1880. J 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



77 



general impression ainone the members was iu favor 

 of 60 invest In;i:, proviticii tlie riueeiie were purehased 

 from reliable parlies. A reliable dealer will only 

 have pure queens, ao he will not breed when be has 

 hybrid drou 'S about bis place. 



Tbe.soeiety adjourned to meet on the second Mon- 

 day in August. 



FULTON FARMERS' CLUB. 



The Club met at the residence of Sulonioa L. 

 (jrejfg on April 10. 



William Lee, a visitor, exhibited the bean of the 

 French locust. John tlrossnuui, also a visitor, ex- 

 hibited two apples for a name. They were as fresh 

 looking after keeping tlirough llie winter as if just 

 taken from the tree. E. II. Haines pronounced 

 them to be the Tewksbury Wintei Blush, and says 

 they will keep a year. Mr. G. distriliuted some 

 scions of this anil another variety of apples, which 

 he calls the Spoon llowcr. The fruit of the latter 

 variety, he s-ays, is varied iu color, and begins to 

 ripen very early, and continues to ripen through the 

 summer. The tree is a full bearer and a vigorous 

 grower. 



Asking and Answering Questions. 



E. H. Haines : Do the members think it better to 

 make worm, or post and rail fences, taking into con- 

 sideration the cost of land, timber, etc. ! 



Montillion Brown always likes to have a good 

 poet and rail fence between his cattle and his crops. 

 The cattle are apt to rub worm fence down. A 

 neighbor of his some years ago had some bad cattle 

 In the tleld adjoining his. He did not feel easy with 

 a worm fence on the line; so be replaced it with a 

 good post and rail, and found that he could sleep 

 much better at nights. 



Joseph K. Blackburn would prefer post fence if 

 Iseust posts were used; chestnut posts cost too much, 

 considering the short time which tbey last; would 

 prefer worm fences to post and rail if chestnut posts 

 were used, as he could use rails in them that were 

 far too rough for post and rail. 



S. L. Gregg thought worm fence the cheapest; be- 

 sides they can easily be removed to clean up the row. 

 Where land is worth over one hundred dollars an 

 acre, post fence would be cheapest, because they oc- 

 cupied less ground. 



John Grossman is almost a "no-fence man." He 

 likes post and rail fence around the farm, but don't 

 think it protitable to have inside fences. Cattle 

 could be kept in the yard, and a boy hired to cut and 

 haul feed to them for nearly the same expense that 

 it would take to keep the fences in repair. In this 

 way the ground they occupied could be farmed. 



C. S. Gatchell : Will water, thrown into a cistern 

 by an hydraulic ram, get cool ten feet under ground? 



No one present had tried the experiment. 



William Lee said that he had found that it took 

 from ten days to two weeks for rain water to get 

 cool in a cistern. 



Montillion Brown : Has any one known an ox or 

 steer, when foundered, to get stiff in the limbs like a 

 horte ? 



Joseph Griest and others have known it to occur. 



E. Stanford : Is wet or dry feed the best for cows? 



The majority preferred wet feed, although some of 

 them fed dry, because it was less trouble. 

 Viewing the Premises. 



After dinner the club took a short stroll over the 

 farm, in order to inspect the manner in which it was 

 conducted, the quality and condition of the live 

 stock, etc. After returning to the house a few crit- 

 icisms were given, mostly of a favorable character. 

 One of the members had observed a grove of young 

 locust where the trees were standing entirely too 

 thick; many of them should be dug up. 

 Literary Exercises. 



"The Old Way and the New" was read by Alice 

 Gregg. 



Mabel Griest read from the Moufe/told, "How we 

 Dipped Candles." 



Mary A. King read "A Free Seat," an instructive 

 account of the visit of a stranger to the church of 

 Christ. After walking up and down the full length 

 of the aisle, without any one inviting him to a seat, 

 he went out and brought in a stone, on which he sat 

 down. Pew-doors were immediately thrown open 

 and seats freely oH'ered liim. The stone is still kept 

 by the congregation to remind them of the day when 

 Christ came late. 



"The Old Farm Gate" was recited by Carrie 

 Blackburn. 



E. H. Haines read a report of experiments In fer- 

 tilizers. 



Day Wood read from a State agricultural report 

 an article by Trofessor Leslie on "South Carolina 

 Kock." 



C. S. Gatchell read an account of "The Blooming- 

 dale Creamery." 



The question : "Is the Experimental Farm of suf- 

 ficient value to the State to pay for the money In- 

 vested ?" was next taken up and discussed. On this 

 question the club was about equally divided In opin- 

 ion, several thinking that the experiments were val- 

 uable only in the locality of tlie farm, while others 

 took the ground that we are all beneflted by them. 

 If we were not, it was probably our own fault. The 

 farm was a thing that we should all be proud of. 



After appointing a committee to furnish literary 

 matter for next meeiinir, the club adjourned tt> meet 

 at Wm. 1'. Haines's, Fulton township, 8lh of next 

 month. 



LINNiEAN SOCIETY. 



