THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



61 



vised to put a jointer on his plow in order to turn In 

 the corn etalks tnore effectually. 

 Papers Read. 

 After returnlns: to the hoase the host selected an 

 article entitled " More corn to the acre," which was 

 read to the Club. The article gave an .account of a 

 crop raised by Joseph G. Pierce of over one hundred 

 bushels per acre. It was planted two feet apart In 

 the rows and rows three feet apart, two stalks In the 

 hill. Nine hundred pounds of standard fertilizer 

 had been used, part sowed broadcast and part in 



E. H.Haines read a letter from Joseph A. Roman, 

 of Colora, Cecil county, Maryland, giving a report of 

 his experience with eusilaffc. While he is aware 

 that one winter's trial Is not sufBcient to establish 

 its merits al)Ove_ feed cured In the ordinary way, he 

 is so well pleased with it that he would Increas ■ his 

 sllos if he was not looking forward to the time when 

 he would be livln? on n prairie farm. Mr. Haines 

 f^aid that he did not suppose that Joseph had been 

 able to give it anything like a fair trial, but as it had 

 turned out so well we might try It. 



.Montillion Brown said this Is something new and 

 we sometimes go too fast. He had seen an article in 

 tlie Gcrmantown Telegraph warning people to be 

 careful. In Europe, where It originated, It Is by no 

 means universal. 



K. H. Haines. The French are not so much in ad- 

 vance of us. What they know to-day we know 

 tomorrow. 



Joseph R. Blackburn asked if a crop of corn 

 raised for ensilage was worth more than if raised for 



Samuel J. Kirk thought It would be if it could be 

 got otrthe ground In time for seeding it with wheat. 

 . Montillion Brown : The advocates of ensilage 

 have one strong ground to stand upoi) — there are no 

 patents to sell. 



Day Wood had not much faith In it. It would suit 

 fancy farmers, with a surplus of money. 



The question was left for further consideration at 

 a future meeting. 



An Interesting Essay. 



Mary A. King read an essay on agriculture, writ- 

 ten by William M. Way, recommending more atten- 

 tion to science in farming and closing with strong 

 remarks against the cultivation of tobacco, an arti 

 cle that was of no use, but an Injury to mankind, and 

 its bad effects would be likely to be visited on our 

 children. 



S.J. Kirk thought it a very able essay and it 

 would be well for farmers to think about it. 



E. H. Haines said the writer speaks of scientific 

 farming. He had thought the matter over and had 

 come to the conclusion that there was nothing in it. 

 We try an experiment and succeed. We are paid 

 three or four fold, and we think that money can be 

 made easily and fast. We try again and lose. We 

 don't know the amount of sunshine or the amount of 

 rainfall we are going to have. There are many 

 things affecting our experiments over which we have 

 no control . The results of chemical experiments are 

 always the same. 



Literary. 



Emma King recited the ballad of " Thirty-six ;" 

 Phebe A. King recited " The Wish," by Isaac Allen, 

 a school teacher, who was somewhat of a poet and 

 resided In this vicinity many years ago. At the re- 

 quest of several of tho-ie present, Sadie Brown read 

 the " White Parasol," by the same author. 



Adjourned to meet at Josiah Brown's Fulton town- 

 ship, the first Saturday in May. 



THE LINN.ffi;AN SOCIETY. 



The society met on Saturday afternoon, March 3iith, 

 1881, in the Museum building. President Stahr and 

 Secretary Davis in their chairs. Eight members and 

 five visitors present. Reading of the minutes of the 

 last meeting dispensed with. After the usual pre- 

 liminary business the following donations to the 

 museum and library were reported : 



Museum Additions. 



1. Mrs. Gibbons donated a specimen of anthracite 

 coal, which she received from a friend, the fracture 

 of which exhibited their circular disks, indicating 

 transverse fractures of the vegetation out of which 

 the coal.was originally formed, if not fossilized eu- 

 crinities. 



2. Mr. Rathvou donated a small bottle containing 

 alcoholized specimens of the larva of a species o"f 

 TCTieftrio— commonly called "meal worms," taken 

 from a piece of wood around which cloth was wrap- 

 ped. This larva has the singular ability of moving 

 either backward or forward with equal facility. 

 Also a specimen of the "short-winged mole-cricket," 

 (OrijUotalpa brevipenne) ,%eni to him by a correspon- 

 dent from Ch£8ter county, who last summer de- 

 tected to preying upon his young potato tubers. This 

 is entirely in harmony with the general character of 

 this insect. Also a specimen of the " Goldeu carp " 

 (Cyprinus auralm)— the victim of an ill adjusted 

 aquarium. 



3. Mr. John May, of South Queen street, donated a 

 fine specimen of flint which he found in a mass of 

 common chalk; probalily from the chalk beds of 

 England or France. 



4. Mr. KevinskI donated a fine specimen of 

 "chilled Iron," from the Peacock furnace, at the 

 southern terminus of Prince street, Lancaster. 



