1882.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



61 



Insects — and especially ants — are supposed to be 

 endowed with a very liie^li order ol' iiistiiiet — niiiny 

 claim for tlietn reasoning powers ; and yet thri/, witli 

 many other animals, make many mistakes under the 

 niisKUiding inlluenees of heat and cold, or liirlit and 

 darkness. For instauee, chickens inslinetively hie 

 them to their roosts about sunset, wlietiier it "rains 

 or shines"; and yet it is on reet)rd tliat eliiek(;ns 

 have retired to their roosts at midday, when a total 

 eclipse ol' the sun prevailed. Triitbl'ul as they are 

 penerally esteemed as the heralds of the "lireak of 

 day, "they made a L^rave mistake in this instance, 

 not being able to distinguish between noon and night. 

 The ants under consideration, seemed l(» have been 

 in a similar 'Mix," not being able to distinguish be- 

 tween summer and artilieial heat. We knew of a 

 "white cabbage butterlly" ( ruria rii/nr) to evolve 

 from the jjupa in the month of February, wln^u 

 there absolutely was snow on the ground. Notwith 

 standing a snow had fallen, the weather was mild 

 and the sun came out strong, and perhai>s the snow- 

 may have assisted in bringing the pupa within the 

 fhcal rays of the sun. Of course it starved to ilcath, 

 for there was no green thing for it to feed on for 

 months. 



On one occasion, on the Sd of December, we found 

 about twenty ''striped cueumlter beetles {Dlahhotica 

 vill(ita) vigorously feeding on a plant on 

 the sunny side of a hill, in proxinnty to 

 a log, the plant having remained verdant, under the 

 protection atforded by said log and continued warm 

 weather, without the instinctive Ibrewarning, thet 

 on the morrow it would snow, and then free/,**, which 

 actually occurred. The fad is they were deceived by 

 the prevailing heat: they became hungry, and came 

 forth from their place of inbernation without knowing 

 wfiether it was June or Decmber, and bcim/ hungry, 

 they naturally must have something to eat. Last 

 winter snakes were found abroarl in Fel)ruary, as ac- 

 tive as in summer, notwithstanding the "(^roumi- 

 hog " had admonished them that there would lie six 

 weeks of winter weather after "candle-mas." In- 

 deed, intelligent human beings themselves, often 

 commit the blunder of doOing their heavy winter 

 under-clothing on the first warm dawning of spring, 

 and thereby contract many injurious cold. The re- 

 animation of insects during a period when they 

 could obtain no food, and lotting them starve to 

 death, would be a much surer means of their destruc- 

 tion than to depend on them being frozen to death 

 during a severe winter. Although the tenure of 

 animal life seems to hang on a delicate thread, yet 

 the vital Ibrces of nature are often manifested in a 

 most extraordinary manner, and under the, seem 

 ingly, most unfavorable circumstances. Many years 

 ago we noticed the single stem of a "wild aster" 

 that had fallen across a much-used foot jnit.h, where 

 the apex was trodden oil'. It then threw out laterals 

 at each axil, and the ends, too, of these were soon 

 trodden off, and these Laterals threw out others ; 

 and this continued until late iu autumn. Then it 

 bloomed, but instead of a dozen large flowers like 

 its cogeners, it produci d hundreds of very small 

 flowers; its main stem and root were twice as large 

 as those near it ; and instead of a slender straggling 

 plant, it was a dense green bush, full of flowers. It 

 seemed determined to grow, and to bloom, notwith- 

 standing the rough usage it met with. Fertilized 

 female insects manifest the same determination un- 

 der tlmilar unfavorable auspices. 



Curculio in Hlum Culture. 



Mr. Isaac KaulTman, Mountville, Pa., is reported 

 in the Lancaster Examlnci- as having two plum trees 

 of the same variety and apparently ei|ual vigor, one 

 of which bore nothing this year while the other was 

 abundantly loade<! with fruit in consequence of hav- 

 ing been "shaken every morning for ten days while 

 in blossom." Experienced plum-growers well know 

 that merely shaking the trees with no ellbrt (o de- 

 stroy the curieulio as they are thus felled to the 

 ground will do no possible good. Even if the wee 

 vils are destroyed, either by chickens kept cooped 

 under the trees, or by catching on a sheet and de- 

 stroying them, the work must be continued, not 

 merely ten days, l)ut five or six weeks, so long, iu 

 fact, as the curculio are caught. Apropos to the 

 above is a remark made to me a few days since by 

 Judge Kamsdell, the most extensive and successful 

 plum-grower iu Michigan. He said that the curculio 

 was an advantage to him, as in bearing years they 

 would so thin out the plums as to make his crop far 

 more valuable, and by carefully gathering ail the 

 wormy fruit in such seasons, as soon as it fell, and 

 burning it, he so thinned the insects that the expense 

 or fighting tliLin during the off-year, aud saving the 

 small crop, was quite light. He placed great stress 

 en the importance of gathering and destroying all 

 the wormy fruit as fast as it fell from the tree. — 

 Profeuor A. J. Cook, Michigait Agricultural College. 



