1883.] 



THE Lancaster farmeh. 



4^ 



make tlielr cheese much poorer, with safety to its 

 i|n;ility, wliile the sain, to tlic tuitter factory of 10 

 yrv cent, more liiitter, will aiiil larircly lo its jiront. 

 Ai- I have IciiL'tlioiicd this papci- miicli licyonil its 

 inteiidcci limits, you will excuse me if I dose the 

 Rubject aliriiplly. 



Inquiries on the Subject. 



Ill answer to a ciuostioii by Mr. Witwcr in reference 

 to whether there was any ilitfercncc to the creamery 

 In the (juality of milk delivered, Mr. Carter replied 

 tliat the niilU was tested by ercam gauges, specific 

 gravity, etc., and if milk did not come up to the 

 standard, the patron would Ije paid a less amount 

 for Ids milk than if the milk was good. lie said 

 creamery butter was not as high as what is called 

 " fancy dairiis," but he got a Ijctter iirice th<.n the 

 average dairies. The average price throughout the 

 year was 41'.j cents per pound, less freight. There 

 are two sizes of machines, the largest size costing 

 about $!ir>0. He advised the use of machinery be 

 cause there was no doubt that it would extract more 

 fat from the milk than could lie procured by any 

 other process. The eream also churns more readily, 

 churning about 140 pounds in fifteen minutes. By 

 the action of the machine, the eream is thrown upon 

 the outside, together with any sediment or dirt. Any 

 good agricultural community, he thought, would lie 

 benefited by having a creamery or butler factory in 

 the vicinity. A creamery would make from :iO to :i5 

 pounds of cheese per day, nearly all of whicli could 

 be sold in the neighborhood. Too many creameries 

 would, no doubt, overstock the market and would 

 not prove a profitable investment. Butter factories, 

 however, do not cost so much, and will pay farmers 

 better for their milk than they could make if they 

 would manufacture their butter themselves. 



In answer to a question as to whettier creameries, 

 by taking away the rich qualities of the milk, 

 would not tend to have a bad ert'ect on the fertility 

 of the land, Mr. Carter replied that, while it would, 

 theoretically, they would tend to irMuce the better 

 feec^ingof cows, which would no donbt prove a com- 

 pensation for the loss. 



Experience of a Lancaster Dairyman. 



Mr. Eyre said his experience with cotton seed 

 meal was that it made white butter, and was not as 

 good as linseed. This latter seed should be fed very 

 judiciously, his ration being about one-ninth . Last 

 winter he received about 45 cents per pound, net 

 weight, for his butter, and this winter his lowest 

 price was 40 cents per psund. If a person wants to 

 make a good article of butter, he wants good, clean 

 stables, thoroughly sewered. Then you want good 

 Jersey or Guernsey cows, and such only as will 

 make from 12 to In pounds per week. They require 

 close attention in reference to feed. He feeds four 

 parts of corn chops in ears, four parts of oats shorts 

 and a small quantity of linseed meal. Last year he 

 sold ?l,OoO of butter from eleven cows, besides feed- 

 ing a family of eleven persons. Of this sum S500 

 was profit. This winter he was making 100 pounds 

 per week, which netted him about §111 per week. 



Mr. Eby wanted to be informed what the nutri 

 tious qualities of dried corn cobs were, and Mr. Eyre 

 replied that he found if he fed his cows chopped 

 corn alone, they would make too much beef, where. 

 as by mixing the chopped cob with the corn, you 

 could feed greater bulk without having a bad effect 

 on the animal. The mixture sliould be thoroughly 

 moistened before it is fed- 



Mr. Hunsecker said it was a matter of great im 

 portanee that the product of the cows should be 

 well prepared, and it was important that our eows 

 should be fed good food. They should also have 

 pure, good water, and good stabling, and great care 

 should be taken that the butter is made in a cleanly 

 manner. 



On motion of Johnson Miller, the tliaoks of the 

 society were tendered Mr. Carter for his valuab le 

 paper. 



The State Fair. 



Mr. Cooper stated that he had received a letter 

 from the Secretary of the State Agricultural Society, 

 stating that the society had two points in view for 



the next fair— one being Philadelphia and the other 

 Lancaster. The committee preferred Philadelphia, 

 but there was some trouble in reference to a suitable 

 place there, and the Secretary would give Mr. 

 Cooper a definite answer by the 1st of April. In 

 reference to holding a county fair, he had seen Mr. 

