THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



163 



We clip the foregoing from the Xorthwestern 

 Farmer and Dairyman (Oregon), Perhaps a 

 more proper question would be, " Where docs 

 dew come from V" We have long been tivught 

 that it comes from moisture, whether that 

 moisture is in the earth or the air) and that 

 moisture is vaporized water. The experiment 

 of the "tin cover" had incidentally been ob- 

 served himdrcds of times,even under inverted 

 cans, bueliets and boxes, and especially me- 

 tallic ones. From this it would appear that 

 dew does not fall from above, but that it is 

 condensed vapor, rising from the earth; ac- 

 cording to which — 



" When twilight dews are falling fast 

 Upon the rosy lea," 



as a scientific /act, is most "dreadfully worst- 

 ed," however poetical it may be. 



We have said, i', \oould appear, because this 

 experiment is by no moans conclusive. For 

 instance, you go out into your garden, especi- 

 ally towards the end of the summer, early in 

 the morning, and you find the leaves all heav- 

 ily covered with dew, and this is particularly 

 conspicuous on the large leaves of the low 

 vegetation, such as Egg-plants, Rhubarb, 

 Cabbages, Red-beets, Turnips, &c., but tins 

 dew is always on the upper surfaces of the 

 leaves, and none on the lower surfaces, whilst 

 around the bases of the plants, as f.ar as over- 

 shadowed by the leaves, the earth is as dry 

 as powder. This looks very much as if the 

 dew falls from above, and in one sense it really 

 does fall. And this dew will be found on the 

 leaves of the tallest shrubbery and on the still 

 taller trees: yea, even on high house tops. 

 Every morning when we arise the first outdoor 

 object that meets our view is a housetop, and 

 the meteorological character of the weather is 

 indicated by 'its appearance in relation to dew. 

 As long as said roof is covered with dew it 

 bodes no rain that day, at least not in the 

 early part of it, but when it is perfectly dry, 

 a rain is surely brewing. We never witnessed 

 a wet roof for a longer period of consecutive 

 days than we did the past summer. Although 

 we have no idea that this dew fell down from 

 the clouds in the upper air, from whence 

 rain falls, yet the condensation of vapor into 

 dew occurs at a sufficient altitude to lead to the 

 superficial notion that it falls from above. Of 

 course, when the vapor-charged heat arises 

 from the earth, it is not condensed until it 

 comes in contact with a colder medium — a 

 medium sufficiently cold to condense it— and 

 this it does not encounter immediately at the 

 surface. Condensation, however, loill take 

 place, under favorable circumstances, at the 

 distance of an inch, or perhaps less, above, as 

 may be seen on the underside of a metal lid, 

 or even a slab of tin or sheet iron lying on the 

 earth. 



Steam itself is said to be invisible, and only 

 becomes visible when it comes in contact with 

 tlie colder air and is changed into vapor, and 

 the colder the air the more dense it becomes, 

 and yet this condensation commences immedi- 

 stely almost, after it passes the nozzle of the 

 steam pipe. 



We may hence infer that heated vapor ex- 

 haling from the earth is governed by a similar 

 law, and that it condenses under metal at a 

 very low altitude, because of its conducting 

 properties— of cold as well as heat. 



The moisture on the ice-pitcher, or on the 

 outside of a bottle or jar filled with ice-water, 

 has very little to do with the phenomenon of 

 dew. That merely illustrates that the atmos- 

 phere is always charged with more or less va- 

 por, which is condensjjd where it comes in 

 contact with a medium sufficiently cold to 

 effect it. But, any one who has ever camped 

 out at night, in summer, must be convinwd 

 that dew falls— hom whatever height— at 

 least, we have often felt it falling on us ; bnt, 

 whether high or low, does not aO'ect the ques- 

 tion "lo/iere the dew comes from." The prin- 

 ciple of rain and rainfall, is somewhat dif- 

 ferent from that of dew and dew-fall. The 

 source of rain is the evaporation of moisture 

 by the sun's heat, during the day— carried 

 into the upper strata of the atmosphere, and 

 held there, until the globules are of sufficient 

 specific gravity to be aftected by the earths at- 

 traction of gravitation; the drops being first 

 individually enlarged by the attraction of co- 



PENNSYLVANIA FRUIT GROWERS- 

 SOCIETY. 



The annual meeting of this veteran society 

 will be held in the rooms of the State Boakd 

 OF Aguicultuke, at Harrisburg, Pa., be- 

 ginning on the third Wednesday of January, 

 next,{10ih), and continuing until Saturday, the 

 21st. The programme and general details 

 will appear in our December number. 



