i24 



THE LANCASTER FARMfiR 



[August, 



sh-i ild l)e done for his extermination is to 

 plougli f.xrly. Turn over the ground in the 

 fall if possible, but if it is too late for fall 

 ploughing, we must plow in the spring, as 

 soon as the ground will permit. Plough deep- 

 ly, and do not roll or harrow until the ground 

 has had one or two freezings. If this 

 plim does not rid the land of them, then the 

 following fall— very late in the season— the 

 ground should be plowed and allowed to re- 

 main till spring, when it should be plowed the 

 cross way. One or two seasons of such trent- 

 ment will kill them out effectually. There is 

 another consideration in the matter. The 

 frosts will assist in pulverizing the soil and 

 add to its fertility. A constant freezing and 

 thawing will enable the soil to give off parti- 

 cles of matter for plant food that would other- 

 wise be dormant or inert. Even without the 

 cutworms, fall and early spring ploughing is 

 very beneficial. The cutworm is more de- 

 structive in fields that were formerly sod than 

 in those that have been planted to corn or 

 sowed with wheat. When grass land is 

 turned over early in the fall it enables its 

 thousands of occupants (cutworms) to get 

 down very deep, but later in the season a 

 ploughing finds them .stowed away for winter 

 and brings them to the surface— this time, 

 however, in a condition unfavorable to their 

 security. After a frost the worm, if exposed, 

 is too much under the influence of tempera- 

 ture to bury himself for the winter. Many of 

 them are killed at the time. But when the 

 fall ploughing is followed by an early spring 

 turning of the soil they are caught by the 

 fro.'^ts at once. It reciuires but a single season 

 to clean them out of cultivated fields with 

 this treatment, and two seasons will get them 

 out of land that has been in grass. The 

 practice should be continued every year, not 

 only as a precaution against the cutworm, but 

 also for the benefit gained by the soil from 

 such treatment. A farmer who was once 

 afflicted with cutworms in his soil, in his en- 

 deavor to get rid of them by this process, was 

 afterward forced to admit that in his case the 

 worms had taught him a lesson in compelling 

 him to turn over his laud late in the fall and 

 early in spring, a practice he has since rigidly 

 adhered to. — Philadelphia Record. 



OUR LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS. 



LANCASTER COUNTY AGRICULTU- 

 RAL AND HORTICULTURAL 

 SOCIETY. 



The regular mont.hly meeting of the Lancaster 

 County Agricultural Society was held in their room 

 on Monday afternoon, April 4th. 



The following named members were present : J. 

 C. Linville, Gap; Joseph F. Wltmer, Paradise; 

 Calvin Cooper, Bird-in-Hand ; Casper Hiller, Cones- 

 toga ; Daniel ameych, city; James Wood, Little 

 Britain ; Frank K. DifTeudertrer, Dr. J. P. Wicker- 

 sham, J. M. Johnston, S. P. Eby, city ; H. M. Engle, 

 Marietta; Christian L. Hunsecker, Manheim twp. 

 Called to Order. 



In the absence of the President, H. M. Engle, of 

 Marietta, called the meeting to order. The reading 

 of the minutes was dispensed with. Geo. B. Willson, 

 city, was proposed and elected a member of the 

 society. 



J. C. Linville, chairman of the Committee on 

 Premiums, reported the following entries for premi- 

 ums on corn growing : Frank Buckwalter, Owen 

 Buckwalter and Frank Hershey, all of Salisbury 

 township. 



Joseph F. Witmer, from the committee appointed 

 to visit the State Agricultural College, reported he 

 had not been able to attend. 



Calvin Cooper, from the Committee on Farmers' 

 Institute, s-aid he would call this committee together 

 and report at the next meeting. 



Dr. J. P. Wickersham reported that all bills in- 

 curred by the Farmers' Institute were paid. He 

 made a present to the society of a receipted bill for 

 printing. He thought that much good resulted 

 from the recent institute. Bucks county will hold 

 a similar institute this fall ; Chester will follow and 

 he believed that in many other counties meetings of 

 the same kind will be held. Lancaster county in- 

 augurated the institutes and he believed the influ- 

 ence for good would be great. 



It was moved and seconded that Dr. Wickersham 

 be elected a life member of the society, for his untir 

 ing energy in making the institute the success it was. 

 For contributing a receipted bill for printing, a vote 

 of thanks was passed by the society. 



It was moved and seconded and carried that the 

 Committee on Arrangement for the institute be con- 

 tinued. 



Crop Reports. 



Calvin Cooper said the grain crop, wheat in par- 

 ticular, is fully up to last year in quality and better 

 than for many years ; corn is not so good ; too many 

 small stalks. 



Tobacco good ; fruit more perfect than for many 

 years ; no peaches in his neighborhood. In Chester 

 county corn surpasses that of Lancaster ; wheat is 

 up to us ; the crops in general are better than ours ; 

 too much manure put on tobacco ground he thought. 



According to Dr. Wickersham's observation the 

 corn crop of Chester county is always better than 

 ours. The reason, he did not know, but^in wheat 

 they do not beat us. 



Casper Hiller said corn in his neighborhood was 

 not so good. The heavy rain worked out much. It 

 may revive, although it is doubtful. Apples are 

 better than for some years. The peach crop is a 

 general failure. In his orchard he noticed some- 

 thing peculiar. The eastern end has no peaches; 

 the northwestern part of the orchard will give a 

 good crop, while the southern part will produce a 

 fair crop. The orchard is level. He couldn't ac- 

 count for it. 



