14 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[January) 



Arctia or Spilosoma. The remarkable feature about 

 it iB, that it was spun on the edges of a number of 

 unbound magazines, and the paper itself in the form 

 of pulp, seems to have largely entered into the com- 

 position of the cocoon. The surface attached to the 

 papers adhered so tenaciously that in attempting to 

 remove it, the adhering portion was destroyed. I 

 did not see the larva previous to its pupation, and 

 therefore only locate it proximately. Donated to by 

 Dr. Rathvon. 



Specimens of Lecaniui* persicum, or "peach 

 scab," together with a specimen of "lace-wing" 

 (chrysopa) which, it was alleged, was the 

 parent. These were received by the curators three 

 years ago from Berks county, and the person who 

 sent them was quite confident that he had captured 

 the progenitor of the " scabs." Of course, he had 

 imprisoned the larva in the bottle, which subse- 

 quently spun the little white spherical cocoon, and, 

 incredible as it may appear, from this little cocoon 

 the "fly" evolved whilst in the curator's possession. 

 The larva of this " fiy " is predaceous in its habits, 

 and doubtless it was feeding, or trying to feed, on 

 the " scabs." 



Specimens of glass roofflng tiles from Mr. L. S. 

 Reist, of Oregon, Lancaster county, "a'. Mr. Reist 

 states that Mr. Jacob Rupp, a farmer, of Earl town, 

 ship, has had a large barn covered with these tiles. 

 They are made in different tints, and as they are put 

 on to allow for contraction and expansion, they 

 must not only be ornamental, but also very durable. 

 Donations to the Library- 

 Six volumes of the " Second Geological Survey" o f 

 the State of Pennsylvania. 



Lancaster Farmer for December, 1883. 



A copy of the Philadelphia Evening Call, Novem- 

 ber 6, 1883. 



Lippincott's Monthly Bulletin for December, 1883. 



Two catalogues of miscellaneous books. 



Two book circulars. 



Two envelopes containing 25 historical, biographi- 

 cal and miscellaneous scraps. 



Transactionsof theAnthropological Society of Wash 

 ington, D. C, from February, 1882, to May, 1883. 



One copy of Canadian Entomologist ; London 

 Daily Free Prexs, containing an address of Ur 

 Sanders on " Disinfectants," read before the Sanit 

 ary Convention, from C. A. Heinitsh ; cabinet, 

 photograph of the library building of Rupert Howe 

 Bancroft in San Francisco, California ; one book and 

 two shell circulars from Paul Bajou, of Marseilles, 

 France. 



Report of Department of Agriculture of United 

 States for 1881 and 1882, a finely illustrated volume^ 

 from Department of Agriculture. 



Bi Centennial souvenir of Philacielphia, and a 

 copy of the Philadelphia Ledger of August 22, 1861, 

 with war news, from S. M. Sener. 



Report of State Agriculturist of Pennsylvania, for 

 1881, from E. G. Snyder, H. R., per S. M. S. 



The Treasurer's report was then handed in and on 

 motion read and approved. From an examination 

 of the reoort it is seen that during the year the pro- 

 ceeds derived from payment of dues, etc., amounted 

 to $43.26, and that the expenditures amounted to 

 45.70. The Curator's report was then read and on 

 motion approved. The report shows that during the 

 year the society has had added to its library 44 

 bound quarto and octavo vols; 134 6erials,cataIogues. 

 etc.; eleven historical specimens, and thirty-seven 

 envelopes of local historical scraps ; forty circulars 

 and twenty-nine serial volumes have been bound. 



The museum has received in Mammalogy 9 speci- 

 mens ; Ichthyology 3 ; Ornithology 10, including 

 crania and bird architecture ; Entomology 1 glass 

 jar, and 2i smaller bottles containing hundreds of 

 insects, besides 28 independent specimens ; Reptilla 

 8; Botany 73 specimens; Mineralogy 65; Paleontology 

 3 ; Scientific Miscellany 12. During the year a new 

 plant was added to the flora of the country by Pros. 

 Stahr, and a new insect added to the list of the 

 county by S. M. Sener. Nine scientiflc papers were 

 read before the members, and of these two were pub- 

 lished entire in the " Daily Examiner" (for which we 



here return thanks) and two were published in the 

 Farmer. In all there has been an aggregate of 

 1,275 articles procured by the society, several of 

 which were purchased. 



The society then proceeded to the electian of offi- 

 cers for the ensuing year, which resulted as follows. 



President— Hon. J. P. Wickersham. 



Vice Presidents— C. A. Heinitsh and Dr. J. Dubbs 



Rec. Secretary S. M. sener. 



Treasurer— Dr. S. S. Rathvon. 



Cor. Secretary— Miss Lefevre. 



Librarian — Mrs. Zel). 



Curators— Dr. S. S. Rathvon, S. M. Sener, Prof. J. 

 Stahr and C. A. Heinitsh. 



On motion the office of Assistant Secretary was 

 then dispensed with. The society then adjourned to 

 meet on Saturday, January— 1884, at 3 P. M. in the 

 .Museum. 



AGRICULTURE. 



Seed Crop. 

 The damage inflicted on the immature corn in ihe 

 northern latitudes by frosts is a warning of the 

 importance of careful selections of good grain for 

 seed. In the North, where the season is short, 

 those varieties only should be planted that ripen rap. 

 idly, and in the South those should be planted tha. 

 ripen slowly. But the possibility of frost in Septem 

 bi!r is not the only consideration that should govern 

 the selection of seed corn. In the latitude of Mis. 

 souri and the States south of us, we rarely have a 

 severe frost before the 2.5th of September, or the first 

 of October, and this danger is so slight, therefore, 

 that farmers do not need to concern themselves about 

 it. Still, there are other things to be taken into 

 account in determining the character of the seed se- 

 lected for planting productiveness, hardiness, weighj 

 and keeping qualities. Every large corn raiser in 

 Missouri ought to carry on a little experimentation 

 for himself, year after year. Tests of new varieties 

 from distant regions may be made on a small scale, 

 and when these reveal superior qualities in a new va 

 riety, it may be adopted. But it is found as a rule 

 that the variety long grown in a locality is the best 

 for »hat locality, and every farmer's experience 

 strengthens this rule. But the local variety itself 

 may be improved by careful selections carried on, 

 year after year, with reference to the time of ripen 

 ing, size of ear, weight of grain, and productiveness. 

