144 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[September, 1S83. 



this report we learn that the total crop of wheat in 

 the State of Kansis, the present year, is 28,382,91'j 

 bushels, a deiriMse of 7,000,000 bushels on the crop 

 of 1882, and tliat the average is 18.3 bushels per acre. 

 Oats estimated at 29,321,8(52 bushels. Cum could, 

 of course, not even be approximated, but there are 

 4,655,022 acres of coru in the State. The rye crop 

 was demoralized, 14,040 acres being winter killed, 

 36,979 acres used for pasture, and not harvested ; 

 270,480 acres made a yield of 4,832,296 bushels, 

 averaging 17.9 bushels per acre. Barley, so far as 

 heard from, 15,615 acres yielded 312,3110 bushels. 

 Millet and ILmyarian grass, yielded 980.994 tons, 

 averaging 2.17 tons per acre. Irish potatoes— SO, 5i!i 

 acres under cultivation, being 21,382 more than in 

 1882. Norijhiun — 102,042 acres under cultivation, 

 being 35,208 acres more than in 1882. In other crops 

 there was a decrease on last year, especially in 

 buckwheat and tobaco. The fruit crop was not so 

 promising on the 3l6t of July, as it had been a month 

 earlier. 



FoRTV-EiGHT State and County Fairs were pro- 

 posed to be held the present season, between Sep- 

 tember 3d and October 20th. 



The Gkasses of the United States being a 

 synopsis of the Tribes and Genera, with descriptions 

 of the Genera, and a list of species ; prepared by Dr. 

 Geo. Vasey, Botonist of the Department of Agricul- 

 ture. Special report, No. 63, uniform with other 

 members of the series ; pp. 47. VV^iole number of 

 known genera 114, and of species 589. 



Observations on the soils and products of 

 Florida, by William Saunders, Superinteneent of 

 Gardens and Grounds, etc.. Department of Agricul 

 ture, Washington, D. C. Special report, No. 62, pp. 

 30 ; an interesting bulletin, and very useful, especially 

 to those who may contemplate a settlement in 

 Florida, with a view to cultivate its soil and general 

 products. 



Report on condition of crops, " American com- 

 petition," and freight rates of transportation com- 

 panies, August, 18S3 ; being special report. No. 64 

 Department of Agriculture ; 80 pp., octavo, Wash- 

 ington, D. C. 



The general average of cotton crop bad fallen from 

 90 in July to 84 for August. The presence of the 

 caterpillar in the Gulf coast States were numerous 

 and, of course, correspondingly destructive. This 

 perhaps will always be so, somewhere, notwith 

 standing all the remedies and appliances, and all 

 that has been, and vill be, written and published 

 upon that hackneyed subject. The fact is, like re- 

 ligion, it does not depend so much on what we know, 

 as upon what we du, in our efforts to effect a re- 

 generation. Taking the whole area together, the 

 condition of corn had advanced from 8S to 89 per 

 cent, of a perfect crop. The general average for 

 spring wheat, August 1, is 97, the same as in 1882. 

 The condition of oats is represented by 100, and 

 barley 95, the same as in 1882. The returns to 

 August 1 indicate a full development of the potato 

 crop, being 101. Buckwheat is &9 and tobacco at 

 least 88. Sorghum promises a fair yield, and the 

 average condition of sugar-cane is 96. 



From Maine to Virginia the condition of timothy 

 on August 1, indicated 100, and a heavy growth of 

 clover had been secured. The highest mark for the 

 whole country is West Virginia, 108. These reports 

 contain much valuable information in detail, and 

 ought to be read by all the cultivators of the soil at 

 least ; but, have they access to them, and if so, do 

 they read them ? 



Circular of the Pennsylvania State College, 

 1882-83, with a statement of the courses of instruc- 

 tion, conditions of admission, etc., 32 pp., 8 vo. In 

 looking over the calendar of studies one would hardly 

 suppose this to be an Agricultural College — indeed 

 the terra " agriculture " does not at all occur on its 

 title page, and very sparsely elsewhere. 



Pennsylvania State College Agricultural 

 Bulletin'jNo. 5. Results of experiments on the effect of 

 cutting timothy and clover grass at different stages 

 of growth. The experiments show that there was 



an increase of more than 18 per cent, by cutting 

 timothy when nearly ripe, over cutting it when in 

 bloom, and that the yield of clover hay when cut in 

 full bloom was over 18 per cent, greater than when 

 cut and cured at any succeeding stage. 



