156 



THE LANCASTER FARMER- 



[0.;tober, 



Day Wood read an article on "Ants," by Mark 

 Twain. 



Resolution for discussion at the next meeting : 



Resolved, That the experience of a farmer is of 

 more benefit to him than the writings of others. 



Montillion Brown, J R. Blackburn, Phoebe King 

 and Sadie Brown were appointed a committee to 

 have some literary exercises for the next meeting, 

 which will be held at the residence of C. C. Cauff- 

 raan on the first Saturday in next month. 



LINN/EAN SOCIETY. 



The Society met in the ante-room of the Museum 

 on Saturday afternoon. Sept, aOth, al2 o'clock P. M. 

 Prof. J. S. Stahr in the chair, and S. M. Sener, Esq., 

 secretary pro tern. 



The donations, contributions, and additions were 

 the following to the museum : two specimens of par 

 rots were donated by Mr. H. B. Fondersmith, bird 

 lancicr of East Orange street, and stuffed and mount- 

 ed by Mr. George O. Hensel, taxidermist and florist. 

 One of these birds was an ash-colored, or gray par- 

 rot, and the other green and red, and both had died 

 in their cages, a fate to which foreign birds ar ex- 

 tremely liable in our northern climate. The former is 

 Fsittacus ctythacns, and the latter seems to be an 

 Immature specimen of Psiitacus festives, of South, 

 America. An alcoholized specimen of a "Horn- 

 worm," .Macrosia Carolina, infested ;hy about three 

 hundred insect parasites, a description of which had 

 been published in the Nem Era and the Lancastek 

 Farmek during the month of September. Also a 

 specimen of the larva of Dryocama imperialis, dona 

 ted by Maj. J. R. Windolph of the Cornwall 

 farms. Also a mature female specimen of the 

 "oil beetle," Mela; augusficolis, captured about 

 a mile north of Lancaster, about a week ago. 

 If this cannot be regarded as a rare insect, on 

 the other hand it is never found very abun- 

 dantly in this locality. When captured, it exudes 

 its oil ver,"- freely, has an unpleasant odor, and from 

 the fact that all the other insects in the bottle died 

 and the oil-beetle alone survived, it may be inferred 

 that it was poisonous to them. Mr. -Milton Wike 

 of Columbia, donated a very extraordinary cranium 

 of a "ground hog — Arctomys monax — found in 

 Martic township, near McCall's Ferry, at a place 

 called the "Pinnacle." One of the front teeth (incis- 

 ors) in the upper jaw grew round in a circle and en- 

 tered the jaw again near the base of the first molar; 

 and the other in a similar form, grew out of the side 

 of the mouth. The animal could not have possibly 

 brought its molars together within an inch, and as 

 this animal is a rodent, and lives exclusively on veg 

 etable food, it must certainly have starved to death. 

 The incisor teeth of rodents are mainly used for cut- 

 ting, and the question is, how could these teeth possi- 

 bly have grown so rapidly, as to prevent the animal 

 from bringing their ends together, and wearing them 

 down as is usually the case? for there is hardly 

 room for the inference that they grew in that condi 

 tion after the death of the animal. If it starved it 

 would be an interesting fact to know how long it had 

 survived in that condition before death ensued. Two 

 double peach stones, from double peaches, in both 

 cases growing from one stem, and inferentially from 

 one blossom; donated by Messrs. Thomas and Fon- 

 dersmith. This phenomenon occurred quite fre 

 qucntly the present season and in one instance, at 

 least, three were found growing from a single stem. 

 A specimen of bituminous coal from Vancouver's 

 Island, British America, donated by Mr. Washington 

 L. Hershey, Chiques farm. Specimens of coffee, 

 and a piece of the keel of the ill-fated vessel S. S. 

