1880. 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



171 



OUR LOCAL Organizations. 



LANCASTER COUNTY AGRICULTURAL 

 AND HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Tlie I.iincnstcr Ciiiinly .\yriruliiiral uinl Horticul- 

 tural SdcuiV met stali'dly on Moiuhiy iil'tcrnoon, 

 NoVfiiiluT stli, in tliiir room over tlie City Hall. 



Tl]f rollowiiig; nu'Milifrs ami visitors weri' present: 

 J. F. Witnier, Paradise ; M. D. Kendiir, Creswell; 

 Calvin Cooper, Binl-iii-Hauii ; S. P. Eby, eity ; F. K. 

 Dilleuderler, eitv ; \V. W. Griest, eity ; C. A. Gast, 

 city; II. M. F,"ni.'le, Marietta; I)r. C. A. Greene, 

 city : C F. Ilunseeker, Maiilu-ini ; I. L. Laudis, 

 city ; Daniel .Sineycli, eily ; J . llersliey, liolirerstown. 

 On motion the minutes of the preceding meeting 

 were not read. 



Dr. (ireene, from the eomniitlee appointed to pro- 

 cure certitieates of merit, reported tliat they had 

 attended to their labors and the certificates were 

 before the society. On motion the report was re- 

 ceived and the eoriiiniitee discharged. 



Mr. Ken.lig reported the wheat crop in Manor 

 township to look tine ; the corn crop is a large one. 

 There would be a great quantity of cattle fed in his 

 section. The rainlall for the month of Oetol)er was 

 1 3-10 inches. The fai'mers are lieginning to take 

 down their tobacco ; some of the farmers claim that 

 the fleas are doing llie crops damage in the houses. 

 Mr. Engle said tlie corn crop in his sect on was 

 not a large one. Winter wheat looks much better 

 than it did a few weekji ago. Grass has been pas- 

 tured down very close, in consequence of the short- 

 ness of the Ibiider crop. The rainfall was 'Z l-Hi 

 inches. The apple crop is small, the dry seasou 

 having caused the crop to drop prematurely. 



Mr. Hershey said the grain looked well in Remp- 

 field township, there would be about an average 

 crop of corn. Some of the tobacco has been taken 

 down. In reference to the fleas there was no doubt 

 that they worked in the sheds. The people had com- 

 meuced stripping, and he found that there was a 

 good bit ot it more or less damaged. There was a 

 fair crop of apples in his seetiou. 



Mr. Landis said that in .\lanhcim township there 

 was a full crop of corn. The same could be said of 

 wheat, oats and potatoes. The tobacco crop was 

 being damaged l>y the flea. Si>me patches, however, 

 had been unmolested. The young grass tields look 

 promising. 



Mr. C. L. Hunsecker read the following essay on 

 " Weeds;" 



I have beeu led to this subject by the remark of 

 one of our agricultural journals stating that our 

 farming is so defective that we annually raise i^.llOO,- 

 000 tons of worthless weeds ! Now, I think it a 

 very difficult matter to arrive at a fair estimate of 

 the amount of worthless plants that spontaneously 

 grow in our fields, and the figures above are truly 

 enormous if true. But, then what is a weed I Rich- 

 ardson says it is a plant that is useless, or trouble- 

 some; uuderbush, low shrubs, or anytliing useless. 

 Webster says, the iford weed has no definite appHcit- 

 tioti to etnij particnlai' plant of upecie.f of plants ; 

 whatever plautsgrow aiuongcornor grass, in hedges 

 or elsewhere, and which are of no use to man, injuri- 

 ous to crops, or unsightly or out of place, are de- 

 nominated weeds. According to these definitions 

 from eminent authors it is really a matter of doubt 

 what constitutes an entirely useless weed. We will 

 suppose, however, that any plant that grows in corn 

 fields, in gardens, other than the farmer and 

 gardener plants for a crop, are useless weeds in 

 those places, and hinder and choke those they culti- 

 vate for profit. 



In a very poor soil few weeds spring up, no matter 

 how well or ill the laud is tilled ; ii'i a rich, well- 

 manured soil it is entirely the other way. Weeds, 

 if left to have their way, will spring up with a rank 

 luxuriance truly amazing; "too much manuring 

 filled that field with weeds " is a fact of daily 

 observation. 



The destruction of all extraneous plants, but those 

 grown for a crop, is in thorough tillage. To raise a 

 Held of corn to perfection requires constant work to 

 keep the weeds down. It is said that at one of the 

 large nurseries at Rochester, New York, the tillage 

 of this ground is so tliorough and complete that it is 

 a great rarity to see a weed. 



Dr. Greene said the subject was a good one, and 

 one to which a great deal of thought had been 

 giveu. It was a sinsular fact that, as the weeds 

 only grow on the richest soil, it appeared that (iod 

 intended that man should work in order to clear his 

 land of them, and not to earn his bread in idleness. 

 He spoke of the inamicr in which the seeds of the 

 thistle were spread over the land, and said if the 

 farmers would only pull them out by the roots before 

 they were more than half-grown, it would be an 

 easy matter to rid the soil of them. The land which 

 has the less number of weeds certainly will produce 

 the largest crops. 



