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15-60135

AGRICULTURE

BY

CHARLES C. JAMES, M.A.

DEPUTY MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE FOR ONTARIO

Formerly Professor of Chemistry at the Ontario
Agricultural College

This book may he used as a Text-Book in any High School Of Public School
in Ontario if so ordered by a resolution of the Trustees

GEORGE N. MORANG

Toronto

1898

Entered, according to the Act of the Parliament of Canada, in the year one thousand

eight hundred and ninety-eight, by George N. Morang, Toronto,

in the office of the Minister of Agi icullure, at Ottawa.

1 '^\

• • •

Printed at

THE BRYANT PRESS

Toronto. Ont.

PREFACE.

The purpose of ihis book is to aid the reader and student
in acquiring a knowledge of the science of agriculture as dis-
tinct from the art of agriculture ; that is, a knowledge of the
" why," rather than a knowledge of the " how." The science
of agriculture may be said to consist of a mingling of chemistry,
geology, botany, entomology, physiology, bacteriology, and
other sciences, in as far as they have a bearing upon agri-
culture. The aim has been to include but the first prin-
ciples of these various sciences, and to show their application
to the art of agriculture. In a field so wide, and with so
limited a space at the author's disposal, tliis work claims to
deal only with the simple first principles of agricultural science.
It is hoped, however, that the beginning here made will lead
to a further study of what is one of the must interesting and
most profitable sciences— one that is at the present time
making most wonderful advance.

From his expeiience of several years teaching at the Ontario
Agricultural College the author believes that the rational
teaching of agriculture in Public and High Schools is not only
possible, but would be exceedingly profitable. An intelligent
understanding of the science underlying the art of agriculture
will add much interest to what is otherwise hard work, and, as
a natural consequence, the pleasure of such work may be

IV. PREFACE.

greatly increased.. The agriculturists of this country in the
future will work at a serious disadvantage if they do not have
some knowledge of the very interesting science that underlies
their work. The residents of our towns and cities also will
find that some knowledge of the science of agriculture may be
of use to them, and may increase the respect and consideration
for the calling that contributes so largely to the general wealth
and welfare of this country.

To the many who have offered help and advice and to all
who have in any way contributed to this work, sincere thanks
are offered.

The First Principles of Agriculture, by Dr. James Mills and
Prof. Shaw will be found useful for reference, as some of the
subjects herein dealt with are enlarged upon in that work.

C. C. James.

Department of Agriculture,
Toronto, August ist, 1898.

CONTENTS.

Chapter i.

—The Seed .

II.

—The Young Plant

III.

-The Plant and Water

IV.

- The Plant and the Soil

V.

—The Plant and the Air

Part I. — The Plant.

PAGE

I
6

12

i6

20

" VI. — Structure and Growth of the Plant . 24

" VII. — Naming and Classification of Plants . 29

Part II. — The Soil.

Chap- viii. — Nature and Origin of the Soil . . 31

" IX. — Tilling and Draining the Soil . . 37

*• X. — Improving the Soil .... 42

Part III. — The Crops of the Field.

Chap. xi. — The Grasses ..... 48

" XII. — The Grain Crops or Cereals . . 52

" XIII. — The Leguminous Plants . . -57

" XIV. — Root Crops and Tubers ... 62

" XV. — Various other Crops . . . -67

" XVI. — Weeds . . . . . . 71

" XVII. — Insects of the Field . . . -74

" XVIII. — The Diseases of Plants ... 88

" XIX. — Rotation of Crops • • • • 93

VI. CONTENTS.

Part IV. — The Garden, Orchard and Vineyard.

PAGE

Chap. xx. — The Garden ..... 97

" XXI. — The Apple Orchard . . . 103

" XXII. — Other Orchard Trees . . . 107

" XXIII. — Insects of the Orchard . . .110

" XXIV. — Diseases of the Orchard . . . 116

" XXV. — The Vineyard . . . . .118

Part V. — Live Stock and Dairying.

Chap. xxvi. — Horses . . . . . . 122

XXVII.— Cattle . . . . . 127

xxviii. — Sheep . . . . . 133

• 136
139

• 143
147

• 155
. . 158

XXXV. — Digestion and Uses of Foods . . 162

Part A^I. — Other Subjects.

Chap.xxxvi. — Bees 171

" xxxvii.— Birds . . . .176

" xxxviii. — Forestry . . . . . 181

" xxxix. — Roads ...... 187

" XL — The Rural Home . . , . 193

Appendix.

List of Trees . . . . • . 196

List of Weeds . . . . . . . .198

Spraying Mixtures . , , . , 200

XXIX.

—Swine

XXX

— Poultry

XXXI.

-Milk ....

XXXII.

-The Products of Milk

VXXIII.-

—The Structure of Animals

XXXIV.

— Foods of Animals

*'^ Agriculture is the oldest of the arts and the ?nost recent
of the sciences"

" Perfect agriculture is the true foundation of trade and
industry — // is the foundation of the riches of States."

PART L

CHAPTER I.

THE SEED.

The Forming of Seed. — We scatter some oat-grains over
the earth and then lightly cover them with the fine surface
soil. The spring rain falls, and the air grows warmer. In
a few days the green blades of the oat plants appear through
the soil all over the field. If we pull up some of these
green shoots we find that each one grows from a single
seed, and each plant has a bunch of small hairy roots.
If we look closely we may find the old husk, or the cover-
ing, of the grain that we planted, but nothing more. What
was once a seed has now become a plant with roots in
the soil and stalk and leaf above the soil. Perhaps we may
find some seeds that were buried too deeply and that have
not sprouted. On through the summer the oat plants grow,
tall and green ; soon the head branches out and blossoms •
then the grain forms, first soft, soon becoming harder, and the
plants lose their green color and turn brown and yellow. We
cut down the plants and later on thresh them out, separating
the grain from the straw. The roots or stubble left behind
in the soil decay; they will not grow again. The straw also
will not grow ; it is fed to the stock or used as litter. But
the grain we may feed to the stock or we may use it again for
growing another crop of oats next year. We b gan with the
seed and the plant has given us seed again, just like the seed
with which we started. The seed, then, is the beginning and
the end of the oat plant, whose aim in growing appears to be
to form seed that will produce other plants like itself. The

2 AGRICULTURE.

seed appears to be the most i iiportant part of this plant ; its
Hfe passes on through the seed We therefore begin our
study of plants with the se ed.

Many other plants of the field, like the oat, sprout, grow,
form seed and die in one season (Annuals). Some otheis,
suchasciriots and turnips, do not ioim seed unless left in
the ground for a second season (Biennials). Then their roots
and stalks die. There are others, such as fruit trees, nut-
bearing trees, grape vines, tliat form seed year by year, but still
keep on li\'ing (Perennials).

Make a list of the plants of the farm and garden under these three
classes : Annuals, Biennials and Perennials.

Shape and Size of Seeds. — The seeds of the same kind of
plants are very much alike in shape and size, but the seeds
of oats, wheat, barley, corn, peas, beans, turnips, pumpkins,
apples, red clover, and timothy all differ. So do the seeds of
the grasses and of the weeds. Some are ball-shaped like peas,
some are long and pointed like oats, some are flat like pump-
kins, some are three-sided like buckwheat and beech nuts.
And there are many other forms ; in fact, there is a different
form for every different kind of seed.

One seed may send up two or more stalks, but one stalk never grows
from more than one feed. Find out how many grains of wheat there are
on a single slalk ; how many seeds there are on a dandelion head, and
how many grains of corn will be grown from one seed of corn.

Get a number of small glass bottles about two inches long. Collect the
seeds of grains, of grasses, and of weeds. In the summer and fall gather
these seeds from the growing plants, in the winter get them from the bins.
Put these separately in the bottles, write the name of each kind on a piece
of paper and fasten it on the bottle. You can in time get a collection
of all the principal seeds that are to be found growing in your locality, and
you can then study them. After a while you can wrile on each its botani-
cal name also.

The Structure of the Seed. — Wheat and oats are too small
for us to take apart easily. Let us take a large seed such as a
hickory nut. First the rough outer husk is taken off, then we

THE SEED.

come to the hard shell. If we crack this carefully we can take
out " the meat " in one piece. We see that it is made up of
two parts joined together at one end. Notice at which end
of the shell the two parts are joined together.

Now take another nut — an almond.
We crack it ; the meat comes out in one
compact piece. We place this in water
for a couple of minutes and then we
carefully rub off the coating. We find
that the white almond will separate into
two parts that are joined together at one
end, very much as in the hickory nut.
We find also that there is a tiny tip
between these two parts. The nut appears to be made up of
two thick leaves joined to a very short stem. It is somewhat like
a plant with a short stalk, having two big leaves, but no roots.

—An Almond showing
parts just separating; also
half of same showing tip
that will grow downward
into root and upward into
stem.

Fig. 2. — An Acorn cut
in two.

Fig. 3. — A Horse-Chestnut
cut in two showing seed
leaves and tip.

Fig 4. — An Fig. 5. — A

Apple- Pumpkin-

Seed. Seed.

We can examine the seeds of the acorn, the horse-chestnut,
the apple, the pea, the bean, and the pumpkin, and we find
them all made up or put together in much the same form. If
we open up other seeds, however, we may find some that have
only one seed-leaf, and some that have more than two. What
do you find in the maple tree seed ?

The Sprouting of the Seed. — When a seed begins to
grow, it is said to sprout. Seeds do not begin to grow in the
ground in winter, nor will they sprout in summer if they are

4 AGRICULTURE.

buried too deeply in the soil. We can easily cause seeds to
sprout, and we can, at the same time, find out just when they
will sprout. It we place some wheat grains in a dry dish and
keep them dry, they will not sprout either in winter or sum-
mer— it makes no difference whether they are cold or Avarm,
they will not sprout so long as they are kept dry. We there-
fore conclude that seeds require water or moisture in order to
sprout. If this were not so we would have the grain sprouting
in the bins and granaries. At the same time we notice how
important it is to have all bins and granaries quite dry.

Now let us take three deep dishes, such as soup plates. We
get three pieces of flannel and cut them so that when once
folded each piece will just about cover the bottom of the dish.
AVe place about twenty grains of wheat in each between the
folded flannel. We then moisten one plate and set it away in
a cool place, and we keep the flannel moist all the time ; we
moisten the second and set it in a warm place, in a sunny
window, for instance, and we keep it moist ; we fill up the
third and set it also beside it in the warm place, and we keep
the plate y?//(?^ with water. We can see what changes take
place from day to day by lifting up the flannel. The grain
kept cool does not sprout ; the grain kept covered with water
so that the air does not reach it does not sprout, even though
it is warm ; but the grain that is kept warm, that gets some air,
and that has a little moisture soon sprouts and starts to grow.
We now conclude that for seeds to sprout they must have
-water, heat and air, and if any one of these three be lacking,
sprouting will not take place.

By means of warm, moistened cloths we can tell whether the
seed grain that we desire to sow is likely to sprout or not in
the ground, and about how much is likely to grow. This is
important, as seeds when they are old lose the power of sprout-
ing. Some seeds lose their vitality or power of sprouting much
sooner than others. Can you find out which these are ?

THE SEED. 5

Conclusions : —

1. Seeds will not sprout unless they get some water or

moisture.

2. Seeds will not sprout when the ground is too cold.

3. Seeds will not sprout when they are in undrained soil

that is full of water, because they cannot get air.

4. Seeds will not sprout when they are buried too deeply

so that the air cannot reach them.
The seed is the beginning of the plant, and with the plant,
as with so many other things, it is of very great importance to
have a good start. This means that we should have good liv-
ing seed — seed that will grow, free from weed seeds. Then we
must have a good, fine, level seed-bed, on a well-drained field,
so that the seed can be sown evenly and covered properly.
Moderate rains and bright sunshine will cause the seed to
sprout, and the young plants will soon appear at the same time
in all parts of the surface of the field. This brings us to the
study of the young plant, which will form the next chapter.

Describe the seeds of corn or maize, buckwhrat, the turnip, the
thistle, the dandehon, the strawberry, the gooseberry, the pumpkin, the
grape, the cherry, the apple, the maplj, the elm, the basswood, the beech,
the hickory.

What is the effect of steeping seed just before it is sown? What kind
of water should be used — hot, warm, or cold ?

AGRICULTURE.

CHAPTER II.

Fig. 6 — A Bean showing tip of rootlet
or radicle at r; also with parts separ-
ated showing tip just starting to grow.

THE YOUNG PLANT.

We have learned that seeds
will sprout when they have water,
heat, and air. But there must
not be too much water, for then
they will simply become soft and
decay ; nor must there be too
much heat, for then they will be
dried up and killed. We have
shown how they can be sprouted
between layers of moist flannel or blotting paper. When sprouted
in that way their growth can be watched day by day ; but this
plan of sprouting seeds will not allow us to watch their growth
to a very large size. If we wish to see them grow up into full-
sized plants we must plant the seeds in soil. We can do so in
a box of clean garden soil placed in a sunny window, or out of
doors in warm weather. We may plant some peas, beans, or
pumpkin seeds. Let us take a handful of bean seeds. As
they are rather large in size we must cover them thoroughly
with soil about an inch deep. At the same time we might put
in a few seeds four, five or six inches deep, and also place
three or four right on the surface, to observe the effect on them
in contrast wnth those planted at the proper depth. We then
water the soil slightly every day.

Alter two days we carefully take up a couple of seeds to see
what has taken place. Then we put them back carefully. In
this way, day by day, we examine carefully a couple of the
seeds until we find them starting to sprout.

THE YOUNG PLANT.

When they have once sprouted
we can take up a plant every day
to see what change is taking
place. We should have enough
plants growing so that we can
throw away each little plant after
we have examined it. First we
find the seeds becoming moist
from the water in the soil, and

Fig. 8. — Seed.Pea and young pea
plant.

Fig. 7. - fcSean Seed ; also young plant
on right, and, in the centre, a plant
showing two seed leaves, also first
pair of true leaves above.

soon turning soft. The beans swell
a little and soon break open the
outer covering or husk. The two
thick leaves of the seed separate a
little and a few fine roots push out
into the soil. The little tip between
the seed leaves begins to grow
larger and pushes up towards the air.
The plant never makes a mistake ;
the roots always grow out and
down into the soil and the little tip

AGRICULTURE.

that forms the stalk ahvays grows up into the air, whether the
seed is lying upside down or not. The roots lengthen out and
branch into a little bunch of fine fibres, and the stalk soon
brings the two leaves above ground. Sometimes we can see
the old husk of the seed still clinging to one of the seed leaves,
which are generally quite smooth and simple in form. The
stalk grows on higher and higher ; new leaves form ; little
branches are thrown out ; leaves form on these ; and now we
see the general form or make-up of the plant. By this time
we observe that the two seed leaves have become thin and soon
disappear. They appear to be of use only in the first few days
of the sprouting of the seed and the early growth of the young
plant. What is their use ? They are different in shape and
size from the ordinary leaves of the plant. They are thick at
first, and soon become thin and disappear. They are nothing
else than little sacks of food stored up in the seed to feed the
young plant until it forms roots and leaves and is able to get
food for itself from the soil and the air.

Parts of the Plant. — The roots spread out or go down
through the soil ; the stalk grows up and branches out ; the
^ni leaves grow along the side and at the ends of the
branches. These three parts — roots, stalk and
branches, and leaves — are quite different in form
and in color, and we may conclude that they
also have different work to do in the life of the
plant.

We can easily study these three parts in larger
plants. In the case of a carrot the root is thick
and long and pushes itself straight down into the
soil. We call such a root a tap root. But along
this root we find a large number of fine, hairy-like
rootlets, to which the fine particles of soil cling
closely. These are the feeders of the big root.
In the case of a stool of ,wheat or oats we have

THE YOUNG PLANT.

a mass of fine roots. We call such a root
fibrous. In the case of large trees, we find
large roots running off in all directions,
many of them for long distances. If we
take up a piece of tree root, we find the outer
end covered with fresh, fine, hairy-like roots.
These are the feeders of the big roots.

How do roots grow ? A man's arm is
longer and larger than a boy's arm. How
did it grow? Not simply by adding on at Fig. lo.-Fibrous root,

o y J J o as of grass.

the end, for in that case the man's arm would
he merely the boy's arm with very long fingers. All parts of the
arm must have grown at the same time. A root would find it
very difficult to grow in that way through the soil. It adds on at
the end or the tip. Sometimes a root has to go around a large
stone ; a bend is formed in the root. How difficult it would
be for the root if it had to keep pulling itself around that stone
as it grew longer. Roots, of course, grow larger and thicker,
pushing aside the soil and even rocks ; but
they lengthen at the tips and take in the
food from the soil through the fine, hairy
rootlets, which are always found in largest
numbers near the ends of the newly-
formed roots.

Two other things we notice, namely, the
roots do not bear leaves and they are not
green. They are generally light colored
inside with a dark covering. They are
also quite pliable — easily bent or twisted ;
in fact they are made for working their
way easily through the soil and around
stones. Pull up a bunch of grass and
observe how the roots cling to the fine soil.
Also observe how crooked a tree root grows.

Fig. II.

End of Root, cov-
ered with fine, hairy,
feeding ro tlets. <z is lip
hardened for protection ;
b is growing part ; c is
older part of root. The
root pust^es the protecting
cap on through soil, form-
ing new root at b, which
soon changes to c.

AGRICULTURE.

The Stalk is compact and strong, built for holding up a
heavy weight. When young the stalk and branches are green
in color ; as they grow older the color becomes darker and
duller, and the soft, smooth skin changes to hard, rough bark.
The stalk and branches are much stiffer than the roots ; if they
were as pliable as the roots they would not be able to hold
themselves up in the form that we see. Most plants, however,
are pliable enough to yield to strong wind and thus avoid being
broken. The last thing to be noticed here in regard to them
is that what is called " the grain " goes along and not across
the branch and stalk. We can split a piece of wood along its
grain, but we have to saw or break it if we wish to divide it
across the grain. What would be the effect of a strong wind
upon plants, trees, forests, if the grain ran across instead of
along the stalks, limbs, trunks, and branches ?

The most noticeable points in connection with leaves are
their shape, their number, and their color. The leaf is generally
fiat and very thin. Its outline or form varies with different
kinds of plants. Contrast the thick, needle-shaped leaf of the
pine and the thin, long, pointed blade of grass with the leaves
of the oak, maple, basswood, and willow.

Take a green maple leaf; draw its outline; trace the frame-
work upon which it is formed. Then glue or paste it between

two sheets of paper or cloth
and dry carefully. Pull these
two sheets apart and thereby
split the leaf. We thus see
that the leaf is a thin web
stretched upon a framework of
fine branches, and we observe
that the branching of these

Fig. 12. — Section of a Leaf. y4, row of cells ., ^., , ^ • • j-rr

forming skin on upper side ; B, row of ribs of the Icat varics m ditter-

cells next to skin ; D, next row of cells
C, air spaces in leaf; E, inner portion o
cells filled with sap; /<', row of cells form

C, air spaces in leaf; £, inner portion of Cnt kinds of IcaVCS ; further,

lis tilled witn sap i^, row ot cells lorm- .i„j. .1 r ,.u^ l«r.f ;^ ,,a..,,

g under skin of leaf showing mouths that though the leaf IS Very

or openings (stomata).

THE YOUNG PLANT. II

thin, yet it is made up of different layers, two skins with softer
layers between.

Diaw the leaves of all the different forest and shade trees found in
your locality.

The new leaves of spring and early summer are green; as
summer advances they change in color somewhat, and in the
fall the green turns to brown or yellow or red. The young
shoots also are green in color at first, becoming duller and
darker in color as they become older and stiffen But observe
the many different shades of green in the leaves of different
kinds of trees — even different kinds of maples show tints that
slightly vary. Even the two sides of the same leaf are not of
the same shade. This can be seen on a windy day when the
wind blows the leaves over.

What causes the green color ? Place a small piece of board
on the green grass ; after a few days lift the board and observe
that the grass under it has become paler in color, has been
bleached out. Leave the board off and the grass will soon
become green again. When potatoes start to grow in a dark
cellar their sprouts are white, the tips grow towards the light,
and if they reach direct sunlight they become green. We
conclude from the above that the sunlight in some way or
other is the cause of the green color in the leaves. (The
name chlorophyll applied to the green-colored matter in the
leaf, means " leaf green.")

Why are the roots not green like the leaves ?
Are evergreens of the same color in winter as in summer ?
Why is the grow^th of trees less and less, or more stunted, as we go
farther north ?

12 AGRICULTURE.

CHAPTER III.

THE PLANT AND WATER.

The Water of the Plant. — In a long season of drouth,
the grass turns brown and withers, the leaves of the trees
dry up, and shrubs and plants of all kinds droop and die.
In the case of plants grown in the house, everyone knows that
they must be watered regularly. AMien the rains are frequent,
how the grass grows, and how all plant life becomes green and
thrifty ! Nothing more need be said to prove that water is
one of the most important foods for plants. Further, we
find some water in all plants, some fruits being made up of over
nine-tenths water. If any plant, or any part of a plant, such
as a piece of root, a chunk of green wood, a bunch of green
grass, or a handful of leaves, be placed in a warm oven, it will
gradually become lighter in weight owing to its losing water or
becoming drier. Even well-dried wood will lose a little water.
If we were to take loo pounds of several substances, such as
the following, and dry them out thoroughly, we would find that
they would become lighter by the following amounts, that is,
they would lose these amounts of water :

Roots, carrots, turnips, etc 85 to 95 pounds.

Potatoes 75 "

Green pasture grass 80 "

Timber Avood 40 to 50 "

Dried or cured hay 15 "

Grains, such as wheat, oats, etc .... 10 to 15 "
We can therefore say that roots contain from 85 to 95 per
cent, of water, potatoes 75 per cent., etc.

THE PLANT AND WATER. t^

How Does the Water Get in?— We can answer this
first (luestion by carefully observing as follows : When
house plants are watered, we do not pour the water on the
leaves and branches, but on the soil that contains the roots.
When the earth above the roots has been allowed to become
too dry, the gardener sometimes sets the whole pot, earth and
roots, in a pail of water until the soil has become thoroughly
wet. Two pots of the same size and shape may be taken, one
having a plant growing in the soil and the other containing
only soil. Then place them side by side and water the soil in
both with the same amount of water. It will be observed that
the soil in which the plant is growing will become dry much
more quickly than the soil having no plant.

If we could examine the drains coming from under two fields
having the same kind of soil, one having little or nothing grow-
ing upon it and the other having a heavy crop, such as roots,
corn or hay, we would see that much more water drains away
from the bare field than from the field bearing a crop.

Perhaps you have noticed a bulb or a slip from some rapidly-
growing plant being started in a vase or glass bottle filled with
water. If you take two glass bottles of the same size and fill
both with water and place a growing plant slip in one, you will
notice that the water in the one having the plant slip will dis-
appear more rapidly than the water in the other bottle. Some-
times it can be shown even more clearly by placing a few large
white flowers, such as lilies or chrysanthemums, in water that
has been colored red or blue. After a while some red or blue
color will appear in the flowers.

We conclude from the above that the water passes into the
plant by way of the roots.

How Does the Water Get Out ?— It is quite evident that
there is not room in the plant to hold all that goes in. Wher-
ever we cut into a living plant we find it damp and the cells

14 AGRICULTURE.

filled up, SO that as water is constantly going in by way of the
roots, it must be passing out by some way.

When the soil becomes very dry and the plants, as we say,
suffer from drouth, the first place where we observe the effect
is in the leaves. These droop and wilt and lose their freshness,
and soon after watering they become fresh-looking again.

Let us take a clear bottle and wipe it out so as to have it
perfectly clear, clean and dry on the inside. Then we carefully
place it over the branch of a growing plant so as to have the
bottle pretty well filled with leaves. We leave it there, fastened
up securely, for a time ; after a while we observe a fine film on
the inside of the bottle, \\lien we take it off we notice that
the bottle is damp on the inside, some v.'ater has been depos-
ited upon it from the leaves. We observe the same kind of a
film on a piece of looking-glass when we breathe upon it. In
fact, we can take a piece of dry looking-glass and fasten it
to a plant leaf and get a faint film of moisture from the leaf as
from our breath. Further, if we try first the upper side of the
leaf and then the under, we shall find that the moisture comes
almost entirely from the under side.

We conclude, then, that the water passes out by the leaves
and principally from the under surface. If we had a microscope,
that is an instrument for making small things appear large, we
could examine the two sides of the leaf of any plant, and then
we would observe that on the under side there are a great
many little mouths, or pores, or openings whereby the water
can pass out, and that these are drawn up smaller as the air
becomes drier so as to prevent too great loss of water. Each
of these mouths or pores is called a " stoma," and when we
speak of two or more we call them " stomata."

We have called these mouths or pores ; they are openings
through which the plant breathes, and they are generally on the
under side of the leaf, several hundred or several thousand on
every leaf. In the case of such a plant as the water lily, whose

THE I^LANt AND WATER.

15

large round leaves lie flat on the surface of the water, the
stomata or mouths of the leaves
are found to be on the upper
side. Why has nature made this
change ?

Animals soon suffer from thirst,
although they have some water
in nearly every kind of food that
they eat. But plants require
water quite as much. There is
nothing so important in connec-
tion with plant growth as having
a proper supply of water — not
too much and not too little.
When the rains come at the right
time and in the right quantities,
nearly every soil bears good
crops ; where no rains fall we find
a desert.

Fig. 13. — Underside of leaf. A shows
the mouths or stomata with small
hair on leaf at /;. Z? is a section,
showing stoma or mouth at s, the
air space is at a, and ^ is a guard
cell which opens and closes the
mouth or stoma.

Conclusions :

1. Water is found in all plants and in all parts of living
plants at all seasons of the year.

2. Water is necessary for the life and growth of plants.

3. Water goes into the plants through the hairy rootlets at
the tips of the fresh roots and passes out through the thousands
of tiny mouths on the under side of the leaves.

4. The mouths or breathing pores are called stomata. These
open wider as the air becomes damp and partially close as the
air becomes dry.

l6 AGRICULTURE.

CHAPTER IV.

THE PLANT AND THE SOIL.

The Power of Water to Dissolve Substances. — If
we drop a little common salt into a glass of water, it will
disappear from sight ; but if we taste the water we find that it
is salty — the salt has been dissolved in the water. If we pour
out the salty water into a saucer, and set it in a warm place,
the water will gradually become less and less, and we shall
soon see the white salt reappear as a fine white crust. We
know now that salt is soluble in water. If we keep on adding
salt to the water in the glass we shall find that after a while no
more salt will be dissolved, but what we add will remain un-
dissolved in the bottom of the glass. We conclude, therefore,
that the water can dissolve a certain amount of salt and no
more —that there is a limit to the power of the water to dissolve
the salt. We can make the same trial or experiment with
other substances, such as sugar, saltpetre, etc.

But all substances are not soluble. If we place some sand
in the glass of water it will not dissolve. If we stir up some
road dust in a glass of clean water, the water will at once be-
come dirty ; but after a while the dirt will settle and the water
clear up. Sometimes when we examine salt by putting a little
in water we find a small quantity of hard, gritty substance set-
tling at the bottom undissolved — tnis is not salt, but an impurity
in the salt. If there were any sand in the sugar it would not
dissolve. A nail will not dissolve in the water, though it can
be more or less dissolved if there is a little acid in the water.
If we take a handful of hardwood ashes and stir them up in a
bowl of water, a large portion will settle to the bottom undis-

THE PLANT AND THE SOIL. 1?

solved, but the water will feel and taste soapy. There is
evidently something soluble in wood ashes, and also some-
thing insoluble. If we take coal ashes instead of wood
ashes, we shall find that there is little or nothing soluble in the
coal ashes. It is evident, therefore, that wood ashes contain
much more soluble matter than coal ashes. This soluble
matter is food for plants. If we take a piece of limestone and
pour water upon.it we shall find that little or no change takes
place ; but if we use a little weak acid (even vinegar will have
some effect), we find that the limestone will dissolve. If, in-
stead of limestone, we take freshly-burnt lime — -quick-lime —
we find that the water will take up some of the lime, as we can
tell by tasting it.

We conclude that some substances are quickly soluble in
water, some slowly soluble, some insoluble, and that weak acids
will have the effect of dissolving some substances, such as lime-
stone and iron, that do not dissolve in water alone.

Further, we find that water can dissolve only a certain
quantity of any substance — that its power of dissolving is
limited ; and when the water evaporates or passes off into the
air, the substances, such as salt, sugar, and lime, that were
dissolved in it, reappear as salt, sugar, and lime.

If we pour milk through a fine strainer, the milk all passes
through, and the dirt that was not dissolved remains behind.
If we stir up some hardwood ashes in a glass of water and
then pour it through a very fine strainer, we find the undis-
solved ashes remain behind, and the water that passes through
is soapy in taste.

We conclude that the substances dissolved in the water go
along with the water wherever it passes in the liquid form.

Take a clean unglazed earthen flower pot ; stop up the hole in the
bottom, fill it with water, and throw into the water a handful of salt.
Allow the pot to stand undisturbed. After a while a deposit will appear
on the outside of the pot. Taste it, it is salty. Explain.

y? AGRlCULTUkfi.

How Mineral Food Gets ixto the Plant. — We have
before learned that water goes into the plant through the
roots and passes out by the leaves ; there must therefore
be a movement of the water through the plant ; and we
thus conclude that the water can carry along with it into
the plant, and through it, some substances taken up in solu-
tion from the soil, that is, that it will take into the plant
whatever it finds in the soil that can be dissolved. This is not
quite the case, for the roots appear to have the power, in large
measure, of taking up the substances that the plant requires ;
the roots have a certain amount of what may be called
" selective " power.

One thing more may be mentioned in connection with the
taking in of food by the roots ; there is a small amount of
weak acid found in the ends of the roots, so that wherever
the fine, hairy rootlets come into contact with the soil they
are helped by this weak acid to dissolve small quantities of
material that the water alone, without this acid, could not take
up. It is because of this that we frequently find the marks of
plant roots on the face of hard rocks, showing where the roots
by their acids have eaten out some of the rock.

When we burn wood in the stove we have ItTt what is called
the ashes. If we burn up some straw, or grain, in fact any
kind of a plant, we have left some ashes. This ash is earthy
in nature. SometiniL-s it is called the " mineral mattei^ " of the
plant. It has all gone into the plant by way of the roots, dis-
solved in the water of the soil. When this ash or mineral
matter is taken apart and examined by a chemist, it is found
lo contain such substances as compounds of lime, soda, and
potash. From loo pounds of plants taken, we get one to five
pounds of ash or mineral matter; we therefore say, that the ash
or mineral matter forms from one to five per cent, of the whole
plant, and it has all come from the soil.

The mineral matter of the soil, after being dissolved in the

THE PLANT AND THE SOIL. IQ

water of the soil, passes into the plant, is carried by the
circulation of the sap to all parts, and is used in helping to
build up the various parts of the plant. When matter gets into
the plant in this way that is not required, some of it may be-
come deposited in various parts of the plant, but much of it is
carried to the outside of the leaf and of the bark, and left there
as the water evaporates. In the case of some plants, more
mineral matter is taken up from the soil than the sap can hold
in solution, and some of the salts are found in a solid form in
the little sacs or cells of which the plant is made up. I'hese
are often seen by a magnifying glass or microscope in the form
of crystals either in the cells or in the walls of the cells.
Conclusions :

1. The water of the plant comes from the water of the soil,
hence the importance of rains.

2. All of the mineral or ash material of the plant comes from
the soil, being carried into the j)lant in solution through the
roots.

3. The mineral matter is carried to all parts of the plant in
the circulation of the sap.

4. vSome of the mineral matter that is not needed by the
plant is given off from the outside of the leaves and through the
bark.

5. It is very important to have the mineral or ash material
required by the plant in as soluble a form as possible in the
soil, hence the importance of good cultivation and of proper
fertilizing or manuring.

20 AGRICULTURE.

CHAPTER V.

THE PLANT AND THE AIR.

The Combustible Part of a Plant. — When we dry
any plant thoroughly, we drive off the water that it contains ;
when we burn up this dried portion, we have left the ash.
But what about the portion that has been burned up ? What
was it and where did it come from ? All plants contain fibre
— woody fibre as we may now call it ; this has been burned
up. Some plants, such as sugar beets, sugar cane, and corn,
contain some sugar. Other plants, such as potatoes, contain a
large quantity of starch. In burning, all the fibre, starch, and
sugar are burned up. Then such seeds as flaxseed and cotton
seed contain oil. There are other substances, also, that we
should know. For instance, if we chew a few grains of wheat,
we find after a short time a small quantity of a gummy sub-
stance remaining in the mouth —it is called gluten. Then you
all know that from many different fruits a beautiful clear sub-
stance is got by boiling, known as jelly. Perhaps we have
mentioned enough — - fibre, starch, sugar, oil, gluten, jelly
substances — all these and many others similar to them are
found in plants. They do not pass off when the water evapor-
ates, nor are they left behind in the ash. They are all con-
sumed or burnt up when the plant is burned.

What do they consist of? In burning any plant slowly, the
first thing that you notice is that the plant becomes black —
charred ; and by very slowly burning it we can turn it into a
black mass that we call charcoal, somewhat like coal in
appearance. This black color is given to it because of the
carbon which it contains. If we could put some of this

THE PLANT AND THE AIR. 21

charred plant into a strong iron vessel, having only one small
open pipe leading from it, we would find that there were
gases coming away that would burn with a flame ; and when
you are further advanced in the study of chemistry you will
be able to prove that these gases contain, besides carbon,
another substance also, called hydrogen.

In addition to these two, carbon and hydrogen, both of
which will burn in the air, there are in the plant small quan-
tities of nitrogen and sulphur and some oxygen. All of this
cannot be proved by you at present, but you will now have to
accept the statement that these parts of the plant that are
burned up contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and
sometimes sulphur in varying quantities. The chemist, for
shortness, refers to them often simply by the first letters, thus :
C H O N S.

What the Plant Gets from the Air. — The next
question is as to where these elements came from and when
they got into the plant. If they came from the soil they must
have been contained either in the water or in the salts or
mineral matter carried in through the roots. Water is a
compound of only two substances, hydrogen and oxygen.
Two of them, then, may have come from the rains and soil
water. The sulphur and the nitrogen may have come from
the soil \w part or m whole, for we sometimes find soluble com-
pounds of sulphur m the soil, and also compounds of nitrogen.
But the carbon which is found in such large quantity does
not come from the water, nor from the mineral matter of the
soil. There is only one other source, and that is the atmos-
phere, or, as we say, the air. If the carbon comes from the air,
we at once conclude that it gets into the plant through the leaves.
And how wonderfully well supplied is every plant with leaves
for taking m food from the air !

The air is a mixture of gases. Coal and charcoal are almost
pure carbon, so that we think of carbon as being a solid. And

2 2 AGRICULTURE.

SO it is. But in the air there is a gas called carbonic acid gas.
It is formed wherever carbon is burned. The carbon unites
with the oxygen gas of the air and forms a compound, a gas,
that is called carbonic acid gas. This is the source from which
the plant gets its carbon.

There is only a very small quantity of this carbonic acid gas
in the air, but the plants have a large number of leaves and
they are broad and thin, and the air is moving more or less all
the time, so that the plant has no difficulty in getting all the
carbon that it requires. The carbonic acid gas of the air goes
in through the leaves ; the plant takes up the carbon for its
own use and sets free the oxygen gas with which the carbon
was united. Just here we might mention that all animals are
constantly breathing out carbonic acid gas from their lungs,
and that when too much of it is present the animals will be
smothered. We feel the effect of it when shut up in a close
room. Plants take up this carbonic acid gas, keep the carbon
and set free the oxygen, so that plants are constantly purifying
the air for animals, and animals are constantly producing car-
bonic acid gas to feed the plants. Nature has in this way
made plants and animals dependent upon each other.

The starch of potatoes, the sugar of beets, the jelly of cur-
rants and apples, the oil of flaxseed and the fibre of flax and
of all parts of plants are made up entirely of the three elements
— carbon, hydrogen and oxygen (C H and O).

The plants get all the carbon from the air, and the hydrogen
and oxygen can all be got from water, which, as we have said,
is a compound of hydrogen and oxygen, so that starch, sugar,
jelly, oil and fibre are made up by the plant from what comes
from water and- the air. When a farmer sells from his farm
sugar or butter (oil) or fibre he is selling what in the first place
came from the rain and the air, and thereby he does not rob
the soil so much as when he sells grain or hay, since these
ccnLam mineral or soil material.

THE PLANT AND THE AIR. 2^

We have said that the quantity of carbonic acid gas in the
air is very small ; there are only three parts in every ten thou-
sand parts by volume. The air, or atmosphere, is made up
almost entirely of nitrogen and oxygen, mixed together, not
united, in the proportion of about four to one ; that is, in every
one hundred volumes of air there are nearly eighty parts of
nitrogen to a little over twenty parts of oxygen. In addition,
there are very small quantities of other gases, such as ammonia,
but we need not refer to these here. The facts now to be
fixed in the memory are that the plant, through the leaf, does
not take up the nitrogen and oxygen which are in such large
quantities, but does take up carbon from the carbonic acid gas
which exists in such small quantities, and from this carbon,
along with the elements of water, it builds up the larger portion
of its entire structure. How it does this is largely a mystery.
Conclusions :

1. Besides the water and the mineral matter of the plant,
which come in through the roots, there are in plants large
quantities of such substances as starch, sugar, oil, and gluten.