5. Prof. T. R . Baker, of Millersville, donated 

 beautiful crvstalllzed speciments of Calcium, formu- 

 lated Ca. H". 0. 75-2. 



H. .Mrs. (ilbbons exhibited a fine specimen of Beet 

 Stujar, from the Russian department In the Paris in- 

 ternational exposition of 1S7H, and was surprised to 

 find such a large and beautiful exhibit of Russian 

 sugar on that occasion. 



Additions to Library. 



1. Report of the commissioners of education for 

 187K, 771 pp. octavo, from Hoh. A. H. Smith. 



3. United Stales coast survey for 1877; 192 pp. 

 quarto, with 34 folded maps and charts from the de- 

 partment of the interior. 



•■'.. Nos. 9, 10, 11 and 12, vol. 19, of the Patent Of- 

 fice Gazette from the department of the interior. 



4. Proceedings of the Philadelphia Academy of 

 Natural Science from Oct. to Dec. 1880. 



5. Lancaster Farmer for March, 1881. 



6. LIppincott's classified catalogue from 1881,100 

 pp. royal octavo, with index and illustrations. 



7. " BooksMf" for March 1881, a new standard 

 of choice publications. It! pp. 8 vo., illustrated. 



8. Sundry minor catalogues and circulars. 



Historical. 



Four envelopes containing 40 historical and bio- 

 graphical selections. 



New Business. 



Prof. I. 8. Geist propo.^ed William H. Buller, of 

 Marietta, for active membership, to be acted on at 

 the next meeting. 



The committee to whom was referred the question 

 Involving the status of membership in the society, 

 reported that no person had been elected an active 

 member since the 29th of July, 1871, without paying 

 $.5 (for which he received a certificate of ownership), 

 and contributing 10 cents monthly to the funds of 

 the society. But as there 4re persons who desire to 

 co-operate with the society, and who for suflScient 

 reasons may waive all present ownership the com 

 mittee recommended a proviso, that such persons 

 may be elected : and it shall be optional with them 

 whether they become certificate members, or come 

 in under the $1 initiation, which obtained previous 

 to July 29th, 1871, and contributed lOcents monthly. 

 It was a.\so provided that all active members elected 

 under this rule, after being three full years con- 

 tributing members, and all their dues paid up, shall 

 receive a certificate of ownership as a gratuity, and 

 enjoy all the privileges- and prerogatives of other 

 certificate members. The report was debated and 

 unanimously adopted. 



Note.— Contributing members are entitled to all 

 that other members are save that of voting on the 

 disposition of the Museum Library and other pro- 

 perty of the society, which are subject to the control 

 of the certificate holders — whether they are members 

 of the society or not— and to the amount of certifi- 

 cates they hold, each $5 representing one vote. On 

 motion duly seconded, the following resolutions were 

 unanimously adopted :■ 



1. Resolved, That the president appoint a commit- 

 tee of three to examine the records and report the 

 number of active members and correspondents from 

 the organization of the society to the present time; 

 the date of thfeirelection, how many have withdrawn, 

 and how many have died, including their name, and 

 so far as known, their residences. 



2. Resolved, That said committee also report the 

 financial standing of each active or contributing 

 member (in their relations to the society) and how 

 many, and who are entitled to additional certificates 

 of ownership, under the resolution of 39th of July, 

 1871. 



3. Resolved, That said committee report at the next 

 stated meeting of the society, either finally or the 

 progress it has made in the work assigned It. 



The president appointed Drs. Ralhvon, Davie and 

 Baker said committee. 



Scientific Gossip. 



Under this head, half an hour of free social inter- 

 course was spent very pleasantly. With good talk- 

 ers and good listeners this might be made the most 

 interesting feature of the society. After the usual 

 routine of business is disposed of, which is neces- 

 sarily formal and subject to rule, " scientific gossip " 

 is declared by the president, when every one can 

 " say his say ' on any subject, without fear of being 

 out of order, and also with more freedom than wh^n 

 confined to " place." 



Adjourned to meet on the last Saturday in April, 

 which occurs On the 30th, the last day of the month 



A CHICKEN fancier says that he stuck court plaster 

 over an egg found broken in the nest after the lien 

 had been setting a week and in due time it gave 

 chicken as sprightly as any of the brood. 



Agriculture. 



About Limestone and Lime as Fertilizers 

 No other single topic has recently brought so 

 many queries. This is due to the extraordinary 

 claims of parties selling ground Limestone, or mak- 

 ing machinery for grinding it. Limestone is a most 

 ividely distributed mineral, one of its purest forms 

 being known as marble, and Is found almost all over 

 the country of various quiilltles and deirrces of purity . 

