140 



but dried ; field pasture is growing scarcer day by 

 day. He lias tried the early Ohio potato and likes it 

 very much ; it is earlier than the early rose and quite 

 as prolific. 



Mr. Cooper called attention to several plum trees 

 he had lately seen. The trees were fairly loaded. 

 He bought a branch three feet nine inches long, 

 which had 1.03 plums on it. He never saw its equal 

 for productiveness. There must have been ten bush- 

 els on four trees. , 



W. U. Hensel aaid in Drumore and Martic there is 

 a district where plums are always plenty ; where 

 there are no failures. He saw two trees at Mount- 

 Ville, planted close together, one of which was full 

 of fruit, while the other had none. While in blos- 

 som a tramp told him to shake the trees every morn- 

 ing. He shook the one only, and that is the tree 

 now covered with fruit. 



Mr. Martin thought we could grow plums and 

 apricots every year when the blossoms are not frozen 

 by frequently smoking the trees. 



Mr. Martin said the Bassett, warranted to be cur- 

 culio-proof, was tested by him, and none were so 

 badly riddled as the Bassett. 



H. M. Engle said there was something peculiar 

 about plums. In some localities they do very poorly, 

 while in others they yield immense crops. He said 

 also the drought has caused many apples to drop. 

 The rain fall for August was only Il-IK of an inch. 

 During August, 1880, the rain-fall was 3J,^ inches. 



D. W. Graybill said much of the corn was very 

 poor, but the fields which were thinly planted are 

 quite good ; the tobacco is irregular ; some is very 

 good, and of this much has been sold at 2." and 20 

 through, while others have refused 27, 10 and 5. 

 There are a very few peaches. There are a good 

 many apples. He neglected to bring along a variety 

 of potatoes which are very early ; he ate the first on 

 May 30; the grass fields are drying up. He has, 

 also, seen some plum trees unusually loaded with 

 fruit. 



Casper Hiller said they were very dry in Conestoga . 

 The corn crop is pretty good. The apples are 

 dropping ; pastures are very short. 



John H. Landis'doubted whether the wheat was a 

 three-fourth crop, but the quality was good. Corn 

 is a poor crop. Fruit is scarce, and apples are 

 dropping. The tobacco crop is better than he has 

 seen elsewhere. Sales have been made from 20 to 

 26 cents through. A grower on his own farm ship- 

 ped a tobacco stalk, the united length of the leaves 

 of which, when united end to end, measured G3 feet 

 long, and in width unitedly measured 37 feet. 



J. C. Linville said there was still much plowing to 

 be done in his township. Wheat averages about 14 

 bushels to the acre ; the straw is long but the wheat 

 short. The corn is the poorest he ever saw in his 

 district. He could not make an estimate. Early 

 varieties are plentier than late ones. Pastures are 

 dried up. He is already feeding his cattle. 



James Wood said they had more rain in Little 

 Britain ; corn is a pretty good crop. 



Casper Hiller said ths corn four miles southward 

 from Lancaster was the poorest he has seen any- 

 where. 



D. W. Graybill said some tobacco is not curing 

 well in some places, although the majority is doing 

 very well. 



Johnson Miller said the remedy was to keep the 

 barns closed during the day and open them at night. 



Dr. M. J. Tracy, Veterinary Surgeon of this city, 

 by permission, read the following essay on 

 Horse Epizootic. 



Owing to recent rumors of another outbreak of 

 horse epizootic, from various parts of the country, I 

 propose to give you a short account of this plague, 

 with some of its symptoms and also its treatment in 

 its milder forms, but when it assumes a grave as- 

 pect, by complicating any vital structures, then the 

 attendance of a veterinary surgeon becomes neces- 

 . eary. 



This disease is variously termed epizooty, typhoid 

 influenza, catarrhal fever, lung fever by different 

 authors, and, owing to the part of the system in 

 which the specific poison locates itself, it was first 

 named influenza in Italy, being there attributed to 

 the influence of the stars. It may be defined as a 



THE LANCASTER FARMER, 



febrile disease, attended with great prostration of 

 strength, debility and early inflammation of the 

 nasal, laryngeal or bronchial mucous passages, gen- 

 erally complicated with irritability of the digestive 

 mucous membranes, often implicating the substance 

 of the lungs, pleura, liver, structures of joints, the 

 fibrous tissues of the heart, muscles, tendons and the 

 corrective tissue in various parts of the body. The 

 causes are numerous and difllcult to define, being 

 generally obscure. It may occur spontaneously, at 

 all times and all seasons of the year, from sudden 

 atmospheric changes, exposure to cold, bad ventila- 

 tion, crowded, damp, filthy, illy-ventilated stables, 

 bad drainage, neglect, bad food, overwork, in fact 

 any of those causes which by debilitating the sys- 

 tem renders animals more susceptible to its attacks. 

