i80 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[December, 



that the leaves of the same tree are fed upon 

 by the Attacus cynthia. Analogous to the aphids 

 in this respect, are the Coccip^. We have 

 had an orange tree in our possession ever 

 since it was a foot higli. For a long period 

 it was perfectly clean, and we never discov- 

 ered an insect on it of any kind, but after it 

 was large and old enough to bloom we discov- 

 ered that it was infested by the "orange 

 coccus," (Cocats hesperidum) the same species 

 that infests the oranges of Florida and 

 Europe. These insects were first noticed in 

 February or March, months after the tree had 

 been appropriately housed. We know of no 

 other tree in the near neighborhood. These 

 insects are easily removable by a little time, 

 patience and an old toothbrush. We cannot 

 account for the presence of these cocci any 

 more than we can for the presence of aphids, 

 for although the males of the former have 

 wings and are able to fly abroad, yet the 

 females never have wings, but remain station- 

 ary during their lives after they are once 



located. 



CICADA SEPTENDECIM. 

 Mr. J. T., Lancaster, Pa.— Your round- 

 backed, clay-colored insect, with the large 

 anterior feet, is the larvce of Cicada septende- 

 cim, or seventeen-year locust, in the eleventh 

 year of its development. It is therefore about 

 two-thirds grown, and had six years work yet 

 before it could celebrate its majority. It 

 would be an interesting cabinet to have a 

 collection of these larvse from one year old up 

 to seventeen years. Some one perliaps will 

 do it sometime. 



Contributions. 



For The Lancaster Fabmeb. 

 A CHRISTMAS GREETING. 

 A Happy Christmas to all, and may charity 

 warm the hearts of all those who have food 

 and fuel, toward those less fortunate, and yet 

 equally deserving. "Remember the poor;" 

 this is easily said, and each one may hope his 

 neighbor may not neglect so great a duty. 

 Individually, it is not so convenient to hunt 

 them up that may be deemed truly deserving, 

 and they, so situated, understand the selfish- 

 ness of mankind, and know by sad experience, 

 that charity is cold, and they would rather 

 suffer tlian to be under obligations to those 

 who preach their charity from the house top, 

 and who, out of their abundance, do ostensibly 

 manifest a spirit of cliarity. Well, thanks that 

 even that much is done by them, but alas ! 

 they do not feel the sweet reward of a gener- 

 ous" outgushing, sympathizing soul, that gives, 

 and however little, with God's blessing en- 

 hancing its value, to accompany it. The re- 

 cipient feels greatful for the trifle, realizing 

 that the gush of pure fellowship of humanity 

 is alive in that soul, and that all are not dead 

 and barren. He thanks God and takes cour- 

 age, for as Mrs. Hemans says: — 

 We pine for kindred natures 



To mingle with our own; 

 For communings more full and high, 

 Than aught by mortals known." 

 We all crave sympathy in the hour of our 

 misfortune, though a conscious pride and self- 

 reliance may disguise it from the observer, 

 but when like a sweet melody which touches 

 the heart strings, so in the voice of a deep- 

 felt sympatliy, breathed gently, lovingly, into 

 our souls," the cloistered, or pent up self- 

 hood melts by the warmth of love, and owns 

 the cliord that binds humanity. So more es- 

 pecially if the Christlike spirit is deeply en- 

 shrined, it makes us akin to heaven,' and 

 quiets all our fears, drawing out our soul's 

 adoration of love and trust in Him, whose ad- 

 vent is so generally held in grateful commem- 

 oration. To those it is indeed a Happy Christ- 

 mas, and by a genuine faith, links happiness 

 with all time to come, for time and eternity. 

 But alas! each must be wise for himself, nor 

 does it profit us mucli by an increase of knowl- 

 edge, since our kuowledge is simply what we 

 accept; so we accept the 25th day of Decem- 



ber as our feast day of the nativity of Jesus 

 the Christ. That he was and is we know; yet 

 while St. Chiysostom informs us that in 

 primitive times the same day both feasts were 

 celebrated the Christmas and Epiphany. This 

 latter was, or may still be, a church festival, 

 signifying the manifestation of Christ, and 

 referring to the appearing of the star which 

 announced his bkth to the Gentiles. It is ob- 

 served on January Gtli, tlie twelfth day from 

 Christmas. Tliat Father also observes that it 

 was but of a little while that Christmas had 

 been celebrated at Autioch on the 25th of 

 December as a distinct feast, and that the use 

 tliereof came from the west. The Armenians 

 made but one feast of them, as low as the 12th 

 century. It is commonly maintained that 

 Pope Telesphorus was tlie first wlxo ordered 

 the feast of the nativity to be held on the 25th 

 of December. John, Arclibishop of Nice, in 

 an epistle on tliis subject, relates that at the 

 instance of St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Pope Julius 

 procured a strict enquiry to be made into the 

 day of our Saviour's nativity, which, being 

 found to be on the 25 of December, they began 

 tlienceforth to celebrate the feast on that day. 

 However, the precise day, or even the month, 

 on which our Saviour was born, is extremely 

 uncertain. Some, as Clemens Alexandriuus 

 informs us, affixed it to the 25th of the moutli 

 Pachon, corresponding to the 16tli of May. 

 But there are some circumstances which 

 should rather lead us to conclude that he was 

 born in autumn, as this was, in every respect, 

 the most proper season of the year for a gen- 

 eral assessment, which took place at the birth 

 of Christ, and which required personal atten- 

 dance; and as there were shepherds watching 

 their flocks by night at the time when Clirist 

 was born, and therefore it is probable that the 

 sera of the nativity was either in September or 

 October. 



