1881. 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



115 



larger coramercial cities there are private 

 libraries offered for sale at auction almost 

 daily. These libraries may liave been the 

 property of men in very limited eireiinistances, 

 whose families may have been compelled to 

 sell them after the death of tlieir domestic 

 head, and there is reason to believe that 

 many of them get into the hands of book 

 dealers through these or similar channels. 

 Notwithstanding all tliis, however, it is indis- 

 putable that there is too larsre a traffic in 

 these books by outsiders, and that many per- 

 sons who greatly need them, and to whom 

 they would bo of use in their secular occupa- 

 tions, never receive them, and have not 

 access to them. So far as agricultural works 

 are concerned, we caimot see any better me- 

 dium of distribution than a strong and active 

 agricultural organization, comiio.sod of the 

 representative men of all the districts in their 

 counties ; and the.se societies should be the 

 depositories of all the documents published on 

 the subject by the State or nation, and should 

 also distribute the surplus volumes with 

 equity, and with judgment. 



MARL, AS A TOBACCO FERTIMZER. 

 This substance beinw a natural production, 

 does not come under the law of the State, as 

 do those compounds artifically manufactured 

 and sold as fertilizers. ^^Mcirl is composed of 

 carbonate of lime and clay in various propor- 

 tions, and in different degrees of compactness 

 and friability. In .some marls the proportion 

 of clay is small, in which case the marl as a 

 manure acts on soils much in the same man- 

 ner as lime ; but where clay i.s tlie predomi- 

 nant ingredient of marl, it ac.t.s on the soil 

 partly as lime, but principally by altering the 

 texture of the soil. Hence all sandy soils 

 are improved by marl, in consequence of its 

 increasing their compactness and capacitj 

 for retaining moisture, whileargillaceous marls 

 applied to clay are of little or no u.se. Marl 

 is found in some form in almost every country ; 

 not like limestone in protruding rocks, but, 

 from its friable nature, which moulders down 

 into a comparatively earthy mass, under or 

 near the surface. Hence while limestone is 

 quarried, marls are dug out of pits. Marl 

 has been in use in Europe since the time of 

 the Romans; it is very generally employed as 

 a manure in France, Germany and England," 

 and when the population of the United States 

 becomes as dense as those of the countries 

 named above, it or its equivalent, will be 

 more extensively used here than it is now. 

 Of course, like any fertilizer of whatsoever 

 kind, it should be intelligently used. The 

 operator should have some knowledge of what 

 his land requires, the composition of the marl, 

 and the quantity that should be used per acre. 



Marl abounds in the United States, and 

 especially in New Jersey, and from- the fiict 

 that much of it contains organic remains, 

 more or less decomposed, the inference seems 

 natural that the phospliate.-s, alkalies and 

 acids should enter more or less into its com- 

 position. 



We witnessed a phenomenon a few days 

 ago which implies very forcibly that marl, 

 intelligently applied, acts as a good fertilizer 

 of tobacco. 



Out in the western suburbs of Lancaster 

 city, nearly opposite the residences of Messrs. 



Hostetter and Abm. Bitncr, is a "tobacco 

 patch," which, dry as the weather has been, 

 seems destined to bo a "banner patch," and 

 we suggest to lovers of the growing weed to 

 ride or walk out and view it. There may be 

 "spots" of larger tobacco, among much that 

 is inferior, but taking in the whole field, for 

 color, for evenness, for uniformity of size, 

 and for general healthiness, it will be " hard 

 to beat."-. On inquiry we found it to belong 

 to David Hitner, and the secret of its liistory 

 is just this, and nothing more: Mr. Bitner 

 has been for some time extensively engaged 

 in the Jersey marl trade, and nnlike those 

 doctors who will not take their own pills, he 

 makes use of it on his own land. Now, he 

 has not been recommending marl sperialh/ for 

 tobacco, but as a general fertilizer. Last 

 early autumn he plowed down and harrowed 

 the field referred to, then gave it a top dress- 

 ing of marl. He then sowed wheat on it 

 broadcast and harrowed it jn with the marl. 

 In due time the wheat came up and grew 

 finely, but during the intense cold which suc- 

 ceeded, much of it was winter killed. Last 

 spring he plowed the wheat' down, and put 

 the field in tobacco, adding a moderate 

 quantity of stable manure, and this crop is 

 the result. Any one comparing this field with 

 other fields, treated in all other respects the 

 same, but on which no marl was used, will be 

 able to see the difference. No matter how 

 little rain may fall henceforward, we opine 

 this field will make its crop, from two con- 

 siderations : 1st, the leaves now entirely 

 shade the ground — it can't be seen to be in 

 rows, and 2d, the quality of marl— its salts 

 and alkalies— to retain moisture. 



THE GAME LAWS. 



