1881.J 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



179 



also of dry and green meats; also the differ- 

 ence between fresh and prepared fishes; and, 

 that the latter far transcend the former in 

 nutritive value. In this respect there is 

 nothing cheaper in the list than butter and 

 cheese, when we take into consideration the 

 /act that they have " no bone.s." My " Jolly 

 Herring" occupies no mean position in this 

 list of meat foods, and is only excelled by 

 "Master Cod." This fully illustrates why, 

 when a hungry man "improvises a meal at the 

 least trouble and expense, he sort of instinc- 

 tively patronizes "herring, crackers and 

 cheese." Salt mackerel is eleven "better" 

 than medium beef, and only one less than fat 

 beef, and yet to many, the very name of the 

 fish is a by-word and a reproach. In the 

 present advanced prices of nearly every thing 

 that passes between people's teeth, it may be 

 well to consult this list and only purchase that 

 kind of "fuel" that will make the warmest 

 "fire," and continue it longest. 



A CURIOUS BEETLE. 

 A recent issue of the New York Times says.- 

 The golden cueuyo which has been at Tiff-, 

 any's for some time is dead. It was one of 

 four or five specimens of this rare South Ameri- 

 can beetle in this city. They are regarded 

 with superstitious reverence by the women 

 of South America, and the few that are 

 caught, for the beetle is rare in its native 

 country, are fastened in tiny fetters of gold 

 and worn as an ornament. "A gold or gold 

 and jeweled baud iapa.ssed around the thorax, 

 to which is attached a slender gold chain 

 about four inches long which ends in a long 

 pin. This pin is thrust into a bouquet of 

 flowers on the shoulder or on the hat, and the 

 beetle IS left to ramble the length of the chain. 

 It is an uncanny looking black thing, about 

 two inches long. The true South American 

 cueuyo is a fire beetle, a single specimen 

 giving out light enough in a dark room to en- 

 able one to read a newspaper. They are 

 capable of living without food for a great 

 length of time. There is one in the city 

 which is not known to have eaten anything 

 in two years. The beotle at Titfany's proba- 

 bly died of overfeeding. Its appetite was 

 tempted with sweetened water and rotten 

 weed, but the creature paid no attention to 

 the food. A piece of banana was placed in 

 the bo.x which served for its cage, and it eager- 

 ly began eating it and clung to it for lliree 

 days, when it was found dead. It should be 

 mentioned in connection with the use of the 

 living beetle as an ornament to the ear or 

 dress that they have powerful jaws, and gnaw 

 their way through anything except metal in 

 a few hours. 



Exactly what wonderful insect this "cu- 

 euyo" is, it would be dilFicult to determine 

 from the name alone. At the Centennial 

 Exposition we saw quite a number of South 

 American (Brazilian) insects, many of which 

 were^set in jewelry, but we cannot recall the 

 cueuyo, and judging from the description 

 above, we should think it had little to com- 

 mend it, compared with the brilliant Curculi- 

 onidce then exhibited, especially those popu- 

 larly known as "Diamond-Beetles;" (Entimxts 

 reyalis, imperialis, spJendidus, etc.) unless in- 

 deed the former were chiefly valued for their 

 luminosity, which we imagine is the case, 

 for almost every visitor to the West-Indies 

 and South America, alludes immediately or 

 remotely to these; and in fact we have a num- 

 ber of them now in our possession, but none 

 of the luminous species are "black," but 

 slightly varying shades of brown. We have 

 them from BrazU, from Cuba, and from Cor- 



dova, in the Argentine Republic; and except 

 in varying size, they all appear to bo of the 

 same specii'S (Elutei- iwf.tilicus). Two of 

 those, now in our posession, were brought 

 from Cuba to Lancaster comity alive, but 

 they soon died, and the story that one lived 

 in New York two years without food needs 

 confirmation. Their longest lease on life is 

 in the larval period, and then they are wood- 

 borers, if they have any alliance, at all with 

 northern species of the same family,, El.vte- 

 iiiD^. But they cannot be rare, fur almost 

 every collection brought fr.om their kabiUU 

 contains a proportionally large number of 

 them. But they are very luminous, and their 

 luminosity is said to be continuous, and not 

 in scintilations like our common "Firc-lly," 

 {Pholinuii). Whilst the twoihat were brought 

 to this county were alive, they emitted suf- 

 ficient light to read thereby and their value as 

 an ornament is based entirely on this quali- 

 ty, when they are dead their luminosity 

 passes away, and then they have no special 

 quality to commend them. They are 

 not like the Diamond-Beetles, which are 

 pretty, dead or alive. If they are black 

 and "uncanny," we fail to see why they 

 should be named the "Golden cueuyo," un- 

 less the golden chain .employed to confine 

 them should convey that title. 



These insects are variously called "click- 

 beetle," "skip-jacks," "hammer-bugs," 

 "suapping-beetle," &c., and by the Germans, 

 "schuellkitferen." 



"WHICH BRINGS THE MOST MONEV ?" 

