2:2) O20:¢ ¢ 019:0:¢ eitte Wi ereie enti & Pele cree aieiere bere tee “. wee Ph eee we wea ee cererbraeeeteeie Hi ereiererpisca Wittine cee Pe eee tee e eis tee Thee eee Pi elelevele eens 4 se ee UE Cit Bieseti el +O Ee Oe ome ees Peele, 9 si0l0 © eeitie es . fee eee ee ; i se eles trieeee sees re eee eewereee ae etre She OOO tr ar aeeet "tee ews Tile es, Pree a ole 7 v7 34 Saad, wee ewes ve ESAT Ii em tis ene meee “fee ee . Ferree thitcere eee ea ae etree, heen tee ee feve ° Othe fees wae Sele we eee s $ ‘ tees teeaweee He te ene een eees vee ’ eee ew ey te eens ,* hee vene tte @ een vas Ps | a hitee tee Peisieleiaiciaveare ethene s. tere eel, TUE e ee wae ee eting s . “. (tke ne on Sete e tne fitieeres ear eels itieteie Oe G9 | heen nene «ee frente tals avy © ei aele et tit ‘ Slee te tiela ys teeters oe fess gy ae “eee © ace tle eters” re ieiase # Pirie + hte ee Te titles eee ee ete ae gy tec ee anne wh © Helene Ute cele tr eres ane thee ae Th me tle tenes eRe we ale Tere he altey See ene ° Rieitre kar teres oe tein hee e we ihe ee we wee ? HO 8 2b hleree See etivas ‘4 7 Pit leiee - hee Pee tite ‘ et © te wine thee . S108 Ol ere titi eiele Pale eee eae e er hae +O elee eine ese . © Oi 0 wi adiwitie sie as ae tine he # hieie The ee eee ae the elee, Fitiers . ene Pitan {igietete " - Oeleiere.e elelalaeiale 010i@ Gselesate.e tenes 4 1 © ee ete ee eee COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT: I ) R LA j % ai al ii nM haa ih uy ah ft bib ar f ‘ rt fh te an ha je , fe Sales ma j y u" “ n Ye ‘ va by i! ‘é if ’ Ve ak) ng 7 : y i a ‘ “ ne Mi 1 | beth ai h it vie vie a af ' ey) pie moor 1 aril 0 in uy oe ey Mae OE il oi at ta ag OT yi Ae rety Oa ty aes pow Ay, Meee We h i Poly | i: i ‘ Oe) ae ah i My hi Mal Gin! eat Ah ee ea a) i very ae w es tee ieee ee al Manual of General Agriculture BY EDWARD P. TERRY, M. S. Assistant Supervisor of Agriculture in the n s LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA COPYRIGHT, 1912 BY EDWARD P. TERRY TIMES-MIRROR PTG. & BDG. HOUSE, LOS ANGELES, CAL € CLA327423 INTRODUCTION The experiments in this manual represent actual work done by the author’s classes during several years teaching of the subject of general agriculture in High Schools in Northern and Southern California. There is sufficient material to occupy the laboratory time of a High School class at least four periods a week for one year. Not all the exercises are suitable for any one locality, but nearly all can be used any place. The manual is not intended to displace any text. A satisfactory plan for conducting a course in gen- eral agriculture is to have each student own a manual and have the school furnish the references to accompany it. As the recitations do not occur every day, one book for three students will be found sufficient. Usually the local library will supply a portion of the books needed. A list of references will be found in the back of this manual. A note book containing a record of each exercise per- formed should be kept by the student. The following form is suggested: Number and statement of exercise. Exercise. Result. Conclusion. It is unnecessary for the student to copy materials. At the beginning of nearly all the exercises will be found a list of materials needed, but special attention is called to the following, the materials for which cannot be ob- tained at once: 46, 56, 57, 58, 59, 62, 63, 64, 67, 68, 69. The author wishes to express his thanks for council and material contributed by Principal E. L. Mitchel, Pro- fessors W. T. Clarke, R. H. Loughridge, A. D. MacGil- livray, H. H. Whetzel, C. S. Wilson, E. G. Montgomery, Messrs. A. R. Tyler, Geo. C. Roeding and Miss May Kimble. The cuts under Budding and Grafting were taken from Farmers’ Bulletin No. 157. With slight changes, exer- cises 31, 32, 33, 34, 45, 46, 47 and 50 are by Prof. F. E. Edwards. pH fy RO Se Coes Site ee Be Ul ont el — Sere ke mee a &© 00 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 295. 