1882.J 



THE LANCASTER FARME^^. 



59 



western portion of the State, and about one- 

 tliirtl of its jiresent area, land was sold from 

 1785 to until 1789 at $80 per hundred acres. 

 From 1789 until 1792 the price was *53.33i ; 

 from 1792 until 1817 it was $13. 33 J for all 

 cast nf the Allegheny river, bou^jht under the 

 1781 purchase. Lands secured Iiy the I'enn 

 heirs under tlie 1708 purcliase, which included 

 the northeastern and soutliwestera portions 

 of the colony, sold from 1792 until 1814 at 

 $6.fi0| per hundred acres ; these latter lands 

 have been selliuf? since that lime at $26.G0i. 

 Lauds improved agreeably to the act of 1792 

 are sold respectively at $0,601 and $13.33J 

 per hundred acres. Of course the lands still 

 at the disposal ol the State are neitiier very 

 choice nor of great extent. All the vacant 

 and unimproved lauds of the State are now 

 sold at $20,005 per hundred acres, except 

 lands lying north and west of the Ohio and 

 Allegheny rivers and the Conewago creek, 

 whicli are held at $20. It will be seen the 

 extreme range of prices under the proprietary 

 and the commonwealth for SOU acres ran all 

 the way from $33.33 to $206.67, which in- 

 cluded the choice lands of the State. We 

 have progressed somewhat since the early 

 days, when Lancaster county lands were to 

 be had at a little more than six cents an acre. 

 Three thousand acres jould have been pur- 

 chased then at the cost of a single acre to- 

 day. What is more, the surveyors didn't 

 look aft:r the odd perches quite as closely as 

 they do now. William Penn and his heirs 

 not only gave full measure, but threw in six 

 percent, additional "forroads and highways." 

 The purchasers of real estate in those days 

 certainly got the worth of their money if ever 

 men did." — New Era. 



A HOME FRUIT CANNING FACTORY. 



Among the little-known industries in this 

 county is the fruit-canning factory of Messrs. 

 C. Fell & Son, located at Kirk's Mills, in Lit- 

 tle Britain towusliip. We had a visit from 

 the senior member of the firm recently 

 who gave us some interesting particulars con- 

 cerning this industry in which he embarked 

 so extensively last year. 



The Messrs. Fell were induced to go into 

 the canning business because of the large 

 amount of different kinds of fruits and vege- 

 tables that went to waste on their own place 

 and also among their neighbors. Ths idea of 

 utilizing these, and thus saving what would 

 otherwise be lost, led them, in 1881, to begin 

 putting up tomatoes, apples, plums and sweet 

 corn. The result was when the season's work 

 was over many thousands of cans of these 

 fruits and vegetables had been prepared for 

 market. They are put up in one and two- 

 pound cans and find a market in this city and 

 in Philadeliihia. 



Nearly all the articles canned are grown by 

 the Messrs. Fell themselves, the rest being 

 purchased from the farmers in the neighbor- 

 hood. The tomatoes used were principally 

 the "Beefsteak" and "Acme" varieties. 

 The corn grown was Sloyle's evergreen. Some 

 dirticulty was liad in procuring a sufliciency of 

 tin cans lor their purpose, and most of those 

 used were made in Cecil county, Maryland. 

 During the heiglit of the season eighteen 

 hands were employed in the various processes 

 of canning. The quality of the articles put 

 up at this establishment is first-class, and is 

 more in demand as their excellent qualities 

 become better known. — New Era. 



Our Local Organizations. 



FULTON FARMERS' CLUB. 



March Meeting. 



The Becond Marcli meeting of the Club was held 

 at the rcsldcnue of Joseph P. (ireist, in Fulton town- 

 ship. There was a very large atti ndanee of mem- 

 bers and their families, besides several visitors. 



After the minutes of the last meeting liad been 

 read and approved, S. L. CJregg asked : " Which Is 

 the more profitable crop — wheal or corn ?" 



Joseph P. (iricsl : Wheat takes the longer season, 

 but does not require lliecare and attention that corn 

 does. It does not produce as many bus'.iels per acre 

 as corn, but I)riug8 a better price. On the whole, I 

 would think it more prolilable than corn. 



Day Wood : Fifty bushel.s per acre might be con- 

 sidered a fair average yield of corn and twenty of 

 wheat. At present prices — 70 cents per bushel for 

 corn and Sl.'JO for wheat— the diO'erence would more 

 than pay for the greater attention required by corn. 

 He would say that If tlie same amount of fertilizers 

 was used corn is the most profitable crop. 



Tliomas Stubbs: If fertilized alike, corn is more 

 profitable than wheat. Several others concurred in 

 this opinion. 



Day Wood : Is it a good time to sell wheat now ? 

 ,S. L. Gregg did not see anything to make it ad- 

 vance. There is enough wheat in the country to 

 supply the demand and a fine prospect for a good 

 crop next harvest. Reports also show that there has 

 been a great deal of spring wheat sowed in the West. 



Thomas Stubbs : Better sell anything when you 

 have it ready. 



E. H. Haines did not think it a good time to sell. 

 At present prices wheat is not a paying crop and 

 there was not much risk in holding it when prices 

 were low. 



.VIontilion Brown : What kind of fertilizers will be 

 used this spring for corn by those present ? 



S. L. Gregg : South Carolina rock and Q. and L. 

 (quick and lasting) bone seem to pay best at pres- 

 ent prices. For either wheat or corn would plow in. 



Jos. T. Greist will use barnyard manure; E. II. 

