110 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[July, 



of Po-jns) 'vania catalogue and announcements; 

 Hovey'o illustrated catalogue of plants ; gas for illu- 

 mination and heat, and how to burn gas, from Lan- 

 caster Gas Light i.nd Fnel Company ; yew Era, 

 June 17, 1884, containing Dr. T. R. Baiter's and C. 

 A. Heinitsch's analysis of Lancaster city water ; 

 American Boolcsellers for June, 1S84 ; Boolf Buyer 

 for June, 1884 ; prospectus of early American chroni- 

 cles, by H. H. Bancroft, Col.; monthly auction trade 

 circular for June, 18.S4, three circulars and several 

 communications received. On motion a vote of 

 thanks was tendered the donors. Dr. T. R. Baker 

 read an interesting article " Concerning Ice and the 

 Quality of Lancaster Ice." The analysis was made 

 by himself, and is intended as a companion paper to 

 the one published in the Xiw Em of June 17th. On 

 motion the analysis was ordered to be printed, as 

 wa« also the analysis of June 17, in Bulletin and 

 Fakmer. 



Mrs. Zell read notes on the maple sugar exhibited 

 by herself. S. M. Sener read the following compila- 

 tion, which was ordered to be printed in proceedings : 



List of new plants, etc., added to County List, 

 through Linnjean Society members, compiled by 8. 

 M. Sener, June, 1884, from records: 



Liphlium CampeMria, found April 2, 1878, by C. 

 H. Herbert, Erythrea liomosissirna, var. Tulchella, 

 Sept. 1883, J. S. Stahr; OalUisoga Parviflora, June 

 188.3, J. S. Stahr ; I'enstemon Laiiigatus, ChourkHlla 

 Junceu, Sagiitaria Puailla, summer 1883, W. P. King; 

 Hieracium Carolinianum, summer 1S83, J. 8. Stahr, 

 orginally found twenty years ago by Dr.T. C. Porter. 

 Insects Added. 



Saperda Concoloi; summer 1883 S. M. Sener. 

 Animals Added. 



VexiiertiUio Pruinoms (hoary bat), September, 



1883, Mr. Mayer ; Vespertillio Pruimsus (hoary 

 bat), .May, 1884, 8. McComsey. 



Reptiles Added. 

 Calemy's Muhlenhergii (Muhlenberg's Turtle), 

 November, 1881, Luther Richards. 



Fishes Added. 



Ambloplites rupcttris, February, 1880, G. F. Rath- 

 von ; Gronitis nigritabris (blind cat fish), J. 8. 

 Stauffer. 



The Calemy's Muhlenbcrgii was the first specimen 

 found in forty years, and the hoary bats are two of 

 the three specimens ever found in the county. The 

 cat fish is the variety supposed to originate in the 

 underground stream under Lancaster. 



Bills of ?-.i.50 for bulletins and Jl for stuffing bird 

 were ordered to be paid. Committee handed in a 

 new set of bj-laws which were read and adopted 

 without alteration. A motion was then carried that 

 the constitution and by-laws be transcribed and that 

 they go into effect at once, and that all other parts of 

 the constitution and by-laws not embraced in the 

 new ones as adopted be declared void. Committee 

 were discharged. Bulletin for June was on motion 

 ordered to be printed. On motion it was then re- 

 (olved to lake a recess during summer months, and 

 society adjourned until the 37th day of September, 



1884, at 2 P.M. 



POULTRY ASSOCIATION. 



A special meeting of the Lancaster County Poul- 

 try Association was held on Monday evening, June 

 9, with the following members present : Messrs. 

 Jacob B. Lichty, Charles Lippold, JohnE.Schum, 

 William A. Schoenberger, Frank Humphreyville, 

 Martin Rudy, George F. Katbvou and H. A. 

 Schroyer, President. 



The only question discussed at the meeting was 

 the time for holding the annual poultry show. The 

 question was fully discussed, some holding that it 

 would be for the best interests of the society if the 

 show was held before Christmas, while others con- 

 tended that the first or second week in January was 

 the proper time. It was finally decided to defer ac- 

 tion on the question until Friday evening, when 

 another special meeting will be held. 



