1880.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



i07 



OUR LOCAL Organizations. 



LANCASTER COUNTY AGRICULTU- 

 RAL AND HORTICULTURAL 

 SOCIETY. 



The Lancaster County Airricullural and Horticul- 

 tural Society nu'l statedly in their room in City Jlall, 

 on Monday afternoon, .luly 13tli. 



The followiuEf nienil>ers were present: S. 8. Rath- 

 von, city; S.V.Eby, Esq., city; W. F. Grlest, city; 

 C. A. Gast, city; Joseph F. Witmer, Paradise; John- 

 son Miller, Warwick; M. D. Kendiu:, Manor; John 

 11. Lanrtis, Millersville; F. i;. Dill'cnderircr, city; 

 Calvin Cooper, Bird-iri-Hand; W. I). Bollinger, War- 

 wick; W. Il.Brosius, Druniore. 



The readini^ of the minutes of theprevlouB meeting 

 was, on motion, dispensed with. 



John J. Martin, of Manor township, was elected a 

 member of the society. 



Mr. Cooper said the grain crop was rather short. 

 Oats was poorly filled and hardly worth cutting. 

 The corn crop and tobacco crop looked promising, al- 

 though wanting raiu. The apple crop promises to be 

 fine, although not so large in rpuinlity as formerly. 

 Potatoes will likely prove a partial failure. The 

 young cloTCr looks very sickly, wanting rain very 

 badly. 



Mr. Kurtz reported the wheat crop in his section 

 to be very good, but the grain was rather small. He 

 attributed this fact to the drought when it was iu 

 blossom and filling. The corn looks well, but is sadly 

 In need of rain. The tobacco crop also promises well. 

 Clover and timothy do not promise very well. The 

 army worm has disappeared from his section. Grass- 

 hoppers are plenty and in some fields have done 

 great damage to the tobacco and corn. 



Mr. Bollinger said the oats crop would be an 

 average one. The corn looks better than he had ever 

 seen it. Potatoes will be good; tobacco is rather 

 short, and the insects are already commencing their 

 devastations. The young grass looks very badly. 

 The fruit looks very healthy, although apples will 

 not be so plenty as formerly. 



Mr. Landis said the corn in his section of the 

 county looked remarkably well. The tobacco also 

 looked well, but the oats would be very short In the 

 straw. The clover looks very sickly, and in some 

 fields is dying out. He thought there would be a 

 very fine crop of apples. The peach crop would also 

 be good this year. 



Mr. Kendig said the grass crop was very bad all 

 over the country, but particularly so in his section. 

 He asked if there was any remedy for this. 



Johnson Miller said the report for the upper end of 

 Warwick township was about the same as that re- 

 ported by Mr. Bollinger. The grass crop was rather 

 slim. 



Mr. Witmer said his clover was right well set and 

 looked better than it did a year ago. The apples ap- 

 pear to be abundant, but the peaches are not so 

 plenty. In reference to the wheat crop he would say 

 that the grains are very small. 



Dr. Kathvon said 3,000 copies of the premium list 

 of the coming Fair, had been printed free, 200 of 

 which had been sent to each of the managers, except 

 Mr. Hulier. He distributed 150 copies himself. He 

 thought it would be time enough to distribute them 

 next month. 



A motion was made and carried that the members 

 of the Board of managers distribute the premium 

 lists at their own expense. 



A communication was read from the former treas- 

 urer stating that he would render a full and com- 

 plete report of all moneys in his hands at an early 

 date. 



Mr. Kendig, to whom wiis referred the question as 

 to the best time to cut elders and briers, to destroy 

 them, said the best plan he knew was to cut them 

 down as soon as they appeared. 



Mr. Eby cited an instance of the destruction of 

 the Canada thistle in two years. He said the patch 

 was cultivated the same as corn, and then as often as 

 they came up they were cut down. 



Mr. Landis said he dug the thistle out and filled 

 the holes with salt for five or six years, but still they 

 were present. 



Mr. .Miller said he saw them cut off and salted 

 them, and finally they were totally destroyed. 



Mr. Eby said in reference to destroying elders the 

 best plan was to cultivate them with a harrow, and 

 cut of!' the roots, and they would finally die. 



Mr. Witmer said he had been troubled with briers, 

 and he ploughed them thoroughly about the time 

 they had attained their full growth. 



Mr. Cooper thought a good plan was to pull them 

 up after plowiug in the spring. This was an easy 

 method, and would bring a good result. 



Upon the question of "Strawberries and their Cul- 

 ture," John H. Landis read the following paper : 



Of all our garden fruits the strawberry is proba- 

 bly the most fragrant and delicious. In consequence 

 of these elements of popularity it ever finds a ready 

 sale in the markets. The profitableness of growing 

 it has epcouraged our fruit growers to take more 

 than ordinary pains in endeavoring to Improve it by 

 creating new varieties. Through these efforts on 



their part they have susceeded in originating varie- 

 ties of greater size, richer flavor and juiciness. I do 

 not propose to undertake to teach anyone, much less 

 the e.vperienced horticulturists of this society, how 

 to successfully raise tlic strawberry, but will en- 

 deavor in my own way to tell a few things I know 

 about strawberry culture. 