 Haines and Day Wood will use rock ; Thomas 

 Stubbs, Orchilla guano ; C. S. Gatchell rock and Q. 

 and L. bone. 



Melissa Gregg : Does any one know anything about 

 meat or .«oap vessels bniit of brisk and cemented ? 



Joseph P. Greist has one in his cellar. He uses it 

 for a soap vessel, and it answers the purpose well. 



Thomas Stubbs has one built partly of the cellar 

 wall and partly of brick. After drying it was 

 washed, cemeutedwith a brush, to fill up the cracks. 

 It makes a good soap vessel, but he would be afraid 

 to use it for meat, as cement, is said to taint. 



C. S. Gatchell said that one of bis neighbors had 

 one which be used to salt meat in. It answers the 

 purpose well. 



R. D. King: How many bushels of tomatoes can 

 be raised per acre ? 



William P. Harris ; It depends very much on the 

 land. One vine in his garden would produce as 

 many bushels as eight would in his field. 



E. Wilson : If they grow as they do in some 

 places a great many bushels can be grown on an 

 acre. He had known six bushels to he raised on a 

 piece of ground about ten by twelve feet. 



E. H. Haines : In Harford county 200 bushels are 

 considered a good crop. 



Day Wood thought that 200 bushels would be a 

 large yield for an average. One hundred bushels per 

 acre for 10 acres would be a fair average. 



E. 11. HaincK : Planted 4 feet apart, 2,700 plants 

 will stand on an acre, and at that rate it would take 

 27 plants to produce a bushel. 



E. H. Haines : Does the seedling peach tree live 

 longer than the grafted ? 



Wm. P. Harris did not find much difference; 

 neither of them bears more than two crops. 



S.L. Gregg: Not much difference; if anything, 

 the seedling has It. 



Joseph C. Stubbs had better luck when he planted 

 in fence corners and gave them no care. He knew 

 an old nurseryman that planted some peach trees In 

 fields and some in fence corners, and the ones In the 

 fence corners did the best. 



C. S. Gatchel said that seedlings did best for him. 

 He had not had a grafted tree to do any good for the 

 last fifteen years. 



Thomas Stubbs : A tree that bus no care seems to 

 do better and bear longer than those that are belter 

 cared for. He had known some trees to be brought 

 to that were quite yellow by putting walnUt hulls 

 around them. 



E. H. Haines said he made a garden several years 

 ago. He planted some peach trees, both grafted and 

 seedling, Ihiiiking that they would not live long. 

 The grafted trees soon died. The seedlings are alive 

 yet. 



Priscilla Coates said that they had, some years 

 ago, an orchard of ten acres. It bore five full crops. 

 The ground was cultivated in potatoes. Every spring 

 and fall the borers were taken out and salt was put 

 around the trees— not against them. The trees were 

 all grafted. 



After dinner the usual inspection of the farm and 

 live stock was made by the Club, and after it had 

 again convened in the house criticisms were called 

 for. 



S. L. Gregg thought there was no improvement In 

 the stock. The farm was looyng fine, and the shed 

 over the barnyard was much improved. 



Montillion Brown was not here last year. The farm 

 looks well now. 



Thomas Stubbs ; He has a rather remarkable fleld 

 of wheal. It looks healthier than any in the neigh- 

 borhood. It always has had a healthy appearance. 



E. H. Haines: His slock has materially changed 

 in kind. It is good. He has a new breed of bogs 

 (small Yorkshire). There is not much wasted In 

 nose. 



Joseph P. Greist read from Scrib7ier an article de- 

 cribing an automatic machine for destroying insects 

 that was exhibited at the Atlanta Exposition. 



Montillion Brown read an article from the New 

 York Tribune on covering grapes while ripening with 

 paper bags, and asked if any one present had any 

 experience with the method. 



Tliere was one who had tried tying paper bags 

 around the clusters, but there were several that had 

 noticed that grapes would ripeu much nicer in the 

 shade than in the sunshine. 



A paper was found lying on the floor which proved 

 to be another communication from the "Old Woman." 



She had been waiting impatiently (or ihe new 

 Scripture to come out. She wanted to know if It 

 would make Adam to be so mean as the old one did, 

 to e.it the apple himself and then lay all the blame 

 ou Eve.. Now she had got it and found that what 

 was published did not go back as far as Adam by 

 four thousand years, so she would have to wait a 

 good wnile longer before she was satisfled. 



But she had been looking over it and she did not 

 find any more comfort for those who were in the 

 habit of practicing sharp tricks in their dealings 

 than she did in the old. 



Priscilla B Coates recited " Some Day." 



The Club next proceeded to elect oflicers for the 

 ensuing year, with the following result : President, 

 William King; Secretary, E. H. Haines; Treasurer, 

 Lindley King; Librarian, Day Wood. 



Mabel H . Greist, Sadie Brown, Joel King and Mon- 

 tillion Brown were appointed to furnish literary 

 matter for the next meeting, which will be held at 

 the residence of Lindley King on the second Satur- 

 day in April. 



April Meeting. ^/ 



The Fulton Farmers' Club met at the residence of 

 Lindley King, near Wakefield, April Sth, 1882. 



Grace A. King exhibited some apples to be named 

 and they were pronounced to be Tewkesbury Winter 

 Blush, a variety of remarkable keeping qualities. 



Jesss Yocum exhibited a sample of some Russian 

 oato which he had purchased for seed. Also a few 

 potatoes of an unknown variety which he estimated 