2. All of these substances contain caibon.

3. This carbon comes from the carbonic acid gas of the air.

4. Animals breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbonic acid
gas through their lu igs ; plants take in carbonic acid gas and
give off oxygen through their leaves.

24 AGRICULTURE.

CHAPTER VI.

STRUCTURE AND GROWTH OF THE PLANT.

The Sap. — All the water used by the plant enters through the
roots, and along with it comes the material that we call the
mineral matter, together with the nitrogen that the plants require.
The stalks and branches form the frame work of the plant — its
body, so to speak. The leaves give off the water taken in by
the roots, and also take up carbon from the carbonic acid gas of
the air. Now if the water goes in by the roots and out from the
leaves it must move through the plant — through the roots to the
stalk, thence to the branches, and so on to the leaves. This
water contains many substances in solution (sugar, salts, and
other things) ; we call it sap, and the movement, is called " the
circulation of the sap." AVe have already referred to the fact
that a limb will split lengthwise, not across. Sometimes, as in
flax and in the inner bark of basswood, we can pull ofiF long
fine strings of fibre. These long fibres that run up and down,
or lengthwise, are nothing else than strings of little cells, and
in circulation the sap passes on through from one to the next.

Frequently you see a hollow tree that is alive and thrifty •
and when you cut across a large tree you notice that the sap is
principally in the outer portion. The outer rings of wood are
much wetter than the inner or heart wood. We conclude,
then, that the sap moves principally up and down through the
layers or fibres of the plant near the outside, just under the
outer rough bark. The life of the body of the plant is then
mainly near the outer bark. When we girdle a tree we are apt
to kill it ; we can cut a small nick into it, we can tap it, or we
may bruise a piece of the bark, and we do not kill it. Now
you see the reason.

STRUCTURE AND GROWTH OF THE PLANT. 2^

Work of the Leaves. — The circulation of the sap brings
the water and material taken up from the soil to the leaf,
where also is found the carbon taken up from the air. And
it is in the green growing leaf that all this material is worked
over into such forms as the plant can make use of. The leaves,
we may say, are both the lungs of the plant and also the stom-
ach. If fire burns the leaves of a tree, or some blight or
disease attacks them, or insects devour them, the tree becomes
weak and in many cases soon dies.

We observe the vitality of any plant in the leaves ; and we
should always try to keep the leaves fresh and free from attacks
of all kinds. The greenhouse gardener carefully washes the
leaves of his valuable plants, and the fruit-grower sprays his
trees and bushes for this purpose. When the leaves have
worked over all the food from the air and the soil (that is,
digested it, as we digest food in the stomach), it is carried
away in the sap to all parts of the plant — to make root in one
place, more leaves in another, to increase the wood in the
branches, to form buds, or blossoms, or fruit ; in fact to build
up the plant in all its parts. How all this is done and no
mistake is rnade — how leaves are formed in one place and
roots in another, and buds in another, is, as we have said
before, largely a mystery ; just as it is a mystery how hair
is formed on your head, teeth in your mouth, and nails upon
your fingers.

We have another point to notice in regard to the leaves.
Cut off several long switches or branches from a willow, a
maple, an oak, a spruce, and currant bush. Observe how the
leaves are placed. They are not attached by chance. In
some cases two leaves grow out from the same place on
opposite sides. They are said to be opposite. In others there
is first one on one side and then the next above on the other
side. They are said to be alternate. Then, if you start with
the first leaf and draw a line to the next, and then to the next,

26 AGRICULTURE.

and so on, you find that the line goes around the branch in a
spiral direction. By closely observing all these different
branches, you find that in all cases there is a certain definite
order of arrangement. Further, you find that just as the leaves of
any one kind of tree are nearly alike in outline, so they are all
nearly alike as to their form of arrangement. Find out this
mode or form of arrangement of leaves on the different trees
and shrubs with which you are familiar.

"WTien the leaves have done their work they lose their bright
green color, turning duller, sometimes brown or almost white,
sometimes yellow, sometimes red and many-colored. In the
case of one class of trees, such as maples, oaks, etc., they fall
off the branches — such trees are called deciduous^ to distinguish
them from the evergreens. But even the evergreens become
duller in the fall, and the new growth of the spring is of quite
a different green from that of the old growth.

The Buds. — The leaves do not grow into branches or
flowers. The buds come every year (in the fall and in the
spring) in the angles or " axils " of the leaves or at the ends
of the branches, so that the arrangement of the leaves is also
the arrangement of the buds. Some buds grow into branches
and some into blossoms, ^\^len a bud grows at the end of
the branch it, of course, by its growth lengthens the branch ;
when it comes on the side, by its growth it forms a side
branch. When we " stop " a raspberry bush by pinching off
the growth at the end, we cause the side buds and branches to
grow out, and thereby make the plant become bushy.

If you remove a bud formed in the fall, covered with
a waxy substance to protect it in winter, or if you take a
bud formed in spring or summer, and carefully open it, you
find it is a compact mass of small leaves — it is a little branch
compressed and packed away ; and the opening of the bud
is nothing else than an unfolding of these leaves as they

STRUCTURE AND GROWTH OF THE PLANT.

27

grow larger. The life of the tree starts the leaves growing, and
the buds burst and open up, some to form leaves and branches
and some to form blossoms.

Blossoms. — Let us take a simple blossom like a yellow
buttercup. First we find five small leaves arranged around
the outside. These form
what is called the calyx,
and each of these five
leaves is a sepal. Just
above these are five
leaves of bright yellow
color forming \.\\ecorolla,
each of which is called

a /('A//. Next inside the Fig. 14 -Parts of a Blossom, as follows: End of

11 1 • f stalk or "receptacle "in ceiiti'e; two leaves or sepa's

corolla are a numner 01 of calyx on outside; then two leaves or petals of

little stems of fine stalks, '°^°"" = '''^" '"° ^'"'""" = ""^" '"° p'^'"^-
with tiny balls on their tips covered with fine dust. These are
called stamens, and the dust \^ pollen. Right in the centre are
some more little growths called the pistils. This blossom, then,
has four parts — calyx, corolla, stamens, and pistils. If we take
a buttercup, we can easily examine the parts by pulling them
off one by one, beginning at the outside.

Forming Seed or Fruit. — What is the use of these four
parts? The calyx and corolla are
simply two rows of leaves, green
and yellow, arranged around the
two other parts to protect them.
Observe their form in the closed
bud. They guard the more valu-
able portion, the pistils and
stamens, and when their work is

J .1 ■] cc T-u c Fig. 11;. — Stamen and Pistil. Stamen on

done they drop off. 1 he fine U^ showing a, the stalk, and b, the

A „i- „„ .^„11^ , f_^ . +U« „•-„.„ head, covered with pollen dust. Pistil

dust or pollen from the stamens on right showing ^, the stigma on

rlrnnQ r,-n thp tnr^ c\^ thp i-iictt-ilc which the pollen falls; 3 the style, and

arops on tne top OI tne piStUS. ^ the ovary containing the seeds, ».

28

AGRICULTURE.

Fig. i6. — Complete Blossom,
having calyx, corolla, sta-
mens, and pistils.

Sometimes the wind blows it over ;
sometimes the insects carry it on
their bodies and legs. As soon as the
pollen reaches the upper end of the
pistils, growth starts within the pistil,
beginning at the top (the stigma) and
continuing down through the fine stem
(the style) until it reaches the main
inner part (the ovary). It is in this

part of the blossom that the seed is formed.

Figures 14 and 15, showing the different

parts of a blossom taken apart, will help to

understand what takes place. To form

seed, then, the pollen from the stamens

must reach the pistils. In some plants we

have them side by side in the one blossom,

in other plants some blossoms have only

stamens and others only pistils. In this

latter case the pollen must be carried by

the wind, or by insects, such as bees, as

they go from flower to flower. The seed

forms in the ovary of the blossom after the

pollen has fallen from the stamens upon

the pistils.

Fifj. 17 — Incomplete or
imperfect Blossoms. The
upper one has stamens,
but no pistils (male
blossom); thelowerone
has pistils, but no sta-
mens (female blossom).

THE NAMING AND CLASSIFICATION OF PLANTS. 2g

CHAPTER VII.

THE NAMING AND CLASSIFICATION OF PLANTS.

The many millions of human beings in the world may be
arranged in classes or great fliniilies. Sometimes the basis of
classification is their color ; thus we have the white race, the
black race, the red race, etc. The white race, also, may
be divided in various ways. For instance, we speak of
the English-speaking people, the French people, the German
people, etc. The Indians are divided into tribes. These
classifications are based on color, height, form of body, language,
and certain habits or characteristics. In a similar manner it is
advisable to arrange the great plant world into groups or
classes — all those somewhat alike in one class, all others some-
what alike in another class, and so on. To these various
classes names must be given. These names are what we call
the scientific or botanical names. They are not always much
tike our common names of plants. The common names may
vary in different places, but the botanical names must be the
same the world over. The botanical names are not so familiar
to us as the common names, hence they appear to be very
difficult ; but in studying plants, in naming them, and in re-
ferring to text books on botany, it is necessary to become
more or less familiar with them.

How are we to study a plant, to describe it, to know the
plant referred to in any botanical work ? How are we to
identify any plant ? There are the four parts — the roots, the
stem, the leaves and the blossoms. The leaves really include
those parts which we call the blossoms or flowers, as these are
made up of changed leaves ; but for the present we may say

30 AGRICULTURE.

that these are the four parts named. In studying or describing
any plant, therefore, we find out the nature or make-up of its
root, stem, leaves and blossom. In regard to the root, for
instance, we observe whether it is tap-rooted or fibrous. We
note the color and form of the stem. We observe the shape
of the leaves and their arrangement on the branches. In the
blossom we note the form, number and arrangement of the sepals
or parts of the calyx, and of the petals or parts of the corolla; also
the number, form and arrangement of the stamens and pistils.

If we carefully observe a buttercup and a marsh-marigold we
find that in the main they closely resemble each other, yet
there are differences in their form and they grow in different
locations. Meadow rue, columbine, anemone and hepatica
also have a strong family resemblance to these two plants.
These are all classed together in one great order or family
known as the Ranimculaccce or crowfoot family.

The wild nTustard of our grain fields and the weeds shep-
herd's purse and pennycress are classed in another order or
family known as the Cruciferce, so called because of the
arrangement of the four petals forming a cross-like corolla.

The blossoms of the field pea, sweet pea, bean, clover and
^ocust tree are much alike. These are all classed in one family
— the Leguminosce or legume family.

Compare the blossoms and leaves of the apple, pear, plum,
cherry, strawberry and hawthorn with the wild or single rose.
They all belong to one family — the RosacecR or rose family.

The carrot and the parsnip form a cluster of flowers in form
called an umbel, hence these belong to the family Uinbellifenc.

In many common })lants we have the flowers in a dense or
thick head like the blossom of a field daisy or of a sunflower.
The thistles, burdocks, everlasting, golden rod, aster, yarrow,
dandelion and lettuce are other members of the same family
— the composite family, or Composilcc.

NATURE AND ORIGIN OF THE SOIL. 3I

PART II.

CHAPTER VIII.

NATURE AND ORIGIN OF THE SOIL.

All the plants grown upon the farm or in the garden grow
in the soil ; even those that appear to be growing in streams
and marshes have their roots in the soil beneath the water.
Sometimes we see plants grown in water only in the house or
greenhouse, but most of those found there are grown in pots
filled with soil. The plants found on the surface of rocks and
on old rail fences are of a low, simple order. We may then
conclude that most of the plants that we are now familiar with
require soil, and we therefore shall study for a while the soil,
its nature, its origin, and its improvement.

Kinds of soil. — Sandy soil is made up principally of sand.
If we take a handful of dry sand we find that it consists of
small hard grains that are easily mixed together. If we
moisten it, it will cling together and can be moulded into
various forms, but when it dries the particles all fall "apart
into fine sand as before. Then there is clay of various colors,
sometimes red, sometimes almost white, sometimes nearly
blue. If we moisten it we can mould it, but when it dries
it keeps its shape and becomes hard. We readily see the
difference. When we walk over wet sandy soil and wet
clayey soil, the former, when dry, readily rubs off our boots,
the latter sticks. Sand is used for making moulds in the
foundry and clay is used for making models by the artist; the

32 AGRICULTURE.

former readily falls apart after being taken out of the boxes
and can be used again, and the latter when moulded and
worked keeps its shape as it dries.

Make two sets of objects (such as balls, cubes, cups, vases or simple
figures of small animals), one set from wet sand and one set from clay.
Place them in the sun or near the stove and observe the effect of drying.

We see that sand as it dries does not stick together, and clay
as it dries does stick together and also sticks to other objects.
We now understand how it is that wet clay is sticky ; it clings
to the plow and the harrow and to the feet of the horses and
is hard or heavy to work. Sandy soil is said to be light and
clay soil to be heavy, not because of their weight, but be-
cause the former is easily worked and the latter is harder to
work. If we watch closely the drying out of the two sets of
objects that we have moulded we shall observe further that the
sand dries out more quickly than the clay; the latter holds on
to the water longer. Clay soils are usually wet soils ; they are
more apt to have water in them than sandy soils.

The third class of soils is usually dark in color, from light
brown to dense black, such as are found in the woods where
leaves and branches have decayed, and in low pastures and
swampy places. This soil is made up of the refuse of leaves,
branches and roots of plants. Sometimes we can see pieces of
half-decayed or rotten plants ; sometimes there are very slight
traces of the original form of the plants. This soil has, how-
ever, all come from former plants. We call such a soil a
vegetable soil, and this dark colored loose material formed from
the decay of vegetable matter is called humus. Notice how
it differs from both sand and clay. It is light in weight and
easily worked and it holds water readily.

Place a handful of swamp muck or leaf mould (humus) on an iron fire-
shovel and carefully set it upon the burning coals. It dries out, then burns
away until only a small quantity of ash is left. Place some wet sand on
the shovel and heat, and then a little wet clay. What is the result ?

NATURE AND ORIGIN OF THE SOIL. 33

These, then, are the three principal parts of soils— sand,
clay, and humus, but in many cases we find them mixed
together or one above the other. If sand is the principal part
of the soil we call it a sandy soil ; if clay, a clay soil, and if
humus or muck, a vegetable soil. A loam soil contains a mix-
ture of sand and clay with some humus, and such a soil is
usually best fitted for growing most of the crops of the farm.

Origin of the Soil. — We already know where the humus
or vegetable matter has come from, and, as it was formerly
parts of plants, we conclude at once that it must contain some
material for feeding new plants. But where did the sand and
the clay come from ?

Perhaps you have never before asked that question, thinking
that the clay and the sand were always in the field in that form.
This, however, is not the case, altliough they may have been there
for many years, perhaps for hundreds of years, perhaps for
thousands. Why do we say that they have not been there
for all time ? Well, if we go to the shore of a large lake we
see fresh sand being washed up day by day by the waves. If
we go to the banks and mouth of a large river, or even of a
small stream, we see sand and clay and vegetable matter being
washed down, carried away, and spread out to form new layers
of soil. If we go to the face of a high rocky cliff we can see
the great rocks being gradually broken down and changed
into piles of coarse stone, and later into finer material, and still
later into sand and clay. But if we can go to a range of
mountains or high hills we shall see more clearly the change
of great rocks into fine soil.

Under our soil we find solid rock. In some places the rock
is at the surface, and we can see it becoming weathered and
rotten. The outer surface is softer than the interior. In other
places the rock is just under the surface. In some places we
have to go very deep to find the rock, but it is always there, to
be found if we only go deep enough. All of our sand and

34

AGRICULTURE.

clay have come from these old rocks, sand from one kind of
rock, white clay from another kind of rock, blue clay from
another. The nature of the soil will therefore depend largely

upon the nature of
the rock from which
it came. This sand
or clay may have
come from the break-
ing up of the rocks
that are to be found
just under the soil ; in
that case the soil is
likely to be shal-
low. But usually it

Fig. i8 —Soil formed from rock underneath, a soil haS COmC frOm rOcks

with grass growing in it ; b subsoil, coarser and

more rocky ; c coarse, loose rock ; d rock in layers, at a dlStanCC, a long

cracked, r/ changes to t, c changes to <^, and /' to «. .

distance it may be,
and has been carried to its present place by water and ice, and
spread out over the old rocks. In this latter case the soil may
be very deep and mixed, ^^'e can now explain why the soil
:n some places is quite different in its nature from the rocks
under it, and wh)' there is such a variety in the same locality
and on the same farm. One field may be clayey, and across
a stream we may find a sandy soil — they have come from
different places, and have been washed down by the waters
and spread out at quite different times.

A step farther back can now be taken. We go to the hills
— to the great piles of rock. A\' e observe that the old rock is
WL-atliL-rcd. If we break off a piece, the fresh surface shows a
different appearance from the old weathered surface ; it is
generally harder. We can rub off some of the old weathered
surface ; what we rub off is the weathered rock — fine sand or
fine clay. AVe observe long cracks or crevices, some narrow
and fine, some wide and deep. The rains find their way into

NATURE AND ORIGIN OF THE SOIL.

35

these cracks and fill them up. Then winter comes on and the
water in the cracks freezes. What will happen then ? Just
what happens when the barrel of rain water freezes, or the
down pipes on the house freeze solid, or the bottles of canned
fruit in the cellar freeze. There will be a bursting. And even
though the quantity of water is small, it must expand, the
rocks must give to make room for it. The cracks are made
larger, a little of the surface is broken away, or a huge shoulder
of the rock is burst off. Gradually,
year by year, the rocks are thus
broken up by the frost, the atmos-
phere wears them away, and the rains
wash them down. The rocky cliffs
are slowly broken down, and the
ice, as it slowly moves down the
sides of the mountain, scrapes and
scratches off more and more. This

SoU hearbng pcrUoru

Fig. 19 — Soil formed from hill rock at a distance, a is solid rock of a hill or mountain.
Rock at c h.is been broken off by rain and frost and thrown down to foot of hill ;
coarsest rock lies in heaps forming soilless portion ; finer rock has been carried further
down where some plants, as trees and gr.iss, grow. Finest soil is being washed into
the stream to be earned away and spread out, f rming layers of soil more or less level,
on which crops are grown

material is washed away — the larger pieces but a short dis-
tance, the smaller pieces further, and the finest sand and clay
carried far away, to be dropped or spread out somewhere to
make soil. Seeds are dropped by the birds or blown by the
winds ; some plants sprout, grow, die and decay, and form a

36 AGRICULTURE.

little humus. More plants grow and more humus is formed,
until out of the material that came from the hard tough rocks
and the decay of roots and leaves a fine soil is formed, sandy
in one place, clayey in another, and loamy in another.

Conclusions :

1. All our soils have come from the breaking down of rocky
material and the decay of former plants.

2. Soils may be classed as follows : Sandy, clay, loam, and
vegetable or humus soils.

3. The texture of the soil depends upon the amount of sand,
clay, and humus mixed together forming it.

4. The nature of the soil depends to a large extent upon the
nature of the rocks out of which the sand and the clay have
been formed.

5. The rocks have oeen broken up by the action of the air,
the freezing of the rain-water in the rocks, the grinding of ice,
and the downrush of rains and streams.

6. Some soils have been carried about from one place to
another, and spread out by ice, snow, streams, and even to
some extent by the wind.

7. Some soils have been formed out of the rocks beneath
them, and from the decay of plants growing upon them.

8. Some soils, such as swamp soils, have been formed almost
entirely from the decay of plants.

TILLING AND DRAINING THE SOIL. 37

CHAPTER IX.

TILLING AND DRAINING THE SOIL.

Weathering. — If we leave a piece of iron exposed to the
damp air it soon becomes rusty ; if we keep it in a dry place or
put it under water so that the air cannot reach it, it will not
become rusty so soon. Vegetables left in a damp cellar, or
thrown out on the ground, soon decay. Pieces of wood, if left
long enough, will rot and decay, first becoming brown and
later on crumbling to a fine, black substance, the same as the
humus of the soil. Harder substances, such as bones, will in
time decay and wear away. An old brick when picked up is
found to have lost its sharp corners and edges and to have be-
come smaller than when first made. As we examine object
after object, we find that there are very few things that do not
become changed through the effect of the air, dew, rain, frost,
snow, and ice. In a previous chapter we have referred to the
oxygen and the carbonic acid gas of the air. These are the
two substances in the air that cause many of the changes —
rotting the stumps, charring old leaves and roots and branches,
wearing away the boulders in the field, and dissolving lime
out of the rocks.

If you thrust a stick into the coals it will catch fire and burn.
Blow out the blaze and you have a charred stick. If you
throw another stick of the same kind out on the ground, or
bury it just under the soil, after many months it will be found
to become brown and then almost black — it has become
charred also, but it has taken a long time. The oxygen of the
air has burnt up some of it in both cases. If we go to an old

38 AGRICULTURE.

limestone bridge where the rains beat upon it, we notice that
where the water trickles down, some of the limestone has been
washed out, and, in some places, long stone " icicles " have
formed. The limestone has been dissolved out by the car-
bonic acid in the water. Water in the soil contains some
carbonic acid, and the air contains carbonic acid gas ; so that
we have in this an explanation of the hollowing out of caves in
limestone rocks, the breaking down of limestone cliffs, and
the rapid changes that take place in limy soils.

Effects of Draining. — We take up a handful of vegetable
soil — swamp muck, for instance, or wood mold — it is easily
ground up between the fingers ; there does not appear to be
much rocky or sandy material in it. If we shake it up in a
bottle of water, we find that the water becomes more or less
brown in color ; some of the substance has dissolved, but only
a little. In order to get this material into a soluble form, the
air must be allowed to work upon it. But the air cannot get
into it unless it is drained.

Take two tin cans or tight boxes ; fill one with wet muck from an un-
drained, swampy field, and fill the other with dry leaf mold. Plant a few
seeds of the same kind in each, and observe how much better the dry,
well-aired leaf mold is for the growing of valuable farm plants than the wet
swamp muck.

Wet, swampy soil needs first to be drained and then to be
well worked over, so that the air can get in through it to
weather it. There is another reason for letting the air into the
wet, swam})y soil, and that is, it will sweeten it. Vegetable
soils that are water-logged are sour, or acid ; and seeds will not
sprout nor plants grow well in sour soils. The air contains
some ammonia, and this, when it gets into the soil, changes it
from a sour to what we may call a sweet soil— it takes the
sourness out of it. If a little lime be scattered over the
drained soil, this sweetening will be hastened.

Then, again, wet, swampy soils are usually cold, because of
the water that they contain. When we wish to cool a room on

TILLING AND DRAINING THE SOIL. 39

a hot day, we sprinkle the floor with water. As this water
evaporates, or passes off into the air, the floor becomes cooler,
and that cools the air above it. We may look upon a
swampy field as a great room, the floor of which is the soil.
If the soil is kept wet, the floor of this field will be kept cold.
Water is not easily warmed up or heated. A dry soil, or a soil
well drained, is warmed up by the sun more easily than a wet,
undrained soil.

If you place a cup (stoneware) of water, a cup of wet sand, and a cup of
dry sand on the top of a warm stove, you will find that the dry sand be-
comes hot much more rapidly than the wet sand, and the wet sand much
more rapidly than the water.

Again, if you wish to heat a pan of water, or to boil the
kettle, you place it over the fire, not beside the stove, nor
under the stove. The sun is the fire that heats up the soil and
the water in it, and it is above, so that the effect of heating the
water in the soil is very small.

We have, then, three reasons why the presence of too much
water in the soil keeps the soil cold. We must get the water
out of the soil by drainage, so that we can thoroughly work
the surface of the soil; so that the air can get into the soil to
sweeten it and help the decay of the hunuis ; and, also, so that
the soil can become warmed up early in spring for the sprouting
of seeds and the early growth of the plant.

All that has been said here in regard to humus, or mucky
soils, applies also to sandy, loam, and clay soils, except that
sandy soils are not so much in need of special drainage
— in most cases they drain themseh'es. The clay soils, when
well drained, do not bake upon the surface as they dry out,
and they are much more easily worked. The stickiness of
clay can be somewhat overcome by the use of lime.

If you shake up some clay in a bottle of water, and then throw in some
finely powdered lime, you will observe a peculiar effect upon the fine clay
— it will become flaky or coagulated and the water will clear up.

The thorough drainage of clay soils, then, is most important

40 AGRICULTURE,

to get the water out and to let the air in. Then thorough
working should follow. The soil is plowed up in ridges in the
field, every furrow straight and clean cut, glistening in the sun
like metal in Tiany places. But when the frost has torn it to
pieces during the winter, we find a great improvement in the
texture of it in the spring. The good effects of plowing
and harrowing will not appear on most clay soils unless the
land is first thoroughly drained. Drain the soil and let the air
work for you, breaking up the coarse particles in winter and
working over the particles in summer into soluble form for
plant food. Perhaps you do not realize how much of the soil
is still rocky and needs to be worked over.

Take a deep bottle of clear water, and drop a handful of soil into it ;
shake it up a little, then take a small stick and slowly stir it. The heaviest
pieces will settle at the bottom, the smaller above, and the lightest on top.
Notice, now, how much coarse, stony material there is in this soil.

Place a little sand, clay, or loam soil under a good magni-
fying glass, such as is used for examining grain. The soil looks
like a pile of small stones. And that is just what it is — a mix-
ture of fine stones with vegetable matter or humus in it. These
small pieces of stone came from the great masses of rock on
the hillside. How did they come to be so broken up and
worked over ? The air got at them, and the dews, and the
rain, and the frost. Then if we open up the under-soil by
under-drainage, and thoroughly open up the surface soil by
tillage and cultivation, the air and the rain and the dew and
the frost will go on working over these fine stony particles,
forming soluble matter that can go in through the roots and
feed the plant.

Thorough drainage and thorough tillage — these are the two
main points in improving all soils. They are even more im-
portant than manuring. This word manure is the same as
manoeuvre, which means to "work by hand;" the draining of
the soil and the tilling are means of fertilizing or manuring.

TILLING AND DRAINING THE SOIL. 4I

Did you ever notice how large a plant the flower grower
produces in a small pot of earth? He has a large plant growing
in a small quantity of soil, and the plant thrives. Of course he
waters the plants regularly and he uses good soil ; but notice
the pot — it is not glazed, porous, and has 2^ hole in the bottom.
The soil is well-drained and the air can get in among the roots
and through the soil. Have you ever seen him turn out a
plant from such a pot ? The soil is all held together by the
mass of roots that have grown so thickly all around next to the
pot — close to the places where the air can come in.

Conclusions. — Plowing, digging, harrowing, and other
means of tilling the surface soil have the following effects : —

1. The coarse soil is broken into finer particles.

2. The soil is mixed, rich and poor, fine and coarse.

3. The air is allowed to get into the soil further than if it
were not worked over.

4. Growing weeds are killed. Weed seeds are first started
growing and then the young weed plants are killed.

5. Insects and their eggs are disturbed and destroyed.

6. Well-tilled soils do not suffer from drouth so much as
uncultivated soils.

Draining the soil has the following effects : —

1. Standing water is taken out of the soil; plants will not
grow in stagnant water or in sour soils.

2. Cold soils become warmer and can be worked and planted
earlier in the season.

3. The rains can go into the soil, instead of running over
the soil and washing away the fine surface soil.

4. The air can get into the sub-soil, and thus more rapidly
work it over into matter available for plants — in other words,
draining a soil amounts to cultivating it deeply ; all the benefits
of surface tilling are carried deeper by under-draining.

5. The plants root deeper, thereby having more soil from
which to get food, and also a better chance to withstand drouth.

42 AGRICULTURE.

CHAPTER X.

IMPROVING THE SOIL.

'^ Feed the soil if you would have the soil feed you."

Exhausting the Soil. — Sometimes we see a very heavy crop
of corn, oats, barley or roots grown in the open field. In such
cases we generally find that there is a good soil, well-drained,
and that the season has been very favorable. As a rule, how-
ever, we find much larger crops grown in the garden of the
farmer, and still larger grown in the little plot of the market
gardener. The flower grower, however, produces still heavier
crops in his small pots and neat beds. If we observe closely
we find that the amount of the crop, its size or weight, and its
value, increase in proportion as the soil is well-drained, well-
tilled, well-cleaned, and well-fertilized. If we neglect or decrease
the draining and cultivating, the cleaning and the enriching, we
know the crop will grow less year by year. When the trees
were first cut down and the fields partially cleared large crops
were grown ; the soil was new (virgin soil as we say); it contained
a large amount of leaf mold that had been accumulating for
centuries. On many iarms larger crops were once grown
among the stumps than are now grown on the cleared field.
Then the stumps were burned out, and the ashes, rich in potash
and lime, further improved the soil. In some cases the fields
have been well-drained and well-cultivated, and year by year
the fields have been fertilized or manured. Such farms are
still very productive. But we all know what are called run-
down farms, that will not now produce heavy crops of grain
or hay ; they were once the same as the first-class farms, they
had the same start. Why the change ? Year after year hay and

IMPROVING THE SOIL. 43

grain were grown and taken away from the soil and nothing was
put back. These crops took up the plant food out of the soil.
The rich soil has become poor. If you put a thousand dollars in
the bank and then begin to draw out a hundred dollars every
year and put nothing in, you will one day use up all of your
money — your bank account will become less and less, and you
will become poor. So with the soil. There is a limited amount
of plant food in the soil, and even though you drain and work
it well, if year by year you take away from it and put nothing
back your soil will in time become poor. Some soils are richer
than others and therefore will not become run down so soon.
Now let us consider the method of preventing good soils from
becoming poor and of making poor soils richer.

Fallowing the Soil. — In former years, before the great
prairies were open to settlers, the farmers of Ontario and the
Eastern States grew wheat as their principal market crop. Its
price in many years was more than one dollar a bushel. The
usual practice was to prepare the land for fall wheat by a bare
fallutv. The soil was allowed to lie idle or unproductive for
the whole or the greater part of the season preceding the
sowing. It was plowed from time to time and harrowed.
What benefit did that tilling bring ? The rains fell and washed
down a little material out of the air. This will be seen if you
contrast rain water with clear spring water — the former has
been changed, something has been taken out of it by the soil,
and something else given to it by the soil. The soil is bene-
fited by rain water passing through it. Then some ammonia
might get into the soil from the air. Nothing of a solid
mineral nature, however, such as potash, or soda, or lime, or
phosphates could get into the soil from the air, simply because
they are not found in the air. But one thing could be done
and that was done, namely, the air could get into and through
the soil and help weather it and work it over into form avail-
able for plant food. Bare fallow, then, does not increase the

44 AGRICULTURE.

material of the soil, it merely works over what is in the soil
for feeding the plant ; it can not and does not prevent the soil
from becoming worked out. Furthermore, there is the loss of
one season's crop, and if the soil can be kept in good condition
and a crop grown at the same time, all will admit that the latter
should be done. In bare fallowing, however, the soil is more
or less cleared from weeds when the fallowing is thoroughly
done. But weeds can be cleared out by other means than
the bare fallow. First of all a cultivated crop can be grown,
such as corn or roots —the constant cultivating required during
early growth will clear out the weeds. Or a crop can be put
in that grows quickly and that covers the ground well, such as
clover, buckv.-heat, etc. This smothers or checks the young
weeds, and the green growth can be plowed under to decay
and form humus. This practice is called green-manuring.
In green-manuring there is less water lost by drainage than in
bare fallowing and hence less loss of soluble plant food. In
addition everything that the plant takes from the air is turned
into the soil and the amount of humus is thereby increased.
This latter result is very beneficial in loosening up heavy soils
and in making light sandy soils more loamy.

Fertilizing the Soil. — The plant gets some food out of
the air through its green leaves ; the water comes from the
rains that fall on the soil and pass in through the roots ; the
mineral matter or ash comes only from the soil, passing into
the plant through the roots along with the water. The air is
free for all and is about the same everywhere. The rains and
snows are largely beyond the control of man, except as
affected by the cutting away or growing of trees, the drainage
of the land, and its proper cultivation. But as for the soil food,
the mineral substances, the ash compounds — these must be in
the soil, and in such form that plants can take them up, or else
no crop will be produced. This soil food is mainly compounds
of nitrogen (nitrates, such as saltpetre or nitrate of potash);

IMPROVING THE SOIL. 45

compounds of phosphoric acid or phosphates, such as we find
in bones ; compounds of potash, such as we find in wood
ashes; compounds of Hme, of iron, of magnesia, etc., etc.
Now the point to be noted here is that the plant must
have every one of these compounds, and growth will not take
place if even only one be lacking. Nearly every soil contains
lime ; it is a very common substance in rocks and soils, there-
fore we do not need to supply that food. Magnesia and iron
are quite common, and much of either is not required. When
we feed the soil, or fertilize it, we have mainly to consider this
—whether the soil needs nitrogen, phosphates, or potash.
These are the three main constituents of fertilizers, and they
largely fix the values of those that are applied.

When we apply barnyard manure to a soil, we add a bulky
fertilizer that, in addition to increasing the plant food, has an
important effect upon the texture of the soil. For instance,
light, sandy soils are apt to be poor in plant food, and to
be too loose or porous — the rain runs through them. You
notice that as the barnyard manure becomes older in the pile
it becomes darker through changes that we call fermentation.
This dark color is due to the changing of the straw or litter
into hiuiiiis ; and when this is applied to the light soil the tex-
ture of the soil is improved, the sandy soil becomes more
loamy. When applied to clay soil its sticky quality is more or
less overcome, and the heavy clay changes towards a loose
loam. One of the main benefits of applying barnyard manure
to a soil, then, lies in its effect upon the texture or physical
quality of the soil. This same effect is produced by green
manuring, that is the plowing under of a green growing crop
such as clover, tares, rye, or buckwheat

The barnyard manure contains compounds of nitrogen, of
potash, and also phosphates, so that in it we apply the different
kinds of food that plants must get out of the soil. Barnyard
manure is called a general or complete fertilizer.

46 AGRICULTURE.

Soils differ as to their composition ; some, such as mucky
soils, may contain plenty of nitrogen but not enough phosphate
or potash. In this case the use of a phosphate such as ground
bone, or of potash ^such as wood ashes, would change a barren
soil into a fertile soil. Such a soil as a light-colored clay may
require nitrogen compounds to make it complete.

Again, a soil may contain plenty of food, but it is locked up,
it is unavailable ; that is, it is not soluble or in form ready to
be taken up by the plants. If vve drain and cultivate it so that
the air can get in, these will in time be changed into soluble
forms. But sometimes we can hurry up or assist in this work,
as when we apply land plaster (sulphate of lime) to a soil
bearing clover, salt to a root crop or to grain, and quicklime to
to a heavy clay or to a fresh mucky soil. The plaster, salt, and
lime are not direct foods, but they act upon the constituents of
the soil, setting free potash and nitrogen compounds.

Nitrification. —Wheat and other cereals take up their
nitrogen from the soil in the form of nitrates. These are
sometimes supplied in fertilizers in the form of nitrate of soda.
Nitrate of potash, or saltpetre, is now too expensive to be so
used. Humus contains nitrogen, and in its decay forms
nitrates, especially nitrate of lime. The change from the
insoluble forms of nitrogen in humus to the soluble nitrates is
brought about by ferments. These are minute forms of plant
life too small to be seen by the eye. Yeast that is used in
fermenting dough is a ferment somewhat similar. In order to
do their work, these tiny nitrate ferments in the soil require
warmth, air, and moisture. Humus, of course, must be pre-
sent. If the soil is sour, they will not work. Good drainage
and tillage, therefore, assist. The fermentation of the manure
pile in the barnyard is brought about by ferments. Green -
manuring adds material for making nitrates, and barnyard
manure adds not only humus but also the ferments. The
making of nitrates in the soil is called 7iitrification.

improving the soil. 47

Conclusions : —

1. All of our soils were once fresh, unworked, virgin soil.
In many cases worn-out soils were once very rich ; they have
been made poor by over-cropping and little fertilizing.

2. Though plants require very little ash or mineral food for
their growth, many soils have but a small amount of this food
in a soluble or available form.

3. Bare fallowing is for the purpose of working over the
hard, rocky, insoluble portion of the soil into soluble form.
This is done by frequent plowing and harrowing, thereby letting
the air in. Weeds also are sprouted and afterwards killed.

4. Green-manuring has the same effect, but prevents loss of
soluble soil matter through drainage, and also increases the
humus of the soil.

5. The three substances that are most important in the soil,
that are most likely to be lacking, are nitrogen compounds,
phosphates, and potash.

6. The value of a fertilizer consists not only in the amount
of these three substances, but also in their state of solubility.

7. Nitrogen is found in special fertilizers, such as nitrate of
soda, sulphate of ammonia, dried blood, guano, fish refuse, etc.;
phosphates in bone manures, and manures made from rock
phosphates ; potash in wood ashes and some potash salts.