The word strawberry originated many years ago 

 from the then known custom of laying straw under 

 the fruit when it was about ripening. What their 

 prime reason was for doing so I am not prepared to 

 say, but I presume it was done for the same reasons 

 that it is done now, which are, in the first place, to 

 keep the berries clean from sand and earth ; second- 

 ly, they are more readily picked ; thirdly, they are 

 not near so apt to rot, es[iecially during damp or wet 

 weather: and, fourthly, it will choke U|i and keep 

 down grass anil weeds iu the immediate proximity of 

 the plant. I put cut straw around rny jilauts in the 

 spring. I cut the straw witli the conifodder cutter. 

 Sawdust or tan, if either can be gotten, would an- 

 swer the purpose and in some respects would be pre- 

 ferable to straw. 



The soil for successful culture should be of the 

 best quality. Above all things else a good soil is an 

 essential requisite for successful growing. The west- 

 ern growers prefer a hard, tough soil. It does not 

 matter so much as to what kind of soil it Is in other 

 respects only so that it i> rich soil. Dilferent varieties 

 appear to be adapted to a certain extent to different 

 soils. Frequently one fruit grower or nurseryman 

 recommends a variety which another stoutly con- 

 demns. One variety appears to do best at one place 

 and another at another place. Without a trial I 

 think it is impossible to tell which variaty does best 

 at any one place, but all varieties require a rich soil 

 and a deep soil, for the roots of the strawberry run 

 down deeper than most people imagine. 



Plants are raised from vines commonly known as 

 runners. From a few dozen plants a very large num- 

 ber of young plants can be raised. From one plant 

 as high as fifty young plants have been grown in a 

 single season. The plants should be set in rows tliree 

 feet apart and about fourteen inches apart in the 

 rows. In planting there is nothing of so much con- 

 sequence as to have the plants firmly set. There is 

 no danger of the earth beiug too firmly pressed 

 around the plant. Care should be taken, however, 

 that the eye is not covered. The time of planting 

 may be in early spring or in August. Spring plant- 

 in" I think is preferable, from the fact that then the 

 ground is more moist and wet, and consequently the 

 plants can be gotten to grow with less trouble. I 

 would suggest planting as soon as the ground was 

 dry enough to work it properly. August planting 

 may do very well if you take the time and trouble 

 necessary in assisting the plant. It is the hottest and 

 generally the dryest part of the entire year, and 

 hence the soil is most times too dry for planting with- 

 out the use of water. In planting, after you make 

 the hole into which you propose to set the plant, pour 

 two or three gills of water betbre you insert it, and 

 then quickly press the earth firmly around the roots. 

 This can be done successfully no matter how dry the 

 season is, only it requires more attention, more time 

 and more labor. 



A special effort should be mads to keep the bed or 

 patch as from weeds as possible. The nourishment 

 the weeds take out of the ground the plants are rob- 

 bed of, and they otlierwise retard the growth and 

 affect the health of the plant. 



As is the case of other plants, the more liberal the 

 application of manure the more bountiful will be the 

 yield of fruit. There is a difference of opinion rela- 

 tive to to the kind of manure, the application of 

 which will have the most satisfactory effect. Most 

 any manure or fertilizer I should think was beneficial. 

 Lime by some is made an exception. It has been 

 said that the application of lime to a strawberry patch 

 is more of an Injury than a benefit. Stable manure, 

 compost, wood ashes, or chicken droppings can all 

 be used to advantage. An occasional application of 

 guano it is said produces very satisfactory results. 



In the fall, before the ground freezes, the plants 

 should be mulched with straw, sawilust, forest 

 leaves or strawy stable manure. This will serve as 

 a protection to the plant and prevent it being 

 thrown out by the frost. Strawy horse manure 

 will serve as a spleudid top-dressing and would 

 serve both as a protector and a fertilizer, but great 

 care must be taken lest it be put on too thick and 

 smother or burn the plants. 



In Santa Clara county, California, strawberries 

 are cultivated more extensively than anywhere on 

 this continent and probably in the world. They 

 are raised principally for the San Francisco market. 

 Twenty and thirty acre fields are common there. 

 Last August I spent several days on the farm of 

 Mr. W. A. Z. Edwards, near San Jose, Cal., who 

 had an eighteen-acre field in strawberries. Mr. 

 Edwards told me he frequently finds berries in his 

 field, that measure seven inches in circumference 

 one way and five inches in circumference another 

 way. The kind he grows mostly is the variety 

 known as "The Monarch of the West." Berries 

 of this variety have been found to be three inches 

 in diameter. The fields in their third and fourth 

 years yield from 4,000 to 0,000 pounds per acre. 



