124 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[August, 



Ing its eutire life, and therefore corresponds to an 

 immature Triton, whilst a Triton corresponds to an 

 immature frog. 



No. 2. A glass jar containing seven specimens of 

 Triton millepunctata, collected by the Curators, 

 along the margin of Columbia ami Port Deposit 

 railroad, a short distance above York Furnace Spring, 

 in shallow pools of water that discharge from small 

 fissures in the rocks. This reptile seems to be more 

 abundant there than it has been noticed elsewhere 

 in the county. This is the same species alluded to 

 on pp. 100 and 101 of the July number of the Lan- 

 caster Fabmer, as having been found so very 

 abundant In "Hunter's Lake," Lycoming couuty. 

 Pa., years ago. At the same period (July 14) there 

 were noticed a number of small tadpoles in the pools 

 containing the Tritons, which do not appear to be 

 those of salamanders, toads or frogs, and probably 

 are those of "Tree frogs," (Hyla, or Hylodes.) We 

 may be certain that they are not the tadpoles of 

 Tritons or any other species of the Salamandrida, 

 because they are excluded with external gills and re- 

 tain them after the feet are developed. It maybe 

 well to say here that this family of Reptiles have the 

 singular power of reproducing their feet or tails, 

 even after they have been entirely severed from their 

 bodies, including bones, muscles and ligaments. 



No. 3. A bottle containing Goldfish, Crayfish, 

 Toad and Tadpoles : the latter exhibiting theii stages 

 of development on the 14th of July. ' 



No. 4. A small bottle containing 26 specimens of 

 Chrysochus auratus, a beautifully green and trold 

 burnished Beetle, belonging to the family Chrtso 

 MEMDCB. Within the months of June and July, and 

 perhaps as late as August, this insect may be found 

 in greater or lesser abundance on a species of " Dog- 

 bane," (^Apocynumandros. cBmifolium), that grows 

 near the river at the old York Furnace Ferry, or 

 wherever else the plant or shrub may be growing. 

 The 14lh of July was within their nuptial season, and 

 hence both sexes were present in about equal num- 

 bers. They feed on the leaves of this plant, and 

 when they are abundant they entirely defoliate it. 

 No larva were present, and it is not apparent what the 

 larva feeds on, or whether above or below ground. 

 At the "Centennial"' there were exhibited allied 

 species of this insect set in jewelry, which sold at a 

 high price. Indeed the beetles alone were held at 

 from 50 cents to 75 cents a piece, according to size 

 and brilliancy of color. They were somewhat larger 

 than our species, but in richness of color did not ex- 

 cel them mueh. Ours are American, the Brazilian 

 ones were foreign, and that makes all the difference. 



No. 5. A small bottle containing representative 

 species of insects found only on the " milk-weed" or 

 "wild cotton" (asclepias cornuli) and the willow, 

 {Salix.) During the month of July, that beautiful 

 red-aud-black-spotted Longicom beei\<i — Tetraopes 

 toeriator — may be found on the "milk-weed," and 

 possibly no where else. It does not seem to feed on 

 the plant, or very sparely ; but during the nuptial 

 season the sexes resort to it in great numbers— indeed 

 Rii instance is known where a single plant was in- 

 troduced into a town garden, which attracted this in- 

 sect to it. The larva, like all its family, is a wood, 

 or stalk-borer. Two Hemipterous insects — Lygaeus 

 aulieus, and turcicus — are almost certain to be found 

 on the milk-weed, in July and August, in all their 

 stages of development ; but especially during their 

 nuptial season in July. During the month of July, 

 the willows are apt to be infested by various species 

 of Chrisomelaus, a family to which the noted "Colo- 

 rado Potato Beetle" belongs. Among these conspi- 

 cuously are several species of Oaligrapha, Blepharida, 

 dfcc. Some seasons, the dwarf willows especially, are 

 defoliated by them. 



No. 6. A jar containing two specimens.^ Selosto- 

 ma grandii, a male and a female specimens of Cory- 

 dalus eornutns, and one of Fimpla lunater. These 

 are all conspicuous representatives of the orders 

 Hemiptera, Neuroptera, and Hymenoptera, sent to 

 the Curators by diflferent persons not now remem- 

 bered. 