8. Barnyard manure is a general fertilizer supplying all three
constituents. Its value consists largely in its humus.

9. Some fertilizers, such as quicklime, land plaster or gypsum
(sulphate of lime), and salt are valuable as fertilizers, not
because they contain plant food, but because they act upon
the soil, setting free insoluble plant food. Used alone year
after year they would hasten the exhausting of the land.

10. Draining, tilling, and airing the soil are necessary for
the nitrification of humus, or the making of nitrates in the soil.

AGRICULTURE.

PART III.

CHAPTER XI.

THE GRASSES.

Nature of Grasses. — If we carefully lift a slice of green
growing sod, we find it is made up of a mat of grass plants.
We pull these apart, and find that the roots are all fibrous. If
we pull up a wheat plant, we find it also has a fibrous root.
So has corn. So has timothy. Next take a stalk of timothy.
It is round and smooth on the outside. Cut it open. It is full
of narrow tubes running up and down. There are some hard
joints in the stem. In the case of a wheat straw you find
the stem hollow, except at these joints. Now observe the
leaves of the green timothy. They are long and narrow in the
blade. Pull this blade and you find that where it meets the
stem it is wrapped around it, forming what is called the sheath.
The sheath is split down one side and is attached to the stem
at one of the joints. Further, notice the little growth on the
leaf called a " ligule." The leaf then consists of three parts —
the blade, the sheath, and the ligule. From the structure of
the stem and the form of the leaf you can always tell a true
grass from other plants, such as the sedges.

By comparing the following plants you will observe that they
have the same kind of stems and leaves, and therefore they are
all members of the grass family (graminece): — the common
grasses of the fields, such as timothy, orchard grass, June
grass, fescue ; grain-producing crops such as wheat, oats, rye,
barley, corn, millet ; sugar-producing crops such as sugar-cane
and sorghum.

THE GRASSES.

49

Fig. 20 — Timothy, also called Herds Grass, a typical hay grass. Figures on right show
the blossoming. B is a single spikelet taken from a headi,;or spike. It shows the three
stamens and the two stigmas of the pistil. In a blossoming head of timothy these
stamens may be seen hanging loose. G is the ovary with two slender styles, /, and
two feathered stigmas— the pistils of the blossom. B >is the matured or ripened spike-
let with seed inside; K is the seed.

When a grass plant grows tall and produces seed or grain
large enough to use as food, we allow it to ripen its seed. We
use the seed as grain and the leaf and stem we call straw.

When a grass plant grows tall, but produces very small seed,
we generally cut it down before it produces seed. We then
call this hay. Such grasses are timothy, red-top, orchard grass,
the fescues, the foxtails, brome grass, and rye grass.

50

AGRICULTURE.

When a grass plant does not grow tall, but grows short and
thick, we use such plants for pasture grasses. Such grasses
are June grass and Canadian blue grass.

Fig. 21. — Kentucky blue grass or June grass. A pasture and lawn grass.

The best way to study the different grasses is to study them
as they are growing ; you will then find out how many there
are and how different they are in form of leaf and head, in
color, and in their habits of growing.

Blo-Ssoming of Grasses. — There is one other point to study
in grasses, and that is their blossoming. The blossoming of
the corn plant will be referred to in the next chapter. The
blossoms of wheat and oats are much like those of timothy,
shown in fig. 20. The grass blossoms, generally, are very
small and are not very bright in color, we are therefore likely
to overlook them ; but every grass plant blossoms before it
forms seed. If we allow the timothy to stand too long before

THE GRASSES. 51

cutting we notice that the hay is " dusty " ; this is caused by
the pollen from the blossoms on the head. Notice, also, that
all the blossoms on the timothy head do not come out at the

Fig. 22. — Couch grass showing how some grasses reproduce by creeping
roots I, new plant just coming up; 2, plant before blossoming; 3, old
plant forming seed. June grass also spreads in the same way.

same time. Some are a little later than others. Because of
this we sometimes hear it said that it blossoms twice, but this
is not the case. Grasses for hay are generally cut just before
blossoming, or just as the blossoms begin to appear.

Clover and buckwheat are not true grasses. Why not ?

Why are foxtail and red-top so called ?

Which grasses have branched tops and which spikes ?

What is meant by " seeding-down "? When is this done. Why does
not the grass outgrow the grain ?

Explain why grasses, such as June grass, are so common. Why do not
wheat and corn spread ?

52 AGRICULTURE.

CHAPTER XII,

THE GRAIN CROPS OR CEREALS.

The principal grain crops of the farm are wheat, oats, barley,
rye, corn, buckwheat, and millet, and to these we shall briefly
refer. It must be remembered that these crops also may be,
and frequently are, cut green and fed to stock before the grain
is formed, especially rye, corn and millet. Other crops also
are used for soiling, such as clover, peas, and tares or vetches.

While the plant is growing it takes in food from the air and
the soil. It keeps on increasing in size until in full bloom. Then
the seed begins to form from the blossom, and all the material
that goes to form the seed is taken up out of the leaf, stem,
and root, where it has been stored up. During all this time of
seed-forming, very little plant food comes in through the root,
so that when the seed is fully formed, the leaves and stalk and
root are not so rich or nutritious as they were at the time of
blossoming. From this you will see why it is that straw is not
so rich a food as hay.

Wheat. — Wheat is sometimes classed according to its color,
red and white ; sometimes according to its husk, hard and
soft; sometimes according to its chaff, beaided and bald;
sometimes according to the time it is sown, fall or winter, and
spring. We use these four methods in describing any
variety of wheat. Where the first wheat came from we
do not know ; but wheat taken from one climate to another
and from one kind of soil to another will change in size, form,
and general appearance, so that we need not expect to find the
same variety of wheat always appearing exactly as described.

THE GRAIN CROPS OR CEREALS. 53

This we should remember, that wheat, like every other kind of
grain, must be carefully selected if we wish to keep it improved.
We can even change a winter variety to a spring by sowing
gradually earlier year by year; and we can change a spring
variety to a fall variety by sowing gradually later year by year,
(iet a head of bearded wheat ; take it to pieces, and observe the long
beards, what they are and how attached. Compare with the beards of a
barley head. .\re the beards on the grain ?

The grain of wheat is made up of several parts, the three
principal parts being — first the outer husk or the bran coatings,
second the white flour portion, and third the little bluish germ
at one end. This germ is the living part of the grain, the flour
is the food stored up for feeding it in its early growth, and the
bran is the covering or cloak. If we grind up the whole
grain we get whole-wheat flour. By the old stone milling pro-
cess the bran alone was separated from the rest. By the new
process the grain is divided mainly into three parts, namely the
bran, the white flour, and the bluish or greyish germ flour.

Place several grains of wheat in your mouth and chew them.
Gradually you separate and swallow part of the wheat — that is
the starch ; you will have left in your mouth a gummy sub-
stance— that is the gluten. The gluten is the richest part of
the flour ; it is what gives it its strength.

Rye. — In some countries of Europe rye takes the same
place that wheat does in America, it is the great flour-produc-
ing crop. As with wheat it is sown both in the fall and
in the spring. It is very hardy and can be grown even on very
poor soils. With us it is sometimes sown in the fall to be cut
early in the summer as a soiling crop. The grain is longer
than that of wheat and its flour is quite dark.

Oats. — The oat plant furnishes a most important food for man
as well as for horses and other animals. Oats are generally classed
according to their color. The head is branched and the grains
are covered with a coarse loose husk, hence its light weight.

54 AGRICULTURE.

This grain will grow in poorer soil than wheat and much
further north. It is a rather hearty and gross feeder and
produces very large crops on rich soil.

Barley. — This grain is classed as two-rowed, four-rowed
and six-rowed, according to the number of rows of kernels in
the head. The two-rowed requires a longer season of growth
than the six-rowed, which is one of the most rapidly growing
and maturing grains that we have. Barley is used as a food
for stock, and also for the making of malt out of which beer is
brewed. Its value for malting depends upon the soil and
climate. It must be of bright color, well filled, and all ripened
so that it will sprout evenly in malting.

Corn or Maize. — In Great Britain the name corn is applied
to either wheat or any bread-producing cereal, in North America
it means Indian corn or Maize. The distinction is made of
sweet corn which is used for food by man, and common corn,
which again is divided into flint and dent. Flint corn has a
hard flinty kernel, and dent has the indented form on the tip
of the grain. The roots are long and therefore the plant feeds
quite deeply and requires a soil of deep cultivation. It has
long heavy leaves and thick stalks, not hollow like the previous
grains, but more or less filled. It bears heavy ears and pro-
duces large quantities of food per acre. We at once conclude
that it takes much more food from the soil than the others, that it
is a heavy feeder and requires heavy manuring. When well
cultivated, it is a good cleaning crop.

The blossoming of the corn is worth noticing. Fine silky
threads may be seen hanging from the end of the green ear, all
attached to the cob — these are the "styles," the female portion
of the blossom. At the top of the stalk is " the tassel " which
carries the stamens or male portion of the blossom. The pollen
from these falls down upon the pistils of the ear and there
completes the blossoming. If different varieties of corn are
planted near together the pollen from the tassels of one variety

THE GRAIN CROPS OR CEREALS. 55

may be carried by the wind or by insects to the silky pistils of
another, and thus produce the peculiar kernels that are some-
times seen on ears of com. In growing corn for seed, there-
fore, it is necessary to grow each kind by itself, far from any
other variety.

There are various ways of growing corn. It may be sown
broadcast, when the plants grow close together and cover the
entire soil. In this case the plants do not have sunlight upon
the lower leaves and the stalks, and as a result the plants do
not mature, and production of ears is prevented. The crop
consists entirely of leaf and stalk, and is cut and used just as
we cut and use timothy hay. The effect of the lack of sun-
light is seen also in the pale yellow color of the under leaves,
rphe stalks and the leaves are quite watery, and the amount
of food per acre is less than is got by the other methods. If
ears are desired the corn must be sown in rows or in hills far
apart; the taller the corn the farther apart must be the drills or
hills. A method adopted by many western corn-raisers is that
known as "listing." The corn is grown in furrows, which are
gradually filled in as the corn grows higher. Just above the
surface of the soil a ring of suckers shoots out from near the
joint or node, and as the earth comes up to them these take
root. In this way the corn becomes deep rooted, is held firmly
in place and is able to withstand drouth.

A great deal of valuable information can be learned by care-
fully watching the growth of different kinds of corn in the field.
From what part of the stalk do the ears grow ? What is the
effect of cutting off part of the tassels ? What is the effect
of cutting off all the tassels ? What is the effect of re-
moving the smaller ears and leaving only the larger ? What
is the effect of cutting away all the corn for about eight feet on
every side of a single hill or stand ?

Sugar Cane. — This plant, like corn, has a stalk whose tubes
are filled with a juice rich in sugar. New plants are started

56 AGRICULTURE.

from " cuttings." Its stalks grow from one to two inches thick
and from eight to twenty feet high. It is cut before flowering
and the juice pressed out. This juice is evaporated and a
dark brown sugar remains, from which the white sugar is got
by " refining."

Sorghum. — This has pithy stalks like maize and sugar cane.
There are several varieties of it, one, Indian Millet or doorha,
is grown extensively in Eastern countries for its grain for bread
making ; another is grown for its sugar or syrup, also as food
for stock ; and still another (broom corn) for its tassels, out of
which the whisks of brooms are made. The broom-corn tops
are cut off while still slightly green and are dried in dark
buildings, where they partially bleach out.

These three members of the grass family, maize, sugar cane
and sorghum, are then distinguished from the other grasses, in
having their stalks filled, and all contain a considerable quantity
of sugar in their juices. Sugar cane grows only in very warm
climates, sorghum is found farther north, and maize, although
originating in Mexico or Central America, will, in some of its
varieties, mature its grains much farther north.

Rice. — This is the great bread food of China and Japan,
and is best grown in lands that are mild in climate and are
capable of irrigation. The land is prepared as for grain. The
rice is sown in drills and covered with about two inches of soil.
Then the water is let on to a depth of 1 2 to 18 inches. After
standing for f )ur to six days it is drawn off and the plants
allowed to get a good start ; water is again let in for a time and
then drawn off before harvesting. The growing of rice upon wet
soils gives us the explanation for the scriptural teaching : " Cast
thy bread upon the waters, for thou shalt find it after many
days." (Ecck xi. i.)

THE LEGUMINOUS PLANTS.

57

CHAPTER XIII.

THE LEGUMINOUS PLANTS.

Nature of Legumes. — Plants such as wheat and barley
were formerly cut with a sickle ; the pods of such as peas and
beans were gathered by hand ; hence the latter were known as
legumes, from the Latin lego, "I gather." All plants resembling
peas and beans in their botanical nature were called the legum-
inous plants. They were also called pulse because, as some
say, of their being pulled or plucked. The most striking
resemblance is in the blossom. The seeds are formed in pods

Fig. 23. — Blossom of a legume as of
pea, bean, or flowering locust tree.

Fig. 24. — Blossom of legume taken
apart, showing five leaves of corolla.
Upper large leaf is the " standard,"
the two lower the "keel," the two
side the "wings." The pistils and
stamens are enclosed in the keel
leaves.

or legumes of different shapes in different plants. In some of
the members of the leguminous family, the blossoms and pods
are too small for us to observe readily their resemblance to
those of the pea and bean ; but a careful study of the roots,
leaves, and blossoms of the following plants will soon prove
that they are all quite alike. They are all legumes with which
we should be familiar.

58

AGRICULTURE.

Leguminous Family {Leguminosd).
Common pea. Common red clover,

Common string bean, White or Dutch clover,

Lima bean, Alsike or Swedish clover.

Horse or Windsor bean. Crimson or scarlet clover,

Common vetch or tare. Mammoth red clover.

Common lentil. Lucerne or alfalfa,

Lupines, Peanut or ground nut.

From this list of plants we see that the family is large and
important. In addition there are many weeds belonging to
this same family. To speak of clovers as being grasses is bot-

anically incorrect, since in
form or shape and in mode
of growth they are entirely
different. The most notice-
able difference is in the
shape of blossoms. The
leaves also are different in
shape and in arrangement.
Contrast a plant of clover
with a plant of timothy or
wheat. The stalks also are
different, and the roots are
quite different. Pull up a
large red clover or pea plant,
and also a wheat plant, and
contrast their roots. Which is the more fibrous and matted? The
clovers send their roots deeper into the soil. Observe, also, the
little knots, or balls, or tubercles on the clover roots. These
tubercles play a very important part in the nourishment of the
leguminous plants. They are filled with many little living
parasites, something like yeast cells, that grow and feed upon
the free nitrogen of the air, from it forming compounds that
help to nourish the plants. Now we have already mentioned

Fig. as- — Root of a legume showing knots
or nodules or tubercles.

THE LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. 59

that wheat, for instance, will readily feed upon nitrogen in the
form of nitrates ; but if we apply nitrates to clover no effect is
produced. The wheat cannot take up the free nitrogen of
the air, but the clover can, through these root tubercles.
Sometimes clover does not grow well ; and when pulled up
very few, if any, of these little tubercles are found upon the
roots. If, however, some soil in which clover has been growing
well, or the washing from such soil, is applied to the weak
clover, the plants soon begin to thrive and the tubercles are
seen growing upon the roots. These tubercles possess the
power of taking up free nitrogen from the air in the soil. If
we can get leguminous plants to grow in a poor soil and then
turn them under, they will decay and produce humus rich in
nitrogen that will give rise to nitrates (by nitrification) for the
benefit of the wheat or other grain crop that comes after. The
seeds from all leguminous plants are very rich. Then we can
state the following as the valuable points in connection with
leguminous plants : —

1. They have many leaves and are good for fodder.

2. Their seeds are very rich in food material.

3. Their roots are generally long, therefore deep feeders.

4. They take up free nitrogen from the air, and are therefore
easier on the soil than are cereals or root crops.

Peas are generally grown for the seed, which is very
rich in nitrogen and in oil. The many varieties grown for
man and stock are classed as garden peas and field peas. The
straw is richer than that of the grain crops. When grown to
be cut green for soiling, peas are generally sown with oats.

Beans are grown in this country for the seed, planted
in hills, as a garden crop, or as a field crop with good
garden cultivation. Some of the varieties, as the horse bean,
require a fairly mild climate. Some are short and bushy,
others are tall climbers. Examine their means of climbing.

6o AGRICULTURE.

Vetches or Tares have smaller pods and seeds than peas,
and are grown for soiling along with oats. The stiff stalks of
the oats help to support the slender vines of the tares.

Common Red Clover is also known as broad leaf clover
or trefoil. The peculiar light spot on the leaves and the
closeness of the upper leaves to the head are to be noted. It
grows to two feet in height, and the roots penetrate the soil
deeply While in some localities it is a perennial, in
most temperate regions it is a biennial. Its form and
mode of growth adapt it for hay rather than for pasture. It
ripens about the same time as orchard grass and about two
weeks earlier than timothy. It should be cut before the heads
become very brown ; if left too late its leaves, which form a
large part of it, become brittle and drop off in handling. After
being cut once the plants rapidly grow up again, giving a second
crop, the aftermath or rowen. The depth to which its roots go
depends greatly upon the state of the soil ; therefore the soil
should be well drained. When the sod is turned over, large
quantities of humus, rich in nitrogen, are left near the surface
for the wheat or other grain crop following. A variety of red
clover is known as mammoth clover.

White or Dutch Clover is a low growing plant, with
creeping stems and white blossoms It is very hardy and apt
to crowd or smother out other plants. It is one of the most
frequent plants in pasture fields, and is especially valuable for
sheep and cattle. It is usually sown with grass seeds in
permanent pasture mixtures.

Alsike or Swedish Clover is a perennial with pink
blossoms, growing about two feet high. It thrives in cool
climates. It does not give such heavy yields as red clover,
but is specially adapted for hay fields that are to be kept for
several years. It is sometimes sown along with other seeds for
pastures.

THE LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. 6l

Crimson or Scarlet Clover grows further south than the
others, has a long scarlet head and makes an early rapid growth
even on poor land. It is a hay plant. In some places it is
used as a "catch crop," that is it is grown on land after the
remo\-al of grain crops, for a light forage crop or to be plowed
under as a green manure.

Lupines include a number of little shrubby plants
that bear very showy flowers. The plants are apt to be too
woody for forage, but sheep readily eat them. Their principal
use in this country is for plowing under as green manure, since
being leguminous they gather nitrogen from the air. The most
common are white, yellow, and blue lupines. There are some
troublesome weeds among native lupines.

Lucerne or Alfalfa is a plant resembling clover in its
growth. It is not strictly a clover, although sometimes called
Spanish clover. It is ditificult to start upon land, but once well
started it is long continued, being a deep-rooted perennial. It
has a smaller leaf than clover and a purple head, more open.
It is somewhat bushy and sends its roots as deep into the soil
as the water level will allow. For this reason it resists drouth.
It must be cut early or it will produce a very coarse woody
hay. In mild climates it may be cut for hay several tunes
during the year.

The Peanut is an annual, growing in warm climates on
light soil. Other names for the plant are earth-nut, ground-nut,
goober. Though not a nut its pod is somewhat like a nut and
it belongs to the pea family. The seeds are very oily, giving
an oil used for soap making.

62 AGRICULTURE.

CHAPTER XIV.

ROOT CROPS AND TUBERS.
Nature and Growth of Roots. — If we place some seed
of the turnip or beet in the ground in early summer, we find a
plant sprouting up that has broad thick leaves. The root is
tapering, sometimes quite long, and has fine rootlets growing
on the sides. Towards the end of the season the leaves wither,
change color, and die. When we pull up the root we find a
thick mass of juicy substance that is relished much by
animals. This turnip or beet root has not finished its life-
work as a plant, since it has not yet produced any seed or any
new plants like itself. If we leave it in the ground, or if we
take good care of it through the winter so as to keep it cool
and unbruised, and plant it in the early summer, it will begin
to grow again. A new growth will appear above the soil, a
stalk will be formed and seed be produced of the same kind as
that which we sowed in the first place. If we again pull up
the plant, we find the thick fleshy root has become very thin
and fibrous, and is of no use as food for stock. We conclude
that these plants are biennials ; that during the first season
they store up large quantities of food in their root, and that
this food in the root nourishes the plant during the second
season. Since they have a whole season to gather food, we
find that the weight per acre greatly exceeds that of many crops
that are annuals, and they take a large quantity of material out
of the soil. These plants are heavy feeders. By keeping the
soil well cultivated we destroy the weeds, keep the soil
moist, and help the action of the roots. The roots are very
watery and contain large quantities of the substances that are

kOOT CkOPS ANI) TUBERii.

H

first formed in plants, namely sugar and starch. The materials
that are taken from the soil through the roots, and that which
passes in from the air, are worked over in the green leaves, so
that while green we would expect to find a considerable quan-
tity of mineral or soil material in the leaves. Any green leaves
that are cut from the roots when they are pulled, therefore,
should be left on the soil where the roots grew, so as to help
keep up the richness of the soil. The roots keep on growing
during the fall until the weather becomes very cold, therefore
they have a good chance
to benefit by the nitrates
that are formed during
the latter part of summer.
They have the advantage
of spring-sown grain
crops in this regard.
Since root crops are such
heavy feeders, and since
the ground should be
kept thoroughly cultivat-
ed during their growth,
they are generally used
as the crop to which the
largest quantity of barn-
yard manure is applied.
In addition to heavy
manuring, another very
important necessity is
thorough cultivation of
the soil before the sowing of the seed. The root is thick and
compact ; it has to push down and out on all sides. If it can-
not go straight down it will twist about or push itself partly out
of the ground. For well shapen and perfect roots, then, we
must have a well-tilled and well-drained soil.

Fig 26. — Sugar beet on left grown good
soil, well drained and well cultivated; beet on
right grown in rough soil.

64 AGRICULTURE.

The Turnip belongs to ■what is known as the mustard
family {Crucijerce). The principal members of this family are
the turnip, the radish, the cabbage, rape, cultivated mustard,
horseradish ; the weeds, wild mustard or charlock, shepherd's
purse, and wild flax ; the flowers, stocks and candy tuft. The
flowers of all these plants have 4 petals spread out in the
shape of a cross — hence the name, crucifem.

The Carrot is a plant whose varieties differ gieatly in
shape, size, and color. Celery and the parsnip belong to the
same family. The blossom resembles the stays of an um-
brella ; hence the name — unibcUiferoi — applied to this family.
The shape of the root, differing from that of the turnip,
suggests that the plant goes deep and therefore requires a
soil loose and open and deeply cultivated.

The Beet belongs to still another family, the goose-
foot family. The original of this root was a wild plant of
Southern Europe. Gradually it has been improved, the root has
been enlarged and the composition changed, until now we have
several very valuable plants whose roots are widely used. The
mangel-wurzel or mangel is one variety, grown for stock feed-
ing. The sugar beet is another, grown for its sugar. Mangels
when grown on rich, well-cultivated soils produce enormous
yields per acre. They may be kept stored for late feeding.

The sugar beet is a good example of what can be done by
way of improving plants. In its wild state the beet had very
little sugar that could be extracted. By cultivation it was found
that the quantity of sugar increased. Suppose we take a field
of common white beets and select the most perfectly shaped
roots of about i y^ or 2 pounds each, and plant them and
then select the best seed from these and sow this seed. We
pick out the best beets from that crop. Then by testing small
pieces of the roots we find out which have the largest amount
of sugar, and plant them. We keep on in this way for several
years ; we find that at last we get seed that will produce beets

ROOT CROPS AND TUBERS. 65

that are clear-skinned, nicely tapering, having a large amount
of sugar and a small amount of ash material. We could thus
develop beets good for sugar making, whose nature it is
to produce sugar. In this way the sugar beets have been
developed, and in this way the seedsmen are still producing
improved seed. To grow good sugar beets the soil must be
•well-drained and well-tilled, the plants must be grown closer
together than when grown for feeding stock, and the roots must
be kept well covered, since the sugar is stored in the part
under the soil. Any green collar on the beets will, like the
green leaf, have too much mineral matter. The beets are taken
to the factory, cleaned, pulped fine, the juice extracted, and
the sugar obtained from it by evaporation. Sugar, like
butter, is made up from carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, which
come from the air and the rain ; so that if the leaves are left
in the soil, and the pulp taken back and fed on the farm there
is little or nothing lost from the soil.

The Potato is here included among the roots, and yet we
all know it is quite different in form and growth from the
beet and the carrot. We do not sow seeds, but potatoes
or parts of potatoes ; the method of growth under ground
is peculiar ; and the branching tops and blossoms are quite
different from those of the roots. If we examine a potato
tuber we find upon it many eyes or buds. If we place the
potato in a warm damp room these buds grow out into green
stems. We can even cut it into many pieces and still
the eyes will send out stems. We do not cut up roots for
planting ; we sow their seed. If we pull up a hill of young
potatoes we find what appear to be two sets of roots, one having
little balls upon them, the other none. Trace those that carry
the little potatoes back to the stem and you find that they are
really branches of the stem, whereas the others are the true
roots. Then we conclude that the potatoes grow on under-
ground stems, that they are really swellings of the stem and the

66

AGRICULTURE.

eyes are buds ; so that
what we plant are cut-
tings of the underground
stems of the plants.
Observe the arrange-
ment of the eyes in the
potato. Rightly, then-,
we speak of the potatoes
as being tubers not roots.
Jerusalem artichokes
also are tubers.

If you cut open a
potato you find it filled
with a starchy substance
generally white in color.

Fig. 27.— Potato plant, showing B the true roots ; If yOU CUt Up fine a SUgar

C, the underground stems; A, the tubers, which l . ^1 ' t- '

are swollen or enlarged parts of the stems. The t)eet and plaCC it Ul a
eyes in the potato tubers, therefore, are buds. ^ 1

coarse towel you can
wring the juice out of it quite easily, you cannot easily do so
with potatoes. You conclude that potatoes have less water
and more dry matter or food in them than have the roots.
If you evaporate the juice from potatoes you find little or no
sugar. Then we conclude that roots have large quantities of
sugar and water in their make-up, but potatoes have less water
and quite a large amount of starch.

The potato, the tomato, and tobacco belong to the family
known as Solanacetz. The sweet potato is the root of a plant
grown in very warm climates, and belongs to the family Con-
vo/vulacece, as do the morning glory and dodder.

New varieties of potatoes may be got by sowing the seed
and selecting the best tubers so grown, planting these and
selecting the best grown from them, and so continuing.

VARIOU.^ OTHER CROK'5. 67

CHAPTER XV.

VARIOUS OTHER CROPS.
Buckwheat produces seeds or grains which resemble in
shape small beech-nuts, hence the name beech-wheat or buck-
wheat. The second part of the word would suggest that it is
a kind of wheat or a member of the grass family. This is not
the case, as the leaves and flowers prove. It belongs to the
family known as t\\Q polygonacecr, to which also belong rhubarb,
the docks or sorrels, and knot grass. Its roots are quite short
and it feeds largely on the air. It will grow even on very poor
soils, where it is sometimes plowed under as green manure.
Its peculiar blossom is noticeal)le in its color and odor, and is
much sought by bees for its nectar. The grain is used for flour
and also for feeding in moderate quantities to stock. Buck-
wheat flour is not so rich in nitrogen as that of wheat, and the
straw has more fibre than the straw of the graminece or true
grasses.

The Sunflower is an annual, growing very high on tough
stalks with a large showy head filled with seeds. These seeds
are rich in oil and nitrogen compounds. The oil forms nearly
one-fifth of the dried seed, and is extracted for various uses.
The seeds are used also for feeding stock. Why is the plant
called the sunflower ? The sunflower is a fine example of the
large family known as the compositce, which have many flowers
in a single head. The thistle, ragweed, goldenrod, aster, daisy,
yarrow, chrysanthemum, marigold, salsify, dandelion, lettuce,
and sunflower are all members of this family. Compare the
heads of any of these before and after seed formation.

68 AGRICULTURE.

Rape has already been referred to as being closely related to
the turnip and cabbage. Its leaf resembles that of the turnip,
but its root is much smaller and its top much larger. It grows
to a height of from one to three feet. Some varieties are
annuals and some are biennials. It is grown both for its seed,
which contains a large quantity of valuable oil — rapeseed oil —
and also for its tops, which are used in pasturing and in soiling.
When used for soiling or pasturing, the biennial is sown in
drills and cultivated.

Flax is an annual with slender stems about two feet in
length and bearing bluish flowers. The seed is known as
flaxseed or linseed. The word linseed is from the botanical
name linuni, which is also found in linen, the cloth made from
the flax fibre. It is grown both for its seeds and for its fibre.
The seeds contain a very large amount of oil (linseed oil), which
is very valuable for paints and other purposes ; also a large
amount of nitrogenous compounds, and of ash material. When
the oil is removed the bye-product forms one of the richest
foods used for stock-feeding. When the plant is grown for
fibre it may be pulled at any time after blossoming. The fibre
is obtained from the stalks. We have before referred to the
cell-structure of plants. When we cut across a piece of wood
we cut across its cell tubes ; w^hen we cut lengthwise along
the wood we cut these tubes from one another. The grain, as
we say, runs along the stem or limb. In some plants these
cells are strung together in threads and are very tough so that
they will hold together. The cells in the bark or bast are
generally longer and tougher than those in the wood, and are
known as bast cells or bast fibres. The inner bark of bass
wood (or bast-wood) is quite tough because of these. These
bast cells in the flax are very fine and very tough, and, there-
fore, make fine fibre. The best fibre is got from flax that has
not ripened its seed-vessels or bolls. Why ? Generally, how-
ever, the plant is allowed to ripen its seeds. The plants are

VARIOUS OTHER CROPS. 69

pulled by hand, dried, and tied in bundles. The seed is
separated by what i8 known as " rippling " or combing out.
Then the straw is partly rotted, either on the grass or by
steeping in vats of water. This process rots the coarse woody
part of the stem, and separates the fine fibre from it. It is
then dried and "scutched," either by hand or by machine.
This process of scutching simply rubs or beats away the loose
woody parts from the long fibres. The fibre is now ready for
use, to be made into twine or thread or linen cloth. To grow
good crops of flax, rich, clean, well-drained, well-cultivated soil
is needed. It requires a moist climate, moderately warm. The
plant is very rich in nitrogen, potash, and phosphoric acid, and
therefore we may conclude that it takes a good deal of nourish-
ment out of the soil ; but these constituents are found almost
wholly in the seed and straw and not in the fibre, so that if the
straw is returned to the soil, and the seed fed on the farm,
there will be little loss in growing flax for the sale of fibre only.

The Hop is a member of the nettle family. It is a perennial
plant. It is started by cuttings, in hills about six feet apart.
The plants are not woody enough to support themselves, and
therefore climb up to the air and sunshine by twining. The
hop blossoms are picked by hand when just ripe (a condition
learned only by experience), and dried in a kiln or drying
house (called an oast house in Kent, England), when they are
packed and sold for use in brewing. The value of the hop is
greatly influenced by the climate. Hop vines always twine in
the same direction — to the right. Bindweed and morning glory
twine to the left. How do the grape vine and Virginia cree{)er
climb and support themselves ? How do peas and tares ?

We have already learned that the two important parts of a
blossom are the pistils and stamens, that perfect blossoms
have both, but that in some plants there are blossoms having
pistils but no stamens ; and in other plants there are blossoms
having stamens but no pistils. The former blossoms are

yo AGRICULTURE.

cSiWedi pistillate blossoms, and the latter staminate. Only the
pistillate blossoms form seed. In some cases pistillate and
staminate blossoms grow on the same plant, as in cucumber
vines. These are said to be monoecious plants. In other case^
the pistillate and the staminate blossoms grow on different
plants. These plants are said to be dicecious. The hop plant
is dioecious. In setting out a hop-yard, therefore, it is necessary
to have here and there some plants that produce staminate
blossoms, to supply pollen for the pistillate.

Tobacco is an annual, grown only in warm climates, but
much farther north than cotton, being grown in the milder
parts of Quebec and Ontario. It is grown for its long, broad
leaves. In the use of tobacco we observe three things; first,
it burns readily; second, it gives a very large amount of ash;
third, it has a peculiar effect upon the smoker. It burns
readily because, in addition to its woody or fibrous matter, it
contains large quantities of potash, which readily unites with the
oxygen of the air. Its ash forms from 15 to 20 per cent, of the
entire plant. Its effects upon the human system are due to a
compound known as tiiiotine, similar to theine in tea and caffeine
in coffee. In their pure condition these " alkaloids " as they
are called, are poisons.

From the following statement it will be seen that tobacco is
very hard upon the soil, and requires very rich fertilizing.
An acre of tobacco will yield about 1,500 pounds of tobacco
leaf. The whole crop will contain about 70 pounds of nitro-
gen, 15 pounds of phosphoric acid (in phosphates), and 150
pounds of potash — 235 pounds in all. An acre of wheat,
yielding 20 bushels of grain, will contain 40 pounds of nitro-
gen, 15 pounds of phosphoric acid, and 18 pounds of potash
— 73 pounds in all. An acre of meadow hay, yielding 2 tons,
will contain about 56 pounds of nitrogen, 14 pounds of phos-
phoric acid, and 60 pounds of potash — 130 pounds in all.

WEEDS. 71

CHAPTER XVI.

WEEDS.

"A weed is a plant in the wrong place."

Weeds are Plants. — White clover is frequently sown with
grass seeds on lawns, yet a few plants in a fine lawn of June
grass would be considered weeds. Tares are grown as a
fodder crop ; in a wheat field we call them weeds. Ox-eye
daisies and goldenrod in a flower garden are fine plants, but in
pastures or hay fields they are weeds. A weed is a plant just
as much as wheat, corn, or clover. It has all the parts of
plants, grows like other plants, and forms new plants. But it
is a plant that we do not want ; it is a plant out of its place,
or, rather, it is a plant in the wrong place.

Objections to Weeds.— We might say that weeds are
objected to because, whether valuable or not in other places
or at other times, they are not what we are working for.
If a man engaged in moulding plowshares should find one-
half of his work turning out to be large cannon balls he would
consider his work, to that extent, a failure, because his business
is to make plowshares, not cannon balls. So if a farmer finds
his work resulting half in grain or hay, half in weeds, his work
is a failure to that extent. But we must have particulars.

I St. Weeds require some labor, whether we permit them to
grow or try to destroy them. Sometimes our labor helps the
weeds to grow more rapidly, just because we do not under-
stand their nature. Weeds mean work.

2nd. Weeds, through their roots, take up food from the soil.
Our most valuable plants do not take very much out of the
soil ; on the average not more than one-twentieth of their

72 AGRICULTURE.

total weight. Usually, however, there is not very much food
just ready for the plants to take up. If there are weeds growing
with the crops there will be less food for the latter. Some of
the weeds are heavy feeders.

3rd. Many weeds have broad, spreading leaves which cover
over the tender young plants of our crops, and by shutting off
the sunlight smother them out. This may be seen best in a
pasture or on a lawn (dandelions and plantains for example).

4th. Weeds draw moisture from the soil through the roots
and give it off through the leaves; weeds help to dry up the soil.

5th. Weeds are feeding and breeding grounds for insects and
they assist in the spread of many crop diseases.

6th. Frequently weeds are poisonous to stock, they taint the
milk, or they destroy wool.

7th. Weeds offend the eye and degrade the taste for farming.

Because of these facts every weed should be considered an
intruder, a thief, and a murderer of other crops, and every
farmer should try to keep his soil as clean as possible. To
succeed it will be necessary to know as far as possible the
nature and the mode of growth of the weeds.

Nature of Weeds. —Wild mustard, lamb's quarters, shep-
herd's purse, and wild oats form seed the first season ; the
plants then die and the seeds are ready to sprout the next
season. Such weeds are annuah. They generally have fibrous
roots and produce a large number of seeds. The seeds in
many cases are oily and are covered with hard coatings ; they
are able to sprout after lying in the ground a long time, even for
many years. Thus the seeds may be plowed under deep and
tlie next year the field may appear clean. After a couple of
years they are brought up by plowing and cultivation, and once
more the field will appear weedy and dirty. If the weeds are
cut off before the seeds form they will be destroyed, for they
cannot survive or reproduce unless seeds are formed.

Weeds. ^3

The wild carrot, the wild parsnip, teasel, burdock, blue weed,
and mullein grow like our common garden roots — they do
not form their seed until the second season. They are bien-
nials, and are usually tap-rooted. It will not do in their case
simply to cut off the tops the first year, for they will spring up
again. Continued cutting off of the top, or, better still, the
complete removal of the root, will be found necessary with such.
The ox-eye daisy, plantain, sorrel, and dandelion live on
from year to year ; they are perennials, and, therefore, most
difficult of all to get rid of. Some of the perennials, such as
the Canada thistle, couch grass, toad flax, milk weed, perennial
sow thistle, yarrow, and bindweed are creeping in their roots,
that is, they spread by the root, and therefore are among the
worst weeds, and, because of this, they are most difficult to
completely remove, and require most thorough treatment. It
is important, therefore, to know the nature of weeds, as to
whether they are annuals, biennials, or perennials, and as to
whether they are creeping perennials.