The April meeting of the Liiiiuean Society was 

 held in tnc ante-room of its Museum on Saturday 

 afternoon, the 'J4tli, the president, Uev. J. S. Stahr, 

 occupying the chair. Ten members and four vis- 

 itors were present. M. L. Davis, .M. D., of Millers- 

 ville, was a|)pointed secretary, pro tem. After or- 

 gauixation and eolleetion of dues, the following do- 

 nations were made to tin' museum and library and 

 the historical section, which were duly registered 

 and discussed : 



A line specimen of the Southern "Pouched 

 Gopher," from Georgia, through Mr. H. Vonder- 

 sniith. This is the Ocomys phu'lU of naturalists, 

 but In the South it is commonly called a "salaman- 

 der," which shows the unreliability of exclusively 

 common names. Forty specimens of minerals and 

 metals, eight of fossils and twelve of fresh water 

 shells, through A. P. Hostetter, Esq., being a frag- 

 ment of the J. Yates Conyngham collection. Five 

 specimens of vavinr, being the dried rocs of the 

 sturgeon of commerce, and largc^ly consumed by the 

 Kussians, and also highly relished by the Japanese; 

 part of the contents of the valise containing books 

 left at the mayor's oflicc and [)resentcd by his Honor 

 J.T. MacGonigle. A box containing eleven Japanese 

 camels' hair pencils, with bamboo handles and 

 sheaths, from the same. 



Two Immature dried quinces of 1879, infested by a 

 species ofurcdiiio fungus. 



Six Impressions in wax, of local seals oftbe Adams 

 Express Company in Lancaster county, and three of 

 the Heading Express. 



Twenty volumes of French philosophical and ele- 

 mentary books; one volume English grammar, and 

 seventeen volumes of Japanese historical and liter- 

 ary works, by Hon. John T. .Nracgonigle. Part .3 for 

 November and December, lS7it, of the proceedings 

 of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 

 Report of the Directors of the Central Park Meiiag- 

 arie for 1S79. Nos. 13, 14, \r> and 16, 1S80, of the 

 Official Gazette of the United States Patent OlHce. 

 Index to decisions of the same for 1879. Ten cata- 

 logues and circulars of scientific and historical books. 

 The Lancaster Fakmer for April, IS.SO. I volume, 

 "State of Labor in Europe," by Hon. A. Ilerr 

 Smith. 



Twelve envelopes containing 110 historical and bi- 

 ographical selections, from S. S. Hathvon; a copy of 

 the centennial number oftbe Baltimore American 

 1873; a copy each of the Uamaiian Gazette and the 

 Commercial Herald, Honolulu, Sandwich Islands, 

 1870, from S. S. Kathvon. 



The following were papers read : No. S.SO, 

 by S. S. Rathvou on the "Pouched Gopher," 

 No 540, by the same, giving a list of the 

 titles and the authors of the books donated by Mayor 

 MacGonigle; NoS41,a very elaborate and interesting 

 historieal paper was read by Dr. Dubhs, on "Eph- 

 rata Publications," which was unanimously request- 

 ed to be published; No. .'i4'.', "Botanical Notes," by 

 Presidenr Stahr, In which he conimcnted favorably 

 upon the fresh impulse that the natural sciences 

 have received from the young men and students of 

 the educational institutions of Lancaster, especially 

 In the departments of botany and microscopy, and 

 astronomy, in which the Linn:can Is in hearty sym- 

 pathy. He also laid before the society two plants 

 somewhat rare for this region, namely a specimen of 

 Trillinm crectum var ullmm from near Harnish's 

 Mill, and a specimen of the Pi/xidonthera harbulata, 

 a creeping evergreen, common in the Jersey barrens 

 but rare here. 



The committee appointed at the February meeting 

 to inquire and consider the feasibility of publishing 

 a periodical bulletin of the society, reported pro- 

 gress, and was continued. 



The following was offered by S. S. Rathvon and 

 unanimously adopted : 



Resolved, That a vote of thanks be passed to 

 Mayor MacGonigle and others, for the liberal dona- 

 tions which, through their instrumentality, have 

 been made to the society on this occasion. 



The society theu proceeded to fill the vacancy in 

 the secretaryship, occasioned by the death of the 

 late Mr. Stautl'er, which resulted in the unanimous 

 election of Dr. .M. L. Davis, of Mlllersville, for the 

 balance of the term. 



A communication was received from Mr. J. D. 

 Widgatc, of Carbondale, Pa., proposing to send the 

 society a suit of the fossils of the coal region. The 

 proposition was thankfully accepted, and the secre- 

 tary was ordered to reply accordingly. 



"The donations were large, valnable and Interest- 

 ing; and under the rule of "Scientific Gossip" a 

 spirited interest seemed to be manifested in behalf of 

 the society, and on the whole the meeting was a 

 very interesting one. After an hour or two pleasantly 

 spent In a mutual interchange of views on various 

 scieniiHc topics the socletj adjourned to the last 

 Saturday In May. The Linnxan has maintained its 

 organization iul.ict longer thau any other scientific 

 iustitutloD that has ever existed In Lancaster. 