No. 7. A piece of baked Indian pottery, and an 

 Arrowhead, picked up by Wm. L. Gill, near "Flte's 



Eddy," Lancaster county. Pa., July loth, 1881, and 

 donated to the Society. These fragmentary relics of 

 the Red-men of the County of Lancaster, seem 

 almost inexhaustible. Hardly a summer season 

 passes that more or less of them are not found — some 

 of them very perfect, very curious, and very valua- 

 ble as the historical relics of a race that has become 

 extinct in Pennsylvania. 



No. 8. Mr. Luther Richards donates a peculiar 

 Pine knot, heavy, and saturated with turpentine, 

 which, by attrition, has been worn into the form of 

 a large pebble, resembling a large Early Rose Potato. 

 This evidently was brought down from the upper 

 Susquehanna, and being too heavy to float, was worn 

 into its present form by the fragments of ssone that 

 accompanied it in the bed of the great river. 



No. 9. Several specimens of fossil plant impres- 

 sions on a slaty mineral from the coal regions of 

 Pennsylvania, sent to the Curators by persons of 

 whom they have no present knowledge, but for 

 which they are none the less thankful. 



No. 10. Mr. Wm. Koeting,of Elizabethtown, dona- 

 ted a Double Bean— two beans on one stem, united 

 along the "costal and ventral" margins their entire 

 length. 



No. 11. S.P. Eby, Esq.,donatedamost magnificent 

 female specimen of the "American Imperial moth" 

 {Dryncampa iriiperialis) together with a large num- 

 ber of her eggs, and quite a number of the excluded 

 larvae in. the first age of their development. This 

 moth is fully a month too late. It usually appears 

 and deposits its eggs within the month of June, and 

 the lurvs should be matured by the middle of August. 

 They feed on the foliage of the Buttonwood, &c. 



No. 12. Miss S. S. Le Fever donated the clay-cells 

 of a species of Eumenus, a Hymenopterous insect. 

 Donations to Library. 



Lancaster Farmer, for July, 1881. 



Circulars of information of the Bureau of Ed- 

 ucation. No. B — 1880. 219 pp. octavo, from the 

 Department of the Interior. 



Five Catalogues, and miscellaneous circulars. 



Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences 

 of Philadelphia, from January to May, 1881. 



Nos. 25 and 26 of volume 19, and 1, 2 and 3 of 

 voliime 30, of the Official Patent Office Gazette. 



Three pamphlets on Anthropology in France, 

 Germany and Alaska. 



Historical. 



A Washington City Lottery Ticket, class 9, No. 

 20579, dated 1829, and bearing the combination 

 numbers 24, 36, 42. By the authority of Congress, 

 was donated by S. S. Rathvon, who had received it 

 from some friend of the society whose name he could 

 not recall. It has two endoHsements on the back, 

 namely : " J. & P. P," and " Kurtz & Johnsou ;" 

 and, although fifty-two years old, it looks as new as 

 if only issued yesterday or to-day. It is a half 

 ticket, and on its face is signed " Molden,/ for the 

 managers, Yates & Mclntire. 



Four envelopes containing fifty-seven contributions 

 to the Historical and Biographical Scrap-book of the 

 Society, by the Curators. This work when com- 

 pleted, (if ever it can be regarded as completed), will 

 present such an array of local and general historical 

 and biographical matter as cannot be found in any 

 literary publication in the country, or the world. 

 Papers Read. 



Prof. J. H. Dubbs, D. D., read an Interesting paper 

 on American Archaeology, as represented in the col- 

 lection of Mr. Robert C. Bair, of York Furnace, 

 York county. Pa. This was ah exceedingly interest- 

 ing paper, mainly Illustrating our local archoeology, 

 and the industry of the owner of the collection re- 

 ferred to, in bringing together so mueh in so com- 

 paratively short a space of time. Private coliections 

 of these relics of the Aboriginal race exist in almost 

 every town and township in our county, and if all 

 were brought together under one roof, the number, 

 the variety and the mechanism would be astonishing. 

