40 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[March, 



Danger of Overstoc'dngf the Market. 

 There is one thing about pear culture of 

 which it might be well to remind those about 

 to engage in fruit culture for market purposes, 

 that the pear market is very easily broken 

 down. The consumption of pears i.s very 

 small compared with that of peaches and 

 winter apples. In winter there is no demand 

 for pears, and during the greater part of the 

 summer and fall, the markets are so full of 

 peaches, grapes, melons and other fruits that 

 are generally preferred to pears, that only a 

 limited quantity of these are wanted, and not- 

 withstanding the great destruction of pear 

 trees by blight, the quantity of this fruit sent 

 to market has latterly been so largely on the 

 increase that it is evident tlie time is near at 

 hand when none but those of the finest 

 quality will pay for marketing at all, and that 

 not for long distances ; and though I think a 

 few pear trees indispensable to every farm, I 

 would not recommend them for a market 

 crop. 



The Peach and Its Enemies. 

 Peaches were a good crop generally. The 

 old varieties that have stood the test for many 

 years are mostly reported as having done well. 

 Of the many new very early sorts I have 

 nothing favorable to report. The earliest 

 peach, so far tested, that seems to be worth 

 planting, is the Mountain Kose, and succeed- 

 ing that the following : Foster, Reeves' 

 Favorite, ilary's Choice, Stump the World, 

 Susquehanna, Crawford's Late, Smock, 

 Golden Eagle and Salway. This list does not 

 include near all the valuable varieties of 

 peaches, but these are all good kinds and 

 about as many sorts as it is generally profit- 

 able to plant. The one great enemy of the 

 peach continues to be "the yellows," and 

 though volumes have been written and an 

 endless amount has been said upon the sub- 

 ject, and though undoubtedly we have ob- 

 tained some light, there is much yet to be 

 cleared up. It would occupy entirely too 

 much space to go into this subject here, fur- 

 ther than to say, that it seems to be well "es- 

 tablished that the disease, whatever may be 

 its cause, is in some way, and to some extent, 

 contagious, and that it "is incurable, and the 

 only remedy consists in being very careful to 

 plant none but perfectly healthy trees, grown 

 from seed procured where no yellows exists, 

 and worked with buds taken from perfectly 

 healthy trees, and on tlie appearance of the 

 first symptoms of the disease, remove at once. 

 As to weather it is necessary, as Mr. Ruttev 

 and others tell us, to take out the tree, root 

 and branch, and burn it, I have doubts, but 

 this is one of the questions that we will be 

 better able to determine, when we learn more' 

 as to the nature of the disease and the man- 

 ner in which it is communicated from one 

 tree to another. We have the usual com- 

 plaint about the peach borer, but not so 

 much as of the apple tree borer, the same re- 

 marks as were made in regard to the latter 

 will apply here. 



The subject of peach culture is important 

 and is entitled to a large share of our atten- 

 tion. The time is not far distant when the 

 markets of Pennsylvania will be supplied with 

 this fruit from the products other own soil, 

 and not, as heretofore, from adjoining States.' 

 Already enough has been done to demonstrate 

 that no country in the world is better adapted 

 to the culture of this, the most delicious of 

 all fruits, than is our own good old common- 

 wealth. It is true, as I have said, that much 

 remains to be done before we shall be entirely 

 master of this dread disease, which for so 

 many years has been the cause of the utter 

 neglect of peach culture here, but the ice has 

 been broken and the road to success is as- 

 sured. 



Cherries, Quinces and Plums. 

 About cherries there seems to be nothing 

 new to report. Every year we have about 

 the same reports about this crop— a large 

 crop but nearly all rotten; unless it be some 

 of the sour varieties. It seems hardly worth 

 while to try to grow cherries, the tendency to 

 rot seems to have become so universal. 



Quinces have done better than usual, and 

 there seems to be some hopes, that in spite of 

 the codling moth, their one great enemy, they 

 may yet be made a profitable crop. The 

 apple tree borer is very bad in the quince and 

 must be attended to in the same way by 

 taking them all out, early in the fall, before 

 thfey have got far into the wood or deep in 

 the ground. 



Fiums, of eourse, were mostly destroyed by 

 curculio, and what escaped the insect rotted 

 like the cherries. There seems to be some 

 mysterious climatic influence of late yeara, 

 that causes these fruit to rot so badly, and as 

 no remedy is likely to be found for this they 

 are not worth planting in most places. There 

 are however, locations that seem to ' be 

 exempt from this influence, where plums still 

 do well, when not destroyed by curculio, and 

 are a profitable crop. A good deal of atten- 

 tion has been paid within a few years to 

 varieties of the common wild plum of the 

 country, under the name of Wild Goose, etc. 

 If proper attention were paid to the selection 

 of good sorts of these, something valuable 

 might be obtained, as there are varieties of 

 these wild plums that are really good, and 

 they seem to withstand both the curculio and 

 the rot. 



Strawberries and Other Small Fruits. 

 Strawberries— the reports from almost all 

 locations speak of failures from severe and 

 prolonged drought. So generally in this the 

 case that little is said as to the varieties. The 

 Cumberland is more generally well spoken of 

 than any other. Miner's Great Prolific is set 

 down as very promising. As to the Sliarp- 

 less, most cultivators seem to be waiting for a 

 more favorable season before giving a decided 

 ojiinion. The Monarch and Chas. Downing 

 are still recommended by many, ' the Captain 

 Jack and Crescent by some, but many con- 

 demn them as too small. In the. neighbor- 

 hood of Philadelphia strawberries sirtfered 

 greatly from drought and were a poor crop 

 and did not pay, as the market is now always 

 glutted with the immense quantity that over- 

 flows from the New York market. 



