122 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[August, 



"Who can tell him the best way ? Can he fix 

 a stout capstan at suitable points at the bot- 

 tom of the slope and carry a wire rope and 

 grai^pling iron up the hill to the roots and 

 pull them out by mule or ox-power ? I have 

 so advised. 



The first section of peach trees was planted 

 in 1875, and first full crop was being gathered 

 to-day, the varieties— Crawford's Early 

 (white,) of fair size and good flavor; and 

 Beatrice, a small, red blush, early peach, very 

 delicious. The Philadelphia market being 

 overstocked, it does not pay to ship ; so a 

 drying house has been hastily erected, and a 

 hot-air dryer, capable of passing sixty bush- 

 els a day, "put in operation. The peaches are 

 peeled by hand machines of a recently im- 

 proved pattern, which do good work rapidly. 

 By drying the fruit the seeds are saved for 

 the nursery, for there are many acres of 

 orchards yet to be planted. The trees which 

 come into bearing next year will produce fruit 

 from early in July lill late frost. It is proba- 

 ble that all of the improved methods of put- 

 ting up the ripe fruit v^'ill be adoi)ted, instead 

 of marketing it fresh ; owing to the long 

 transportation and risk. There are 444 acres 

 iu the tract, and with the exception of a nar- 

 row strip along the river, part of which is 

 already occupied l)y wagon road and railway, 

 the wliole is the noithern slope of a high hill, 

 and is undoubtedly a most favorable location 

 for an orchard ; and fortunately it is owned 

 by a gentleman who is not only able but will- 

 ing to devote the immense energy and money 

 necessary to prove to a thousand other owners 

 of similar mountain land that it is not worth- 

 less for cultivation, as has been often declared, 

 so that it has often sold only for its value for 

 mining or timber. 



Now I think I hear some impatient person 

 who has read thus far about the operations of 

 the owner of this mammoth enterprise crying 

 out, "Who is he ? You haven't told us his 

 name !" I know it ; and it required con- 

 .siderable argument to get his consent that I 

 might give it ; for he did not wish it to ap- 

 pear as though he were boasting of what he 

 had done, and he feared an avalanche of let- 

 ters if his name was given. But to force 

 so good an example, I persuaded him to allow 

 me to give his name, and then no one will 

 doubt wliat I have said, who happens to re- 

 member during the i)ast half century a busy 

 New York and Philadelphia business man, 

 who usually writes his name "H. Bradford," 

 who was born upon the banks of the Connec- 

 ticut river, ten miles below Middletown. If 

 you are curious to know when, you will find 

 "Hezekiab Bradford" upon the baptismal 

 register somewhere in that vicinity. I shall 

 not lell exactly when or where the entry was 

 made. But I will say that many men of his 

 age prefer rest rather than such untiring labor 

 as he puts into this enterprise, while at the 

 same time be conducts his city business. Let 

 us all wish eminent success to the Bradford 

 fruit farm, and that the success of this ex- 

 periment may be the incentive to many men 

 to improve the waste lands of Pennsylvania 

 mountain counties. 



A word as to the incentive of Mr. Brad- 

 ford's great work. A few years ago this tract 

 came into his hands upon the false represen- 

 tation that it contained valuable veins oi 

 iron ore. He bought it unseen. When seen 

 it was found to yield no workable ore, and 

 only a small tract of farm laud, with a few 

 common farm buildings. The question now 

 was: "What shall I do with it?" That 

 question has been answered. Mr. Bradford 

 must take rank as a public benefactor. — New 

 York Tribune. 



Angora Goats. 

 An association has been incorporated in 

 Virginia, with a capital of .12,000,000, for the 

 purpose of raising Angora goats. According 

 to its charter the association is permitted to 

 hold in fee, 200,000 acres of land, and to 

 issue bonds, but not without the consent of 

 nine-tenths of all the stockholders. 20,000 

 ewe goats will be brought on from California. 



OUR Local Organizations. 



LANCASTER COUNTY AGRICULTU- 

 RAL AND HORTICULTURAL 

 SOCIETY. 



The Lancaster County Agricultural and Horticul- 

 tural Society met statedly in their rooms over the 

 City Hall at 2 o'clock on Monday afternoon, August 

 2d. 



The following members and visitors were present: 

 Calvin Cooper, Bird-in-Hand; H. M. Engle, Mari- 

 etta; Henry S. Kurtz, Mount Joy; John C. LinviUe, 

 Gap; H. G. Rush, West Willow; James Wood, Little 

 Britain; Henry Stein, city; Johnson Miller, War- 

 wick; J. M. Johnston, city; W. W. Griest, city; S. 