Naming of Weeds.— The weeds are classified like other
plants. Frequently lists of weeds are given, having their
common names and also long scientific names, difficult to
spell and difficult to pronounce. Why is it necessary to
have long scientific names for weeds when common names
are easily pronounced, are easily understood, and are so
suggestive? Take an example. Teasel, water thistle, tall
thistle, Indian thistle, English thistle, and Fuller's card are
all local names for one weed. All do not know it by the
same name, but as dipsacus sylvestris every botanist in any part
of the world would know it or would be able to find it in
scientific books. Blue weed, blue thistle, blue stem are
various names in different places for the same weed. Stick
seed, stick weed, stick tights are different weeds, although
somewhat similar in name; and stick weed, in fact, is applied
to different weeds in different places.

74

AGRICULTURE.

CHAPTER XVII.

INSECTS OF THE FIELD.

Grasshoppers. — We .shall first refer to an insect that attacks
nearly all the plants of the field— the grasshopper. You
catch one of these insects in the hayfield or the pasture
and carefully observe its form. First of all you count its
legs — there are six, three on each side. By comparing with
other insects you notice that all except spiders have the same
number. You observe that its legs are jointed and that its very
long hind legs are well suited to jumping or hopping. Then

Fig. 28. — A Grasshopper.

you notice that its body is put together in parts or sections. So
are those of other insects — hence the name " in-sect." It has
also two long curved feelers sticking out in front of its head
(each is called an antenna and the two are called antenna).
Then observe the two large eyes and the mouth fitted for biting
or cutting through the leaf and the stalk of the grass. The
outside of the body is hard and the inside soft — a dead, dried-
up grasshopper has the form of a live one. A horse or a
cow has its bones within and the soft flesh outside, but the
insect has its bony part, so to speak, on the outside.

INSECTS OF THE FIELD. 75

Next we must learn something of its mode of increasing — its
life-history. Grasshoppers are male and female and tht; latter
lays the eggs. Sometimes she does this in soft wood but
generally in the ground, in the fall of the year, after the damage
to crops has been done. The female makes a hole in the
ground, in which she lays a number of tiny eggs. These are
covered with a sticky substance which causes them to hang
together like a pod. The nest or hole is then covered over
and there they remain unseen through the winter. In the
warm spring they hatch out and thousands and millions of
young grasshoppers appear. Their appearance in large numbers
is thus explained. They have no wings, but they can spring
about, and they have vigorous appetites. Later on their wings
appear, and now they are able to fly. They have done much
damage where they were hatched and now they can fly away
long distances, eating up and cutting down grass and hay and
grain. Later on the females deposit their eggs, to be hatched ■
out the next year. And so they continue year by year. Some-
times severe weather destroys their eggs or the young insects.
Other insects may eat them up. Tiny forms of life (parasites)
prey upon them. Diseases of various kinds destroy them.
Knowing their mode of life, their life-history, the farmer can
check them. For instance, when a field becomes infested with
them, it can be ploughed up in the fall and their nests of eggs
destroyed. A change or a rotation of crops is advisable.

Lisects are arranged in orders. The principal basis of this
classification is the form or structure of the wings. The grass-
hoppers are " straight-winged." Crickets and cockroaches
belong to the same order. Entomology is the science of
insects, as Botany is the science of plants. The Entomologist
sometimes uses the word orthoptera when stating the order
to which grasshoppers belong.

Moths and Cutworms. — Li gardens and fields we often
find the plants being cut off, but can see no insect or other

76 AGRICULTURE.

animal at work. If, however, we turn up the soil we find some
dull-colored, greasy-looking caterpillars of almost the same
color as the soil. On the top of the ring or section next
to the head is a smooth shield; the head is smooth and shiny;
there are some bristles along the side ; and, when disturbed,
the worm curls up. This is a cutworm ; rather, this is one
of the cutworms, for there are very many different kinds.
They stay in the ground during the day and come out at night to
eat off the leaves and stalks. These cutworms have been hatched
from little eggs in the spring, summer, or fall. The cutworms,
or caterpillars as they may be called, are quite small when first
hatched, but they are heavy feeders and grow gradually to the
size shown in figure 29, and by their feeding they do
great damage in garden and field. When they have become
full grown they burrow into the soil several inches and
become a hard, deadlike mass similar to that shown
in figure 29. This is what is known as the pupa of the
insect. For several weeks, perhaps all through the winter, they
remain asleep in this condition. Then another change takes
place, the hard shell of the pupa cracks and there comes forth
a moth with wings and legs and feelers, looking entirely
different from the caterpillar or the pupa. These moths
are the perfect insects ; they are dull in color and are
very active at night. They lay eggs which hatch into cater-
pillars, and the caterpillars go to sleep in the pupa form
to again come forth as perfect moths. In most cases the eggs
are laid in the fall, and the young caterpillars, less than half an
inch long, lie in the ground quiet all winter. In the spring
they attack the young crops and do most damage. About July
they are full grown ; then they go into the pupa state and
come out moths in August. If the fields become weedy and
there is much vegetation on the land in the fall the moths have
a fine place for laying their eggs, and there is plenty of food for

INSECTS OF THE FIELD. 77

the young caterpillars. Therefore the thorough cleaning of the
land after harvest is one means of checking them.

The army vv-orm also is the caterpillar of a moth, and is so
called from its occasional appearance in immense numbers,
when they devour nearly every particle of plant food in the

Fig. 29. — Army worm, pupa of same, ami moth into which it changes. The
eggs are seen along the leaf. This is a cutworm.

course of their march. Then we have other moths, the larvae
of which live upon the fibre of clothing, clothes moths. All
these are similar in form and in their changes, and all are very
destructive.

Besides the egg we have, in most insects, the three forms or
states, namely: the caterpillar, or larva ; the pi'p^i, or resting
state; and the perfect insect, ox imago. All moth.s, butterflies,
bees, beetles, and flies pass through these same three states —
thus we see that the insects differ from other animals both in
their general form or appearance, and also in their method of
growth or course of life. In the case of grasshoppers and
some bugs there is no pupa or resting state.

78

AGRICULTURE.

Butterflies. — We frequently find mistakes made in the use
of the words moths and butterflies. Both have scaly-wings as
we see when we catch them and find the fine powder from the
wings sticking to our fingers. This powder under a magnifying
glass appears like scales of different shapes and colors. There
may be several hundred thousand of these tiny scales on a single
wing. However, there are differences in the two insects ; the

Fig. 30. — A While Ca.bbage-butterfly, a "scaly-
win jed" insect, a is the caterpillar or larva,
and b is the chrysalis or i)upa.

moths usually fly about at night and the butterflies in daytime.
Then if we examine the feelers or antenna; we see that those of
the moths are usually feathered, while those of the butterflies
are more or less thread-like and knobbed at the end. We can
readily observe the changes in the common butterflies. The
eggs are laid on the leaves of trees. Little, crawling, bristly
caterpillars are hatched from these eggs. They grow in size,
and it is only while in this larval state that that they are
destructive. The caterpillars do injury principally to the plants
of the garden, orchard, and forest. The pupa of a butterfly
is called a chrysalis. It is usually rough and angular, whereas
that of a moth is smooth and oval and often covered with a
silky cocoon. From the chrysalis later on there comes forth a
beautiful butterfly.

INSECTS OF THE FIELD.

79

Beetles are so common that nearly every person is familiar
with their appearance. Some are very small; those found in this
country are usually not larger than the
figure shown here. In some foreign 'V '"^K ^

countries, however, they are fcnmd four
to six inches long. Observe the three
sections of the beetle. There are two 2)airs ,^ti^ Hliiiiil ^\
of wings, the upper pair quite hard or
horny, covering the pair of filmy wings
beneath. These sheath-wings are pecul-
iar to the beetles. How many legs
have they ? Where are they attached to Fig. 31.— a ground beetle,

, . -« T^- 1 1 11 °"^ °^ 'he "sheath

the insect? rmd the eyes and observe winged" insects, very

, , ^ , , 1 r 1 destructive to cutworms.

the shape or the mouth and feelers or

horns. The beetles go through much the same changes observed
in moths. In the case of the beetles, however, the b.rval
form is known as a grub. The white grubs found in the soil
are the larvie of large brown beetles.

Fig. 32 — Ladybird beetles, or "lady-bugs." The straight lines represent the average
natural length. These beetles are very destructive to plant lice.

Among the beetles we have a large number of very des-
tructive insects. There is, for instance, the potato beetle
which does so much damage to the potato plant by eating
the leaves. See fig. ^3- 'I'he hard-shelled beede lays her
orange-colored eggs on the under side of a leaf. These
eggs hatch into the soft-skinned larvae which eat the
leaves. The larvae change to pupne and these to the full-
grown winged insects. Since the larvae feed on the leaves a
simple remedy is to sprinkle some poison (Paris green) on
the leaves just before they begin to feed, or to destroy the

8o

AGRICULTURE.

eggs before these hatch. Why does the eating oflf of the
leaves above ground injure the plant in producing tubers under
ground ?

Fig. 33. — Colorado beetle or " potato bug." a, eggs on underside of leaf; b, larva that
eats the leaves ; c, pupa ; d, imago or perfect insect ; e, wing-cover ; /, leg.

The turnip flea-beetle is sometimes wrongly called "the turnip
fly." Our illustration shows the shape of the beetle and the
larva much larger than life. The little
black beetles pass the winter under any
rubbish or clods of earth, and in the
spring seek out some weeds near by that
belong to the same family as the turnip,
such as mustaid and shepherd's purse.

As soon as the young turnips appear above ground they
do great damage by eating holes in the leaves. One of the
remedies appears to be the keeping of the ground clean of
rubbish and the destruction of all weeds, especially wild mustard
or charlock, false flax, shepherd's purse, pepper-grass, etc. The
beetles lay their eggs on the roots of the turnip. In a few
days the larvae or grubs hatch out and feed upon the roots.

Fig. 34. — The turnip flea-
beetle.

INSECTS OF THE FIELD.

8i

When full-grown they enter the pupa state in the ground and
emerge full-grown beetles. There may be several broods in a
season. By having the ground in good condition before the
seed is sown the young plants grow rapidly and soon get the
start of the beetles.

The weevils also belong to the same order as the beetles,

and are most injurious to grain crops. The pea-weevil may be

taken. Its eggs are laid on the outside of the young pod.

The larva hatches and eats its way through the pod and into

one of the peas, where it lives upon the substance of the pea.

The change to the pupa takes place in the pea. Sometimes

these beetles come out in the fall, but in most cases they stay

inside the peas until spring. They do great damage to the

peas by destroying the germ. All grain weevils may be killed

by placing in the bins some poisonous substance that will

readily evaporate, such as carbon bisulphide. The bins are

shut tight and the beetles are killed by the fumes. If

the peas are kept over until

two years old the beetles will

mature and die in the bins the

first year, and the seed then

sown the second year will be

entirely free from the pest.

These beetles do not lay their

eggs, or oviposit, on dry peas.

Any seeds of which the germs

have been eaten by the grubs

will, of course, not sprout. If

the seed peas are placed in

water the infested ones will

float. \Miy ? These may then be taken out and only sound

peas sown.

35. — Pea-weevil ur "pea bug." a,
the mature beetle ; b, the larva or grub.

82

AGRICULTURE.

Fig. 36. — Currant sawflies, or "currant-worms."
a is the male ; b the female. The perfect in-
sects have yellow bodies. The eggs are laid
along the ribs on the backs of the leaves.

F'S- 37- — Lars'ae of currant-worm, green, dotted
with black spots.

Transparent-Winged
Insects. — This order
includes ants, bees,
wasps, hornet.s, and
sawflies. The scientific
name for this order is
hyfuenoptera. The study
of an ant hill will be
found very interesting.
We need not look for
any in a well-cultivated
field. No warning need
be given that in the study
o f bees, wasps, and
hornets great care must
be used. As for saw-
flies, illustrations given
in figs. 36 and 37 will
serve to make their
acquaintance — to "iden-
tify" them. They are
called sawflies because
they are able to cut or
saw into leaves with their
abdomen in order to
make nests for their
eggs. The stems of
wheat are sometimes
cut off by sawflies, and
the galls in oaks are
produced by gall-flies
which also belong to the
order of transparent-
winged insects.

INSECTS OF THE FIELD.

83

Bugs — All bugs are insects but all insects are not bugs.
When we speak of bugs we mean such insects as the many kinds
of plant lice. Aphis (plural, aphides) is another name for a
plant-louse. This order of insects is known as the half-winged
{hemipiera). Some have only two wings and some have four.
We find plant lice quite common on many house plants
and garden plants. Orchard trees, cabbages, hops and
many other plants are much infested by lice, some very small,
some large enough to be easily studied. There are some also

Fig. 38. — Plant lice, half-wiiTjed insects. Cross lines and small figure
show natural size.

that do much damage to grain, especially wheat, barley,
oats, and rye. The plant louse or apliis is generally green
or black, sometimes yellow ; in fact if we observe closely
and frequently we shall come to the conclusion that the
color of the aphis is not unlike the color of the leaf, stalk or
head that it feeds upon. We notice also that the leaves of
plants upon which the aphides are found in large numbers soon
curl over and become sickly. If we examine a large plant louse
we find that it has a strong beak about one-third the length of
its body, so that it is well fitted to pierce through the skin of
plants and to suck the sap. They live on liquid food. An-
other thing we observe in regard to them is that the lice are
found in large numbers, and they multiply very rapidly. Some
lice feed largely upon other insects, and are therefore bene-
ficial.

84

AGRICULTURE.

Kig 39 —Caterpillar covered with
parasites.

In the case of house plants, garden plants and orchard trees
we can wash and spray with solutions that destroy the lice, but
with lice that injure the grain such means are not yet practi-
cable. Why then do not the lice multiply so as to eat up
everything in the fields? Simply because there are other insects
that keep them in check. There are some tiny flies that
attack the lice and lay their eggs
right in the bodies of the lice.
These parasites soon kill the lice.
Other insects are destroyed in
the same way, such as cater-
pillars and grasshoppers. If
we carefully examine the leaves of trees or other plants
infested with lice we may find some of the beautiful little
lady-beetles and their larvaj feeding upon the lice. Another
enemy of lice is the aphis-lion, the larva of a lace-wing fly.

Flies— If you examine a common house-fly or a mosquito,
you observe that it has only two wings. Here then we have
another order, that of the "two-winged" flies, known as diptera.
The Hessian fly, the wheat midge, the many flies of root plants,
mosquitoes, fleas, and many of the flies that annoy stock— all
have two wings only and belong to this order.

The Hessian fly appears in spring as
a small winged insect with long legs.
The female lays about twenty eggs in
the fold or crease of the leaf of the
young wheat plant. After a few days the
larvae hatch and get down between the
stem and leaf-sheath. Here they feed
on the plant and weaken it so that
the heavy hjad soon after topples over
and the grain is destroyed. The eggs
may be laid either in the spring or in
the early fall. When the latter ig the

Fig. 40 —The Hessian fty, a
two-winged insect.

INSECTS OF THE FIELD.

8S

case the young insects gent-rally pass through the winter in
the pupa state, known as the " the flax-seed " condition,
because the pupa case is like a flax-seed. Any such found in
wheat screenings should of course be burned, and where found
in the field the stubble should be cut and burned. The
principal remedy for the Hessian fly then is to completely
burn all material containing the young insects and to change
from wheat to a cultivated crop, as roots or corn. The Hessian
fly attacks wheat, barley, and rye.

The Clover-Seed Midge lays its eggs in the young clover-
heads where the larvce or orange-colored maggots hatch out
and do much damage. Then they fall to the ground and com-
plete their changes, appearing as full-grown insects towards the

latter part of summer, ready to
do damage again to the second
crop of clover. Where the
midge is doing much damage
it is evident that the pasturing
off of the first crop of clover
will tend to destroy the larva.
The first crop also may be cut
early, when in full bloom, be-
fore the first brood of maggots
develop. A regular rotation
of crops tends to keep in
check these and many other
injurious insects.
Conclusions :

1. Insects are so-called because they are made up of sec-
tions. There are three main parts, the head, the thorax or
trunk, and the abdomen. The thorax and abdomen are also
made up of sections (see illustrations).

2. The legs and wings of the adult or perfect insect are all
attached to the thorax.

Fig. 41. — The mid.'e. The smaller insect
below is of natural size.

&6 AGRICULTURE.

3. The adult insect usually has two large, compound eyes,
that is, eyes made up of many parts. The antennae, or
" feelers," are attached to the head. Some persons think that
insects hear by means of their antennae.

4. Insects breathe, not through the mouth, but through small
holes or openings along their sides. These are called " spir-
acles " and are connected with air tubes passing through the
body.

5. As a rule insects pass through three forms after coming
from the eggs, known as : first, the /arva (caterpillars, grubs,
slugs, maggots, etc.) ; second, the pi^pa (called chrysalis and
cocoon in certain forms) ; and third, the imago or perfect or
adult insect (butterflies, moths, beetles, flies, etc.).

6. Insects are kept in check by nature in various ways. They
destroy one another; for instance, the ladybird beetle, the
ground-beetle, the tiger-beetle, the aphis-lion prey upon other
insects. Toads and lizards devour large quantities of insects.
Many birds feed upon insects almost entirely, and are hence
called " insectivorous birds."

7. Insects lay eggs when in the imago or perfect form, but the
damage to plants is done principally when in the larval form.
The imago or adult insect is full grown when it comes from
the pupa.

8. Insects injure plants either by biting and eating the
foliage and other living parts, or by sucking their sap. Biting
insects, such as cutworms and grubs, may be destroyed by
placing poison (Paris green, etc.) on the plants. Sucking
insects, such as plant-lice, are destroyed by dusting the plants
with insect powders or by spraying them with an emulsion of
kerosene and soap— thereby closing up the breathing holes of
the insects.

9. Where the insects of field crops cannot be destroyed by
spraying, the best practice is to keep the fields and fence
corners clean and free from weeds and rubbish, to thoroughly till

INSECTS OF THE FIELD. 87

the ground, to adopt a good system of rotation of crops, and
to keep the seed grain clean.

10. Insects are arranged according to their wings. The
following are some of the orders :

1. Nerve-winged or nenroptera dragon flies and may-flies.

2. Straight-winged or orthoptera grasshoppers and crickets.

3. Half winged or hemiptera bugs and phml lice.

4. Sheath winged or colcoptera Ijcelles.

5. Scaly winged or lepidoptera Ijulterflies and moths.

6. Two-winged or Diptcra house-flies and mosijuitoes.

7. Transparent winged or hymenoptera . . .be:s, wasps, sawflies and ants.

Note. — The scientific names for the above orders of insects are accented
on the second syllable before the last, thus : neu-roptera, or-thop tera, etc.
These words are derived from the Greek wovd pteron, which means a wing.

AGRICULTURE.

CHAPTER XVIII

THE DISEASES OF PLANTS.

Effects of Disease. — House plants, especially those with
large leaves, often become covered with small dark spots which
gradually become larger and make holes in the leaves, which
soon die. We can see the same on the leaves of the apple tree,
the pear tree, and can also find them on the leaves of the shade
trees. This spotting of the leaves is a disease. We can find
similar diseases on the leaves and stalks of grain.

When plants become diseased, they lose some of their
vitality, as we say, and we need not look for much fruit or
grain. It is therefore of importance that disease among plants
be prevented, just as we try to prevent sickness of animals,
or of ourselves.

Again, in addition to the disease attacking the leaf, the
branch, the stalk, or the root, it may attack the fruit. You
have seen the brown and black spots or scabs on the apple and
the pear ; you have seen the ear of corn all overgrown with smut,
and the heads of wheat and other grains covered with a dirty
growth; you have seen the potatoes affected by the "scab"
and the "rot." All of these are cases of disease. Whenever
the plant is diseased in any part the fruit or the seed
will be found to be either small and of a poor shape or
else entirely useless. Scabby apples, smutty corn, and
potatoes affected with the "rot" are not salable, they are of no
use, in fact they are harmful. Why are they harmful ? In the
first place, such food is not wholesome. Further, we know
that very often one animal will take disease from another —
scarlet fever, diphtheria, small-pox, and even influenza, ora "cold"

THE DISEASES OF PLANTS. 89

will pass from one person to another. It is so with the diseases
of plants. If potato " rot" gets a start it will go from potato to
potato until all are affected.

If we allow smut to stay in the corn field it will spread. If
a cherry or plum tree has black-knot the disease will soon at-
tack the other trees until all are killed or nearly killed, and no
good fruit results. This point, therefore, we should firmly fix
in our minds, that whenever disease appears upon a plant we
should first of all try to prevent it from spreading by destroying
the diseased part, or, if necessary, the whole plant. And there
is only one effective way of destroying disease in plants, and
that is by burning. It will not do to cut off a black-knot limb
from a cherry tree and throw it in the fence corner or on the
brush heap. The disease will spread from the cut off branch.
It should be burned up. So with the peach tree affected by
"the yellows." Once the disease has started it is useless to try
to cure it or to remedy it. The diseased tree or plant or the
diseased part should be destroyed. But we can prevent it from
spreading, if we take action in time. Substances and methods
used for preventing the spread of the disease are called "pre-
ventives."

Nature of Disease. — If we begin with a giant oak or
white pine and arrange the plants known to us in order of size
down to the smallest grass plant, only a couple of inches high,
or the still smaller moss, we shall take in a great many plants,
but not all. There are very many others still smaller and
much simpler in their form and mode of growth. Perhaps
you have observed the greyish lichen growing on the old
fence rails or on the side of a boulder. It is not much thicker
perhaps than this paper and yet it is a kind of plant — it is
one of the lower orders of plants. Then you have seen the
blue mold or fungus on the side of a cheese, it also is a low form
of plant life. The smut growing in the ear of corn, the
rot of the potato, the rust of wheat, and the other forms of

90

AGRICULTURE.

1 ^0

disease in vegetation are all minute plants. These lower forms of

plants live in and upon the higher plants, taking the food

out of the plants and

thereby checking

their growth and even

killing thern. Where

did they come from ?

The field crops grow

from seeds, and when

they are ripe, they

Droduce other seeds Fig. 42. — a diseased leaf. The minute plant causing
^ _ disease is growing in a leaf and is throwing off ripe

that will again grow. spores (seeds), which will settle on other leaves,
° ° ' and thus cause the spread of the disease. A

Now these small ragged hole will remain in the leaf, usually brown
in color on the margin

plants, these disease

plants, grow from tiny seeds generally called "spores," and
when they mature they form other spores which will be carried
about by the wind, settle on other plants, start growing there,
and thus spread themselves. A small dark speck appears on
the leaf of a house plant —the spore has started to grow. The
speck grows to a large spot, it soon becomes darker, then the
whole spot or scab breaks open — the spores are ripe and fall
off or are blown away, and the life of this disease plant begins
again on another leaf or on another plant. Why did we not
see the spores at first ? Simply because they were too small,
they can be seen only by a magnifying glass or a microscope —
hence these plants are sometimes called microscopic plants.

Prevention of Disease. — If we could destroy these spores
we would, of course, prevent the growth of the disease plants.
In addition, therefore, to destroying all plants and parts of
plants known to be diseased, we should use preventives when-
ever we think the disease is likely to be started. The leaves
and stalks of house plants are washed from time to time in
order to clean them from dust and also to wipe off disease
spores. One of the principal substances used for killing these

THE DISEASES OF PLANTS.

91

spores in the case of trees and shrubs is bluestone (also known
as sulphate of copper). When the fruit grower sprays his trees
to check disease on the branches or leaves or fruit he uses a
solution of bluestone. Sometimes he makes a mixture of Paris
green and bluestone, the Paris green being to kill all insects
that eat the leaves, and the bluestone to destroy the spores or

Fig. 43. — Two forms of minute plants growing in leaves and in fruit
of plants, causing disease of plants. Very much enlarged.

seeds of disease. There are so many different forms of disease
(rusts, smuts, mildews, blights, etc.) that we have not space to
mention them. But we shall here give only the simplest modes
of preventing disease. Smut, in growing wheat, generally comes
from wheat that has grown in fields where smut existed the year
before, that is, the wheat when sown had the spores of smut
already in the grain. The disease then can be prevented by
destroying the spores in the seed that is sown. Make a solution
of one pound of bluestone or copper sulphate in twenty-four
gallons of water. Soak the grain to be sown in this solution for
from twelve to sixteen hours. Then the seed may be dipped in
lime water for five minutes. After being thus treated it may be
sown and no smut will appear. Sometimes the spores of smut

92 AGRICULTURE.

on the seed wheat are killed by dipping it into hot water shortly
before sowing, but the bluestone treatment is preferred.

The potato tubers are sometimes found to be covered with a
rough scurf. On cutting the potato it will be found to be affect-
ed also under the skin. This roughness is the result of a
disease called the potato scab. If scabby potatoes are planted
the tubers produced from them will be scabby, and if clean
potatoes are planted in the ground where scabby potatoes were
lately grown, the new crop will likely be scabby. The best rule
to follow, then, is to plant only perfectly clean potatoes in ground
where no scabby potatoes were previously grown. Some success
has been had from rolling scabby potatoes in sulphur before
planting, but it is much more satisfactory to destroy the scabby
potatoes and plant only clean tubers in clean ground.

The rot or blight of potatoes is quite a different disease,
produced by a different fungus. Different names for this
disease are rot, blight, and downy mildew. It is also called
" late blight," because there is a somewhat similar disease that
attacks the plants earlier in the season called " early blight."
The potato leaves show brown spots. These spread rapidly,
especially if the weather is warm and moist. The under sides
of the leaves soon become covered with a light colored growth ;
these are the spores or seeds growing on tiny threads. The
spores appear to fall to the ground and by rains are washed
through until they reach the tubers, to which they at once
attach themselves and then begin their growth. Then the rot
ing of the potato begins.

It is thought by some that the disease in some way reaches
the tubers by way of the stem. It may be that the disease is
transmitted from the leaves to the tubers in both ways. To
prevent the spread of this disease the growing plants are sprayed
or sprinkled with a solution of bluestone (sulphate of copper).
The disease is sometimes called a.Jungus (plural, _/««^/), hence
the preventive is called di fungicide.

ROTATION OF CROPS. 93

CHAPTER XIX.

ROTATION OF CROPS.

Importance of Rotation. — If we get a large yield of any
crop from a certain field, should we not grow the same crop
year after year ? This is done, for instance, on the rich prairie
soils, where wheat has been grown year after year upon the
same soil. In former times this was done also on our soils
when they were new and rich. But what has been the result ?
The soils of many farms have run down and good crops are
got only by heavy manuring. In the best farmed countries of
Europe, where, after the experience of hundreds of years,
larger yields of wheat and other crops are obtained than
we get in Canada, it has been found advisable to change the
crops grown from year to year. The experience of Europe and
of Canada both prove that the best farmers succeed in crop
growing only by rotating or changing their crops.

Reasons for Rotation. — i. The different crops, as we have
seen, are all made up of the same elements, and take up
food from the soil ; but they do not all take up soil food
of the same amount or in the same form. Thus the potato,
tobacco, and fruit trees take up a great deal of potash;
the grain crops take up more phosphates. The crops differ
in their feeding just as animals differ. The dog does not
eat just what the cat does, nor the horse just what the pig
does. If cattle and sheep are pastured together, the sheep
will pick out certain weeds and grasses, and the cattle may
prefer others. Wheat, for instance, requires nitrates as one

94 AGRICULTURE.

of its most important foods, and if we grow wheat year after
year we may soon exhaust the nitrates available; but if we grow
wheat one year and some other crop the next, the second
crop may be able to feed well and flourish upon food left by the
wheat.

2. The plants have different methods or powers of getting
the same kind of food. Thus clover or peas will get nitrogen
by means of the little knots or tubercles (page 57) upon their
roots, whereas wheat has not this power to take up free nitrogen.
A clover crop will need more nitrogen than a crop of wheat,
and yet, because of the root tubercles, we do not apply nitrates
to a clover crop, but nitrates may be applied to wheat with
good results.

3. The plants have different kinds of roots. Those of barley
are very short, those of wheat longer, those of red clov^ and
lucerne still longer. A deep-rooted crop feeds lower down than
a shallow-rooted crop. If, then, we grow clover this year and
wheat the next, we grow these crops, to a great extent, in
two different soils. We use surface soil for one and under-soil
or sub-soil for the other. By changing from a shallow-rooting
crop to a deep-rooting, or from a deep-rooting to a shallow-
rooting, we, as it were, change the soil from year to year. This
is one of the most important points to observe in rotating crops.

4. By rotating crops we change the treatment of the same
soil, since we do not treat the soil exactly alike in preparing it
for different crops. Some crops, also, are cultivated and others
are not. We thus give the weeds different treatment. The
weeds differ as do the crops — there are annuals, biennials and
perennials ; there are long-rooted and shallow-rooted ; there are
early seeding and late seeding weeds. The same treatment
year after year may be just the right treatment to encourage
certain weeds to grow and spread. The growing of wheat
year after year in the west is causing the spread of some very
noxious weeds. By changing the crops, and therefore the treat-

ROTATION OF CROPS. 95

ment of the soil, we do not give the weeds so good a chance to
rob the crops and infest the fields.

5. The insects also make their homes on certain crops and
in the ground. By rotating the crops we disturb the insects
and help to keep them in check. If we remove the food of
the insects, bury them or their eggs deep in the soil, or turn
them up to the frost we are helping to destroy them.

6. Some crops mature early in the year, as fall wheat and
barley ; others late in the fall, as corn and roots. Some are in
the ground but a short time, others for a long time, and so
they have different lengths of time for feeding. It is often
helpful to have a long-feeding crop followed by a short-feeding
crop, as in the case of roots followed by barley.

We may then sum up by saying that crops differ :

As to the kind of food which they take up ;

As to the amount of different foods which they take up ;

As to the length of their feeding roots ;

As to the length of time that they are feeding ;

As to the treatment we give them (cultivated or not) ;

As to the weeds that associate with them ;

As to the insects that infest them ;
For these and other reasons the best farmers always pay
careful attention to the proper rotation of their crops.

Samples of Rotation. — Let us take what is called a four-
year or four-course rotation — turnips, barley, clover, wheat.
The first crop requires thorough cultivation and gives a chance
to manure heavily for the entire course. Turnips are bi-
ennials, and therefore long-growing, feeding until late in the
year. Then comes a shallow-rooted, quick-growing crop of
an entirely different nature. The clover at once follows barley
and sends its roots deep. It feeds upon the free nitrogen
of the air in the soil through its root tubercles, and when
plowed in leaves a large quantity of material in the roots and
Stubble to make food for the wheat. The manure applied with

g6 AGRICULTURE.

the roots has by this time been well worked over. Last comes
the wheat with roots of medium length, feeding in the fall
and spring and coming to maturity in the summer of the
fourth year. A variety of crops for the farmer's use is at the
same time obtained.

Here are some other rotations that may be examined :

I.

Wheat

I.

Barley

I.

Wheat

I.

Barley

2.

Hay

2.

Hay

2.

Hay

2.

Hay '

3-

Hay

3-

Pasture

3-

Pasture

3-

Oats

4-

Pasture

4-

Corn

4-

Pasture

4-

Peas

5-

Oats

5-

Oats

5-

Oats

5-

Corn

6.

Peas

6.

Peas

6.

Peas

7-

Roots

7-

Corn

The system, of course, must be suited to the soil, the kind
of farming adopted, and the circumstances of the farmer.
Rotations may have to be changed from time to time, but, if
the principles upon which rotations are based are well
understood, there will be no difficulty in making changes, and
in forming rotations suitable to the needs and conditions of the
farm. The four-course rotation may be taken as a basis, and
changes made to lengthen it ; thus corn may be put in place
of roots, and barley may be seeded to clover and timothy, and
a year or two of hay and pasture, or both, may be had before
returning to a cereal crop. If the soil is the farmer's capital,
then growing the same crop year after year leaves part of the
capital idle. Rotating the crops causes all of the capital to do
its share in turn in producing income, and, it may be, in
increasing the amount of capital.

THE GARDEN.

97

PART IV.

CHAPTER XX.

THE GARDEN.

"A small garden well-kept will produce more than a large garden neglected."

Selection of Garden Plot. — The garden plot should be
near the house, and at one side rather than in front of the
house. A neat, dry walk should lead to it. A loamy
soil, well drained, and well manured will be suited to the
crops required. If it is long and narrow in shape rather than
square, much of the cultivation may be done by horse help.
A wind-break or shelter-belt of spruce or other trees will add
to the appearance as well as to the value of the garden.

Garden Crops. — In every farmer's garden there may be
grown the following crops :

Beets, Rhubarb,

Carrots, Tomatoes,

Potatoes, Celery,

Parsnips, Egg-plant,

Radishes, Lettuce,

Cabbages, Peas,

Cauliflowers, Beans,

Sweet Corn, Horse-radish,

Onions, Cucumbers,

Asparagus, Pumpkins,

Salsify, Melons,

Much that has been said about field crops, their mode of
growth, and their enemies, both insects and diseases, will ap-

Strawberries,

Raspberries,

Currants,

Gooseberries,

Spinach,

Sweet Marjoram,

Thyme,

Sage,

Summer Savory,

Parsley,

Garden Mint.

98 AGRICULTURE.

ply to the crops of the garden. More may be learned by
working among the plants growing in the garden, and at the
same time using your eyes.

WHiat parts of the following plants do we use as food ? Common rad-
ishes, horse radish, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, celery, artichokes,
onions, asparagus, potatoes, rhubarb, and spinach.

Explain the bleaching out of celery by Vjanking up. Will the stalks
bleach out if grown on the level close together ?

Wliat is the difference between top onions, potato onions and onion sets?

Is lettuce an annual or a biennial ?

Classify the crops given above as annuals, biennials and perennials.

Are a'l the blossoms on a cucumber vine alike? Which produce fruit?
Is the cucumber plant monoecious or dioecious? See p 'ge 70.

The Strawberry. — If you pull off the petals of a rose
blossom you find the stalk on which it grew is somewhat
enlarged at the end. This little swollen end is called the
"receptacle." In the case of the strawberry which we eat, we
see a large number of small hard grains in little pits on the
surface of the soft, fleshy fruit. If the hard grains were large
enough we could open them, and see that each one is a little
seed. The part we find so pleasant to eat, then, is not the
seed. What is it? By examining
the stalks bearing green berries as
well as those bearing ripe berries,
we observe that it is the swollen end
of the stem, that is the receptacle.
If a ripe berry is cut in two, the
seeds will be found to be connected
with the stalk. The strawberry
plant is a member of the rose family
2' ' ' ',',". Irosacecs) to which belong a large

Fig. 44— A strawberry plant v ' . .

properly set out. number of our common fruit-bearing

plants, as well as some other common plants, such as the plum,
the cherry, the strawberry, the raspberry, the blackberry, the
wild rose, the hawthorn, the pear, the apple, the quince.

THE GARDEN.

99

Compare the leaves and blossoms of the strawberry, the apple, and the
wild rose ; also the fruit of the hawthorn, the wild rose, and the mountain
ash. Observe how the leaves are arranged on the branches. At what
place do the blossoms appear ? How many petals in every blossom?

In a patch of wild strawberries you find that the plants
spread in all directions, that the fruit is small in size and small
in quantity in comparison with the large amount of leaves and
runners. Most of the plant food
is being used up in forming
runners and leaves. If we wish
fruit large in size and large in
quantity we must plant improved
varieties in rows at least three
feet apart, and we must keep
the space between the rows clean of weeds and runners.

The strawberry is a perennial, but as the plants have been
developed by cultivation and selection they tend to go back to
their original habit of producing small berries. Therefore it is
best to grow fruit only on young plants. The plants send out
runners which take root and form new plants, and the best
berries are on these new plants. The old plants soon become
of little value. Therefore the beds must be renewed.

If you examine the blossoms of many kinds or varieties of
strawberries you will find that those of some are perfect, that

Fig. 45. — A strawberi-y plant repro-
ducing by a "runner."

Fig. 46 — A perfect strawberry
blossom having both pisti.s
and stameiiS.

Fig. 47. — An imperfect straw-
berry blossom having pistils,
but not stamens.

is, they have both pistils and stamens (fig. 46) ; these will of
themselves produce fruit. The blossoms of others, however,

100 AGRICULTURE.

are imperfect, they have pistils but no stamens (fig. 47) ; these
will not form fruit, unless pollen from perfect blossoms is
brought to them by the wind or by insects. Some of the best
producing varieties of strawberries have imperfect blossoms;
they are pistillate varieties and if we wish them to produce
good crops we must plant alongside of them some plants of
varieties bearing perfect blossoms. This is very important and
should be well understood. In some of the varieties of fruit
trees also, the blossoms are either imperfect or else able to
fertilize themselves only with difficulty, and the planting of
varieties whose blossoms produce an abundance of pollen is of
great help.

Raspberries. — 'WTien you pull off a strawberry, part of the
stem comes with it ; but when you pull off a raspberry, it comes
away freely from the stem, leaving a pointed end. This is
because the receptacle or end of the stem is the fleshy part of
the strawberry, whereas the raspberry is a collection of soft
fruits distinct from the receptacle. In the case of the straw-
berry, we eat the end of the swollen stalk ; in the case of the
raspberry, we eat a cluster of fruits like small cherries.

