1881] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



KIEFFER'S HYBRID PEAR. 



"This runiiukalile pear was raised from the 

 seed of a bli^'lit-proof Chinese Saiul Pear, sup- 

 posed to be crossed with Hartlett. The origi- 

 nal tree, now twelve years old from seed, has 

 not failed to <jive a good crop each year for 

 seven years, violdiiiir over seven bushels of 

 fine fruit in IST'.t. It ftill stands near IMiila- 

 delphia, 'a model for tbnn, beauty and pro- 

 ductiveness.' The fiuit avera<j;es fidin ten 

 to fifteen ounces. The healtli, vifcor, beauty, 

 early and annual hearinj; and productiveness 

 of the tree, with the large size, good tiuality, 

 line form and beautiful color of the fruit, 

 makes this the most valunhlc pear yet intro- 

 duced. In season October and November." 

 E. G. Chase & Co., Geneva, N. Y. 



The above pear bus n eeivcl tlie endorse- 

 ment of such notabilili.s :i.- Ihe rililors of the 

 Gardeners'' Mnnthlii, tlir Ani.rlni,, Agrirul- 

 turist, the Amerifan Furnur, aud Edwin Sat- 

 terthwait, Esq., than whom none are more 

 competent to s))cak to such a question, in the 

 entire country, and we call the attention of 

 our fruit- growei-s to the subject, because " the 

 blight" has been a great drawback to pear 

 culture in Pennsylvania. With all our know- 

 ledge and experience the real cause and cure 

 of jyrar hluihl. is still but imperfectly wider- 

 stood, and' bliglit-proof stock .seems to be the 

 only remedy. If this pear is really what it is 

 represented to be, whether it will be a for- 

 tune to its discoverer or not, it will at least 

 place him in the category of horticultural 

 benefactors. AVe have just been partaking of 

 some canned pears, and they were so luscious, 

 so refreshing at this midwinter season, and so 

 grateful to the appetite, that, like Sancho 

 Panza, we can't refrain from invoking a 

 blessing on the "inventor" of any improve- 

 ment or discovery in their cultivation. 



PEIINSYLVANIA FRUIT-GROWERS- 

 SOCIETY. 



The twentv-second annual meeting of this 

 society wiin'.r held at Gettysburg, Pa., com- 

 mencing at :i o'clock p;M., Wednesday, Janu- 

 ary 19, and continuing over Thursday. 



A cordial invitation is extended to all per- 

 sons engaged or interested in horticulture, 

 and similar i)ursuits, and to the citizens of 

 Gettysburg aud vicinity in particular, to at- 

 tend these meetings. Ladies are specially 

 invited. In addition to the essays and ad- 

 dresses announced in our programme, general 

 discussions will take place on fruits, flowers 

 and horticultural topics. 



In holding our coming sessions at Gettys- 

 burg, we meet in a section of our State never 

 before visitrd by tliis society. It is historic 

 ground, menioralile as the scene of the great 

 battle of the rebellion ; and as such, a favorite 

 resort of the tourist and relic seeker. These 

 considerations alone should induce a full and 

 interesting meeting. 



The usual arrangements will be made for 

 the display of fruits, flowers, Ac. Farmers, 

 orehardists, members and others having speci- 

 mens of new or desirabh^ varieties of apples 

 or pears, are recpiested to exhibit them at the 

 meeting. Specimens from a distance may be 

 sent bv ex|iress to the Secretary, at the Eagle 

 Hotel; Gettysburg, Pa. 



Persons desiring to become members of the 

 society can do so at any lime by payment of 

 the annual fee of $1.00, during the meeting, 

 or by remitting the same to the Treasurer, 

 Geo. B. Thomas, AVest Chester, Pa. The 

 transactions of the society are published an- 

 nually, and are furnished free to all members. 



The Secretary regrets to announce that not 

 being able to guarantee the requisite number 

 of Excursionists, no special rates could be 

 obtained on the Pennsylvania Railroad, or 

 lines controlled by that Company. The most 

 direct route to Gettysburg from Reading and 

 the East, is via Columbia and York to Ilan- 

 over. From the North and West, via N. C. 

