uJlK i. B. Ititll SJibrarij North (EaroUna g>tatp MmoerHtly S499 R6 v.P S00594554 VV THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE DATE INDICATED BELOW AND IS SUB- JECT TO AN OVERDUE FINE AS POSTED AT THE CIRCULATION DESK. MAY 1 t) 1992 Digitized by the Internet Arciiive in 2010 witin funding from NCSU Libraries Iittp://www.arcliive.org/details/factsforfarmers02robi (;uOWJ» .ItY A F.VRMV.«V4 ^■\'tl''K' FACTS FOR FARMERS; ALSO rott THE FAMILY CIRCLE. A COMPOST OF RICH JIATEIIIALS FOR ALL LA?7D-0WNERS, ABOUT DOMESTIC ANIMALS AND DOMESTIC ECONOMY; FARM BUILDINGS; (iarkiis, #rcljarbs, iwin Wiminh; AJiD Ali FAlllI CHOPS. TOOLS, FENCES, FERTILIZATIOX, DRAIXIXG, AXD IRUIGATIOX. IllustratciJ toitlT ^tccl ^itgrabiugs. EDITED BY SOLON ROBINSON, iORICULTURAL EDirOB OS THE NEW YORK " TUIBONE," AND ADTHOB OF 8ETERAL POPULAE WORKS. VOLUME IL NEW YORK: JOHNSON AND WARD, PUBLISUERS, No. 113 FULTON STREET. 1865. Kntcrcd, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1863, by A. J. JOHNSON, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern lUstrict of New York. PAVIF.S & KEXT, ;ttrcctj)pf-fl ari^ 'Slfftrotjj.-fi-S, 183 WiUiam Sh-ttt, .V. i; [ FRONTISPIECE,] PLATE XV. (Page 500.) This picture is placed here for the same purpose as No. XIV. in its place. That to indicate the vegetable garden — this to mark the entrance among the flowers. What woman looking upon this lovely vase will not feel a desire to be a producer of such beautiful things ? Feeling that desire, she will be inclined to read what the author sa3^s of " The Flower Garden." Reading of flowers, she will never be content until she possesses them. And they will mark her elevation to a higher order of civilization as distinctly as this plate marks the entrance to the portion of this book devoted to a good purpose. It is for this that the picture was designed — to entice her to enter upon a path that leads to pleasant groves, to peace and happiness. 49^'S8 Urc. 32.] LAWNS. 515 SECTION XXXII.-LAWNS-HOW TO MAKE AND HOW TO KEEP THEM.- TREES AND PLANTS SUITABLE FOR LAWNS. COUNTRY house without a lawn ! it is a house in a desert ! It is not a structure in the midst of beauty. There is nothing — not even expensive statuary, flowers, and shrubbery — that adds so much to the surrounding embellishments of a farm-house or suburban residence as green grass upon a well-kept lawn, and it is a beauty that is permanent and inexpensive. If tlie ground is well under-drained and the grass well dressed in the fall, it will start fresh as soon as the snow is off, and often earlier, and it keeps green through the most severe drouth upon ground that has been well prepared. With here and tliere a shade, what a lovely sight it is to see children playing upon a smooth lawn! With what glee they run from tree to tree, the old dog joining with great satisfaction in the sport! In spring, in summer, in autumn the lawn is beau- tiful, and even in winter it speaks of refinement of the resident occupants. It tells, too, of art and industry in man, since lawns are seldom, if ever, found in a natural state. The sea of grass upon the Western prairies is only beau- tiful when seen at a distance. It does not bear close inspection like the vel- vefy sod of a lawn. Wiienever we see a lawn turning brown in summer, we know that it was neither trenched with the spado nor subsoil plowed, without which manuring M-ill not always preserve its perpetual green. Those who build country houses are too apt to expend their means iipon a grand mansion, expensive out-buildings, ornamental fences, fine carriages and horses, and sometimes gaudy, inappropriate furniture, which is all un- satisfactory to visitors of refined tastes, if the grand house is not embowered in trees, and has no grassy lawn. 580. How to Set a Lawn in Grass« — A small lawn may be covered with sods ; a large one must have the sod formed upon it. Two quarts of white clover seed, mixed with a bushel of the chaffy seed of red-top, and sown evenly upon the third of an acre of well-prepared ground, will form a fine lawn turf. Some add a little seed of the vernal or sweet-scented grass that is so fragrant in new-mown hay. To make the ground perfectly level and smooth, if the space is small, rake it carefully ; if it is large, use the roller. If you intend to use sod, prepare the ground as smooth as possible after having worked it deep and finely pulverized, and then go with your bar- row, if the distance is short, to the spot where you will cut your turf. If Library C. State College 616 now TO KEEP A LAWN. [Chap. V. far distant, of course a cart must be used to liaul home tlie load. If less distant, an ox-sled will be found more convenient. In cutting sods, do not take them up by tlie spadeful, but stretcli a line and cut through the sod with a sharp spade. If much is to be cut, it would be better to do it with a plow-coulter, ground sharp, and set in a beam with liandlcs, and guaged to the riglit depth. An itnplcment could be made with hut little expense that would cut the edges and bottom all at once. If cut with a spade, line off the courses exactly a foot wide, and cut the sods evenly one and a balf inches thick and roll up a course upon a handspike as big as two men can carry to the vehicle that is to transport it, and carry the roll in the same way to the ground prepared for your lawn and unroll just as you would a carpet. Afterward use the roller or something to compact the sods down firmly in place. 581. Clipping the Lawn. — More persons fail in the care of than in the making of a lawn. They can not see the necessity of the frequent clip- pings, without which they can not have a good lawn turf. One has only to look at the sod of a once-a-year clipped mowing field and compare that with a closely-grazed pasture or roadside sod, and see which is preferable for a lawn. Let it be set down as a rule, that a lawn can not be clipped too often, and that it must be clipped twice a month, and that it will improve the sod to roll it as frequently. If there is grass enough, so they would not wear it out, a troop of playful children upon the lawn every day would make the sod grow thick and firm and the grass fine and soft. It is a good thing for a lawn to go over it every spring in a rainy day and scatter grass seed wherever there is the least show of bare ground. ^ 582. Watering and Manuring the Lawn.— If you have a hydrant, have a long hose with a showering nozzle, and use it often in dry weather ; other- wise you must, if you desire to see your grass always green, water by hand or with a watering cart or garden engine. It will greatly add to the ad- vantage of watering if you will dissolve some fertilizing sul)Stance in the water — a few pounds to a hogshead-full. You may use guano, salt, niter, lime, potash, soda, and several other ingredients. If there are gruhs in tlie sod, salt them to death. Carbonate, phosphate, or sulphate of lime may all be used at times to advantage on a lawn, sowed on in moderate quantity. A dressing of well-decomposed compost is the only manure that should be applied, and that in tlie fall or early spring. 583. Canse of Grass Dying Out upon Lawns. — Many persons who have taken much trouble to make small grass-plats or lawns around their dwell- ings have found the grass dying out without heing able to account for it. Ruth Lynde, a practical woman of New Bedtbrd, Mass., gives tlie following as the cause. The cure will be readily suggested b}' reading what she says. " I have had the grass destroyed in two different places where I have resided, and found the same cause productive of the same result at each. " During the winter and spring the servant girls were in the habit of throwing soap-suds, after washing clothes or dishes, upon the grass-plat, and Sec. 32.] LAWNS. 517 I noticed invariably that the plantain and sorrel came up instead of the grass. Here, at iny mother's, I have a bit of a garden, and there is a grass- plat also, aud since I urged upon her notice the ill effects of soap-suds upon the grass, and she commanded its discontinuance, the grass has come in again, and much white clover with it. Most houses in the country have a patch of plantain around the kitchen doors, and the same habit of throwing out soap-suds is the cause of its^rowth." Although this effect is produced by deluging grass with soap-suds at the wrong season of the year, there is no better fertilizer than it for grass, if di- luted and put on with a sprinkler. 584. A New Lawn Grass, or Evergreen Planti — Within a few years, a new plant has been introduced into cultivation to a considerable e.x;tent in En- gland, and to a limited extent in this country. It is more successful in the moist climate of that countr}' than it is in the drier climate of this, but it is still worthy of notice. It is thus described : "The new plant is called ' Spevfjula pilifera^ and is a neat-growing dwarf, hardy, perennial-tufted Alpine plant, forming close, compact, wiry, grass-like steius, from a quarter to half an inch in hight — at first erect, afterward decum- bent, clothed with closely set green bristle-like leaves, which, by permanent growth and occasional rolling, form an unbroken, level, velvet-like surface of the richest conceivable verdure, remaining uninjured in severe drouth or intense cold, and assuming the same beautiful verdurous tint during the M'inter months as in summer. The seedling plant of this highly interesting object starts into growth with a single unbranched, perpendicular radicle or root, and afterward manifests a remarkable power of extension in its rami- fying haii'-like roots, penetrating to the depth of one to two feet; a fact quite sufficient to account for its enduring the opposite extremes of severe heat and cold. In addition to its hardiness, under the vicissitudes of an English climate, its value is considerably enhanced in its adaptation to all the varieties of common garden soil, requiring but a thin firm surface- stratum of one-inch ordinary sifted or broken loam. Maintaining its ver- dant freshness alike beneath storm and sunshine, it combines every needful feature of adaptation with economy, and a uniform aspect of neatness with the least possible care or attention. Its fertility in bloom during the month of July is equally beautiful, being at tliat period studded over with myriads of low, compact, salver-shaped snow-white blossoms, appearing not as in fancy, but in reality the living picture of an emerald-green velvet carpet, spangled witii innumerable stars. From the preceding remarks it will be seen that the established growth of this plant maintains a dwarf close web of green verdure, and entirely dispenses with the extra toil and expense of mowing; its numerous small brittle flower-scapes being removed by the gentlest movement of a wing or brush over the surface of the lawn, either while in bloom or afterward, and these constitute the only surface-growth or tokens of its beauty, which require this operation but once a year. For small or medium-sized lawns, terraces, verges, mounds, etc., this remark- 618 ORNAMENTING LAWNS. [Chap. V. ably interesting and beautiful little plant offers an object of great interest to every lover of gardening juirsuits, and every lady amateur cultivator may superintend and personally manage the slight attentions required to pre- serve the terrace margins or velvet lawn in the highest condition. The permanent and uniform condition of dense growth, with the penetrative power of its roots, preserves it from all risks of being parched by extreme exposure in sultry weather, and the progressive accumulation of its moss- like growth gives an elastic pressure to the foot, much softer than the finest Turkey carpet. The seed may be sown either in or out of jjots, in the usual method observed for fine seeds, with a slight but uniform covering of soil, and placed within either a frame, cool pit, or green-house, using the usual precaution of shading the seed-pans from intense sunlight daily for a few- hours, until well germinated, after which it may either be re-planted in stores of ten to fifty plant's within dishes or large pots, or otherwise planted out in rather a shady border of tlie open ground for a few weeks, and ulti- mately transplanted upon the prepared lawn-surface in two or three plants, within one inch or more of each other, and such little plant-groups may be formed at a distance of six, nine, or twelve inches apart. In such positions the growths will progressively meet and form the rich and beautiful surface «ow descrilied. It is also admirably adapted for picturesque green tufts and edgings on avenue lines and borders, for grouping the front sj3ace3 of massive rock-work, and surfacing partially raised mounds around classic fountains and basins or artistic columns, where grass is imavailable for mowing, and equally telling for cultivation in larger vases in alternate effect with the silvery sheen of the beautiful Cerastium tornentosum on terrace verges and architectural approaches." Another account says : '' Plats established four years since, have grown into a close sod, and give promise of a continual healthy endurance." 585. Oruamentiug Lawus. — More ornamental than statuary, expensive rock-work, or any other structures, are well-arranged beds of flowers, and groups of flowering plants and shrubs. These may be provided for in lay- ing down a lawn, or the sod may afterward be cut out in forms to suit the fancy, for flower-beds. This kind of ornamentation should be attended to by the mistress of the house, and if she have daughters, let them always be advised or instructed in the plans, and in carrying them into execution. Select neat plans for cutting the sod for flower-beds. In this follow nature. Sometimes the form of a maple-leaf may be adopted. In other places, use a grape-leaf, or a grapevine with several leaves, for the form of your bed. Again, take the crooked branch and limbs of a tree for a pattern. 