The roots of raspberries are perennial and the canes are
biennial. Thus, canes grow up one year, bear fruit the second
year, and then die. Therefore, in pruning the bushes we cut
away all the canes as soon as they are done fruiting, and save
the new canes for next year's fruiting.

The bushes are increased or propagated by suckers or by
the tips. The suckers, which grow up from the roots, are
removed by cutting away below the soil and then set out as
new plants. The tips of the canes are bent over and buried
in earth, when they take root. The red varieties are propagated
by means of suckers or root cuttings ; the black-cup and purple
cane varieties by the tips.

THIi GARDEN.

ig. 48. — A gooseberry,
sliowiiig seeds, S, at-
attached to skin at /'.

Gooseberries.— Our garden varieties have been developed
from natives of Europe and of Ameriea.
I'ig. 48 shows a fruit cut across containing
the seeds, which are fastened to the skin
by little threads. The form is similar to
that of a grape. New bushes or plants
are produced by layers and cuttings. In
layering, a branch is bent over, a little
notch cut in the under side where it will
be under ground, then bent down and covered with soil,
leaving the tip above ground. After a
little, roots will appear near the notch,
and later on the branch may be cut
from the bush and a new plant will
thus be started. In using cuttings,
good thrifty stems or branches about
six inches long are cut in the fall or
early in spring and set out with the top
bud just above ground. These are
covered for the winter. The next
year they form good roots, and the
following year may be set out in rows.
To prevent suckers, the buds below ground are rubbed off.

Seedlings of all the berries may be obtained by rubbing up
the ripe fruits with sand to separate the seeds and pulp. The
sandy seed is sown on the surface of a finely worked bed, well
enriched with decayed manure. The soil is kept shaded and
wet with a fine spray. The plants are afterwards pricked out
in another bed with more room and allowed to fruit to test.

Currants. — These are grown very much as we grow goose-
berries. Most of our varieties belong to three classes :

I. The Flowering Currant, which is grown as an ornamental
shrub. Its sweet-scented yellow flowers appear early in the
spring. The fruit is black and of decided flavor or taste. By

Fig. 49 — Reproducing plants
by layeriiig. A is branch
bent over and buried, held
down by stake />'. New
shoots C start up, which are
then cut off from parent
plant at D.

102 AGRICULTURE.

cultivation, it may be used in the future as a fruit producer.

2. The Black Currant, which came from Europe. The
fruit is black, and has a peculiar odor.

3. The Red Currant, with berries red and white.
Enemies of Garden Crops. — In connection with field

crops we referred to the enemies under two heads — insects
and diseases. These enemies are also to be found in the gar-
den, and, as garden crops are relatively more valuable than
field crops, they should be watched very closely. Many of the
field insects will be found in the garden, especially the many
small insects called by the general name "flies," which, of
course, are quite different from our house flies. Then there are
caterpillars of many sizes and colors, some of which closely
resemble or "imitate" in color the plants on which they feed.
A very common enemy 4s the cutworm. Frequent cultivation
and the turning up of the soil will bring them to light. The
birds will pick them up. Diseases are the second-class of
enemies, which appear in so many forms, variously named rust,
leaf blight, anthracnose, mildew. Strawberries, for example,
are greatly injured in producing fruit because of leaf-blight.
Spraying with sulphate of copper (Bordeaux mixture) before
the fruit begins to enlarge will check it. In the diseases of
currants, gooseberries, etc., the same may be used. Full
instructions as to what to use and how to apply the various
preventives may be got in the bulletins of the various Depart-
ments of Agriculture. All that need be said here is that thrifty
plants grown in well-tilled soil, kept clean from weeds and
rubbish, and properly fertilized, are least likely to be attacked
by disease.

Earthworms. — These must not be confusea with cut-
worms, wireworms, and other insects that d,estroy crops.
Earthworms play a very important part in working over soil
and in pr®ducing fine mold. Their effect may be noticed
especialJy in lawns. They come to the surface at night and
after rains, bringing up soil from beneath.

THK APPLE ORCHARD.

103

CHAPTER XXI.

Section of a fully formed
A, seeds in seed- 1 ox or core,
;he calyx end ; r, the pulp.

THE APPLE ORCHARD.

The Apple. — Let us take a
fair-sized apple of good shape, cut
it through as shown in fig. 50.
We see that the stem is con-
nected with the core, and beyond a-,
it at C are the small ends of what
appear to be leaves. These are
the ends of the calyx leaves. The
core is the seed box ; it is made
up of hard, tough, fibrous ma- ^'S- ^so-
terial, E, in which are the seeds, -^; c,
^. If you cut another apple
across the core you see the five
seed boxes. The apple, then, is
firmly attached to the branches
by the stem which is closely con-
nected with the core. The part
T, outside of the core, is made

r .1 1 J i. J xi Vif^- 51. Section of an apple blossom,

up of the enlarged stem and the showing how the apple begins to form.
lower and thicker portion of the calyx leaves which have
closed over the seed forming portion of the blossom (the
ovary), and have become thick and juicy. What we eat, then,
is really the leaf portion of the blossom, united with the
swollen stem. Cut a thin slice across the apple and hold it
up to the light— you will observe five parts somewhat resem-
bling the blossom of the apple. Frequently the five tips of
the leaves at C arc easily observed. The relation of the
apple to the blossom is now known.

104 AGRICULTURE.

Seedlings. — If we plant some apple seeds, plants will
spring up that, after a few years, will become trees and bear
fruit. These trees are known as *' seedlings." But, what at
first appears strange, they are not likely to bear apples similar
to the apple from which we took the seeds ; in fact, the apples
may be of little use. And why so ? Because the apple, in its
wild or native form, has a small, rather poor fruit, and the
many varieties have been produced by careful cultivation and
selection. In this way varieties are obtained that are different
in their hardiness and different in shape, size, color, and flavor.
As is the case with other plants, while we develop them for
producing fine fruit they frequently become more tender in
stem and roots, and, therefore, the nurseryman has to use great
skill in producing plants that are both hardy and productive of
good fruit. If we grow apples from seeds only, the hardy
seedlings will grow to a producing age. In this way we can
obtain trees with hardy roots, stems, and buds. If, now, we
can use these roots and stems for our trees, and at the same
time cause them to produce highly-flavored fruit, we shall get
trees such as we desire. This may be done by grafting.

Grafting. — The hardy stem and root is called the siock.
The part to be grafted on to the stock is called a scion. The
nurseryman selects the young seedlings and cuts small
branches as scions from the trees of improved varieties such
as he wishes to produce. The scions are cut in the late fall
after the leaves have fallen, or in early spring before the buds
start to open. At that time the branch is dormant or asleep.
The grafting is done, as root-grafting or as top-grafting, before
the growth starts in the spring. In root-grafting, the stock and
scion may be cut across as shown in Fig. 52. This is called
whip or tongue-grafting, and is the method of cutting when
both are of same size. When the stock is large and the scion
small, the latter is cut wedge-shaped, and the former is split so
as to take in the little wedge end, as in Fig. 53. The scion is

THE APPLE ORCHARD.

105

placed in the stock and the cuts are all covered with grafting
wax, which is composed of a mixture of tallow or linseed oil,

Fig. 52. — Whip or tongue-graft-
ing on root. Used also in the
case of small stocks.

Fig. 53.— Grafting in cleft or split
limb. Used in the case of large
limbs. In very large limbs two
scions are inserted on opposite
sides i,f the c.eft.

beeswax, and resin (about i, 2, 4 parts by weight of each in
order named). A very important point is to have the layer just
underneath the bark (the cambrium layer) of both stock and
scion exactly opposite or against each other. Wliy is this
important? We know that the outer bark is deadwood and is
constantly becoming rough, cracking, and falling off. The
living part of a trunk or branch lies between the sapwood and
the bark ; it is the thin layer of moist woody fibre just under-
neath the bark. If we bring the living layer of the stock and
the living layer of the scion together, the sap from the one will
flow into the other, an^ the root and stem will continue to
nourish the new branch, just as it was nourished on its original
tree. In this way w^e have a hardy root and a new branch that
will produce fine fruit, since the nature of the fruit depends
upon the kind of branch and only in small part upon the root
that draws nourishment from the soil.

Io6 AGRICULTURE.

Pruning. — The food taken in through the roots and leaves
goes to the making of wood, leaves, and fruit. The leaves and
new branches are formed before the fruit, so that, if the tree is
inclined to become very branchy, most of the food may be
used up in producing new wood, and very little will be left for
fruit. Therefore, in many varieties, pruning is very important.
The proper time is to begin with the tree as soon as set out,
and to prevent the growth of too many limbs by cutting off
limbs when small shoots and by rubbing off buds that are not
required. Limbs growing too long may be "stopped," that is,
pinched off at the end. The thinning out of fruit, will, for the
same reason, have the effect of producing larger fruit.

Feeding the Trees. — Three crops are produced yearly in
the orchard — new leaves, new branches, new fruit. The leaves
fall and most of them are blown away ; the limbs grow and
some are cut away in pruning ; the fruit is picked and taken
away. What do the trees need ? In the first place it is abso-
lutely necessary to have the land drained so that the roots can
go deep into the soil. Then the surface soil must be kept well
cultivated about the young trees, that the moisture may be
saved and the air get into the soil. But in addition food must
be supplied, not merely to the young tree, but also to the old
tree as long as it is expected to bear a crop. Wood ashes are
the mineral or soil matter of the trunks and branches of trees,
therefore we may conclude that wood ashes are an excellent
food for fruit trees of all kinds. Wood ashes contain lime,
potash and some phosphates. If any other manures are applied
they should be such as fine bones, which contain phosphates
and lime Potash and phosphate manures are the proper food
for vines and trees producing fruit. We must remember that
the roots extend out on all sides about as far as the branches,
and the young fibrous roots are the feeders. Therefore the
proper place to apply such is, not close around the trunk, but
on or just under the surface out towards the end of the branches.

OTHER ORCHARD TREES. I07

CHAPTER XXII.

OTHER ORCHARD TREES.

The Pear. — We have already stated that the apple, the
pear, and the quince belong to the rose family. The form of
their fruit with seed in a hard box or core shows their resem-
blance. Our different varieties of pears have all been derived
from the common pear of Europe by cultivation and selection.
These fruits all change somewhat with soil, climate, and treat-
ment. According to the size of the tree we class pears as
"standards" and "dwarfs." The standards are formed by
grafting or budding from the improved varieties on to seedlings
as stocks. The pear trees that are purchased for an orchard
are therefore first grown from pear seed and then grafted or
budded. Transplanting in the nursery induces a greater growth
of fibrous roots than if the trees were kept growing in one
place. So that better results are sure to follow from getting
trees that have been well cared for, even if t'hey cost more
money. When trees are transplanted some of the top is pruned
off and the trees are cut back. Why? In transplanting some
of the roots are likely to be damaged, and all are not likely to
start work at once ; therefore the old top would be too large in
proportion to the amount of feeding roots.

The dwarf pear trees are produced by budding on the
quince as a stock. The quince will not take the buds of all
varieties of pears, so that it is sometimes necessary to "double
work " them. This is done by budding on the quince with
any pear bud that will take, and then afterwards budding on
this pear stock with the buds of the varieties desired.

io8

AGRICULTURE.

Budding is a means of increasing very many kinds of fruits.
We have, under the apple, referred to the fact that the Hving
part of the tree is on the outside, just under the rough bark.

If a Hving bud is taken from
one tree, by neatly cutting it
out with a little of the wood
beneath, it may be made to
grow if at once placed in con-
tact with the similar living
part of another tree. This is
done by making a slit up and
down and one across the bark,
T-shaped. This cut is opened
and the bud placed in and the
bark lapped over it. The cut
and bud in place are then
Fig. 54. Budding. Carefully tied up. It will be

seen that budding must be done when the bark is loose or
will slip, that is in midsummer. In the following spring the
old growth above the bud must be cut off, and buds are rub-
bed off below so as to send all the sap into the new branch.

The Plum. — We now come to the stone-fruits — the plum,
the peach, and the cherry. They differ from the pear and
apple group, but they belong to the large rose family. Exam-
ine their blossoms. We have in America several wild varieties
of plums, from which some of our hardier varieties are derived.
From the European plum come our highly flavoured plums.
As a rule they are not so hardy as the natives. A third class
of plums is derived from Japanese varieties. The plum is
propagated by budding and grafting. For northern climates
the stock used should be seedlings or the native wild plum. In
milder climates the peach is used quite extensively as a stock.
The Peach tree is not known here in a wild state ; it
has come from Asia and is closely related to the almond.

OTHER ORCHARD TREES. I09

The nectarine is ciuite similar with fruit of a smooth skin.
Observe the blossom as to shape and color. In some vari-
eties the stone clings to the pulp ; in others it separates readily
— hence the terms " cling-stone " and
"free-stone." The peach ripens only
in a mild climate and requires a warm
soil, that is, a light soil that readily
drains and absorbs heat. As the peach
trees mature or come into blossom
earlier than apples, they are sometimes
set out in young apple orchards. A
few crops of peaches can thus be picked '^' ^^' '°"^ '^""' ^ ^^^^ '
before the apples come into bearing. When the apple trees
become nearly full grown and begin to bear fair crops the
peach trees are removed. The peach trees are increased by
budding on stocks of seedling peaches or on plums. Why
would you expect peach buds to take on plums and not on
pears or apples ? What is the edible part of the peach ? The
true fruit or seed is inside of the stone. Crack one open and
compare with an almond nut. You may taste it, but do not
eat it. If you take a thick leaf you can peel off the skin on
the upper side and also the skin on the under side. Between
these two is the soft cell matter. The calyx leaves fold over
the inner part of the blossom, enclosing the seed, the inner side
of the leaves hardening to form the stone, and the outer part
forming the skin ; the soft material between forms the part of
the peach that we eat.

The Cherry. — This tree is sometimes grown as an orna-
mental tree ; sometimes for its wood, which has a beautiful
grain and takes a fine polish ; but generally for its fruit. There
are very many varieties of cherries growing w^ild in America
known by various names— dwarf cherry, bird cheiry, choke
cherry, wild red cherry, etc. Most of our garden varieties are
derived from two European varieties.

AGRICULTURE.

CHAPTER XXIII

INSECTS OF THE ORCHARD.

The Borer. — This is a beetle that does much damage to
the trunks of trees. It is about half an inch long, of a shining
greenish-black color. It lays its eggs in summer in the rough
bark near the ground or near the crotches of large limbs. From
these eggs come the larvae, which, when full-grown, are nearly an
inch long. As soon as hatched they begin to bore into the tree,
where they remain one or two years. From the larva state they
pass into the pupa state, and from this the beetle again comes
forth. If many of these bore through
the under bark and into the living
wood they must injure a tree just as if
it were girdled. What is to be done?
We can dig out the borers and kill
them, but already much damage
will have been done. We can keep
the rough bark scraped off with a
dull hoe, so that there will be no
convenient cracks and holes in which
to place the eggs. We can also give
the trunks of the trees a good coat-
ing of whale oil-soap, then soft soap
or whitewash in the spring and early summer. As the bark
of young trees is soft and the young trees are most easily
injured we should look out for borers in young orchards.

The Ovster-Shell Bark Louse — On the bark of the
apple tree are frequently seen little patches that appear like

Fig. 56. — The flat-headed borer —
a the larva, b the pupa, d the
perfect beetle. It injures many
kinds of trees.

INSECTS OF THE ORCHARD. Ill

rough bark. If you pry them up with your penknife you find

F'g 57- — I^ark covered with larva; of oystcr-bhell bark lice.

that they are not rough bark, but scales. What are these little
scales or shells ? As the weather becomes warmer little white
insects come out from under these shells, and for a couple of
days the birk swarms with life. Then they settle down, get
their tiny beaks into the soft bark, and suck the sap of the
tree. At the end of summer we find the scales with a nest of
eggs underneath. Protected by the scale, the eggs remain
until next summer, when out again come the tiny insects to
live upon the sap of the tree.

The Aphis. — These are to be found on all of our fruit trees.
They are noticed as green bugs less than one-tenth of an inch
long. They suck the sap out of the leaves and green bark, and
are sometimes found on the roots. The eggs are laid in the
fall in the cracks of the bark, and in the next summer we are
surprised at the large number of green wingless lice that appear
as if by magic and do so much damage in a short time (see
page 83), Keep the bark clean and spray the trees in the
spring, as soon as the insects appear, with kerosene emulsion, a
diluted mixture of soft-soap and coal-oil. We have stated before,
page 79, that lady-beetles are very destructive to plant lice.
Different kinds of plant lice are found on the apple, cherry,
peach, currant, cabbage, strawberry roots and in grain. Since
they increase so very rapidly, spraying should be done as soon
as the lice appear. House plants may be washed with whale-
oil soap or tobacco water.

112

AGRICULTURE.

Caterpillars. — We already kifow that there are many
kinds of caterpillars, and that they are larvae hatched from

Fig. 58. The tent caterpillar, a and h are caterpillars
on the web, c is a mass of ea: "s, d is the cocoon contain-
ing the chrysalis or pupa. The female moth is above.

the eggs of moths and butterflies. Tent caterpillars live in
nests and strip the trees of their leaves. Any nests seen on
the trees or bushes should be carefully removed and burned
whenever observed. These caterpillars come out of their nests

INSECTS OF THE ORCHARD.

113

two or three times a day to feed, ^riierefore we should be care-
ful to see that they are all at home before the nests are re-
moved. Spraying with Paris green will help to destroy all leaf-
eating caterpillars.

The Codling Moth. — Codling is an old word for a cook-
ing apple. We know what a moth is (see pages 77 and 78).
We have seen aii apple with a dark worm hole in it, and we
have cut the apple open and have found the little white worm
inside. Now for its history. In our illustration, fig. 59, ^ is
the moth about half an
inch across the wings.
The fore wings are grey,
the hind wings light
brown. As moths fly at
night we are, perhaps,
not so well acquainted
• with it as with the white
larva. The female moth
lays her eggs upon the
little apple as it stands
up-right. The larv^
that hatch, usually enter
at the blossom end,
and bore to the core
and feed upon it. Since
the core is a continua-
tion of the stem, the latter weakens and the wormy apples
are the first to fall. After a while the larva eats its way ou'
and falls to the ground. Generally it crawls to the trunk
of the tree and after a little spins a cocoon from which in
about two weeks the moth appears and begins the laying o(
eggs. Many of the larvre of this second brood are taken to
the cellar in the apples. To destroy them is important. All
wormy windfalls should be gathered up at once and fed to the

Fig. 59. — The codling moth, a is the bur-
row ; fi, the entrance hole ; e, the 1,-irva ;
li, the pupa ; /J moth at rest ; ^, moth
with wings spread ; /;, head of larva ; i,
cocoon containing pupa.

114

AGRICULTURE.

pigs. The trees are sprayed with Paris green while the tiny
apples are still turned upwards. If we spray the trees earlier
for other insects we must be careful not to spray while in full
bloom, since then we may poison the bees that are gathering
honey and helping to fertilize the blossoms by carrying pollen
from one blossom to another. Further, we may injure the
blossoms and at that time the codling moth has not yet laid
her eggs.

The Pear Tree Slug. — The perfect insect is a very
black saw-fly, with four wings of the form shown in fig. 36.
The female is about one-fifth of an inch long, the male a little

shorter. Points to be
noted are the nature
of the wings and the
color of the legs.
Little cuts are made
Fig. 60.— The pear tree slug. in the leaf in which.

the eggs are laid about June. From these the slugs are
hatched, which are from one-half to two-thirds of an inch long,
slimy, dark green in color. At once they begin to eat the
leaves. The slugs change their skins four or five times, and in
about a month they crawl or fall to the ground and change to
the pupa state. After two weeks more these change to flies,
which are ready to lay eggs to hatch a second brood early in
August. After doing damage a second time the larvae enter
the ground for the winter. In the spring the flies appear,
again ready for destruction. The slugs are to be looked for
on pear and on cherry trees in June and again in August.

The Plum Curculio. — The perfect insect is known as a
weevil or snout beetle. It is dark in color, and about one-
fifth of an inch in length. During winter it remains hidden
under rubbish. It comes out in the spring and does great
damage as the young fruit is setting. It punches a little hole
in the fruit with its snout, lays an egg, and then makes

INSECTS OF THK ORCHARD.

115

a moon-shaped cut in the skin near the hole. If this cut were

not made, what would ha])pen to the young larva as the fruit

grew in size ? One beetle will

lay from fifty to 1 00 eggs. A

sort of gum forms around the

hole. The stem of the fruit

soon weakens, and it drops to

the ground with the larva in it.

The larva then comes out and

burrows into the ground. In

about a month the full-grown

beetle appears. Some fight

the CUrCUlio by jarring the trees Fig. 61.— The plum-tree curculio. a, the

larva; />, the pu;ia : c, the heetle; d,
day after day, early or late, curculio, natural size, on young plum.

catching the insects in a sheet, and then throwing them into
water covered with kerosene. Paris green is used in spraying.
It is applied several times after the blossoms have fallen.

Other Insects. — New insects are constantly appearing,
being brought in from other countries in fruit and nursery
stock. ^Vhen first introduced, these insects increase very
rapidly, since their natural enemies are not always brought
with them at the same time. Sometimes they come later on.

Fig. 62. — Bud moth. The larva feeds
upon young buds of fruit trees.

Fig. 63.— Canker worm. a. b, and c are
eggs ; i- is a mass of eggs ; J is larva
dark brown in color. Larvi: can drop
from tree by silk thread. They attack
apple, plum, and cherry trees.

Il6 AGRICULTURE.

CHAPTER XXIV.

DISEASES OF THE ORCHARD.

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Forms of Disease. — The leaves and green twigs of all the
orchard trees are affected by diseases which are variously
named leaf blight, leaf curl, yellows, etc. On the branches of
plums and cherries we have black-knot. On the fruit we have
diseases called the spot, the scab, rust, etc. We know that
diseased fruit, such as spotted apples, is, as a rule,
stunted in size and distorted in shape, and is not so salable as
well-formed, clean fruit. Diseased fruit, also, will not keep so
long as perfect fruit. We do not, perhaps, realize that trees
whose roots, branches, or leaves are affected with disease will
not produce as large crops as perfectly sound trees. It is
e.specially important that the leaves be kept clean and thrifty.

Prevention of Disease. — The first thing to be noted is
that all old fruit trees or bushes that are not bearing good crops
should be destroyed. When a tree becomes unfruitful it will
be neglected and then diseases as well as insects will find a
home in it. Even if at some distance from other trees, all
such should be cut down and Ijurned, since the spores of these
diseases are very light and are carried long distances by the
wind and by insects. In the case of black-knot upon plums
or cherries, there is only one course to follow -cut it off and
burn it. It will not do simply to cut it off and throw it on the
waste heap ; the spo.es will ripen there and spread to the other
trees. If affected twigs and limbs are cut off as soon as the
first signs of disease appear, we shall do much to stop the
spread of the disease. It may even be found to pay to cut

DISEASES OF THE ORCMAkO.

117

down a whole tree, since it may save the entire orcluird. V/e
must consider every one of these httle knots, spots, or bhghts
as breeders and spreaders of disease.

If a tree was diseased last year the spores will be left upon
the branches and on the trunk. By spraying before the buds

Fig. 65. — Section of a diseased plum leaf, spores
bein T thrown off. a Spores very much enlarged-
See Figs. 42 and 43.

Fig. 64. — Disease in a plum
leaf.

open we prevent the spread of the early growing spores. The
spraying must be repeated several times, as various diseases
start to grow at different times. As a rule the best fruit- rowers
combine their spraying for insects and for diseases — thus they
make a mixture of bluestone and of Paris green, the former to
kill the disease spores, and the latter to poison some of the
insects. One warning must be repeated, that is, not to spray
with poison while any tree is in full bloom, since at that time
the blossoms may be injured, and insects, such as bees, may
be killed that are carrying pollen from the stamens to the
pistils, thereby assisting in the fertilization of the blossoms.

:i8 AGRICULTURE.

CHAPTER XXV.

THE VINEYARD.

The Vine Family. — The Virginia Creeper and the different
varieties of the grape vine together form what is known as the
vine family (viiacets). These are woody plants climbing by
tendrils. The leaves are set one after another (alternate).
The flowers are small, greenish, in a cluster or bunch. The
tendrils and flowers are opposite the leaves. The Virginia
creeper has its leaflets in fives, and is thereby distinguished
from poison ivy, which has its leaflets in threes. A bunch of
blossoms like that of the Virginia creeper is called a cy?ne,
that like the grape is called a thyrsus. Notice the form of the
tendrils of the V. creeper and how they attach themselves to
wires and flat surfaces. Are those of the grape similar ?

Varieties of Grapes. — The grapes grown under glass or
in hot-houses in this country are quite different from those
grown out of doors. They are of different flavor, and the
former are thinner in the skin. Our hot-house grapes are
European varieties. In the woods we find several varieties of
grapes growing wild, with long climbing branches, bearing
bunches of small fruit quite sour or acid. The principal wild
varieties are known as the Northern Fox, the Summer grape,
the white or frost grape, and the Muscadine or Southern Fox.
Our out-of-door cultivated varieties have been got by selections
from these wild varieties, also by crossing them with the Euro-
pean, and by chance seedlings fiom all varieties. Most of
our edible grapes have been got from crosses on the Northern
Fox, and most of our wine grapes from crosses on the frost
grape.

THE VINEYARD; II9

Treatment of Vines. — The soil for planting should be
deep, rich, and thoroughly drained. Two-year-old vines should
be set out, and after the first year only mineral fertilizers, such
as ashes and bones, should be applied unless the soil is poor.
If the winters are severe the vines are laid down in the fall
and covered. One of the most important points in connec-
tion with grape growing is the pruning. If left alone the vine
will naturally produce an abundance of stem, branches, and
leaves. If properly pruned the food taken in by the roots
and the leaves goes to the formation of fruit. The vines may
be trellised in various ways, depending upon the climate. In
mild climates where the vines are left up all winter they may
be trained high and spread up fan-shaped. In colder regions
one of the best methods is to lead one branch to the right
and another to the left about a foot above the ground, and
then train branches from these up across the wires. When
pruned off in the fall, they can be easily laid down and cov-
ered. The method of pruning is easily learned from practice
with an expert. The method depends upon this rule : " The
fruit forms upon shoots that grow this year from eyes that
were formed on the wood that grew last year." All branches
growing too long should be pinched at the end or " stopped,"
so as to cause hardy wood to form.

Grape-vines are increased in number by cuttings, layering,
and grafting. The cuttings are made of the last season's
growth, and are buried two buds deep in the ground. In lay-
ering, a branch is turned down and buried, when it takes root.
In grafting the method is somewhat similar to that of tree
grafting, but the scion is inserted close to or below the surface
of the ground.

We have stated before that many of our best varieties are
crosses of the fox grape. To understand this we must examine
the blossom of the vine. The blossoms are small and some-
what difficult to study. They are of peculiar shape. The

126

AGRICULTURE.

petals of the blossoms form a sort of cap which covers the
pistils and stamens. As the flowers begin to open, the petals
loosen below but remain connected above. In this they differ
from the blossoms of the Virginia creeper. When these petals
begin to open the pollen flies off from the stamens and falls
upon the pistils, and then, if the pistils are ready for it, the
fruit will begin to form. In some of the varieties, either the
pollen is not well formed and distributed, or the pistils are not
ready for it, and then fruit does not form. As a consequence
we see bunches of small, imperfect fruit. When such varieties
are grown alone little fruit may be expected.

What i-; the grape tliat we eat? We throw away the seeds and skin and
eat the pulp. Cut a grape across and observe its structure. Cut another
lengthwise 5o as to get a thin section ; hold this up to the light and
observe how the seeds are placed and how they aie attached to the skin
near the one end. What are raisins ?

Insect Enemies of the Grape. — Among the insects is

Fig. 66 -The jirape-vine flea-beetle ; a a leaf being eaten by
laiva:, (• the larva, d the beetle.

THE VINEYARD.

the grape-vine flea-beetle which lays its eggs on the underside
of the leaves. Small brownish larvse are hatched, which eat
the leaves, then drop to the ground and change to the pupa
form, from which in about three weeks the perfect beetle
emerges. The beetles may be collected by hand, and the
vines dusted with powder or sprayed. We also give here one
of the leal-rollers which are found on so many vines and trees.

Fig. 67. — The grape-vine leaf-roller ; i the larva, rolling up a leaf, 2 front part of larva
(enlarged), 3 the pupa, 4 the male moth, 5 the female moth.

This grape-vine leaf-roller eats the leaves. The adult is a dark-
colored moth with two white spots on each of the two hind
wings. The larva rolls up a leaf and stitches it together, as
shown in figure 67.

The principal diseases of the grape are mildew and black
rot, which are prevented by spraying.

122 AGRICULTURE.

PART V,

CHAPTER XXVI.

HORSES.

Origin of Horses — These animals are not natives of
America. The Indians had no horses before the white-man
came — they went afoot or by canoe. The wild horses of
America are the offspring of escaped animals. Geologists
have found traces of small animals, supposed to be the ances-
tors of the horse, in some parts of America, but these had all
disappeared long before Europeans arrived four centuries ago.
Horses, as we know them, were originally used in warfare. At
present we have many kinds of horses, but all have doubtless
come from the same stock or kind. When the wild animal
was first tamed or domesticated, we do not know. Climate
and food, which varied in different countries, and the uses to
which horses were put, gradually produced some changes in form
and appearance. Animals that showed the qualities desired
— such as size, color, form, strength, and fleetness — were care-
fully treated, and thus there w^ere developed in different
countries horses of different breeds. Some desired horses for
heavy work, animals of heavy body, stout limbs, and strong
muscles. Others desired horses for speed, animals of lighter
frame, smaller bone, and sound lungs.

Kinds of Horses. — Two classes of horses have resulted.
We shall mention here only four breeds of each class. These
have become fixed or definite in their characteristics. The

HORSES. 123

only way in which to become familiar with these different
breeds is by observing the living animals.
Heavy horses :

1. The Clydesdale, from the valley of the Clyde in Scotland.

2. The Shire, of the East-central shires of England.

3. The Suffolk Punch, from the Eastern counties of England.

4. The Percheron or Norman, of Northern France.
Light horses :

1. The Hackney, of Yorkshire and Eastern England.

2. The Cleveland Bay, from Yorkshire, England.

3. The Standard-bred, of the United States, a trotter.

4. The Thoroughbred, or running horse of England.

The Legs and Feet. — These are of most importance in
a horse — "no foot, no horse" is true of it as of no other
animal. The feet are constantly striking upon hard earth or
stone. Why can a horse bear the strain of so much hard
pounding upon its feet and legs ? The parts are being con-
stantly reformed; life is repairing them all the time. The dif-
ferent parts are put together with what we may call cushions.
Then the parts of the hind legs are not joined in a straight
line, and the front legs are not straight as the feet strike the
ground. Step from a chair, keeping the leg stepped on
perfectly stiff. Notice how the jar goes straight up through
the knee to the body. When we jump we bend the knees.

Shoeing the Horse.- But the shape of the legs and the
bending of the knees do not save the hoof from all wear and
tear. If the shank and foot of a dead horse can be got, it
will be an interesting study to take it apart and see the
arrangement of the different parts. The wall of the hoof is
what we see as the foot stands on the ground. It consists of
toe, quarters, and heel. The wall turns in at the heel, forming
the bars. Within the bars is the frog. Of what use is the
frog ? Should it be much cut down in shoeing ? The varnish

124

AGRICULTURE.

Fig. 68.
The External Parts of the Horse.

I. Face.

24.

Forearm.

a. Forehead.

25-

Knee.

3. Ears.

26.

Canon or shank.

4. Muzzle.

27-

Fetlock joint.

5. Cheek or fowl.

28.

Pastern.

6. Poll.

29.

Coronet.

7. Throat.

3°-

Foot.

8. Aarotid.

31-

Ergot and fetlock.

Q. Neck.

32-

Haunch.

10. Crest.

33-

Thigh.

II. Jugular Channel or Furrow.

34-

Stifle.

12. P.reast.

35-

Buttock.

13. Withers.

36.

Leg.

14. Pack.

37-

Hock.

15. Ribs.

38.

Canon or shank.

16. Girth.

39-

Fetlock joint.

17. Loins.

40.

Ergot and fetlock

18. Croup.

41.

Pastern.

19. Dock.

42.

Coronet.

20. Flank.

43-

Foot.

21. Belly.

44.

Lower thigh.

22. Point of shoulder.

45-

Point of hock.

23. Elbow.

HORSES.

125

on the hoof is formed by nature to keep the water out on
damp ground, and to keep the hoof from drying up and
cracking on dry ground. Should the blacksmith rasp off this
varnish if it is the natural protection to keep the hoof sound ?
Great care must be taken in shoeing young horses while their
hoofs are growing larger. On sod, turf, or dirt, it would not
be necessary for a horse to be shod, as the hoof is hard, and
formed by nature for running over the natural soil and grass.
But we cause the horses to work on hard stone roads and
pavements, and therefore we fit them with shoes that are
harder than their natural hoofs. The hoof is of the same
material as our finger-nails — we may
call the hoof a large, thick toe-nail.
The foot is the middle toe, the
other four having disappeared. We
can cut and pare the hoof and drive
nails into it, therefore, without caus-
ing any pain. If we cut the nail-
too deeply, we come to a very
sensitive part of the finger. So with
the hoof; under it and within it is
a very sensitive part of the foot. It
we cut into it or drive nails into it,
we cause great pain to the horse, and
lameness and suffering follow. The
horse, therefore, should always be
shod by a good farrier or shoer.
When you walk on your toes, or
in a pair of boots too high in the heel or too tight, you soon
tire out. If good shoes of proper form and weight are so
important to us in walking, the proper fitting of shoes of the
right weight and size is quite as important to the horse. This
is another reason for always having the work done by a good
workman.

Fig 69 — The horse's foot : A is the
pastern, B the lower pastern, C the
navicular, and D the coffin bone ;
E is the wall of the hoof, to which
the shoe is nailed.

126 AGRICULTURE.

Food of Horses. — The horse has a small stomach, and
does heavy work, therefore we must remember that strong food
and pure water should be given in moderate quantities, and at
frequent intervals. The stomach when empty weighs from
three to four pounds, and it will hold three to three and a half
gallons. Horses are not built for coarse, bulky fodder. Nature
and experience prove that such food as good hay and oats are
well adapted to horses that have to work hard either in
driving or in drawing. Overfeeding of ourselves makes us
heavy and lazy, and causes indigestion. We should be careful
to give the horse just enough to eat for its needs, and no more.

Care of Horses.— Grooming to a horse is the same as
washing to ourselves — it keeps the pores of the skin clean and
gives a good appearance to the horse. Since it does all of its
work on its feet, the health of the feet and legs is of the greatest
importance ; therefore great care is taken in providing a proper
floor for the stable. We do not rest or sleep well in a foul
atmosphere ; the horse stable should be kept clean and neat.
We do not rest well on too hard a bed, neither does the horse.
We do not thrive well when exposed to cold winds or heavy
rains, neither does a horse. When we come in from hard
work and are in a perspiration, we do not sit or stand in a
draught ; the horse is just as likely to catch cold.

What is meant by the height of a horse ? In what terms is it stated ?

When a horse walks, in what order does it lift its feet ? Describe the
actions of the feet and legs in trotting, pacing, cantering, and in galloping.

When a horse rises, which feet are raised first? Why does sitting on a
horse's head prevent its rising ? Would such action prevent a cow ?

Is it natural for a horse to reach up and pull down its food, such as
dusty h\y ?

CATTLE. 127

CHAPTER XXVII.

CATTLE.

Breeds of Cattle. — Cattle formerly included all the live
stock of the farm ; we now apply the term only to bovine
cattle or neat cattle. They are descended from wild animals,
some of which are still found in the wild condition. As
horses were at first used for warfare, cattle were largely used
for work. We have now two uses for cattle — producing beef
and producing milk. There are very many different breeds in
these two classes, but we may give the four leading breeds of
each class in this country as follows :

Beef breeds :

1. The Shorthorn, or Durham, originated in Durham
County, England, over 100 years ago from Teeswater cattle.
There are some dairy families also among shorthorns.

2. The Hereford, originated in Herefordshire, England, over
150 years ago.

3. The Galloway, a breed of black polled cattle or "doddies,"
from Southern Scotland.

4. The Aberdeen-Angus, from Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Dairy breeds :

1. The Jersey, from the Island of Jeisey.

2. The Guernsey, from the Island of Guernsey.

3. The Ayrshire, from Ayrshire, Scotland.

4. The Holstein, or Holstein-Friesian, from Scotland.

In figure 70 we give the outlines of a beef animal. We shall

now refer to a few of these parts.

128

AGRICULTURE.

Fig. 70.— The External Parts

1. Mouth. 17. Shoulder Point.

2. Nostrils. 18. Shoulder Vein.

3. Lips. 19. Elbows.

4. Muzzle. 20. Arm.

5. Face. 21. Knees.
6 Eyes. 22. Shanks.

7. Cheeks. 23. Hoofs.

8. Jaws. 24. Crops.

g. Forehead. 25. Fore Flank.

