THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



25 



iiii,' the Colonial period, but during the early 

 \t:irs of the republic, when the display of 

 ;mnoriiil bearings was regarded as aiiti- 

 rL'))ublican, they were almost unlinown. All 

 this is rapidly changing, and almost all of the 

 book-worms of our great cities once uiore in- 

 dulge in this literary luxury. At the request 

 of certain members of the society I have 

 brought with me a few specimens of the "ex- 

 libris" of various countries, which I have col- 

 lected witli the intention of finally arranging 

 them in a volume, according to tljcir age and 

 nationality. It is with some licsitalion thai 

 I venture to exhibit tliein. To the great 

 multitude of Philistines, "who believe that 

 man lives by bread alone," the whole subject 

 is no doubt suflicicntly contemptible, but to 

 those who have sufferid for years from lack 

 of aiiprcriiition in liuir several employments, 

 it will ln' ]ilaiii tliiil lirsides furnishing a de- 

 lightful recriation tlicsp little "ex-libris" are 

 capable of furnishing a considerable amount 

 of valuable information. 



ABOUT ABPLES.* 



It has, for some years, been manifest that 

 Lancaster county cannot compete with West- 

 ern New York and some of the Nortliwestern 

 States in growing apples for market. Our 

 apple crop of 1880 was a plentiful one, but 

 about the holidays very few good Lancaster 

 county apples could be found in our market, 

 while York State apples, of the best quality, 

 were "plenty, at about two dollars a barrel. 

 Owing to the extreme hot and dry summers 

 that have been the rule for ten or more yeais 

 past, our apples ripened so early in the season 

 that they were not to be relied on for winter 

 use. Many persons pronounce apple culture 

 unprofitabel, and in consequence orchards are 

 left to go down, and new ones are sparingly 

 planted. It may be admitted- that, in a com- 

 mercial sense, niueteen-twentieths of our 



• orchards are a failure, but it is, nevertheless, 

 a mistake for any one to think that he has a 

 well-regulated farm oh which there is no 

 orchard. An acre orchard of good varieties 

 with ordinary care willone year with another, 

 without selliug a dollar's worth of fruit, real- 

 ize more to the owner than his average acre 



• of the farm. It furnishes us with sauce, pies, 

 cider, vinegar, applebutter, snits, a supply of 

 ripe fruit from early in July to winter, giving 

 comfort and health to the children and all 

 about the house ; also, taking into considera- 

 tion the saving of bread and meat, and it will 

 also be quite an item in the saving of corn by 

 feeding the scrubs and surplus to the pigs. 



Add" these together and see if your orchard 

 does not compare fiivorably with your other 

 acres. But apple culture is not so entirely 

 discouraging, but that by judicious selection 

 of varieties, soil and care, orchards could be 

 made profitable, commercially. 



An intelligent farmer in Strasburg town- 

 ship realized five hundred dollars (actual sale) 

 from an orchard of one hundred and fifty trees. 

 His selection of varieties is a good one, but 

 for his special market purposes hfs profits 

 would have been better if he had only had 

 half or perhaps one-third as many varieties. 



A ^ood selection of fifty trees for home use 

 would be about as follows, viz : 



1 Early Harvest, 2 All Summer, I Red As- 

 tracban, 2 Benoni, 2 Maiden's Blush, 2 

 Jeffries, 2 Townseiid, 2 Hubbardston Non- 

 such, Ic Smokehouse, 2 Mellinger, 2 Rambo, 

 4 Baldwin, 4 Griest's Winter. 4 York Im- 

 perial, 4 Smith's Cider, 4 Willow Twig, 4 

 Russets, 4 Sweet. 



If the fruit is wanted for a general market 

 during the season, the list would be better 

 somewhat like this : 



2 Early Harvest,4 Bed Astrachan,4 Benoni, 

 6 Mellinger, 6 Maiden's Blush, 8 Smokehouse, 

 6 Hubbardston Nonsuch, 8 Baldwin, York 

 Imperial. 