The New York Sun. — We have received a copy 

 of the Sun, dated September 3d, 1883, and also a 

 fac simile oi the same paper, dated September 3d, 

 1833, just half a century ago. The latter is a 9 by 

 11 folio, and was published daily at 122 William 

 street, by Benjamin H. Day, at " one penny "a num- 

 ber. The Sim of the former date is just four times 

 as large, and the present price is •' two cents " a 

 number. It will thus be perceived that the sub- 

 scription price has increased just one hundred per 

 cent., whilst in size and quantity of reading matter, 

 the increase has been over three hundred per cent, 

 to say nothing about the quality and scope of the 

 paper. An editorial in the little sheet of 1833 refers 

 to Rev. Ephraim K. Avery, who had been acquitted 

 of the murder of a young girl, one of his parishoners 

 in New Jersey, who was on board of a Hartford 

 steamboat, and had to be put on shore at Middle- 

 town, as the passengers objected to his presence on 

 the boat. We well remember the Avery excitement ; 

 his spectacled picture in a number of the newspapers, 

 his trial and acquittal, and the indignation it created. 

 There is nothing in this little paper to indicate what 

 its circulation was at this erabryotic period of its ex 

 istence, but the regular circulation of the Sun for 

 the week ending September 1, 1883, was 1,086,926' 

 We gather from this latter issue that there are 14 

 daily Suns published in the United States, 7 of which 

 are Independent in politics, 3 are Democratic, 2 or 

 3 are Republican, and one is a College paper ; in ad- 

 dition to these, there are 66 weekly Suns in the 

 United States, 31 of which are Independent or 

 neutral in politics, 22 are Democratic, 9 are Repub- 

 lican, 2 are Greenbackers, 1 is religious and 1 is 

 humorous. In other parts of the world there are 

 16 papers published named the Sun, 4 of which are 

 daily, one semi-weekly, and the remainder Wt«kly. 

 The entire first page of the Sun of September, 1883, 

 is devoted to a historical sketch of the Sun, from its 

 infancy down to the present time, which is very in- 

 teresting reading. Mr. Day, the Yankee founder of 

 the paper, is still alive, but, like the lady, who was 

 past a certain age, alleged that the eyes of the needles 

 were not as large as they were when she was a girl. 

 So he, practically, thinks the types are not as large 

 as when be commenced the paper, and therefore he 

 would like to see them as large as " long prim- 

 mer," at least. " Vive le (New York) Suleil," \ive 

 I'Amerique." 



Area and Product op Cereals grown in 1879, 

 as returned by the Census of 1880, 97 pp., 8 vo., en- 

 tirely made up of statistical tables; from which it 

 appears, that the corn product in that year was 

 1,7.54,591,670 bushels; Wheat 4.59,483,137 bushels; 

 and oats 407,8.58,999 bushels, grown in 48 States and 

 Territories, under the United States Government. 

 The corn was grown on 02,668,676 acres ; the oats, 

 16,144,.593 acres, and the wheat 35,430,3.33 acres. In 

 addition to these, there were 1,997,727 acres in bar- 

 ley, yielding 43,997,495 bushels ; 848,389 acres in 

 buckwheat, yielding 11,.S17,327 bushels, and 1,824,- 

 233 acres in rye, yielding 19,831,-595 bushels. 



Investigations of Sorohum, as a sugar produc 

 ing plant during the season of 1882, by Peter Collier, 

 chemist. Special Report of the Department of Agri 

 culture. 66 pp., 8 vo., and an index, with two large 

 foldel tables of experiments, "and an explanatory 

 chart, the details of which we have not space to give, 

 and perhaps, would elicit but little interest if they 

 were given. The general conclusion reached is, that 

 the production of over one ton of sorghum sugar from 

 an acre of ground, is far beyond the results, or even 

 the hopes of most of those interested in its cultiva- 

 tion, and yet the averages shown in sundry experi- 

 ments illustrate that such a result is by no means 

 unreasonable. 



