1883.J 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



165 



r 



present time, not be so objectionable on that 

 account, since we liave etlitient inacliinory 

 Tlie rud, beaidy wlicat, was ntxt introduced, 

 and generally grown on oats-stubble ; and 

 the so-called "stubble-wheat was supposed to 

 thrive better on " stubble-grouud, or on 

 ground not too rich. Up to the year 1825, it 

 was considered the wheat ; but from tha* 

 period to 1S35, the smooth-chaffed blue-stem 

 took its place. In 1S27 the winter was so 

 mild that the growing oats did not perish in 

 the field during the winter, so that in the fol- 

 lowing harvest the farmers had a I uU oats 

 crop mixed with their wlicat, and the wheat 

 itself was one of the best crops they had for 

 years. The oats having had the whole win- 

 ter for its development, it ripened simultan- 

 eously with the wheat, and tliciy were har- 

 vested together, but the wheat kernels were 

 so heavy that there was very little ditliculty 

 to separate them, when it came to '"cleaning 

 up." We have not had such a mild winter 

 since that date, and for three years thereafter 

 we had but little snow and the winters were 

 not especially cold ; and during those years 

 there was no sleighing at all, and country 

 sleighs were converted into peaceable hen- 

 roosts. 



A very deep snow fell in the last days of 

 1831. It commenced snowing in Virginia at 

 1 o'clock P. M., and in Lancaster county at 

 7 P. M., and snowed all night and all next 

 day, and the average depth was full two 

 feet on a level. It so drifted that many of 

 of the roads were shut up and became almost 

 impassable. Sleighing continued without in- 

 termission for nearly four weeks, and sleighs 

 were in great demand, hence most of the peo- 

 ple were not prepared to indulge in the luxury. 

 We had then sleighing successfully every 

 winter for several years, and the winters were 

 intensly cold. This was especially the case 

 from January to March in 1835, when sleigh- 

 ing continued about eight weeks, with very 

 little interruption, and the ice on the Susque- 

 hanna did not move until very late in March. 

 Many apple, peach, and cherry trees were 

 ruined from the effects of the cold, and some- 

 times the. trunk and limbs exploded with a 

 loud report, from the expansion of the frozen 

 sap — it was very cold. 



In 1831 there weie indications of a very 

 good harvest : there was a full crop of sereals, 

 but it was long known as " the wet harvest." 

 About the beginning of the harvest, or after 

 a proper beginning iiad been made, a heavy 

 shower of rain began to fall about 11 o'clock, 

 A. M. and you could hear peals of thunder, 

 and see flashes of lightning in the South, none 

 expecting it would work up towards the 

 North, but by 1 o'clock, P. M, it connnenced 

 raining briskly. This was on Thursday, and 

 then it continued raining all the remainder of 

 that week, and the whole of the following 

 week, with scarcely an interval of sunshme. 

 The wheat had began to sprout on the stalk, 

 and when it had been cut and shocked, the 

 outer exposed grains germinated and threw 

 out sprouts two or three inches long. It 

 was followed by an epoch of "sour soggy" 

 bread. It cleared up on Saturday night, and 

 the sun shone bright and clear on the follow- 

 ing Sunday morning. Some farmers com- 

 menced to harvest on Sunday morning, but 

 rather to their discomtiture— spoiling it more 



or less. Those who waited until Monday 

 morning had lino weather all week. All the 

 wheat was in a greater or lesser degree 

 spoiled, throughout the rain belt. 



In the summers and autumns of 1835-6 and 

 7, the Iltssian fly was unusually injurious, 

 especially in 1S3G. Whole Melds were turned 

 into jiasture grounds or were turned down 

 with the plow. Tlie wheat was more than 

 ordinarily good in the fall, but the fly was 

 particularly bad the following spring. 



In .January, 1835, my father sold one hun- 

 dred bushels of wheat to Ex-Sheriff Adam 

 Diller, at .fl.25 per bushel, delivered it at 

 Denuith's (now Hank's) Mill, On some plea 

 or other, Demuth refused to take the wheat, 

 alleging among other things that it was not 

 sound. That Siime wheat was kept until 

 June, 1S37, and was then sold for S2.31 per 

 bushel. That year the wheat crop was a 

 total failure throughout Lancaster county and 

 elsewhere, and flour went up to S14 per 

 barrel. Cargoes of wheat were imported 

 from the Mediterranean, and some of our far- 

 mers obtained seed and sowed it, hence it was 

 called "Mediterranean wheat." It subse- 

 quently became an object of general culture in 

 the county of Lancaster until 1858. A farmer 

 in Paradise township picked out some extra ears 

 of wheat in his field which was a redder color 

 than usual, and on cultivation it turned out 

 to be a great improvement on the old. It was 

 extensively cultivated and took the name of 

 "Red Mediteranean," and both kinds are 

 still extant. It makes better flour than the 

 " Foltz wheat," and brings from five to ten 

 cents more per bushel. The *Foltz was first 

 discovered by a workman named Foltz, in 

 one of the river valleys. He noticed a bunch 

 of wheat in harvest time which was difl'erent 

 from that around it, which he secured and 

 took home. His sons urged him to plant it ; 

 he did so, and was successful in raising a new 

 variety. It is now very extensively culti- 

 vated, but it has not yet displaced the Medi- 

 terranean wheat. It requires a very good 

 and rich soil to thrive well. 



