I 



The Lancaster Farmer. 



Dr. S. S. BATHVON, Editor. 



LANCASTER, PA., MAY, 1882. 



Vol. XIV. No. 6. 



Editorial. 



PYRETHRUM. 

 The present numbei- of tlie Farmeu we de- 

 vote largely to the reproduction of the circu- 

 lar i.ssued by the Department of Agriculture, 

 on the history, cultivation, prc'paration, use, 

 and modes of application of Pi/rHlirum, as an 

 insecticide; and we ask for it the respectful 

 and thoughtful perusal of our patrons and 

 readers; and not only a jienisal of the paper, 

 but also an intelligent anil determined eftbrt 

 to cuUivnte it — the same intelligence and de- 

 termination that is evoked in the cultivation 

 of tobacco, or any other plant possessing in- 

 trinsic value. In view of the bare iMssihility 

 of an ettiux of noxious insects at any time, 

 without any forewarning whatever, it be- 

 hooves thecultivatiorsof tlie soil to know how 

 to produce, prepare, and apply a simple anti- 

 dote against the invasion and destruction of 

 their croi)s by the.se pests and other noxious 

 animals. ^Tothing seems more certain than 

 that the higher the state of vegetable cultiva- 

 tion, the more liable it is to the destructive 

 attacks of noxious insects, and therefore the 

 hane and antidote should occupy parallel lines 

 in the routine of agricultural production. Any 

 man or woman that can successfully cultivate 

 the "common Aster," as an ornamental 

 plant, may be equally successful in the cultiva- 

 tion of Pynthrum, as a useful plant. Noxious 

 insects are animals that we may expect to 

 have to deal with as long as a single blade of 

 grass is grown upon this earth, and it seems a 

 lack of wisdom even to expect thir total ex- 

 tinction, or perhaps to ever desire it. They 

 certainly must be of some use or their exis- 

 tence would never have been permitted; but 

 there is no hsc that may not be perverted, or 

 be transmuted into abuse. Hence, against a 

 redundancy of noxious insects, the providen- 

 tial farmer shoulil always be forearmed, or 

 forewarning would be of very little avail. 

 The Agricultural Department has distributed 

 a limited amount of the seeds of Fyrcilirum, 

 but they can now also be obtained at many of 

 the seed- stores— especially those in the larger 

 towns and cities. 



We thankfully acknowledge the receipt of 

 three papers of Fyrctlirum seeds from the 

 Department, one of which, (P. cinerarirrfo- 

 liwn, from Transcaucasia,) we have placed in 

 the hands of Mr. John Zimmerman, and an- 

 other (Pyretlirum roseum, grown in Austria,) 

 in the hands of Mr. George Hensel, who pro- 

 pose to make a a practical test of their culti- 

 vation in this locality. The third paper (P. 

 cineraria'foUum, from California,) we propose 

 to test on our own premises, unless we feel 

 convinced that it would be better to place it 

 in other hands. The celebrated "Persian 

 Insect Powder," which has been on the mar- 

 ket for a dozen years or more, and which is 

 represented to be "sudden death " to "bed- 

 bugs, rats and roaches," is nothing more nor 

 less than the pulverized flowers of a plant of 

 the composite oidev, and is allied to Pyrethrum, 



if it does not belong to the same genus. Some 

 years ago, a vegetable powder called " Bu- 

 hach,"orC. X. Milco's California Universal 

 Insect E.i:terminator, was l)rouglit out and 

 widely distributed, but we hav) seen or heard 

 nothing of it, pro or con, since its lirst pro- 

 duction, either in an agricultural or an ento- 

 mological jouriuil, and wc somehow came to 

 the conclusion that it proved valueless for 

 the purpose proposed. 



The provident and foreseeing farmer is per- 

 fectly cognizant of the fact that a routine of 

 domestic obligations annually devolve upon 

 him, which cannot possibly be evaded or 

 ignored, and heirce he hal)itually makes ample 

 provision for them. lie requires a sullicient 

 quantity of food, of fuel, of clothing, of 

 shelter, and the usual concomitants of civili- 

 zation, not only for his individual self, but for 

 all that is subordinate to his social and do- 

 mestic rule. And these things he provides 

 understandingly, methodically and continu- 

 ously, because he knows that both he and his 

 will stand in need of them as long as life re- 

 mains. They are not regarded as mere inci- 

 dentals, or probabilities, or guess-work, but 

 as things inevitable, and that cannot be com- 

 promised. Let him in addition to these, 

 make provision for the continued destruction 

 of noxious insects, for, depend upon it, like 

 "the poor," we shall "always have them 

 with us." 



THE KITCHEN GARDEN FOR MAY. 