 McGrann, the owner of the fair grounds, and had 

 been told that Icrnis could prolialily be made. 

 The Question of Fertilizers. 



Mr. W. B. I'axsoii, to wliom had been referred the 

 question, " Which is the most profitable fertilizer, 

 clover, home-made manure or commercial fertilizer," 

 read the following essay in iiiiswer to it : 



It is with reluctance lliat 1 endeavor to answer 

 this question, wliicli is of maiiilesl interest and the 

 source of great anxiety to every tiller of the soil, 

 " VVliich is the most profitable fertilizer— clover, 

 home-made manure or artificial ferlilizer ? " We are 

 all aware of the I'act that when the farm yields a 

 crop of any kind there is extracted from the soil 

 those elements that i.rin<'ipally constitute its riches 

 or fertility, and unless tliere is returned to the soil 

 those elements of fertility and richness it will in 

 course of time he exhausted and I'ail to repay for the 

 labor required in its cultivation. Fertile soil is the 

 gil't of I'rovidenee to the human race, and, aithoueh 

 it may be rich in those elements that constitute its 

 fert lily, yet a full benefit cannot be derived trom it 

 for any length of time without exhaustion. We 

 have witliin our power howiver, the means by which 

 tlie exhausted soil can lie recuperated and restored 

 to its former fertility, and every practical and pru- 

 dent farmer takes advantaLre of these opportunities 

 in order that his farm may he brought to the highest 

 degree of productiveness. In former years clover 

 was used extensively as a fertilizer, with satisfactory 

 results. It is an acknowledged fact that when a 

 crop of clov;r is ploughed down, it adds to the soil 

 an additional food plant to the succeeding crop, but 

 when a field will yield a good crop of clover, is it 

 not too valuable for the plow y It could, I think, be 

 be better utilized by cutting it and feeding it to tlie 

 stock on the farm, fortlie object of raisingstock is the 

 chief aim and support of the farmer, and thus it could 

 be returned to the soil in the shape of manure, which 

 contains all the elements necessary for all crops, and 

 yet we have still the sods and roots which are very 

 enriching. One of the most serious objections to 

 clover as a fertilizer is the too frequent failure of 

 getting a field well set. It is said that clover takes 

 from the soil lime and potash principally. Whether 

 our soil is deficient in these valuable inirredients, I 

 am unable to say, but I have attributed thefailure in a 

 great measure to the drought and cold springs. One 

 of the serious mistakes which we, as farmers, too 

 often make is that we invariably sow too small a 

 quantity of clover seed on our fields, and I think we 

 would obtain better results if we sowed a third more 

 seed. 



Farmers, in general, do not devote enough atten- 

 tion to the cultivation of this indispensable crop, 

 and there would be less fluctuation in the yield of 

 the crops if farmers would use it more as a fertilizer, 

 instead of resorting to artificial fertilizers. I am 

 fully aware that we cannot succeed very well with- 

 out using more or less chemical fertilizers, hut have 

 we not been paying great deal higher prices for these 

 materials than we ought to pay ? And has not this 

 been a source throuirh which passes much of the 

 profits of farming.? It is not wise, therefore, for 

 farmers to depend upon the fertilizers of some par- 

 ticular fraud, that are olfered for sale so largely in 

 our State. Analyses have already demonstrated the 

 fact that those inferior brands Iiave lieen selling for 

 one-fourth more than they are worth. Thus, it be- 

 hooves farmers to be careful and deal wit h responsible 

 parties, and buy only on guaranteed analysis. In 

 regard to homemade manure, we know it is adapted 

 to all soils and contains those nourishing elements 

 intended for plant food. Nothing will restore the 

 exhausted soil lo its former fertility as well as home- 

 made manure, and upon which too much value can 

 not be placed or too much care cannot be exercised to 

 collect as large a quantity as possible. 



The question was discussed by several members of 

 the society, after which Mr. H. M. Engle, who had 

 been asked to prepare a good list of small fruits for 

 farmers, reported the following, which he said he 

 thought would prove satisfactory: Strawberries, 

 Charles Downing, Cumberland, Sharpless and Cres 

 cent. Kaspberrics— Black-caps, Dorlltlle, .Miami, 

 Gregg, Reds, Brandywine, Turner and Cultbert. 

 Blackberries — Kitlatinoy, Lawton and Snyder. Cur- 

 rants—Cherry, Red Dutch and Wiiite Grape. (Joose- 

 berries — fioughton, Dovvning and Orange. 