 R. W. and P. R. R. to Ilarrisburg and York, 

 thence to Hanover. The accompanying Time 

 Table may assist in making the best connec- 

 tions : 



Leave Columbia at rrM and 11:35 A. M. 

 and 12:30, 3:10 and 8:00 P. M. 



Arrive at York at 7:32 and 12:18 A. M. and 

 1:43, 3:51 and 8:40 P. M. 



Leave York at 8:00 and 12:21 A. M. and 

 5:25 and 3:54 P. M. 



Arrive at Hanover at 11:05, 1:12 A. M. and 

 7:40 and 4:44 P. M. 



Arrive at Gettysburg at 12:10 noon and 

 8:10 P. M. 



There is also a mixed train leaving Hanover 

 at A. M. arriving at Gettysburg at 10:30. 



By taking the "way passenger," leaving 

 Philadelphia at 12:30 midnight, passengers 

 reach Columbia at 5:45 A. M. and Gettys- 

 burg at 12:10 noon. By leaving Philadelphia 

 at 12:20, noon. Columbia at 3:10 P. M. pas- 

 sengers reach (Gettysburg at 8.10 P. M. Trains 

 leave II ur.slmrg at 0:35 A. M. and 2:40 and 

 3:45 V M., reaeliiug York at 7:50 A. M. and 

 3:50 and 4:41 P. M. 



Geo. D. Stitzkl. Frei--., lirading. Pa. 

 E. B. Engle, iS'ec'i/, MarietUt, Pa. 



Essays. 



ANNUAL ADDRESS.* 

 Fdhiw iitfnihfys of the Lannisbr Cinmty Agri- 



ndlurdl iDiil lioHiriiUunil Surhh/. 



In accordance with tlic recjuircnients of the 

 by-laws of the society and in conformity with 

 the time-honored custom of my predecessors, 

 I present herewith my annual address. 



The year which has just closed has been one 

 long to be remembered by the agriculturist 

 and horticulturist of our country. They have 

 much to be thankful for. Crops of all kinds 

 in almost all parts of the country have been 

 larger than ever before, and tlie enormous 

 surplus we have goes far to show that the 

 United States of America can produce enough 

 breadstufls to supply the world. 



The year just closed has been the first full 

 year of the society under its charter. I fear 

 our expectations have not been realized. The 

 principal reason for obtaining the charter was 

 to enable us to hold a fair more successfully. 

 Last year our fair was barely a success finan- 

 cially, and this year, although the exhibition 

 was better in almost all its parts except 

 flowers, was a failure financially. 



The exact cause of our failure we may 

 never be exactly able to understand, but one 

 very apparent cause was the late political 

 campaign, the warmest within the recollec- 

 tion of many of us. 



It may have been that the management 

 was to blame, but I truly believe they all did 

 all they conscientiously felt able to do. The 

 place of holding our exhibition was against 

 us and the time we had T>ossession of the 

 building entirely too short. Since our fair 

 closed I had a long talk with one of the man- 

 agers of a very successful exhibitioh held in a 

 neighboring county, and the amount of work 

 required to bring it to a successful termina- 

 tion was rather appalling. 



Whether we can hold a successful fair or 

 not remains to be seen, but I am fully satisfied 

 that we cannot unless we can get the business 

 men of Lan<'aster to co-operate with us, and 

 then we must go into the open ground. I 

 must confess that the farmers of the county 

 did not give us the support and assistance ait 

 either of our fairs that I expected. 



