THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



131 



could not possibly fail, so far as vegetable 

 physiology is concerned. 



It is not only said, but it often has been 

 practically demonstrated that you cannot turn 

 up soil, if it be one, ten, twenty, fifty or more 

 feet deep, that will not in a very short time 

 produce plants very different from those which 

 naturally grow upon the surface, indicating 

 that the seeds are there, but refuse to germi- 

 nate for the want of light and heat, notwith- 

 standing they may have sullicient moisture. 

 The trinal function involved in "heat, light 

 and moisture," in a a;reater or lesser degree, 

 accompanies the germination of all plants, and 

 constitutes the essential conditions of their 

 development. 



Of course, plants must have air ; but this 

 is only the medium through which light, heat 

 and moisture, are developed ; for neither 

 could exist without air, or the elemental 

 principles of air. 



This germination of seeds, (that long have 

 lain in the bowels of the earth,) after they 

 have been brought to the surface, and sub- 

 jected to the influences of light, heat and 

 moisture, illustrates that they had been pre- 

 viously buried too deep to germinate, and 

 must suggest that many of the grains sown 

 by our present modes of planting, have been 

 covered too deep to afford a ready germina- 

 tion—indeed, some of our oldest, most ex- 

 perienced, and universally acknowledged au- 

 thorities in seeding and gardening, have de- 

 monstrated by actual experiment, that shal- 

 low planted small seeds germinate, grow and 

 yield better crops, than those that are planted 

 deep. Of course, the depth should have a 

 corresponding relation to the size of the 

 grain, all other things being equal. It is said 

 that about five times the diameter of the 

 seed should be the depth of the superincum- 

 bent soil, and that this should be sufficiently 

 packed to bring the seed directly in contact 

 with the particles of earth and fertilizers that 

 surround it, and that this packing is most es- 

 sential in a dry condition of the soil, or in a 

 dry season. Let any practical farmer experi- 

 ment with wheat, corn, barley, oats, clover, 

 timothy or any other kind of seeds, planting 

 at various depths, from half an inch to six 

 Inches or more ; and he can demonstrate for 

 himself the difference in germination and 

 growth, as well as the time he gains or loses 

 at the various depths. It is also claimed that 

 enough time is gained to enable the farmer to 

 sow very late in the season, and thus evade 

 the "Hessian-fly," and still gain enough by 

 germination and growth to secure his plants 

 from the enervating effects of a rigorous win- 

 ter. The fact is, something must be done, to 

 secure larger wheat, oats and corn crops. It 

 will not do to abandon them. The elements 

 exist ; have always existed ; and will continue 

 to exist. The farmer must learn how to com- 

 bine them; in that consists the salvation of 

 the crops. 



A PLEA FOR THE ROBIN. 



From the published proceedings of the 

 August meeting of the " Lancaster County 

 Agricultural and Horticultural Society," it 

 appears that a sort of one-sided discussion of 

 certain characteristics of the robin was in- 

 dulged in, the conclusion of which seemed to 

 imply that " the robin must go. " How clap- 



trap that phrase, "must go," has become ; 

 how easily it is said, and in a multitude of 

 cases, with what little wisdom. The charac- 

 ter of the robin is not to b'! built up, nor yet 

 to be torn down upon by any such superficial 

 arguments. We must discuss his character on 

 a broader, more intelligent, and more catholic 

 ground, if we wish to develop his merits or 

 demerits, as the case may be. 



What the Robin Steals. 

 And here, upon the very threshold of the 

 subject, we viust say, wo do freely admit that 

 the robin, during a portion of his advent 

 amongst us, is perhaps more than ordinarily 

 a purloiner of small fruit. True, he does not 

 steal " watermelons and pumpkins," but he 

 will unhesitatingly appropriate cherries, 

 strawberries, raspberries, etc., but he is just 

 as fond of chokecherries, gumberries, jioke- 

 berries, wild cherries, sheepberries, etc., if he 

 can find any farm, the owner of which is lib- 

 eral enough to allow any of these berries to 

 grow. 



The robin sometimes makes his appearance 

 in Lancaster county as early as the middle of 

 February, and although there may afterward 

 occur a "cold snap" and drive him off, yet, 

 if he leaves at all, he don't go far, for the 

 first succeeding warm day his cheerful chirp 

 may be heard in the vicinity. 



The Robin's Return. 