As there seems to be some apprehension 

 among persons interested in regard to the 

 time game might be killed or taken in Penn- 

 sylvania, we publish the following brief re- 

 sume thereof, which sportsmen can paste in 

 their hats— if they wish to : 



Squirrels— from September 1st to January 

 1st. Rabbits — from November 1st to Janu- 

 ary 1st. Partridges— from October 1.5th to 

 January 1st. Woodcock— from July 4th to 

 January 1st. Plover— from July loth to Jan- 

 uary 1st. Rail bird— from September 1st to 

 December 1st. Wild Turkeys— from October 

 1.5tli to January 1st. Wild fowl— from Sep- 

 teuiber 1st to May 1.5th. Deer— from Octo- 

 ber 1st to December 31»t. 



THE TERRIBLE HEAT. 

 The thermometer oji Augu.st oth at Sand- 

 wich, 111., registered 103 degrees ; at Fair- 

 burii. 111., 106 ; .Danville, 108 fMcGregor, la., 

 10.5 ; Michigan City, Ind„ 100 ; Pontiac, HI., 

 101; Bloomington, III., 102; Lasalle, III., 

 106; St. Joseph, Mo., 100; South Haven, 

 Mich., 98: Chatsworth, 111., 106; Racine, 

 Wis., 102. Many towns report that it was 

 the hottest day ever known. Sunstroke was 

 frequent and out-ot-door was largely sus- 

 pended. All this while the heat in Lancaster 

 county was "rollicking" among the nineties 

 and in some places "grazed" 100. 



The export of seed leaf tobacco and cuttings 

 since Jan. 1, 1881, was 16,493 cases; same 

 time, 1880, 12,200 cases; same time, 1879, 

 6,330 cases. 



Queries and Answers, 



MORE ABOUT BATS. 

 The following communication published iu 

 a late issue of The Lnncnster Intelligencer, 

 refers to the article " About Bats," which 

 appeared in the July number of The Lan- 

 caster Fakmeu : 



" I have read with great interest the valuable 

 paper written by our distinguished townsman and 

 naturalist, Dr. 8. 8. Rathvon, upon the character 

 and habits of the bat, printed In your issue of Tues- 

 day evening. One point to which no allusion is 

 made In the doctor's contribution, though men- 

 tioned by his correspondent, is as to the reason why 

 pi!ople Invariably seek to protect their heads upon 

 the appearance of a bat at close range. The general 

 belief Is entertained by people that if one of these 

 night-flying animals should happen to alight on the 

 headof an unfortunate wight, it would be Impossi- 

 ble to loosen Its hold upon the hair, and that It 

 would be necessary to shave the scalp to get rid of 

 it. Then there is another very prevalent Impression 

 that bats carry noxious vermin concealed under their 

 winijs, and that their malign habit upon Invading 

 the precincts of the tidy housewife is to deposit bed- 

 bugs and things around the premises. I don't 

 know whether cither of these impressions is correct. 

 Will some one please rise and explain V'—Igiwramm. 

 On re-reading the communication of "J.," 

 and, in connection, that of "Ignoramus," I 

 lind that an apology is due from me for not 

 answering more directly the queries of the 

 former, which, perhaps, might not have ne- 

 cessitated those of the latter. But, I was 

 pressed for time, and the omission was inad- 

 vertent. 



To the first query of "J." allow me to 

 reply that the "heroism" involved in his 

 conflict with the " mon.ster, " would depend 

 altogether upon his prejudices, or suspicions, 

 in regard to the character of the bat. It 

 might have bepn heroic in him, but it would 

 not have been heroic in mc. As a child, a 

 boy and a man, I have had more or less 

 knowledge of the bat for more than sixty 

 years, and yet I have never known, or heard 

 of it attacking any person or thing except in- 

 sects. I would consider it a far greater act of 

 heroism to conquer a prejudice than a bat. 

 " In war chance may place the laurel wreath 

 upon our brow, and chance may pluck it off 

 again ; but in a conflict with ourselves we 

 should be resolute, and the virtuous impulse 

 will become the victor." 



To J. 's second query we would reply, that 

 we do not think— vte do not believe the bat a 

 "dangerous creature." We have helped to 

 storm several &a(-teries in our lifetime, and 

 have never known them to essay an attack or a 

 defence. We have never read anything, either 

 in authenticated natural history or elsewhere, 

 that they have ever made an attempt to at- 

 tack their enemies, or defend themselves 

 against invasion. They uniformly make a 

 precipitate retreat, when they have suflicieut 

 vital power to do so. 



I confess in reply to J.'s third query, I can- 

 not tell why "nine out of ten cover their 

 heads the minute they see a bat," nor why 

 that proportion really do so. It is probably 

 the effect of early imbibed predjudices, and 

 they have never been at any pains to dissipate 

 them ; and "finally" when a bat enters a 

 room through an open door or a window, 

 draw the sash down from the top, and it will 

 \eave the room of its own accord, after it ex- 