Entomological. 



Tobacco Plants— Depredations by Bugs. 



Lancaster county Is not the only place In which 

 the young lobiicco plants arc being destroyed by 

 bugs. The Clarksvillc, Tenn., Leaf, of April Zi, has 

 the following interviews with planters, showing the 

 extent of the damage by bugs : 



M. C. .lolinsnn was found at Hampton station and 

 says : "I sowed fourteen beds; they have eaten 'he 

 plants clean from thirteen. I have one small bed 



tbey have not flidshed yet and I don't care a d . 



Wish they would eat every plant In the United 

 States. They are eating the plants clean iu Poudy 

 woods, something that was never known before. .My 

 grange (Guthrie grange) report their plants nearly 

 all destroyed." 



W. W. McMurry says: "My plants are seriously 

 damaged, but If I can check them now I think I will 

 have enough to set my crop." 



Mr. Il('nry Kcason says: "My beds arc as clean 

 of plants as this floor. I examined them this morn- 

 ing and a plant could not be found on them with u 

 forty-horse-power magDifying glass." 



Reporter — "What are you going to do about III" 



Reason — "I am going a fishing." 



E. B. Ro.ss said : "The bugs are eating my plants 

 up. 1 do not regard my prospects for plants as 

 worth a fig." 



O.l). Battle: "The bugs have about destroyed 

 my first sowing. Have burnt, resowed and can- 

 vassed." 



F. Ewing : "They Ijave destroyed two beds, and 

 the prospect now Is the bugs will finish the remainder 

 in a week." 



Guinu and Son, oulltvating the Busrap farm. 

 These gentlemen were found on their kuees at one of 

 their plant beds, and salil : "This bed Is all we have 

 left; our other two beils are as clean as your hand, 

 but there are right smart left on this one, if we could 

 only stop the cussed things. What's good for 'em?" 

 Reporter — "Well, from your report, I would think 

 that tobacco plants agreed with them finely." G. 



and son — "Oh ! I mean what will kill the d 



things?" Reporter — "That is a conundrum that has 

 been going the rounds of tobaccp growers for the 

 past two hundred years; when It Is solved we will 

 answer your (luestlou." 



The farmers interviewed plant about 200 acres of 

 tobacco. 



[Whether the foregoing Is a facetious exaggeration 

 or a fact, we would like to see a specimen of the 

 "bugs" that are capable of eating off a bed of to- 

 bacco plants "as eleau as the floor." linyn don't 

 usually eat off anything. They live altogether on 

 liquid food, from the sap of a plant to the blood of 

 an animal. To devise a remedy, it is of some Im- 

 portance to know exactly whether we are dealing 

 with a ''«J7 or a (<«■((<•. A remedy that would kill a 

 beetle, might have no effect upon a bug— simply be- 

 cause the former in eating the plant would also be 

 likely to eat the poison; whereas, the latter, that In- 

 troduces its probosics luto the plant to suck out the 

 Inner juices, might do so with impunity. If any of 

 our tobacco growers are troubled with insects of the 

 character of those described above, they w 111 do us a 

 favor by sending us specimens. We would like to 

 have them placed on record, for the benefit of pos- 

 terity. — Eu. Farmer.] 



* 



About Cut Worms, 



A correspondent of the Country Ocntleman asks 

 the following questions relative to cut worms: I 

 wish to put corn, this spring, into a piece of old 

 sod that lies next to one planted in corn last year. It 

 was terribly Infested with cut worms, and about the 

 time they were disappearing, I noticed. In this pas- 

 ture land 1 propose to plow, a great many small 

 grey millers or moths fluttering on the grass. With- 

 out knowing anything [)Ositive about them, I inferred 

 they developed from the cut worms in my corn hills, 

 and were laying in this sod the foundation for an- 

 other crop of worms. Am I right? If so, what can 

 I do to protect the corn from their ravages ? Would 

 it be of any benefit to sow on the inverted sod, Just 

 before harrowing it, from "JOO to 30il pounds of salt ! 

 What would be th» effect of sprinkling on the top of 

 each hill a small handful of salt before the corn 

 came up, or around the (?orn afler it came up ? 



Answer : The moth or winged form oftbe com- 

 mon corn cut worm is about three-fourths of an inch 

 long, and an inch and a quarter with Its spread 

 wings, dusky grey in color, and Is distinguished by 

 two black spots (one nearly square i near the centre 

 of its fore wings, with a nearly white spot between 

 them. You may judge, from this description, 

 whether those you saw arc the same. There Is 

 doubtless a strong probability that the unplowed 

 portion of the field will be Infested with them, as 

 the plowed portion was last year. The last year's 

 grubs chanted to the winged Insects in July, and 

 laid their eggs at the roots of the grass. They 

 hatched and fed on a portion of the grass till the 

 approaching cold of winter, when they crawled Into 

 the earth and remained in a partly frozen state till 

 spring. By the time the corn was up, they were 



