The Lancaster Farmer. 



Dr. S. S. RATHVON, Editor. 



LANCASTER, PA., NOVEMBER, 1883. 



Vol. XV. No. 11. 



Editorial. 



HOW TO "STOP THE PAPER." 

 Tlie way to discontinue a subscrii)tion to a 

 newspaper, magazine, or other serial publica- 

 tion, is an exceedingly simple one, and yet, 

 many otherwise intelligent — dr even intellect- 

 ually sharp subscribers, often sadly bungle 

 therein. Unless from the nature of the con- 

 tract between publisher and patron, the latter 

 is bound for six niontlis, a year, or to the end 

 of a series, the vioiliis operandi is to merely 

 to pay up all arrearages, and order the pub- 

 lisher or proprietor to '■'stoj) the paper.'''' It is a 

 matter that relates strictly to the business de- 

 partment of the paper, and therefore, the rep- 

 resentative of that department is by all means 

 the proper, and in many cases the oiily proper 

 person to be addressed ; and the paper itself 

 will somewhere in its columns designate who 

 he is, and where he is. If published by a 

 company, of course, the company becomes a 

 person, and should be addressed as such, un- 

 less it has constituted a special individual to 

 act as its agent. On matters relating to sub- 

 scriptions, advertisements, or anything else of 

 a secular character, the Editor should never 

 be addressed— unless he is also the publisher— 

 because, jis Editor, he is not supposed to 

 know loho the subscribers or advertisers are. 

 He may reside miles away from the office of 

 publication, and even never visit it, from one 

 years end to another. All matter intended 

 for publication, however, whether in the form 

 of correspondence, communication, or contri- 

 bution, should be addressed to the Editor, for 

 these come directly within the sphere of the 

 editorial function. These rules constitute the 

 common law of literary publications, of what- 

 soever character they may be, over the whole 

 country ; and, the subscribers to a book might 

 with equal propriety address the writer or 

 writers of it, declining to take it, or finding 

 fault with it, as for a newspaper subscriber to 

 address the editor on a matter strictly be- 

 tween him and the publisher. All this has 

 been repeated hundreds, yea thousands of 

 times and still it is systematically unheeded 

 by those who certainly know better. Cut 

 this out — paste it inside on the crown of your 

 hat, and act accordingly. 



SMUT IN WHEAT. 

 We insert with more than ordinary pleasure 

 the communication of our correspondent from 

 Brookville, because it seems to have a good, 

 intelligent, and practical Lancaster county 

 farmer-ring ; and, if Lancaster county far- 

 mers would only condescend to make their 

 sentiments freely and liberally known, through 

 the medium of the press, we feel assured that 

 they could honorably occupy the exalted 

 position of teachers, instead of mere freshmen 

 in agricultural lore. Of course, it is not to 

 be supposed that we otficially endorse the 

 doctrines embraced in the various paragraphs 

 we quote from other journals, any more than 

 we are supposed to endorse the sentiments of 



all our contributors and correspondents. 15ut, 

 finding these paragraphs in respeclable jour- 

 nals we suppose them to have a respectable 

 authorship, and hence we give them place for 

 what they may be worth, knowing that if 

 they cannot bear a practical test, they come 

 to naught. According to some of the most 

 unquestionable authorities on the origin and 

 germination of " rust" or "smut," our cor- 

 respondent is right ; nor can we see, any more 

 than he can, how the small quantum of sul- 

 phate of copper which may adhere to a grain 

 of wheat, can have any beneficial effect upon 

 a disease that is only banefully developed 

 some eight or nine months thereafter. There 

 is not a mofe subtle development in the vege- 

 table kingdom than that of mold, smut, or 

 rust, under whatsoever name, or in whatever 

 form it may appear. Its development seems 

 to be entirely under the control of surround- 

 ing conditions, and as these conditions cannot 

 be seen six or eight months in advance, it 

 would seem futile to depend on any remedy 

 involved in " seed-steeping." These crypto- 

 gamic parasites may be found in the seed- 

 cav'ities of apples, pears and quinces ; in the 

 cells within a loaf of bread, or an English 

 cheese, or within the abdominal cavity of an 

 insect even before it is dead. This would 

 imply that the spores or germs had been in the 

 air, and that their development was entirely 

 dependent upon surrounding conditions, and 

 tliese conditions would more likely exist in a 

 damp cellar than in a dry garret. Of course, 

 any chemical application that would stimulate 

 the healthy ; nd vigorous growth of a plant, 

 would advance it faither beyond the injury 

 of rust, than if it were in an enervated condi- 

 tion. It is true also that often the most vig- 

 orous plants become afliected with rust, but 

 then this may occur through excessive stimu- 

 lation, and a protracted humidity in the sur- 

 rounding atmosphere. 