586. How a Woman Made avA Ornameuted a Lawn. — The following letter from a " Housewife" of Colchester, Vt., is worthy of a place here, as en- couragement to all other housewives to persevere in the same way, until they also compel husbands to acknowledge their success. Our correspondeut says : " The jcjultivation of flowers, and beautifying the surroundings of home, should be -attended to as well as indoor work, lest that love of the bean- Sec. 32.] ' LA"WNS. 519 tifiil, which is implanted in every lieart, should perish through neglect. Many housewives ai'e so entirely devoted to cooking, house-cleaning, and sewing, that they can not have a minute's time even for reading, except on Sundays, and then they ' are so tired, they had rather rest than read.' " I hereby advise them not to cook so much, not to scrub so much, and sew with a machine. Others will say they have so many human flowers to attend to, that they can not cultivate any others, and these will let their door-yards run to waste and weeds instead of having them seeded down, and flower-beds cut in the rich, green turf. "I have cultivated a few of the common kinds of flowers ever since I M'as a child, but have lost the delight of seeing some new, strange flower expand its beauties to my view, because I knew not how nor where to procure an assortment of choice, rare seeds. Last spring, 1 accidentally looked over a flower-seed catalogue with much interest, because it was the first of the kind I had ever seen. I found I could have new and lovely flowers at a very trifling expense. My ambition was fired ; I gave my husband no -peace until he had the kitchen-garden removed to the rear of the house, and re- moved the fence which separated the old kitchen-garden and the door-yard, thus making a fine little lawn. I got a man to help me — not a gardener — ■ we have no professed gardeners within ten miles. I drew the plan of my flower-beds myself, and had the man cut them out of the turf in the desired forms. " Previous to this, I persuaded three or four housewives — all mothers of families, with plenty to do — to join me in sending for flower-seeds and roots. These we exchanged with each other, thus obtaining a fine variety at a small ex2>ense. We followed the directions given in the catalogue, and were very successful with the most delicate seeds. My lawn was beautiful ; indeed, so rich and varied were the efiiects of French and German asters, German balsams, German stocks, English pansies, phloxes, verbenas, and dahlias, from seed the first season, that my husband, who had at first ridiculed my flower venture, was obliged to acknowledge its success. " Last fall I sent for a few hyacinth, crocus, and early tulip bulbs, and had a fine display of flowers in our living-room during the dreary winter months. My room is even now filled Avith the exquisite fragrance of hya- cinths, which still continue in bloom. I hope this article will attract the at- tention of my toil-worn sisters ; they can have no idea what a source of purest enjoyment the cultivation of flowers Avill be to them. Its in- fluence lias been very beneficial to my little ones, who Avatch the expan- sion of the delicate and wonderful buds with an interest fully equal to my own." 587. Plautillg Lawn Trees.— "We beg of you not to plant in rows, nor any form of mathematical precision. Follow nature ; go to the woods for a pat- tern, or rather to some natural park, like the bur-oak groves of Michigan and Indiana. Keep in view "what for?" every time you set a tree. The object is either ornament or shade ; it is not to fill up. Keep also in view the fact, 520 TREES IN L.VWXS. [Chap. V. that the tree you are planting is to grow. It requires a combination of skill, taste, judgment, forethought, that few persons possess, to plant the trees in a lawn, great or small — from a door-yard to a royal park. The great thing to remember is this: a short green grass and compact sod is the leading beaiity of a lawn or park, and trees and flowers arc only thrown in to fill up or hide ugly spots, or break the uniformity, or furnish agreeable shade. Make everything — grass, trees, flowers, rocks, water, walls, fences — to look as natural, and just as little artificial, as possible, and your lawn will excite admiration in strangers and satisfaction in yourself. You need not entirely exclude fruit-trees, shrubs, and vines from the lawn. In some places an apple-tree may be entirely suitable. In otliers a grapevine, to climb a blank wall or dead tree. A quinco-tree at the north, and an orange-tree at the south, would be ornamental in a park or large lawn. Study fitness of things, and thus obtain beauty and utility com- bined. 588. Botanical Names of Trees and Plants.— We do not know of a more appropriate paragraph for this section than the following, which gives a long list of names of trees suitable for planting in a lawn and other places, for ornament and shade, with their proper botanical names, as well as those by which they are most commonly known. It is so important for farmers, and particularly farmers' children, to learn the botanical names of trees and plants, so as to be able to identify them by the names common to the same trees in difi'erent localities, and the means of obtaining such information in the country not being easy, we employed Andrew S. Fuller, a horticulturist of Brooklyn, who has been all his life in the nursery business, to make out such a list as will be most useful. In proof of the necessity of using botanical names, look at the variety of names in a single family ; for instance, the oaks, and so of the maples or the birches. If a person speaks of a " birch-tree," M-hat do we understand ? For several years a paragraph has been floating through the press, recommending a de- coction of " walnut leaves" with which to wash horses in fly-time, as a cer- tain preventive of annoyance from these pests of the horse and his rider; but we have never been able to find an individual that could tell for a cer- tainty what the writer of that article meant by " walnut leaves." In New England the term walnut is almost universally applied to the hickory {Carya) family, not even distinguishing between the five varieties of this class of trees, all of which are spoken of in that section under the general term of walnuts. At the South and West nothing is known by the name of walnut but the Jiujlans nigra (" black walnut"), and Jaijlans clncrca^ the butternut of New England, known at the West as the " white walnut." Now, with such a confusion of names, who can tell what a writer means when he talks about "walnut leaves?" Let him add the botanical name, and we can then understand. Skc. 32.] LAWNS. 521 5S0. Trees Indi genous to tbe United States : Common Names. Botanic Names. Common Names. Botanic Names. Silver Jlaplc .Acer dasycarpum. Great-leaved Magnolia .Magnolia macrophylla. Great-leaved Maple . . . .Acer macrophyllum. Umbrella-leaved Mag- Red Maple .Acer rubnim. nolia . Magnolia tripetela. Sugar Miiple . Acer saccharinum. Broad-leaved Magnolia .Magnolia latifolia. Black Maple . Acer nigrum. Florida Bread- tree. ... , Malia azederach. Striped Maple . Acer striatum. Ash- leaved Maple • Negundo aceroides. Horse Chestnut, or Buck- California Negunda. . . .Negundo Califomicu eye .jEscuIus Ohioensis. Pepperidge-tree .Nyssa multiflora. Red-llowering Chestnut . Pavia rubra. Sour Gum-tree .Nyssa aquatica. Yellow-flowering Chest- Iron Wood ■ Ostrya Virginica. .^Esculus glabra. Button Wood . Platanus occidentalis. White Birch .Betula populifolia. California Plane-tree . . . Platanus Californica. Yellow Birch . Betula excelsa. American Aspen . Populus tremuloides. Eed Birch .Betula rubra. Great Dentate Poplar. . . Populus grandideutata. Canoe Birch .Betula papyracia. Weeping Poplar . Populus pendula. Black Birch . Betula lenta. .Carya tomentesa. Birch-leaf Poplar Cottonwood .Populus betulifolia. . Populus Canadensis. White-heart Hickory. . Shagbark Hickory .Caryaalba. Balsam Poplar . Populus balsamifera. ShcUbark Hickory.... . Carya sulcata. Cotton-tree . Populus argentea. Bitternut Hickory . Carya amara. Various-leaved Poplar . .Populus heterophylla. Pignut Hickory . Carya porcina Custard Apple .Percelia triloba. Pecan-nut Hickory .... .Carya olivifonnis. Wild Plum . Prumis Americana. American Chestnut . Castanea vesca. Chickasaw Plum . Prunus Chicasa. Chinquapin Chestnut . . .Castanea pumila. Mountain Ash . Pyrus Americanus. Catalpa .Catalpa syringaefolia. Crab Apple . Pyrus coronaria. Nettle-tree Hagberry-tree .Celtis occiden talis. .Ccltis crassifolia. Willow Oak . Quercus phellos. Quercus imbricaria. Laurel Oak Smooth-leaf-tree .Celtis integrifolia. Downy Black Oak.... .Quercus tribola. WUd Cherry Choke Cherry .Cerasus Virginiana. . Cerasus serotina. Water Oak Quercitron Oak , Quercus tinctoria. Judas-tree, or Red-bud- Black Jack Oak . Quercus nigra. tree • Cercis Canadensis. Scarlet Oak .Quercus coccinea. White Fringe-tree. . . . .Chionanthus Virginica. Grey Oak .Quercus ambigua. Red Oak ■wood Pin Oak Red-flowering Dogwood. Comus Sanguinea. Shrub Oak . Quercus ilicifolia. . Diospyros Virginiana . Fagus ferrugiuea. Post Oak Red Beech Over-cup Oak . Quercus macrocarpa. White Beech .Fagus Americana. Mossy-cup Oak .Quercus oliviformis. Black Ash .Fraxinus sambucifolia. White Oak .Quercus alba. Quercus prinus. .Quercus cestanea. White Ash Walnut-leaf Ash . Fraxinus j uglandifolia. Yellow Oak Broad-leaf Ash .Fraxinus latifolia. Swamp White Oak... .Quercus bicolor. Rock Oak Blue Ash .Fraxinus quadrangu- lata. Stag's- horn Sumach. . Smooth Sumach .Rhus typhina. .Rhus glabra. Red Ash . Rhus copallina. . Rhus venusta. Honey Locust Thornless Locust .Gleditschia tricanthus. Kentucky Coffee-tree. .Gymuocladus Canaden- sis. Gum Locust Cypress . Robinia viscosa. .Taxodium distichum. Black Walnut .Juglans nigra. American Linden .... .Tilia Americana. Butternut American Larch .Juglans cinerea. Larix microcarpa. .Tiliaalba. .Tilia heterophylla. Paper Linden Sassafras Sweet Gum . Laurus sassafras. . Liquidambar stjrraciflua. .Ulmus Americana. .Ulmus fulva. Slippery Elm Tulip-tree Osage Orange Cucumber-tree .Liriodendron tulipifera. .Madura aurantiaca. . Magnolia acuminata. . Ulmus nemralla. .Ulmus slata. .Virgilia lutea. WahooElm YeUow Wood Yellow Magnolia .Magnolia cordata. 590. Evergreen-Trees Indigenous to the United States and Territories : Common Names. Botanic Names. Menzles Spruce Mexican Spruce Hemlock Spruce .Abies Canadensis. .Abies Mexicaua. California Spruce . Abies amabilis. Black Spruce .Abies nigra. Douglass Spruce .Abies Douglassii. Red Spruce .Abies rubra. 522 PROPER NAMES OF TREE."?. [Chap. V. Common Names. Botanic Names. Common Names. Botanic Names. Sailing's Californi a Jersey Pine . .Pinus iiKips. Spruru . Ai)ies Sabini. Scrub Pine . . Pinus banksiana. White Cednr .Cupressus thuyoidcs. Pitch Pine . .Pinus rigida. Lumbert's Cypress Great Coned Cypress.. . . Cupressus Lambcrtiana. .Cupressus inacrocarpa. Pond Pine ». . .Pinus serotiua. Mexican Cypress .Juni(>crus Virginiana. Loblolly Pine Great Flowered Magnc Lanibeifs California! . . Pinus Lambcrtiana. lis . Magnolia grandiflora. American Arbor Vitie . .Thuva occidentalis. Balsiim Fir .I*icea balsainca. Giant Arbor Vita; . .Thuya gigantea. California Noble Fir.. . White Pine . Picca noblis. . Pinus strohus. Great Californian-tree . . Sequoia gigantea. Yellow I'ine . Pinus mitis. 591. Foreigu Evcrsreen-Treos, common in (lie nurseries of Uiis country: Common Names. Botanic Names. Common Names. Botanic Names. Silver iipruce .Abies argentea. Junipur, English . .Juniperus communis. Dwarf Alpine Spruce. . .Abies crunoniana. Juniper, Cracow . .Juniperus Cracovia. Blue Spruce .Abies cerulea. Juniper, Himalaya. . . . .Juniperus cxcolsii. Norway Spruce .Abies e.xcelsa. Juniper. Irish Spiral.. . .Juniperus Hibernioa. Spruce, Himalaya .Abies morinda. Juniper, Hudson's.. . . . .Juniperus Hudsonii. Spruce, Mucronate .... . Abies mucronata. Juniper, Japan . .Juniperus Japonica. Spruce, New Holland. . .Abies Nova; Hollandiffi. Juniper, Pheniciau. . . . .Juniperus Phauicia, or Spruce, Yew-leaved... .Abies taxifolia. Lycia. Spruce, Narrow-leaved. Chili Pino .Araucaria imbricata. Juniper, Swedish .... . .Juniperus Suecica. Juniper, Spanish In- Pine . Araucaria lanceolata. .Araucaria Braziliensis. cense Fir, or Spruce, Europe . .Juniperus thiirifcra. an Brazil Pine '. r.illwiirs Pine .Araucaria Bidwillii. Silver . .Picea pectinata. Morcton Pine . Araucaria Cunning- hamii. Fir, Weeping Silver. . Fir, Kumaon Pindrow . . Picea pectinata pcndula. . . Picea pindrow. Norfolk Island Pine . . . . Araucaria e.xcelsa. Fir, Altaic . .Picea pichta — Sibirica. Graceful Pine . Araucaria gracilis vel Fir, Mount Atlas . . Picea pinsapo. olcgana. Fir, Nepal purple-coned. Picea \Vebbiana. Cedar, African Green. . .C'edrus Africanus viri- dis. Pine, Austrian Black. Pine, Calabrian . Picea Austriaea. . .Pinus Calabriensis. Cedar, Deodar, silvery Pine, Siberian Cembran . Pinus cembra. foliage .Cedrus deodara. Pine, Nepal short-lea vedPinus Gerardiana. Cedar, Green Deodar. . .Cedrus deodara viridis. Pine, Haguenea . .Pinus Haguensis. .Cedrus Libani. yCedrus Ijbaui argentea. Pine, Aleppo Pine, Dwarf mountaiL . .Pinus Halepensis. ..Pinus mughus, or pu- Mount Atlas Silver Cedar Cephalotaxus adpressus. Pine, Italian stone. . . milio. . . Pinus pines. Japan Dark-green Yew Fortune's Chinese Yew . Cephalotaxus Fortune!. Pine, Scotch Pine, or Mountain Yew . Cephalotaxus montana. Fir . .Pinus Sylvestris. Japan Weeping Cypress .Crvptomeria Japonica. Yew, Silver-striped.. . .Taxus baccata argcnteis. Japan Dwarf Cypress. . . Cryptomeria nana. Yew, Weeping . .Taxus Dovastonii pcn- Cypre.ss, Australian . . . .Cupressus Austraus. dula. Cypress, Spreading .Cupressus expansa. Yew, Irish Spiral . .Taxus Hibcrnica fasti- Cypress, Chinese . Cupressus funebris. giata. Cypress, Graceful .Cupressus gracilis. Arbor Vita;, Fern- Cypress, Weeping .Cupressus pcndula. leaved . .Thuya asplcnifolia. Cypress, Pyramidal... . Cupressus pyramidalis. Arbor Vita;, Australian.. Thuya Australius. Cypress, Sacred .Cupressus religiosa. Arbor Vita;, Japan. . . . .Thuya Japonica. Juniper, Silver-leaved. .Juniperus argentea. Arbor Vita;, Nepaul, or Juniper, Berry-bearing .Juniperus baccifonnis. Tartarian . .Thuya Nepalensis. Juniper, Bennudas Ce- Arbor Vita;, Chinese. . .Thuya Orieutalis. dar . Juniperus Bermudiana. Arbor Vita-, Siberian. . .Thuya Sibirica. Juniper, Chinese .Juniperus Chincnsis. 592. Our Native Creepers.— Three p rincipal varieties of our native crcop- ing plants, tliat is climbing by rootlet s or Slickers, are generally confused in the iiiiiids of the people, and all go 1)\ the name of Poison Oak. This mis- take lias contributed to cause the ncgl 3ct of several higl ly ornamental creep- Sec. 32.] LAWNS. 