18»4.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



165 



whilst the other or decaying one, is always 

 wrinkled and withered. From this withered 

 one has proceeded the existing stem, and the 

 plump one is an offset, from the centre of 

 which the stem of the succeeding year is 

 destined to proceed. By this means the actual 

 situation of the plants is changed about half 

 an inch every year; and as the effect is always 

 produced from the side opposite to the with- 

 ered bulb, the plant travels always in one di- 

 rection at that rate, and will in a dozen years 

 have moved six inches from the place where 

 it formerly stood." 



From a foreign species {Orchis masmda) a 

 substance is manufactured called "Salep," 

 which is nothing more than the cleaned and 

 dried tubers of this and other species of 

 Orchis. Salep is said to contain the greatest 

 quantity of nourishment in a given bulk, that 

 is known to any other vegetable body. It has 

 been said that an ounce of powdered salep, 

 mixed with an ounce of animal jelly, and 

 boiled in two quarts of water, will be suffi- 

 cient food for an able-bodied man for a whole 

 day. This is perhaps its chief medicinal 

 virtue, and it needs no other if this be so. 

 Probably the glutinous bulbs of " Adam and 

 Eve" would yield the same nourishment; but 

 whether a sufficient quantity could be ob- 

 tained anywhere to make its preparation an 

 object, would greatly influence the ques- 

 tion. 



EXCERPTS. 



The preservation of straw for feeding pur- 

 poses is very important. It is best secured at 

 or immediately after threshing time. The 

 chaff, especially of wheat straw, is most valu- 

 able, and should, as far as possible, be dis- 

 tributed through the stack. That which is 

 left in rear of straw carrier should be put 

 under shelter, as it rots easily. 



Any farmer that desires to have a pleasant 

 prosperous home, clear of mortgage, must 

 take care of his farm machinery. The ordi- 

 nary life of a reaper, mower, thresher, and in 

 fact of most farm implements, is, with good 

 care, about ten years, while with poor care, 

 from three to hve years is the limit. 



Intelligent farmers, as a rule, are pretty 

 well posted on the current markets; but many 

 are not, and on account of their want of 

 knowledge olten are caught either in buying 

 or selling, on one lot of stock, to an amount 

 sufficient to secure the means of this informa- 

 tion for many years. 



Gum ARABIC, a half ounce ; powdered gum 

 tragacanth, a half ounce ; acetic acid, twenty 

 drops, with an ounce and a half of water, 

 mixed together, will form a paste by which 

 paper may be firmly fastened to wood. 



Many farmere, where apples are a profit- 

 able crop, are utilizing the roadside by plant- 

 ing some of them near or on the road line. 

 The roots, of course, extend to the road, get 

 the wash from the droppings of the horses 

 driven thereon, and otherwise fare much bet- 

 ter than trees planted in fields except in grass 

 or gain. Another advantage the apple tree 

 by the roadside has is plenty of room to 

 spread its branches and ample sunlight to 

 color and giye flavor to its fruit. 



The Use of Arsenical Insecticides. — 

 Professor Lintner gives in substance, in his 



recent report, the following precautions to be 

 used in applying Paris green and London 

 purple for the destruction of insects : First, 

 never distribute them with the hand, as an 

 abrasion of the skin might result in serious 

 harm ; second, apply the powder with the 

 wind, so as not to breathe it, third, apply 

 only to l(;aves and fruit from which it will be 

 entirely washed away by long and repeated 

 rains; fourth, exclude all animals from feed- 

 ing on the poisoned crops ; fifth, test the 

 strength of the i)rupared poison on a few 

 plants first, lest it may be too strong and in- 

 jure them ; sixth, use it no stronger than will 

 kill the insects. 



AVE find the following in an exchange : 

 Butter is in the cream in the form, princi- 

 pally, of particles of fat, inclosed in a mem- 

 branous covering, the whole called a gobule. 

 The particle of fat has an individual struc- 

 ture. This structure may, by the force of 

 heat or friction, be destroyed. To save it in 

 its natural form is to "preserve the grain." 

 Butter with a perfect or natural grain has 

 many essential qualities that give it value. 

 It has a finer color, and a clear, waxy appear- 

 ance, unctuous taste, and a good keeping 

 quality. The melting point of butter, upon 

 which main y depends its keeping quality 

 when subjected to a high temperature, de- 

 pends, in turn, mainly upon its structure or 

 grain. If butter, on its way to consumers, is 

 to be exposed to the influence of heat, it 

 must have its structure preserved, in other 

 words, it must have a good " grain." 



Old putty can be removed without injury 

 to the sash or glass by passing a hot soldering 

 iron over it. The heat of the iron softens it 

 readily, and permits its removal with a knife 

 or chisel without much trouble. 