For my part I am opposed to holding any 

 more fairs, unless it be on a very small scale, 

 oi cereals, fruits, vegetables and flowers. I 

 think that those who have the management 

 of fairs generally have too much labor for the 

 benefits received, and, secondly, I think our 

 society was in a much more flourishing condi- 

 tion before we ever thought of holding a fair 

 — at least our meetings were much better at- 

 tended. And I have frequently noticed that 

 as soon as we commence talking about the 

 fair our visitors begin to leave! Therefore 

 I say, let us have no more fairs, but let us 

 get down to good solid work and try to make 



•Read before the Laucaster County Aerionltural and Hor- 

 ticultuturnl Sociely by President Joheph F. Witmer, on 

 Monday, January 3rd, 1881. 



the Lancaster County Agricultural and Hor- 

 ticultural Society one of the best and most 

 practical societies in the land. Let us strive 

 to make our meetings more interesting, and 

 induce our friends and neighbors to meet with 

 us and give us the benefit, of their experience. 

 I do not wish to disparage anything that has 

 been done by this society, for I know the re- 

 ports of our meetings are read by a great 

 many who never come near us, and many 

 essays read before this society are republished 

 in the most advanced agricultural papers in the 

 country. 



The agricultural interest is a.ssuming a 

 much greater imiiortance than heretofore. It 

 formerly was supposed that any one who was 

 not fit for anything else would make a farmer, 

 but now it is dilTcreiit. Some of the best 

 minds in the count ly are given to the calling, 

 and, as in all oIIk r inanelies of business, it is 

 seen that brains will tell. It is oidy to men 

 of good education and large minds that we 

 can look to for any improvement in agricul- 

 ture. Let us all see what improvements we 

 can make in aL'ricidture and horticulture and 

 give the benefits of our experiments to this 

 society. 



I would recommend smaller farms than are 

 generally cultivated and better cidture. High 

 farming as long as it gives the greatest yield 

 at the least cost per bushel or pound is pre- 

 ferable. 



We can scarcely hope to long compete with 

 our western bretiiren in raising cereals and 

 stock, and may before long have to look to 

 some other product to make our farms profit- 

 able. True, we have a monopoly of the to- 

 bacco trade just at present, but we must be 

 very careful lest we exhaust our soil, iis so 

 many of the older tobacco growing districts 

 havealready done. Then, again, fashion may 

 change, and an article may be required whicih 

 we cannot i)roduce. 



I would particularly urge the necessity of 

 thorojigh cultiu'e in all crops and the improve- 

 ment of our stock by the introduction of 

 thoroughbred males. It does not cost any 

 more to raise a grade .Jersey or Short Horn 

 than it does to raise the meanest scrub, but 

 the difference in value at maturity is very 

 much in favor of the grade 



To keep cattle jirofilably on land as valu- 

 able as Lancaster county farms are we may 

 soon have to resort to some other method 

 than pasturing them during the summer. 

 Soiling pre.sents the two-fold advantage of 

 allowing more stock to be kept to the acre 

 and the removal of all inside fences. 



Whether "ensilage" will be snffieipntly 

 practicable to be generally ailopted remains to 

 be proven, altliouL'h we have some very favor- 

 able reports from those who have adopted 

 that mode of preserving green crops for win- 

 ter use. 



I think it would be well for us to turn our 

 attention a little more towards producing 

 such articles as will not bear transportation 

 for great distances, and I think the dairy and 

 the growing of small fruits may in the near 

 future be sources of profit. By the estab- 

 lishing of creameries in different parts of our 

 county the arduous labor of the farm dairy 

 can be done away with, and an article of 

 butter manufactured of more uniform quality, 

 and which will sell much more readilv at a 

 better price. Another important matter, 

 which T think we nearly all neglect, is recrea- 

 tion. We are such a thorough-going, go- 

 ahead sort of people that we scarcely ever 

 take time to rest and amuse ourselves. " All 

 work and no plav makes .Tack a dull boy." I 

 would not recommend following any low or 

 degrading sport, but something that is ele- 

 vating and ennobling, and which leaves the 

 mind and body in better condition to follow 

 the every-day duties of life. 



In conclusion, I desire to expres.1 my sin- 

 cere thanks to each and evfry member of this 

 society for the uniform courtesy and kindne.s3 

 with which T have been treated ever since I 

 came amongst you. and I hope that the uni- 

 form good feeling which has existed amongst 

 us may continue until life closes. 