 M. Kinfc, city; Joseph F. Witmer, Paradise; John 

 Huber, Lititz; Elias Hershey, Leaman Place; W. H. 

 Brosius, Drumore; Israel Landis, Manheim; C. L. 

 Hunsecker, Manheim township; John H. Landis, 

 Manor; Ephraim Hoover, Manheim; Peter S. Keist, 

 Lititz; Peter Hershey, city. 



The reading of the minutes of the previous meet- 

 ing was, on motion, dispensed with. 



The Secretary, Mr. Kendig, being absent, Mr. 

 Calvin Cooper was elected Secretary pro. tern. 

 Crop Reports. 



Mr. Engle — Corn in fine condition, and with an- 

 other rain would he a very heavy yield ; potato crop 

 short; young clover as a general thing is a failure; 

 fruit, fair to good — apples possibly above the aver- 

 age, pears fair, peaches good; tobacco in his district 

 was promising, some fields being as fine as he had 

 ever seen, and saw no reason for croaking on the 

 part of the farmers. Mr. Engle reported the rainfall 

 for the month of July as being 'A% inches. 



Mr. Kurtz— Corn looks remarkably well, yet with- 

 out rain it will not husk as well as it looks just now; 

 clover and timothy a complete failure; tobacco very 

 irregular; seeding plowing has commenced, but the 

 ground is too dry. 



Johnson Miller — The crops in Warwick are aver- 

 age ones. Tobacco not equal to last year's crop; 

 apples very fine; grapes more plentiful. 



For Drumore Mr. Brosius reports the corn crop as 

 promising; grass had been somewhat killed before 

 harvest, but was now doing well; tobacco at an aver- 

 age of other years. t 



J. C. Linville, from Salisbury, reported the potato 

 crop as rather light, but in quality the best they ever 

 had ; winter apples are too forward ; tobacco looked 

 poor, the leaves curling up ; considerable threshing 

 has been done, but has nut heard much of the yield. 

 The Clawson and Mediterranean had done better 

 than the Foltz variety, which had gone back on 

 them, the first time since they had begun sowing it, 

 ten or eleven years ago ; many of the farmers re- 

 sowed clover and it had grown nicely, but was now 

 burning up ; too j'oung to stand the drought. 



H. G. Rush reported the grass in his section as 

 very poor, but much depends on the future weather; 

 potatoes, since the cultivation of tobacco, have been 

 neglected and consequently are poor ; the ground is 

 mostly plowed, prepared for seeding. 



For Paradise, President Witmer reported the to- 

 bacco as far ahead of last year ; two-thirds of his 

 grass was better set than ever; he had taken seven 

 loads off of five acres ; potatoes short. 



Mr. Linville stated that in a drive of eighteen 

 miles in Chester county he had noticed a great many 

 fleldsof tobacco, in fact on almost every farm, and 

 all looked well. 



Referred Questions. 



The question, "What is the best mode of planting 

 trees; should they be watered and in what way?" 

 had been referred at the last meeting to Mr. Calvin 

 Cooper. He had not given it any thought, but would 

 give his prevailing method. In the first place the 

 tree should not be of too large a growth ; would say 

 "no" to the watering ; if the ground is too wet don't 

 plant. The soil should be thoroughly pulverized ; 

 the rootlets straightened out horizontally, the ends 

 cut with a sharp knife, slanting the cut from the 

 under side. After having put the tree iu the ground 

 stamp thoroughly, to hold the tree in place, as every 

 wind which shakes the tree breaks the little rootlets 

 so that they cannot take hold. The top of the tree 

 should also be carefully trimmed and cut back, so 

 that it would balance well. Coal ashes about the 

 foot of trees was very good. 



Mr. Engle when planting trees cut every branch 

 from tlie main stem. The roots should be cut with 

 a sharp knife, as with a digging Iron the root is 

 bruised and cannot throw out the necessary fibres. 

 Puddling the roots before planting was very good. 



Peter S. Reist always used water in planting trees, 

 sometimes a bucketful or when water is scarce only 

 half a bucketful. Very few trees died for him. 



Johnson Miller planted his trees the same day 

 they were brought from the nursery. He used a lit- 

 tle water. 



Essays. 