 Pliny, which was wrecked in May last, on the 

 coast of New Jersey, between Deal Beach and Elbe- 

 ron, N. J., donated by Messrs. C. A. Heinitsh and 

 Joseph Sleinbauser. A prepared specimen of Ery- 

 three comasissima, var. pulchella; or, as it is some 

 times called, E muhlenbergia; was added to the 

 Herbarium of the society by Prof. J S. Stahr. This 

 plant is new to the fiora of Lancaster county, and 

 was found by Prof. Stahr in a small ravine in the 

 western pan of Lancaster city in July last. Since 



then it has also been found at Media Hill, by Mr. 

 Vetacher, a student of Dr. M. L. Herr, of the gradu- 

 ates of Franklin and Marshall College. It belongs 

 to the familj Gentianaeeae, and is nearly related to 

 Sabatia angularis, commonly called "Century- 

 plant," a favorite bitters among the Pennsylvania 

 Germans. A collection of prepared plants and 

 flowers was exhibited by Mrs. P. E. Gibbons, also 

 specimens of the water chestnut, used as a food in 

 France. The plants were collected in Huntingdon- 

 shire, England, by Mrs. Gibbons on her late visit 

 there. 



To the library, first series of the official records of 

 the Union and Rebel armies, in the war of the rebel- 

 lion ; from the Department of the Interior. This 

 series includes four volumes, royal octavo, compris- 

 ing in all :!,460 pages. United States Coast and 

 Geodetic Survey for 1S79, a quarto of 214 pages and 

 fifty-three progressive sketches and illustrations, 

 also from the Department of the Interior. Nos. 6 to 

 12 of the "Official United States Patent Office 

 Gazette," Vol. XXII., from the sime. The Lan- 

 castek Fakmer for August and September. Part 2, 

 Vol. Ill, Proceedings of the Davenport Academy of 

 Natural Science, from January, 1879, to December, 

 1881, 193 pp. Royal 8 vo. and 4 plates ; from the 

 corresponding secretary. This report contains a 

 large amount of interesting Western mound-lore, 

 and announces the death of its late president, Joseph 

 Duncan Pitman, in the prime of life, an industrious 

 and progressive scientist, and one who had already 

 made his mark in the scientific world. Three enve- 

 lopes containing thirty historical and biographical 

 selections. A number of l)ook catalogues and circu- 

 lars. 



Prof. Stahr read a paper entitled " Botanical 

 Notes," in which he referred specifically to the plant 

 he donated ; also to Viola lanceolata, provisionally, 

 found by Mr J. C. Foltz, in Drumore township ; 

 also, to some pecaliarities in several specimens of 

 the night-blooming cacti of Lancaster city. 



Prof. Buehrle, City Superiutendent of the public 

 schools, was proposed for active membership by 

 Prof. Rathvon, which, under the rules, lies over 

 until the next meeting. 



S. M. Sener was unanimously elected assistant 

 secretary. 



After a short session of science gossip, the society 

 adjourned to meet at the office of Dr. Knight, North 

 Queen street, in October, of which due notice will 

 be given by the secretary. 



Agriculture. 



Wheat Growing. 



The success in growing wheat in Pennsylvania the 

 last few years should stimulate us to raise a greater 

 average per acre than has been the case in many 

 portions of the State. We notice that as much aS 

 an average of thirty bushels has been obtained this 

 year in some of the Western States ; and we are 

 well aware that the yield has been increased this 

 year in Pennsylvania— in some special instances 

 over forty bushels per acre have been obtained. Of 

 course there are various causes influencing success. 

 That which might be an aid at one point might be 

 an injury at another. But there are one or two mat- 

 ters that wheat growers are apt to forget. The first 

 is, that as a general thing it is well understood that 

 manure must be liberally applied to induce a good 

 crop ; but many persons plow it under, hence, it is 

 not until the plant has set its roots deep down into 

 the soil that it derives muc'i benefit from the manure. 

 But if the manure is so placed that the young root- 

 lets could push >vt once into it on germinating, it 

 would get an early start on its vital course, which 

 would establish it firmly against any future draw- 

 backs. 



