108 



THE LANCASTER FARMER 



[July, 



WIS a reXi tc^l, not one for the sale of the machine. 

 All the oreaniKrles in Bucks county he was pleased 

 to say propose to introduce the centrifugal separator. 

 Any man who has from 25 to 30 cows can afford lo 

 have these separators. It would pay also with a 

 few less. He toolj issue with the statement that 

 pasture in Chester county was better than Lancas- 

 ter. Because in Lancaster county butter is not so 

 good as in Chester county, shows that the pasturage 

 in the latter section is better than in the former. In 

 Chester county there is much pasturage that is nat- 

 ural, that is the soil is not upturned by the plow. 



In answer to Col. Piolette Dr. Dickey stated that 

 milk in a fresh state produces the best results from 

 the separators . 



Cleanliness, Dr. Hazard thought, was the prime 

 requisite for butter production. One reason that 

 Chester surpasses Lancaster is the different kinds of 

 water in the counties. The prices that these sepa- 

 rators bring range from 8275 to $5.50 each. The 

 price, howeyer, was thought to be exorbitant. 

 Piolette's Views. 



Col. Piolette thought one of the most important 

 industries of husbandry is cattle raising. He ie in 

 favor of the individual creamery. Bethought, how_ 

 ever, the separator in time would come into general 

 use. The exports of butter from Bradford has fallen 

 off much on account of the selling of oleomargarine. 

 He believed that a man who manufactured counter- 

 feit butter and he who manufactured counterfeit 

 money should be dealt with alike. Everytime he 

 comes to Lancaster county his opinion is higl.er of 

 her agricultural pursuits. 



Dr. Wickersham stated that the separator had its 

 origin in Denmark. Eggs are now being sent over 

 to this country. Col. Piolette suggested that a duty 

 might be placed upon those products. 

 The Bovine. 



Alfred Sharpless, a leading farmer of Chester^ 

 next took the floor, and from a knowledge derived 

 from a long research of records, traced the origin of 

 the bovine. In those early days the Wall street 

 bovine did not have an existence. Whence this 

 species sprang he could not say. He was satisfied 

 that this animal is worthless. The cow with her 

 milking capacities he showed in different times, as 

 serting that in Adam's time there were no forty 

 quart producing cows. The history of the cow and 

 her various species, her uses in different localities, 

 her habits, were presented, and if not practical, was 

 interesting. 



Thursday Morning. 



H. M. Engle, of Marietta, was the first speaker- 

 He said he would speak on the subject of the best 

 method of destroying insects. He exhibited a num- 

 ber of plants that are extensively grown in California, 

 and to a limited extent in this section of the country. 

 One gentleman has grown a great quantity of it, and 

 feels that with proper cultivation it will be made 

 comparatively easy of growth. It can be easily 

 ground up, and upon having the plants sprinkled 

 with the powder it will effectively destroy all insects. 



Mr. Reist said the plant, which is named Pyre- 

 thrum, grows quite readily from the seed. It is a 

 perennial and flowers the second year. 



Mr. Sharpless, of Chester county, said farmers 

 should be exceedingly careful as to what plants they 

 put in their soil. A plant's nature should be wel' 

 known before it is planted, for some of them are so 

 noxious that if once planted they will spread all over 

 the farm. 



Dr. A. M. Dickey said the plant looked suspicious 

 to a person coming from Bucks county and was 

 afraid it would become noxious. Farmers should go 

 slow in introducing it, and should carefully study its 

 habits before planting. 



Dr. Wickersham, on behalf of Dr. S. T. Davis, 

 extended an invitation to the members of the Insti- 

 tute to visit the carp pond a short distance from 

 town. 



Mrs. Stubbs asked what remedy should be applied 

 to gooseberry and currant bushes to destroy the 

 worms. She had applied the Pyrethrum, or Prusian 

 insect powder, and carbolic acid, but the worms con- 

 tinued to eat the plants. 



Mr. Engle said the best method known was to take 

 white hellebore, tie a quantity of it in a piece of 

 coarse-webbed muslin, which should be dusted on 

 the bushes. Care should be observed in using it, 

 however, as the hellebore is poisonous in a measure. 



Mr. Dickey had used the hellebore and found it to 

 be not in the least degree dangerous. 



Calvin Cooper recommended the application of a 

 strong decoction of tobacco and thought it would 

 prove very effective in destroying the worms. 



Dr. Wickersham gave a conversation he had with 

 Mr. Griest, of the Inquirer, in which that gentleman 

 also recommended the application of a strong decoc- 

 tion of tobacco. 



" Commercial Fertilizers." 



Prof. W. H. Jordan, of the State Agricultural Col- 

 lege, was introduced and spoke on tjie above subject, 

 a subject which he said touched very closely the 

 farmers' pocket, and when you touch a farmer's 

 pocket you touch his heart. Fertilizers he said, 

 were of two general classes — fertilizers that are 

 bought and sold, and farm manure. There is a class 

 of so-called fertilizers, being indirect in their action. 

 Among these are plaster, marl and lime, which were 

 used not because the plant needs either of them, but 

 because of the effect which they have on the soil in 

 making available the material the soil already has. 

 To depend upon lime in order to keep up the fertility 

 of the land is a ruinous policy. Liming should be 

 applied with caution, for it is not a true fertilizer. 

 Plaster adds two of the ingredients that plants use, 

 but it does not add any of those that the plant is 

 most in need of. Marl is of the same nature, but it is 

 a fertilizer to a much greater extent than lime or 

 plaster. 



True fertilizers include certain kinds of commer- 

 mercial fertilizers and farm manure. The Professor 

 then described the various kinds of commercial fer- 

 tilizers, among which he mentioned South Carolina 

 rock, bone black, dissolved bone, all of which con 

 tain phosphoric acid in a greater or less degree. The 

 potash fertilizers come principally from Germany. 