523 ing vines, under the impression that they were poisonous. A brief descrip- tion of the three varieties referred to is here given, so that any common observer may readily know them. Poison Oak, Poison Ivy {Rhus Toxicodendron). — Climbing by rootlets over rocks, etc., or ascending trees ; leaflets three, rhombic-ovate, mostly pointed, and rather downy beneath, variously notched or cut lobed, or entire. Common in thickets. Flowers greenish-white or yellowish. June. Poi- sonous to the touch to some persons. Virginia Creeper {Ampelopsis QuinquefoUa). — A common woody vine growing in low rich grounds, climbing extensively, the tendrils fixing them- selves by dilated, sucker-like discs at their tips ; blossoming in July, ripen- ing its small blackish berries in October. Also called American Ivy. Leaves digitate, with five oblong lanceolate leaflets ; turning bright crimson in autumn. Trumpet jFloiver, Trumpet Creeper {Tecovia liad'icam). — Climbing by rootlets ; leaves pinnate ; leaflets from five to eleven, ovate, pointed, toothed ; flowers, trumpet-shaped, or tubular tunnel form, from two to three inches long. The last two are not .poisonous, and may therefore be safely grown to climl) around piazzas or any other part of the house. The first is very pretty to climb old park trees or rocks, and being the most hardy, may well be grown for such purposes. It should have a label, giving its name and notice that it is poison. 593. Roses and Iheir Enemies, and Flowers for Ihe Lawn. — There are but few farm-houses destitute of roses of the hardy and most common sorts which can be grown without labor or care. Many persons wouM have more and better ones if they knew what to get and how to get them, and that a beautiful assortment of a dozen could be bought for three or four dollars. The moss roses are beautiful, and some of them quite hardy. Bourbon roses flower in lat. 41° and 42° from June to October. These re- quire winter protection. China roses are perpetual bloomers, and also j-equire protection. Tea roses are exceedingly fragrant, and fine for potting. Boursault roses of different varieties keep up a succession of blooms. Prairie roses are hardy climbers. One called the Queen of the Prairies, and the Baltimore Belle, are very showy. Fortune's yellow rose is "a climber, but not hardy. Noisette Augusta is a very fragrant climber, but too tender for winter in the Northern States, Noisette Cloth of Gold is a very large, beautiful rose that may be grown here in sheltered situations. Noisette Solfatere is a good rose to train to a pillar ; it is sulphur yellow. La Morgue rose is very large and creamy white, good for training, and blooms abundantly. We could go on a long time naming roses, but that is not the object — it is to urge more attention to their cultivation, and more knowl- edge and better taste in making a selection. In Mississippi, and other Southern States, there is a rose largely used for hedges, called the Cherokee rose, which, although only a small single 524 HOT-BEDS, AND HOW TO MAKE THEM. [Chap. V. flower, is very fragrant, and makes a beautiful show upon a long line of roadside hedge, as it is white, witli a yellow center, and the foliage a ricli green, and the vines often twenty feet long, and the hedge often ten or twelve feet high and equally wide, eo covered with white flowers as to show at a distance like a long bank of snow. 594. Rose-Slugs and Rose-Bugs are the great enemies that have to be con- tended witli, and in some localities they are so bad that many persons have abandoned growing fine roses. There does not appear to be any effectnal remedy for these pests. In some cases, air slaked lime scattered over the bushes and under them seems to have the desired effect. In other cases it failed entirely. Occasionally, a writer states that he saved his roses by sj-ringing the bushes with whale-oil soap. Then some one else states that he used it to no purpose. The successful man replies : " You used it too weak." Another one answers : " I used it strong, and killed all the leaves and buds on my rose-bushes." Again we are told that a decoction of ailanthus leaves will keep off the rose-destroyers, if sprinkled upon tlie bushes. As this is a cheap remedy, let it be tried ; we have some faith in its value. Rose-bushes in clusters are lovely ornaments of a lawn, and should not be neglected any more than evergreens. SECTION XXXllI.-HOT-BEDS, COLD FRAMES. AND PLANT FROTECTORS. r-ARATERS, in general, look upon each of the things named as the title of this section as be- longing rather to market gardenei-s than farm- ers. Tliey see them on what are usually denominated "gentlemen's places," and look upon them rather as a luxury than a necessity. In this they are quite mis- taken. A hot-bed can be made upon any farm by any man after reading this section, and once made, it will hi, found such a comfortable addition to the gai-den that it will not soon be dispensed with. 595. foDTersation of Gardeners about Ilol-Bedst — Tlie following convei-sation upon this subject at one of the meetings of the American Institute Farmers' Club, gives the necessary information, with the names of the speak- ers for authority : Mr. Qrixx, farmer and gardener upon Prof. Mapes' farm, said : The earth for hot-beds should be gathered from woods, or rich mold, and com- posted in summer, and well worked over, and in the fall covered with dung Seo. 33.] nOT-BEDS, COLD FRAMES, AND PLANT PROTECTORS.. 625 manure, so as not to freeze. This is so as to have it in order for sifting when it is wanted. The manure is very carefully prepared — one part of it so as to heat, and one part not. The cold manure is first spread eight inches thick, and then a layer of hot manure, and then a layer of cold, and then covered with the prepared earth. The frame is made so that the sasli will slied rain and set on the bed, and the earth and manure filled in all around, and then the sash is covered with mats, and seed not sowed for four days. The ground being carefully prepared, and seeds sown, the sash is kept close one day, and the second day opened. Some seeds start much easier than others. Cabbage seed would spoil before egg-plant seed would begin to germinate. We transplant from the seed-beds to other beds, and we are careful to give tlie plants air, but it must be done with care, because the new plants are so tender that they are easily killed by too much air at first. We prefer a southeastern exposure for our hot-beds. Tlie size of each may be from three and a half by five feet to five by eight feet. The former we make eighteen inches high in front and thirty inches in the rear. Our frames are four by six feet, and the mats five by eight feet, so as to lap over the edges to keep the beds warm. We generally sow the different varieties of seeds in separate beds, as the plants require different treatment. We sow the seed for cold frames ia September, and transplant in October into the cold frames, setting from 500 to 800 plants under a light of glass. Tlie glass is covered in winter with boards, and air is given in mild days ; and we sometimes set the plants out in the field so early that snow covers them, yet without injury. R. G. Pardee — A neighbor of mine at Palmyra used to sow seed in open ground, and before freezing covered the plants with mats, and before winter he puts over a frame covered with boards, and on them earth, leaving one end open for air as long as he dared to, and then closed up both ends, and occasionally ventilated the bed during winter. He said that he had used oiled cotton cloth as a substitute for glass, with good success. Mr. Cavenach, gardener, of Brooklyn, stated that he had successfully grown cabbage plants in a siuiilar way to the above, using salt hay for a CDvering. Mr. FcLLEE showed an improved form of glass for hot-beds, rounding on tlie lower edge. This tends to keep the flow of water in the center. Mr. Wheelee, of AYayne County, thinks this an important question for the country, if farmers can be taught so as to make cheap hot-beds for family use. Wjr. S. Cakpentee — My plan for a hot-bed for family use is to prepare my ground in the fall l)y digging out the earth two and a half feet deep, and leave the sash on over that hole till March, when I put in the manure and earth prepared for the seed, and sow it. I plant corn and other vege- tables in pieces of inverted sods, so as to take up the pieces of sods with the plants rooted in them. I have thus been able to get green corn the first 526 THE GARDEN. [Chap. V. of July. My hot-bed lettuce I do not pull up, but cut off, and the root sprouts out successive crops. Mr. Weight, of Poughkeepsie, said tliat be used half turnips, in ])lace of sods, for com. lie inserts the seeds in the turnip, and that rots, and the corn grows rapidl3\ Melons may be grown in tlie same way. John G. Bergicn — Any farmer may put down a hot-bed about March 1st, and fill in two feet deep of manure and dirt, and if lie has no mats to cover with, he may cover with boards. One of the most important things about growing hot-bed plants is giving them air judiciously. The cabbage plants of tlie Long Island market gardens for early plants arc grown from seed sown in the fall, and the plants preserved in cold frames. Tiiese cab- bage plants are set early in spring, in frames like hot-beds, but without heat, and there grow under glass, large enough to set, by the time the field is ready. Then the plants of the late cabbage are from seed sown in the open ground in April, May, or June. The ground for cabbage plants should al- ways be very rich. 590. Hot-Beds on the Surface Rccominended. — A letter to the author from a practical gardener gives his reasons for not excavating the soil for a hot- bed. He says : " For tiie reception of the bed, a trench is often dug of its determined length and breadth, and sixteen inclics deep, if tlie soil is wet, or eighteen, or more, if it is dry. In a dry soil and climate this can not be productive of much injury, but otherwise it almost always chills the bed ; at the same time it is to be observed, that it is never productive of benefit, further than not being so high, it is easier of access, but gives much addi- tional trouble, both at the time of founding and afterward, when linings are to be applied." And another says : " The bed of dnng may be placed either wliolly on the surface of the ground or in a shallow trench of from six to twelve inches deep and four or five feet wide, according to the frame ; but if made en- tirely on the surface, it affords an opportunity for renewing the linings when the heat has declined ; in a trench, the wet settling about the bottom of the bed, chills the dung, and causes the heat soon to decline. "Now, from the 1st of January to the 31st of March, in the Northern States, neither soil nor climate are dry, strictly so ; and it is plain to see that in the most favorable soil the shed of rain from the sash is directed at once upon the dung in the front of the trench, which in the case of the sur- face-bed is all thrown off by the, as it ■were, thatched slope of the linings. I should think it could hardly be denied that the decline of heat in the buried mass of dung in the one case would be very much greater and more rapid than from the action of cold winds upon the linings of a surface hot-bed. "Beds of dung for hot-beds arc more frequently made about eighteen inches or two feet in entire depth than tiirce or four feet ; there are many small gardeners who have not suftk-ient dung to form beds of greater depth, and it is important that they should have the most enduring heat possible to Seo. 33.] nOT-BEDS, COLD FRAMES, AND PLANT PROTECTORS. 527 be got from this scant supply, and as more dung accumulates, to have the means of renewing the linings to keep up a protracted warmth inside. By building on the surface, both can be secured with less trouble and more chance of success." 597. What a Hot-Bed is for. — "A hot-bed is not a mere make-shift, nor a cokl frame, nor a pit, but a bed of dung for forcing purposes — one in which it is not the mere object to start seeds and guard the j'oung plant from changes of weather, but to force things to grow out of season by giving the plants the most uniform and prolonged heat practicable, until they can be safely transferred to the oj^en garden or into special frames, with an extraor- dinary advancement in growth. Yet with all of the well-known advantages to be derived from hot-beds, but few comparatively possess one. Surely the farmer deserves the first fruits of the season, and he may have them if he will. Lettuce, cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes, cauliflower, melons, etc., may be upon his table from four to six weeks earlier tlian usual, by a little pains- taking, at a season when the time to do this work can bo easily spared from other occupations." 59S. How to Make a IIol-Bed.