10. Poll. 26. Fore Ribs.

11. Horns. 27. Mid Ribs.

12. Ears. 28. Hinder Ribs.

13. Neck. 29. Barrel.

14. Throat. 30. Belly.

15. Dewlap. 31. Spine.

16. Shoulders. 32. Flank.

OF A Beef Animal.

33. Plates.

34. Rumps.

35. Hips.

36. Thighs.

37. Hocks.

38. Hind Leg.

39. Brisket.

40. Bosom.

41. Chest.

42. Loin.

43. Hooks.

44. Purse.

45. Twist.

46. Pin Bones.

47. Tail Head.

48. Tail.

CATTLE. 129

Horns and Hoofs. — The horns of cattle were intended
by nature for defence. In the domestic animal they are not
required, hence breeders have aimed at reducing or removing
them. The " Longhorn " breed was once a favorite ; it has
given place to the "Shorthorn." In some breeds the horns
have disappeared. These are called " polled " cattle, as the
Polled-Angus and the Red Polls. The bone of an animal is
largely made up of mineral matter (phosphate of lime), with
some oily and gluey substances. Horns and hoofs are quite
different from and independent of the bones. When burned,
a piece of horn or of hoof will give off a very disagreeable
odor. So will hair. The horns, hoofs, and hair are all nitro-
genous in their nature. Since the horn is closely connected
with a very sensitive part of the animal's head, when dehorning
is practised, the horn should be cut off quickly and neatly.
The horse's hoof is in one piece ; the feet of cattle are cloven.
Is there any advantage to the cattle in this ? Which kind of
foot is better adapted to climbing, and which to level travel ?
Do all cloven-footed animals chew the cud ?

The Mouth. — When full-grown, we have three kinds of

teeth. The front teeth are for biting, and are called the

incisors ; the back teeth are broad and double-rooted, formed

for grinding, known as the violars ; between these are longer

teeth called the canines. If you examine the teeth of an ox,

you find no upper incisors and no canines. There are eight

lower incisors, and six upper and six lower molars on each side,

making thirty-two in all, as follows :

T ■ o ^ . 0-0 T., , 6-6

incisors - Canines — • Molars — -

8 0-0 6-6

This arrangement applies to cattle, sheep, goats, and deer,

though sometimes canines occur. How would you represent, as

above, the teeth of a boy and of a full-grown man ? How those of

a horse ? The molars of a horse are larger and broader than

those of a cow. A horse bites the grass with the incisors,

1^0

AGRICULTURC.

and by a nod of the head cuts it away. A cow wraps her tongue
around the long, coarse grass, pulls it into her mouth, closes
the incisors and upper gum upon it, and by a movement of the
head tears it away. The horse is therefore able to take the
fine grass, and to crop the pasture more closely than the cow.

The Stomach. — Sheep and cattle are ruminants — they chew
the cud. See Fig. 71. a represents the gullet connecting the
stomach and mouth through which the food passes into the
stomach, and / the beginning of the intestine through which

the food passes out of the
stomach. There are four sacs all
joined ; b is the first or largest
stomach (the rumen, or paunch);
c is the second (reticulum) ;
d the third (omasum) ; e the
fourth (abomasum). When a
cow takes in coarse food, it passes
into the first or largest stomach
until the cow is done eating.
Then the cow stops taking in
food and begins to digest it.
Fig. 71 -The four stomachs of a cow. After soaking or Steeping some
time in the large stomach, it gradually comes back through the
gullet to the mouth, to be chewed over and over until it becomes
more liquid-like. Then it flows back and passes right on into
the smaller stomachs, and thence into the intestines. If liquid
food is taken, as in the case of calves, the food passes right on
into the third and fourth stomachs. The four stomachs of the
cow therefore enable her to take in a large quantity of food,
and to digest very coarse fodder. The chewing of the cud
enables her to do without the complete set of teeth so neces-
sary in the case of horses. The single stomach of a horse
holds about 3 gallons, the four stomachs of a cow from 60 to
70 gallons.

cattle:.

«3i

Dairy Cattle. — Figure 72 shows the general form of a
good dairy cow, an animal in which the end desired is to give
as large an amount as possible of rich milk at the least cost
for food. Contrast the outlines of this animal with the one
shown in figure 70. As a rule, the large dairy herds are com-

mtiit/,. '""* ; ,

Fig. 72. — Parts of a model dairy cow.

posed of grade cows ; these are the offspring of pure-bred sires
and common dams. There is an old saying, "The sire is half
the herd." This is illustrated in the following table of the
offspring of a pure-bred sire and of a common (scrub) sire ;

Pure-bred sire.
Common cows or dams.

1. Grades, one-half pure.

2. Three-quarters pure.

3. Seven-eighths pure.

Common (scrub) sire.
Pure-bred cows or dams.

1. Grades, one-half pure.

2. One-quarter pure.

3. One-eighth pure (scrub).

This statement means that in the first case we start with a
herd of common cows and a pure-bred sire. The first genera-
tion of calves will all be grades, one-half pure-bred. The
calves of these and the pure-bred sire will all be three-quarters
pure-bred, and their calves will be seven-eighths pure-bred.

132

AGRICULTURE.

If, however, we were to start a herd with pure-bred cows and
a common sire, the third race or generation would be only one-
eighth pure-bred. The continued use of a pure-bred sire will
in a few years bring the herd to the level of the sire.

Beef. — As we have got most of our farm animals from
the British Isles, the names applied to them have come
from the same source. The living animals we call oxen, cows,
calves, sheep, swine, but the meat from these same animals we
call beef, veal, mutton, pork. Why these
two sets of names ? In early times the
living animals were tended by the Saxon
hind, and the meat was eaten by the
Norman lord or baron. Thus the names
for the living animals are Saxon names,
and the names for the meats are Norman.
But what is the meat ? It is made up
of fat and lean meat. The lean meat is
of the same composition as muscle ; in
fact, it is fine, tender, muscle fibre. Now
we can easily understand why the differ-
ent parts of a quarter of beef are not
equally valuable. In some parts the fibre
Mouse is coarser, more like muscle as we gener-
ally know it. We can understand why
the neck is tough, and why the meat of
the hind quarter, for instance, is tougher
the smaller or lower part or
shank. In finding the tenderest cut of the
carcass, we look for that place where there is plenty of flesh
and little work to be done, that is, where the muscles are least
developed by hard work ; this, by reference to Fig. 73, we
locate between parts 5 and 8.

f 'g- 73- — ^ Side of Beef.

. Leg. 2. Round. 3
buttock 4 Veiny piece.
5. Sirloin. 6. Rump. 7.
Thickflank. 8. Porterhouse
(including tenderloin). 9.
Thin flank. lo. Forerib
II. l?risket 12. Middle rib
13. Shoulder.
rib. 15 Shin
17. Neck, or sticking-piece

. Silks'" towards

ID. Clod.

SHEEP. 133

CHAPTER XXVIII.

SHEEP.

"The foot of the Sheep bringeth weaUh."

Nature of Sheep. —Our domestic sheep are so harmless
that we are not at first thought Hkcly to see in them the
descendants of wild animals. Their shyness, their flocking to-
gether and following a leader, and their natural inclination to
climb hills and even knolls, recall the characteristics of their
ancestors, the wild sheep of the mountains.
They are more closely allied to our cattle
than to other farm stock. Like the cattle
they are cloven-footed, have four stortachs,
and chew the cud. Cattle are more in-
clined to the wet bottomland and the
water courses, sheep to the dry uplands.

^ ... i J -..u 1 • 11 UU Fig. 74.— Whatbreedisit?

Cattle are coated with hair and sheep with

wool. The sheep is one of man's earliest farm chattels, provid-
ing him with both meat and clothing, and is of very great
usefulness in helping maintain the fertility of the soil.

Wool. — Hair and wool contain nitrogen, as you may prove
by burning — ammonia being given off. Burn a piece of cotton
thread and notice the result. The wool of the sheep is for its
protection, and therefore the length and thickness of the wool
vary with the climate of the countries in which the sheep are
living. The same is true of the hair of cattle, as we see in the
case of the shaggy covering of the Highland breed of cattle.
Horses exposed to the winter weather grow a coarse coat.
Food also affects the quality of the wool. If the food is not
uniform the wool will become irregular and be of poor quality.

134 AGRICULTURE.

No Other farm animal is so much affected by its surroundings
as the sheep. As a consequence we find so many different
varieties, and for this reason we must be careful to choose the
variety that is most likely to do well in the conditions of the
farm on which they are desired to be grown — such as situation,
climate, etc. Why is wool warm ? Because it is fine and
open and holds so much air in its fibres, and this air prevents
the heat of the body from going off; as we say it is a poor
conductor of heat. It is not because it keeps out cold, but
because it keeps in the heat of the body. If you wrap a
piece of ice in a loose thick woollen cloth it will prevent the
ice from melting rapidly. Why ? Because the heat outside
does not pass through or get in. Double windows in a house
are a protection, not because of the glass in the panes, but
because of the air between the two windows. So the hollow
space in the wall of a silo keeps in the heat of the ensilage,
and thus prevents it from freezing. A covering of loose snow
protects the wheat for the same reason. Now that we under-
stand that wool keeps the sheep warm while it is on the sheep's
back, we ask why wool can be made into yarn and cloth. If
you look at a fibre of wool under a magnifying glass you will
see that it is made up of sections, that there are little joints or
scales on the wool and when several fibres are twisted together
these little scales catch into one another and the fibres thus
hold together tightly — the wool, as we say, "felts" well. There
comes from the skin of the sheep a soapy substance called the
" yolk," which covers the inner wool and helps to shed the
rain. It prevents the wool from felting on the sheep's body.
When the fleece is washed this is washed out and the fleece
becomes much lighter. Sheep are by nature fitted to stand
cold, but not wet weather — they should always have dry quarters.
Breeds of Sheep. — Sheep of various breeds are found in
Britain, from the marsh lands of Kent to the mountains of
Wales and Scotland. They have adapted themselves in time

bHEEP. 135

to a great variety of soil and climate, and in selecting sheep for
a farm it is well to get the breed suited to the situation. The
following is a table of the principal British breeds :

Mountain Breeds. Upland or Hill Breeds.

Welsh, Dorset,

Cheviot, Southdown,

Highland. Suffolk,

Lowland Breeds. Hampshire,

Cotswold, Shropshire,

Leicester, Oxford.

Lincoln,
Romney Marsh.
The lowland breeds are long-wooled and the upland breeds
short-wooled. The lowland breeds are larger than the uplands.
The upland breeds are the best mutton breeds. Short wool
from 3 to 4 inches long is sometimes called carding wool, and
longer wool, from 7 to 8 inches long, combing wool.

The principal breeds of this country may be arranged as
follows, according to the texture of their wool :
Fine-ivooled : — Merino ;

Medium-wooled : — Southdown, Shropshire, Hampshire, Ox-
ford Down, Cheviot, Horned Dorset ;

Coarse-ivookd : — Leicester, Lincoln, Cotswold.

Is the wool on all parts of a sheep's body of the same texture ?

Are all long wools coarse, and all short wools fine ?

From what parts of Europe have the above breeds of sheep come ?

At what time of the year does shearing take place ?

Are goats covered with wool or with hair ?

What kinds of cloths are made from wool ?

Why is flannel cloth warmer than cotton ?

What is shoddy ?

136 AGRICULTURE.

CHAPTER XXIX.

SWINE.

Nature of Swine. — The wild hog is still found in many

parts of the world. Even in Europe there are districts where

wild boars are hunted. From the many kinds of wild hogs our

domestic breeds have been derived. In the wild condition

the animal is very active, and well able to protect itself by its

tusks and teeth. The improving of the wild animal has

changed the form, and made an animal that is quite compact

and fleshy, and less active. There is less bone in the hog than

in sheep or cattle, as one may see from the following statement,

which gives the number of pounds of water, fleshy substance,

fat, and ash or bony matter in every 100 pounds of a fat ox, a

fat sheep, and a fat pig :

Fat Ox. Fat Sheep. Fat Pig.
lb. lb. lb.

Water . . 48 46 43

Fleshy matter 15 13 11

Fat 32 38 44

Ash (bony part) 5 3 2

Thus it will be seen that a fat pig has more fat and less bone
in proportion to its weight than a fat ox or a fat sheep.

Growth. - Although the hog has cloven hoofs, it does not
ruminate or chew its cud as do the cow and the sheep.
Therefore, we may conclude at once that it does not digest its
food in the same way as they do. It has only one stomach.
And yet we find that the hog grows in weight more rapidly.
How do we explain this ? There are three things to be con-
sidered : First, the kind of food which the animal eats;
second, the means which the animal has of digesting its food ;
and, third, what the food, after being digested, is used for.

SWINE. 13^

First, as to the food eaten. Pigs are able to eat a greater
variety of foods than cattle or sheep. The wild hog lives on
grass, roots, nuts, etc. Our domestic hogs are generally fed the
richest kinds of food —peas, corn, wheat, skim milk, flesh meal,
etc. Pigs will greedily devour the richest rations day after
day of which most other animals would soon become tired.

Second, as to the power of digesting food. As we have
stated before, the animal digests and takes up its food through
the stomach and intestines. The pig has a small stomach, but
a very long intestine. The following table gives an idea of
the weight of the stomach and intestines in proportion to the
whole body, and also the weight of the four quarters :

Cattle. Sheep. Swine.

Per cent. Per cent. Per cent.

Stomach 4% 2^ i^

Intestines 2 2}^ 4

Four quarters 47)'2 45 73

Thus it will be seen that in cattle the stomach is over twice
the intestines in weight, in sheep about equal, whereas in
swine the intestines are over three times the weight of the
stomach. We conclude that swine have small stomachs, and
can take only a small amount of food at a time, but, because
of their very long intestines, they are able to digest the food
much more thoroughly - that is, they feed frequently and
digest their food thoroughly.

Third, as to the use made of the food digested. They are
not so active as sheep or cattle ; they are generally more shut
in, and therefore they do not use up as much of their food
through exercise. English experiments prove that, out of
every 100 pounds of digested food, cattle use 23 pounds,
sheep 26, and swine 43, for making increase in their bodies.

When, further, we remember that swine increase in number
so much more rapidly than cattle or sheep, we can understand
why the keeping of swine is so profitable a part of farm work.

138

AGRICULTURE.

Breeds of Swine. — Every country has its own peculiar
breeds of swine. In England there are, besides many others,
the following : The Large White, the Small White, and the
Middle breeds (so named according to their size and color) ;
also the Black Suffolk or Essex, the Berkshires, the Dorsets,
and the Tamworths. In America there have been developed
breeds known as the Chester White (Pennsylvania), the Poland
China (Ohio), and the Duroc or Jersey Red (New Jersey). The
Yorkshires and Improved Yorkshires of America are derived
from the Large White swine of England.

Feeding of Swine. — In producing pork and bacon, three

things are to be noted :
Selection of the right kind
of swine ; feeding the best
kind of food ; housing the
animals in suitable quarters.
In producing swine for
bacon and hams that are
required for city consump-
tion, hogs of medium size,
that produce lean meat and
fat in proper proportion, are
the best. Foods such as
the bye-products of milk,
peas, wheat, and barley, will
produce more lean meat and
less fat than corn. The hog
is sometimes considered a
dirty animal. For this the
owner is as much respon-
sible as the animal. Clean
housing and good care will pay with swine as much as with
other animals.

Fig. 75.— Two sides of pork, showing method

of cutting up.
' Streaky quarter. 9 Loin.

2 Rib quartet. 10 Fillet.

3 Middle quarter. 11 Shoulder.

4 Hams " 12 Prime streaky.

5 End of neck. 13 Thin "

6 Middle of neck. 14 Flank.

7 Thick back and sides. 15 ISIiddle of gammon.

8 Prime back and ribs. 16 Knuckle of gammon.

17 Fore end.

POULTRY. 139

CHAPTER XXX.

POULTRY.

Origin. — In addition to the common poultry of the farm,
we have turkeys, geese, ducks ; also guinea-fowls, pea-fowls and
pheasants. These are all closely related to various kinds of
wild fowls and some of them are very similar to these wild
fowls in appearance. In our common fowls there are very
many varieties of breeds, from the small bantams to the large
brahmas, differing in size, in shape, and in the color and form
of feather or plumage. It is believed that all have been derived
from one original source, a wild breed of fowl. Many consider
that the common Jungle Fowl of India is the source from
which have come all the varieties. This fowl is somewhat like
the Black-breasted Red Game, and is still found in India.
Others think a wild fowl now no longer found is the ancestor.
How have our breeds been formed ? Just as new breeds are
now being formed. Suppose we take a flock of fowls and observe
them from year to year, as they increase in number. We shall
get some chickens that, as they grow, show differences in form,
size and color. Even if they are all one variety, here and there
one will appear having some slight difference from the others.
We select two or three that have a new coloring in their
feathers that we desire to continue. Those selected are differ-
ent from the others, but similar to one another. We place
them by themselves and allow them to breed. The chickens
that we raise from them will probably have the same peculiar
kind of feathers. We select those that are most alike and
breed from them. After a few years we may be able to raise
a number of fowls that are quite similar in appearance to one

140

AGRICULTURE.

another, out quite different from the original flock, and whose
chickens will resemble the parent fowls. Thus a new variety
or breed will be obtained. Or we may take birds from two
different kinds of fowls and cross them. By carefully selecting
only those that have the peculiarities that we desire to preserve,
we shall soon get a new breed which may be improved in size
and shape by selecting only the best, male and female, to breed
from. Thus the Plymouth Rocks have been obtained by
crossing American Dominiques with Cochins. It is very
important to note that the fowls are so readily changed in form

1 Comb.

2 Face.

3 Wattle.

4 Earlobe.

5 Hackle.

6 Breast.

7 Back.

8 Saddle.

9 Saddle feathers,
10 Sickles.

J I Tail coverts.

Fig 76. — Parts of a Fowl.

12 Main tail feathers.

13 Wing-bow.

14 Wing coverts forming the " bar.'

15 Secondaries.

i5 Primaries, or flight feathers.

17 Point of breast bone.

18 Thighs,
ig Hocks.

20 Legs or shanks,

21 .Spur.

82 Toes or claws,

POULTRY. 141

and feathers. Breeds that are so readily changed will soon run
out unless care is constantly taken to improve them, by weed-
ing out the poorest and keeping the best with care.

The Parts of a Fowl. — Since all have the same origin
we may expect that they will all have some characteristics in
common. The general form is the same. Fig. 76 gives us
the names of the various parts.

Varieties. —In some varieties, such as the Cochins, the
Langshans, and the Brahmas, the feathers extend down the
outside of the legs or shanks. From this fact we sometimes
have the fowls divided into the two classes, the smooth-legi^ed
and the feather-legged. The different breeds are further sub-
divided according to the color of their plumage ; thus we have
Dark Brahmas and Light Brahmas ; also Black, Buff, White
and Partridge Cochins. Another mode of classing fowls is
into laying varieties and sitting varieties. Sometimes they are
classed according to the country or region from which they
have been derived, as Asiatics, Mediterraneans, Americans.

Characteristics. — Common fowls have four toes, three in
front and one to the rear. They are not web-footed, there-
fore we conclude they are fitted by nature for hard dry soil.
What is the use of the web foot in ducks and geese ? The
toes have sharp strong nails for scratching. From this we
notice that they should be supplied with a dry run where they
can scratch and exercise themselves and their young broods.
Fowls take their young to seek for food and birds bring food
to their young in the nest. They need plenty of sunlight, as we
may conclude from watching chickens basking in the sunshine.
How do fowls drink water ? Have they teeth? What is the
use of the crop in fowls ?

As to food we have only to remember what the fowls
require food for to conclude that they need plenty of rich food.
They are constantly growing feathers which are rich in nitro-
gen, their flesh is principally lean meat, their eggs are what we

142 AGRICULTURE.

call "strong meat." For their good health they need also
some green food. The shells of their eggs are largely com-
posed of lime, therefore we must give them mineral matter,
especially when more or less shut in and when the ground is
covered with snow. They are fitted by nature for picking out
the richest food, such as insects and small seeds.

The health of the fowls depends greatly upon having a
variety of clean food to eat, clean water to drink, clean places
in which to roost and nest. The fowls keep their coats and
skins clean of insects by dusting, as do many other animals.

Because of the rich food, such as grains and insects,
which fowls feed upon, we may expect the droppings to be
rich in fertilizing material. The richest manure made upon
the farm is that from fowls. It should be carefully saved and
used where it will do most good. The use of gypsum or sifted
coal ashes about the hennery, especially under the perches,
(not common lime or wood ashes) will keep the buildings
clean and sweet. In washing the buildings with lime or other
disinfectant, the orchard spray pump may be used.

Eggs. —A good flock of laying hens should lay on the
average ten dozen eggs each. The egg consists of the shell,
which is porous, the lining or membrane, the " white " or
albumen, and the yolk.

Can you give any reason for some birds' eggs being nearlj spherical in
shape, and others oval like hens' eggs ?

In which end is the air chamber of an egg ?

Why is a stale egg lighter than a fresh egg ?

What is meant by " candling " eggs ?

Why is the shell porous ?

Why does the setting hen turn the eggs under her ?

W^hat is an incubator ?

How long does it take to hatch a chick from an egg ?

Why does a " moulting " hen not lay eggs ?

What are the principal methods of preserving eggs ?

Which is the better test of a laying hen ? The number of eggs laid, or
the total weight of eggs laid ?

MILK. 143

CHAPTER XXXI

MILK.

Milk. — Nature provides as a food for the young calf the
milk of the mother cow. For a short time after the birth of
the calf this product is called " colostrum." In a few days,
however, the cow gives in her udder milk such as we use.
The giving of milk is to a great extent an acquired habit. In
the case of breeds raised for beef only, as in the case of
Herefords, the quantity of milk given is not large. Where,
however, the aim has been to produce dairy cows the continued
practice of milking has gradually increased the flow of milk.
The knowledge of this is important. For instance, if we begin
by milking a cow, say for only six months, and then allow her
to go dry, she will of herself be inclined to go dry thereafter
at about the end of six months. If we do not thoroughly milk
out a cow at first, she will gradually drop off in her flow. It is
of importance, then, to thoroughly milk out the cows, especially
as the strippings are the richest portion of the milk. Anything
that irritates or disturbs a cow will cause her to " hold up "
and to produce a poorer milk. The cow as a milk-producing
animal, it must be remembered, is very much what her owner
makes her, and she will give many of her qualities to her calf.

If we place some milk in a tall, narrow glass, and allow it to
stand for a while, there will gradually rise to the top a thick
substance, sometimes yellowish in color, which we call cream
When thfs cream is churned, we get from it butter, which is
an oily substance. Carefully remove the cream, and allow the
other portion of the milk, the skim-milk, to stand for some
time until it thoroughly sours ; we shall find that a curdy

144 AGRICULTURE.

substance separates and leaves a bluish water behind. The
cream or butter, then, is an oil or fat which is mixed through
the milk, and from the fact that it comes to the top we conclude
that it is lighter than the skim-milk. It is not dissolved in the
water of the milk as sugar is dissolved in water, but is simply
mixed with it or distributed through it in very fine particles ;
in fact, we can put it back into the skim-milk if we pour the
two together from one vessel into another before the milk

sours. It is in the form of
what is called an "emulsion."
When fresh milk is run through
a cream separator, the heavy
skim-milk is thrown away from
the lighter fat or cream. This
could not be done if the fat were
dissolved in it. Milk, then,
contains water and fat or oil —
;:__„ — ; „__.^^.Lwv^ butter-fat, as it is called. Now

Fig. 77.— Milk, showing the fat globules take some skim-milk and slight-
''"^''"^ '" "• ly warm it. A thin scum forms

upon it. This scum is composed principally of albuftien, a
nitrogen compound similar to the white of egg, which becomes
white and nsoluble by heating or cooking. It forms but a
small portion of the milk. If, however, we put a few drops of
rennet or vinegar into the skim-milk, a curdling at once takes
place, and a considerable quantity of material is thrown out of
solution and floats about as a curdy or cheesy mass; this
is the casein of the milk, also a nitrogen compound. Then
we have at least two nitrogen compounds in milk — the
albumen, which is curdled by heat, and the casein, which is
curdled by acids, The latter is in much larger quantity than
the former, and both are in solution in the water of the milk.
We can readily prove that these two contain nitrogen, and
differ therein from the fat. Take some pure butter and burn

'■' ' y .

-■■

'"■'

..0

■ :'■ ' ' "''.

^^_-:'''-j

- .

- c

MILK. 145

it on the end of an old knife, then burn some casein curd or
cheese, and notice the strong ammonia smell from the latter.
If, now, we pour off the clean water from the curd, and carefully
evaporate the water in a saucer placed over the steam of a
kettle or in a slow oven, we shall get a white substance that
tastes sweet but gritty ; it is the sugar of the milk, called milk-
sugar or lactose. Finally, if we carefully dry out a little dish
of milk and burn it thoroughly, we shall have left a small
quantity of ash or mineral matter. Milk, therefore, consists ot
water, having particles of butter-fat floating in it undissolved,
and having in solution casein and albumen, milk-sugar, and
ash. The composition may be stated as follows :

Water, from 80 to 90 averaging 87.0 per cent.

Fat, from 2 to 10 " 4.0 "

Casein or cheesy substance . . " 3.0 "

Albumen " 0.5 "

Sugar or lactose *' 4.8 "

Ash or mineral matter " 0.7 "

A pitcher of warm water gives off vapor into the air, but a
pitcher of ice water will have vapor settle up its sides from the
air. So it is with milk. Milk is warm when first milked and
we can smell the odor, the cow odor, as it passes off into the
air ; but it soon begins to cool down and vapors of the air
will settle upon its surface as upon the cold pitcher. If, there-
fore, we leave a pail of milk standing in the stable, or near any
food that has a bad smell, it will take up foul air that can after-
wards be tasted in the milk, the butter and the cheese. As
soon as milking is done the milk should at once be taken to
a clean milk-house or cellar. But bad odors and tastes can be
given from the food. Thus turnips, bad ensilage, cabbage,
rape and weeds of many kinds will affect the milk. All such
should be kept from the animal. Here we see a strong argu-
ment for keeping pastures clean. Every trace of musty food
such as mouldy ensilage or rotting roots should be kept from

146

AGRICULTURE.

the cows. The mangers should be kept sweet. No more food
should be given than the cows will eat up clean, otherwise
the feeding boxes may become stale. The best way to get
good flavored milk is to feed only such foods as will give a
good flavor. A plentiful supply of salt always within reach
will improve the digestion, increase the eating power, keep the
system in good condition, and increase the flow of milk.

Fig. 78. — The udder, left s'de, with skin removed, a is an artery wi h branches c, d,
and e carrying blood to different parts; <^ is a vein with branches g, h, ando; / is a
lymphatic gland ; >« is the milk vein ; / is a nerve, of which w is a branch and jr is a
continuation. Heneath and connected with the above parts is a milk gland, the outlets
of which are through these two teats. In the upper part of each of the teals is a small
milk cistern. On the opposite side of the udder is a second gland having outlets through
the two right teats. Out of the blood brought to the udder thro\igh the arteries, l\\'.
cells ne.xt to the glands are formed These cells are gradually changtd into milk, which
fills the glands and the milk cisterns, and passes off through the nipple of the teats.

PROOUCTS OF MILK. I47

CHAPTER XXX II.

PRODUCTS OF MILK.

Cream. — The cream is formed by the particles or globules
of fat which, because they are lighter than water, rise to the
surface. These globules are very small— it would take about
2,000 of the largest of them placed side by side to make an
inch. To see them, they must be examined under a powerful
microscope. Some of them are smaller than others. The
larger they are, the more rapidly they will rise, and the more
quickly and thoroughly the milk will cream. Milk with large
fat globules is therefore adapted to butter-making ; that with
small fat globules is well adapted to cheese-making. These fat
globules are not transparent ; therefore instruments are some-
times used to determine the quantity of fat in milk by
determining how much water must be added before the milk
can be clearly seen through. Such instruments are called
"lactoscopes."

The separating of the cream from the milk is done either by
placing the milk in pans or cans, and allowing the cream to
rise of itself, because it is lighter than the water ; or by running
it through a machine called a "separator." This consists
mainly of a steel bowl, which is caused to revolve at a very
high rate of speed. The water, being heavier, flies to the
outside next to the bowl, and flows off by one s{)out, and the
cream is left behind in the inner part of the bowl, and flows
off by another spout. In order to allow the water and cream
to separate more easily, the milk is warmed slightly before it is
run into the bowl. The cream by this process is separated in

148 AGRICULTURE.

a fresh, sweet condition, whereas by the "cream-setting"
process it may be more or less soured or ripened.

The richness of milk in cream varies greatly with the different
breeds, the different animals of the same breed, the period of
milking, and the portion of the milk taken. The strippings or
last portions of the milk are richer in cream than the fore-milk
or first portion milked, as the water comes away from the
udder in larger portions at first, and the fat appears to be set
free in the udder by the process of milking. Ordinarily cream
will contain from 55 to 65 per cent, of water, 25 to 40 per
cent, of fat, and some sugar and casein. If the milk sours
during creaming, so as to cause the casein to curdle, more
casein will be carried along with the fat. 1 herefore, the milk
should be kept cool in creaming by the setting process. In
creaming milk, the purpose should be to remove the butter-fat
as thoroughly as possible, in as sweet a condition as possible,
and with as little water as possible.

Skim-milk. — This is the milk that has been skimmed of its
cream, or from which the fat has been removed by the separ-
ator. If we could take all of the fat, and only the fat, we
would still have left in the skim-milk the water, casein and
albumen, sugar, and ash. The skim-milk would contain a
large amount of very important food compounds, viz.: casein
and albumen, which can make muscle and flesh, or form fat,
or be burned up to produce heat ; sugar, which can be used
for producing heat ; and ash of the best kind for making bone.
Thus we see that skim-milk is a most important food, only the
fat is lacking to make it a perfect food for young animals. We
can replace this fat that has been removed in the cream by
mixing with it a small quantity of some oily food, such as a
little boiled linseed. If, then, we take away the milk from the
young calf for making butter, we can give it back to it by
adding linseed or some rich meal to the warm skim-milk, and
thus imitate the natural cow's milk. When the cream is

PRODUCTS OF MILK.

149

removed by the separator, the skim-milk is still quite sweet,
but when we allow the milk to rise m shallow pans, or even in
deep cans, the milk may become a little soured, unless we
keep ice or cool water around it. When liquids become sour
it is because of the forming of what we call an acid, like the
acid of vinegar. The acid that is formed in milk when it first
sours is called lactic acid (from the latin word lac, meaning
" milk "). This lactic acid is formed from the sugar of the
milk or the lactose. Since the sugar is very soluble, any water
that goes off in the cream will contain lactose, so that lactic
acid will form also in cream. This acid at once acts upon the
casein, changing it from a soluble substance to an insoluble
substance ; therefore, as soon as acid begins to form, the milk
will begin to curdle. This lactic acid is not nearly so valuable
for food as the sugar from which it is formed ; therefore, sweet
skim-milk and sweet whey are always more valuable for feeding

than sour milk or sour
whey, and care should
be taken to keep them
as sweet as possible.
But why does milk sour?
What causes the sweet
sugar to change to the

Fig. 79. -Yeast, magnified. SOUr acid ? YoU knOW

that yeast causes bread to "work" or to ferment. The yeast is
a mass of little plants, each plant very simple and very small.
These plants feed upon the substances in the dough, changing
them and making new compounds, some of which are gases.
These gases push out in all directions, and make little air-holes
all through the bread, causing it to be light, as we say. Now,
yeast is only one kind of these minute little plants. They are
found everywhere floating about in the air by millions, too
small to be seen. Some of them, we have already stated,
grow in little knots or balls on the roots of clover and peas.

150 AGRICULTURE.

Some of them are acting constantly in the soil, changing some
of the humus into nitrates for the roots of plants. Some of
them gather on cheese and form blue-mold. Some of them
get into the refuse barrels and cause decay of the pieces of
food thrown therein. Some of them drop into the cider or
wine and make vinegar. There are very many kinds, each
kind working in its own way. They
can be recognized only by a very power-
ful microscope. One kind, that is
very common, drops into the milk
and changes the sugar into lactic
acid. Supposing that we do not

Fig 80.— One of the ferments .

of milk, magnified. clcan out a milk pail or a milk

can thoroughly, what will happen? Many of these little
ferments, or bacteria, as they are called, will settle on the sides
and get into the cracks, and just as soon as milk is placed in
the vessel they will begin to act upon the milk, causing it to
sour rapidly, or to produce substances that have a nasty taste
or an unpleasant odor. If there is any trace of milk left in
the can after the milk is poured out, they rush down upon it
and begin to feed and increase in number. Any dirty places
about the floor, or table, or walls, will also cause them to greatly
increase. Tainted milk is not pleasant to drink, it makes poor
butter and poor cheese ; so that for success in dairying every-
thing must be kept clean, very clean — the cows, the food, the
stables, the pails, the utensils, the milk house, and the dairy
workers. One of the great reasons for using ice and cold
spring water to keep the milk, cream, and butter sweet is
because these little ferments cannot do harm in very cold
places. They do their work only when they are kept moder-
ately warm. Science, then, teaches us that in dairying it pays
to be clean. In addition to ferments which may get in from
the outside it is thought that there are minute forms of life some-
what similar to these ferments, which are contained in the

PRODUCTS OF MILK. I5I

milk itself. These work changes in the milk and milk pro-
ducts when the conditions are favorable.

Butter. — We have referred to the use of the separator for
obtaining sweet cream from the fresh, warm milk. A machine
made on a similar plan is capable of so throwing the particles
of fat together that they come out, not in the form of cream,
but of fine butter. This machine is called an "extractor."
The butter made from it will, of course, be sweet cream butter.
Ordinarily, however, the cream is obtained either by the
separator, by setting in shallow pans, or by setting in deep
cans placed in ice water. Then the cream is allowed to ripen.
This ripening is caused by some of the little ferments that
were referred to before. These get in from the air, or they
may be placed there by taking a little cream from some that
has already ripened, just as we may take some dough that has
already worked and place in a fresh lot of dough to start it
working. At once these ferments begin work, and produce
changes that give a new taste or flavor and a new odor to the
cream. If we allow the cream to stand too long, or in a foul
atmosphere, some ferments will get in that will produce
unpleasant taste and foul odors. These little ferments, then,
help us in our work, or they can spoil our work. We must,
therefore, learn the methods which will give us the best
ferments to assist us and keep out the bad ferments that will
hinder us. If the milk or the cream is first warmed for a few
minutes the ferments in the milk will be killed — the milk will
be "pasteurized," as we say. Then whatever may be desired
is added, and the ripening of the cream takes place. By this
method the making of butter is under the perfect control of
the dairyman, and butter of uniform quality is produced.

The cream, well-ripened, is placed in the churn, and the
action of the churn throws the little particles of fat together,
until soon we have them gathered into little masses ; the butter
begins to come in little grains ; these grains gather into large

152 AGRICULTURE.

lumps, and soon the buttermilk can be drawn off. The butter
is washed in the churn with cold water, and then turned out
and worked and salted. The buttermilk contains some lactic
acid and casein, both of which, if left in the butter, would be
further acted upon by ferments, and disagreeable compounds
would be formed ; therefore, the buttermilk is carefully drawn
off, the washing is thoroughly done, and the working of the
butter drives off the last traces or almost the last traces. The
working of the butter, then, is to take out the rest of the
buttermilk, but it must be done carefully, so as not to break
the tiny grains of the butter and rub them into an oily mass.
Then the salting — what is it for ? Salt, we know, preserves
food. It attracts moisture, the moisture of the buttermilk, and
it prevents the ferments from going on with their work. By
all this process we have got rid of nearly all the casein, sugar,
and ash ; we have still some of the water ; and we should have
all, or nearly all, the butter-fat that was in the milk. Any
sugar, or acid, or casein that is left, will in time be likely to
set the ferments at work and make the butter rancid or stale.

Buttermilk. — Since cream varies so much, according to
the system of getting the cream, the buttermilk will vary a
great deal in composition and value. It should contain very
little fat if the churning has been properly done, less than one
per cent. It will contain a little ash, quite an amount of
lactic acid, and some casein. The casein will vary with the
system of creaming. As a food, it should be used as soon
after churning as possible, before further fermenting is set up.

Cheese. — In making butter, we try to take all the butter-fat,
and only the butter-fat, out of the milk ; in making cheese, we
try to take all the casein and the fat out of the milk. If we
were simply to take the casein out of skim-milk, we would get
what is called a skim-milk cheese, or a skim-cheese. Usually,
however, whole milk is used, and a great many different kinds
of cheese may be made. The milk of goats and of ewes is

PRODUCTS OF MILK. 153

sometimes used, but the cheese of this country is made almost
entirely from cows' milk. Formerly, the cheese was made in
the private dairies, but now principally in factories, to which
the milk is drawn. The cheese usually made here in the
factories is what is known as Cheddar cheese. It is more
properly called American Cheddar, or Canadian Cheddar.

