The Lancaster Farmer. 



Dr. S. S. RATHVON, Editor. 



LANCASTER, PA., DECEMBER, 1882. 



Vol. ZIV. No. 12. 



Editorial. 



VOLUME FOURTEEN 

 Of tlie Laniasteu Faumeu is completed 

 by the issue of tliis nuinbcr. We have en- 

 dured longer tban auy of the French Govern- 

 ments since the Revolution of '93, althouj^h we 

 may not have made as great a noise in the 

 world as the worst among them. We believe, 

 too, that our mission has been and will be of 

 as permanent benefit to mankind as the mis- 

 sion of auy of the heads of the governments 

 aforesaid, or, perhaps any other merely nomi- 

 nal government. We believe this, because 

 our lot has been cast in the peaceful walks of 

 of life, and we have not come to destroy, but 

 to the end that men may enjoy physical life, 

 and enjoy it more ubundaidb/; for we know 

 that men cannot be spiritually comfortable so 

 long as they are not physically so. Want, 

 stern want, whether natural or morbid, is 

 the parent of many misdemeanors and 

 crimes ; and we have for fourteen years been 

 gathering and distributing such items of in- 

 formation as are calculated, if appropriated, 

 to elevate men above the plane of want and 

 crime. 



We have no special promises to make here 

 for the future, nor any reproaches to offer 

 for the past. We can give no other guarantee 

 of what we may be than that which we liave 

 been : but at the same time, whilst manifest- 

 ing oiu- tlianks to our old patrons, we would 

 admonish them to reflect whether each one of 

 them ought not feel it his duty to add at least 

 one additional subscriber to the list of the 

 Fakmer. 



In conclusion, when this meets your eye, 

 you will drjublless be absorbed in thoughts 

 pertaining to the approaching Christmas holi- 

 days. Hence, we would admonish all to ra- 

 tionally enjoy themselves, but not to forget 

 worthy objects apart from themselves ; for 

 there are situations and circumstances under 

 which what you freely yive is really the only 

 thing you truly /iwce and never lose. lu this 

 spirit wc commend our patrons to the festal 

 customs of the season. 



MYRIAPODA. 



f Ameffibata.) 



The specimeus of "centipedes" before us 

 suggest some remarks upon the different 

 orders belonging to the class Myriiipoda, and 

 the very marked distiuclion in their ap- 

 pearance, their economies, aud their charac- 

 ters. 



The term, Myriapoda, is a compound of 

 two (Jreek words, namely, murias, ten thou- 

 sand ; and podus, foot. Of course, no subject 

 of this class has ten thousand feet, although 

 there are some species that have one or more 

 hundreds. Formerly they were classed with 

 insects, but have now been erected into a dis- 

 tinct class, divided conspicuously into three 

 orders. The common names of " centipedes " 

 aud "millipedes" have been rather indiscri- 

 minately applied to them ; but for the sake of 



simplyfyiiig their study, I would suggest 

 that these names be applied to the two most 

 prominent orders that distinguish the class. 

 These animals differ from insects, in that 

 they are excluded from the egg with two, 

 tluee, or four pairs of feet, or come forth 

 without any feet at all, and, as they are de- 

 veloped by age, the number of segmental 

 rings and feet increases, sometimes miming 

 beyond hundreds. Indeed, it requires two 

 years, according to authors, to complete their 

 development, so far as to enable them to con- 

 tinue their species. 



The Ist order, C'lirLoroDA, which is fiom 

 two Greek words meaning lip and foot, because 

 the anterior pair of feet aiiproximate to iiUjji, 

 and perform the functions of those organs, 

 consists of four families, namely, Uermatid(c, 

 LUhohiidf.p., Scolopendridce, and Oeopjhiildai. 

 The subject before us is Scolopendra herns, 

 and may be regarded as the type [of that 

 family. The term "centipede," I think, 

 should be restricted to this order, not because 

 the individuals belonging to it possess one 

 hundred feet, any more than millipedes pos- 

 sess a thousand feet, or one of our city 

 squares contains one hundred houses. But 

 the distinction in their habits, their forms, 

 and in their organs of locomotion are so 

 great that, in common parlance as well as in 

 scientific nomenclature, there is room for a 

 different appellation. 