NOTEWORTHY. 



Mr. Miles Rock, assistant astronomer of the 

 U. S. Naval Observatory, sailed October 1st, 

 to accept the position of astronouier on the 

 survey of the boundary between Guatemala 

 and Mexico. The work will occupy one or 

 two years. He will also make ethnological 

 observations and photograph ruins for the 

 Smithsoniau Institution. — iieientijic and Liter- 

 ary Oossi2), Oct. 15(/t. 



Mr. Rock is a Lancaster countian, and a 

 brother to Allen Rock, of North Queen street, 

 Lancaster city. He was at one time an active 

 member of the Linnrean Society, and is now 

 one of its most distinguished correspondents, 

 and has made a worthy record in contribu- 

 tions to its museum and library. 



None congratulate him on his scientific ad- 

 vancement more earnestly than his old-time 

 friends among the Linnieans, and they recall 

 with special gratitude his remembrance of the 

 society on his late return from Cordova, Soutli 

 America, where he assisted in making ob- 

 servations on the transit of Venus in 1880. 

 His contributions to natural science, and es- 

 pecially to astronony, on that occasion were 



valuable and were duly appreciated, not only 

 by the (Government, but also by his private 

 beneficiaries. Long residence at the National 

 Capitol has not alienated him from his friends 

 in Lancaster county, and they look upon his 

 scientific and social progress with a solicitude 

 that is .second to none. He has the unquali- 

 fied sympathy in his undertakings Of all who 

 know him in this community, and, not lea.st, 

 of the members of the Linniean .Society, who 

 feel that he is competent to the discharge of 

 any duty that may devolve upon him by his 

 own consent. The boundary between Guate- 

 mala and Mexico will present a new field of 

 scientific operation, although it may be a 

 rough one, and we await with interest its ulti- 

 mate results. Independent of the skill of the 

 mere mathematician it will be a prolific source 

 to the naturalist, a line of observation and 

 research in which Mr. Rock is not a stranger, 

 although he may make no special professions 

 in that direction. The web of natural science 

 is so intricately woven together, that no one 

 can explore one of its threads without feeling 

 or cultivating an interest in collateral fibers. 



EXCERPTS. 



This year's crop of Rio coffee is estimated 

 at from ,3,000,00C to 3,.')00,000 bags. 



The horse population of the United States 

 is now over 11,000,000, or about one horse to 

 every five human beings.— C/iicago Inter- 

 Ocean. 



There is no better food for chickens than 

 skim mWk.— Chicago Journal. 



Last year Kansas had 62 tornadoes ; Illi- 

 nois, 54; Missouri, 44; Iowa, 31; Indiana, 

 27, and Minnesota, 2i.— Prairie Farmer. 



Dickey County, D. T, one year asro had 

 a population of 200. Now it has 5,000, and 

 more coming. — Dakota Journal. 



New York eats $5,000,000 worth of oysters 

 a year. Philadelphia 13,500,000. Baltimore 

 .12,000,000, Boston $1,750,000 and about.885,- 

 000,000 wo*h of beans. How grateful the 

 Boston oyster must be to the otAn.—N. Y. 

 Times. 



Seven tunnels, with an aggregate length 

 of about seven miles, will be built on the line 

 of the Harrisburg & Western Railroad be- 

 tween that city and the Youghiogheny River. 

 The road is to cost $20,000,000 or about $100,- 

 000 per mile, and is to be completed within 

 two years.— Philadelphia Press. 



There are about 500 fancy biscuit bake- 

 shops in this country, and each has a capacity 

 of from 100 to 600 barrels of biscuit a day. 

 Crackers cut into fanciful designs are carried 

 around the world by travelers and, a baker 

 says, are not only a thing of beauty, but a 

 joy forever. — Detroit Post. 



In 1S50 the best railroad time between New 

 York and New Orleans was five days, and a 

 passenger had to make nine changes, many of 

 them long rides from depot to depot. In 

 1869 the time was reduced to four days ; in 



