66 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[May, 



for the head now before us measures five 

 inches iu length and nearly six inches in cir- 

 cumference, and this is barely an average 

 specimen. It is very compact and the seeds 

 are finely formed and nearly as pure a white 

 as "pearl-barley." Tlie advantages of rais- 

 ing this grain are represented to be : 1st. A . 

 larger yield on soil too poor to raise any other 

 crop. 2nd. It wiU grow on soil too dry to 

 produce a crop of rye or barley. .3rd. It re- 

 quires no threshing— just cutting off the heads 

 being all that is necessary; separating the 

 grain from the head, from the appearance, 

 would be an easy and simple process. 4th. 

 It can be harvested at any time from August 

 until Christmas, being ready at any time the 

 farmer is ready. 5th. Its yield is greater 

 and more valuable as stock or team feed, 

 pound for pound, than any other kind of 

 grain. And 6th. It is one of the most health- 

 ful and palatable articles of food tliat can be 

 brought to the tai)le of the familj-, either 

 ground and made into buns, cakes, puddings, 

 &c., or cooked whole as a substitute for rice. 

 It leaves on the ground when summer food is 

 gone immense amounts of green stalks, leaves 

 and heads, wliich is eagerly eaten by stock of 

 all kinds, and is therefore a valuable forage. 

 The third specimen is the "Liberian 

 Imphee," a variety o{ sm-ghimi vulgare. Its 

 seeds are red, and it is a large growing plant; 

 remains a long time in leaf growth, making 

 it a valuable forage plant. It is confidently 

 said to be never affected by disease of any 

 kind. Its yield of syrup or sugar in the hot, 

 dry climate of southern California is said to 

 be much greater than tlie Chinese variety, 

 and, therefore, it is regarded as one of the 

 most valuable varieties, and will make twice 

 as much syrup per acre as the restricted sor- 

 ghums, which are more valuable for forage 

 than for sng.ir. The hybrids of the sorghums 

 aud the imphees are of a quick growth and 

 are mainly valuable for forage. This and the 

 Chinese imphee are the most valuable for the 

 production of sugar. The head of the spe- 

 cimen of imphee before us measures seven 

 inches from the base to the apex, and the cir- 

 cumference is nine inches. This seed head 

 recalls a variety of "imphee" that was culti- 

 vated in this country more than half a cen- 

 tury ago as a substitute for coffee That was 

 a dark purple variety, and was known under 

 the names of "Chinese Coffee-corn," "Choco- 

 late corn," or simply "Chinese coffee." The 

 seeds nearly all had a white face or a white 

 spot upon them, and were much larger than 

 the variety before us; not only were the seeds 

 pai'tly purple, but the stalks and leaves were 

 also streaked with that color. ^Nothing, to 

 our recollection, was at that period known of 

 its saccharine qualities, and it seemed to be 

 cultivated entirely for the purpose of making 

 coffee. It was while the country was finan- 

 cially prostrated after the "financial crash" 

 of 1817, when roasted rye had been substituted 

 for coll'ee. We can distinctly remember the 

 rye-coflee of 1820, when merchants received 

 it roasted, by the barrel, from Philadelphia, 

 and almost everybody became weary of it. 

 The chocolate corn, as it wasjcommonly called, 

 was hailed as a blessed relief, and nearly every 

 one that occupied only a town lot, raised this 

 plant. It was roasted and ground in a coffee- 

 mill, and the beverage had the taste, smell 

 aud general appearance of chocolate. It was 

 hardy and grew with only ordinary garden 

 cultivation. 



These latter remarks relate mainly to the 

 poor, or those only in medium circumstances; 

 for it may be supposed that those who were 

 really rich never relinquished the use of coffee 

 because it was high in price; and we have in- 

 dulged in these comments here for the pur- 

 pose of illustrating that whatever might be 

 realized from our soil— as compared with that 

 of California — and whatever the use and 

 market value might be of such crops, those 

 who may intend to raise them need entertain 

 no unfavorable apprehensions on climatic 

 grounds. Sorghum, imphee, millet, broom- 

 corn and other plants of their class have been 

 grown luxuriantly and with perfect safety in 



Pennsylvania, and especially in Lancaster 

 county, although it might take a long time be- 

 fore they would supersede corn and tobacco 

 on the score of profit alone. The specimens 

 can be seen at Russel & Shulmyer's coal 

 office. 



INDIAN TURNIP. 



(Ariscema Triphyllnm.) 



This plant, so well known to every one 

 whose boy-life was passed in the country, or 

 near a woods, belongs to the order Aeace^ 

 or Arum family, and the clase of Monoco- 

 TYLEDONOUS plants. It is the Arum triphyl- 

 lum of Linne, and is very common, abound- 

 ing in rich woodlands generally, and appears 

 in May. The conn is turnip shaped, wrinkled, 

 farinaceous, with an intensly acrid Juice. 

