1883.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



107 



simply around the roots when the plants are 

 Ihst set out, it will stimulate a heavy growth 

 at first or when the manure is first reached 

 liy tlie roots ; but as the majority of tlie roots 

 (especially the small rootl(^ts or feelers) get be- 

 yond the manure and come in contact with 

 the purer soil outside of the area covered by 

 the manure, then there is a stoppage in growth 

 and a conse(iupnt damage to the plants. And 

 again, when mainire is simply applied imme- 

 diately around the roots in too large a quan- 

 tity (and tliis is nearly always the case when 

 applied in this way), it causes too strong a 

 growth of wood at the expense of fruit and 

 hardiness. An application of wood ashes is 

 very beneficial, and should be applied if pos.si- 

 ble. We prefer to ap|ily all the ashes we can 

 save to our fruits, both large and small, in 

 preference to using them in any other way, 

 and if due care is taken with what is made in 

 an ordinary family, a sufiicient (|nantity can 

 be secured to give all the fruit generally raised 

 on the farm a dressing. 



Understand at the outset that I am simply 

 writing for the benefit of the farmer who, we 

 think, ought to raise small fruits of all kinds 

 for the use of his family, and not for those 

 who make the raising of small fruits for mar- 

 ket a specialty. I claim that each farmer can 

 raise all kinds of small fruits far cheaper than 

 he can buy. In fact, I have always held that 

 the farmer ought, by all means, to raise all 

 that is consumed in the way of edibles, and 

 he can do so far clieaper than he can possibly 

 buy them. — JV. ./. S., in Frairie Farmer. 



INTRODUCING NEW VARIETIES. 



The seedsmen and nurserymen are annually 

 introducing to notice new varieties of fruits 

 and vegetables, but such work should not be 

 left entirely in their hands, as it is the duty 

 of farmers, gardeners and fruit-growers to ex- 

 periment in such matters in order to increase 

 the hardiness and yield of all plants that are 

 cultivated for profit. Perhaps the reason 

 why the introduction of new varieties is not 

 interesting to farmers is because they consider 

 the matter as something difficult, which, no 

 doubt, is true, but it is as easy to thera as it 

 is to seedsmen. If we consider wheat, for 

 instance: the work of improvement consists 

 of nothing more than the selection of the 

 plumpest grains from the largest heads and 

 best stalks, which plan, if continued for a few 

 years, results in a variety better adajited to 

 the locality in which it is grown, and which 

 will yield more and produce a better cjuality 

 of grain. Vegetables of all kinds may not 

 only be improved by this method (selecting 

 the best) but even the growth, shape and other 

 characteristics may he changed. 



The greater number of our varieties of 

 fruit comes from seedings. The apple is one 

 of the best and hardiest fruits we have, the 

 numerous varieties all coming from the one 

 source — the crab api)le— and though each 

 variety is distinct in habit of growth, shape, 

 size and period of ripening, yet if we plant tlie 

 seeds of the best of them we may not get any- 

 thing resembling thak from which the seed 

 was taken. The young trees may also pro- 

 duce crab apples, or there may be among 

 them something superior to heretofore known. 

 Often over one thousand trees have been used 

 in a single experimant, and, among vegetables, 



a certain seedsman could only find one good 

 potato from H,000 plants ; but that particular 

 kind amply n^warded him for all the time and 

 labor that had been employed in the task of 

 selection. 



Farmers are not inclined to try experiments 

 with fruit trees, as time and patience are re- 

 quired, while nurserymen are jiarlicular to 

 take advantage of all opportunities; but 

 fanners can at least, with vegetables, select 

 the most perfect seeds from the Iwst plants. 

 So far as the small fruits are concerned, they 

 have better opportunities, foi'it is notrequiriMl 

 to wait along time lor results. The strawberry 

 can be grown from seed, but the majority 

 of the best kinds are due to chance seed- 

 lings, which, growing in some unobserved 

 locality, are accidentally discovered to be of 

 superior quality, and receive the proper care 

 and attention necessary to propagation. As 

 a single strawberry will produce a large num- 

 ber of plants from seed there can be no iios- 

 sible limit to the improvement of that berry, 

 the only requisite being to trim oft" the seeds 

 from the berry, dry them on jiaper, or mix 

 with sand, and sow in a place. As soon as 

 the young plants are large enough set them 

 out and make careful observation of the grovvlli 

 and productiveness of the vine, period of 

 ripening, size, color, firmness, flavor and 

 quality of the berries. Each plant may be 

 different from the others. All may be worth- 

 less but one, and that one may cause a revo- 

 lution in strawberries. 



As with strawberries so with raspberries, 

 blackberries, grapes, or even huckleberries. 

 There is a wide field open for the introduction 

 of a new blackberry equal to the Wilson, for 

 it is fast deteriorating, and a fortune awaits 

 the one who can improve on it, while a grape 

 eqvial to the Concord, and one that will not 

 rot, is sure to find favor. All plants that re- 

 produce themselves from tiic roots, or by cut- 

 ting or tipping, send forth plants tliat fruit 

 precisely the same as the parents, but when 

 produced from seed no reliability can be 

 placed on the result, as the seed eitlier reverts 

 to the original stock or becomes the founda- 

 tion of a superior variety. 



AMUSEMENTS OF THE WORKING 

 CLASSES. 