In this order — namely, centipede— the head 

 aud the body are depressed or flattened, aud 

 there is but one pair of feet attached to each 

 segment. The Antenna are long and in 

 some instances twenty-five or thirty jointed ; 

 the feet are five jointed, terminating in a 

 sharp bent spine, and their cursorial powers 

 are extraordinary, if they choose to exercise 

 them, which they generally do when exposed 

 to the light, and the temperature is warm. 

 When interrupted, they instinctively hide 

 themselves, seemingly annoyed by light, aud 

 preferring darkness. 



They are carnivorous in their gastro- 

 nomijal habits, and I have on several occa- 

 sions observed them with wood-boring larva 

 in their possession, which they refused to relin- 

 quish, even when captured themselves. 

 There is a specimen in our collection (or was 

 in it), which refused to release his captive 

 when immersed in alcohol, aud in its death 

 only grasped its prey the closer. I do not 

 know that they make burrows for themselves 

 in decayed wood, but I know that they are 

 frequently found in the burrows of wood- 

 boring insects of the smaller 'species, espe- 

 cially those that make excavations imme- 

 diately under the bark. The larv:c of small 

 Elatd-idir. aud of Brenthus I have seen in 

 their jaws. The one that I " bottled " had a 

 small specimen of the larva of Passahis cor- 

 nutus in his jaws. These animals, therefore, 

 may be classed among the beneficial kinds, 

 especially in relation to forest trees, and the 

 destructive iu.sects that bore into them. 



But lest too much credit may attach to 



them on account of their antagonism to the 

 insect world, I must here slate that I am ex- 

 perimentally cognizant of another fact in re- 

 gard to them, and that is, that they are really 

 |)oi.souous. They may not be poisonous to all 

 persons aud under all circumstances, but on 

 one occasion they were very poisonous to me. 

 In one of^my excursions with our late .Secre- 

 tary, Mr. Stautfer, to Maulieim township, I 

 captured a specimen of Srolopcndra about two 

 or two and a half niches in length, which im- 

 mediately inflicted a wound on the middle 

 finger of my left iiand, from which I had some 

 dilliculty in releasing it without decapitation. 

 When it withdrew its mandibles two small 

 drops of blood followed. The pain at first 

 was pungiiut, but I sucked the wound and en- 

 deavored to forget it, but " it would not 

 down." I had nothing to apply but alcohol. 

 This only gave a momentary relief. The 

 pain continued up the finger to the wrist, 

 from thence to the elbow, and from thence 

 nearly to the shoulder, and continued half a 

 day. Crossing a small rivulet, I alighted and 

 applied a clay poultice, which afforded relief. 

 After the first twenty minutes the paiu was 

 no longer acute, but a continuous, dull, aching 

 sensation, seemingly affecting the muscles 

 and the nerves. After I reached home I 

 applied ammonia, and in half an hour I felt 

 little paiu, but the hand was somewhat be- 

 nmnbed, and the following morning this feel- 

 iug was also removed, but a hard tubercle re- 

 mained for a fortnight. I have often reflected 

 that if a small, scarcely more thau two-inch 

 centipede can inflict so much paiu, what 

 might be expected from one that measures 

 ten or fifteen incles, under similar circum- 

 stances. 



The second order includes the DirLorODA, 

 and means twofold in allusion to the double 

 pair of feet on each of the segmental divisions 

 of the body, and these animals may be em- 

 braced under the common name of "Mille- 

 pedes," some species of which have over two 

 hundred feet, although none that have a 

 thousand. This order includes the single 

 family Julid^, composed of the genera S2)ir- 

 oholus and Julus. Hpirobolus manjinatus oc- 

 curs in Lancaster county, and is our largest 

 species, measuring from two to three inches in 

 length. I, on several occasions, detected this 

 species feeding on a fungus belonging to the 

 genus Aijaricus, and from the fact that smaller 

 species feed upon turnips, radishes, cabbages, 

 strawberries, potatoes, and other vegetables 

 aud fruits, we may infer th it they all prey 

 upon vegetation. The bodies of these are 

 tubular or cylindrical, the antenna short and 

 bent, the feet .short, and two pairs attached 

 to each segment immediately iu the centre of 

 the body beneath. Their locomotion is very 

 slow, and when disturbed they make no at- 

 tempt to escape, but merely coil themselves 

 up spirally' and turn over on their sides. 

 Their pedal members, their locomotion, their 

 "astronomical habits, and the conformation of 

 their bodies, are entirely distinct from the 