Our readers will remember that this asso- 

 ciation was organized at the Cooper House, in 

 Lancaster city, more than a score of years 

 ago, and has maintained its organization in- 

 tact down to the present time ; and that its 

 meetings are always looked forward to with 

 interest, not only by the fruit-growers of our 

 own State, but also by many in neighboring 

 States. Whether fruit, and fruit-growing, is 

 a failure or a success, there is none the less 

 need of such an association, because it is just 

 of as much importance to know how and why 

 we fail in any enterprise, as it is to know how 

 and why we succeed ; the object of the society 

 being the development and diffusion of knoud- 

 edye, relating to the "art and science" of 

 fruit-growing and fruit-improving. 



POULTRY EXHIBITION 



From the proceedings of our local society in 

 another column of thisinimber of the F aumeij, 

 it will be observed that it will hold its Third 

 Poultry Show in Excelsior Hall, East King 

 street, Lancaster, in January, 1882, further 

 particulars of which will be given in our next. 



They have secured competent judges from 

 abroad, and every thing seems to promise a 

 successful exhibition. 



EXCERPTS. 



One of the beauties of rapid communica- 

 tion is seen in the importation of a cargo of 

 cabbage from Oldenburg, Gerraauy. No 

 sooner was it known that the cabbage erop 

 would be short in this country than an enter- 

 prising firm at once ordered a cargo from 

 Europe, and on Saturday it reached Balti- 

 more. This is the first time this vegetable 

 has ever been imported into this country, al- 

 though it often crosses the ocean in the accep- 

 table form of saur kraut. 



Never iron a calico dress on the right side. 



If ironed smoothly on the wrong side there 

 will be no danger of white spots and gloss, 

 which give the new dress, done up for the 

 first time, the appearance of a time-worn gar- 

 ment. 



NirriiiNG IS better to clean silver with tlian 

 alchohol and ammimia. After rubbiug with 

 this take a little whitening on a soft cloth and 

 polish in this way. Even frosted silver which 

 fs so dilHcull to clean, may be easily made 

 clear aud briglit. 



Prokessoii Rn^EY says that Kerosene oil 

 is sure death to insects in all stages, and the 

 only substance with which we may hope to 

 destroy their eggs. 



To prevent blistering the palm of your 

 hand while ironing, make a holder of many 

 thicknesses of paper. You can use another 

 holder over this, and so prevent tlie soreness 

 sure to follow when one unaccustomed to it is 

 obliged to iron. It is a good plan some rainy 

 day when nothing presses to make up a year's 

 supply of holders. Bits of clean cari)et or 

 pieces of "comforts" are good for the founda- 

 tion. Cover with new calico, and sew a brays 

 curtain ring to one corner to hang them by. 

 You will not regret an hour or two given to 

 this work. 



Geese are easily kept. Grass and water 

 form their chief requirements. These with a 

 fair supply of corn, oats and fjoiled potatoes, 

 make up their bill of fare. 



In testing eggs, the fresher the egg the 

 smaller the air cliamber. This can be seen at 

 the broad end of the egg if it be held against 

 a strong light in a dark room. Stale eggi 

 have a mottled, grayish look about them. A 

 new-laid egg will always give a feeling of 

 warmth if the tongue is pressed to the large 

 end. 



By keeping your poultry yard tidy, it will 

 go a great way toward making sales and in- 

 creasing the repntation of the breeder. 



Short fine wool contains the largest pro- 

 portion of fat. Pure wool hair contains 

 about .sixteen per cent, of nitrogen. 



Five lumdred thousand tons is said to be 

 the aimual production of coffee. 



Cloves have been brought into the Eu- 

 ropean market for more than 2,000 years. 



Select the earliest and best ears of corn 

 fo)- seed. 



An agreeable flavor in cattle food stimu- 

 lates appetite and probably promotes diges- 

 tion. 



Tue tops of onions should be broken over 

 close to the ground to prevent their running 

 to scullions. 



Seeding for wheat with the drill most com- 

 monly effects a saving of grain and a gain of 

 oiie-tenth on the crop. 



Tue word toad expresses in several of the 

 languages of Europe its habit of swelling. 



Newfoundland dogs have been kept by 

 the city, in Paris, to save human life in the 

 Seine. 



Tue soot of soft coal dusted upon onions 

 when wet with dew is said to be a remedy for 

 the oniou maggot. The mother fly from 

 which the maggot comes closely resembles the 

 house fly. As the soot is a good fertilizer 

 nothing is lost in its application. 



The food of the Greenland whale is a small 

 crustaceous animal not so large as a common 

 shrimp. 