 On an average, about the first of March he 

 comes to stay, and often has a rough time of 

 it. This is nearly, or quite, three months be- 

 fore the average ripening of small fruits, and, 

 the robin, wiser than some human beings, 

 never eats green fruit. Nidification often 

 commences about the middle of March, and 

 from the 1st to the 10th of April everything is 

 in order for oviposition. From four to five 

 eggs is the normal compliment, only one be- 

 ing deposited daily, and in fifteen days after 

 the last egg is laid, the young brood break 

 tlirough the shell. This would bring their 

 sojourn down to near the 1st of May. Now, 

 what have the adult birds fed upon during 

 these two months? Under any circum- 

 stances, not on small fruits. 



His Food Examined. 

 Let Prof. Thomas G. Gentry, of German- 

 town, Pa., who has devoted his time, mind, 

 and practical observation to this very subject, 

 as a specialty, answer. Prof. Gentry in his 

 " Life Histories of the Birds of Eastern 

 Pennsylvania," says: The stomachs of 

 robins examined by him revealed 10 species 

 of Coleopterous Insects, (Beetles); 7 species of 

 Diptera (two-winged flies); one of Ilymenop- 

 tera, (ants, etc.); 4 of Orthoptera, or grass- 

 hoppers; 10 species of Lepidoptera, (butter- 

 flies and moths) among which were the 

 "spring web-worm." the "current moth," 

 the "corn worm," the "white cabbage but- 

 terfly," the "canker worm" and the "apple 

 codling," besides the "earth worm." Here 

 are thirty-two species of insects, without re- 

 gard to the number of individuals, some of 

 which are capable of depositing from three to 

 five hundred eggs during their life-lease. 

 Pre-eminently Insectivorous. 

 The robin products two broods during the 

 season, averaging four at a brood, and these 

 are wholly fed upon insects. The laivse, and 



the softer kinds of 10 or 12 species, constitute 

 the "bill of fare" provided for their young. 

 Mr. Gentry concludes, "of all species of birds, 

 the robin is pre-eminently tiisecfiwj-ou.s;" not- 

 withstanding it does during the season appro- 

 priate strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, 

 juniperberries, gumberries, etc. How long 

 does the season of cultivated berries con- 

 tinue, compared with the sojourn of the 

 robin, in any locality ? It seems disingenuous 

 to traduce the character of this bird, under a 

 full view of his usefulness. The insects he 

 ab.solutely destroys, is but a mole-hill to a 

 mountain, compared with what he prevents 

 from being developed. Millions of boxes of 

 small fruits found their way to the different 

 markets of the country this season whilst 

 those destroyed by robins could not be count- 

 ed Vjy tens. 



AVhen we were a boy it was common to go 

 to a copse of wild cherry or guraberry trees 

 and " bring down " two or three dozen of 

 robins in half a day, without violation of law. 

 Such places have no existence now, hence the 

 robin is compelled to approach nearer our 

 homes. Plant more trees. In our boyhood 

 there were ten cherry trees on a farm where 

 there are only one or two now. There were 

 plenty and to spare even for the robin. 



ENTOMOLOGICAL— THE BLIGHT 

 BEETLE. 



Miss M R : The small black 



beetles sent me (infesting the bark of the plum 

 tree) are commonly called the " Pear blight 

 beetle," and were first described by Prof. 

 Peck, of Massachusetts, under the scientific 

 name of Scolytus pyri, but, as they quite as 

 frequently occur on the peach and the plum, 

 the word jxar, might as well be dropped from 

 their common name. The term pyri, how- 

 ever, in their scientific name, has priority 

 now, and is, therefore, as unalterable as the 

 laws of the Medes and the Persians ; never- 

 theless, they have been transferred to a new 

 genus, and are now known as Hyloborits pyri. 

 They are about one-tenth of an inch in length, 

 dark brown or black in color, the feet and 

 antennct a rusty brown, the thorax short, 

 much couvexed and roughly punctured, and 

 the wing-covers finely punctured in longi- 

 tudinal lines. They must not, however, be 

 confounded with the fire-blight, which so fre- 

 quently and so injuriously infect the pear 

 trees, and wliich is produced by a Bacterian 

 Fmuius. The females of these little beetles 

 deposit their eggs early in the spring in the 

 axils or near the bases of the buds or branches, 

 sometimes also on the larger branches or even 

 the trunks of the trees they infest, and they 

 usually produce two broods annually. The 

 eggs are very small and so are the young 

 larvce, which soon find their way into the 

 bark, the heart, or the solid wood, but their 

 location is usually indicated by the external 

 discoloration of the bark. The only known 

 remedy that is at all reliable is to cut off the 

 branches below the point of infestation, and 

 reduce them to ashes by "fire and flame." 

 But this should be done early, while they are 

 in the larvae form, or before the beetles have 

 escaped. It may not be too late yet, in the 

 present season, to destroy at least some of 

 them. When they are in, or under, the bark 

 of the trunk of the tree, they may be cut out 



