1880.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



19 



readers who may be contemplating a change 

 of local base: 



The Palmetto furnishes tlie material for 

 l)a|)cr from banU-wite down lo the cheapest 

 grade; also, for bmoins and brushes, stulliiif,' 

 for mattresses, chau's, carriages, etc., which 

 lias no ecjual, and will come into st^ueral use 

 on account of its healthy (iiialities, and free- 

 dom from vermin of every description. 



The Castor Hean, which has a prolilie 

 growtli, will soon become an imiiortant arti- 

 cle of cultivation. From it can be made llie 

 (ini-st quality of tallow' or sterine, and soaps of 

 varioii.s grades, which in price will more Mian 

 compete with tliese arlii-les manufactured 

 from otiier material. It will soon be manu- 

 factured laigely. A party are aliout purclias- 

 ing 2,0110 acres to be devoted exclusively to 

 this interest. 



Fibre materials are growing wild in our 

 forests in endless quantities, and will soon 

 become a great resounu; to the Stale, as they 

 are being looked after by the niauufactiu-ers 

 of the Now England States at tliis lime. 



We have samples of bank-note and common 

 grades of paper, sterine, soaj) and samples of 

 libre, and tibre plants at our ollice, which' we 

 will be happy to show to any one calling. 



Florida should snpi ly paper, sterine, soaps 

 and tibre to an inn., use amount. Yankee 

 enterprise will soon develoji them. 



Manufactures in connection witli agricul- 

 tiu'e solves the problem of prosperity. Labor 

 is the cornerstone. tiive work to your 

 newcomer. Give dim the means of a living 

 on his arrival, and then they will tlock to the 

 State by tlie thou.sands. There is no State in 

 the Union liaving more natural advantages. 

 They will soon attract the attention of busi- 

 ness men, and the fact will come in the near 

 future. 



THE STATE BOARD OF AGRICUL- 

 TURE, 



At the aimual meeting of the Board of Ag- 

 riculture, held .January '2Sth, 1S8U, the follow- 

 ing resolution was unanimously adopted : 



WiiERE.vs, The Secretary of the Common- 

 wealth and State Treasurer have iiotitied the 

 Secretary of this Board that certain parties 

 have not complied with the provisions of the 

 act to regulate the manufacture and sale of 

 fertilizers, and 



Whereas, The proper enforcement of 

 said act is of vital importance to the agricul- 

 tural interests of the Stale. Therefore, 



Hesolvid, That the E.Kcculive Committee is 

 hereby directed to furnish tlie Attorney Gen- 

 eral with the names of the parties, a copy of 

 the notices furnLshed by the Secretary of the 

 Commonwealth and State Treasurer, and 

 with information that said jiarties have not 

 deposited in the oilice of this Board the anal- 

 ysis required by law. 



At a subsequent meeting of the Executive 

 Committee a resolution was adc^ited desiring 

 that proper notice be given the Attorney 

 General. 



At the same meeting the following was 

 also unanimously adopted : 



licsoh-rd, That the prompt and etiicient 

 measures taken by his E.xcellency, Gov. Iloyt, 

 through his agent, the Secretary of this 

 Board, in so promptly meeting and suppres- 

 sing the alarming spread of the cattle |)lague 

 as it appeared in several counties of tliis 

 State, and with so small an outlay of the 

 funds of the State as compared with the 

 results in other States, deserves and hereby 

 receives the warmest approval of the Board. 



In urging the passage of the resolution. 

 Governor Iloyt, after requesting that his 

 name be withdrawn from it, paid a high com- 

 pliment to the manner in which Secretary 

 Edge has enforced the law, stating that 

 while the results have been much more evi- 

 dent than in other .States, the expense was 

 only one-tenth as great. 



A resolution was also adopted to appoint 

 commissioners, (whose expenses will be jiaid 

 from the funds of tlie Board,) to examine 

 into and report uiiou the availability of the 

 cleared pine lands of the State for settlement 

 and cultivation. 