The wholesale price In San Francisco is six and 

 seven cents per pound, making a gross yield of 

 from two hundred and forty dollars to four hun- 

 dred and twenty dollars per acre. As high as sixty 

 or seventy thousand pounds are received daily In 

 San Francisco during the strawberry season. 



Large yields are also reported from different 

 parts of the East. Mr. Israel Bennis, of Levant, 

 .Maine, during the season of 18(i9, raised on twenty 

 scjuare rods of ground 590 quarts of Wilson's straw- 

 berries, which he sold at twenty-one cents per 

 quart, amounting to 812:f.90. 



Hr)n. William Parry, a prominent fruit-grower In 

 New Jersey, hds grown over 200 bushels per acre 

 In a season, which were sold at ten cents per quart, 

 amounting to over six hundred dollars. 



There is no reason why they should not be grown 

 profitably anywhere in our part of the country, 

 and it would be highly desirable to sec more of 

 our farmers and fruit-growers take an Interest In 

 their cultivation. They are one of our most deli- 

 cious fruits, and they can uniioubtedly be profitably 

 grown. In conclusion I must simply repeat with 

 special emphasis, that care in planti7i(/, freedom 

 from uiceth, tibcrai and prudent fertilizing and good 

 soil are essential requisites for the successful culti- 

 vation of the strawberry. 



.Mr. Cooper said the plants, if taken young 

 enough, could be transplautcd with perfect safety 

 on well-cultivated ground. In wiuier he would 

 cover the whole plant, and for this he said corn- 

 stalk manure was the best. 



The following question was referred for next 

 meeting: "What is the best mode of transplant- 

 ing trees— should they be watered, and in what 

 way?" Keferred to Calvin Cooper. 



Messrs. Cooper, Eby and Landis were appointed 

 a committee on nomenclature. 



.Mr. H. M. Englc laid on the table of the society 

 a number of fine specimens of peaches of the fol- 

 lowing varieties : Saunders, Downey, Wilder, Ams- 

 den, Kivers, Cumberland, Louisa, Briggs, May, 

 Beatrice, Musser and Alexaeder. 



Mr. Cooper exhibited a fine specimen of Red As- 

 trachan apple, of good size and tine flavor. 



On motion, adjourned. 



LINNiEAN SOCIETY. 



The Linnsean Society met at 2 o'clock P. M. on 

 Saturday, June 2fi, in the ante-room of the Museum, 

 President Prof. J. S. Stahr in the chair, six members 

 and one visitor in attendance. After organization, 

 and the usual preliminary business, the following 

 donations to the museum and library were made : 



Museum. 



1. A female "Red" or •' Northern Bat," and three 

 young, were donated by Mr. W. E. Lant, of 219 

 East King street, Lancaster. These were the l'e»- 

 pertilie noveborcceiiis, and were interesting on ac- 

 count of the triplicate occurrence of the offspring, 

 the bat being a iiwnmm(r«? animal. 



2. An alcoholized "Tadpole" of a species of Rana, 

 or frog, that had been kept in an aquarium all last 

 winter, and only died about ten days ago, without 

 having increased in size, or shown any advance In 

 development since November, 1S79. 



3. A bottle containing specimens of the "army 

 worm" that infested the wheat fields of Lancaster 

 county the present season, from Messrs. Shrelncr, of 

 Petersburg, and Hershey, of Mauhelm. These 

 worms are becoming considerably varied ; those 

 from the wheat fields being much darker in color 

 than those now found in a field of Mr. S. S. Speueer; 

 therefore their identity cau only be determined from 

 the appearance of the moths bred from them. 



4. A bottle containing a large specimen of the 

 "Millipede" {fipirobolnt MargimUus.) This is the 

 largest species of Mijriopodn found in Lancaster 

 county, and feeds on vegetation. "Centipedes" 

 feed on animal substance, have a less number of 

 feet, and their bodies are Hattened. They arc also 

 swift runners. The former arc injurious to vegeta- 

 tion, but the latter innoxious, and may be regarded 

 as friends; but when large they should be "severely 

 let alone,' as they are apt to defend themselves. 



Library. 



1. A copy of Qenetis and Kxodus, a spelling book, 

 and four tracts, all in the Burmese language, do- 

 nated by Miss S. 8. Lefever. 



2. Numbers 22, 2:i, 24 and 25, of the Official «o- 

 zelte of the U. S. patent oflice. 



3. Educational Bulletin, from the Department of 

 the Interior. 



4. Lancaster Farmer for June, 1880. 



5. Sundry catalogues and circulars. 



Microscopical. 

 Dr. M. L. Davis presented five mounted specimens 

 of insects — namely, one each of Kpitrix cueumcrit et 

 pHbeeceus, one of Symtithurus fiorletisig, and two 

 of a very small undetermined Ifemipler, all of which 

 infest the young tobacco plant. 



Papers Read. 

 .Mrs. Zell read a paper on the "red chlckwced," 

 accompanied with the plants in bloom. This is a 