AGRICULTURE. 



Pennsylvania Crops. 



Secretary Edge, of the Board of Agriculture, has 

 just received and tabulated the official crop reports 

 of his 450 State reporters up to June 1. If present 

 indications are taken as a guide the counties of 

 Beaver, Elk, Franklin, Jefferson, Luzerne, Monroe, 

 Northampton, Philadelphia, Snyder, Susquehanna 

 and Westmoreland may be depended upon for a crop 

 equal to that of last year, while Adams, Allegheny, 

 Bedford, Butler, Cambria, Centre, Chester, Clarion, 

 Clearfield, Cumberland, Delaware, Erie, Fayette, 

 Fulton, Forest, Huntingdon, Indiana, Juniata, 

 Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lawrence, Lebanon, Le- 

 high, Lycoming, Mercer, Mifflin, Montgomery, Mon- 

 tour, Northumberland, Perry, Pike, Somerset, 

 Tioga, Union, Venango, Warren, Wayne and York 

 will increase the coming crop over that of last year 

 in amounts varying from 1 per cent in Adams, Cam- 

 bria, Somerset and Warren to 11 per cent, in Alle- 

 gheny and Venango. The greatest falling oil', when 

 compared with the crop of 1883, is in Washington, 

 where the average estimate of all the reports indi- 

 cates a possible deficiency of 20 per cent. In acre- 

 age Adams, Bedford, Berks, Centre, Chester, Clin- 

 ton, Fulton, Monroe, Susquehanna, Union and West- 

 moreland report a falling off, varying from 2 per 

 cent, in Crawford, Dauphin, Greene and Potter to 11 

 per cent, in Luzerne. With these estimates a basis, 

 and making no allowance for possible damage done 

 by the recent cold snap, it is estimated that the 

 wheat crop of 1884 will reach 223,.500,000 bushels. 



Western estimates places the wheat crop of our 

 State at 35,000,000 bushels, but since the results of 

 the local reporters have come these estimates have 

 been reduced to a point which more nearly corre- 

 sponds with that of our State Department. 



Potato Seed. 



A farmer planted in his garden ten rows of Irish 

 potatoes, each row consisting of four hills. His ob- 

 ject was to ascertain the amount of planting mate- 

 rial requisites to reach satisfactory results. Here is 

 the result : 



First row — One eye in each hill. Product, forty 

 pounds of well-developed potatoes. 



Second row— Two eyes in each hill. Product, 

 fifty pounds of tubers, rather mixed as to size. 



Third row — Three eyes in each hill. Product, 

 fifty-six pounds of mixed sizes, many small ones. 



Fourth row— Seed end of medium potato. Pro- 

 duct, sixty-three pounds, very few small tubers, 

 mostly large. 



Fifth row— Butt end df a medium potato. Product, 

 fifty-one pounds ; few large tubers, mostly small. 



Sixth row — One small potato. Product, sixty 

 pounds, mixed as to size, many small ones. 



Seventh row — One medium-sized potato. Product, 

 seventy-three pounds of tubers, very fine and large, 

 few small ones. 



Eighth row — One large potato. Product, one 

 hundred and two pounds of uniformly large size. 



Professor Roberts reported to the New York Far- 

 mers' Club that he had found that under the same 

 conditions small potatoes for seed gave the poorest 

 result, the middle part of large potatoes next, the 

 seed end next, and the stem cud the best. A whole 

 large potato, with a single eye, was the best possible 

 seed. More work is needed, but better crops are se- 

 cured liy cultivating in rows or drills rather than in 

 hills. — Vaughn's Manual. 



Horticulture. 



Preparing Ground for Grapevines. 



Few plants bear as much abuse as grapevines. 

 They will grow and not seldom bear fruit, even under 

 most unfavorable conditions ; yet, to do their best, 

 they require care and proper food as much as a man. 