"In tlie Middle States, during the past 

 month, some of the hardier vegetables will have 

 been sown, but perhaps not as freely as in 

 former years; April having been unusually, 

 and continuously cold; but by the middle of 

 the present month, all will probably have 

 been [mt in ; hence the labor will now mainly 

 consist of the various operations of trans- 

 planting, thinning, weeding, lioi ing, &c. The 

 tollowing alpliabelical directions will serve as 

 a reminder to the uiipracticed gardener who 

 is also referred to the directions for April. 



Pcaii.s, Bush, plant for succession: Lima, 

 Carolina and other " pole-bcar.s " may now be 

 planted. Beets, long sow; Cabbwje plani, 

 sow seed, if not done last nifinth. Carrot, 

 long orange, sow. Caidijhiwir, in frames, re- 

 move glasses. Celery, weed. Crops which have 

 failed when first sown, repeat sowings. Cu- 

 cumbirs, Early Frame, plant. Lettuce, large 

 cabbage and Indian Dutch Butter, sow in 

 drills to stand ; thin out if loo thick. Melons 

 plant; the best is Landreth's Boss -see note 

 below. Parsnips thin out, if ready. ]y<cds 

 destroy as they appear, and hoe and other- 

 wise cultivate thcadvancing crops ; it is need- 

 less to particularize each duty. Where the 

 interest and taste lead to gardening, direc- 

 tions for every operation are necessarv to but 

 few. Is it not, however, discreditabfe to the 

 character of many farmers who till their own 

 land, and should reap the reward of well cul- 

 tivated gardens, that none but the simplest 

 vegetables may be found upon their tables, 

 and in too many instances that scanty supply 

 is the result of woman's labor V 



We have in former issues of the Rural 

 Reoisteu recommended a ' Farmcr\s Kitchen 

 Garden.'' where nearly all the jireparation of 

 the land may be done by horsepower, and thus 

 most ample supplies of vegetables be obtained 

 at all seasons, without hand labor or occupa- 



from farm duties, and the women of the 

 houshold relieved from toiling to supply 

 housc'hold wants."— /ya)}cZrct/t's Jiural Rcu. 



for 1882. 



In this connection it may not be inappro- 

 priate to mention a new Water-melon of rare 

 quality which has beenoriginat('d by the Lan- 

 drelhsand named the "Boss," which possess- 

 es (lualities calculated to make it more popu- 

 lar than that term has become in the political 

 world. When "Bossism" is founded upon 

 real merit, there certainly can be no valid ob- 

 jection to its universal prevelance. 



The special merits of this melon are the 

 following: "Early, large in size, long in shape, 

 and very heavy. Rind thin but very tough, 

 dark green in color, slightly ribbed, showy in 

 appearance. Flesh more highly colored than 

 any other melon in existence, crystalline or 

 granulated, melting, of unusually fine (lavor, 

 and extending within an inch of the skin. A 

 variety certainly valuable either for shipping 

 or home consumption." It is confidently re- 

 commended as the best melon in the market, 

 by those \vhoA:no(« all the sorts of this luscious 

 and refreshing yourd. 



Of course, it might be deemed more appro- 

 priate to discuss the subject of Water-melons 

 ih the months of .luly and August ; but, as 

 they are not a spontaneous production we 

 must "begin in the begiiming," and that &e- 

 ijining would be too late in those two months; 

 for, from seed to matured fruit there is a 

 pretty long "slip between cup and lip" in the 

 development of the melon, as well as in other 

 subjects of the vegetable kingdom. 



GAPES vs. ENTOMOLOGY. 



With all their knowledge of insect life, the 

 entomologists have not yet solved the problem 

 of gapes in chickens. A worm in the wind- 

 pipe is the cau.se, but how it gets there, and 

 wh(;re it lives during the season before and 

 after it attacks the chicken, is unknown. In 

 some localities it never appi-ars, and elsewhere 

 it is an annual pest, or nearly. 



It is very easy to write an item like the 

 foregoing, which we find in a column of the 

 Weekly Press; and it would have been quite 

 as appropriate to the subject to have said, 

 " with all their knowledge of insect life, en- 

 tomologists have not yet solved the problems 

 of" — " AVhat's blacker than a crow ?" 



" Gajxs in chicke;is," is not an entomologi- 

 cal (piestion, any more than tapeworms in 

 human beings is, or than measels in pork is : 

 although, an entomologist might happen to 

 know about it as much as any Iwdy else, or less 

 about it than anybody else, without adding to, 

 or detracting/i-o»i his standing as an entomolo- 

 gist. An entomologist is such, not because he 

 makes a special claim to that title himself 'so 

 much, as because it is accorded to him 

 through the courtesy of by others, on account 

 of his specialty in natural history. He may, 

 in this sense, be legitimately entitled to 

 the designation ot entomologist, without know- 

 ing anything about any other branch of nat- 

 ural science. Entomology, as a whole, or as a 



tion of time, which may not be readily spared unit, embraces more subjects, and a greater 