 New and Deferred Business. 



Mr. Wm. L. Gill was unanimously elected an ac- 

 tive member. 



Dr. H. D. Knight, being a stockholder, was on 

 motion unanimously elected .an active member. 



The resolutions offered by Dr. M. L. Davis at the 

 last meeting were called up, and action thereon de- 

 ferred to the next stated meeting. 



The following was offered by S. S. Rathvon : In- 

 asmuch as it seems to be inconvenient for many of 

 the members of this society td" attend meetings held 

 during the day, and especially on Saturday ; there- 

 fore, be it Resolved that the President appoint a com- 

 mittee of — ,to consider the propriety of a change in 

 the hour to some evening during the week : said 

 committee to report thereon at the next stated meet- 

 ing of the society ; and that the Secretary be in- 

 structed to send notices to the active members, at 

 the expense of the society, stating this as a special 

 object of said meeting. Laid over till next meeting. 



The meeting, although small, was not without 

 interest. The great hindrance being that the inter- 

 est of so few in the community lead in that direction. 



Adjourned to Saturday, August 27th, 1S81. 



FULTON FARMERS CLUB. 



After taking its usual recess for harvest the Club 

 held its August meeting at the residence of William 

 King, Little Britain township, several visitors being 

 present by invitation. 



Montillion Brown exhibited some pears for a name. 

 No one present was aWe to give it. 



Alice Coates : Trophy tomatoes and Dreer's Im- 

 proved Lima beans. She says that the Dreer's im- 

 proved come earlier and are more prolific than the 

 ordinary Lima bean. 



William King exhibited an apple for name, and a 

 specimen of a plant resembling mustard which was 

 found growing among Hungarian grass and which 

 has been giving some of the farmers uneasiness, for 

 fear it was the Canada mustard. The plant was 

 Brassica eampestris, or Cale, a variety of the Ruta- 

 baga turnip, although not itself a turnip. 



S. L. Gregg exhibited Garretson's Early Apple. 



Montillion Browa asked what kind of fertilizers 

 would be used this fall by the Club. Buffalo Phos- 

 phate, Godwin's Phosphate, Dissolved Bone and 

 South Carolina Rock were the principal kinds spoken 

 of as going to be used. 



Thomas P. King, asked if anyone had tried ground 

 limestone. No one had tried it. 



Josiah Brown asked what kind of wheat members 

 were going to sow. Foltz would be sown by most 

 persons present, although it was evident from the 

 answers that it was not in as good standing as it had 

 been heretofore. 



Canada White, Keys Prolific and Mediterranean 

 were mentioned as in favor with some. 



Questions Asked and Answered. 



Rachel B. Gatchel asked what kind of strawberrlei 

 the club would recommend and the best manner of 

 cultivating them. 



PhcBbe M. King said tbey raised the Brooklyn 

 scarlet. It was best to plant out and not cultivate. 

 They would do well, for two or three years, when the 

 patch would get too foul, when another should be 

 planted. Wilson and Kentucky were recommended 

 as good varieties. 



Esther K. Haines : Has any one put ashes on cab- 

 bage to kill the worms, and what is the result? 



R. B. Gatchel had tried it but was not a sucfeess. 

 It burnt the leaf where it dropped ; salt and cayenne 

 pepper are better. 



Josiah Brown had also tried it, but it did no good. 



W. W. Bicknell tried an ounce of salt petre dis- 

 solved in a gallon of water. It will drive them off. 



Martha Brown : Is it necessary to put dried fruit 

 in the oven before putting it away? 



Alice Coaies : Not if taken off a hot slate roof and 

 put away immediately after it becomes cool. Put In 

 paper bags and tie. 



The question why are hops put into yeast was re- 

 ferred to Rebecca D. King, to be answered at next 

 meeting. 



With the mercury away up high in the nineties, 

 the members gave the farm a very slight inspection 

 and but a few criticisms on the farming operations 

 were given. 