 The extent of ground which the roots of a vine oc- 

 cupy varies considerably according to the degree of 

 plant-food in the soil, and by placing the fertilizing 



material near the surface the roots will rarely pene- 

 trate deeper than twelve to fifteen inches. The most 

 available form of plant-food for grapevines is pure 

 bone of various degrees of fineness, from whole bones 

 to that of bone flour — the whole bone furnishing a 

 supply of food for years. Well decomposed cow 

 manure is the best kind of fertilizer to be used. Any 

 other well-rotted manure will do if this is not at 

 hand. One of the maxims of success in fruit culture 

 may be said to be : " Never use fresh manure to in- 

 corporate in the soil for the production of the best 

 fruit." It may be used as a mulch, provided it does 

 not come in contact with the roots. 



The ground where the vines are to be planted hav- 

 ing been selected and marked off, if the best results 

 are wished, spade or fork two blades deep. Throw 

 the dirt out. Now pave the bottom with large bones, 

 which can be purchased at any butcher shop. Incor- 

 porate into the soil at the side of the trench or hole 

 ten pounds of coarse bone dust and from two to 

 three wheelbarrows of the rotted manure to each 

 vine intended to be planted, and replace the soil. In 

 setting the vine place a thin layer — say an inch in 

 thickness — of ordinary garden soil around each root 

 of the vine. -Of course, good results may sometimes 

 be obtained by less thorough preparation ; but with 

 delicate varieties, and when permanent and best suc- 

 cess is desired, it pays to take extra pains in prepar- 

 ing the soil. 



Look at the Young Fruit Trees. 



It is a good time now to go carefully over the 

 young fruit trees that have been planted one or two 

 more years. The nests or eggs of insects can be 

 seen and destroyed without much trouble and at a 

 saving of time. There are visible enemies on the 

 bark and twigs of the tress in the form of fungi and 

 bactoria, producing blights and other injuries. 

 These can be successfully reached by washing the 

 trunks and spraying the' whole tops of the trees with 

 whale oil soap suds, or with a solution of soft soap 

 (home made), into which a little crude carbolic acid 

 is mixed. There are small force pumps or spraying 

 implements that may be successfully used in mak- 

 ing these applications now and at a latter period 

 when the fruit has set after blossoming. This pro- 

 mises to be a good year for fruit in our part of the 

 country, and orchardists will find that it will pay 

 them to take good care of the trees and protect both 

 trees and fruit as much as possible from the insect 

 pests.— B«ffcs County Intelligencer. 



The Care of Fruit Trees. 

 In transplanting or handling trees, recollect that 

 every minute of exposure to the air injures them. 

 If a tree can not be planted at once, make a hole 

 and bury the roots. Those who go to a near nursery 

 and take home their own trees, should puddle them_ 

 Make a hole in the ground a foot deep and as large 

 as needed. Have a plentiful supply of water. Pour 

 water into the hole and stir up the soil, until a thin 

 mud is formed. Draw the roots of the through this, 

 until they, even the smallest, are completely covered 

 with mud ; then sprinkle dry soil over them to dry 

 them off. This " puddling" or " grouting" of the 

 roots, as the English call it, is useful not only for 

 trees, but for plants of all kinds. 



The Strawberry Bed. 

 If one would have fine strawberries he must feed 

 the plants. It is not too late to do this even now, 

 when the blos80n?s are appearing. But some solu- 

 ble fertilizer should be used, and liquid manure 

 made quite thin will double the size of the berries. 

 A way I have taken the past few years is to dig a 

 small basin in the cowyard at the outlet of the drain 

 from a part of the stable where two cows are kept by 

 themselves, (the rest of the cows have a manure 

 cellar under them.) In this basin the rich liquid 

 drains from the gutter iu the stable, and there 

 gathers. A pailful of this oderiferous plant food is 

 poured into a barrelful of water and the strawberries 

 are watered with It every evening by means of a 

 small force-pump and hose. A libera,! dressing of 