Birds and Canker Worms. 

 The most serious losses of the farmer and gard- 

 ener, due to insects, are not consequent upon the 

 ordinary and uniform dejn'edations of those species 

 whose numbers remain nearly constant, year after 

 year, but upon excessive and extraordinary depreda 



tlons of those, the numbers of which pre subject to 

 wide fluctuations. Vegetation has become so far 

 adjusted to our crickets, orilinary grasshoppers, etc., 

 that the foliage which they eat can be spared with- 

 out injury to the plant, and the damage done by 

 them is commonly imperceptible. It is far other 

 wise, however, with the vast hordes of the Kocky 

 Mounrain Locust, the Colorado I'otato Beetle, 

 Chinch Bug, .\rmy Worm and many other species, 

 which occasionally swarm prodigiously and then 

 almost disappear. Tin; injurious species are there 

 fore, chiefly the oscillating on(?s, and the dangerous 

 species are tiiose which show a tendency to oscillate. 

 Anything which tends to limit the fluctuations of an 

 oscillating species, or to prevent the oscillation of a 

 BtabU^ species, is therefore hichly useful; while any- 

 thing which tends to intensify an oscillation, or to 

 convert a stable species into an oscillating one, is as 

 highly pernit^ious.— /'ro/. .S'. A. Forbes, in American 

 Agriculturist. 



Agriculture. 



Sowing the Seed. 



There is no more proliflc source of disappointment 

 and failure among amateur gardeners, says 1). M. 

 Ferry, in his seed annual, than hasty, careless, or im- 

 proper sowing of the seed. A seed consists of 

 a minute plant minus the roots, with a sufllcient 

 amount of food stowed in or around it to sustain it 

 until it can expand its leaves, form roots and pro 

 viile for itself, the whole inclosed in a hard and 

 mere or less impervious shell. To secure germina- 

 tion, moisture, heat, aud a certain amount of air are 

 necessary. The first steps, are the softening of the 

 har*l, outer shell, the developing of the leaves of the 

 plant from the absorption of water, and the 

 changing of the plant food from the form of 

 starch to that of sugar. In the first condition the 

 food was easily preserved unchanged, but the plant 

 with its undeveloped leaves and no root was lucapa 

 ble of using it, while in its sugary condition is easily 

 appropriated; but if not used it speedily decays itself 

 and induces decay iu the plaut. A seed then may re- 

 tain its vitality and remain unchanged for years, 

 while after germination has commenced, a check of a 

 day or two in the process may be fatal. There is no 

 time from that when the seed falls from the parent 

 plant until it in turn produces seed, ripens and dies 

 when the plant is so susceptible of latal injury from 

 the over abundance or want of heat and moisture as 

 that between the commencement of germination and 

 the formaliou of the first true leaves, aud it is just 

 then that it needs the aid of the gardener to secure 

 favorable conditions. These are : 



First. A proper and constant degree of moisture, 

 without being soaked with water. This is secured by 

 making the surface of freshly dug soil so fine that 

 the smallest seeds may come in immediate contact on 

 ail sides with the particles from which they arc to 

 absorb the required moisture, and the pressing of the 

 soil over the seeds so firmly with the feet or the 

 back of a hoe that the degree of moisture may re 

 main as nearly as possible the same until the plants 

 are up. Second. A proper degree of heat, sccurcil 

 by sowing each variety of seed when the average 

 temperature of the locality is that most favorable for 

 Its germination. Third. Covering the seed to such a 

 depth that, while it is preserved at a uniform de- 

 gree of heat and moisture, the necessary air can 

 readily reach it, aud the tiny stem push the forming 

 leaves into the light and air. This depth will vary 

 witli dirterent seeds aud conditions of the soil, and 

 can be learned only from practical experience. In 

 general seeds of the size of the turnip should be cov- 

 ered with half an inch of earth pressed down; while 

 corn maybe an inch, beans two or three, and peas 

 two to six inches deep. Fourth. Such conditiou of 

 soil that the ascending stem can easily penetrate it, 

 and the young roots speedily find suitable food. We 

 can usually secure this by thorough preparation of 

 the ground, and taking care never to sow fine seeds 

 when the ground is wet. Occasionally a heavy or 

 long continued rain, followed by a bright sun, will so 

 bake and crust the surface that it is impossible for 

 the young plant to find its way through it; or a few 

 days of stong wind will so dry the surface that no 

 seed will germinate. In such cases our ouly remedy 

 is to try again. 



Clover and Grass. 