26. CONTENTS PART I. PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SOILS. Page Howe polls are: Hormed:.c... ea tensa 7 Makino SOL, Sami ples Waray tess g.soc cee ses oases at cane White Clover Wolow> dark areen tO lacks seo oot cee ce coeene erence Alsike Clover Seed somewhat triangular @oloreyellows tow brownish sss eee Oe eee PP 2 Red Clover Seed inclosed in pod Pod large and corrugated, 4 in. long Color, brown; seed, bean-shaped..................--.-.--22------02--=--- Sainfoin Pod whitish, % in. long Color, yellow; seed oval, notched near end Yellow Sweet Clover Pod brown, 1% in. long Color, dark brown, seed mottled_...................... Japan Clover 60 MANUAL OF GENERAL AGRICULTURE. (b) Key for Identification of Grass Seeds Seeds distinctly awned Seed 14 in. or more in length Very hairy or pubescent, flat, thin....................... Meadow Foxtail Pa NS NSIC EM EVO CO MEY RMA Oe ates ee Annual Rye Grass Awns long, twisted, attached near base....Tall Meadow Oat Grass Seeds less than 14 in. long Small brownish’ seed toi nn Gee Sheep Fescue Short-awned or awn-pointed Small, dark brown seeds, very rough near tip....Crested Dog’s-Tail 35 in. long, ‘smooth, light» colored. 2.2... e225. Wheat Grass iin. OF lessy imelerp thie me ees eee ere ee Orchard Grass Awnless %< in. long or thereabout, nerves very prominent....Brome Grass About VY in. ee Note difference in shape ) ..Perennial Rye Grass light brown....... and sizeof rachilla § __...... Meadow Fesecue Hard, smooth seeds, about 14 in. long DD Ks. aT O Willie COLOT Ets ee eee eee, oe Re ere eee Johnson Grass 1% in. long or less Keel. somos“ Salwilikes 2! 2ie se eceecestes ees ee een ee ee eke Redtop Keelonot commonly nough =.) See Kentucky Blue Grass Seed free from glumes, polished Very small, a-32) an. in leneth,, polished 2.2 2. eee Timothy 56. CUTTINGS AND THEIR USE IN PROPAGATION. The more common forms of artificial reproduction are by cuttings, grafting and budding. A eutting is a de- tached portion of a plant inserted in soil (or in water) for the purpose of producing a new plant. Cuttings may be divided into three classes: 1. Hard-wood cuttings. 2. Soft-wood cuttings (herbaceous). 3. Root-cuttings. 1. Hard Wood Cuttings. A hard-wood cutting is a eutting from the ripened wood of a deciduous plant of the present or previous season’s growth. The cultivated plants most commonly propagated by the use of hard- wood cuttings are grape, olive, fig, quince, currant and gooseberry, and many ornamental shrubs, such as privet, tamarisk, hydrangra, ete. 2. Soft Wood Cuttings. This class of cuttings is ex- amplified in the ‘‘slips’’ used to increase the number of roses, carnations, geraniums, fuchsias, begonias, ete. Leaf cuttings are often employed in multiplying begonias, cacti and other plants having thick fleshy leaves containing a MANUAL OF GENERAL AGRICULTURE. 61 large quantity of plant food. Soft-wood cuttings are of little importance in agriculture. 3. Root Cuttings. Short cuttings of roots may be used in the propagation of many plants, notably the horse radish. The roots of lippia, bermuda grass and some other grasses can be cut into short pieces and planted. Obtain some hard-wood cuttings of apple, peach, pear, plum, berry canes, fig, olive, quince and any others that are available. Get cuttings about 18 inches long and 3-8 to 5-8 inch in diameter, using wood of the previous sea- son’s growth. They should be obtained during the dor- mant period (January) or at the time of pruning. Cut five from each tree and tie them in separate bundles with the butts all one way, then label with a piece of wood. In order to save time and trouble we may as well ob- tain scions for grafting at this time and care for them in the same ways as described below for cuttings. A scion is a portion cut from a plant to be inserted upon another plant with the intention that it shall grow. Obtain scions to be grafted on year old seedlings grown as indicated in Exercise 56. If there are no year old seedlings to be grafted, no scions need be gathered, but in order to save time in getting started seedlings should be bought. Select 10 scions of