Or, if the fruit is wanted for a special mar- 

 ket, the list would admit of further improve- 

 ment, say : 



•Read before the Lancaster C'ouiitv Aprlinillural nnd 

 Horticultural Society, by Casper Hiller, Momlav, Feliru- 

 ury 7tU, 1881. 



10 Smokehouse, 10 Ba,Idwin, 10 Ewalt, 10 

 York Imperial, 10 Smith's Cider, 10 Griest's 

 Winter. 



Many years of observation has shown that 

 the foregoing varieties are reliable and valu- 

 able, but there are many other kinds that are 

 equally good. 



The rule by which the planter should be 

 governed is to plant largely of varieties that 

 lie knows are especially good and profitable in 

 his own neighborhood. 



In order to be more successful with our 

 future orchards, we will have to pay more at- 

 lenliun to the soil and location. Our dry 

 southern slojies must be avoided as much as 

 po.ssible. Northern inclinations are i)refer- 

 able, because they are not so much atlected 

 by. the sun and dry we.iHirr. Depp clay loams 

 retain nmisliire Ix-ltn- ilmn miikIv soils, and 

 therel'.ire sIkiuIiI have lie- prelniMice. 



To grow the speeial list above jriven it will 

 be of the highest importance to have a rich 

 moisture, retentive soil, a level bottom or a 

 drained swamp, where the water may be but 

 a few feet beneath the surface, but where no 

 stagnanl water ntmains after a rainfall, or a 

 rather sleep iiorlhcrn slope of a hill. 



Anyone having such a situation could 

 hardly fail in having an orchard that would 

 yield far better returns than the average crops 

 of the farm. 



If these northern slopes, or moisture- 

 retaining soils, are not available, we must 

 guard against the effects of he,at and drought 

 by cultivating and mulching. 



If all the water that falls in our summer 

 thunder showers could be made available our 

 trees would want very little more. But thisse 

 fall so fast, aud often last but a few minutes, 

 that the soil becomes moist only an inch or 

 two, while the water flows away. Some one 

 has suggested that a basin be made around 

 the tree by banking up the earth that would 

 hold a hogshead or. more, into which the 

 waste water could be turned with very little 

 labor. The water would soon sink away and 

 moisten the earth so deep that it would take 

 some time to dry out. The suggestion is 

 worthy of consideration. 



After the selection of a site, and the jmiper 

 planting of the trees, it is important that we 

 give our orchard proper attention and care. 

 We do not attempt to raise a crop of corn or 

 tobacco without mitnuring and cultivating. 

 We sometimes think it expedient to put .§.?() 

 worth of manure to an acre for tobacco. But 

 as the seasons come around we look for a 

 crop of apples, never thinking that the trees 

 too want manure and cultivation. 



Ten dollars worth of manure to the acre in 

 the shape of wood ashes or superphospiiate 

 would no doubt be a paying investment, add- 

 iug not or ly vigor to the tree, but also size 

 and- 1)eauty to the fruit. Trees are very 

 grateful for cultivation. It is astonishing 

 what vigor, with the aid of manure, it will 

 put into trees.- 



A plot of gr«und was dug and manured, 

 and has been annually top-dressed for a few 

 years for an experimental grape patch. On 

 this plot stood au old dwarf pear, over twenty- 

 five years old, a poor, stunted thing. This, 

 under the treatment, took a new lease of life, 

 and is now as thrifty as a fruit tree can be. 

 Where it is impracticable to continue culti- 

 vation, the next best thing is to sow to grass 

 and give liberal -treatinent afterwards. An 

 annual top-dressing of a fertilizer, rich in 

 potasli and pho.sphorit^ aeid, to the amount of 

 from two to four hundred weight to the acre, 

 would make a crop of grass and keep the trees 

 thrifty. The first cutting of the grass could 

 be made into hay, while the second should be 

 spread over the ground where it would act as 

 a mulch and as a manure. It has been re- 

 commended by a good authority that a top- 

 dressing of iialf a cart load of 'road wa.sh or 

 earth from ditches, swamps, &c., spread 

 around each tree is highly beneficial. 