Oleomargarine vs. Butter. 



At the same meeting of the Board, Secre- 

 tary Edge, cxliibitcd samples of oleomar- 

 garine from I'hiladclpliia. 



Two samples in particular were the subject 

 of sonic dispute, a noted I'hiladelphia dealer 

 having a.ssertcd that no member of the Board 

 could tell which was butter and which was 

 "oleo." 



The lu'st sample was iilacied upon tlie table 

 of a liist-class boarding housi^ in Ilarrisburg, 

 and no one made any remarks or objected to 

 its use as butter, but when at a subsequent 

 meal "cow butter"of good quality was jilaced 

 upon tlie table as "oleo" they were able to 

 detect "a decided tallowy taste" in it ; and 

 this, too, alter tlu^y hafl partaken freely of the 

 genuine "tub Inittcr. " 



Alter a careful but cautious examination 

 the Board decided that "If either was genuine 

 butter it was number one. and tliat if either 

 was oleomargarine, it was numlier two," 

 showing (•oiiclusivcly that a sell was suspected. 



.Mlcr the adjournment of the Board, known 

 samiiles of genuine liutter were procured and 

 a test insllituted, showing conclusively that 

 both samples were "oleo," and that no genu- 

 ine butter had been sent. 



When heated in an iron spoon all the sam- 

 ples of "Pliiladclphia butter" gave out a de- 

 cided tallowy smell, which increa.sed with the 

 heat, while genuine butter when so treated 

 gave out its usual fragrant smell. 



Tlie universal opinion seemed to be that 

 such samples would not interfere with the 

 sale of firni-dass butter. 



COMING EVENTS FOR i88o. 

 The present new year of 1880 will have .'iOO 

 days, the extra day being lacked on February. 

 Oil .Tanuary 11 there will be a total eclipse of 

 the sun, visible in the western part of North 

 America and the Pacific ocean. Washing- 

 ton's birthday will come on Sunday, Febru- 

 ary 22; Good Friday, March 2(5; EastiU" 

 Monday, March 28; Decoration Day, May 30, 

 will fall on Sunday; the Fourth of .July will 

 also come on Sunday; Thanksgiving Day will 

 be Thursday, November 25, and Christmas 

 will fall due on Saturday. There will be a 

 total eclipse of the moon .June 22, invisible 

 here; an annular eclipse of the sun, .luly 7, 

 visible in South America and Southern At- 

 lantic Ocean; Decemlier 1, partial eclip.se of 

 the sun, visible in Southern Atlantic Ocean; 

 December Ki, total eclipse of the moon, invis- 

 ible here; Simday, December 31, partial 

 eclipse of the sun, partly visible here. Sun 

 rises ecliiised. A^'enus will be morning star 

 until July i:i; Mars after October 2."): Jupiter 

 after March 15, until July Pi; Saturn after 

 April 8 until July '.). Venus will be evening 

 star after July 14; Mars, until October 25; 

 Jupiter, until March 1.5, after July 12; Saturn, 

 until April 8, after July '.). 



Essays. 



DOMESTIC PROGRESS.* 



Give tnc the plow .^ud the man wlioian hold it, 



A lig for yoiir lord and his soft silken hand ; 

 Let the man wlio has atrenglli never sloop to abuse 

 it, 



Give it baoU to tlie tdvor— tlie land, boys the land, 

 There's no bank like the earth to deposit your 

 labor, 



The more you deposit the more you shall have ; 

 If there's more than you want you can {jive to your 

 neiijhbor. 



And your name shall be dear to the true and Uie 

 brave. 

 ' The rise and progress of nations in agricul- 

 ture, manufactures and commerce present the 

 most astonishing results in our day and gen- 

 eration. To trace the onward and upward 

 progress of some favored sjiot on earth is ever 

 a theme of great interest to the people of this 

 and every other country whose inhabitants 

 are capabk; of a due appreciation of the 

 blessings which attend national indu.stry. 