"Should the farmers of Lancaster county produce 

 their own sugar ?■' The questiou had been referred 

 to .Mr. Engle, who said this question could only be 

 answered in the affirmative. He believed the time 

 would soon come when the people of this county 

 would not be compelled to go away from home for 



this article. The sugar beet, he believed, would 

 play an important part In the making of sugar. 

 Tliere was any quantity iif land in this county that 

 wtiuld produce t,M)od sngar-miiklng bei'ts. He did 

 not know why this beet should not be cultivated in 

 large quantities. The pummice makes also very 

 good fooii for cattle. 



Mr. Kby had learned that even the soighum would 

 make good sugar if it could have been pro|)crly re- 

 flned when it was urowii in this county. 



Mr. Dilienderlli'r tlioiiv'ht the great trouble was 

 that the sorghutn had always been grouml either too 

 green or too ripe. A sinL:le iirm in the west last year 

 made 40,000 pounds of line sugar from it. 



Dr. C. .\. Greene said that since his name had 

 beeu mentioned prominently in connection with a 

 fair next year, he had been approached by a num- 

 ber of citizens, who promised, if the fair would be 

 made a representation of the Industrial interests of 

 the county, to raise a nucleus of S"),OilO. 



Mr. Engle said there was no county in the State 

 that had so many of the best farmers who would 

 not patronize a fair or the society on account of 

 religious reasons. This has always beeu one of the 

 principal drawbacks to the success of the society or 

 its fairs. 



Mr. Witmcr said the attendance at the meetiugs 

 was becoihing smaller every month. He thought it 

 would be a good plain, inusmuch :i* a number of the 

 lueinbers had been in ofHce for a nuitibcr of years, 

 to make a new deal and put new men into office, 

 and thereby awaken them to an interest in the 

 society. 



Dr. Greene thought it would be a good plan to in- 

 duce men from outside the county to come and lec- 

 ture before the society on the subject of agriculture, 

 and invite all the farmers- to be present. 



Mr. Engle and Mr. Cooper also spoke in favor of 

 Dr. Greene's suggestion, and said the idea should be 

 encouraged. 



On motion of Dr. Greene a committee was ap- 

 pointed to correspond with Mr. W. A. Burpee, of 

 Philadelphia, and invite him to deliver a lecture be- 

 fore the society at its next meeting. Tlie President 

 appointed Dr. Greene and Mr. F. R. Ditt'endcrff'er on 

 the committee, who were empowered to pay the ex- 

 penses of the lecturer. 



Mr. Cooper said he had presented the bill of the 

 county in reference to the bounty for the years 1^7S 

 and 1^79. The Commissioners had paid ?100 for 

 1879, but said they would hold that of ls78 under 

 advisement. 



On motion of Dr. Greene a vote of thanks was 

 tenib red .Messrs. Cooper and S. P. Eby, Esq., for 

 their efforts to secure the money. 



The following questions were referred for next 

 meetiug : "Can the dairy and tobacco growing be 

 successfully carried on on the same farm ?" Referred 

 to C. L. Hunsecker. 



POULTRY ASSOCIATION. 



The regular monthly meeting of the Lancaster 

 County Poultry .\ssociation was held on Monday 

 morning, November Sth, in their rooms in City Hall. 

 The meeting was called to order by President Warfel. 

 The follnwinir members answered to their names : 



S. N. Warfel, Strasburg ; J. B. Lichty, city ; Chas. 

 E. Long, city; J. B.Garman, Mechanicsburg ; F. R. 

 Diffendciffer, city; H. H. Tshudy, Lititz; Frank 

 Gerist, city; T. F. Evans, Lititz; W. A. Shoen- 

 berger, city. 



The reading of the minutes of the previous mcet- 

 ng was dispensed with. 



The Secretary read a letter from Mr. Jessee Root, 

 of Philadelphia, promising to have on exhibition 

 three pairs of plieasants, which will uo doubt prove 

 a source of much attraction. 



He also reported that in compliance with instruc- 

 tions from ihe Society he purchased 160 coops for 

 Bantums for S()3. The coops are here. 



Letters from various persons offering special 

 premiums for certain classes of binls were also read. 



On motion of Charles E. Long, the Secretary was 

 authorized to notify such members as he thought 

 likely to attend of the times of meeting. 



The Secretary rc|)orted a good many members as 

 not haviiur paid their dues. lie prtjposed that they 

 be notified that all such, by paying the initiation fee 

 of $1, will be regarded as having paid their dues for 

 18S1, as well as for the present year. 



It having been found impossible to secure the 

 rooms in which the poultry exhibition was held last 

 year, the Executive Committee was instructed to 

 secure rooms elsewhere. 



On motion, the Secretary was instructed to corres- 

 pond with two judges, one of whom is to be W. F. 

 Rogers, of Doylestown, Pa., to act as judges of the 

 poultry and pigeons ou exhibition at the coming show. 