 Each plant bears but a single flower, usually 

 green, variegated with dark purjile and whit- 

 ish stripes. The fruit is cone shaped, and in 

 August and September is of a deep scarlet 

 color. There are several species allied to our 

 Indian turnip, both in our own country and 

 in other parts of the world, all of which pos- 

 sess its acrid and farinaceous characters. The 

 root has been used as a medicine, but now 

 seems to have gone out of use. It was at one 



STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



time thought to be an unfailing remedy for 

 rheumatism; and, when a boy, it was admin- 

 istered to us as a remedy against ague, on ac- 

 count of its heating qualities, but we can 

 hardly remember the result. One thing, 

 however, we do remember, that boiling it de- 

 stroys its acridity in "to-to." Indeed boiling 

 it in milk and adding a little pepper and salt 

 makes it a pleasant and nutritious food. It is 

 surprising to note the great change it undergoes 

 in its culinary preparation, and it seems to us 

 tliat those who live along or near the margin 

 of a rich wood might do much worse than to 

 cultivate an Indian turnip bed. The Egyp- 

 tian Arum and the Tare of the Polynesians 

 belong to the same family of plants, have the 

 same acrid character when raw, but they are 

 cultivated as an esculent, and large quantities 

 are consumed by the natives. They are es- 

 teemed for their'mild and farinaceous quality. 

 No doubt the Indian turnip might be culti- 

 vated, botli from the seed and the root, but 

 perhaps it never would "pay," owing to the 

 fact that they require the rich forest mould 

 and the forest shade for their support and 

 protection. Still, as we have intimated above, 

 those persons favorably located might culti- 

 vate them for their own use. 



Programme for the Summer Meeting to be 

 Held in June. 



The Summer meeting of the Pennsylvania 

 Board of Agriculture will be held in Gettys- 

 burg, commencing on Wednesday, June 9. 

 The following is the programme as decided 

 upon : 



Essays and Subjects for Discussion. 



Is stock raising profitable to the Pennsylva- 

 nia farmer ? By John L. George, memlier 

 from Washington. Buckwheat — under what 

 conditions is its culture profitable ? By M. 

 W. Oliver memlier from Crawford. Sanitary 

 arrangement of tarm buildings. By Dr. Har- 

 vey, member from Delaware. Which consti- 

 tutes the most economical team for farm work, 

 mules or horses ? By W. G. Moore, member 

 from Berks. Clover as a fertilizer. How 

 does it enrich the soil ? By Prof. J. Hamil- 

 ton, member from Centre. The exhaustive 

 effects of different crops. By the Secretary of 

 the Board. Legal rights and duties of farm 

 employer and farm employees. By Geo. W. 

 Hood, member from Indiana. How can a 

 farm be most economically improved from 

 sources within its borders ? By Col. James 

 Young, member Irom Dauphin. Preparing 

 the ground and cultivation of corn. By John 

 B. Smith, member from Luzerne Is cherry 

 growing profitable ? By W. S. Roland, mem- 

 ber from York. Salt as a fertilizer. By 

 James Miles, member from Erie. Lime and its 

 action. By the Secretary of the Board. A 

 plea for nomenclature. By J. A. Herr, mem- 

 ber from Clinton. Are fruit preserving houses 

 a success and are they profitable ? By H. M. 

 Engle, member from Lancaster. Does cut- 

 ting injure the vitality of the potato ? By 

 Dr. James Calder, President Pennsylvania 

 State College. Other essays and subjects will 

 be oflered for discussion. 



At some time during the continuance of the 

 sessions, Prof. S. Breidenbaugh will address 

 the meeting on "Some points in the relation 

 of Chemistry to Agriculture," and Thomas 

 Meehan, the botanist t)f the Board, upon 

 "Practical lessons from Botanical Science." 



Excursion tickets to Gettysburg and return 

 will be issued from stations on Pennsylvania 

 railroad and branches. 



Queries and Answers. 



Llnyphia. 



Mr. J. B. A., Lancaster, Pa. — The yellow- 

 ish spider from Montana, according to the 

 arrangement and number of its eyes, ap- 

 parently belongs to the genus Linyphia:, and 

 the color and other characteristics seem to 

 approximate it to the species autumualis, but, 

 comins; from Montana, it is more likely to be 

 an entirely new species. The specimen is 

 considerably "shriveled," and the abdomen, 

 especially, has sundry depressions and eleva- 

 tions that would not be present in a fresh or 

 living specimen. Spiders also moult several 

 times during their lives, and the same species 

 may present a different appearance between 

 the" respective moulting periods, therefore, 

 species captured late in autumn or during 

 the winter are most likely to be perfectly de- 

 veloped, and possess the most reliable charac- 

 teristics. 



Seventeen-Year Locust. 



Mrs. P. E. O., jEnterprise, Pa.— Your in- 

 sects seem to be the larvte of the seventeen 

 year locust ( Cicado septendecim) in the 12th 

 year of their development. Of course this con- 

 clusion is only inferential. I received a larva' 

 of the same kind in October last, which I in- 

 ferred to be in its 11th year, from the fact 

 that it was quite too large to belong to our 

 annual species. These are somewhat larger 

 than that specimen was. I have one also of J 

 about .5 years ago which was still less thanj 

 that of last year. We had the Cicadas in this! 

 county in 1868, if they therefore belong to the! 

 17 year species they must be in their 12th.| 

 year. For myself, I think they are. 