On motion the treasurer was instructed to pay to 

 the Secretary of the State Society the sum gf ?.5 

 towards defraying the expenses of printing the pro- 

 ceedings of a recent conveuliou of delegates of the 

 county societies, held at Harrisburg. 



The following questions were refc rred for answers 

 at the next meeting : " Is there any feasible plan 

 for farmers to avoid boarding the 'hands'?" to 

 Calvin Cooper. " Has agriculture kept pace with 

 the other industrial pursuits?" to W. B. I'axson. 

 " Is it good policy to turn the cows on the early grass 

 before plowing for corn, and afterwards be compelled 

 to restrict them to dry rations ?" to Jos. K. Witmer. 



Adjourned to meet on the second .Monday in April. 



POULTRY ASSOCIATION. 



The Lancaster I'oultry Association met statedly oo 

 Monday morning, March 5th, with the following 

 members present : (Jeorge A. Geyer, Florin; J. B. 

 Long, city ; F. A. Diffenderffcr, city ; J. B. Lichty, 

 C. A. Ga3t,city ; II. A. Schroyer, city ; H. S. Garber, 

 Mt. Joy ; A. S. Flowers, Mt. Joy ; J. \V. Bruckhart, 

 Salunga; H. T. Shultz, Klizabethtown ; H.Schmidt, 

 city ; J. M. Johnston, city; John E. Schum, city ; 

 Charles Lippold, city ; Wm. Powdcn, city. 



The minutes of the previous meeting were read 

 and approved. 



Mr. J. B. Long, of the eoramlttee appointed to 

 devise ways and mean: for the liquidation of the 

 debt, reported that he had made an effort to procure 

 subscriptions, and had only succeeded in obtaining 

 §100. As this was far below the sum required, the 

 committee came to the conclusion that it would be 

 necessary to ascertain at the present meeting how 

 many members would take shares in a new associa- 

 tion at SIO per sliare, and in tliis manner incorporate 

 a new society which will take the place of the present 

 one. The committee had only arrived at this opin- 

 ion after mature deliberation, ami they did it for 

 the purpose of awakening more interest in the 

 society. This method, they thought, was the only 

 practicable one that they could devise, for paying 

 the debt of the society. He had drawn up a paper 

 to which he asked signatures of persons obligating 

 themselves to take a certain number of chances at a 

 par value of $10, the whole number of shares 

 being S5. 



The amendment to the by-laws changing the time 

 of meeting from the first Monday to the first Friday 

 in each month, at 10::<U o'clock A. M., which was 

 offered at the, last meeting, was then taken up and 

 lost by a vote of 9 to 3 against the amendment. 



After somn discussion it was resolved to double 

 the number of shares, and reduce the par value of 

 each share to §5. The paper was then] circulated 

 among the members present, and .50 shares were at 

 once subscribed for. Peter S. Goodman, city ; Chas. 

 J. Rhodes, Safe Harbor ; H. A. Schrover, city; F. 

 M. Sourbeer, Mt. Joy ; and R. J. Myers, Mt. Joy, 

 were elected to membership in the society. 



On motion of Mr. Long, a committee of seven 

 was appointed to make the necessary arrangements 

 for turning the society into an incorporated stock 

 concern, prepare constitution, by laws, etc. The 

 committee was appointed as follows : Messrs. J. B. 

 Long, John Seldomridge, George A. Geyer, J. B. 

 Lichty, F. A. Difl'enderffer, John E. Schum, and H. 

 S. Garber. 



On motion, the society adjourned to meet Monday, 

 April 3. 



LINN/EAN SOCIETY. 

 The Linnnean Society met in their rooms on Satur 

 day, February 24, IS^;!, President J. P. Wickersham 

 in the chair. In absence of secretary and assistant 

 secretary. Prof. J. S. Stahr was appointed secretary 

 pro. tem. The minutes of previous meeting were 

 read in part and dues collected. 



Donations to Museum. 

 .Mr. Dibble, of North Queen street, Lancaster, 

 through Mr. Wm. Roelim, specimen of an abnormal 

 chicken, subject to withdrawal on one week's pre- 

 vious notice. The specimen is a good one of the 

 kind. These monstrosities may have their scientific 

 value, but somehow they are all more or less revolt- 

 ing to cultured feeling. They are out of the line 

 of orderly development, and most be the result of 

 organic violation. 



