1883.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER 



exhibit fruit at the mcctinprs of the society, provided 

 the premiums do not exi'ciii $1. 



Egyptian Wheat. 



M. L. Greider, of Mt. Joy, presented a sample of 

 Egyptian wlieat grown by him, wliich appears to be 

 of superior quality. He says that he K''''W o" 'wo 

 acres in 1881 over 90 bushels, and this year, on an ac- 

 curately surveyed half acre 21 bushels. 

 Testing Fruits. 



Some very fine specimens of peaches, pears and 

 apples were exhibited before the society by II. M 

 Enftle, Levi S. Keist, Hiller and Kesh, and perhaps 

 <^ne or two others. 



Cyrus Nell', James Wood and C. L. Hunsecker 

 were appointed a committee to examine it and report 

 to the society. Thoy reported that Ililler and Resh 

 exhibited the lursrcst eollection and 11. M. Engle the 

 finest of fruit, and they tlierefore awarded to those 

 gentlemen Ihc premiums provided lor under tlie 

 rules. 



POULTRY ASSOCIATION. 



The Lancaster Poultry Association held a stated 

 meeting Monday morning, September .'^, in the olKce 

 of J. B. Long. Rhoads's building. 



The following members were present : J. A. 

 Stober, president, J. B. Long, F. H. Diffender, 

 Charles Lippold, Wm. Shoenbergcr, Jolin E. Shaum, 

 John S. Humphreyville, J. S. Witnier, John Sel- 

 domridge, M. L. Greider. 



Tlie secretary stated that only two bills, for which 

 the society are responsible, remained unpaid, and 

 that they would shortly be liquidated. 



Mr. Long refeired to tlie action taken at last meet- 

 ing relative to loaning the society's coops to the In- 

 dependent State Fair, and said that several mem- 

 bers of the society thought they ought to have the 

 u.se of the eoops in which to make their own exhibits. 

 On motion it was ordered that members have the 

 free use of as many coops as they may need for their 

 exhibits, provided they take them to the ground, re- 

 turn them and repair any injury done them at their 

 own expense. 



The secretary was authorized to take the neces- 

 sary steps to have printed a catalogue of premiums 

 for the next annual exhibition, with advertisements 

 inserted, provided tlie same sliall not be an expense 

 to the society. 



The Board of Directors was directed to prepare a 

 premium list for presentation to the society at its 

 next meeting. 



J. B. Long was appointed essayist for the next 

 stated meeting. 



Adjourned. 



I4i 



THE FULTON FARMERS' CLUB. 



The September meeting of the Fulton Farmers' 

 Club was held at the residence of William King, 

 Little Britain township, on the 1st instant, all the 

 members being present except Lindley King. 

 Visitors present by invitation : Isaac S. Kirk and 

 wife, William Coates and mother, Jonathan Picker- 

 ing and wife. 



Day Wood exhibited three varieties of potatoes 

 and Livingston's Favorite tomato. 



Josiah Brown, very line Mammoth Pearl potatoes, 

 some of which weighed ITi pounds each. 



Montillion Brown, two varieties of potatoes. 



J. K. Blackburn, Burbank, Victor and another 

 variety of potatoes, and Diana, Telegraph and Con 

 cord grapes, and Ilcigcs prolific wheat. 



Emclinc CaufTiuan, apjilcs for name. 



Winking, Mammoth, Pearl anil Burbank potatoes, 

 and several varieties of grapes. 



Ed. Gibson, one peck of Peerless potatoes, which 

 had been raised from two ; also, Victor potatoes. 



Several reported quite a large yield of potatoes 

 and the samples cxbibitcd were very fine. 



Solomon L. Gregg asked if there was any better 

 harrow for all purposes tlian the old-fashioned A 

 harrow. 



Montillion Brown has a double A which he likes 

 better than the single A, but the Acme beats any- 

 thing that he has tried as a pulverizer, where it . I 



cloddy or tough. It is hard on the team if rode 

 upon, but if not it was no harder than the double A. 

 Josiah Brown : The single A does very well if the 

 teeth are kept sharp ; never used any other. 



Jonathan Pickering : The double A is better than 

 the single, but the Acme beats them both. 



Joseph P. Greist and Isaac S. Kirk prefer the twin 

 harrow to the A. 



C. C. Kauffman asked ir fertilizers could not be 

 obtained at a reduced price, if purchased in large 

 quantities. It was generally thought that they 

 could, but that there would not be a sullicient quan- 

 tity of any one kind subscribed for by members oi 

 the club to make it an inducement. 



Wm. King : Comparatively, how near do potatoes 

 ecjual corn in value ? Answer : About two bushels 

 of potatoes to one of corn for feeding. 



E. H. Haines mentioned that the composition of 

 potatoes was three quarters water. Some feed with 

 corn and think them profitable. 



Viewing the Farm. 

 The criticism on the farm was favorable. A new 

 ben house having been mentioned as a place for dirt 

 and vermin, one member said that, in his opinion, 

 hog and hen houses had not yet been invented. One 

 thought a hen house should be plastered, so that 

 they could be completely cleaned. It was argued 

 that poultry receives less care than hogs and is more 

 profitable. 



M.Brown spoke of H. W. Beceher's hen parior. 

 His hens entirely quit laying ; one, however, got out 

 and stole her nest, laid, hatched and raised her 

 brood, being the only chicks he had. 

 Literary. 

 William King read a selection. M. Brown, " How 

 much wheatseed per acre?" Will B. Coates, a 

 visitor, recited "Stephen's Dream," in which the 

 listeners were told how strong the bonds existing be- 

 tween the rum seller and Satan were. 



An Invitation Accepted. 