— " The first thing to be done is to deter- mine the size of the bed wanted. If it is only for family use, and to supply a few friends with early plants, twelve feet long and six feet wide will be ample. To make the frame, take two-inch planks, cut them into suitable lengths, and nail or hook them to cedar posts, set at the four corners. If hooks are used, the planks are more easily taken apart and stored away after the season is over. These posts should be three or four inches square. The frame has, of course, no bottom. The back should be about three feet high, the front a foot and a half, and the ends made with a regular slope from back to front. So made, the rain will be carried off from the sash, and the light will reach all the plants within. The sash may be made like a common window sash, except that there are no cross-bars, and the jianes of glass overlap each other a quarter of an inch at the bottom, so as to shed rain like the shingles of a roof. The sash should be made of good seasoned pine, one and a half to two inches thick, and painted three good coats. Small panes, say 6x8, are less liable to breakage than larger; and in glazing, they should be bedded in soft i^utty. For the sash to rest and slide upon, strong strips should be placed across the frame, and morticed in at each end. Choose a good situation for a bed, with a dry bottom, and sheltered, if possi- ble, on the north and west sides. Determine the size you need, and then drive stakes at each corner. K'ow, wheel on the manure. The litter and strong manure from the horse stable is the best ; but in lack of this, tanner's bark may be used, or leaves; oak-leaves are best. If dung is to be had, lay up a bed of it, six inches to a foot wider on all sides than the frame which is to rest upon it, pressing it down gently and equally throughout. The average hight of such beds is from two to three feet. If, as some persons prefer, the bed is sunk a foot or more in the ground, the manure need not rise more than two feet above the surface. Having set the frame and sash upon the 528 THE GARDEN. [Chap. V. dung-bed, with the lower side toward the south, let the whole lie a few days, until the most violent fermentation has passed oif ; then put on about six inches of tiie garden-mold. The part devoted to radishes and lettuce may have a foot of soil. In a few days the seed maj' be sown, which should bo done about six weeks before the usual time for transplanting to open grounds. Examine the bed daily, and if the heat becomes excessive, run a stake or crowbar down into the manure to let the steam escape; the sashes, also, may be raised a little. If the ground becomes dry, water occasionally witii tepid water ; if tlie heat declines, keep it up by the addition of fresh manure ])iled up around the side of the bed. In cold nights, cover the beds witli matting or straw. The oidy danger is from the generation of too vio- lent heat and tiie prevalence of steam from the fermenting materials. Tan bark has been successfully used to cover with, as this keeps the steam from rising." See .^>6.5. 509. Cold Frames. — The use of cold frames among market gardeners is very important. Tlic plants are started in the open ground in autumn, and taken up and set very close in the frames, or else the seed is sown in tliem and started with glass, and afterward covered with boards and mats, or straw and dirt, and the ])lants thus kept in a sort of torpid state till spring. Such plants are more hardy for open culture than hot-bed plants. COO. Protection of Plants. — Many plants, called hardy, require winter jirotection in our climate. The best covering is leaves, and the nuiro you let remain in the spring to rot tiie better, because they furnish the best of all manui'ial substances. The earth-covering needs to be but slight. Some tender shrul)6 should be bent down, and slightly covered. Coarse manure should be used Avhere leaves are not at hand. Clean straw will answer to protect the roots. Evergreen boughs answer a very good purpose, and so the}' do to tie around shrubs. Tea-roses are sometimes sheltered by a little roof of boards, covered with dirt. Protecting plants from the sun is sometimes as necessary as protecting them from frost. The following easy plan of making these protectors of garden plants, upon a cheap scale, is recommended : Take three pieces of boards, about a foot wide and fifteen inches long, and nail then) together so as to form three sides of a box. Small braces at each corner will add to their strength. If they are made with the closed end nari'ower tlian the other, they can be packed into each other when stored away. The purpose of these boxes is the protection of plants from the sun or cold wind. By setting them on edge, so as to surround a plant on three sides, when the spring winds blow raw and chill, the advantage Avill soon be ])erceptible in the improved condition of tlie plants over those that are un- protected. If there is danger of a frosty niglit, a loose bit of board may bo laid over the top of the box. A hill of melons, cucumbers, early beans, peppers, or any other tender vegetables, or a dozen or two hills of early corn, may be protected for a week or two with these cheap plant protectors. When they have been on during the day as a screen from wind, and there is Seo. 33.] HOT-BEDS, COLD FRAMES, AND PLANT PROTECTORS. 529 no danger of a frosty night, they may be removed to give the dew full power upon the plants. In transplanting cabbage and other plants, these boxes, set np on their ends, make good shades, and they serve a good pur- pose when the soil is dry and plants or seeds need moisture, after the ground has been well watered. Thej serve also to protect melon-vines from bugs. This is done by setting a loose piece of board against the open side, so as to form a box and fence in the plants. The bugs will rarely get over this fence. If yon wish to transplant your cabbages, or anything in your flower- garden, do not wait for a season, but do it any day, just at night, in fresh- dug soil, giving the roots a good watering. Cover them daily with the pro- tectors, taking them oif at night, that they may be freshened with the dew. After a couple of days it will be sufficient to stand the protectors on edge on the south side of the plants to keep off the mid-day sun. In three or four days the roots will be established. Another use for them is when the wea- ther is so dry that hills of melons, squashes, etc., will not come up. "Water the hills with a fine rose watering-pot, and lay the protectors over the hills, and the j'oung seedlings will soon make their, appearance. When above ground, take olf the protectors and let the dew fall upon them at night, and in a day or two dispense with it entirely. They are excellent, also, to cover over the patches of newly-planted flower-seeds, causing them to come up much sooner. Remove them when necessary to admit mild rains, and en- tirely when the plants appear. Try a few of them, and you will find they are far better than flower-pots, which are generally used for these purposes, excelling in cheapness, convenience, and utility. Another cheap kind of sun-shades for plants is made in the following way: Take a piece of stout hardware paper — say a foot square — and make a fold like the tuck of a woman's dress, half an inch wide through the center each way, and drive a tack through the crossing of the folds into the top of a stick, long enough to set one end in the ground and support the paper like an umbrella over the plant you wish to shade. Such papers will stand a good deal of wetting and recover again, though it is better to take them under shelter in a storm. Shades can be also made of large, dry leaves, tacked to a stick, or of coarse plats of straw. The lining of a tea-chest, cut up and tacked upon standards, the lead side up, makes good shades, durable, and cheap ; and of whatever material, such shades often pay their cost in once using. In some places it will be convenient to get branches of evergreens for shades, which are better than nothing, but are not so good as the three-sided wooden box, with a loose piece of board to form the other side or lay across the top. These are very convenient. Frames covered with cotton cloth are recommended as sun-shades. They may be made six feet long and three feet wide, and if needed to be thicker than the cloth, may be whitewashed with the mixture recommended in No. 361. 530 TBE GARDESr AND ITS FEtJITS. [Chap. V- The following preparation for painting cloth, to be used for shading jdants or for other out- door purposes, is recommended as cheap and durable by 11. Carl Green, of Warren County, Pennsylvania. It is easily tried. "Mi.x a pint of powdered lime with water till it is of the consistency of thick cream, and add this to a quart of boiled linseed-oil, and heat and slir; and then beat separately the whites and yelks of eighteen eggs, and stir all together, being careful not to heat hot enough to cook the eggs. Ajiply the mixture at oiice as you would other paint." SECTION XXXIV.-SMALL FRUITS OF THE GARDExV. _)S a general thing there is nothing about the far- mer's home more neglected than small garden- fruits. Man}' do not have the least pretension to a strawberry-bed ; and others who have one, do not seem to appreciate that there is as much dif- ference in strawberries as in corn or potatoes, and that it is important to have a variety. Sometimes one sort will produce well one year and sometimes another ; and one sort comes early and another late, in straw- jerries, raspberries, etc., just as it is with the varieties of corn. Currants, too, are not all alike ; neither will the farmer receive the greatest profit from their growth when sufiercd to grow up like a neglected Ledge along the garden wall. To induce a more ex- tensive growth of these small fruits, we intend to give some pages to the subject, filled with practical information, and such hints upon the use of fruit, in a hygienic point of view, as will stir up the farmers, or certainly their wives and children, if it does not them, to increase the growth of this health-giving food. In families where garden-fruits are used the most extensively, you will always find the greatest degree of health. Instead of producing summer-complaints in the bowels, they are the very best pre- ventives. Besides having some of them upon the table every meal while in season, you should preserve such quantities in sealed bottles or jars that you can have them without stint all winter, and until strawberries are ripe in June. 601. Currants — Varieties and Cultivation. — The currant is one of the most valualdc of our small fruits — not as delicious as the strawberry and rasi;- berry, but keeping much longer, and applicable to a greater variety of pur- poses, which makes it of more value in the family. As soon as the berries are well formed, and before they begin to ripen, they arc used by many for pies and sauces. At maturity there is nothing better for either of these Sec. 34.] CULTIVATIOJT OF CDKRANTS. 531 purposes, while for preserving and bottling, none of our fruits keep as well, and few are better for winter use; for jams and jellies, eveiy housekeeper knows the currant has no superior. It also makes a wholesome domestic wine. For a dessert or table fruit it has been considered too small, too acid, and lacking in flavor, but this is not so with the finest varieties — the While Grape and La Versailles, for instance, with bunches five or six inches in length, and berries one and a half inches in circumference. The poor varieties, as usually grown, are certainly unfit for the table, as they arc small, sour, and almost entirely filled with hard, woody seeds. We consider the currant a most valuable fruit for every man who has a spare foot of ground. In cultivation it has been sadly neglected, receiving no pruning, or pinching, or training, or mulching, such as are lavished on its more favored neighbors. Not only has the currant been neglected by farmers, but by those who have given special attention to the raising of new varieties of small fruits, yet no variety has more valuable qualities. It is in perfection in the New York market the first part of July. A writer in the Indiana Farmer speaks of currant bushes seven feet high, and of his success in growing the fruit, which he attributes to the fertiliza- tion of urine and soap-suds, applied during summer about the roots. The " Cherry currant" averages a good deal more than double the size of the old-stylo crimson berries, of good flavor, and great productiveness. We are sure the profitableness of such a crop must be greater than any of the oi-dinary farni crops, nearly as ten to one, yet very few persons are engaged in the business, and but few who arc not will believe we are serious in i-ec- ommending growing currants in fields as large as their present fields of rye, corn, or grass. There is no danger of glutting the market any more than there is with ten-acre fields of strawberries, raspberries, pie-plant, or aspara- gus. The more there are grown the more the demand will increase, as it has for other fruits. Let us have a great increase in the production of currants, particularly while they sell fresh from the bushes at from four to ten cents a pound. It is said that the Cherry currant docs not bear pruning like the old sort — that the limbs should be tied up to short stakes. The best Dutch currants are obtained by careful trimming, catting in the ends of the limbs early in the spring, and cutting away all three-year-old wood, and by hoeing very often. One of the great faults about growing currants is picking them before they are ripe. Color does not indicate ripeness, as some are red long before they are mature. The Versailles should hang a long time after tliey are red ; so should the Cherry currant, which is naturally strongly acid, and unfit to eat unless fully ripe. One of the peculiar characteristics of La Versailles is, that the fruit upon young bushes is generally small, and L^ads persons unacquainted with it to doubt its good qualit}'. The Cherry currant grows about as large as ever the first time the bushes produce, and plants also grow vigorously from the first, while La Versailles is a feeble 632 THE GARDEN AND ITS FRUITS. [Chap. V. grower ■when young, but very strong when aged. Although some of these currants are good, we want something better. We want a currant of as vigor- ous a Iia^iit as the cherry, and as productive, witii berries as large, combin- ing all the good qualities of La Versailles, White Grape, Imperial, and Cherry, and sweeter than any of them. We need not despair of yet obtain- ing such a great desideratum. It is very easy to grow seedlings. Take the seeds of the best sorts out of the berries when ripe, by washing and mixing with sand, and putting in a box with earth, which sliould be placed on the north side of a building or wall, and kept till all danger of thawing and freezing is past, when the seed should be sown in drills in very rich ground, where the sprouts will grow four inches high the first year. Next spring transplant in rows where they can be cultivated. Cut off half the length of the plants •when transplanted. Tlie seed may be kept a long time in dried currants. The currant has a wide extent of growth, and one variety is a native of this country. 602. Descriptive List of Currants. — The following list of currants is given by Andrew S. Fuller, with their names in their order of excelleuce : 1. Za Yersaille^. — Large red. 2. White G-rape.—L&vgQ transparent white. 3. White Holland. — Identical with No. 2. 4. White Provence. — Much like No. 2. 5. Yellow Imperial. — Large white, slightly tinged yellow. 6. The True lied Butch. 7. The Cherry. — Large red, a little more acid than No. 1, and thicker skin. 8. The Victoria. — A late variety. 