The fat, as we already know, is simply floating in the milk
in fine particles, but the casein is held in solution. To get it
out of the milk it must be changed to an insoluble form.
Rennet is the substance used for this purpose. This is an
extract obtained from calves' stomachs. If a little rennet is
dropped into a glass of milk, the casein will at once begin to
appear as a flaky, curdy substance with the fat entangled in it,
and the water may be poured off, leaving behind the casein
and fat. In the factory, the milk is strained and run into large
vats that have a larger vessel or jacket around them for holding
water or steam. By means of this jacket the milk can be
cooled or warmed, as the maker desires. The rennet is added,
and at once curdling begins ; the proper heat is obtained by
hot water or steam, and the curdy milk begins to "ripen."
Gradually, by working, the flakes or grains of curd increase in
size, and when the proper time comes the water is run off.
This water or whey carries away the sugar of the milk and
most of the ash material ; little or none of the fat should float
away on it if the cheese-making has been properly done. The
curd is heaped up and allowed to drain, when it appears as a
crumbled mass. Some salt is added and mixed with it ; then
it is run through the mill, and is ready for putting up in pack-
ages. These packages are pressed out and bandages are put
on them, when they are taken to the curing room. The curing
of the cheese is a very important part of the making. The
room is kept at a warm temperature, and various ferments
work in the cheese, causing changes that add much to the
flavor and tood value of the cheese. The fresh, or "green,"

T54 AGRICULTURE.

cheese is not nearly so tasty or so digestible as the matured or
well-ripened cheese. If the cheese is allowed to remain
exposed to the air it will mold, and its value will be greatly
decreased. Its rich flavor depends largely upon the cream of
the milk and the changes that take place both in the ripening
in the vat and in the after-ripening in the curing-room.

Whey. — If we remember that the whey contains the sugar
of the milk, most of the ash, and some of the albumen, and
casein, and fat, we shall conclude that it contains some food
of value. But this value depends upon its being used while
"sweet," before it sours, for then its sugar changes to lactic
acid, which is not of much value. As a food, it is specially
adapted to the feeding of pigs. One of the greatest difficulties
about cheese factories arises from the souring of whey. As
before stated, success depends upon keeping the factory, the
factory yard, and the milk cans absolutely clean.

We may sum up the various dairy products as containing
the following :

Whole milk contains water, fat, casein, albumen, sugar, ash ;

Skim-milk contains water, casein, albumen, sugar, ash;

Butter contains water and fat principally ;

Cheese contains water, fat, casein ;

Whey contains water, sugar, ash, some albumen.

The average composition is about as follows in every one
hundred pounds :

Casein and
W.iter. Fat. Albumen. Sugar. Ash.

Whole milk. . . 87.0 4.0 3.5 4.8 0.7

Skim-milk.... 90.0 0.5 3.0 5.0 0.7

Butter 10.0 86.5 i.o 0.5 2.0

Cheese 35.0 33.0 28.0 0.0 4.0

Whey 93.0 0.3 1.0 5.0 0.7

THE STRUCTURE OF ANIMALS. 155

CHAPTER XXXIII.

THE STRUCTURE OF ANIMALS.

Plants and Animals. — What is the difference between a
plant and an animal ? It is sometimes very difficult to deter-
mine whether some of the lower forms of living matter are
plants or animals. In the higher forms the distinction is easily
made by us. What is the difference? A horse requires air,
water, and food. So does a tree. The horse takes in oxygen
from the air and breathes out carbonic acid gas ; the tree takes
in carbonic acid gas and gives out oxygen. The horse can
move about at will to seek food ; the tree remains fixed, and
the food comes or is brought to it. The horse feeds upon
plants — organized food; the plant feeds upon crude material,
such as mineral compounds - unorganized food. The plant,
therefore, is built up from the simple substances in the air, soil,
and water. The animal builds itself up largely by feeding
upon the material formed by the plants. This distinction,
however, does not hold in the case of all plants and all animals.
Can you state any exceptions to the above ?

Bones. — These are the framework or foundation. They
largely make the general form of the animal. The bones of a
young animal are pliable, but they become more rigid as the
animal grows older. They are the support of the animal, but
to enable the animal to move, they are in parts joined together.
Notice how_^ every bone is suited to its place. The skull covers
the top and back of the head, thereby protecting the brain.
The ribs, front and back, protect the heart and lungs. Why
are they not closely joined together, as the bones of the skull?
The bones are suited in size and length to the uses required

156 AGRICULTURE.

of the various parts of the body, as may be seen in the bones
of the arm and the fingers. The bones are composed of
mineral material, phosphate of lime being the principal con-
stituent. In structure, they are more or less porous or cellular.

Muscles. - The bones are ingeniously joined together in
many places, but to hold them together and to move them
muscles are required. In some places these are large and
tough, in others they are smaller and more tender. The lean
part of an animal's body is a mass of fine muscle fibres. Feel
their movement on the inside of the wrist while closing the
fist. Grasp your upper right arm, then move the lower right
arm up and down. We observe that the muscles that do the
most work are the strongest and largest. These muscles are
in all parts of the body, crossing and overlapping. By con-
tracting and expanding them the animal moves the bones, and
therefore the part of the body containing the bones. Around
them and over them we sometimes find layers of fat which act
as a sort of packing.

The Organs. — In addition to the ordinary muscles, there
are the tongue, the throat, the stomach, the heart, the lungs,
the liver, the kidneys, the intestines, etc. These are different
in shape and different in their uses, but all are very much like
the muscles and tendons in composition — they may be called
structures of muscles formed together into certain definite
shapes, so as to do certain definite work. The skin, the hair,
the wool, the hoofs, and the horns, that is, the outer parts of
an animal, are also made up of the same kind of material as
the flesh and muscle.

Blood. — " The blood is the life." It flows through all
parts of the body, and it is out of it that all the various parts
— bone, muscle, organs, lean flesh, fat — are formed. When we
examine blood under a microscope we find that it somewhat
resembles milk, as shown in figure 77, page 144. First of all,
there is the liquid part, which is called plasma. In this plasma

THE STRUCTURE OF ANIMALS. 157

are floating a large number of small disc-shaped particles,
which are called corpuscles. Most of these are red, and thereby
give a red color to the blood. Some are white corpuscles. It
is by means of these corpuscles that much of the material is
carried throu<,di the system, lu^r instance, in the lungs they
take up a load of oxygen and carry it to all parts of the body
and bring back a load of carbonic acid gas to be breathed
out from the lungs. In the plasma is contained much of the
material that goes to build up bone and flesh. We have seen
that when the albumen of milk or white of egg is heated it
becomes insoluble, or is clotted. When acids are added to
milk, the casein becomes clotted. In plasma there is a similar
nitrogenous substance, fihrin, which is clotted by the action of
the air. When blood flows from a cut, therefore, the clotted
fibrin and the corpuscles that are entangled in it form a cover-
ing for the wound — otherwise the animal would bleed to death.
When a clot forms inside of the body, circulation stops at that
point, and death frequently results. In a man the blood forms
about one-thirteenth of his entire weight.

Conclusion. — Apart from the water of the body, the various
digestive liquids and agents, and the blood, we have, then,
three classes of compounds in the animal body— the bones;
the fat ; and the muscles, the various organs, lean flesh, hair,
hoofs, and horns. The bones, as we have already stated, are
largely made up of ash or mineral matter ; the fat contains
three chemical elements — carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen; the
third, or muscle class, is made up of five elements — carbon,
hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulphur. To show in what
proportion these are contained in an animal's body, we give
one example. The body of a half-fat ox, after the removal of
the stomach and intestines, will contain in every 100 pounds
the following : Water, 56 pounds ; flesh and muscle material,
18 pounds; fat, 21 pounds; bone material, 5 pounds.

AGRICULTURE.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

FOODS OF ANIMALS.

Uses of Foods. —First of all, an animal requires food to
build up its body — to form bone, flesh, muscle, organs, skin,
hair, wool, fat, etc. The material for all these must be con-
tained in its food or the water it drinks. In the next place, it
requires food, or fuel, to keep it warm, to supply heat to the
body. Then it requires food to keep it alive — a horse shut up
in the stable without food for a single day will suffer. This
food is necessary to replace the waste constantly taking place.
The body is constantly changing, and requires food to renew
it, whether the animal is working or standing still, whether
sleeping or awake. In the fourth place, work demands food.
An engine at work demands a supply of energy — this comes
from the burning of the fuel under the boiler. A horse
moving about or doing work requires food to supply energy.
These four demands are made upon the food which is daily
given to an animal, and the food given should be chosen so as
to supply these demands. We have on page 159 a table of the
composition of the principal foods given to animals. This
table is simply for reference, and is given in order to get a
general idea of the great difference in the various foods used.

Water. — We see that green grass, roots, and fodder corn
all have a large quantity of water - from 75 to over 90 per
cent, (that is, pounds per hundred) — whereas hay, straw and
grain have only from 12 to 16 per cent. Young plants that
are cut while still green are therefore succulent foods and are
eaten by animals in large quantities. As plants grow older
and mature, the amount of water that they contain gradually
decreases.

POODS or ANIMALS.

Composition of Foods.

159

Milk, whole

Milk, skimmed

Linseed

Oil Cake (old process) .
Oil Cake (new process)

Oatmeal

Cottonseed Meal . . . . :

Pasture grass

Meadow Hay, average .
Red Clover, average

Wheat Straw

Oat Straw

Pea Straw

Corn Stalks ,

Wheat

Barley

Oats

Corn

Peas

Bran

Middlings

Mangels

Turnips

Carrots

Potatoes

Corn Silage

S7
90

I 2

9
10

8
8

65
13

15
10
10
10

40

T I
I I
I I
I I
1 I
12
I 2

90
90
90
80
80

"o "S

3-5
3-8
21

30

34

15

40

4

6

12

3-5
4.0
7.0
4.0

12

1 2.. 5

1 2

10

20

15

15

1-5

I

I

2
2

O
o

4.0

°-5
36.0

lO.O

3-0
7.0

13-0

I.O

2-5

3-0
1-3
2-3

2-5

1.0

2
2

5

5-5

2.0

4
4

0.2
0.2
0.4
o. I
I

O
O

4.8

19-5

36

39

67

26

45 •
39
43
42

35-5
33-°

73-0

695

60.0

70.0

53

54

61

6.3

6.8

6.6

17.9

10. o

8.0

9

10

I

6

9

29
25
38
37
40
20

2
3
9

<

o 7
0.7

3-5
6

7
2

7

2-5

4-5
6.0

4

5
5

2

2

2
3

1-5
2.0
6.0
3

l6o AGRICULTURE.

Albuminoids. — Compounds like albumen or white of egg,
the casein of milk, the gluten of wheat, and the fibiin of meat,
are known as albuminoids ox protein. They are all compounds
containing nitrogen, and are the flesh-forming substances of
food. They are very low in roots, a little larger in grass, still
larger in hay ; so that we see that they increase as plants ma-
ture. They are very low in straw, but quite large in grain.
Why is this ? As the wheat, oats, and other plants are grow-
ing they take up food from the air and soil and, until blossom-
ing time, all their food is contained in the leaves, stalks, and
roots. After blossoming the seeds form, and material that has
been stored in the stalk and leaves is used to build up the
seed. In most plants very little valuable food is taken into
the plant through the roots after the time of blossoming. The
leaves continue taking in carbon and the roots water, and
therefore starch and sugar continue to increase, but the other
substances are about all in the plant by the time of full bloom.
Out of the leaf, and stalk the most valuable materials are then
carried into the seed ; thus we find the nitrogenous com-
pound, the fats or oils, and the most valuable ash compounds,
especially the phosphates, stored up in the seed or grain, and
not in the straw.

Fat. — For the reasons just given we must look for fat or oil
principally in the grains. Some seeds, such as flaxseed, con-
tain a very large amount of oil.

Starch and Sugar. — These materials are very much alike
in composition ; they are composed of three elements —
carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Hydrogen and oxygen, we
have learned before, are the two elements composing water.
These two are found in starch and sugar in the same proportion
as in water, but not as water, and therefore such compounds
are sometimes called " carbo-hydrates." They are found in
large quantities in all plants and parts of plants, forming as

FOOD OF ANIMALS. l6l

much as 70 per cent, of some kinds of straw. Notice that this
class of compounds does not form one of the leading classes
of constituents of the animal body.

Fibre. — Woody fibre this is sometimes called. A young
plant is easily bent and pulled to pieces ; it contains little
fibre. As the plant grows older it becomes stiffer and tougher,
because tlie fibre increases. Wood that we burn is nearly all
fibre, and we know how tough and indigestible it is. There-
fore, we conclude that a large amount of fibre makes a food
less valuable. The fibre is formed from the starch and sugar
by the addition of carbon. It forms the walls of the cells of
plants, and therefore is sometimes called by the name "cellu-
lose.'

Ash.— The ash or mineral matter is found in all parts of
the plant, but, as has been stated already, the most valuable
ash is stored up in the seed or grain. The cell walls of the
plant fill up with carbon and ash as the plant grows older, and
therefore the sap cannot flow through so easily, the cells dry
up gradually, and the plant becomes stiffer and tougher.

l62 AGRICULTURE.

CHAPTER XXXV.

DIGESTION AND USES OF FOOD.

What is Digestion ? — -The food which the animai eats
must pass into and become part of the blood before any use
can be made of it. The fuel which keeps it warm or supplies
energy to enable it to do work ; the compounds which go to
the building up of bone, muscle, flesh, organs, wool, and all
other parts of the body ; the material out of which milk is
made — all these come from the blood. This material in the
blood is made up from the food which the animal eats. The
blood may be called a liquid flowing through the body con-
taining the material in solution. But the solid portion of our
food consists to a large extent of such substances as starch,
sugar, fat or oil, nitrogenous compounds, such as the gluten of
wheat, the white or albumen of egg, and the fibrin of meat.
Of these sugar only is soluble. It is necessary, therefore, to
change these insoluble parts of food into soluble forms so
that they can pass into the blood. This changing them into
soluble forms in the various organs of the animal's body is
"digestion." The changes are brought about in the mouth, in
the stomach, and in the intestines, and the agents that cause
the changes are fernienls somewhat similar to the miimte forms
of life already referred to in the curing of cheese, and nitrifi-
cation in the soil (see pages 149 and 150.)

There are three forms of compounds in the food to be
digested —those similar to starch (the carbohydrates), the fats
or oils, and the nitrogen compounds (the albuminoids). These
we shall refer to as we follow the course of digestion.

DIGESTION AND USES OF FOOD. 163

The Course OF Digestion. — The food is first bitten off and
taken into the mouth, where it is cut up and ground fine by
the teeth. At the same time a Hquid called the saliva is set
free from glands in the checks and under the tongue. This
saliva not only moistens the food so that it can slip down the
throat or gullet, but it also acts ui)()n the starch, converting it
into sugar, thus changing it from an inscjluble to a solul)le
form. Thus digestion begins in the mouth. Thorough
chewing of the food not only breaks up the food fine so that
it can be acted upon by the juices of the body, but also helps
to set free saliva and mix it with the food to digest the starch.
When we remember that starch forms a very large portion of
most of our vegetable foods, we see that thorough mastication
the food is very necessary to good digestion, and "bolting''
the food by man and many other animals a common cause of
indigestion.

The food passes from the mouth into the gullet, which is a
tube formed of tough elastic rings that can contract and
expand as required. Through, the gullet it passes into the
stomach. Here it comes in contact with the gastric Juice,
which is a secretion of the stomach. The gastric juice acts
principally upon the albuminoids, changing them into soluble
forms. Some of the soluble and digested food here passes
into the blood, but most of it goes on through into the intes-
tines. Just below the stomach, and on the right side, is the
liver, which builds up or secretes a liquid called bile. This bile
flows into the. intestines and acts u\vm the fat of the food,
forming with it solul)le compounds. Other secretions come in
contact with the food, acting upon the albuminoids and starch
to complete the digestion ; and through the walls of the in-
testines the soluble foods now pass in large quantities into the
blood. The rest of the food that cannot pass into the blood
moves on and is expelled from the body, forming the solid
excrement. The solid excrement therefore consists of the

164 AGRICULTURE.

insoluble portion of the food, that which could not be digested
by the secretions of the mouth, stomach, and intestines, and
any soluble matter that was unable to get into the blood be-
cause of the animal being fed too rapidly or in too large
quantity. Its value as a fertilizer will therefore depend upon
what we feed and upon how we feed. It may be worth much
or very little.

At this point it will be worth turning back and reviewing
what has been said about the four stomachs of the ruminants
(cattle and sheep), the small single stomach of the horse and
the pig, and tlie long intestines of the pig.

Circulation of the Blood. — The next question is as to
the movement of the blood through the body — the circulation
of the blood. We start at the heart, which is the headquarters
of the blood system, the pumping-station of the system. The
heart is made up of muscles which expand and contract and
thus give motion to the blood. \Mien the heart stops beating,
when it ceases to work, the animal life stops and death takes
place. We can feel the beating, of our heart. On the inside
of the wrist we can feel the throbbing of our pulse. On the
side of the head between the ear and the temple we can feel
the same throbbing. Where do you find the pulse of a horse,
and the pulse of a cow ?

You have doubtless seen an ox heart; if not, try to get one
and examine it. In shape it is like a large pear or egg. There
are two divisions, one up and down and one across, dividing it
into four compartments. The two smaller divisions in the
upper or larger part are called the right and the left auricle,
and the two larger lower parts are called the right and the left
ventricle. The different parts of the heart are connected with
tubes that go to all parts of the body, and the four compart-
ments are connected by valves. By the movement of the
muscles of the heart the blood is driven along. How is its
course directed or controlled ? Perhaps you have seen a mill-

DIGESTION AND USES OF FOOD. 1 65

race or a small canal with a swinging gate that will open in only
one direction. When the water rushes against it one way it
opens the gate and passes on ; if it rushes back it shuts the
gate and thereby stops itself. So in the heart, the valves open
only in one direction, and the tul)es of the heart have valves
that allow the blood to flow in only one direction. Thus by
means of these automatic or self-closing little gates the course
of the heart's blood is controlled and the circulation is always
properly directed.

Now let us very briefly follow the course of the blood. It
comes from all parts of the body into th*e right auricle through
two veins, whose valves open only towards the heart. The
heart contracts and the blood flows into the right ventricle
through the opening, whose valve opens only towards that
ventricle. From the right ventricle it goes by an artery to the
lungs, where it gets a supply of fresh oxygen from the air and
where it gives up its load of carbonic acid gas to be breathed
out into the atmosphere. Thus purified it comes back by the
veins to the left auricle. Then it passes to the left ventricle.
From the left ventricle it is forced out of the heart through
the arteries and is carried to all parts of the body. These
arteries divide and sub-divide until they become a network of
fine tubes called the capillaries. These capillaries uniting
again form the veins which carry the blood back again to the
right auricle. Thus every beat of the heart sends fresh blood
out to all parts of the body, and the old blood comes back to
be purified before being sent out again through the arteries.
The veins are the tubes that carry the old blood to the heart ;
the arteries are the tubes that carry the fresh blood from the
heart. We see, therefore, why the cutting of an artery is much
more dangerous than the cutting of a vein. In cutting an
artery we open up the flow direct from the heart — the sluice-
gate is opened for the free flow of the blood.

With the stomach, and especially with the intestines, are

i66

AGRICULTURE.

connected a large number of capillaries. Into these flow the
dissolved portion of the blood. After passing through the liver

system the material is carried
in one of the veins to the heart
(the right auricle).

In Figure 80 we have a con-
densed and modified illustration
showing how the blood circulates
through the body. The arrows
show the direction of flow. The
black channels are the veins, and
the unshaded the arteries (ex-
cept Nos. ID and 12). i is
the left side of heart; 2, the right
side ; 3, the aorta from the left
ventricle ; 4, artery to abdomen ;
5, capillaries ; 6, vein from ab-
domen ; 7, artery to head ; 8, ca-
pillaries ; 9, vein from head ;
10, artery from right ventricle to
lungs; II, the lungs; 12, vein
from lungs to left auricle; 13, ar-
tery to intestines; 14, small in-
testine; 15, capillaries and veins
from intestines carrying away
digested food; 16, portal vein;
17, artery to liver; 18, liver;
19, vein from liver; 20, lacteals ;
21, duct leading to vein going to
the heart by which some ab-
sorbed material is taken into
circulation ; 22, artery to the
kidneys; 23, the kidneys; 24, vein

Fig. 80 -The circulation of the f^Q^-^ t^g kidneys,

bloud in the body. •'

DIGESTION AND USES OF FOOD. 167

Thus we have seen how the digested food gets into the
blood, and how the blood is carried through all parts of the
body. The next question is as to what is done with this
blood.

Uses of the Digested Food. — The animal must be kept
warm, and therefore some food is required as fuel. The oxy-
gen of the air comes in through the lungs and unites with the
material in the blood, or with material such as fat formed from
the blood. To keep warm, therefore, food and fresh air are
necessary. Now you will understand why brisk walking,
running, or working in fresh air, even in cold air, will cause
you to become warm, especially if you have been well fed. It
is like starting a fire with plenty of good dry fuel and opening
the draughts. Then there is bone to be built up in one
place, muscle in another, wool or hair in another. If the
animal is growing, food is necessary ; even if it is not growing
food is necessary, for the old parts are constantly wearing away
and new parts being formed. If the cow is giving milk, the
material of the milk must be formed out of the material in
the blood. If the horse is doing hard work there must be
material in the blood to replace the muscle that is being worn
away, and also to be used up to produce the force or energy
that we see resulting in work.

The Waste Material. — In the burning up of food to
produce warmth, in the using up of food to produce work, in
the working over of material to form flesh, muscle, fat, bone,
wool, or milk, there will, of course, be more or less waste or
refuse material. How is this refuse material got rid of by the
animal ? In three ways : by the lungs, by the skin, and by
the kidneys.

The Lungs. — Animals breathe in pure oxygen and breathe
out carbonic acid gas and moisture. They should therefore
be able to get pure air and not be compelled to breathe over
again the air that has already come from their lungs, for it

l63 AGRICULTURE.

contains some refuse of their bodies. If we shut up an animal
in a close room it will smother. The animal must have fresh
air. Proper ventilation is necessary for the good health of all
animals. Exposure to cold draughts, however, must be care-
fully avoided.

The Skin. — The small capillaries come out close to the
skin, which is filled with pores or tiny openings. We may say
that animals breathe through their skin, and through the pores
of the skin rid themselves of a large amount of used-up
or refuse matter. We help the animal, therefore, by keeping
its skin clean. When we curry or rub down a horse or a cow
we do for it what we do for ourselves in taking a bath. A
clean skin is necessary to the health of an animal. We should
keep in mind that every pore is the outlet of a little drain
whereby the refuse of an animal is carried out of its system.
If these little drains are choked up sickness may follow ; if
they are kept open the system is helped very much in its
cleansing process. The regular and proper currying and
brushing of a horse means more work from the horse ; the
currying and brushing down of a cow means more milk.
Cleanliness always pays. Science and practice are agreed upon
this point.

The Kidneys. — The blood in its circulation goes to all
the organs of the body, building them up and supplying ma-
terial for their various uses. All parts of the body are con-
stantly changing ; some quite rapidly, as the brains ; some
quite slowly, as the bones. The old portions that are being
replaced have to be removed. We have just above stated
that through the lungs and skin carbonic gas and water are
constantly being thrown off. But there are many other sub-
stances, such as the nitrogen compounds and the mineral com-
pounds, which cannot escape by way of the lungs and skin.
How are these got rid of? The kidneys, which in human
beings lie below and behind the stomach, near the back, are

DIGESTION AND USES OF FOOD. 169

the organs that do this work, freeing the blood from these
refuse compounds and passing them off in the Hquid excre-
ment or urine. This liquid excrement, then, is a solution of
material that comes from the blood, muscle, bone, etc., of the
body, and, therefore, we may conclude it will contain valuable
fertilizing material, more valuable as a rule than the solid ex-
crement. The liquid excrement consists of the dissolved
waste of the blood, muscle, bone, and other parts of the body ;
the solid excrement consists of the indigestible and undigested
portion of the food. None of the waste nitrogen or mineral
matter of the animal escapes from the body through the
lungs, but all passes off through the kidneys. Hence the
great importance of carefully saving, by litter or otherwise, all
the liquid excrement for use as a fertilizer. When we sell
grain, hay, straw, and roots, we take away from the soil of the
farm all the nitrogen and mineral matter which they contain,
we really sell part of the soil upon which these foods grew.
When we feed these to stock and sell the animals or their
products we sell but a small portion of these soil constituents ;
by far the larger portion is found in the solid and liquid ex-
crement. The economy of feeding stock upon the farm lies
then in the saving of all the excrement, especially the liquid,
and returning it to the soil upon which the plants originally
grew, and from which we wish to derive more food.

Conclusions. — The uses of food in the animal may now
be stated briefly as follows :

1. To produce heat to keep the body warm.

2. To produce force or energy to enable work to be done.

3. To replace the waste from all parts of the body.

4. To increase the body in bone, muscle, flesh and fat.

5. To produce milk, wool, etc.

Every animal must be kept warm. Every animal does some
work or uses up some energy even when standing still or lying
down ; all parts of the body are constantly wearing away and

1 7© AGRICULTURE.

being reformed. Therefore, first of all, food must be given
for these three purposes before any increase in fat or flesh
takes place, before any hard work is done, or before products
such as milk are obtained. It is only from the excess of food
that the fourth and fifth uses can be supplied. When we
wish an animal to work hard, to increase in flesh and fat, or to
produce milk we must feed liberally. Poor feeding, there-
fore, will give us no return at all beyond keeping the animal
alive, but liberal feeding must be done where we wish to get
some return.

Care of Animals. — If we leave animals out exposed to
rough weather we shall have to increase the food to supply
heat; if animals are compelled to work hard to get their food
or are restless and excited, they must use up more food. The
proper housing and protection of animals will save food, and
the keeping of them in quietness and comfort will also cause
a saving. Thus we see that good care means a saving of food
for the first two requirements mentioned before, and is quite
as important as proper feeding ; in fact good care is one of the
most important parts of good economical feeding. Good
feeding implies the selection of the foods suitable for the
wants of the different classes of animals, the preparing of the
food in suitable and attractive forms, and the proper care of
the animals during and after feeding.

BEES.

171

PART VI.

CHAPTER XXXVI.

BEES.

Bees. — We can carefully observe a bee on a thistle top or a
roadside flower. It will not harm us if we do not disturb it.
There are two pairs of wings very thin, like a membrane, hence
the bees are said to belong to the order of hyinenoptera. When
not flying, these wings fold in closely together; when flying,
they spread out and the inner pair hook or hinge on the outer
pair, so that the bee is able to carry a heavy load. Perhaps
we can see the long tongue which it can thrust away down into
the cup of the flower to take up the juice or nectar. This
little tongue can be twisted about as
an elephant twists its trunk, and it has
a sort of brush on the end with which
the nectar is swept up. The nectar or
sweet juice of the blossom is carried
up into the mouth and from there it
passes into a liltle sack called the
honey-bag. When its honey-bag is
full it goes home to store away this
honey. If we could see its legs
under a magnifying glass we would notice that they are hairy
and have some hollows along the side. What are these for?
We have before learned that the blossoms of flowers produce
pollen. Some of this pollen the bee needs for food, and the
pollen is carried home in the hollows of its hind legs. Some

Fis;. 81. — A bee gathering
nectar from a blossom.

172

AGRICULTURE.

of the pollen will cling to other parts of the bee, and so, when
it goes from one flower to another, it frequently carries this
pollen to blossoms that have none of their own or that cannot
use what they do have. The bees (and other insects also) in
this way help to make plants fruitful, to fertilize them as we say.
But there is another part of the bee that we shall find out be^
fore we desire to do so if we anger or disturb it, namely, the
sting. It is found in the rear end of the abdomen, and con-
sists of two long sharp lances. It can be pushed into one's
hand but cannot easily be drawn out. When the bee cuts into the
flesh it throws into the cut a drop of poison through the lances
with which it pierces. It leaves the sting in our flesh,
causes us pain because of the poison, and itself soon dies. We
may then conclude that bees will not readily sting, but do so
simply when disturbed and as a last resort in self-defence.

The Hive. — We go to the hive and there we find perhaps
20,000 of these honey gatherers, or "workers" as they are
called. Inside, if we can look through a glass side, we see one
larger bee surrounded by a dozen or so of the others. This is

Fig. £2. Worker. Queen. Drone.

the Queen or mother bee, whose duty it is to lay eggs. There
is only one Queen. After once settling down as the mother
of the hive she never goes out except when "swarming,''
but day after day lays eggs, as many as 2,000 in a single
day. Then we observe some others that do no work, so far as
we can see, they are the " drones." The family or swarm then
will consist of one Queen bee, 20,000 or more workers, and

BEES. 173

500 to 1,000 drones. The Queen is the female or mother that
lays the eggs, the workers are females that gather the nectar
and do the work, and the drones are the males.

The Comb. — Next we observe the comb. It is made up (if
hundreds of cells in which the honey is being packed, and in
which young bees are being hatched. In shape they are six-
sided. Why six-sided? If you draw a lot of circles touching
one another there will be some vacant spaces between. If you
draw S(|uares or triangles ytni can fit them closely together, but
there will be sharp corners to fill in. Now if you draw a lot of
regular six-sided figures you can fit them all together, there
will be no vacant spaces, and no sharp corners. Cells of that
shape will be strongly built. In fact you cannot improve on
the shape of the cell which the bee makes. The comb is
made up of wax, bees-wax we call it. The bees make this out
of honey, but it takes some time, and therefore bee-keepers
help the bees in their work by starting it for them. They
make the beginnings or foundations of the combs for the bees.
These foundations are put in, and when completed by the
bees can be easily taken out separately. This is one reason
why we get much more honey from our hives than we woukl
from the wild hives of the bees where they have to be con-
stantly making the whole cells for themselves.

Some of the cells are used for storing honey and pollen, and
some are used by the Queen bee for hatching out the young bees.
The egg is laid in the cell by the Queen. Then the workers place
beside it some jelly made up of honey and pollen to be used
as food. In about three days the egg hatches and a little
larva appears. This feeds and grows, and in about six days
fills up the cell. Then the bees put a cover or lid of wax
thread on the cell, the larva goes into the second or pupa
stage (see page iio) that we have noticed in connection with
other insects, and in about twelve or fourteen days the perfect
bee appears and comes out of the cell, a worker bee. The

174 AGRICULTURE.

cells in which the drone bees are hatched are a little larger
and the time to form is a few days longer. When a queen
bee is required a different process is needed. Perhaps the old
Queen has died or is going away with a swarm to form a new
home. A larger cell than either of the others is made, the
egg is laid, and a special kind of food called " royal jelly " is
placed within. In less time than before the young Queen bee
appears. Thus it takes about i6 days for the Queen to be
produced, 21 for a worker, and 24 for a drone. There are
many things in regard to the production of these three classes
of bees that cannot be explained.

Honey. — The bees can gather honey only while the flowers
are in bloom, therefore they work rapidly and store up large
quantities for winter food. In an ordinary hive a colony of
bees will put away from 50 to loo lbs. The bee-keeper at
the end of the season takes out part of this for his own use,
leaving enough for the use of the bees until the next flowering
season comes around. But what is the honey ? The bee
takes the nectar or juice out of the flower ; in its honey-bag
some slight change probably takes place, and in the cell, before
buing capped over, more change occurs. But just how nectar
becomes honey as we know it, cannot be fully explained.

Bees gather honey from many different plants that blossom
at different times of the year, and the honey varies in quality
according to its source ; thus we have clover honey, thistle
honey, basswood honey, buckwheat honey, golden-rod honey,
etc. In fruit blossoming we find the bees in large numbers in
the orchard, and, as before stated, spraying with poisons, such
as Paris green, should be discontinued while the trees are
in full bloom.

Kinds of Bees. — Just as we have common cattle and also
pure-bred that have been improved by care, so we have different
kinds or varieties of bees. They are generally named accord-
ing to the country whence they come, as English, Italian,

BEES. 17 c;

Syrian, Cyprian, etc. These differ just as much as Shorthorns,
Jerseys and Ayrshires. Some are quiet, others are very ill-
tempered. In addition to our honey bees there are other
kinds of bees, such as the humble-bee, whose tongue is long
enough to get into the nectar of the red clover. We have
here given only a very few of the simplest facts in regard to
bees. There is no part of nature that will be found more
interesting or more profitable than the study of the busy bees.
SwARMiNC. — In the fall of the year the wild bees complete
their store of honey, packed away usually in a hollow tree.
As the weather grows colder the bees go out less and less.
Winter sets in and we find the bees all bunched together,
clinging to one another in a half-asleep mass, a drowsy bunch
that can be handled without any fear of stinging. On bright,
warm days some of the bees may venture out for a while. In
this dormant condition they eat but little. Spring comes on
and the early flowers appear. The hive again becomes active
and the hatching of the young brood begins. The old
queen, with a part of the bees, starts off to seek a new
home, leaving the old home for the new queen and her
followers. Swarming takes place, the bees fly away in a cloud
and settle in a tree probably. The bee-keeper is on the watch,
he follows them and shakes them down into his basket, and
places them in an empty hive, where they soon take up their
regular work of storing honey.

1 76 AGRICULTURE.

CHAPTER XXXVII.

BIRDS.

" And the birds sang round him, o'er him
' Do not shoot us, Hiawatha !'
Sang the Opechee, the Robin,
San^ the Bhiebird, the Owaissa,
' Do not shoot us, Hiawatha ! ' " — Longfellow.

Migrations of Birds. — As winter goes and the warm spring
begins, the buds show Hfe and the grass shoots up. Then we
look for the return of the birds. They come back to us at first
two by two, or in small flocks. Sometimes we see great flocks
flying past, high over head, steering straight north for the
regions where they may find food and nesting places. They
went far south to escape the winter's snow and cold, and they
come back to us to build their nests and rear their young. A
few of the fliers may stay with us all winter long if they find
their natural shelter, but most of them fly south in the fall and
return in the spring. We look for their coming as we look for
the spring, and we are never disappointed, though year by year
we see many changes. Some birds are missed and new kinds
are welcomed. The bluebirds, for instance, may disappear
for a few years. We think they have been driven out or de-
stroyed. If our eyes and ears are trained, however, we may
see and hear them passing to new fields further north, flock
after flock of thousands passing by overhead in the early
morning.

Uses of Birds. — Sometimes we think they do more harm
than good, and we are apt to call them a nuisance. But how
we would miss them! If their singing and chattering were
completely silenced, we would soon wish for their return; and

BIRDS. 177

we would long for a sight of them in their varied form and
coloring, even if thuy did not sing for us. Many of the wild
birds, the game birds, of course, supply food for man, and their
usefulness no one questions. But, apart from their singing and
their beauty of form and color, of what use are the other birds
— the robins, the bluebirds, the yellow-birds, the blackbirds,
the woodpeckers, the blue jays, the meadow larks and the very
many other birds of our gardens and fields? That depends on
what they feed upon.

Food of Birds. — Many birds are fond of fruit and will take
some of the cherries and l)erries of the garden, others will help
themselves in the grain field. This, however, does not prove
that they are a nuisance and should be destroyed. As a rule
the birds feed upon the food which is most readily got — weed
seeds, fruits, or insects. If fruit is plentiful they will take some
fruit, but if insects are about they will greedily pick them up
and in quantities that will astonish us. Birds that feed upon
insects are called "insectivorous." Most of our common birds
are more or less insectivorous, and while they do some injury
by robbing the fruit trees, berry-bushes and grain fields, they
do far more good by devouring great quantities of insects that
if allowed to live would inflict most serious injury. The (jiily
way that this can be proven by you is by carefully watching
the birds as they go about through the garden, or as they carry
food to their nestlings. On examining the stomachs of many
birds that ar ■ supposed to be the most destructive to fruit,
large quantities of destructive insects have been found. If the
birds do take some fruit it must be rememt^ered that as a rule
they pay well for all they take. It may be set down as a safe
rule that most of our birds do more good than harm, and our
aim should be to encourage them, and not to destroy them.
It has been estimated that one bird will devour or destroy
about 2,400 insects in a year. Even the English sparrow,
blackbird, and crow are kncnvn to destroy large numbers of

178 AGRICULTURE.

insects. Birds of prey, such as the hawks and owls, destroy
large numbers of field mice and other vermin that are very
injurious to growing crops and stored grain.