 In every cornfield there is to be seen here and there 

 an unusually fine, heavy ear, matured early, well 

 filled out with full grain compactly set to the tip, 

 and bending down with its own weight. These ears 

 arenature's hints to the farmer; they are the pro- 

 duct of a law of growth by which vital vigor mani- 

 fests itself conspicuously. These noble ears should 

 be marked as the seed corn for the next season ; and 

 when similar ears are found in the field next season, 

 they should again be selected. This process carried 

 on through successive years will give a gradually 

 improving grain, possessing the verj quaiiiies the 

 farmer desires, and spare him the risk and cost of 

 high-priced varieties from distant regions which he 

 knows nothing about. — .S'(. Louis Republican. 



Theory of Crop Rotation. 



It is now generally admitted that rotation of crops 

 is rendered necessary not as formerly supposed be- 

 cause the soil becomes exhausted of some necessary 

 element, or because unwholesome for that particular 

 plant, owing to the poisonous excreta left by the 

 roots, but because insects and diseases accompany 

 the plant which are special to it, the eggs or spores 

 of spores of which are left in the soil to attack the 

 same crop in the next following year with hundred- 

 fold increase of numbers and power. Prof. Bessy, 

 of the Iowa Agricultural College, shows how this is 

 the case with smut, which grows up through all the 

 interior of a wheat plant and finally developes its 

 spores within the bran casing of the grain, filling it 

 not with flour, but with innumerable black, stinking 

 seeds of the parisite which, when set free, float out, 

 and stick fast to sound grains of wheat and also to 



particles of the soil, where they lie ready to enter in- 

 to the circulation of the next year's growth of wheat 

 plants, unless killed by steeping the polluted seed in 

 blue vitriol solution and drying off with lime. As to 

 the polluted soil it is purified from the contamination 

 only by using it for some other crop on which the 

 smut plant cannot take hold. 



Top Dressing Meadows. 



When farmers have succeeded in getting good va- 

 rieties of grass well established in a field they should 

 endeavor to preserve it as long as possible. Consid- 

 able risk always attends the sowing of grass-seed. A 

 good stand is not always secured, no matter how 

 much pains are taken in the preparation of the soil 

 and the sowing of the seed. The seed itself costs a 

 considerable sum. In many cases only a very small 

 crop of gvain is produced on the land the year the 

 seed is sown. Everything considered the cost of 

 seeding a field to grass is large. It is accordingly 

 desirable to keep it productive as long as practicable. 

 The yield of grass may he kept up by the judicious 

 application of fertilizers. Ashes, lime, land-plaster, 

 salt and commercial fertilizers are all highly bene- 

 ficial, but stable manure is generally productive of 

 the most satisfactory results. It should be well rot- 

 ted, and ought to be finely pulverized before it is ap- 

 plied, or at least before it is left on the grass. The 

 best time to apply it is in the fall. The sod is then 

 firm, and teams can be driven over it without doing 

 any amount of damage. The weather is then cool 

 and the volative portions will not evaporate as fast 

 as in summer. Dews are ordinarily heavy and they 

 will keep the moisture. Rains are frequent and they 

 will dissolve the soluble parts of the manure and will 

 carry the remainder close to the surface of the 

 ground. Grass will come very early in the spring 

 on land manured in this way. It will make a large 

 growth, but will have no offensive taste.— CTiicaoo 

 Times. 



Agriculture. 

 After cattle go to the barn for winter they should 

 have salt given them every week. If they have a 

 lump of rock salt they can go to it every day and 

 liek as much as they please, it will be even better for' 

 them. Milch cows should have at least a table- 

 spoonful of fine ground bone every week. Professor 

 Johnson, in his agricultural chemistry says that a 

 milch cow giving 750 gallons of milk in a year and 

 raising one calf whose bones will weigh twenty 

 pounds, will also pass off in her milk as much phos- 

 phate as is contained in 30 pounds of bone dust, and 

 in her urine as much as in seventeen pounds, making 

 a total of sixty-seven pounds of bone material which 

 are needed by a healthy cow each year. Of course, 

 some portion of this is supplied by her food, especi- 

 ally if she is fed with wheat bran, which contains a 

 larger percentage of phosphate of lime than any 

 other substance usually given as food for cattle, ex- 

 ceeding even cotton seed in that element, though not 

 as rich in nitrogen. 



HORT3CL I'URE. 



The Orchard. 



Old orchards, as well as young, should be careful- 

 ly examined every year to remove any limbs that 

 have died or showed any weakness. To remove 

 large limbs not only is a sharp saw required but also 

 a sharp ax and a two-inch chisel with which to 

 smooth off the wounds where the limbs are sawed 

 off, for, if the wound be left just as the saw leaves it, 

 it will require a much longer time for it to heal over 

 than if smoothed over so that there are no sharp 

 corners. 



In trimming old trees, when most of the branches 

 of a large limb have died, it is best to remove the 

 entire limb up to the trunk of the tree, for if left it 

 will die back to the tree, or at least become so dis- 

 eased that when cut off the wound will not readily 

 heal, but will most likely liegin to decay long before 

 it is healed over. It is much better to remove large 