9. La Ilative.- — Ked, early. 10. La Fertile. — Red, medium size. 11. 7'he Champagne. — Pale red. 12. White Dutch. — Not large, but excellent. 13. LmjH'rial. — Red, similar to No. 1 in quality; not so large. 14. Angiers. — Red, similar to No. 13. 15. lied I^rovence. — Late, and not worth cultivating. 10. Gloire de Sablons. — A new, worthless variety, striped. 17. Old Striped.— ^imWixv to No. 10. 18. Old White. — A small, sweet variety. The following short description of different gorts of currants will show how they vary, and enable persons unacquainted with them to make suit- able selections. Victoria is a late variety ; light, bright-red ; berries medium size to large, and bunches very long. A productive and beaulifnl variety. Prin,c6 Albert is also a late variety ; similar in color or a little lighter than Victoria; berries larger. Very productive. The White Dutch, like the Rod Dutch, is a good currant, but as a gen- eral thing has been so badly neglected that its true character is little known. It is a high-flavored fruit ; berries larger and bunches rather shorter than Red Dutch ; of a yellowish white, and very transparent skin. Very pro- ductive. Seo 34.] CULTIVATION OF CURRANTS. 533 The White Grape is now the favorite white currant. This and the Cherry- have been for some years the most popular sorts. Bunches long ; berries very large, whitish yellow, sweet and good. Very productive. Transparent is a new French currant; very productive, and similar to White Dutch. The White Clinton is very similar to White Dutch, and probably the same. White Antioerp, very large, white, sweet ; bunches rather long, and productive. Neither of these, we think, is sufficiently- distinct from the White Dutch and White Grape to justify their dissem- ination. The Black English is the common, well-known black currant. With good cultivation and plenty of manure, it produces a good crop of tine fruit. It has a bad habit of dropping its berries at the time they get about ripe, so that the bunches when gathered have but few berries remaining. The Black Naples is larger and better than the Black English, and is the best of the black currants. Bunches rather short, but berries very large. This is now about the only black currant planted, and is a most desirable variety. TI16 Bangup is an English black variety, with short, heavy bunches, shouldered. The berries hang on the bunches well, and bids fair to be a very valuable sort. The roots of the black currant are short and fibrous, and consequently it has a small space in which to gather food. It is also a great feeder, and therefore requires a liberal supply of manure. The taste for the black cur- rant, like that of the tomato, must be acquired, and then becomes a neces- sary luxury. Those -who make wine should try the black currant for that purpose. In England it is preferred to all others for jams, jellies, and tarts, and black currant jam or jelly is there considered an almost infallible rem- edy for colds and sort throat, and invaluable in cases of fever. The good English housewife would hardly feel safe to pass througli a winter without a good store. Red Dutch is an old and well-known sort, with fair-sized bunches and berries. It is a good bearer and a free grower, and a much better currant than most people suppose, as any one can ascertain by giving it good culture. Long-Bunched Bed is very much like the above, but a larger berry and larger bunches, and we think a little more acid. Short-Bunched Bed has short, heavy, compact bunches. The berries, not quite as large as Red Dutch, hang on the stems well, and we think will make an excellent market fruit It is the favorite sort of the growers for market around London. The Cherry is, perhaps, the largest red currant, having berries of extraor- dinary dimensions. It is not a distinct species of the genus Rihes — only a new variety of Rihes rvhrum, of wliich the Red and White Dutch and many others are also varieties. It is therefore just as hardy as the common cur- rant. The distinguishing properties of the Cherry currant are : strong, ro- bust growth of the bush, the shoots being stouter, the leaves larger, and of a 534 THE GARDEN AND ITS FRUITS. [Chap. V. darker green than tlie common sort. Tlie blossom of tlie Clierry eun-ant is easily distinguislied from the greenish 3'ellow blossom of the Eed and AVliite Dntch by its darker brownish color. But tlie greatest and most valuable distinction of the Cherry currant consists in the uniformly great size of the berries. They measure from half an inch to tive eighths of an inch in diam- eter, all tlie berries of a bunch being generally of nearly one size, ■while the bunches of the common currant taper down to a very small berry at the end. Besides this, the berries are also distinguishable by their dark-red color. Anolher and very striking feature of the Cherry currant consists in the manner the bunches are distributed over the branches ; while with the common currant the fruit is rather thinly — at least, by comparison — scat- tered over the branches, the Cherry currants hang in massive clusters so tight that the stems of the fruit-strings can scarcely be seen. Branches of the bush of from one to three feet in length are often unbroken clusters of luscious fruit, which give the bushes a charming rich appearance. 603. How to Grow Currants. — The following directions are given by Charles F. Erhard, a German gardener, Kavenswood, N. Y., a grower of Cherry currants: " Many farmers and market gardeners seem to think that these good qual- ities can only be brought out by very high culture, such as the amateur gardener only can bestow on a few pet bushes. This is an error. I would say : Manure, plow, and hoe them as you do your Indian corn, and you will have them in as great perfection as the nurseryman. " As the bushes grow very strong, they should be planted not less than 4x4 feet, or, perhaj^s, 4x5 feet apart, Avliich will give 2,178 plants per acre. I prefer the latter method, and would plow only one way between them, allowing the branches to spread in the direction of the rows, so as to form something like a hedge. These rows should run north and south, to shield the bushes from the hottest mid-day sun. Shade to the fruit is indis- pensable to bring it to perfection ; if too much exposed to the hot rays of the sun, the berries ripen prematurely before they attain their full size. Now, all the shade necessary to protect the fruit is furnished by the bush itself, if you do not disable it to do so by prui^ing and cutting away what was evidently intended for that purpose ; and this brings nic to the shape in which currant bushes should be pruned. I am aware tliat there exists a great difference of opinion among cultivators as to this point. Many be- lieve that the tree-shaped is decidedly the best ; othei-s think the bush form, with several branches springing directly from the root, the better and most natural shape. I have tried both ways, but prefer the latter method greatly. The great advantage of tlie bush form, it seems to me, consists in the system of renewal which should be combined with it. " Suppose you plant young bushes with two prongs or branches. Plant them deep and allow the first year two shoots to grow up from under the ground. These shoots will at the same time send out their own roots and grow luxuriantly. If you allow, then, every year two more shoots to spring 6ec. 34.] CULTIVATION OF CURRANTS. 535 up from the root, you will, in the summer of the fourth year, have two branches each of live, four, three, two, and one year's growth. Six of these branches, tliat is, the five, four, and three-year-old ones, will bo loaded with fruit, the two-years' growth may have some berries, and those of this year's growth will only be straight shoots. The bushes will now be as large as they should be, and the two five-j'ear-old brandies may be cut out as soon as the fruit is picked ; and henceforth, by allowing still two new shoots to come up every year, and by cutting out the two oldest branches after the gathering of the fruit, the bushes will be kept young and bear fine fruit for many years more. Of course this is only meant to elucidate the general principle. The practical cultivator will know how to modify the above rule for every individual bush." 604. Producliveiicss of fhcrry Currants.— " In calculating the profits of a crop, great caution must be used, and casualties must not be forgotten. Al- though I have seen foui--year-old bushes that bore nine pounds of berries to each bush, I would not think it safe to put down the average yield of a full- grown five-year-old bush, trimmed as above, at more than six pounds. This would amount to 13,068 lbs. to an acre. The price of common cur- rants in the New York market, generally very small, sour little things, varies from four to seven cents per pound at wholesale, which certainly justifies the anticipation of six cents per pound for Cherry currants for many years to come, and this would make the value of the crop, per acre, equal to $7Si." 605. Expenses of GuItiTafing and Gathering Currants. — " Half a day of plowing and three days of hoeing by one man will clean and stir the ground of one acre most eff"ectually, which, at ordinary wages of man and horse, will cost $3 50, which makes four plowings and hoeings cost $14. Picking 13,068 lbs., at one third cent per pound (about 15 cents per bushel), will be $43. If we allow $27 for manure every year, the whole expenses per acre would sum up to $84, leaving $700 clear, of which only the cost of bringing them to market would have to be deducted." The above, although it is the statement of an interested nurseryman, is nevertheless the truth, not exaggerated. The fruit can be grown for two cents a pound, and every family can eat it as a condiment with their bread and meat every day in the year, and can afi'ord to drink a delicious, whole- some wine — currant wine — instead of getting drunk and dying as they do now from poisoned stuff called beverages. We have no need of sending to Zante for currants, Madeira for grapes, or France for wine, nor should the folly be any longer tolerated of importing currant jelly. It is our duty, as American farmei-s, to grow this fruit, for we contend that if religion consists iu doing good to our fellow-creatures, it is a religious duty to encourage the cultivation, the improvement, and propagation of all the fruits that a good Power has made the earth produce for man's sustenance and allevia- tion of human diseases. The healthiness of currants is conceded by all physicians. Currant jelly is 636 THE GARDEN AND ITS FRUITS. [Ohap. V- a most toothsome sub-aeid condiment for convalescents, particularly tliose re- covering from fever. It has been much sought for of late in army hospitals. 606. Black Currants— How Grown for Hinc in France.— It is about twenty years since the manufacture of wine from black currants was commenced in tlie Department Cote-d'Or, France, upon a scale large enough to furnish a wine of commerce, since which the manufacture has increased very exten- sively ; three houses at Dijon produced in 1860 about 88,000 gallons. Near Lyons, black currants are grown to sell to the Dijon wine-makers. Tliere are other establishments at Beaune, and other small towns, and the manu- facture is now so well established that landowners are cropping tlieir land with black currants alone, the number of plants introduced into vineyards being also on the increase. The rage, indeed, for planting was so great in 1857, that rooted plants sold as high as $16, and even §21: per thou- sand. Now, however, price has found its iisual level, that of $1 to $6 per thousand. Tlie exact number of plants cultivated around Dijon does not seem to be ascertainable, the proprietors themselves not knowing how many they have ])lanted. It is, however, probable that to estimate the number near "Dijon at 1,500,000 would be greatly below rather than above the mark. "In the Department of tlic Cotc-d'Or, the center of currant cultivation exactly coincides with that of the vine. In fact, it m.-iy be said to extend from Chagny to Dijon in a narrow zone skiiting the eastern slope of the mountain chain of the Cote-d'Or, eighteen to twenty-five miles in length, and from one to three ]niles in breadth. "Within these narrow limits are to be found all the great growths of Burgundy wine, coimected by vineyards only producing v!n ordinaire. It is among these, and in land of a similar nature, that the black currant is cultivated. Many of the villages pro- ducing large quantities of the latter, arc noted for the excellence of their wines, as, for example : Yolnay, Beaune, Aloxe, Savignj', Preineaux, Nuits, Vougeot, Chambollo, Tosne, Morey, Gevrey-Chambcrtin, Broclion, Fixin, Marsannay, Talant, Fontaine. Leaving this center, the currant follows the vine in the valleys that traverse the mountain range toward the west. There are extensive plantations at Nolay, Plombieres, Malain, Laumes, and Montbard, and others occur occasionally in the large and fertile plain which extends from the foot of the Cote-d'Or chain to the Saone, and in wliich the vine is not cultivated. Finally, they are to be found in the Department of the Saone-et-Loire, particularly in that part of it which adjoins the Cote- d'Or. Rather considerable plantations also occur near Autun and Clialon- sur-Saonc. " Contrary to what might have been expected in fruit with so strong a flavor, there exist great diiferences in the quality of the currants from ditier- cnt localities. The French liqueur-makers easily distinguish them, and carefully reserve currants of superior quality for first-class liqueur, which sells as high as GG cents per quart, wholesale. In general, indeed, -wherever wine is good, the currant is also good. By this is not meant the choice Sec. 34.] STRAWBERRY CULTURE. 