intense bit- 

 ter, scarcely modified by any other taste. In 

 distillation it communicates no decided sensi- 

 ble (piallty to water. The constituent with 

 which it most abounds is a bitter extractive 

 matter; soluble both in water and alcohol. It 

 seems destitute of resinous or gummy por- 

 tions, since the residuuni from an evaporated 

 solution In alcohol is lead ily dissolved in water, 

 an<l vice ver.sa. It Is devoid of astringency 

 when chewed iu the month, anil it gives no 

 indication of the presence of tannin or gallic 

 add, when tested with animal gelatin, or 

 with sulphate of Iron." Dr. B. gives other 

 tests and experiments. "Of this arll<de,"says 

 the Doctor, "larger ipiaidities arc sold in the 

 druiTLiists' shops in Boston. Ilian of almost any 

 indigenous pnxluctlon. Tlie demand for it 

 arises from its sui)pose(l elticiicv a- a local a))- 

 lilication in aphthous, and dthri iilreral ionsof 

 the mouth. Its reputation, iiouevii-. in this 

 case is wholly unmerited, since it po.ssesses no 

 astringent or stimulating quality, by which it 



can act on the ulcerated siwts." Now, there 

 are sometimes otlierelements come in |)lay,that 

 may be new to our experience; hence even a 

 I)opular belief, usually has some foundation. 

 He admits, however, that "Aa a pure tonic 

 hitter, capable of Htrengtheinng the viBCera 

 and promoting digestion, it is entitled to rank 

 with most articles of that kind now in use. 

 Its character resembles that of Geiilian, 

 (^wmsid and ('nlwiiho, being a simple bitter, 

 without aroma or astringency. The tinc- 

 ture, made by digesting half an ounce of the 

 bruised roof in eight ounces of diluted alcohol, 

 forms a preparation of a line yellow color, 

 possessing Hit whole bitterness of the pinnl. 

 In case of dyspepsia and convalescents it is 

 very satisfactory. Ten to twenty grains in 

 substance, is a" dose and rests well on the 

 stomach. Dr. Grillith says the CojttiH teita is 

 peculiar to India, and is much esteemed 

 among the natives as a tonic and stomachic, 

 and from the experiments made with it by 

 Mr. Twining It would appear to justify the 

 high character that has Ik-cu bestowed upon 

 it; and adi's, it very closely resembles the 

 Ci)])lh trifiilia In Its sensible qualities and 

 medical properties. This may appear of no 

 special interest to farmers in general, but no 

 one meeting this elegant little plant could 

 help to notice it; and the beautifully golden 

 yellow roots, when taken uj), would arrest at- 

 tentlou, and a desire to know more about it ; 

 to me, in mv bolanlcal rambles, known only 

 from having seen It lignrcd and de8eril)ed, 

 so that when I met with it, it afforded me 

 as much joy as if I had found an humble, 

 worthy friend in a solitary place, of whom I 

 had heard much, and desired to make him a 

 pcreonal acqnaintencc. 



I a.ssure you it was a welcome contribution 

 to my dry garden — and oh, how eagerly I 

 gathered a number of specimens, and what 

 satisfaction it afforded me to press and pre- 

 serve the specimens, in ray herbarium. Those 

 who observe and seek to know the plants that 

 flaunt themselves by the wayside, or seek the 

 solitude and reveal" themselves only to those 

 that seek them out, this description with its 

 illnstration may not be unacceptable as an 

 object lesson.— J. Siauffa: 



Essays. 



*CALIFORNIA. 



That the world moves is as manifest, if not 

 more .so, on the distant shores of the Pacific, 

 as it is anywhere el.sc on the continent. The 

 lieople are infused with a goaheadtiveness, 

 such as you fail to find in the Ea.st. It un- 

 questional'ly is dueto the extraordinary energy 

 and perseverance of the people, that they have 

 made such advances in the several industries, 

 esiiecially iu the practical pursuit of agricul- 

 ture. 



Not more than a generation ago the now 

 great State of California was yet a wilder- 

 ness, liittle did the pioneer then dream of 

 how civilization would spread itself and in 

 the near future convert the then almost un- 

 known teiTitory into the prosnerini; and flour- 

 ishing young empire which California really 

 is to day. 



Topographically speaking, Califi rnia is the 

 most peculiar State in the American Union 

 to-day. No other State can lx)ast of so many 

 natural divisions. 



California to-day contains within her geo- 

 graphical limits '.IO,ROO,(W( acres— almost one 

 hundred million acres. A piece of territory 

 three and a half times as larire as the Stiitc of 

 Pennsylvania, lar<:e enough to make one hun- 

 dred and sixty Lanea-xfer counties. Although 

 she is a sma'i empire within herself in her ex- 

 tent of territory, there is no other siiotof that 

 size in the whole world that can boast of the • 

 same number of varied interest*, that com- 

 prises so many natural divisions, interspersed 

 bv so many natural wonders and curiosities. 

 This Empire State of the Pacific coast has 



•Head Ixsforetbe Lancaster Couuty 

 ticultural Sooiel J. by John H. Landli 



