1884.: 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



99 



dash of soapsuds, diluted lye, or extract of 

 totewco would kill them, but where the trees 

 are large and many, the job would be a for- 

 midable one — too much .so, perhaps, for any 

 one to undertake it. Before the leaves appear 

 they can easily be rubbed off with a stifl' brush, 

 if they are within reach. Tliey are preyed 

 upon by parasites, conspicuously by ;i black' 

 "Lady-bird," {Vhilocm-us bivulnenis) both in 

 its Jari'tt and mature states, but tlicsc unfortu- 

 nately never occur in numbers sutlicient to 

 make any very great impression upon tiieni. 



Doubtless in a few years they will again 

 pass away, as they have in aforetime, which 

 is a consolation to most people, esi>ecially to 

 that kind of people who desire their exter- 

 mination by proxy, or by remedial imputa- 

 tion, instead of working out the salvation of 

 their trees by their own active co-operation. 

 No doubt it would be very convenient, and 

 of easy application, if insects could bo exter- 

 minated or expelled through some sort of in- 

 vocation or incantation, so that the remedy 

 might be operative whilst the subject of in- 

 sect spoliation was lying on his back abed, or 

 engaged in some other more profitable occu- 

 pation — something like boring a gimlet hole 

 in the trunk of the tree, introducing a cathar- 

 tic and then plugging it up, and leisurely 

 waiting for a favorable result; or by " blow- 

 ing upon the tree, in connection with certain 

 cabalistic words, "three times repeated," 

 some of which savor of profanation. Noxious 

 insects are stern facts and must be met and 

 treated as such— facts that cannot be ignored 

 with impunity— they require to be looked 

 after with as much vigilance as any other 

 facts involving the interests of the farmer. A 

 single " squash-bug " destroyed as soon as it 

 issues from its winter cover early in the spring 

 will save the trouble of destroying hundreds 

 of them later in the season ; and the same 

 may be said of the " Colorado Potate-beetle. " 

 The "sack-bearer" early in the spring, dang- 

 ling from the branches of the trees, can easily 

 be removed before the foliage appears, if only 

 a little ordinary observation is exercised. 



"Rose Slugs," being within convenient 

 reach, may be readily exterminated if people 

 only will. Of course, there are many minute 

 species of insects, that from their very small 

 size and immense numbers baffle human skill, 

 but even these can be mitigated, if not totally 

 destroyed, by being vigilantly before hand. 

 Under any circumstances, don't put off atten- 

 tion to insects until you have nothing else to 

 do. " There is a time for everything under 

 the sun," and in nothing is this more abso- 

 lute, and more imperatively enjoined than in 

 its relation to noxious insects. Those who 

 would light successfully against the " Be- 

 douins " of vegetation, must "be ui> and 

 bedoi/in." 



It requires a large quantity of water to dis- 

 solve a small proportion of plaster. It pro- 

 duces the results on rocky, springy soils, but 

 has little effect in the vicinity of the seashore. 

 It is valuable in assisting to fix the volatile set 

 free in decomposing material. 



A MEMBER of the Elmira Farmers' Club 

 opposes the use of breast collars on driving.hor- 

 ses, for the reason that it is injurious, by 

 drawing the shoulders of the animals together 

 thereby preventing a development and ex- 

 pansion of the breast, especially of colts. 



WATER. 



Water is one of llu- most essential physical 

 elements in the vast storehouse of nature, 

 second only to atmospheric air, and without 

 it, neither man, animal nor plant, could long 

 exist : and so far as it concerns the healtii, 

 comfort, and happiness of the human family, 

 the condition of its purity is involved : we 

 accordingly, make room in this number of 

 the Faumek, for the interesting analysis of 

 the different kinds of water in use in Lan- 

 caster City, and what applies to the water of 

 the city, will also apply, so far as it goes, to 

 the water of Lancaster County. Prof. Thos. 

 l». Maker, of the State Normal School at 

 Millersville, has wrought a good work for 

 Lancaster City and County, in placing his 

 important analysis before the public ; and, if 

 the public is not benefited thereby, it will be 

 l)ecause it does not read, or reading, does not 

 heed. It is true, there may bo a large class 

 in the community who pay little regard to the 

 (luality of water, simply because they use as 

 little of it as possible, except perhaps for an 

 occasional (luasi ablution, but even these 

 may be more benefited by pure water than 

 they apprehend, or are willing to acknowledge. 



Of course, water, must be subordinated as 

 a servant and not as a master, in which case 

 it is like every other "good and precious gift 

 that has been vouchsafed to man." There is 

 a mawkish sentimentality admonishing people 

 to drink huge drafts of water, whether they 

 are thirsty or not, merely because water is 

 (jodd; nevertheless, it would be better to driuk 

 more water and less of its vile andimeretri- 

 cious sub.«titution, so common and so plentiful 

 at the present day. But, there are many uses 

 for water, in the domestic economies of life, 

 other than using it as a beverage, and the 

 question of its purity is just as, important in 

 these respects, as it is in the queucliing of 

 thirst. Surely, in culinary preparations, and 

 for cleansing purposes, the purer the water 

 the more healthful and satisfiictory will be 

 the results of its inleligent use. 



An Interesting and Important Analysis of 

 Lancaster Waters. 



The following analyses of twenty specimens 

 of drinking water, collected in this city by 

 Ml. Chas. A. Heinitsh, were made^by Prof. 

 Thos. P. Baker, Pli. D., who so ably fills the 

 chair of Physics and Chemistry in the Board 

 of Instruction of the State Normal School of 

 Millersville. Although not made under any 

 public auspices or authority, we regard them 

 as of sufficient interest and importance to lay 

 them before our readers, and to thank Messrs. 

 Baker and Heinitsh, in behalf of the public, 

 for doing so good a work as a labor of love : 

 Analysis of Well, Cistern and Hydrant Water. 



C. A. Heinitsh, Esq.— Dear Sir : I have 

 just completed the analysis of the last five 

 samples of water received from you. Those, 

 with the samples previously analyzed make 

 twenty specimens of different Lancaster 

 waters which I have examined, and I now 

 send you the results of the examination. 



The samples were all received in clean 

 bottles, carefully labled and corked ; you 

 certainly deserve great credit for the interest 

 and care you took in collecting them. 



The following table presents the results in 

 I a compact form : 





ill 



Tsar's I 



S 3-3 i i i i 



»rii i i i 



m\\\i 



Mm 



1 •?! ■s^-S'i I 





=!=?'!°s|2Ki;E!ej»?°f°f'f|*? 



iiiiiiiiiiiiililiiii 



iliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 



is" 



;^siESfe8ga£y8SS88'SSb;g8 2. 



'$gS'gg'5SS££Siy'8si3SS;g£J2 





-5 -I £.? ?B ri £•£•« fes bi^i S 



Free ammonia indicates the presence of de- 

 composed organic matter, the ammonia being 

 one of the products of the decomposition. 

 When it is present in large quantities it gen- 

 erally proceeds from the decomposition of urea, 

 derived from filthy matter with which the 

 water is polluted. 



The excessive amounts of free ammonia in 

 1, 10 and 15 arc certainly dangerous indica- 

 tions. It should bo stated, however, that the 

 large amount of this product in number 15 is 

 due not only to organic matter washed from 

 the collecting roof, but also to ammonia 

 brought down from the atmosphere by the 

 rain. Cistern waters generally contain con- 

 siderable free ammonia derived from the atmo- 

 .sphere. This does not, of course, indicate 

 organic impurity. 



Albuminoiil ammonia indicates the presence 

 of undecomposed organic matter, matter 

 which may undergo decomposition, and hence 