*Read before the A^ncultural and Ilertidultural Societ}' 

 by C. L. Hunsecker, Manb«5ini, Pa. 



The power and wealth, the coraforts and 

 conveniences and enjoyments of a people, de- 

 pend upon a great variety of cause.s — Geo- 

 graphical situation, soil and climate ; the 

 nature of the productions, the virtue, indus- 

 try and skill of the inhabitants; freedom of 

 industry, security of property, good system 

 of laws, and judicious administration of the 

 government ; genius and public .spirit in the 

 citizens to project public imiirovements and 

 promote inlercour.se with foreign nations. 



When we compare our country with the 

 great nations of Europe and Asia, in wealth 

 and iiower, in agriculture, commerce and 

 manufactures, we are limited to a [leriod of 

 only several hundred years ; but although 

 that we are thus circum.scriljed within nar- 

 row limits, measured in years, we have dis- 

 tanced in the race of luogress, and excel 

 to-day some of the oldest and proudest nations 

 of the Old World in the excellence and inge- 

 nuity (jfour mechanical inventions, and the 

 abundance and superiority of our cereal 

 crops. 



Americans produced the steamboat, the 

 cotton gin, the telegraph, the reaper and 

 mower, the cast steel plough and many other 

 ingenious and valuable inventions. J.,ook at 

 our internal improvements, our domestic and 

 foreign trade ! what strides we have made in 

 a hundred years ! Could the pilgrim fathers 

 again start into mortal existence they would 

 be paralyzed with wonder at the greatness of 

 our name, the extent of our domain, and the 

 magnificence of our agriculture, our manufac- 

 tures and our commerce. 



In this as in every other country, agriculture 

 is of paramount importance, inasmuch as it 

 multiplies the fruits of the earth. The skillful 

 handling of the farmer's acres is of vast im- 

 portance to the government and people of a 

 country. 



It is the producer of the materials for man- 

 factures, aud furnishes a large proportion of 

 the tonnage of commerce and the food of man. 

 Three-fourths of the people and at least one- 

 half of the fixed capital of the habitable globe 

 are embarked in this great pursuit. In our 

 country we see wide extended fields laden 

 with the products of the husbandman, seeking 

 a market on the .seaboard, and shipment to 

 foreign countries, to feed the superabundant 

 population of the Old World, whose crops 

 have failed to supply sufhcient food for the 

 people. 



The swallow travels, the bee builds and the 

 beaver constructs his habitation as these 

 creatures of instinct traveled and built hun- 

 dreds of years ago ; but man, exercising his 

 reasoning powers, has tran.sformed the best 

 portion of the ea,ith's surface to admiuister to 

 his wants. 



At the time Columbus made his way to 

 America the common people of Europe were 

 in a condition little better than slaves. Their 

 condition, notwithstanding that it has Ijeeu 

 much improved since, is still vastly inferior to 

 the respectability and standing of the Ameri- 

 can farmer. 



"Here prodigious aetions may as well be done 



By farmer's issue as by Prince's son." 



It is here deep in the valleys of our country 

 that immense crops of wheat and corn are 

 raised, and by the ingenuity and enterprise of 

 commercial men transported to the remotest 

 corners of the world for purposes of traffic 

 and of gain. 



Very great changes have taken place 

 within a period of a hundred years in the in- 

 tercourse of nations, facilitated by the cou- 

 struclion of canals, railroads, sailing vessels, 

 steamshiiis, etc., so that our surplus of produce 

 can lie carried great distances at low rates to 

 lilaces of consumption, that formerly rotted on 

 the ground for want of an opening to market. 

 To illustrate the great advantages of our inter- 

 nal improvements over the extensive territory 

 of the United States, wheat, tluvmost valuable 

 of our cereal products, will not licar transpor- 

 tation over ordinary earth roads more than 

 three hundred and" fifty miles ; on our rail- 

 roads it will bear transportation three thou- 

 sand five hundred miles. The tonnage 