 Epizootic appeared as far back in history as the 

 year 1299, in Spain, destroying thousands of horses, 

 and in 1648 it decimated the horses of the French 

 army, then in Germany, and in 1871-2 it broke out 

 with fury in the English Metropolis. During its 

 outbreak there I assisted in treating over two thou- 

 sand cases. With the American outbreak, com- 

 mencing in Toronto, Canada, October, 1872, we are' 

 all more or less familiar, at it spread over this Conti- 

 nent in an incredibly short time, destroying thou- 

 sands of animals on its way to New York, which it 

 reached in twenty days. Some of the following 

 symptoms, depending on the location of the disease, 

 are generally present. The morbid material, or 

 poison, absorbed into the blood, gives rise to great 

 fever and nervous depression, the period of incuba- 

 tion or latency is short. The specific poison soon 

 locates itself in some part of the system. In fact, 

 no organ in the animal frame seems exempt from its 

 attack. Its primary sympton:s are usually chills or 

 rigors, elevation of pulse and temperature, great 

 weakness, particularly of the loins and hind limbs, 

 loss of appetite, cold extremities, constipation, 

 thirst, general stiffness and unwillingness to move, 

 coughing, sneezing, discharge from the nose, inflam- 

 ed eyes, hot mouth, unsteady movements, depressed 

 head, dropsy, rapid emaciation, hurried breathing, 

 and sometimes colic,indicative of intestinal irritation. 



The simple form owing to maltreatment chiefly, is 

 often complicated with lesion of the lungs, stomach, 

 liver and sometimes ending in rheumatism, involv- 

 ing the flexor tendons below the knees, or hock, 

 causing severe lameness, not readily yielding to 

 medical treatment. 



Horses are not generally attacked more than once 

 in a season, and if properly treated it is not a fatal 

 disease generally, but old, heavy, badly-constitu- 

 tioned, over-worked horses, or those affected with 

 respiratory trouble, very often succumb. 



General treatment consists in good nursing through 

 the febrile course, comfortable clothing to the body 

 and bandages, to the limbs, warm washes, boiled 

 bats, linseed, "fruits, such as apples, carrots, corn 

 grass, boiled potatoes, a plentiful of cold water to 

 drink, always within reach, inlialations of warm 

 vapor, warm stable, good bed, cleanliness and plenty 

 of pure air without exposing to drafts,the more com- 

 plicated forms of which attack the vital structures, 

 requiring the attendance of a skillful surgeon. Tha 

 bad results of an attack of this plague, especially 

 when badly attended to, are often disastrous, such 

 as hydrothorax, chronic nasal discharge, chronie 

 cough, thickened wind, dropsy, glanders, farcy and 

 rheumatism. 



One word of caution : Avoid empirics, or quacks. 

 Treat your horse yourself, and trust to nature sooner 

 than employ one of them. They generally do harm 

 by intermeddlibg. 



The thanks of the society were tendered him for 

 his essay. 



J. Frank Landis read the following on 

 The Yearly Value of Cowl's Milk as Food for 



Pigs. 

 Average daily yield of 4 cows the year around, 8 



gallons of milk, which should feed 12 pig-s, 



worth when leaving sow 82 each S 24 00 



To use milk to best advantage feed 40 bushels of 



corn (or its equivalent should this be too 



strong) at 60c 24 00 



Grain in pork over first cost of grain fed, 25 per 



cent....!. 6 00 



This should produce hogs of average weight of 



500 lbs. 6,000 lbs. pork at 7c 420 00 



Profits 8366 00 



Average per cow $ 91 SO 



D.VIKY PBODUCT. 