John C. Linville reported corn not good ; late 

 corn will do the best ; early corn was [damaged by 

 frost. Best crop of oats for fifteen years ; wheat 

 good ; peaches a failure. 



James Woods reports corn as good as last year In 

 his neighborhood, near Quarryville not so good; hay 

 crop not so large, but very good. He hadn't no- 

 ticed any peaches on the trees ; tobacco is growing 

 nicely. He said the wheat ground that he plowed 

 early produced one third more wheat than that 

 which was plowed later. The,carly ground contains 

 weeds ; the other oats stubble. 



Joseph F. Witmer was sure the wheat crop is ex- 

 ceptionally good. He knew of ten acres that pro- 

 duced 500 bushels. The apple crop will be full ; 

 pears ordinary; tobacco doing finely, some of the 

 crop is cut. 



Dr. Wickersham, according to observation, said 

 Chester county farmers planted the corn higher and 

 cultivated it more than our farmers. It is theii 

 pride not to let a weed stand. 



S. P. Eby noticed that in Chester county they do 

 not scrape the corn as in this county, but cultivate 

 jt more. 



JohuC. Linville noticed that in Chester county 

 they used fertilizers considerably and have much sod 

 that they plow down. 



C. Cooper told of a farm, near Georgetown, in 

 Bartpthat was renovated by an extensive use of pure 

 ground bone. He used 300 pounds of bone to the 

 acre for corn, for oats 200 pounds. The bone is worth 

 $35 per ton. 



Dr. Wickersham said it would pay the society to 

 visit the farm of S. S. Spencer, near this city. It is 

 well drained, well cultivated, and is good in every 

 particular. 



H. M. Engle reported the wheat good and the 

 straw correspondingly nice. He noticed this to be 

 the condition always. Peaches all dropped off. 

 The Robin Must Go. 



S. P. Eby read an essay on " A Step in the Right 

 Direction." The destruction of insectivorous birds 

 is one cause for poor fruit crops. They need protec- 

 tion. The strolling boy through orchards and over 

 fields is a factor in driving away or destroying the 

 birds. The English sparrow should be driven off. 



Mr. Henry M. Engle theoretically endorsed the 

 view of Mr. Eby, but practically be would not. It is 

 impossible to save cherries and strawberries from the 

 birds. We never got a full crop of cherries. We 

 have just as many apples, plums, etc., but the fruit 

 that birds like is always short. 



Calvin Cooper agreed with Mr. Engle. The only 

 fruit he was able to harvest was that which he stole 

 from the birds. He is willing to petition the Legis- 

 lature for a repeal of the law which protects the 

 birds. They are of no good. 



S. P. Eby enumerated a number of trees whose 

 branches have been cut off as mechanically as a car- 

 penter could do it. He protects the birds, and he is 

 free from the ravages of grasshoppers and insects. 

 It is his experience that the birds are of much value 

 to the fruit. He always gives encouragement to the 

 birds. What fruit they eat they are welcome to. 



F. R. Diffenderfer in all his observations never 

 saw a robiu destroy any other kind of worm but an 

 angle worm. He gave the robin a very bad reputa- 

 tion. 



J. M. Johnston said upon the authority of the 

 editor of the Germantown Telegraph, that the robin 

 eats no other animal except the angle worm. They 

 should be exterminated. 



As a last plea for the robin Mr. Eby made an elo- 

 quent address for its protection on the strength of its 

 music. The sweet song of this bird was worth all 

 the fruits destroyed. 



About Fertilizers. 



Calvin Cooper suggested that an organization for 

 the purchase of fertilizers would he beneficial to the 

 farmers. 



Dr. Wickersham spoke of organizations that have 

 been formed. They would certainly be of good. 



Mr. Engle thought it would be well to buy in- 

 gredients and lor the society to mix them them- 

 selves. He suggested that it be announced that the 

 society take orders for the purchase of fertilizers. 



Mr. Woods thought it would be best for a few to 

 do the purchasing and many the selling. 



Adjourned. 



r'ruit Exhibits. 



Calvin Cooper brought to the society several 

 specimens of fine pears. Daniel Smeych had speci- 

 mens of peaches and pears. 



HORT2CL .rURE. 



Seeds buried too deeply in the soil may not germi- 

 nate for lack of oxygen ; or, if germination takes 

 place, the plumule may fail to reach the surface, the 

 store of food in the seed being exhausted before the 

 layer of soil is penetrated and daylight reached. 

 Hence, the smaller the seed the less, as a rule, 

 should be the depth of earth with which It is covered. 



A Big Water Melon Patch. 



On a farm near Eufaula, Ala., there is a water- 

 melon patch which covers 150 acres, the product 

 which averages one thousand marketable melons to 

 the acre, and the prices realized averaged ?100 per 

 acre. It requires from five to ten freight cars per 

 day in season to move the crop. The proprietor 

 would make " big money " if he didn't sell a melon, 

 but merely sell the seeds from them. It requires 150 

 pounds of seed to plant his own crop. A twenty 

 pound melon will produce one pound of seeds, and 

 they are worth at wholesale from one to two dollars 

 a pound. One seedsman desired to place an order 

 for one ton of seeds.. 