Marshall P. Wilder says that the ma- 

 turity of fruit depends on the saccharine mat 

 ter contained therein, which is followed by 

 the vinous or acetous fermentation, and to 

 prevent the latter and preserve the fruit and 

 all its beauty, freshness and flavor, the tem- 

 perature must be kept below the point which 

 fermentation or the ripening process begin. 



Successful farming will depend in the 

 future largely on avoidance of waste. We are 

 learning how to make land productive ; how 

 to market crops advantageously ; when to sow 

 and when to reap — are we learning how to 

 save V We lose from negligence ; from un- 

 skillful manipulation of farm products; from 

 keeping unprofitable stock ; from wastefulness 

 in feeding ; from hiring cheap and insufficient 

 help. These losses seem intangible but they 

 represent " hard cash.'"— Rural New Yorker. 

 Raspberuy canes are sometimes allowed 

 to remain all winter, but President Ohmer, of 

 the Ohio Horticultural Society, prefers to cut 

 ihem as soon as he can find time after their 

 fruiting. By carrying them away and burn- 

 ing them at once he is satisfied that many 

 noxious insects and worms in various stages 

 of life are destroyed, which, under the other 

 system, would live through winter to plague 

 him another year. It is argued that the leaf 

 of the old cane has much to do in the growth 

 of the canes that are to bear fruit the follow- 

 ing season. But on this point Mr. Ohmer 

 says : "If your plants are in good condition 

 there will be leaf enough on the young canes 



to mature them without the assistance of the 

 leaf of the old canes that have already per- 

 formed their functions by maturing the crop 

 of berries just gathered. Then, again, the 

 old canes are certainly not ornamental. Hav- 

 ing an eye for the beautiful as well as the use- 

 ful, I get rid of them as soon as I can after 

 the fruit has been gathered." 



One reason why butterine and other substi- 

 tutes for genuine butter find so ready a sale ia 

 that few people are capable of distinguishing 

 between the real article and the counterfeit. 

 And this is not the fault of the average buyer, 

 for he enjoys but slender opportunity to cul- 

 tivate his taste. Give him an opportunity to 

 use good butter now and then, and he will 

 soon learn to know and appreciate it. One 

 way to drive imitation butter away from the 

 market is to fill it with the genuine article of 

 flrst-class quality. Butterinfi, which may 

 have 25 per cent, of good creamery butter 

 with 75 per cent, of deodorized lard, or some 

 Other clean grease, is really more platable 

 than the unadulterated but carelessly made 

 and often rancid " rolls " sold in the country 

 stores, or the tubs and firkins which find their 

 way to market several months after they are 

 laid down. Tlie dairyman who puts seeond- 

 class butter on the market is giving aid and 

 comfort to the enemy. 



Muck as Manure. — Professor Caldwell is 

 quoted as saying : " It is a matter always of 

 dispute whether it pays to dig muck and use 

 it as a fertilizer. The different results al- 

 ways arise from two sources, an understand- 

 ing of composting or other preparation, or a 

 failure in the muck itself, not having a suffi- 

 cient amount of organic substance. The dif- 

 ferent values of muck may be roughly arrived 

 at by first thoroughly drying the samples of 

 muck in an oven, then with small scales 

 weighing out exactly a pound or half-pound 

 of each, iind placing them on a piece of iron, 

 which should be gradually brought up to red 

 heat. Tlie ashes of these when weighed will 

 tell this value; the muck which retains the 

 most weight will be the best manure." 



The Nitrogen Supply. — Professor San- 

 born has been making some experiments in 

 the exhausted farm land of Missouri, and 

 finds that the application of nitrogen, the 

 most expensive element of plant food, actually 

 diminished his corn crop. Winter wheat, 

 however, under the same treatment, showed 

 marked improvement. Like results have 

 been noticed elsewhere, and Professor San- 

 born suggests as an explanation of the puzzle 

 that wmter wheat grows in seasons of the 

 year when, neither by ferments or oxidation, 

 available nitrogen compounds are being 

 formed in the soil extensively. Com, on the 

 contrary, grows in the hot season when such 

 compounds are formed, and, therefore, to 

 effect this crop favorably potash and phos- 

 phoric acid are needed. 



A correspondent of the Country Gentk- 

 man gievs a valuable hint to tliose who in- 

 tend to regraft old apple trees. He has found 

 the Northern Spy one of the very best to 

 graft on old trees, as it comes into bearing 

 soon, and is really often more profitable than 

 when root-grafted when young. Its tendency 

 to grow wood and foliage rather than fruit is 

 checked by the slowly moving sap of the old 