Dr. C. A. Greene read an essay on " Night Soil," 

 as follows : 



Gentlemen : At the regular meeting In June last 



I was requested to write an essay on night soil. This 

 compost is the poorest variety of manure; it con- 

 tains the ammonias and phosphates, but in variable 

 quantities and only sparingly. Yet they should all 

 be saved and utilized. As all good farmers know 

 that there is a constant drain from their soiis, so 

 there must be a constant replenishment, or the crops 

 will grow smaller. The careful farmer will save all 

 substances of whatever character that while decay- 

 ing and undergoing decomposition will furnish plant 

 food to raise wheat, corn, beans and other crops, 

 such as decaying weeds, sawdust, old bones, hats, 

 ashes, either coal or wood, old carpets, mats and 

 straw, and place them with his night soil in a heap, 

 in a clayey, hollow piece of ground, where their vir- 

 tues may be retained; under a shed in the first place, 

 for if diluted with rain water they will escape into 

 surrounding places. All farmers should make a box 

 of plank and place it under their privies, on rollers, 

 and occasionally throw on to the night soil some 

 muck or mellow earth, and when the box is full roll 

 it out and convey the contents into your compost 

 heap, to be mixed with other manures. In this way 

 you will never have any unpleasant smell. The 

 privy should be high enough to allow of this box 

 being removed easily and readily from the rear por- 

 tion of the building. There should be three com- 

 mon wooden rollers about five inches in diameter 

 and as long as the box. 



When the doctor had finished reading the above 

 essay, he asked and obtained permission to read the 

 following paper on 



Insects and Congress. 



There are few subjects which have more widely 

 received the attention of farmers than insects de- 

 structive to vegetation. And the majority of far- 

 mers in this country have come to the conclusion 

 that they cannot successfully cope with them. This 

 is an unfortunate fact, for millions of dollars worth 

 of fruit, grains and vegetables are yearly destroyed. 



No systematic attempt will now be made to ex- 

 terminate or decidedly lessen the innumerable 

 throng until Congress takes hold of the subject with 

 ungloved hands. There is no doubt that the com- 

 bined intelligence of man is superior to that of the 

 curculio, army worm, grasshopper, or borer. But 

 where the enemy is in such immense quantities and 

 varieties, and extends over so vast a space of terri- 

 tory, they cannot be annihilated only by combined, 

 systematic, concerted action. For a subject of such 

 vast importance men of decided talent should be 

 brought together iu sufficient numbers to do justice 

 to the subject. A paltry appropriation of 515,000 to 

 Mr. Riley and his few assistants, is like two seamen 

 undertaking to care for a full-rigged ship in a gale. 



Congressmen should at, once agitate the matter, 

 and should make appropriations large enough to 

 employ all the talent necessary to bring about favor- 

 able results. From my knowledge of destructive 

 insects, and from the few hundred experiments I 

 have made in the last forty years, I am fully con- 

 vinced that no insect ever lived that cannot be readily 

 decimated by proper application of destructives. 

 There are scores of eminent entomologists in this 

 country whose services could he retained under the 

 commission already appointed by the government, 

 and the results of their combined experiments could 

 be published in book form by the government, and 

 the information would be gladly accepted by the 

 people, and insects could be greatly depopulated, iu 

 the same persistent manner that bears, wolves and 

 foxes have been decimated. But the government 

 must act magnanimously — on a large scale. All 

 such esteemed and educated entomologists like our 

 distinguished townsman, Dr. 8. S. Rathvon, Herman 

 Strecher, Esq., of Reading, and others of the same 

 class of experts, should be attached to the commis- 

 sion of Prof. Riley. 



Resolved, That we have learned with pleasure that 

 Congress has at last taken some measures for the 

 desti-uction of insect pests, and that we urge the 

 necessity of such appropriations as will employ the 

 best talent the country can produce. 



Johnson Miller differed from the resolution. Con- 

 gress taking hold would be of little good. It would 

 be creating more officers, aud they were worse than 

 the bugs. Let the farmers fight the insects; they 

 could do more good than the Government. 



H. M. Engle favored the resolutiou. We need 

 scientific men, who will tell us the habits of the in- 

 sects and how to destroy them. Dr. Rathvon had 

 given warning of the coming of the Colorado beetle 

 and we were prepared for it'when it came, and con- 

 sequently it did very little damage. We are now 

 losing millions by the ravages of insects. We might 

 hand-pick them, yet if our neighbors did not do the 

 same thing it would have no effect. Mr. Engle then 

 moved the adoption of the resolution. 



After considerable discussion, pro and con, the 

 resolution was unanimously adopted. 



John H. Landis offered the following resolution: 



Resolvtd, That the Lancaster County Agricultural 

 and Horticultural Society invites the Hon. Galusha 

 A. Grow to deliver an address at the annual fair to 

 be held next month. 



Mr. Landis prefaced the offering of his resolution 

 by saying that he had a. conversation with Mr. Grow 