After scanning the various epochs in chron- 

 ology to find the difference between epoch and 

 era, I find the doctrine and explanations very 

 perplexing and extensive. The Jewish, Mo- 

 hammedan, Greek Olympiads, that of the 

 Romans, Persians, Nabonassar, &c., while it 

 may have its use in calculating from certain 

 data to other certain data, or supposed certain 

 data, be they what tliey may, the fact re- 

 mains. The Christian year or A. D., dates 

 from his circumcision, that is from the first of 

 January. This period being the 471.3th of tlie 

 Julian period, by adding 1879, the present A. 

 D. to this, it would be the 6592d"year of the 

 Julian period. Now, so also, to find the same 

 Julian period, when we read 752 before Christ, 

 deduct this from 4713 and you have 3961, the 

 Julian period of that date. But figures, if they 

 do not lie, are nevertheless dry to the major- 

 ity of readers, and as to years to measure du- 

 ration, it is like a yard stick to measure space. 

 Those who heard Proctor's lecture on astron- 

 omy, would find their head to swim in chaotic 

 confusion, did they attempt to reason it out. 

 Poor finite man, be he farmer or philosopher, 

 lias to plow and sow in faith, trustingly; that 

 the seasons would be auspicious, lie dare not 

 withljold his hand, because he cannot overrule 

 the rain or sunsliine, or breathe fertility into 

 the germ. But trust that the life is in the 

 germ, and properly to prepare tlie soil, watch 

 its development, remove obnoxious weeds, 

 give it God's sunshine, and verily it will grow, 

 blossom and yield its fruit, and reward you 

 for the care bestowed upon it. So, however 

 conflicting theories and systems may be, how- 

 ever antagonistic, yet with an eye single for 

 the truth, an humble, trusting, filial love to 

 Him from whom the vital breath of your life 

 Cometh, seek that the sun of righteousness 

 may warm that God-given germ into life, cul- 

 ture it, let your soul stretch forth its tendrils, 

 entwine them around the beloved, be in Him 

 and He in you, as the branch is in the vine, 

 and then will you realize the joy, the comfort, 

 by the assurance of your knowledge and faith 

 in Him who giveth liberally and upbraidcth 

 not. Such are still my humble thoughts and 

 aspirations after all tlie learned contentions, 

 materialistic suggestion sand so-called heresies. 

 There is a truth, a God, our father, love and 



final compensation — so let us aU enjoy a 

 Happy Christmas. — /. Statiffer 



CISTERNS. 



An article in the Lancaster Hew Era a 

 short time ago set me to looking up a few 

 facts on the above subject, and I now give 

 them to the columns of The Farmer. 



Rain water cisterns will be often found use- 

 ful even in many parts of the country where 

 runnilig water is close by or wliere wells are 

 never-failing— as the advertisements run — 

 because this rain water is soft. Where water 

 soft enough for cleansing purposes can be 

 reached by wells of not more than 30 feet 

 deep, cisterns are of course needless. 



In this section of the country rain water is 

 very little used as a drinking water, as it is not 

 "brisk" enough to the taste, being insipid and 

 "flat" to tliose not used to it. Nor is it used 

 much for culinary purposes, the women ob- 

 jecting to using it because of the sediments- 

 dust, «&c., washed from the roofs— and object- 

 ing, above all, to the "wrigglers" found in 

 most rain water which has been standing for 

 some days in the summer and early fall 

 months. I must confess to a little squeam- 

 ishness on this point myself. These so-called 

 "wrigglers" are the larvae of mosquitos, and 

 can be prevented by making tlie cistern so 

 tight everywhere that the mosquitos cannot 

 enter and lay their eggs. The dirt from tlie 

 roof can be nearly all avoided by making tlie 

 entering movable and then moving the pipe 

 aside after each rain, so as to lead the water 

 away from the cistern; then when a rain 

 comes on, the first water from tlie roof, and 

 which contains the objectionable matter will 

 be prevented from entering ; as soon as the 

 roof is washed clean the pipe can be turned 

 into the cistern, and the result will be that no 

 cleansing of the cistern will be required for 

 years, aiid the water is as clean as any well 

 water. 



Thus far we have looked at rain water 

 only as a houseliold convenience ; for the pur- 

 pose of furnishing water to stock, cistern or 

 well water is far superior to running water. 

 In the winter it never gets that icy chill to 

 which the latter is subject, and which even if 

 it does not freeze over entirely often leaves 

 the edges of the brooks so slippery as to en- 

 danger the limbs and lives of the stock. 



In building a cistern it is an important 

 point to find out the amount of water needed 

 in three or four months, as we have had the 

 experience in the last tew years that some- 

 times it must be provided for that length of 

 time. Tlie amount that is usually needed for 

 household purposes can be readily found out, 

 but for tlie wants of stock it is not so easv to 

 determine. Most farmers can tell about how 

 much a horse will drink in a day, but wlien it 

 comes to cattle, they liave very vague ideas as 

 to the amount consumed. The American 

 AqriculUirist states that for cattle the capacity 

 of" a cistern should be ten gallons for each 

 liead. 



Below is given a table of tlie contents in 

 gallons for the given diameter and deptli in 

 feet: 



Where accuracy is not essential the con- 

 tents of any cistern can be foinid out by the 

 following rule : 



Multiply the square of the diameter {%. e. 

 the diameter multiplied by itself,) by the 

 depth and this product by 5|. Thus a cistern 

 7 feet in diameter and 8 feet in depth would 