about the size of the seedlings to be grafted so that they may be easily matched, tie in bundles and label with a piece of wood. Heal in the cuttings (and scions) by digging a trench in moist, sandy, well drained soil in a shady place as on the north side of a building. Place the bundles in the trench in a slightly inclined posi- tion and cover all over but the tips, pressing the soil firmly about them. In February or March, when the nursery is ready, dig up the cuttings and plant in nursery rows, making the rows 2 feet apart for hand cultivation or 3 feet apart for horse cultivation and plant the cuttings 8 inches apart in the rows. Only berries, fig, olive and quince are raised by cut- tings, but for the sake of experiment and practice try cut- tings of the others. | 62 MANUAL OF GENERAL AGRICULTURN. 57. ESTABLISHING A DECIDUOUS ORCHARD. The operations involved in the establishment of a de- ciduous orchard are as follows: 1. Collection of Seed. When seeds are to be col- lected on a large scale it is usual to get them from some eannery, but when only a few are desired they may be obtained in any convenient manner. As seeds planted seldom come true to types, all plantings of seed must be made with the knowledge of the kind of scions that are to be grafted or buds to be budded on the young seed- lings. For instance, it is customary to make combinations about as follows: Peach budded on peach, preferably on strong growing yellow peach seedling. Pear, budded or grafted on pear, preferably on Keiffer pear. Apple grafted on apple. By root grafting onto roots of the Northern Spy apple, trees obtained are said to be immune from attacks of the Woolly Aphis. Plum or prune budded on peach in moist, sandy loam soils. Plum budded on Myrobolan when subject to overflow, standing water, or on heavy soil. Apricot, same as plum. Walnut grafted on California black walnut. Quinee, olive and fig are grown from cuttings. After the seeds are collected keep them in a cool dry place, but not in an air-tight receptacle. Obtain at least five seeds of each fruit to be propagated and ten of the smaller kinds as they are more likely to be lost. 2. Stratification of Seed. In January obtain some cheesecloth and cut into squares of about a foot each, making twice as many squares as you have sets of seeds. Moisten all the cloths with water. Take the seeds pre- viously collected and select a spot in the garden, prefer- ably one in sandy soil. Dig a hole a foot square and a foot deep. In the bottom spread out one of the cloths and place on it any set of seeds; then over them place another cloth and two inches of soil. Place another cloth, seeds, cloth, and soil, in the same way until all the seeds have been stratified. Record in your note book the various strata. Of course if there are more than five sets of seeds to be stratified the hole must be deeper than a foot or prefera- MANUAL OF GENERAL AGRICULTURE. 63 bly, dig two holes rather than go beyond a foot deep. Place a stake by the seeds with your name on it so that they may be readily located. Allow the seeds to remain in the ground about six weeks. 3. Transplanting to the Nursery. The best location _ for a nursery is on loam or sandy soil, but trees may be successfully grown in less favorable soil. The land should be plowed deep and thoroughly cultivated. By the use of string and stakes dig with a hoe a trench the desired length. No definite depth can be given for planting the seeds, but the smaller ones such as pear or apple should be planted one and one-half inches deep, while the larger ones like the peach or apricot two inches deep. Carefully dig up the stratified seeds and take them to the nursery taking care not to injure the young sprouts. Plant them in rows about six to eight inches apart. The rows should be about three and one-half feet apart for horse cultivation, but for hand cultivation two feet is suf- ficient. Plant only the sprouted seeds. Mark with stakes the location of each set of seeds. The stakes should be uniform in size and, if desired, painted white.