 "We have been inclined to think that tropi- 

 cal fruits in Florida would bring more money 

 to their producer per acre than could be got 

 out of an equal extent of ground ;lsewhore, 

 but seeing some figures of Mr. John L. Grif- 

 fins, of Norfolk, has rather unsettled our first 

 conclusion. When a profit of $300 per acre is 

 made on cabbages, as Mr. Grittin says he has 

 done, $500 on potatoes and $1,000 on cucum- 

 bers, we tremble for the tropical fruits. There 

 are some figures given as to strawberries, but 

 nothing denoting the yield in money per acre. 

 Certain it is that many competencies and some 

 fortunes have been made at truck farming. 

 The annual increase of the fruit and vegetable 

 crop represented by shipments from Norfolk, 

 is nearly §3,000,000. That is taking some 

 thing from the soil which sticks in the pocket, 

 and makes a comfortable bank account."— 

 Southern Fanner and Planter. 



We once heard a man say that he could raise 

 as many strawberries, "bushel lor bushel," 

 per acre, as any other man could potatoes ; 

 and one who knew him, but had not heard him 

 make the expression, assured us that if he said 

 so, he could do it ; for there was not a more 

 thorough and successful small-fruit grower in 

 the county where he resided, nor one more 

 truthful in his a-ssertions. His choice of ber- 

 ries would be the "Wilson." This berry 

 brings in our market here from 10 to 20 cents 

 per box, (less than a quart,) but will average 

 15 cents per box ; which is at least $4.00 per 

 bushel. Now, 300 bushels of potatoes can be, 

 and have been raised on an acre, and if the 

 yield of strawberries, "bushel for bushel," 

 can be made the same, the result would be 

 81,200 per acre, which is a little better than 

 the cucumbers alluded to in the above para- 

 graph ; either of which is better than tobacco. 

 Truck farming in the vicinities of Norfolk 

 and Richmond, or almo.st anywhere in the 

 South where the facilities for transportation 



exists, has atlvantages over the same occupa- 

 tion in the North, for the rea.sou that the 

 South can throw her truck into our market 

 about the time, or before we have prepared 

 our soil to plant the seed— about the time wo 

 are experii;neing a surfeit, a weariness or a 

 scarcity of old vegetation and are longing for 

 something new; but the moment ours gets 

 into market to compete with Southern truck, 

 the latter is discounted, Ijeeause of its stale 

 and limp condition comi>ared with the North- 

 ern truck. 



These facts and figures, however, illustrate 

 the value of truck-farming as compared with 

 fruit and grain farming under the most favora- 

 ble circumstances ; excepting, perhaps, what 

 is called "small fruit,"whieh always brings a 

 l>rice whether from the North or South, and 

 of which there never seems to be enough. 

 Tobacco growers argue that they can realize 

 suHicicnt out of their land to enable them to 

 purchase their produce el.sewhere rather than 

 raise it themselves, and have a handsome sur- 

 plus left. As long as this is so, they will not 

 •bother themselves about truck or any other 

 farming save tobacco. But there are many 

 others who do not, and who will not cultivate 

 tobacco, and if some of these would turn their 

 attention to truck or small-fruit farming in- 

 stead of delving for 15 bushels of wheat to the 

 acre, they would realize much more out of 

 their land and with less anxiety and labor. 



A few years moi'e of i)resent progress and 

 our entire country will l>e a viist net-work of 

 railroads, and the facilities of transportation 

 will be such that people will not be compelled 

 to cultivate on their land what they can buy 

 cheaper elsewhere than they raise it them- 

 selves. Intelligent and discriminating culti- 

 vation then will ameliorate the present hard- 

 ships of the farmer. 



"WRITTEN FOR THE FARM AND 

 GARDEN." 



Here we have before us an Agricultural 

 bantling just four months old, which has— 

 "Written for the Farm and Garden, " attached 

 to thirteen contributions, on thirteen different 

 subjects, and by thirteen different contribu- 

 tors; enough to make us envy its editor the 

 luxury of his "easy chair." When an appeal 

 comes up before the country for material aid 

 in behalf of those who have suffered by floods 

 and fires, and malarial disefises, no one can 

 justify himself in omitting to give, on the 

 ground that the appeal is not made personally 

 to him. It is not a pleasant oflico to impor- 

 tune people pei-sonally in relation to that 

 which should be done spontaneously, or from 

 a sense of duty. Goodness in any or all of its 

 forms is more or less an aggressive work, im- 

 Iielled by an innate sense of right, of justice, 

 and of humanity. If we possess a moral or 

 intellectual torch, it will burn none the less 

 brightly, by lighting the torch of our neigh- 

 bor. Indeed, the feeblest and briefest at- 

 tempt to impart knowledge to others, never 

 fails to confer a benefit upon ourselves. There 

 is no true teaching, the benefits of which arc 

 not mutual. This is essentially the case in 

 writing for a local journal. No man can write 

 an article without being self instructed and 

 self improved. Of cour.se, we feel thankful— 

 sincerely thankful - for any a-ssistance we may 

 have received from our contributors during 

 the past year, and shall continue to be thank- 