Orchards so situated, where the wash from 

 roads and hillsides can be conducted over 

 them, are always among the best bearers. 

 This may also be a hint for selecting a site. | 



The secret of success with orchards, there- 

 fore, would appear to be to a great extent in 

 our own control. 



Selections. 



A Patent rat-trap. 



The Singular Effect the Beating of Drums 



Had on a Nest of Rodents. 

 , A most remarkable phenomenon was wit- 

 nes.sed in the Second ward, this city, says the 

 Newcastle (Pa.) JVeH-s, being no less than 

 large numbers of rats being enlieed to their 

 death by the roll of drums. A number of the 

 small boys of this city, hearing it is said that 

 nits could be brought out of their holes by Uie 

 beating of.drums, determined to try the ex- 

 periment. So, procuring a number of these 

 instruments of martial music and a half dozen 

 dogs with a weakness for rat flesh, they pro- 

 ceeded to a barn near Pear.son's flouring mill, 

 in which .structure were known to dwell many 

 well-fed rodents, who subsisted on the con- 

 tents ot the grain bins near by. Stationing 

 part of their number with drums in the hay- 

 mow of the stable, and the other at the doors 

 with the dogs, everybody was eager for the 

 fray. The drummers brought their sticks 

 down on the taut calf-.skin, and .soon the 

 building shook to its very foundation with the 

 deafening roll. Several boys had been sta- 

 tioned at various knot-holes in the floor of the 

 hay-mow, and these youths, iieering down 

 into the semi-darkness helow. soon saw twink- 

 ling eyes appear at certain aiieitiires all 

 around the apartment beneath. The drum- 

 ming was continued, and shar])-i)ointed noses 

 aud then sleek bodies f)f rats came from the 

 boles. Soon the rapid rolling of the drums 

 seemed to excite the rodents to a |)oint lie- 

 yond self-control. They began to taper and 

 whisk around the stable'llooras if intoxicated. 

 They ran around the feed liins in a wild chase 

 after each other. So rapidlv diil thev turn 

 corners that their tails snaiiiied with a report 

 like that of al)ull-wliacker"s whip. and making 

 the flour fly from their caudal appendages so 

 .as to fill the .apartment with dust. Now was 

 the time for action. The boys with the dogs 

 were siL'iialed, the doors were opened and the 

 biiii; - ' 11, -^ let in on them. The unfortu- 

 nii' ' i I Id lie undera spell .and made 



'!" ' ^'-ek their holes. For five 



iiiiiiii! .- . ;,.ii^.,u r reignedsupr<3me, and when 

 it had .subsided the floor w'as covered with the 

 bodies of forty-three rats. Again were the 

 drums called into retjuisition, and the same 

 scene ensued again. This time thirty-eight 

 rats bit the dust. The boys continued their 

 ojK'iations with their drums and dogs all the 

 afternoon, and when evening came tlier^Mvere 

 piled u\} in front of the stable, mangled, cut 

 and torn, the bodit-s of four hundred and 

 seventy-nine rats. In fact, all tlie rodents 

 which had lived and thrived for vears on the 

 grain in the mill had been totally extermi- 

 nated. 



COLD WINTERS. 



The Winter of 1779-S0- The Cold Friday of 

 February 7, 1807. 

 The winter of 1770-80 beuan as the present 

 one did, and bctore the slight moderation in 

 the atmosiiherc. many of the elder residents, 

 whose fathers aud mothers had told them 

 many tales of that terrible winter, were 

 speculating as to whether the present one 

 would resemble it in other respect.?. lu 

 177'.»-SO the .-old weather set in alwiit the 

 middle of November and continued until 

 about the middle of February. During that 

 long period there was not enough warmth in 

 the sun's r.ays to melt the .snow on the ground, 

 nor to affect in the least the fetters of ice that 

 bound the cieek.s, ponds and rivers. One 

 snow storm followed another until finally the 

 ground wa.s so covered that it was difficult to 

 go from place to place, and the ice upon the 

 rivers at all convenient points was used by 

 men and teams and animals in place of roads. 