537 growths but vins ordinaires, the vines producing which are frequently grown along with currants. " The currants are planted about four feet apart, and the after-culture consists in hoeing the ground deeply in the spring, and two or three hoeings during the summer to keep down the weeds. Pruning is done in the spring at the same time with the vines. As to soils, chalk or limestone, with a little clay in its composition, such as prevails in French wine districts, suits very well. " In regard to amount of fruit, and the price that can be obtained for it. Dr. Maillard estimates that every bush that has been planted five years, when the land is wholly occupied with the currants, will yield 3^ lbs. of fruit. The yield on buslies growing singly among the grapevines is much greater. Estimating the average yield at only 2} lbs. to a bush, and 2,24:0 bushes on an acre, we have 4,928 lbs. as the produce per acre. The average price of the fruit in former years was — in 1841, 80 cents per cwt. ; in 1842 and '43, $1 ; 1844 and '45, $2 ; 1856 and '57, $4 ; 1858, $7 50 ; and in 1859, from $5 to $7. It appears that some of the most important houses in Dijon have contracted with growers to take all their crops for ten or twelve years to come at $3 per cwt. This would give $147 per acre as the price of the fruit. The trouble of growing black currants is very little, and they make a delicious and healthy wine, far superior to what is usually sold under the name of Port." It must be seen from this statement that black currants could be profitably grown in this country for the same purpose. Indeed, they have been, to a limited extent. COT. Strawberries— Profltable and Healthy.— We suppose we need not ofier argument to any one who has ever grown strawberries in the garden, to prove that no other fruit or vegetable can be grown with greater profit, whetlier for sale or use. Equally profitable for use as for sale, because promotive of health in an extreme degree ; afl"ording, too, a degree of satisfaction to the family not realized by anything else grown in the garden. This is owing in some measure to the circumstance of its being the earliest garden fruit, M'lien nature craves just such sub-acid food as the strawberry alone fur- nishes, and if produced in such an abundance, of the most choice varieties, that all the family, hirelings included, can eat to their heart's content, we are willing to warrant that for the time being there will be a happy fam- ily ; and while strawberries are in season, we will guarantee that the family has very little occasion for calling in the doctor. There is no fruit that can be indulged in to excess with so mucli impunity as strawberries. There- fore, for the promotion of health, wealth, and happiness, we urge farmers to pay more attention to their cultivation ; and to enable them to do so judi- ciously, we will give them some valuable facts about how to make a good lection, and how to make them productive. 608. The Best Sorts «f Strawberries. — It is just as important to grow the best sorts of strawberries as it is to grow the best varieties of corn and 538 THE GARDEN" AND ITS FRUITS. [Chap. V, potatoes. Tlic trouble is to know wliicli are the best sorts. Every localiiy has its favorite, and many individuals hold fast to the kind always grown in the family, and will not inquire whether there is a better one. To enable those who wish to improve to do so, and to assist tliose who would like to make a selection of the best, we give the following opinions of competent persons. During the strawberry season of 1859 the strawberry question was ably discussed before the American Institute Farmers' Club, and a committee was appointed to name six strawberries most worthy of general cultivation, in the order of their value. That committee rojiorted the following, which was approved by a full meeting : "1. Wilson^s Albany. — Its promising good qualities are productiveness, size, and firm, juicy flesh. It is, however, too acid for the taste of nwmj'. "2. LongwortK's Prolific. — Early, large, and of excellent flavor; only moderately productive ; sometimes running too much to leaf. '"3. Ilooker. — Good size, of a rich, sweet flavor; moderately productive. "4. MacAvoifs Superior. — Productive, large, and of excellent flavor; berries often defective in form. " 5. Ilovei/s Seedling. — This variety is too well known to need any de- scription. Its only defect is dryness and want of high flavor. "6. Burros New Pine. — Of exquisite flavor, medium size, only moder- ately productive; plants waht vigor and hardiness." At Eoston, the same season, the question was discussed by the Horticultu- ral Society, and a ballot taken as to the best six varieties for market, M-hich resulted as follows : Early Scarlet, 19 votes ; Wilson's Albany, 19 ; Hooker, 11 ; llovey, 10 ; Triomphe de Gand, 8 ; Burr's New Pine, G ; other varieties, 1 to 4 votes each. Another ballot was taken for the best six varieties for amateurs, which resulted in the following list: Early Scarlet, Hooker, Burr's New Pine, Ilovcy's Seedling, Wilson's Albany, and Triomphe do Gand. The same season R. G. Pardee, of New York, author of a book on straw- berry culture, made a report to the Farmers' Club, naming six sorts most profitable for cultivation for market purposes, including Early Scarlet, Wil- son's, Longworth's, Hovey's. At the same time Dr. Ward, a successful cultivator near Newark, N. J., exhibited twenty-three varieties, and made the following statement: "I will only speak briefly of some of the most prominent. The one much cultivated at Cincinnati, called the Iowa, is only good because it is very early. The Genesee seedling is without au equal for its beauty, and it is of a pleasant flavor. "The MacAvoy's Superior is too soft for marketing and apt to rot, though fine-looking. " Longworth's Prolific, which can be grown thirty-two to the i)ound, is a remarkably fine variety. "The Wilson Seedling has one objection for field-culture — its heavy ber- ries beat down to the earth and injure, unless the land is well mulched. It Sec. 34.] STRAWBERRIES. 539 is a vigorous grower, and the most prolific of all, and is a good berry for transportation, as well as prolific. "Tlie Virginia Scarlet is the earliest of all varieties, but it is good only for a very early crop. "The Monroe Scai'let grows in clusters, and is easily separated from tlic stalk, and good on that account. " The Wyllie is much like the Monroe, but not easily separated. "The Walker is an excellent berry, but too soft for market. Yet it is very rich when picked and eaten in the garden, and well worthy the atten- tion of private families. It is an honest berry. " The Crimson Cone is a great market berry, but too soft for transportation without injury. " Burr's New Pine is tlie richest berry that we have. It bears rather shyly. It is not productive enough for a market-gardener's fruit, but should be in every garden. > " The Ilovcy Seedling is one that I can not dispense with ; it is always satisfactory. The average is not very large, but very good, and bears car- riage pretty well. " The Boston Pine should always be grown by the side of the Hovey, botli for a fertilizer and for its fruit. " The Moyainensing Pine is a good late berry ; valuable for preserving as sweetmeats. " Young's Seedling, from Philadelphia, is nothing but a Ilovey Seedling. " A nameless berry, that originated on my place, has many good points ; but I must not say too much about it. The excellence of the berry is, that in itself it is all that we want ; it does not need sugar, has a fine aroma, is of good size, and is very hardy ; the foot-stalk stands up well, so the fruit does not get dirty. " The Peabody Seedling is not quite all that many expected by the eclat given to it by the original propagator, tliougli a pretty good berry. "For productiveness, or best pecuniarily, the strawberry for me is the Iowa ; yet it is the least valuable fruit. I have never marketed Wilson's, but I think it will prove at least one of six most prolific of returns to the cultivator, if not quite the best. Longworth's Prolific and Ilovey's are among tlie six. The seedling I have shown bids fair to be more profitable than anything that I have grown. It is my business to grow strawberries and other fruits to make money, and I can get three times as much for equal measure of Ilovey's Seedlings as for the common market sorts." As to productiveness and value of varieties, Dr. Ward said : " '1 he most productive strawberries that I grow are staminates or her- maphrodites, and I think that is the opinion of others. " The following four varieties, in their order, are likely to prove most profit- able to the market gardener: AVilson's Seedling; Iowa Strawberry ; Early Scarlet, Virginia Scarlet or Scotch Runner; and Longworth's Prolific. These are what are called hermaphrodite, or staminates, and they are all 540 SMALL FRUITS OF THE GARDEN. [Chap. V. great producers, and more eo tliau any pistillates or any other that I ever grew. '•The Wilson Seedling has a perfect blossom, and is one of the most pro- ductive strawberries known ; the fruit is pretty strongly acid. Many of tlie flowers of the wild strawberry are barren for want of other plants near them to furnisli impregnating pollen, and that is the reason why we see such a show of blossoms some seasons in the fields, and so little fruit. " Ilovej-'s Seedling must have fertilizing plants set with it. Wilson's Seedling is a perfect plant, and fertilizes itself." Mr. Knox, a large cultivator of strawberries near Pittsburg, after a trial of three years, previous to ISGO, places at the head of the list of strawber- ries the Triomphe de Gand. lie says: " But little has yet been said about this variet}-, and it lias not been generally cultivated, but as soon as well known it will be the most popular strawberry in the country. Tiiere is no known excellence which it does not possess. Tlie plants arc thrifty, hardy, and vigorous growers, bcjiring their fruit well up, which renders it easy to be kept clean. They are also wonder- fully productive, and the fruit is not only usually of very large size, but uni- formly so and throughout the season, which is longer with it than with most other varieties. The flavor is everything which could be desired. It is of a very beautiful crimson color, glossy, and altogether lovely. It keeps well after being picked, retaining its beautiful color and firmness, and carries better than any other variety." He regards the Wilson's Albany as a very valuable and profitable variety, and has shown his faith in it by planting fifteen acres. In addition to its many other excellences, it has proved a superior berry for canning or preserving. Its weight, size, solidity, flavor, and color render it popular for this use. Scott's Seedling is remarkably mild, combining a pleasant peach and strawberry taste, nmch liked, except by those who prefer very acid fruit. It is a conical, bright crimson berry, of fair size, with, generally, a cavity in the center — hermaphrodite. , " The true Bishop's Orange will be good for a late ripening crop, and is remarkable for its beauiiful orange-scarlet color, and for its productive- ness. The Jenny Lind is very earh-, a good bearer, double the size of Early Scarlet, fine color, well flavored, productive, and a favorite in Xew En- gland. Feabody's Seedling is a very shy bearer, and is nowhere a favorite at the Korth. Prince's Scarlet Magnate is a beautiful sort, and a rampant grower. The Bartlett, said to be a new seedling, originating in Brooklyn, N. Y., is an excellent strawberry. The pleasantest flavored strawberry grown is Burr's New Pine, and Swain- stone's the richest, but these are not productive sorts. Sec. 34.] STRAWBERRIES. 541 The following is a description of the Austin, a seedling originated by the Watervliet Shakers: Fruit large, roundish to conical, sometimes flat, occasionally necked, and uniformly with a large core; color light scarlet; seed brown, slightly im- bedded; flesh white, rather soft and dry, acid, and somewhat deficient in flavor ; calyx large, many-parted, and persistent ; stem stout and erect ; flowers staminate. It is said to be very productive, but the fruit is too soft for long transportation. Tlie Boyden Seedling is noted for its mild character, which is such that the most delicate invalids may use it with impunity. It grows to a large size, is a very delicious berry, but rather a shy bearer. The White Alpine may be cultivated for variety and late fruit, but the berries are small, and the vines not productive. We have made the following selection for our own use, all of which have their points of excellence, as grown in our garden for family use, to wit: Wilson's Albany Seedling, the most prolific, and when its large berries are well ripened, not too acid. The trouble is, that servants will pick them before ripe, because they are red. They are so a full day before they are ripe. Hooker's Seedling grows vigorously', and is productive, and fruit excel- lent ; large size, and handsomer than the Wilson, whicli is very dark. This is one of the best for family use. It was originated in 1850 by II. E. Hooker, of Rochester. The Bartlett, we believe will prove equal to either of the above for family use. The Austin Seedling is likely to prove valuable for family use, because it is a later ripening sort than the others. The Hovey is a very shy bearer in our garden. The Jenny Lind is not so promising as it is said to be in Massachusetts. MacAvoy's Superior is good for family use, but too tender for marketing, and so is Burr's New Pine, but is of high flavor, and requires high culture. Prince's Eclipse, Scarlet Magnate, and Climax are all handsome sorts, and wondei-fully vigorous growers. The Boston Pine produces an excellent berry, round, deep crimson ; very handsome. The Genesee is a good-sized, long-necked berry, very mild, but not very excellent. The British Queen is a high-flavored strawberry in England, where it is considered the standard of perfection. Fruit irregular shaped. Longworth's Prolific, originated by the celebrated Nicholas Longworth, of Cincinnati, is an excellent family berry. The Peabody strawberry, originated by Chas. A. Peabody, of Columbus, Ga., and sold by him at a high price, is not worth as much for cultivation with us' as several other sorts. Rivers' Eliza, an English sort, has the highest reputation of the imported 542 SMALL FRUITS OF TEIE GARDEN. [Chap. V. varieties. The fruit is large, rich, and juicy, but the plants do not stand our hot dry weather very -well. The Red Alpine, a native of the Alps, will produce an autumn crop if the spring blossoms are cut off. Scott's Seedling grows one of the handsomest strawberries of the fam- ily ; it is very bright crimson, large, conical form, and pretty ; high