Encouragement of the Sorghum and Beet sugar 

 Industry, being a record of practical experiments 



conducted under the direction of the Commissioner 

 of Agriculture, 64 pp. 8 vo. This pamphlet goes 

 into the details of sorghum and beet culture, facto- 

 ries and necessary machinery, process of manufac- 

 ture, profit and loss, expenses and outcome, tests 

 and a hundred matters connected with this industry, 

 throwing that light upon the subject which those in- 

 tending to engage in the enterprise should avail 

 themselves of before they embark in it. 



The Sugar Beet, 16 pp. quarto. Fourth year. 

 No. 3, August, 1883, Philadelphia, Pa. This is an 

 able advocate of the beet sugar industry, excellently 

 gotten up, and always interesting and instructive. 

 Wholely and solely devoted to the cultivation and 

 utilization of the sugar beet, it fully believes in its 

 ultimate success. 



American Journalist. — Published monthly by 

 the American Journalist Publishing and Printing 

 Company, at .505 Chestnut street, St. Louis, Mo., at 

 $2 a year, invariably in advance. R. P. Yorkston, 

 President and Treasurer ; C. C. Howard, Vice Presi- 

 dent ; Wm. H. Kerns, Secretary ; R. P. Yorkston, 

 Editor. A two columned Royal quarto of 28 pages, 

 in fine tinted covers, and the typography and mate- 

 rial of which, " is an honor to the craft." No. 1, 

 vol. 1, of this " brand new" enterprise, has found its 

 way to our sanctum, and none are more welcome. 

 In his initiatory, the editor says : " The journalistic 

 profession is the only one existing at the present 

 time that is without a medium of intercourse be- 

 tween its respective members." " The Journalist is 

 therefore sent out to represent the interests of the 

 working writers of the press throughout the laud ; to 

 bring into communion him who does his work on the 

 Atlantic coast with his contemporary laborer on the 

 shores of the Pacific ; and to constitute such a me- 

 dium as will give to the toilers of the pen just 

 recognition for the services they are devoting to 

 mankind." A very interesting paper on the jour- 

 nalism of Missouri, embellished with line portraits of 

 George Knapp, William Hyde, Daniel M. Houser, 

 Joseph H. McCullagh, John N. Edwards, and John 

 A. Cockerill — all aistinguished journalists of the 

 State — constitutes the initial article in this first num- 

 ber: followed by a paper on French Journalism, by 

 E. J. Biddle ; Sporting Journalists, by David L. Keid, 

 and Old Huts in Printing Machinery, by a Mechani 

 cal Engineer. Among '• newspaper notes" from 

 Pennsylvania, we find the following interesting para- 

 graph : " The three oldest living compositors in 

 Pennsylvania reside in Harrisburg. They are Gen. 

 Simon Cameron, aged 86 years ; George W. Scott, 

 aged 85 years, and Jacob Babb, aged 83 years." A 

 " National Editorial Directory" is established in its 

 columns, in which *'onl3' the staffs of daily papers 

 taking press dispatches will appear." Thus far, 

 only eight have reported from Pennsylvania, the 

 nearest to us, of which is Harrisburg; but other 

 towns of less population than. Lancaster are repre- 

 sented. This department, of course, is still incom- 

 plete, but it will be revised and corrected to date of 

 each monthly issue. This number is the beginning 

 of an important undertaking, and no doubt it will 

 ultimately be a big one. Thus, one by one, the 

 vacuums in the liteary world, as they are discovered, 

 are being filled. The world moves. 



Spirit op the Farm. — A weekly journal, devoted 

 to agriculture and live stock, Nashville, Tennesse, 

 September 9, 1883, No. 1, Vol. 1, 16 pp. royal quarto, 

 published by the " Spirit of the Farm Publishing 

 Company," southwest corner Church and College 

 streets, at $2 a year ; B. M. Hord, editor, C. F. 

 Vanderford, assistant. The editor says : " It will 

 be my earnest endeavor to make the Spirit of the 

 Farm what its name literally implies — the spirit of 

 the farm in every resjJect. Boru of the farmers, it 

 shall be for the farmer, and to the farmer from the 

 farmer, for to them will I look for the results of 

 those lessons learned from the best of all teachers — 

 practical experience in the field. We sincerely wish 

 he may realize all his anticipations, and that his 

 sustaiucrs may " never be weary of well doing." 

 Farmers are the only men, in the main, to make up 

 a reliable and practical agricultural paper. The 

 Spirit vf the Farm makes a creditable beginning. 