On motion, I. B. Garman, of Leacock, was elected 

 to membership. 



On motion of Charles E. Long, the Secretary was 

 authorized to have postal cards printed inviting 

 poultrymen in the county and elsew here to send ex- 

 hibits to the coming show. 



A session of the Executive Committee was held at 

 which various matters relative to the eatalegue and 

 Otter important matters were brought up and dis- 

 cussed. 



FULTON FARMERS' CLUB. 



The Octnlier mei'ting of Ihe dub was held at the 

 resideiKc of E. Henry Haines, Fulton township. 

 Nearly all the members were present. 



.loseph R. Blackburn exhibited two ears of the 

 Cloud lorii, which took the premium at the Penn- 

 sylvania Slate Fair last year. 



Wni. King, a large apple for name and Stowell's 

 Evertrreen corn. 



The apiile was thought by some to be the King of 

 Tompkins county. 



E. IT. Haines, a Persian watermelon and some 

 apples from his orchard, to show that the apples 

 that he had been growinir, for the King of Tompkins 

 county, were dilferent from the one exhibited by 

 Win. K inc. 



Questions Asked and Answered. 



S. L. Gregg: How does the jointer work on a 

 Wiley plow ! 



Most of those who had tried them gave a good re- 

 port of them. 



Josiali Brown : Is it a good practice to put wheat 

 in after corn ? 



The ireneral opinion of the club was that if well 

 put in it would pay tietter than oats, but with sev- 

 eral it had been a failure. 



F. Tolliiiirer : Is it injurious to the wheat crop to 

 plow ground when very dry ? 



S. L. Gregg believes that in general wheat will do 

 better when the ground is wet enough to plow well, 

 although he knew of an instance when wheat did 

 better in ground that was plowed when too dry than 

 that in a part of the same field that was ploweti 

 when the ground was in good order. 



Josiali Brown : It is better to plow when the 

 ground is in good onler. Had not seen any good 

 wheat lately when the urouinl w:is plowed very dry. 



Montillion Brown : Had known fields that did well 

 when plowed dry, but would not plow dry himself if 

 he could help it. 



Joseph R. Blackburn : Which is doing the most 

 good for farmers, lime or other commercial 

 fertilizers? 



Solomon L. Gregg said that until within a few 

 years lime was the only fertilizer used, except barn- 

 yard manure, and it had formerly improved* the 

 ground very much. But of late yi'ars it hail ceased 

 to act for him. South Carolina Rock and some 

 other fertilizers were doins decidedly better for him. 

 The Kock, especially, had done well. 



Josiah Brown said that lime used to act well for 

 him, but he could not see that the last he had put 

 on did any good. Can raise better crops with South 

 Carolina Rock, or bone. 



E. n . Haines had got a sood bit out of heart about 

 lime. But lately he had got some lime from up the 

 river and put it on sod ; had plowed it last spring 

 for Hungarian grass. Where the lime was put the 

 grass was better and of a different color. 



Joseph driest uses stable manure obtained In 

 Philadelphia. H:ul a fine field of corn that had been 

 limed two years ago at the rale of 7.5 bushels per 

 acre. Some other fertilizers that he had tried were 

 not satisfactory. 



F. Tollinger : In this immediate neighborhood 

 lime does first-rate. Other fertilizers are UDsatis- 

 factory. 



M. Brown said that on his farm lime does not do 

 so well a? formerly. Bone does not do much good. 

 South Carolina Rock does middling well. 



Grace A. King: Are acorns good feed for hogs? 



Josiah Brown : Hogs thrive on them and get fat, 

 but tliL' meat is not so firm as those grain-fed ones. 

 Had a lot of liogs several years ago that got fat on 

 them without grain. They would leave corn and go 

 to the woods for acorns. 



Joseph R. Blackburn : It is said that commercial 

 fertilizers contain all the elements of hay and grain. 

 Would it pay to purchase them and sell all the farm 

 products instead of feeding them to animals to mtjke 

 manure { 



Solomon L. Gregg : Does not feed much of his 

 farm products. He sells his hay and straw and 

 buys fertilizers, and thinks he makes money by the 

 operation. Straw had better be sold even at so low 

 a price as four dollars per ton if fertilizers were pur- 

 chased with the proceeds, than to retain it on the 

 farm for the purpose of converting it into manure. 



Josiah Brown would not sell hay or straw at a 

 very low price. Does not think that a farm could 

 be kept up very long without them. 



Montillion Brown thinks that Solomon will have 

 to change his plans in a few years. Truckers find 

 that they have to change their fertilizers <?very few 

 years. Even barnyard manure will not give satis- 

 faction if used continuously. 



Afternoon Session. 



Aftei- the members had made a few remarks, 

 mostly of a favorable character, ou the farm man- 

 agement, the club proceeded with its literary exer- 

 cises. 



E. II. Haines read an article from the American 

 AgricuUnrist on " Planting trees in autumn," giving 

 some reasons why it is preferable to the spring. It 

 is a time that out-door life is most enjoyable, and 

 out-door work seems to tell better than any other. 