In all cases where laud was laid down to grass last 

 fall iJlthcr with winter rye or without, a careful ex- 

 amination should bo made to see if there are not por- 

 tions winter-killed, and re-sow with seed all such 

 places; the seed will catch and grow without har- 

 rowing. Clover seed may be added early this month 

 at the rate of ten pounds per acre with success, the 

 crackling of the ground by the action of the frost 

 will afford ample covering. It is feared that the 

 value of clover is not fully appreciated ; it is very 

 nutritious to stock, and on the whole increases the 

 fertility of the soil rather than ditninishing it, and 

 may well be considered an importaiit branch of good 

 husbandry. 



Clover. 

 N. Orltlln says there is no subtltutc for clover, 

 so far as I know— nothing to take Its place. It is 

 better in its eflVct on land than any otiier forage 

 plant. It Is said that a good crop of clover— say such 

 a crop as will yield two tons of cured hay'',from an 

 acre— will have an equal weight of roots for the 

 soil. That is like a coat of manure. I am sorry to 

 hear that clover is falling into disrepute, forjits reno- 

 vating powi-r is greater than that of any other olant. 

 Lately clover docs better than In a few years pait.eo 

 I hope we shall soon have all the old measure of sue 

 cess. Many years ago the farms In Dutchess county 

 used to give large erops of timothy ami they were 

 taken away and sold. Those farms are now ex- 

 hausted—ruined because the crops were taken ofT. 

 But clover is never all taken off when the roots arc 

 left. Forty live years ago a great deal of timothy 

 was raised in Tompkins county, N. Y., and the land 

 that produced it ran down under Its production and 

 the occupants had to turn their attention to clover. 

 At first it was difficult to get it established, but little 

 by little under its influence the lands grew better. 

 Farmers had to ditch their lands as the first condi- 

 tion, then they used plaster, and at last got full crops 

 of clover and better crops of grain, for their lands 

 Improved through clover. Hungarian grass has been 

 tried, but, like timothy, when the crop is taken ofT 

 nothing IS left, and the soil becomes poor. The best 

 crop is that which leaves most to the soil, and that 

 is what clover does. I hope it will not lose its place 

 in our farming, for there is no other plant so bene- 

 ficial in its effect. 



Ploughing. 

 Do not plough land until it is dry enough to be 

 turned without packing like mortar under the trowel, 

 and it is important to harrow befbrc the furrows 

 have dried much, else tln-re will be hard lumps that 

 will be dillicult to dispo.se of all summer. It is be- 

 lieved that great mischief has been perpetrated by 

 theoretical agrii-ultural writers |hercIofore by advo- 

 cating deep pliMighing. A shallow eoil may be deep 

 eiied very gradually as the quantity of manure is 

 Increased, but not faster. The process of increasing 

 the depth of the soil should be principally at fall 

 ploughing. It is believed that farmers generally do 

 not plough enough ; there is no labor labor lost by 

 an extra ploughing or two. A thorough pulveriza- 

 tion of the soil is necessary for the best results at 

 farming; some of the new harrows do excellent 

 work in this direction and at small cost. 



Potatoes. 

 It is better to plant potatoes early, then a second 

 crop may be grown on the same land after they are 

 olf; either fall turnips, Hungarian grass, or land 

 may be sown down to grass with the best success. 

 Better plant in drills, cover with a plough, then har- 

 row and drag just before they come up. Thorough 

 cultivation should be made without any hand-hoeing. 

 Economy of !ab;)r should be carefully studied, aim 

 ing to secure the best results with the least labor. 



Onions. 



It is folly to expect a good crop without the best 

 of seed, thorough preparation of land and manure. 

 They should be sown by the ■Z.')lh of this month, if 

 the land is in suitable condition. Between three and 

 four pounds of seed is about right per acre. 



HORTJCL rURE. 



i= 



The Rhubarb Plant. 



No garden is complete unless It contains a few 

 riiubarb platits. They are often grown on the edges 

 of walks and sometiu.cs marthe fences, when but a 

 few are wanted. Khubarb is excellent for pies, and 

 when prepared the same as when ready for pies It 

 can be put away in jars and preserved for future use. 

 Roots SCI out this year will produce good-sized stalks 

 next year. The plants will do best if supplied with a 

 dressing of well-rotted manure and an occasional 

 watering with soapsuds. Plaster also benefits them, 

 as likewise will common salt. In dividing the roots 

 for planting a portion of the crown should remain 

 with each section. Ithubarb needs good cultivation, 

 aud the soil should be kept mellow. .Mulching also 

 assists the plants. 



The Mulberry Trees. 



As the subject of silk culture is receiving consider- 

 able attention in the Uuited States, a few items 

 from this section may he of interest. I live near a 

 colony of Kussian Meunonltes, who immigrated 

 from Russia about seven vears ago. The mulberry 

 tree was introduced into their colonies in Russia by 

 the Czar, for the purpose of silk culture aud to fa- 

 cilitate rain fall. He compelled his subjects to buy 

 trees of the government, and each land liolder had 

 to plant a certain number. They soon learned their 

 value, and that silk culture was not the only consid- 

 eration iu raising them. They found the timber very 

 desirable for fuel. It also furnished the finest ma- 