RaspbeiTies also suffered from drought and 

 were not abundant.' There seems to be noth- 

 ing settled, as vet, as to the best raspberry to 

 plant. Many still adhere to the old Philadel- 

 phia, but certainly the Reliance is a great im- 

 provement on this. The Brandywine and 

 Bristol are still largely grown for market. 

 The newer varieties need to be fui-tlier Iri.d. 

 Of blackberries I hear of nothiii:; new to re- 

 port, and the same may be said of gdos*-- 

 berries and currants. The currant worm 

 still continues its ravages and has now nearly 

 completed its work, by the destruction of the 

 crop in most parts of the State. The markets 

 of Philadelphia are now mostly supplied with 

 currants from the State of New York, where 

 they seem to have great success with tlieni ; 

 whether it is because they are still exempt 

 from the currant worm I have not learned. 



For grapes the season was very favorable 

 and the crop abundant everywhere. Grapes 

 are now grown in such quantities that they no 

 longer possess any value as a market crop, 

 though they are one of the most value and in- 

 dispensable of fruits, and should be planted to 

 a limited extent by every one who possesses 

 a foot of ground. Of varieties there are two, 

 the Concord and the Clinton, that always do 

 well, and besides these there are some 'hun- 

 dreds whose claims are advocated by different 

 growers, and many of these are undoubtedly 

 valuable, but tf I were to attempt to speak of 

 them here, I should not know where to begin, 

 nor where to leave off, and I prefer leaving 

 the subject to some one more familiar with it. 

 In concluding this report I desire to return 

 my thanks to all the other members of the 

 committee who have so kindly responded to 

 my inquiries f >r information from their re- 

 spective localities. I have endeavored to em- 

 body in this rejjoi-t a summary of the informa- 

 tion thu.s obtained together with some obser- 

 vations of my own that seemed to be perti- 

 nent, all of which is respectfully submitted. 



*CORN CULTURE. 



The corn crop among cereals is the most 

 valuable in Lancaster county. I have no cor- 

 rect data of the average of this crop for the 

 county, but late statistics fix the average of 

 the State at 36 bushels. The average yield of 

 wheat is estimated at 14 bushels to the acre. 

 At these rates the money value of the crops 

 is nearly the same. But this State average 

 for corn is evidently too low for the county— 

 probably should be about 45 bushels. Many 

 of our best farmers have, perhaps, averaged 

 not less than 70 bushels during the last °ten 

 years, while those same farmers in the same 

 term have been below 20 bushels in their ave- 

 rage for wheat. From our present know- 

 ledge and experience we can easier raise the 

 average of corn to 80 bushels than we can 

 the average of wheat to 25 bushels per acre. 

 Corn requires only about four months from 

 planting to harvest, and is therefore not so 

 much exposed to weather influences and to 

 insects as wheat is, which requires nine 

 months to come to perfection, and which in 

 that time is subject to the depredations of the 

 fly, in autumn and spring, to severe winter 

 cold, to drought at various times of the year, 

 and at times to heavy rain storms. From 

 those causes wheat is often a short crop. The 

 corn crop rarely fails. Drought is the great- 

 est hindrance to large crops, but this can in a 

 measure be counteracted by high culture. 



That our soil, as fi whole, is remarkably 

 adapted to the growth of corn is shown by 

 the crops that are raised under the system 

 that is i)racticed. The general plan is to plow 

 a clover sod, spread from 50 to 100 bushels of 

 lime on each acre, harrow, mark out and 

 plant as early in the spring as the weather- 

 will permit. Cultivate the corn as soon as it 

 makes its appearance, and when it is three or 

 four inches high give it the finishing toucli by 

 banking up the earth against the young plants 

 with a Harnly scraper, and then trust to Pro- 

 vidence tor a big crop of corn. 



No matter how baked and bard the earth 

 gets, or how many weeds grow after this, 

 there must be no more culture for fear of tear- 

 ing ofl' a corn root or breaking a plant in 

 turning the team. Who can seriously call 

 this good farming ? 



The requirements for a good crop of corn 

 are: First, a rifih soil; second, good cultivation; 

 and third, good weather. The first we have 

 under our control. We can apply fertilizing 

 materia! to the acre suflicieut. to make plant 

 food for .50 bushels, or for 100 bushels, or for 

 200 bushels. But experience has taught us 

 that it does not follow if we apply manure 

 that will bring a crop of 60 bushels, tliat by 

 putting on two times that amount of manure 

 will realize 100 bushels: The big crop de- 

 pends on other circumstances beside the ma- 

 nure, yet it is obvious that there must be 

 more plant food in the soil to raise 100 bush- 

 els than 50. 



How are our corn fields fertilized ¥ By 

 putting to the acre from 50 to 100 or more 

 bushels of lime. To this practice our farm- 

 ers cling tenaciously, notwi&tanding that 

 chemical science has demonstrated that there 

 is very little manure in lime. Lime, no doubt, 

 on these clover sods will help to increase the 

 crop of corn, not by adding plant food to the 

 crop, but by makang the vegetable mass 

 quickly available. And since lime is no ma- 

 nure, the crop must necessarily uraw wholly 

 upon .the substances already in the soil for 

 sustenance, and consequently it is just that 

 much poorer when the crop is matiu-e. Would 

 it not appear to be reasonable to let the vege- 

 table matter in the soil gradually decay to be 

 food for the entire rotation, and assist the 

 corn cro'vby a direct fertilizer? Ten dollars' 

 worth (the price of a dressing of lime) of a 

 good superphosphate, or acidulated South 

 Carolina rock, which are in themselves plant 

 food, as the}' contain nitrogen, phosphoric 

 acid and potash, the most valuable ingredi- 

 ents in any manure, would seem to be of far 

 more service to the soil. These are not used 