 The cheapest form of potash for the farmer to buy is 

 the muriate of potash. There are quite a number of 

 materials in the market that furnish nitrogen, which 

 the speaker enumerated. He then gave the com- 

 parative value to the farmer of the various kinds of 

 commercial fertilizers, and gave them some valuable 

 hints as to what they should purchase and how they 

 should make the selection, advising them to pur- 

 chase standard ai tides and to mix their fertilizers 

 themselves. Barn-yard manure is only valuable in 

 proportion to the value of the food fed the cattle, 

 and care should be exercised in feeding in order to 

 give the cattle those articles which contain the most 

 valuable ingredients. 



"Farmers' Wives.'' 



M. P. Cooper read a carefully prepared essay on 

 the above subject. No one, he said, will hesitate to 

 acknowlege that farmers' wives are greatly over- 

 burdened. In-door help, or the great need of it, is 

 the farmer's curse. In a business sense a better 

 class of servant girls could be obtained by increasing 

 their pay. The staying qualities of the average girl 

 are very slight, and she will leave on the slightest 

 provocation. The progressive farmer will pay great 

 attention to the comfort of his wife, and while he 

 may not be able to entirely relieve her of her ardu- 

 ous and monotonous labors, will assist her greatly 

 by providing her with all the conveniences purchas- 

 able. A great deal of labor may be saved for the 

 women by having the farm hands board themselves. 

 Provide comfortable tenant houses for them to live 

 in, increase the pay of your hands and you will not 

 only secure better workmen but will greatly reduce 

 the labor of your wife. The essay was full of practi- 

 cal suggestions and carried with it much that was of 

 great importance to the farmers and of more im- 

 portance to farmers' wives. 



H. M. Engle congratulated Mr. Cooper on the able 

 manner in which he had handled the subject assigned 

 to him, and agreed with him in advising the aboli- 

 tion of house garden, the work in which almost al- 

 ways falls upon the women, 



Thomas Baker said he had tried the erection of a 

 tenant house on his farm, and he was so well pleased 

 with the results that he would not do without it. 

 He found that the tenants proved a great saving for 

 his wife. 



Col. Victor E. Piolette, who came in during the 

 reading of the essay said in his experience he had al- 

 ways found the farmer to be ready to hire all the 

 help he wanted for himself, but to hire none for his 

 wife. 



Col. Piolette, 

 was next introduced by Dr. Wickersham, and spoke 

 for an hour on " The Present and the Past as They 

 Relate to American Farming." Reference to the 

 early settlement of this country brings prominently 

 to view the founder of our native State, who did 

 more than any other man to establish the republican 

 form of government we now enjoy. After briefly 

 reviewing the life and .public character of Penn, he 

 said the devotion of the people of Lancaster county 

 to agricultural pursuits were apparent to the whole 

 world. The speaker followed with a rapid glance at 

 the early history of the State, from its settlement to 

 the present time. When the truthful history of this 

 country comes to be written it will be found that the 

 sturdy Germans of Pennsylvania and the Yankees of 

 Massachusetts all bore their part — and bore it nobly. 

 In all America there are not better cultivated flells 

 than the fields in Lancaster, and said that wherever 

 the limestone underlies the soil, you will find a 

 Dutchman on top. He did not mean the lager beer 

 Dutchman, but the Dutchman from the Palatinate, 

 who settled the State and made it prosperous. Pros- 

 perity and thrift repaid agricultural labor in the 

 past better than it does now. j 



He said the farmers must resist every attempt to 

 make them inferior. They should unite to elevate 

 themselves socially and politically. Col. Piolette's 

 speech abounded with much that was valuable, and 

 injustice would be done the really fine production of 

 the Colonel by a brief and necessarily imperfect 

 abstract. It was full of wit and humor, and his 

 strong language against lawyers was received with 

 great laughter and applause. 



Thursday Afternoon. 



Previous to the commencement of the regular ex- 

 ercises a brief discussion was had on the question of 

 whether it was cheaper for the farmer to board his 

 employees, or have them board themselves. A 

 variety of opinions was elicited, but the general im- 

 pression appeared to be in favor of the farmer 

 boarding his hands himself. 



"Farmers' Holidays." 



This was the subject of an essay delivered by 

 Thomas Baker, of Colerain township. Every one, 

 no matter in what profession he may be, looks for- 

 ward eagerly to a relief from the cares and anxieties 

 of business. Even farmers look forward with great 

 pleasure to the few opportunities afforded them for 

 the enjoyment of a few days relaxation. Diverging 

 from the subject of his essay, Mr. Baker then al- 

 luded briefly to the rotation of crops and the value of 

 fertilization. 



Governor R. E. Pattison. 



In introducing Gov. Pattison, (who was received 

 with applause, the audience standing,) Dr. Wicker- 

 sham said Pennsylvania had had many Governors 

 who were friends of agriculture, but she had never 

 had one who had done so much for agriculture as 

 the distinguished gentleman whom he now had the 

 honor of introducing to an audience of Lancaster 

 county farmers. 



Gracefully acknowledging his warm reception, 

 Gov. Pattison said he had come to the Institute more 

 as a listener than a doer. He took a great interest 

 in the agricultural interests of Pennsylvania, because 

 he flnds that it is one of her most important indus- 

 tries. From time immemorial the agricultural in- 

 terests has been one of no small importance, but he 

 found that the farmers were the last ones to organ- 

 ize for the purpose of protecting their interests. 

 Tradesmen, lawyers and merchants have all com- 

 bined for mutual protection, but it is only recently 