flavored. Besides these, we have one called Chili, which we can give a high recom- nicndation. These make np a fine assortment, but we can not advise farmers generally to try to cidtivate more than three or four good sorts, embracing an early, medium, and late ripening kind. 609. Seedling Strawberries. — Seeing what wonderful improvements liave been made Mithiu a few years, every one who can devote attention to it should continue the effort to obtain a still better seedling than has yet been produced. We shall hope on till some enthusiast gets a seedling as large and prolific as the Wilson, and as high flavored as the Swainstone, Britisii Queen, Rivers' Eliza, Boston Pine, or any other. In 1S61, Andrew S. Fuller, a skillful horticulturist of Brooklyn, N. Y., and an enthusiast in l)ursuit of seedlings, had over a hundred new ones, all of which were good, grown from the seed of the AVilson, Ilovey, Peabody, and some other large sorts, and twenty-seven of them were selected by a committee of horticul- turists as fully worthy of further trial on account of their many excellent qualities. In 1862 the same committee made repeated examinations of these seed- lings while in bearing, and finally selected three sorts, which we believe, and so do many persons who tested them and saw their growth and productive- ness, make np as good an assortment as it is possible to obtain for family use. All are hermaplirodite plants; rank growers; very prolific ; berries of large size and good color ; one of them remarkably handsome. One ripens early, one late, and one between, so as to give ripe fruit throughont several weeks. These new seedlings will become universally known as the Trlbdne Peizk Stuawberuies, having been purchased by the New York Tribune Association for $3,000, with the design to send plants to all of its suliscribers. Tliey will probably bo known hereafter as the " Colonel Ellsworth," which is the earliest ; the Monitor or Tribune Mammoth, which is the next ripe ; and the Brooklyn Scarlet, whicli is one of the handsomest strawberries ever produced. Tills great sale of seedlings should encourage others to produce them. Take ripe berries and mash them with sand, and thoroughly mix and sow the sand and seed in carefully prepared beds. The seed-bed must be made in a shady spot, and kept well watered. Wlien the plants are largo enough, they are transplanted to the bearing-beds, and the runners care- fully cut off. Wlien the plants fruit, if one is promising, remove it to the trial bed, where it can remain fruiting two or three years. Sec. 34.] STEAWBKREIES. 543 Mr. Fuller carefully hybridized by band all the blossoms of the plants from which he obtained his seedlings. 610. Product of Strawberries per Acrct — The following statement (1861) from a strawberry-grower in Delaware tells liow many berries were produced as a first crop, and shows that what has been done may be done again, not by one, but by many who will pursue the same course. He says : " The soil is sandy loam, with a subsoil composed of clay and sand in nearly equal parts. In January, 1S59, the ground was plowed to the depth of eight or ten inches, turning under a timothy sod three years old, and sub- soiled ten or twelve inches deejjer, so that every part of the soil and subsoil was loosened to the depth of eighteen to twenty inches. In April, 1859, I plowed under a heavy dressing of stable manure, harrowed and raked the ground until it was M-ell pulverized, removed all the grass, and after giving a top dressing of twelve bushels of unleached ashes, set out Wilson's Albany Seedling strawberry plants in rows three feet apart and one foot between the plants in the row. Tlie bed had two hoeings before the runners com- menced to grow, and afterward was keiit free from weeds by the hand. This constitutes the great expense of cultivating strawberries upon an ex- tensive scale, as it is essential to the production of large crops for successive years that the plants shall not be smothered nor the ground exhausted by the production of weeds. No protection was furnished to the bed during the winter. This spring the ground was almost entirely covered with plants, and permitted to remain undisturbed, with the exception of the necessary weeding. Tlie bed blossomed early and very freely. On May 27 the first quart of berries M'as picked, and the bed continued to yield until June 16. Every care has been taken to keep an accurate account of the quantity gathered, and the yield has been 880 plants, making 9,050 quarts, or 282 bushels to the acre. The number of berries growing and manuring \ipon single pljints was frequently over 200, and in several instances 300 were connted upon a plant. The berries M-ere large and fine looking, those first sent to Wilmington selling for 25 cents a quart at a time when the common variety was bringing only 10 cents. Having other beds for my own con- sumption, all the berries from this bed were sold for $116 1-t, from which, deducting $21 98 for cominission, freight, and picking, leaves $9i 16 as the net return from loss than one tenth of one acre of ground. This variety possesses all the requisites of a market beny, being large, handsome, and very firm, meeting with a ready sale, and yielding, under equal circum- stances, as great a number of bushels to the acre as can be obtained from the cultivation of the potato. I am confident that a greater yield can be obtained by cutting paths one foot in width between the rows, as originally planted, thus dividing the plantation into beds two feet in width, so that tiie vines can receive more air and light, and the berries be gathered without trampling upon the plants." 611. Staminate, PistiHate, and Hermaphrodite Blossoms.— It appears to be a settled question that there are three distinct forms among the blossoms of 5-44: SMALL FRUITS OF THE GARDEN. [Chap. V. Btrawberries, and that two of them yr'iM not produce fruit except by impreg- nation one with the other. Tiiesc are called male and female flowers, the male flower growing stamens without pistils, and the female flower pistils ■without stamens. The other, called hermaphrodite, is furnislicd with both, and has the power of self-fertilization in each blossom. The female, or pistillate flower, has a golden center, the pistils covering it like short stiff Lairs. The male, or staminato flower, has a dark center, from -which grow a dozen or more stamens, which are little stems with knobs on the ends, which bear the pollen that must come in contact with the pistils to fructify them, or else the plants will be barren of fruit. Some plants bear all staminate and some all pistillate flowers, and where that is the case, unless the two sorts grow in nroximiry, both ■will be nearly destitute of berries. It is often observed tliat strawberry blossoms are abundant in the fields, and fruit scarce. This is owing to the sexuality of flowers, and the lack of favorable circumstances to produce impregnation. Tiie great scarcity of bees in many of the old States cuts off the agencies by which nature carries on the work of fecundation of flowers. Some varieties of strawberries always produce hermaphrodite flowers, the center of which is like the pistillate, with stamens growing out of it, as they do from the center of the staminate flower. This kind of blossoms will pro- duce fruit if there should be no other sort growing near. Although a pistillate variety will not produce without the aid of stamin- ates, if the two kinds are set together the staminates soon outgrow the others, and so take possession of the ground, that in three or four years the bed afibrds but a meagre supply of fruit. Great care, therefore, must be used in cultivating strawberries not to let the barren, rapid-growing, male plants overpower the female ones, wliicli are the true fruit-bearers. 612. Soil— Preparation and Cultivation for Strawberries. — The best soil is that lately in forest, of a gravelly-loam character, situated on a gentle southeast- ern slope, and should be underdrained, spade-trenched, or deeply subsoiled, and made rich and mellow before setting the plants. If underdrained thorougldy it will soon pay the cost in extra productiveness. If iJossible, protect the north and west sides by high fences or hedge. Tlie best manure is woods-mold, and unlcached ashes, and what is known as the "lime and salt mixture" — that is, a bushel of salt in just water enough to dissolve it, and that used to slake tliree bushels of lime ; shell-lime is best. If land is parched with drouth, without artificial watering the fruit will be deficient, thongli all other requisites are complete. All the fertilizers should be mixed in the soil before the plants are set. Twenty or thirty bushels of ashes, three bushels of salt, and nine of lime may be used up on an acre, and the more the soil is stirred in its preparation the better ; and it sliould be as free of -weeds and grass as possible. "When ready to set your plants, rake the bed smooth and mark off the rows, and procure strong-rooted plants, and dip the roots as you proceed in Sec. 34.] STRAWBERRIES. 545 water, tliick with rich earth or compost, and set them no deeper than they naturally stood, being careful to cover with fine earth well pressed. If you intend your bed to cover all the earth, set the plants a foot apart each way. If to be kept in hills, two feet apart. If in rows, make them three feet apart, and the plants eight to twelve inches apart in the rows. There is no wrong season, when the plants are not bearing, to transplant strawberries. Perhaps the best time is after the old roots send out runners, and the first of them get well rooted. Then cut the connection with the old stool, and keep the new root from sending out runners until it becomes a strong root, and then, if your new bed is to be made in the same locality, take up the plants with a transplanting-trowel, M-ith all the dirt that will adhere, and lay them on boards and carry right to the spot where they are to be set, and put them in suitable holes scooped out with the trowel or hand, and they will keep on growing almost as freely as though they had not been removed. Keep the ground free of weeds, and frequently stirred between the plants, till winter, and then cover with forest leaves, held in place by brush or a little dirt scattered over. In the spring, rake the leaves off the plants, and leave them as a mulch between. After fruiting, the run- ners begin to put out. If your plan is to keep distinct hills, cut off all run- nel's every week. If your plan is for rows, keep working between the rows, and turn the runners so as to form a growth of plants a foot wide, leaving a s))ace for working two feet wide between. This is the best plan for field- culture, working the beds by horse-hoe. When the rows get grassy, and need changing, run the subsoil-plow deeply and repeatedly through the rows, and work in the necessary fertilizers, and prepare a new row of plants by setting or training runners to the right spots, and let them set themselves, cutting aw-ay all the surplus ones. Then, late in the fall, the old row is to be completely turned under by the spade or plow, and so this renewal sys- tem may be continued, turning down a portion of the old bed each year, and thus having vigorous plants always in full bearing. Where the plants are set with the design of coveiing all the surface, the runners are permitted to spread where they will the first year, and the second year the poorest plants, old or young, should be cut out, so as not to allow the bed to become matted. When it begins to fail, from being over- run with weeds or grass, or from the plants becoming feeble from age or want of room, divide it into strips two feet wide, and turn under alternate ones, and fertilize the ground for a new setting of plants to spread over it from runners ; and when they are well established, turn over the other strips in the same way, and so continue. At every new preparation of the bed add ashes if you can, or bone-dust, or superphosphate of lime, or fine com- post, in which rotted sods, leaves, and woods-mold hold the greatest share, and then no other manuring will be necessary while the plants are in bear- ing except the mulching of leaves, straw, or salt haj', that you should give every winter. Where it can be had conveniently, always get spent tan-bark for mulching. Turners' chips are a very good substitute, and so arc leather 540 SMALL FRUITS OF THE GARDEN. [CniP. V. sliavings. When any fine material is used I'or nuilcliing, be careful not to smother the plants. Sawdust, and also scrapings from the wood-pile, may he used if care is had about smothering. Covering the ground permanently with saw-log slabs has been practiced with pleasing success. The plants were set in well-prepared soil, in straight rows one foot apart, and then slabs notched on the edge about three inciies (leej) were fitted to the plants, so that they grew in bunches in holes about si.K inches wide, and of course free from weeds and grass. By this plan no new jilants are made from runners ; so, if such arc desired, a bed must be kept for that purpose. The old stools of strawberry plants, after a few years, grow so much above the surface that they are not productive. Ilence the necessity of frequent renewals. Some Long Island market gardeners set the plants so as to work between the rows with a horse cultivator the first season, keeping the ground clean until the runners begin to take root. Next season the field produces one heavy crop, when the weeds are allowed to grow a few weeks, and vines and all are then plowed under, and a new plantation started. Never set the plants any deeper than they originally stood. Although wo should always prefer new plants, yet it may be remembered that tlie act of transplanting old roots, even those that have become barren, causes tliem to sciul out new bearing crowns, and so become fruitful again. It is also recommended, by those who have proved its value, to hill up old stools with fresh earth, which has the effect to make them fruitful again. Watering in a dry time is highly important. It will keep the plants in bearing twice as long as without it. Charles A. Peabod}', near Columbus, Ga., has certainly been one of the most successful strawberry culturists in tiiis country. He has carried berries to market more than six months of the year, and he obtained them by copious watering with a movable pump ^a garden engine. He planted his beds upon sandy land, newly clear.'d of pine and oak timber, choosing a flat near a little brook, on account of ciui- venience of water. He used no other fertilizer at first than what was obtained by burning the timber and brush and scattering the ashes, and afterwaid l)y nuilching with forest leaves. After the fruit season, his practice M'as for a hand to go tlirough with a hoc and cut up the poorest-looking plants, so as to keep them from getting too thick, and then the mulch being put on, pre- vents tiie runners from setting, and they are afterward cut away. lie is careful to have all the vines cut ofi'left on the ground, considering them the best kind of fertilizers. This is true in regard to all kinds of plants ; tlio ashes are the best kind of manure for the same kind growing 613. Raspberries. — ^This delicious fruit has not yet reached the perfection that strawberries have. We regard the strawberry as tiie chief of the small fruits, from its being the earliest fruit to come into bearing after planting, its cosmopolitan character, its enormous productiveness, ease of culture and I'eliability, and last, though not least, its delicious qualities ; and we regard the best of our cultivated raspberries nearly equal, but unfortunately the Sec. 34.] RASPBERRIES. 