In the second place few persons have any idea how 

 manure operates in making roots. If we bury a 

 shovclfull of manure some distance from a thrifty 

 tree in early spring, and examine it again the ensu- 

 ing fall, we fiud the lump of dung a complete mass 

 of roats, while the earth in other parts contiguous 



has but a few struggling ones. Some people think 

 that the roots are attracted to the spot by the ma- 

 nure ; but it is not so. They are actually created by 

 the manure. A leading root sucks into the rich 

 mass, and finding plenty to eat, at once sets to work 

 to increase and multiply. Contact with the manure, 

 therefore makes roots ; and the principle in success- 

 ful wheat culture should place the grain and the 

 food as close together as possible, if we would en- 

 courage it to root out well and get a good start. We 

 all know very well how this is done with corn. 

 Manuring in the hill is quite a universal practice ; 

 but where it is not, the result is well known. We 

 repeat, therefore, give the crops an early start. It 

 has a wonderful influence in its efforts in after life to 

 come out. 



An Excellnt Fertilizer. 



A German farmer once told the writer that every 

 year he prepared a heap of manure which, when ap 

 plied to his soil, made it produce marvelous yields. 

 His mode of preparing it was as follows, to use his 

 own language . "I have but one horse, one cow and 

 about two dozen fowls. I save every particle of their 

 droppings and place them under a shed which has 

 a cemented floor ; upon this I spread a layer of forest 

 mold, and in order to p"eserve the ammonia in it I 

 cover the dung with another layer of mold, taken 

 from the woods close to my house. I continue this 

 system of layering each time the stable, cow and hen 

 houses are cleaned out. I also save the urine of the 

 animals and that from my house, and pour it upon 

 the heap; sometimes I also add a small quantitj of 

 litter from the stable, and, when not too busy to 

 collect them, a lot of leaves. By attending to the 

 heap in person, and seeing that all the manure is 

 rigidly saved, I find on hand by the early spring 

 a large quantity of the richest fertilizer I have ever 

 used. During the few winter months it has thorough- 

 ly rotted, and when needed to spread upou my gar- 

 den it resembles a heap of ashes, so completely is it 

 pulverized. My garden consists of five acres of 

 ground, which receives this valuable manure. On a 

 farm where twenty or thirty horses, mules and cattle 

 are kept, and a flock of sheep and a fair number of 

 fowls, besides their combined dropiJings, if treated 

 as above, enough of this excellent fertilizer could be 

 saved each year to thoroughly manure fifteen or 

 twenty acres of land, and no farmer should be at a 

 loss to have what manure he requires, for this is the 

 foundation of successfnl farming," 



How to Remove Stumps. 

 The f^cientific American gives the following receipe 

 for getting rid of stumps : "In the autumn of every 

 winter bore a hole one or two inches in diameter, ac- 

 cording to the girth of the stump, and about eighteen 

 inches deep. Put into it one or two onces of salt- 

 peter, fill the bole with water and plug it close. In 

 the ensuing spring take out the plug and ignite it. 

 The stump will moulder away without blazing, to 

 the very extremity of the roots, leaving nothing but 

 the ashes " 



The Telephone on the Farm. 



A French farmer uses a portable telephone to carry 

 on the work of his farm without going away from 

 his house. His plan is simply to have a tripod car- 

 rying a movable roller, on which is wound a con- 

 ducting cable composed of two insulated wires. 

 Below this on a movable board is a small box, in 

 which is placed a telephone and bell. The system 

 allows the current to pass from the bell to the tele- 

 phone without using a commutator. Thus, the tele- 

 phone being at rest, the bell is in connection with 

 the line, and when the telephone is in use the bell is 

 cut out of the circuit. Another telephone and bell 

 are fixed in the house of the farmer, with a com 

 mutator. 



-^ 



Octagonal Barns. 



If a barn is wanted to accomodate a certain num- 

 ber of animals, the proper space is better and more 

 cheaply obtained in the octagonal form, for this 