The amusements of the wm-king classes are 

 often of a low and even vulgar kind ; and ouc 

 of the greatest improvements in their life 

 would be tlie adoption of some more" refined 

 enjoyments in place of the vulgar shows, the 

 trilling sports, and the insipid reading in 

 which they now indulge. It is true that, in 

 this respect, the whole American people need 

 refining and elevating, and not the working 

 classes alone, for many of our richest men 

 show little more ability to amuse themselves 

 in a refined and sensible way than the work- 

 ing-men do. But the rich man can, in a pe- 

 cuniary sense, better afford to throw away 

 money on unrefined arauseracnts and vulgar 

 display than workingmen can, for their means 

 are sufiicient to adniil of some waste ; where- 

 as the workingmen, if they are to get the 

 greatest possiltle happiness out of the means 

 they have, must studiously avoid all expendi- 

 ture for things of no value, or they will have 

 nothing to spend for those Inier pleasiu-es 

 which aie 80 much better and more enduring. 



There lias been of late years, we are glad to 

 say, a considerabli', advance in this rcsiM'ct 

 among the workingmen, as seen especially in 

 their increased attention to niiisie, art, and 

 to the cultivation of dowers ; but a va.st deal 

 more remains to be done to raise the amuse- 

 inents and recreations of the lalmrini! clns.s to 

 the standard required by a cultivated t:iHte. 



Hut the most important source of happiness 

 of a cheap yet elevated kind is to Ik; found in 

 reading, affording as it does both auiusc'inent 

 and instruction ; and whoever can lead work- 

 ingmen to a better practice in this regard will 

 render them an inestimable 8ervic<". A taste 

 for reading, indeed, is even now rapidly 

 spreading among the better poition of tlie 

 working cla.ss ; but the reading is often so low 

 in quality, so little able to amuse or to in- 

 struct, that the benefit obtained from it is but 

 trifling in comparison with what it ought to 

 be. Workingmen read the newspapei°8, and 

 thus become familiar, to a certiiin extent, 

 with the course of alTairs throughout the 

 world ; but the quality of tlie newspapers they 

 often read shows at once the jioorness of their 

 literary taste and the meagerness of their in- 

 fiiim;ilion. Besides the newspapers, their 

 principal reading is fiction, and this rarely of 

 the best ; while <if the vast stores of informa- 

 tion, historical, biographical, scientific, and 

 other kinds, which Knglish literature con- 

 tains, their knowledge is in general of the 

 most meager sort. Vet the majority of work- 

 ing jieople have al)nndant time and energy 

 for the prosecution of such reading, and only 

 need to form a taste for it in order to obtain 

 a pleasure of the noblest kind. — TAc C^Hlury, 

 fur July. 



STATE HORTICULTURAL ASSOCIA- 

 TION OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



Officers and Committees for 1883. 



President, I iiorjre D. .Sliiz.-I, liiuilliii.', I'a.; Vice 

 f'residents, !I. M. Ent.'li", .MiiriL'tlu ; .Josluli II(x)|H'8, 

 West Clieeltr; W. S. Bisscll, I'itttlmrgli.^ Uctord- 

 iiii; Secrctarj', E. B. Eiigle, CliBfiilHTiil>urK. CorrCB- 

 poiidiiig Secrclaiy, W. P. Briiitlnii, Clirlsllana. 

 Treasurer, (ieor>;e B. Tliomas, West Cbcstcr. Li 

 lirariaii, (laliiiel Iluister, IlarrieburK. 

 Standing Cominittees. 



(lE.NEiiAi, Fhcit Committek.— It Is lui|M-d that 

 Mie nienil)er8 of tills coininltlec, cs(i<'eliilly, will 

 make close observations on fruit crops ami |iro6|>ccts 

 iluriiitr tlie season, so as to l)e able to report to the 

 Cliairnian, when requested. Total or |iartial fallurcc 

 of fruits, diseases, hisecls, \*-., should be s|>celally 

 noticed and re|>orted. E. .^latertlnvalt Jcnklntown, 

 .Mongoniery county, Chairman; A. IS. Sprout, Picture 

 Kocks, Lycoming county : Jos. Lewis, Jr., Ncvtown, 

 S(|iiai'C, Delaware county ; Dr. Jas. CaMcr, llarrts- 

 burg, Daufihln county ; Dr. B. L. Kyder, Chainbers- 

 burp, Franklin county : W. M. Pannebakcr, Lewis- 

 town, .Milllin coiinty ; J. V. (iarrrslon, Flora Dale, 

 .Vdams county ; W. L. Schaelfer, Pliiladelphia ; E. 

 P. Swift, Mt. Oliver, Allegheny county ; 11. S. Ilupp, 

 SliircinaiiBlown, Cuinlierland county ; J. S. Keller, 

 Orwigsburg, Scliiiylkill county ; W. Vorls, Pott*, 

 irrove, Norlliumlicrland county ; Bassler Boyer, 

 Lebanon, Lebanon county ; J. W. Pyle, Willow Dale, 

 Chester county ; A. 8. Shimcr, Kedlngt«n, North- 

 ampton county; Calvin Cooixir, Bird in Hand, Lan- 

 caster county ; Peter Lint, York, York couiay ; A. 8. 

 Slieller, Lewisburg, Union county ; Cyrus T. Fox, 

 Heading, Berks county ; H. Leh, Allenlown, Lehigh 

 county; J. K. Sharpless, Catawlssa, Columbia 

 county; M. B. Eshlcman, Newport, Perry county; 

 J. E. Jamison, Cocalamus, Juniata county. 



Committee ON Nomenii.atl-ke.— II. A. Chase, 