There is still a smooth " Red-chaff" wheat 

 cultivated in the counties of Lancaster, York 

 and Lebanon, which does very well and is a 

 little longer in the stem than the Foltz. It is 

 known under different names, and I l-.ope 

 some one will give a history of it. 



In 1S45 we had a good wheat year, but in 

 .June after it had headed a white frost oc- 

 curred, and all the wheat on low grounds was 

 damaged or destroyed — there was nothing 

 but empty stiff straw. 



I believe the best thing that could be gotten 

 up by agricultural societies would be to offer 

 premiums for the best new varieties of wheat. 

 This would encourage farmers, in harvest 

 time, to look for and collect the best stray 

 heads of wheat in their fields. I believe by 

 •such a process we might get wheat to yield 

 from thirlij to forty bushels per acre. — L. S. 

 Ji., Ore(jnn, November, 1883. 



We have no prejudices or partialities in the 

 matter at all. We desire to publish the truth 

 as near as we can get it. If what we have 

 published comes short of the truth, it seems 

 to us it ought to be easy to disprove it. But 



^'F"or a (iilVfi-ent vtTMion of tlie oriKiu of the " Foltz 

 wheat," see the LancasU-r Farmt^r for February, IKS;;, 

 pp. 17, 22, 13, Vol. 15. 



Dr. Porter's version has been standing since 

 February last, and we have seen nothing that 

 authoritatively contradicts it. Something 

 also is due to the authoriti/, and we consider 

 Dr. P.'s entitled to the highest consideration, 

 because we do not believe he would write 

 upon the subject as he does, without knowing 

 something very definite about it. He was in- 

 timately acquainted with Dr. Follz, and 

 therefore ought to know something about the 

 wheat named after him. An honest workman 

 is of no less consequence than a Doctor; and a 

 Doctor is of no more consequence than an 

 /ione.s( loorkman, in any matter relating to a 

 real discovery ; but, positive testimony is 

 always of more consequence than merely 

 " hear say" testimony, until the former is 

 successfully rebutted, and the latter corrobor- 

 ated. 



Selections. 



MAKING COMPOST. 



Making compost and making manure are 

 two different things. It was once considered 

 that only turf was compost, but farmers now 

 prepare compost from every available sub- 

 stance. What is best known as compost on 

 the majority of farms at present is made by 

 the mingling of manure with other matter, 

 the whole to be finally brought to a fine, well- 

 rotted state. 



Barnyard manure, if dropped into a cellar 

 with the liquids flowing off in another direc- 

 tion, would soon become tough and elastic, 

 and a fork could no more enter it than it could 

 a bale of cotton, but by mixing the manure 

 with an absorbent, and making the mass in 

 the shape of a mound, the volatile matters 

 are retained, while the manure is more or less 

 disintegrated and broken up. The importance 

 of utilizing the liquids is also taken into con- 

 sideration while making compost, as they are 

 not only absorbed but assist in rottening the 

 solicis. Moisture lieing almost absolutely es- 

 sential to the decomposition of the heap, it is 

 best to apply the liquids from the stable. 

 Composts admit of the use of a large amount 

 of absorbent materials, for, along with the 

 solid and liquid manures from the stable, all 

 the dirty water, soapsuds and othei refuse 

 matter should be added, to it, nothing being 

 omitted that is supposed to contain fertilizing 

 matter of any kind. 



The compost, as stated before, should be 

 very fine. Long straw and whole cornstalks 

 are out of place in the compost heap, but 

 answer admirably when passed through the 

 fodder-cutter, and well saturated with liquid 

 manure, which quickly rots them when so 

 prepared. Such coarse material belongs to 

 the manure heap. Leaves make an excellent 

 absorbent material, and even road dust is 

 valuable, not for its fertilizing (lualilies so 

 much as for its power of absorbing and re- 

 taining liquids. But one of the best materials 

 from which to make compost is marl, which 

 is, possibly, cheaper than anything else for 

 the purpose, considering its chemical value. 

 As it is almost as fine as dirt and easily 

 handled and incorporated with manure and 

 other matter, it not only assists in saving the 

 valuable gaseous substances but adds in itself 

 fertilizing elements that are often lacking in 

 the manure to a certain degree. Although 