Protection of Birds. — There are some birds that appear
to be very destructive. Some hawks are much dreaded because
they kill young chickens ; the crow, blackbirds, or bronze grakles,
are the bitter enemies of many of our common birds, and crows
have few friends because they pull up the sprouting corn.
They take the corn at that time because it is softened in the
soil and can then be eaten by them. Even crows, however,
feed largely on insects when insects are to be got. The Eng-
lish sparrows, also, have made themselves very much of a
nuisance because they nest about the houses and barns and
steal oats from the field. Even these three kinds of birds
make up for some of their badness by destroying insects. One
of the most objectionable birds is the cow bird or cow black-
bird, which is a parasite, that is it lays its eggs in the nests of
birds smaller than itself The true owners of the nest
are pushed out by the intruder when hatched. What
we need to learn, however, is that we should protect most
of the birds rather than destroy them. Some try to en-
courage the birds to nest by setting up small houses, placing
empty boxes and cans in the trees, hanging pieces of twine and
hair upon the fences and limbs The general rule that we
should follow is — leave the birds alone, do not molest or dis-
turb them, keep away from their nests. They will soon learn
that they can come and go in safety and build their nests and
rear their young broods without fear, and year by year they
will return to their old nesting-places and will repay us for
their assurance of safety. The birds are the farmers' friends,
but they must be treated as friends.

How many birds can you nam- and describe?

What biras frequent the fields, and what birds are found along the
streams and small Lkes ?

BIRDS. 179

Make a list of all the birds of your locality under these heads : — Thoee
that make their nest in the grass ; thos ; that nest about the house and
barn; those that nest in the orchard trees; those that nest in the foliage of
forest trees; those thai seek a hollow in the tree.

What birds of your locality rear two broods in one season ?

Which are the Vjest singers of your birds?

What is t!ie difference between a bluebird and a bluejay ? Between a
blackbird and a crow blackbird? Between a wren and a greybird ?
Between a cedar bird and a grosbeak ? Between a barn swallow and a
field sparrow ? Between a robin and a Baltimore oriole ?

"It is well known that of the various groups of birds the majority live
upon insects. Among the insect eaters are the fly catchers, warblers,
woodpeckers, nuthatches, orioles, goat suckers, hummingbirds, tanagers,
waxwings, gnatcalchers, kinglets, vireos, thrushes, wrens, titmice, cuckoos,
swallows, shrikes, thrashers, creepers and bluebirds.

"It is not generally known, however, that the so-called seed-eaters
feed their young largely upon insects, and eat a great many themselves;
nor is it realized how much good they do by eating weed seeds. Professor
F. E. L. Beal has calculated that the little tree sparrow in Iowa alone
destroys 1,720,000 lbs. of noxious weed seeds every year. Moreover, in
summer seed-eaters eat blueberries, huckleberries, strawberries and rasp-
berries, and distribute their seeds unha med over thousands of acres which
would not otherwise support such growth.

"After the examination of about forty birds, the only one actually
sentenced to death is the English sparrow. Of all the accused hawks
only three have been found guilty of "the charges made against them— the
goshawk. Cooper's, and the sharp shinned —while the rest are numbered
among the best friends of the fruit grower and farmer. Of the wood-
peckers, the sap-sucker and redhead may be beneficial or injurious,
according to circumstances, but the rest of the family are highly bencfici.d.
To most of the remaining birds tried the evidence is decidedly credit il le.
The crow, crow bbckbird and cedir 1 ird are acquitted, as doing more
good than h .rm; and it is proved that agriculturists owe especial protection
and friendship to the phcebe, kingbird, catbird, swallow, brown thrasher,
rose-breasted grosbeak, house wren, vireos, cuckoo, oriole, shore lark,
loggerhead shrike and meadow lark."

Florence A. Merria.m, of Washington, D.C.

l8o AGRICULTURE.

"Within certain limits, birds feed upon the kind of food that is most
accessible. Thus, as a rule, insectivorous birds eat the insects that are
most easily obtained, provided they do not have some peculiarly disagree-
able property. It is not probable that a bird hal)itually passes by one
kind of insect to look for another which is more appetizing, and there
seems little evidence in support of the theory that the selection of food is
restricted to any particular species of insect, for it is evilent that a bird
eats those which, by its own method of seeking, are most easily obtained.
Thus, a ground-feeding bird eats those it finds among the dead leaves and
grass; a fly cUcher, watching for its prey from some vantage point,
captures entirely different kinds; and the woodpecker and warbler, in the
tree tops, select still others. It is thus apparent that a bird's diet is
likely to be quite varied, and to differ at different seasons of the year.

" The practical value of birds in controlling insect pests should be
more generally recognized. It may be an easy mattter to exterminate the
birds in an orchard or grain field, but it is an extremely difficult one to
control the insect pests. It is certain, too, that the value of our native
sparrows as weed-de?troyers is not appreciated. Weed seeds form an
important item of the winter food of these birds, and it is impossible to
estimate the immense numSers of noxious weeds which are thus annually
destroyed.

" If birds are protected and encouraged to nest about the farm and
garden th y will do their share in destroying noxio is insects and weeds,
and a few hours spent in putting up boxes for bluebirds, martins and
wrens will prove a good investment. Birds are protected by law in many
states, Ijut it remains for the agriculturists to see that the laws are faithfully
observed."

Tkof. F. E. L. Beat., B.S.,

Asst. Ornithologist, Dept of Agriculture,

Washington, D.C.

Forestry. i8i

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

FORESTRY.

The Primeval Forest. — What was the appearance of
North America four hundred years ago, wlien it was first
discovered by Columbus and by Cabot ? Let us turn to a map
of the continent. Along the west coast we have the great
mountain ranges, beginning at Alaska and continuing south
through Mexico. These were covered with thick forests, in
some places the trees being of enormous size. A large portion
of this great primeval forest still remains untouched, especially
in British Columbia. Then notice the mountain ranges on
the eastern side. As they cross into Canada they become
lower, branching into two sections, the one going north-east
through Labrador and the other north-west through Ontario or
off towards Alaska. In between these two branches lies
Hudson's Bay. This whole eastern section was covered with
a dense forest extending from Florida to the bleak lands of
Labrador and away off north-west towards Alaska and the
barren lands. It covered all of the Eastern States, the eastern
provinces of Canada, all of Quebec and Ontario, and a part of
the North-west Territories. Down through the central part of
the continent stretched the prairies, treeless except on the hills
here and there or along the rivers.

Much of this original eastern forest has been cut away by
settlers or killed by forest fires, but some still remains
in the mountainous parts of the Eastern States and in the
northern parts of Maine, New Brunswick, Quebec, and Ontario.

l82 AGRICULTURE.

Range of Forest Trees.— This great forest of eastern
North America was composed of many varieties of trees, each
variety growing where it thrived best. In some places they
were mixed, as though scattered by mere chance ; usually,
however, the different kinds were confined to certain districts
where the conditions were favorable. Thus we here and there
come upon a white pine belt ; in one place we find a forest of
maples, in another oaks or elms. As climate and soil are the
two things that largely control or determine forest growth, we
may expect to find the various kinds of trees confined to
certain limits. If we trace across the country a line marking
the places up to which each kind of tree is found growing,
but beyond which it will not grow in any very large numbers,
we shall thereby get lines which mark what are known as the
" northern limits " of these trees. These lines will not run
east and west, nor will they be parallel in all places. The
Atlantic and Pacific oceans and the inland lakes and Hudson's
Bay have the effect of making them very irregular.

The northern limits of the most common trees will be found
to be about as follows:— Chestnut, black walnut, hickory,
butternut, red cedar, white ash, beech, and basswood in
southern Ontario ; somewhat further north, hemlock, red oak,
sugar maple, yellow birch, red pine, and white pine ; still
further north, white elm, black ash, balsam, poplar, and spruce.

It must be noted that this order is not always followed, as
both soil and climate have their influence, and the effect of
fire has been to change the nature of the forests. As a rule
evergreens will grow in colder climate than the trees that shed
their leaves (deciduous), and of the latter the nut-bearing
varieties are usually found in the milder climate.

An interesting study is to find out the different trees growing
in a locality, and to determine the nature of the soil in which
they thrive; which, for instance, grow in low, damp places,
and which in dry, gravelly soil, or on rocky hills.

FORESTRY. 1 83

Destruction of the Forest. — What has destroyed this
great forest ? First of all, the settler had to clear the soil for
his roads and for his fields of grain and of pasture. In early
days of settlement two of the principal products of the farm
were the logs and timber from the body of the trees and the
ashes made from burning the top branches and small cuttings.
To-day the cutting of lumber is removing year by year large
quantities of trees, but the natural growth of young trees is
more than sufficient to make up for this cutting, if properly
carried on. The great agent of destruction to-day is fire.
One forest fire will sweep away or destroy in a few weeks in
summer or autumn far more than all the lumbermen remove.
The fire burns rapidly because of the inflammable material,
such as resin, in the evergreens. At the same time it destroys
the young sprouting seedlings and the seeds also, which would
otherwise soon start a new forest that in twenty- five or forty
years would replace the old forest.

Benefits of Forests. — Of what use are the forests? In
the first place, they are a great protection against cold winds,
modifying the climate as great wind-breaks. They also hold
back the snows of winter, preventing spring freshets. When
the country is laid bare of its trees, the creeks and streams are
full in early spring and dry in midsummer.

Although the trees give off enormous quantities of water
through their leaves, yet they hold back or store up in the
loose leaf mold larger amounts of water. The trees, therefore,
hold back the snow, and later hold back the water, and thereby
save the creeks from becoming dry. They also save the hills
from being washed bare. The loss of soil washings by the
creeks in spring is heavy. Every spring, therefore, should be
shaded by trees at its source, and every stream, no matter how
small, should be protected, not alone at its source in the high
lands, but also along its course, by at least a fringe of trees.

184 AGRICULTURE.

In the next place, the forests are the home of birds and
game, which are a source of supply of food and furs.

Trees and forests also add to the fine appearance of a
country, whether found along the streams and rivers or on the
hill tops. Trees for all hilly country is a good rule to follow.
It is there that the streams take their rise. Land there is of
less value for grain crops. When we lay bare the hills we cut
down the wind-breaks, we dry up the springs and streams, and
we leave a poor soil, to be made poorer by the washing of the
rains and the blowing of the winds. We should remember
that the forest is a crop of the farm, and its nature should be
considered as carefully as that of any other crop of the farm.

The Forest as a Producer of Crops. — If the trees are
a crop, how should that crop be harvested? We cut down all
of a wheat crop at one time. If we are growing a crop of corn
for green ears we do not pick all at once, but go over the field
again and again, taking the ears that are full-grown and leaving
the small ears to grow larger. If we were to cut down a whole
forest or a wood, as we do a crop of wheat, we would have to
wait many years for a new crop. But if we take out each year
only the largest trees, and leave the others standing until they
grow to full-size, we can harvest a crop of trees every year, and at
the same time assist the smaller trees to grow more rapidly.
The cutting down of trees, large and small alike, is wasteful;
the proper cutting of trees, leaving the young forest to make
growth, is alone worthy of the name of forestry.

There is only one way in which to become acquainted with
trees, and that is by studying the trees themselves as they are
growing. In studying a tree the following points are to be
noticed. First, as to whether it is an evergreen or whether it
sheds its leaves (that is, deciduous) ; second, the general shape
of the tree, whether it grows tall or spreads out, how it
branches ; third, the form of its leaves ; fourth, the nature of
its bark ; and, fifth, the nature and form of its seeds or nuts.

FORESTRY. 1 85

Contrast the cedar and the maple ; contrast the branching
of the elm and of the beech ; contrast the leaves of the maple,
of the oak, and of the ash ; contrast the bark of the hickory
and of the birch ; contrast the seeds of the pine and of the
basswood.

The Forest Tree Nursery. — Every farm should, and
every school might, have a small nursery, a plot fenced off so
that cattle and pigs cannot get into it, and which should be as
well tended as a flower garden. Here are the instructions of a
forester. Sir Henri Joly, of Quebec : — " With a little attention,
it is easy to tell when the seeds are ripe. Thus, toward the
end of June and early in July the seeds of the elm and those
of the plane are ripe; if you sow them at once, they will shoot
up nearly a foot that same summer. The seeds of the maple,
ash, oak, wild cherry, and walnut mature in the autumn ; it is
better to sow them immediately than to keep them in the house
all winter. Sow, let us say, maple seeds half an inch deep,
and others, in proportion to their size, two or three inches for
nuts. Sow thickly, and after the first year you can thin them
by transplanting some. After four or five years you can plant
your young trees where they are to remain. You should
select cloudy or rainy weather in the spring.

" In many cases you can even spare yourself the trouble of
sowing. When the ground is favorable in July or August,
along the ditches, the woods, the fences, in the moss, in damp
places, in the neighborhood of fhe elms and the planes, you
will find hundreds of little shoots which have sprung from the
seeds fallen from the trees ; plant them in your nursery.

"The seed of the pine is very difficult to gather. Early in
the spring, in the pastures near the pines, you can pull up,
when the soil is damp, as many little trees as you will wish to
plant; for this kind it will be better to take the precaution to
shelter them from the sun until they have taken root."

l86 AGRICULTURE.

From this nursery you can set out a row of maples or elms
along the main road and the lane, taking care to keep them
well apart, so that they will branch out and not shade the road
too much ; you can also plant a wind-break for the house and
the garden ; you can also plant the hilly ground and protect
all springs and water courses ; you can also set out a small
clump in a corner of the pasture, being careful to protect it
from the cattle till well grown ; you can also set out a few trees
near the house, but not too near. There will be no difficulty
in finding a place for every tree, and, if properly cared for,
every tree thus set out will add to the value of the farm or the
home.

1. How many diflferent kinds of maple, of oak, of birch, of cedar, of
elm, of ash and of pine are found in your neighborhood?

2. What is pulp? What trees are used for producing pulp?

3. Which is more valuable, a pine from the open or one from a pine
forest ? W^hy ?

4. Why will a hollow tree live and a girdled tree die ?

5. What causes the rings in a tree, and the grain in a board ? How can
you tell a tree's age ?

6. How is maple syrup made ? When ? Do any other trees give
similar products ?

7. What causes a knot in a pine board and a burl in an oak tree ?

8. What is the effect on forest growth of allowing cattle to browse and
range through the wood lot.

9. What are the principal uses in manufacture of maple, ash, elm,
birch, oak, hickory, basswood, black walnut, cedar, hemlock, spruce, and
white pine ?

10. Explain the difference between log, timber, and lumber ; board,
plank, and deal ; straight-cut and quarter-cut ; selected, mill-run, and
culls. How is lumber measured ?

ROADS. 187

CHAPTER XXXIX.

ROADS.

" A good road is one that is good in bad weather."

Early Roads. — The Indians made their journeys by canoe
routes and by trails. The former followed the winding streams
and lakes, shortened in places by portages or "carries." The
latter were narrow footpaths that wound in and out, up and
down, following the easiest natural route. There was little or
no attempt at making or improving the road or path. Large
stones and fallen trees were avoided, not removed, and a good
surface to the path was got only by long use, not by any
attempt at direct improvement. The condition of the roads
is a fair test of civilization —the savages do not make roads.

When the settlers first came into the forest to make their
homes, the first thing required was a road by which to get in to
and on to the lot. This road was made as quickly and as
cheaply as possible. The trees were cleared away, making the
"road allowance," some of the stumps were removed, and the
road was thus used in its first stage. It was found, however,
that such a road was impassable and useless in the spring and
fall or during heavy rains, — it needed drainage. Then followed
the next improvement, namely, the cutting of a ditch on each
side, the dirt from which was thrown upon the road, thereby
raising the centre a little above the sides. This second stage
was a great improvement ; the water drained off into the
side ditches, and the roadway was kept fairly dry. The wheels
of carts and the feet of horses and of oxen do not cut into the
dry earth so easily as into the mud. Such a road as this we
call a dirt or earth road. Many are still found, and they are

105 AGRICULTURE.

the only kind of road possible in certain places, but in order
to be useful they must be kept well rounded up and well
drained on the sides. The greatest enemy of all roads is water,
whether it is water in the material of the road or on the surface
of the road. The frost can do no damage unless there is water
in the road. You know that water expands when it freezes, so
that when a wet road freezes it heaves, and becomes broken
up. This, then, is the first principle of road-making — keep it
dry by open drains on the side, or by covered tile drains on
the side, or by tile drains below the road.

The next principle in road-making is to get a fairly hard
surface. In early days the settlers sometimes cut down small
trees, and, after trimming them, laid them side by side across
the dirt road. By this means there was made a surface that
was hard but a little rough. Such a road, from its ribbed
nature, was called a "corduroy" road. Later on, when saw-
mills became common, sawn-planks were sometimes laid down,
forming a plank road. The object in both cases was to
get a hard, level surface. A horse can pull but a light load
through loose sand or deep miry mud ; he can draw much
more on a hard, level road ; he can draw still more on a level
steel track. Why is this so ?

Gravel RoADS.^Another way to harden the surface is to
put hard, stony material upon it. First of all, good gravel
may be used, and a coating of it laid along the roadway. You
will at once ask as to whether loose gravel will not be difficult
to drive through. So it is. Therefore we must get the gravel
well packed together, and so a roller is used. After first
rolling the dirt roadway, a layer of gravel is put on, and the
heavy roller is again driven back and forth, every time crush-
ing the gravel down a little, and packing it together a little
more closely. This should be done scores of times if neces-
sary. The number of times will, of course, depend upon the
weight of the roller; a heavy 20-ton steam roller will not need

ROADS.

to be passed over the gravel as often as a 6-ton roller drawn
by two teams of horses. Unless the gravel is rolled in this
way, it remains loose and soft when the fall rains come on,
the wheels of wagons cut through it, and mix it with the mud
beneath ; and so the gravel is wasted and the road is not nearly
so good as it should be. Then more gravel is put on and
rolled again, and a nicely rounded or crowned surface is made
which will shed the rain-water into the side ditches, and
which is so hard and compact on the surface that the wheels
will not cut through.

But big open ditches on the side are unsightly ; they get
choked up with weeds, and they are frequently dangerous to
horses and travellers. They should be kept clean, of course,
so that the water will not stand in them. But the better plan
is to put down a covered tile drain on each side of the road,
and leave only a shallow ditch above it. The grass will grow
over this, and a neat roadside will result.

Fig. 83. — A gravel road properly crowned, with side ditches and tile drains.

In order to get a strong, tough surface, the gravel must be
well packed together, that is, it must "bind." If we mix
together in the road coarse gravel and fine hard stony material
and soft fine dirt the road will soon become uneven. It is
necessary, therefore, to have the gravel well screened ; then
the coarser part should be spread on the roadway and well
rolled, and the finer gravel spread upon it to fonm the surface.
All soft material, such as sods and loose dirt, should be kept

19° AGRICULTURE.

out of the gravel ; in short, the gravel should be as clean as
possible; it should be screened, graded, and put on in layers,
and should be well rolled.

Stone Roads. —As a rule, gravel is more or less rounded,
and therefore does not at first bind well. You know that a
road could not be well made out of marbles. To bind well
there must be sharp corners and rough sides on the pieces.
So we find that broken stone will make a stronger and more
durable road than will gravel. But we must remember the
points already referred to, namely, the road must first of all be
thoroughly drained, both underneath and on the sides ; the
stone must be put down in courses, the largest below and the
smallest on the surface, and every course must be thoroughly

Fig. 84. — This is the kind of road that is made by placing loose stones
on a dirt road without properly preparing the foundation— the
stones sink through the mud beneath.

rolled as it is laid. It is a mistake to leave the rolling until
the road is all filled in. The dirt sub-soil should first be well
rolled. In using broken stone care should be used in choos-
ing a tough rock ; if the rock is soft it will soon be ground
into dust. Tough limestone and the hard rock called trap
are the best. Sandstone and most kinds of granite are too
easily crumbled for use on roads for heavy travel.

Now, as to the mode of building or laying a stone road.
First of all, we may build the road of broken stones, none of
which are over three inches in diameter, laying the stone in
courses, and well packing it by rolling. In this way we make

ROADS.

what is called a macadani road. It is so named after a Scottish
engineer, John L. Macadam, who lived from 1756 to 183O,
and who originated this method of making roads.

Fig. 85. — A Macadam road.

We may, however, begin the road by laying a foundation of
flat stones from six to eight inches in thickness, then a layer
of coarsely broken stone, another layer or course of more finely
broken stone, and a thin coat of fine gravel or screenings on
the surface — all well compacted by a heavy roller. This kind
of road is called a Telford road, from the inventor, Thomas
Telford, a Scottish engineer, who lived from 1757 to 1834.

Fig. 86. — A Telford road.

The legal width of a country road allowance is 66 feet. The
usual travel on such a road does not require more than 24
feet of this to be graded and crowned. In the centre of this
graded portion the metalling (that is, the broken stone or
gravel) is placed, having a width of 6 or 8 feet and a depth of
9 to 12 inches, according to the number and weight of the
vehicles which will pass over the road. As the country
becomes more thickly populated, and the number of vehicles

192 AGRICULTURE.

using the road increases, it will be found necessary to make
the metalled portion wider than 24 feet.

Notes : —

Broad tires should be used on heavy waggons and carts, as
wheels with wide tires will not sink so readily in sand and dirt
as wheels with narrow tires —in fact the wide-tired wheels have
the same good effects as a roller on the surface of the road.

The greatest enemy to good roads is water in the roadbed
and water on the surface. Notice how a small hole on the sur-
face of a road becomes larger soon after a rain.

The best time to mend a road is just as soon as it needs
mending. "A stitch in time saves nine."

The road surface should be nicely crowned, so as to shed
the water to the side ditches ^ the side ditches should be kept
clean and uniform, so that Che water will run away and not
stand in them; the road i:ides should be level and sloping
towards the ditches, and should be covered with sod, all weeds,
stumps and shrubs being cut out.

The fences along the road should be kept neat and trim. If
trees are planted along the roadside they should be far enough
apart to allow the sunlight to keep the road dry.

As a rule the roads are a sure index of the intelligence,
enterprise, and prosperity of a farming community. Poor,
cheap roads are a source of great expense to farmers. Good
roads, well-kept, will enable the farmer to draw heavier loads
in a shorter time, cause less wear and tear on vehicles, horses
and harness, add much to the pleasure and satisfaction of living
in the country, and increase the value of farm property.

A good road brings a farmer nearer to his neighbors, nearer
to market, nearer to school, and nearer to church.

THE COUNTRY HOME. 1 93

CHAPTER XL,

THE COUNTRY HOME.

A Fine Country Home. — In the older countries of Europe
most families of even moderate wealth endeavor to have two
homes or residences, a city or town house and a country
house. The greater pleasure, the more lasting recollections,
are usually associated with the latter. When we clearly under-
stand the nature and the surroundings of the rural homes, the
country seats, of England, Scotland and Ireland, we do not
wonder at the preference. With increased wealth, in the future
a similar condition of affairs may, perhaps, result in this
country, but the building up of pleasant, attractive country
homes in this land need not be put off until the day of
increased wealth shall make such possible to a few. Far better
will it be for this country if every farmer's home can be made
attractive and comfortable. Many men of the towns and
cities, wearied and perplexed with the driving cares and the
never-ending anxieties of their busy life, look forward longingly
to a time when they can return to the country, for a part of the
year at least, to enjoy the quiet, the comfort, and the health-
fulness of a country home, even though it may be a very
humble home. The young people of to-day will ere long be
making homes for themselves ; in fact, even now they can do
something towards making their homes more attractive, hence
it is not out of place to make a brief study of what the ideal
country home should be. Home life in the country, as in the
town, is the most important factor in building up character. A
nation's life is largely the combined home life of all the families
that make up the nation.

194 AGRICULTURE.

The House. — The house depends for its attractiveness not
upon what it is made of — stone, brick, wood, logs — but upon
its form, its situation and its surroundings. In deciding
upon the outHne of a house both plainness and too much
variation and decoration should be avoided. It should, if
possible, face towards the south, to see the first of spring and
the last of autumn ; it should be near enough to the road to
bring passing vehicles and traffic within range, and yet not
right on or against the road. If possible, from the front there
should be a pleasant outlook or landscape. It should stand
on rising ground, so that there will be perfect drainage away
from it, and no possibility of any drainage towards it.

Having selected a good site, we begin with the house, and,
of course, start with the cellar. This should extend under the
whole house, otherwise some of the rooms may be damp at
times. The cellar should be deep enough so that one can
walk about in all parts of it erect ; it should have a concrete
floor, and a well-laid drain from it to keep it dry. Have
windows on all sides, so that the whole cellar can be kept well
aired. If it can be arranged, have a root-cellar apart from the
house, say in one corner of the garden. All this means a little
extra expense, but damp, musty cellars and decaying roots
result in sickness, sometimes in death, and the cost of a good
cellar will be money well invested.

The arrangement of the rooms in the house is a matter
largely of choice. There should be a large kitchen, a pantry,
a dining-room, and a parlor on the ground floor. There
should be also a reading-room or library or study, in which
will be found the best agricultural papers, and at least a small
collection of the best agricultural books and reports. Two
other things should be provided for, namely, one large bow
window for house-plants and a grate for a log fire. The sleep-
ing rooms may be on the second floor, and, in addition, there
should be a store-room and a bath-room.

THE COUNTRY HOME. 1 95

So much for the inside. On the outside there should be a
wide verandah with comfortable chairs. This will be found to
be the summer living room. It should run the length of at
least one side of the house, and, if the style of the house
allow and the outlook be favorable, it should run around on a
second side. Both sides will be used in different kinds of
weather. Around the supports of the verandah there can be
twined a climbing plant, Virginia creeper or ivy or honey-
suckle or clematis or climbing rose.

The Surroundings of the House. — Two great essentials
to health are pure air and sunlight ; therefore, have plenty of
windows, and keep all trees far enough away so that the
windows will not be darkened. You wish a fine outlook from
your verandah, therefore do not plant trees to hide the view.
You should, or may have, a few trees along the main road and
on either side of the winding driveway from the entrance-gate,
but keep the front well open, so as to let in the fresh air and
the sunlight, and so as to allow you to see out and away over
the country. In the rear have a clump of spruce, to act as a
wind-break against the cold north and north-west winds. On
the side you may have a neatly-trimmed hedge of cedar, and
here and there you may have a native shrub, but between your
house and the road have a sloping lawn of green grass, clear
of weeds, and well-trimmed. If the lawn is large enough you
might have one or two shapely maples, but do not crowd out
the grass or obstruct the view. And the flowers? On the
side rather than in front, but choice and taste will settle where
they are to go. Perhaps you can make a simple plan or sketch
of a home such as we have briefly outlined. You will find
that you will have to alter it to suit the general situation and
lay-out of your farm, but, keeping in mind these simple
principles as a guide, you can, if you will, make in time an
ideal country home, which is one of the greatest blessings of
any country.

196 AGRICULTURE.

APPENDIX.

TREES AND SHRUBS.
There are special botanical names for all trees and shrubs,
just as there are for other plants, such as grasses and weeds.
In the following table the scientific or botanical name is put
in one column and the common name in the other. In every
case two words are used— the first being a noun and the
second an adjective; as picea, meaning "spruce," and alba,
meaning "white." In the same way, quetcus meaning "oak,"
quercus alba is the botanical name of " white oak," and
quercus rubra "red oak."

Abies bahamifera Balsam fir.

Acer dasycarpum .... Silver maple. [box elder.

Acer negundo Ash-leaved or Manitoba maple or

Acer Pettnsylvanicuin Striped maple or moose wood.

Acer rubrum Red or soft maple.

Acer saccharinum Sugar or rock maple

Acer spicatum Mountain maple.

Aesculus hippocastantim Horse chestnut.

Betu'la bitea Yellow birch.

Betula lenta ... Black or cherry oi sweet birch.

Betula ttigra Red birch.

Betula papyrifera Canoe or paper birch.

Betula popzdifolia White or grey birch.

Carpiniis Americana Hornbeam or blue beech.

Carya alba Shellbark hickory.

Carya amara Bitter hickory.

Carya microcarpa Small fruit hickory.

Carya porcina Pignut.

Carya tomentosa White-heart hickory.

Castanea sativa ... Chestnut.

Fagus sylvatica European beech.

TREES AND SHRUBS. I97

Fagus ferug nea American beech.

Fraximis Americana White ash.

Fraxinus pubescens Red ash.

Fraxinits samhucifolia Black ash.

Gynnnocladus Canadensis Coffee tree.

Juglans cinerca Butternut.

/uhlans nigra Black walnut.

Jiiniperus Virginiana Red cedar.

Larix Americana Tamarack or American larch.

Liriodendron tulipifera Tulip tree.

Ostrya Vi7ginica Ironwood or hop hornbeam.

Picea alba White spruce.

Picea excelsa Norway spruce.

Picea nigra Black spruce.

Pinus Banksiana Cypress or jack pine.

Finns mitis Yellow pine.

Pinus resinosa Red or Norway pine.

Pinus strobus White or Weymouth pine.

Platanus occiden a/is Buttonwood or sycamore.

Populus balsainifera Balsam poplar or Balm of Gilead.

Populus grandidenlata ... Large toothed aspen. [poplar.

Populus tremuloides American aspen or trembling-leaf

Quercus alba While oak.

Quercus coccinea Scarlet oak.

Quercus prinus Rock chestnut oak.

Quercus rubra Red oak.

Quercus stellata Post oak.

Quercus tinctoria Quercitron oak.

Quercus 7nacrocarpa Bur oak.

Salix alba White willow.

Salix vilellina Yellow willow.

Sorbiis Americana Mountain ash.

Thuja occidenialis Arbor- vitse or white cedar.

Tsuga Canadensis Hemlock.

Tilia Americana Basswood or linden

Ulmus Americana American elm.

Ulmus fulva Red or slippery elm.

Ulmus racemosa Cork or rock elm.

Ulmus campestris , European elm.

igS

AGRICULTURE.

WEEDS.

NoT^ — A is for annual, B for biennial and P for perennial.

Common Name.

Family or
Order.

Scientific Name.

Buttercup P Ranunculacese ..

Cursed Buttercup Aj "

Tall Meadow rue P' "

. ' Ranunculus acris.
. Ranunculus scleratus.
. Thaliclrum polygomum.

False Flax A Cruciferce Camelina sativa.

Shepherd's purse .. .A

Pepperwort Al

Pennycress A

Wild mustard A

Hedge mustard A

Worm seed mustard ... A

' Capsella Bursa- pastoris.

' Lepidium \'irginicum.

' jThlaspi arvense

* Brassica Sinapistrum.

' Sisymbrium officinale.

' Erysimum cheiranthoides.

Celandine P Papaveraceoe Chelidonium majus.

Corn pjppy A " Papaver Rhoeas.

St. John's wort.. . . P Hypericaceae Hypericum perforatum.

Corn Cockle A Caryophyllaceae. . . Lychnis Githago.

White Cockle ........ Bl " . . . j Lychnis vesperlina.

Bladder Campion P " ... 'Silene inflata.

Field Chickweed P " .. ICerastium arvense.

liouncing Bet P " ... .Saponaria officinalis.

Chickweed A' " . . .Stellaria media.

Purslane A Portulacaceae Portulaca oleracea.

Mallow P -Malvaceae Malva rotundifolia.

Indian Mallow A " ... Abutilon avicenna;.

Poison Sumach P Anacardiace?e .... Rhus venenata.

Poison Ivy P " ... ; Rhus toxicodendron.

Climbing Ivy . PI " ... . [Rhus radicans.

Rabbit-foot clover. . . A Leguminosse jTrifolium arvense.

Wild Tare P

Black Medick A

Sweet clover A

Yellow Melilot A

Wild Carrot . .

Poison Hemlock B

Wild Parsnip B

\'icia Cracca.

" 'Medicago lupulina.

" .... .Melilotus alba

" j Melilotus officinalis.

UmbellifercE iDaucus carota.

" . . . . iConium maculatum.

" Pastinaca sativa.

Evening Primrose BOnagraceos /Flnothera biennis.

Willow herb P! *' : Epilobium angustifolium.

Mossy Stone crop PiCrassulacese ., . . . .jSedum acre.

Teasel B.Dipsacege ' Dipsacus sylvestris.

Groundsel A Composite. ... ISenecio vu'garis.

Ragweed A '■' LAmbrosia artemisiaefolia.

Ox-eye Daisy Pi " Leucanthemum vulgare.

Yarrow P " Achillcea millefolium.

WEEDS.

199

Common Name.

Family or
Order.

Tansy

Ciolden Rod
Cone-Flower . . . .

Bluebottle

Sow Thistle . . . .

Corn Thistle

Fireweed

Burdock

Chicory

Dandelion

Fleabane

Mayweed

Field Chamomile.
Canada Thistle.. .

Bull Thistle

Bur Marigold . . . .
Elecampane ....

Clotbur

Mullein

Speedwell

Neck weed

Toad Flax

Vervain

White Vervain . . .

Motherwort

Catnip

Self Heal

Stickseed.

Hound's Tongue

Blue weed

Figeonweed

Thorn. \pple. ...
Ground Cherry. . .

Bindweed

Dodder

Milkweed

Plantain

Rib-grass

Lamb's Quarters
Strawberry Blite
Russian Thistle. .

Pigweed

Goosegrass

Black Bindweed .
Lady's Thumb. . .

Sorrel

Common Dock . . .

Compositce

.P
.P

B
.A
.A
.P

A
.B
.1'
.P
.Ai
.A
.A
.P
.B
.1
.1
.A

. B .Scrophulariace;
.A
.A
.P
.P

P
.P

p

^P

B

.B

.B

.A

. Aj.Solanacece

-Pj
PjConvolvulaceas

.A

-Asclepiadaceoe
PlantaginaccK

V^erbenacete
Labiat?e . . .

Borroginaceae

P

P
.P

AlChenopodiaceoe
.A
.Aj

. A|.\marantacea;
. AlPolygonacese

A
.A
.P
.P

Scientific Na.me.

Tanacetum vulgare.
Solidago Canadensis.
Rudbeckia hirta.
Centaurea Cyanus.
Sonchus oleraceus.
Sonchus arvensis.
Krechthitis hieracifolia.
.■\rctium Lappa.
Cichorium Intybus.
Taraxacum officinale.
Erigeron Canadense.
.Antnemis Cotula.
Anthemis arvensis.
Cnicus arvensis.
Cnicus lanceolatus.
Bidens frondosa.
Inula Helenium.
Xanthium Canadense,
\'erbascum Thapsus.
\'eronica arvensis.
\'eranica peregrina.
Linaria vulgaris.
Verbena hastata.
Verbena urticifolia.
Leonurus Cardiaca.
Xepeta Cataria.
Brunella vulgaris.
Echinospermum Lappula.
CynogJossum officinale.
Echium vulgare.
Lithospermum arvense.
Datura Stramonium.
Physalis viscosa.
Convolvulus arvensis.
Cuscuta trifolii.
Asclepias Cornuti.
Plantago major.
Plantago Janceolata.
Chenopodium album.
Chenopodium capitatum.
Salsola kali.
.Vmarantus retroflexus.
Polygonum aviculare.
Polygonum Convolvulous.
Polygonum Persicaria.
Rumex Acetosella.
Rumex crispus.

200

AGRICULTURE.

Common Xame.

Bitter Dock

Smart weed

Nettle

.... A
. ...F

Wild Leek

Bulrush

. .. P

Chess

. . A

Foxtail

A

Barnyard Grass . . .

Witch Grass

Wild Oat

...A
. .A
. ..A

Couch Grass

. . . P

F.\.MILY OR

Order.

Scientific X.\me.

Polygonacese

"

Urticacese

Lil aceae

Cyperaceas

Rumex obtusifolius.
Polygonum hydropiper.
L'rtica dioica.
Allium trie ceum.
.Scirpus lacustris.

Graminese

Bromus secalinus.
Setaria glauca.
Panicum Crus-galli.
Panicum capillare.
.\vena fatua.

.A4jropyrum repens.

SPRAYING MIXTURES.

The spraying of trees and bushes is done mainly for three purposes :
I, to pievent and destroy the leaf-ealmg insects ; 2, to prevent and
destroy sucking insecis ; 3, to prevent and destroy the germs of plant
diseases. Poisons such as Paris Green (which is a compound of arsenic)
are used for the first, kerosene (coal oil) emulsion for the second, and
copper sulphate for the third. As a rule the first and third are combined.

Bordeaux Mixture.

Copper sulphate (or bluestone) 4 pounds.

Lime (fresh) 4 "

Water 40 gallons.

Place the copper sulphate in a coarse bag and hang it in 5 gallons of
water. Slake the lime in 5 gallons of water. Then mix the two and add
the other 30 gallons of water. Use only wooden vessels. Pans Green
solution is made by stirring up I pound of Paris Green in 200 to 300 gallons
of water (200 for apple trees, 250 for plums, and 300 for peaches), adi
about 4 gallons of milk of lime.

When the Paris Green and Bordeaux mixture are to be used together to
check the insects and disease at the same time, make the Bordeaux
mixture as above stated and add 4 oz. of Paris Green to the 40 gallons of
Bordeaux mixture.

Kerosene Emulsion.

Hard soap ^2 pound, or soft soap, I quart.

Boiling water (soft) I gallon.

Coal oil 2*gaIlons.

After dissolving the soap in the water, add the coal oil and stir well for
5 to 10 minutes. When properly mixed, it will adhere to glass without
oiliness. A syringe or pump will aid much in this work. In using, dilute
with from 9 to 15 parts of water. Kerosene emulsion maybe prepared
with sour milk (i gallon) and coal oil (2 gallons), no soap being required.
This latter will not keep long.

r

o •
— ^

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00