 A communication from the Octoraro Farmers' 

 Club, extending an invitation to the members to 

 meet with them and assist in their programme at a 

 public meeting to be held at Hayesville, September 

 15, was read. Wm. King, Day Wood and E. H. 

 Haines were appointed to represent the Fulton club, 

 and to carry with them whatever they consider of 

 interest. 



The Acme harrow was on exhibition by Howard 



Co.ates, who, in the afternoon, exhibited it at work. 



The members expressed themselves as well pleased. 



Adjourned to meet at C. C. CauHman's on the 



first Saturday in October. 



AGRICULTURE. 



Take Care of Your Tools. 

 In a majority of cases it is the full intention of the 

 of the farmer to put away any tool or machine being 

 used, as soon as he is done with it, but when the 

 work is finished, whatever is being used is left until 

 a more convenient time to put it away. Time passes 

 and still it is not done. Many farmers when asked to 

 subscribe for a good agricultural paper will plead pov- 

 erty, when at the same time plows, harrows, culti- 

 vators and other tools are left in the field or piled up 

 in the fence corner, or some other out-of-the-way 

 place, there to remain till wanted next year. The 

 loss by such practices amounts to enough in one 

 year in many cases, to pay for one copy of half the 

 agricultural papers published in the country. It is 

 not an uncommon sight to see in many parts of our 

 country, and especially in the West, wagons, sleighs 

 mowers and reapers, and much other valuable ma 

 chinery, left to take their chances with other less 

 valuable farm implements. Spring and summer 

 with all their cares and rush of work, will shortly 

 be here, finding many farmers unprepared for its ap- 

 pearance. Everyihing used about the farm should 

 be critically examined and wherever a nut is off, a 

 bolt lost, or any deficiency whatever, it should be 

 repaired at once,aud then everything carefully stored 

 away in some good, dry place. It costs very little to 



prepare a place where everything used about the farm 

 can be stored without danger of rust and decay. If 

 a permanent building can not be made make a tem- 

 porary one, and use it until something better can be 

 provided. It will pay. System and care will soon 

 enable any one to acquire the habit of putting every- 

 thing in its place when not In use. As soon as any 

 implement, tool or machine is done with, even if it 

 has to be used again In a few days, take It rignt to 

 the place prepared for it, and there let it remain, out 

 of the sun and rain, until needed aga\D.~ Indiana 

 rttrmey. . 



Sweet Corn and Sorghum. 

 Mr. A. B. Allen writes to the New York Trihnue 

 as follows about sweet corn and sorghum cane for 

 summer feed for cows : 



"I found last season that sorghum cane of the 

 amber variety— the earliest sort I know and as sweet 

 as any I have tried— endured drought better than 

 corn, but that my stock preferred the latter, which 

 was contrary to the experience of a friend, and was 

 doubtless so because of the fact that I choose for 

 feeding green the best sorts of sweet corn, sow It not 

 over-thick in drills three feet apart, and cut the 

 stalks from the time they begin to silk till the grain 

 is in the milk ; never let it pass this stage. The 

 stalks do not grow over a half to three-fourths of an 

 inch in diameter at the butt ; they are consequently 

 tender and sweet their whole length, and thus are 

 greedily eaten up from one end to the other. There 

 is one advantage of growing amber cane over corn lo 

 the latitude of :i90 and lower— we can get two crops 

 of it from the same sowing in a season,' provided It 

 be a fair average one, no unusual late frost In May 

 or an eariy one in October. Prepare the land as for 

 corn ; strike out shallow drills with the plow three 

 feet apart, and drop the seed sufticlently close to 

 liave the stalks stand about an inch apart in the 

 drills. A hand seed-sower may be used for this pur- 

 pose. Some say that it is not so hardy as corn, and 

 it should not, therefore, be sowed so early. Others 

 say the growth for the first few weeks is very slow. 

 I find, thus far, neither of these assertions true. I 

 sowed at the same time as corn ; it came up quickly 

 and grew right oft', rapidly. I earnestly advise my 

 fellow-farmers to experiment with this plant forage." 



^ 



How to Exterminate Sorrel. 

 Many farmers are greatly troubled with a growth 

 of sorrel upon their lands, which is an Indication of 

 neglect and exhausted fertility. The weed, how- 

 ever, appears upon land in good tilth in seasons 

 when extreme drought prevails, or upon silicious 

 dry ridges. The best way to exterminate the pest Ib 

 to sow bone dust mixed with ashes and plaster. One 

 barrel of raw bone dust, with two of ashes and a 

 half a barrel of plaster will serve to drive out the 

 sorrel on a quarter of an acre of ground, if applied 

 after deep plowing. 



The hay crop of this country ranks next to that 

 of corn in value. In 18H1 the value of the hay ex- 

 exceeded that of the cotton crop by $90,000,000. In 

 ISSl, 14,000 carloads of hay, weighing ten tons to the 

 car, were brought into New York city by rail. It 

 was estimated that in ISS'J 147,000 ions were re- 

 ceived there. In the month of December last 144,000 

 bales arrived there. The transactions in hay in New 

 York city in 1SM2 are said to have reached the sum 

 of .?3ti,000,000. The hay crop of 1882 was estimated 

 at §:i72,000,000. The shipments by water from New 

 York were about 100,000 bales. 



'Wild Tobacco in Nevada. 

 In the vacant lots, ravines, and favorable spots in 

 and atiout Austin, as also in all parts of the State, 

 native wild tobacco grows profusely. It seems to 

 require little or no water, but the fresh, green look- 

 ing plant grows vigorously in all its sticky, juicy 

 nastiness everywhere. It Is simply a filthy weed, 

 which few respectable animals care to browse upon. 

 Over in Como, where I was twenty years ago, an old 

 Missourian, who knows all about tobacco, headed 

 down and trimmed somg of the most vigorous plants 