 It is a Carbonate of Lime, that Is Lime combined 

 with Carbonic Acid. If a fragment of Limestone Is 

 placed In a glass of water, and a little strong acid is 

 added, the Carbonic Acid is set free, and we see It 

 pass off as bubbles rising through the water. Lime 

 stone Is so slightly dissolved by water that it is taste- 

 less. It takes l.tiOO parts of water to dissolve one 

 part of Limestone. Water, in which there Is much 

 CiUlioiiii- .\( id. dissolves a considerable amount of 

 (Ml .n,i. I I ii:;. . If a small piece of Limestone be 

 k. |.: I II r.i| heat for some hours, it will be 

 uiii ' I ! Iii:avy as the original stone. What 

 li» : I ;■; I iMiinlng? If tested with acid, as be- 

 fore, \v> bulil.les of gas will be given off. The heat 

 has driven out all the Carlx)nlc Acid ; it Is no longer 

 a Carbonate of Lime, but simply Lime (an oxide of 

 the metal Calcium, or Calcic Oxide as the chemists 

 have It.) Liiii.-sione burned in kilns produces Lime., 

 often called tjuicklimc. If a lump of freshly burned 

 Lime have water gradually put upon it, it soon be- 

 comes hot, in a little while it swells up, cracks and 

 falls into a Vfry while powder; though much water 

 ha.<! h I'll added, tin- [iinvihr is quite dry. The water 

 has united w ii li th'' Liiiu-, making a solid. Caustic or 

 Slakid Lime, l.imc cMpo.sed takes up moisture from 

 the air, and we have Air-slaked Lime. Slaked Lime 

 with enough water forms whitewash, or " Milk of 

 Llini?." On standing, the greater part of the Lime 

 will settle, leaving clear Limewater — a saturated so- 

 lution of Lime; that is, the water has taken up all 

 it can dissolve, for at ordinary temperature it re- 

 quires 700 parts of water to dissolve one part of 

 (juick-lime. If clear Lime water be placed in aglasa, 

 and with a straw or pipe-stem the breath be forced 

 into it, the Lime water will soon become cloudy,"and 

 then milky. Set the glass aside, and a fine white 

 powder will settle at the bottom, leaving the water 

 clctr above. The breath contains Caibonic Acid; 

 this, when forced into the Lime water, unites with 

 the Lime, forming Carbonated,the same as unburned, 

 Limestone, which, being little soluble, separates as a 

 white powder. If we continue to bre.ithe into the 

 Lime water after it has become milky, it will soon 

 become perfectly clear as at the start. The continued 

 breathing supplies more Carbonic Acid than Is needed 

 to convert the Lime into an insoluble carbonate; the 

 excess of Carbonic Acid in the water re-dissolvcs the 

 Carbonate. Heating this solution drives off the ex- 

 cess of Carbonic Acid, and the Carbonate of Lime is 

 always present in the atmosphere, and when slaked 

 Lime is long exposed, it takes up Ihls Acid and 

 slowly becomes Carbonate of Lime.— .4m«ri<;an Ag- 

 riculturist 



Green Manuring. 

 What is the best crop to plow in? This question 

 is often asked and does not admit of a very decisive 

 answer. Much depends upon the nature of the soil, 

 time of year in which it is wished to manure in this 

 manner, climate, etc. If the soil is worn out or 

 naturally poor, and a very rapid erowlh Is dcsited 

 to turn under in early autumn, buckwheat, is reoom- 

 mended. It is a close feeder ; and will make a large 

 and rapid growth, where many other crops lail. 

 Too much cannot be said in favor of the common red 

 clover as a green manuring crop. Its roots run very 

 deeu, and bring much of the fertilizing materials in 

 the subsoil to be deposited in the stems and roots, 

 especially the latter, which, when turned over by the 

 plow, goon decay and yield a supply of food for other 

 plants. In the Southern States the cow pea has 

 proved very satisfactory as a crop for enriching the 

 soil by green manuring. In some localities rye is 

 ranked very high as a green crop to be plowed under. 

 A few years ago there was much said in favor of fod- 

 der corn as a green manure, but repeated trials 

 proved it too difficult to plow under, unless turned 

 when quite small. The best treatment of fodder 

 corn is to let it grow to a good size, and feed to live 

 stock, and apply the manure thas made to the soil. 

 — American Agricallnrtit . 



The Management of Liquid Fertilizers. 

 There is no doubt that, with proper arrangements, 

 the applications of liquid manure by a system of 

 irrigation, may be highly profitable. But for the 

 averape farmer, or the owner of a truck patch, with- 

 out proper appliances, to transport liquid manure by 

 means of a tank drawn by one horse, or a barrel 

 upon a barrow, it is very doubtful If it Is the best 

 method. The liquid manure is largely water, and 

 water is not only a very heavy article to carry about, 

 but it is not, ia the strict sense, a fertilizer. If one 

 can make the water transport Itself, and carry the 

 fertilizer with it. one great item of the expense is 

 saved. If this cannot be done, it will be better— to 