7141bs. of butter at 28%c »204 68 



Cheese from skim milk 72 00 



Cream sold in summer 28 00 



Milk and cream used 25 00 



Buttermilk as food for cliickens (preventive of 



colic 8 00 



Whey of skimmed milk 9 00 



4 calves at if5.75 23 00 



;8369 78 



Average per cow S 92 U]4 



COST OP FEED, 



For each cow, in winter months,! pk. daily of 

 mixed com chop and bran (9c.) and 12 lbs, of 

 hay or its equivalent (12o). Total cost per 

 week, $1.47. Per six months * 38 22 



[September, 



Summer months, $3 per month, pasturage, and 



amount of chop 23 46 



Net profits per cow.. 



862 68 

 .8 29 78 



DIFFEKBMCK IN QUALITY OF MILK. 



Tried 2 cows separate for a week, each giving a 

 a pail or two gallons of milk at a milking. The 

 one supposed from appearance to give the most 

 butter gave 3)4 lbs., price 35o $ 1 jg 



the other made lOJ^ lbs 3 e? 



On the one I lost 24 cents per week. On the other I 



gained S2.20per week. 



H. M. Engle remarked that thousands of cows did 

 not pay for their keeping. The creamometer is the 

 true test, and every farmer should use it. Churn- 

 ing is, however, the true test, the most cream does 

 not always give the most butter. Every farmer 

 should make such tests, and And out which of his 

 animals are worth their keeping. 



Ho\^ to Select Seed Corn. 



Casper Hiller said a good plan to select seed corn 

 is to examine the staks in the field, and select those 

 which show unusually good qualities, that fill well, 

 mature early, and have other good indications. Then 

 select again from these. 



J. C. Linville did not favor corn that gave two or 

 more ears to the stalk. The trouble is we don't get 

 one good ear oftentimes. The best time to select 

 seed corn, is when it is hauled to the crib. Then 

 the whole caop is before the farmer, and he can 

 select the best. 



Mr. Martin selects his sugar corn seed in the field; 

 he bends down the stalk right above the ear after 

 the corn is well set and then it ripens a week earlier 

 than usual, which is a great fltal gained in early 

 corn raised for market. 



Mr. Engle selects the most corn on the cob possi- 

 ble, and the best filled ear. He wants a thin cob 

 and long grains. You can by judicious selection get 

 almost any sized or shaped ear you wish. There is 

 much in the suckering; the suckers sometimes im- 

 pregnate the corn proper and help destroy or dimin- 

 ish a crop. 



James Wood thought the preservation of the seed- 

 corn after it is selected a matter of value. 

 The KiefTer Pear. 



Casper Hiller said, in reply to a question, that he 

 has a number of grafts and young trees of the Kief- 

 fer variety and none show signs of disease, although 

 Mr. Smeych showed him branches that were quite 

 black although the leaves were green. 



The Fruit Committee. • 



Messrs. Engle, Landis and Wood made the follow- 

 ing report on the fruit on exhibition : 



Although Lancaster county has very many vari- 

 eties of choice fruits, it is by no means an easy task 

 for anyone to make a special list for others to plant. 

 Your committee takes it for granted that the list 

 asked for is one for home use, and as some kinds ap- 

 pear to do better in some localities than in others, 

 and this is even sometimes the case on adjoining 

 farms, your committee can do no better than to 

 name such varieties as have a general reputntion for 

 productiveness, quality, etc. This list will, no doubt, 

 be quite too large for the general planter, but he 

 will not go far wrong in making his selection ac- ' 

 cording to season. 



Apples: Summer— All Summer, Primate, Red 

 Astrachan, Sine-Qua-Non, Garretson's Early. Late 

 Summer — Summer Sweet Paradise, Mellinger, Be- 

 noni. Maiden's Blush, Summer Hagloe, Jeffries, Au- 

 tumn and Early Winter— Smokehouse, Redstreaks, 

 Rambo, Hubbardston, Fallowater. Winter— Bald- 

 win, York Imperial, Smith's Cider, Dominie, New- 

 town, Pippin, (for clay soils). 



Pears : Summer— Doyenne D'ete, Maynard, (for 

 cooking,) Manning's Elizabeth, Elizabeth, Osborne's 

 Summer, Bartlett. Autumn— Seckel, Howell, Shel- 

 don, Beurred'Anjou. Winter— Lawrence. 



Peaches : Alexander, Mountain Rose, E. Rare- J 

 ripe, Old Mixon, Reeves' Favorite, Late Crawford, ■ 

 Smock's Late, Salway. " 



Plums: Richland, Wild Goose. 



Grapes : Telegraph, Hartford, Concord, Martha. 