547 plants are not liardy. It is perplexing to a farmer, and so it is to any one but a professional gardener, to have to look after the raspberry plants, and earefully cover ihem before winter sets in. We need a new raspberry, as delicious as Fastolf or Brinckle's Orange, and hardy as the Black Cap, or wild red sort which produces so abundantly in Vermont and Canada. To this end we must undoubtedly look to the native seedlings principally to obtain the hardiness and vigor of constitution necessary to enable the canes to with- stand our winters, if possible, without injury. Many seedlings have been introduced, but they are mostly direct descend- ants of European kinds, and have not generally proved much hardier than their parents ; and like them in that and some other respects, have not grown generally popular or given entire satisfaction. Wc do not despair of seeing a new ras})beiTy that will have all the good qualities desired. E. C. Clark, of New Haven, has shown specimens of a new seedling raspberry which promises to be an acquisition of considerable value to fruit-growers. It is stated as being hardy for out-door culture, red color, and certainly a very good flavor and fair size, and sufficiently hard to bear transportation. Lewis F. Allen, of Black Eock, N. Y., has distributed a raspberry that promises good results, and by some is very highly approved. II. H. Doolittle, of Oak's Corners, Ontario County, N. Y., thinks he has improved the Black Cap raspberry so as to get the good qualities we have mentioned. He says the bushes are as liardy as the wild sort, and he is well backed by certificates of good men that they bear abundantly, and that the fruit is rich, and that it bears transportation perfectly. Tlie Catawissa raspberry is called an ever-bearing sort, but is not more so than the Belle de Fontenay, though it may be a little more hardy. It is objected to by those who wish to increase the plants, that it does not throw olf sufficient oifshoofs. The Kirtland raspberiy has received some high commendations in Ohio, ripening its fruit in June, and continuing to produce rich red berries abun- dantly for three weeks. E. G. Pardee, in speaking of this variety of fruit, says : " Most of the plants sold for pure Antwerp raspberries are poor things, and, in fact, we have but very few sorts of raspberries worthy of cultivation that are hardy. Brinckle's Orange is about the best light-colored sort cultivated, but that is not quite hardy. The Belle de Fontenay is highly esteemed, but that nor no other can be truly called ' ever-bearing.' The only way to get a full crop in autumn is to cut away all the canes in May ; that throws the strength of the whole root into the new canes. The Belle and the Four Seasons, and perhaps some other of the ever-bearing sorts, will produce a good fall crop with this treatment. I believe the Fastolf the best family raspberry that we have." 614. Blackberries.— -Tliere is but one variety of blackberries e.xtensively cultivated, and that is known as the "Lawton," or "New Eochelle Black- 548 SMALL FRUITS OP THE GARDEN. [Chap. V. l)oiTy ;" and it is truly a most magnificent fruit, and productive beyond belief. "VVc are fully satisfied that it is as liardy with us as the native black- berry, the tlierniometer having been several times below zero, our unpro- tected vines have sustained no injury. Its xmiversal ])roductiveness is undoubted by all who have seen mature plants in full bearing. The size of the fruit exceeds any other sort, and when suflercd to remain on the vines till fully ripe, it is not too acid, which is the only fault we ever heard charged against it. These berries often appear fully ripe to an unpracticed eye, yet are really unfit to cat. When perfectly ripe, the berries lose the shining appearance, and if tickled a little will fall into the hand. Tlie New Koclielle blackberry originated in the town which it is named after, about twenty miles northeast of New York city. It is either an ac- cidental seedling of the wild variety, or else a sort brought there by the Fi-ench Huguenots, who settled that place. It was discovered growing wild by a Mr. Sccor, from whom "William Lawton, who lived in the village of New Eochelle, obtained his first plants, and began their propagation, though slowly, because he lacked the skill of a ))rofessed nurseryman. George Sej-mour & Co., of Norwalk, Ct., nurserymen, obtained some plants about the same time, and went to work skillfully to increase their stock before advertising the wonders of tlie new berry to the world. In the mean time Mr. Lawton made a show of the fruit, and the enormously thrifty growth of the plant, before the American Institute Farmers' Club, which was given to understand, from his statement, that it was a seedling originated by him, and thereupon it was named the "Lawton Blackberry." Others, knowing that ho did not originate it, have insisted that he was not entitled to the name, and call it the " New Rochclle Blackberry." By either name the fruit is the same, and is well worthy of cultivation. The bush is one of the rankest-growing ones of the ruhus family, and bears enormcAis crops. We have counted over a thousand berries on a single cane, and know that a hundred bushels have often been picked ivoiw an acre. The berries are in per- fection the middle of August, and the common selling price in New York for some years was twent^'-five cents a quart, and when the wholesale price fell to ten or twelve cents, some of the largest growers would not sell them, pre- ferring to squeeze out the juice and convert it into wine or cordial. The quality of the berries is that of a very juicy pulp, much larger in proportion to the seed and hard core than in the very best wild sorts, and the i)erries grow to nearly double the size, of roundish form, about an inch long, more resembling the running variety than any of the berries of the wild high vines. Tlie plants endure the coldest weather witliout any protection, and will grow upon any rich soil and bear an}' amount of manure. G1.5. How to Plant aud Ciiltivate the Lawton Blackberries.— If the plants are taken from the ground and planted while the roots are fresh, they will all live. If suftered to got dry, the most of them will die. Even one hour of exposure to the sun or drying wind is apt to prove fatal. If they are Sbo. 34.] BLACKBERRIES. 549 put up by iiurseryinen in good order, they will bear transportation well. When the package is opened, bury the roots immediately in fresh earth, and draw them out only when ready to set immediately in their places. Under no circumstances must the roots be exposed long enough to get dry, nor drenched with frequent waterings after being set, nor must you expect them to grow in poor soil without manure. The whole 7'uhus family are gross feeders, and none more so than the Lawtou blackberry. For a garden plat, lay cut a bed from four to six feet wide, near a fence or any other convenient place; spade the ground from sixteen to twenty inches deep ; if the subsoil is gravel, throw it out and put good soil in its place. Distance should be from six to eight feet apart. The stems of the plants should be cut down to six inches. Plant the roots about three to six inches deep ; when planted in autunm, cover with straw, mulch, or litter, which remove in the sjjring. Allow but two canes to grow from each root the first summer ; these will produce fruit the second summer. At the same time other shoots will make their appearance, preparatory to bearing the ensuing season, and but two of these should be allowed to grow — consequentlj' there will be two growing and two bearing canes to each root every season — the latter will die in the fall and should then be removed. It is no trifling job to trim up a lot of these plants as they should be, and no one should attempt it without l>eing suitably dressed with stout cloth — a kind of duck, such as sailors wear, is the best — and leather mittens. If j'ou wish to set out a field of blacklierries, manure the ground as you would for a crop of corn, plow deep and harrow well, then run furrows eight feet apart; cross-mark same distance apart with a chain or other instrument, giving eight feet each way between the plants — some cultivators recom- mend ten feet each way — set about six inches deep, and only one plant to the hill. The vines or canes will, the first year, take rather a low or ti-ailing form; these should be shortened in a little in the spring; then cover the ground with old straw or litter under them, after putting the ground in order, letting the fruit rest ujion the mulch, which keeps it clean from the ground. The nqxt, or second year, the plant takes an upright form, throwing up two, three, and sometimes four large shoots. Plow and cultivate freely but shallow, using plow and cultivator two or three times the fore part of the season, keeping down all weeds and the ground in fine tilth, after Avhicli mulching with salt-hay, straw, seaweed, or anything that can be got hold of, will be found of special value, keeping the ground moist and friable, and the fruit clean. When about four and a half feet high, prune by pinching out or cutting off the buds of the leading shoots, which will cause the side-shoots to start and make stouter and better bearing plants. After pruning, stake the plants, tying them in an inclined p'^sition, be- 550 THE GAUDEX AND ITS FRUITS. [Chap. V. cause if trained upriglit the siile-braiiclics arc apt to break down from tlie weiijlit of I lie fruit. Tlie aliovo are tlio dircfiioiis given by Mr. Seymour, ■who had five acres in full beariii;^ when we saw and made a careful examination of them .some years ago. Oa the iirst lialf acre planted we found ten rows, of thirty- two bunches each, making 320 roots as originally set upon the half acre. The lowest estinla^e of any of the gentlemen present was five quarts of berries to a bunch of roots. That would make live bushels to the row, and fifty bushels to the half acre. Knowing that it takes only an average of 120 berries to a quart, from rough calcula:ion of numbers we are satisfied the average will be eight quarts to the bunch. But let us take the lowest estimate, one hundred bushels per acre, and we liave a crop worth eight liutidred dollars, at the then wholesale price of twenty -five cents a quart. And even at only one fourth that price the crop would be a good one. Mr. Lawton's method of pruning his plants consists in carefully lieading back all the branches to the fully-ripened wood. In some cases half of the length of the plant is cut away — generally about one third of the length. Then all tlic fruit comes in perfection. Commence to liead back Avith the plants the fiiv-t year of bearing, when 200 to 250 berries may be expected from each plant, as it branches out very full of bearing limbs. CI '5. Th3 Dorchester GlackbcrricSt— Since the successful introduction of the New Uochclle blackberry, several attempts have been made to bring others, possessing some peculiarity, into notice. Among these the best and most success£iil is one called the Dorchester Ijlackberry, originating in the town of that name in Massachusetts, and first brought into notice by Capt. Lovet, of Beverly; it is a sweet, excellent fruit, and by many pei"sons in that State is much more preferred than the Lawton, which does not ripen as well in tlic viciniiy of Boston as it does at New York. C17. The Tlioralfss Blackberry originated, or at least was brought into notice by Jonas Newman, in Ulster County, N. Y., where it is said to be remarkably prolific. If so, it loses its character whenever rcmovetl far fi-om its original locality. The fruit is sweeter than the New Uochclle variety, and it is much easier gathered on account of the partially thornless charac- ter of the jilants ; but they are very shy bearers in every locality where we have seen or heard of their cultivation east of the Hudson. CIS. White Blackberries, if such a misnomer may be allowed, are among the novelties of the day, or rather among the old things which are every now and then ln-ought forward as novelties. The berries are of a dirty white color, of an insipid sweet taste, having no distinct character either sweet or sour. We would not, even for the novelty, give tlieni garden- room. C19. The Parsley-Leafed Blackberry is an old variety, which is every now and then brought forward as something new. It is unlike the Lawton in tills particular, that it does not bear prum'ng, and its long, climbing vines must be trained upon trellis-work to produce well. It is valuable to use as Sec. Si.] BLACKBERRIES. 551 a covering of unsightly walls or rocks, and may be grown on a trellis or rock-work to good advantage, as its foliage is very ornamental and the fruit delicious. 620. The Cut-Lfaf Blackberry, we think, is the same as the Parsley-leaf variety, being called differently in different places. There are two sorts known as "Double White Blossomed" and "Double Pink-Blossomed," used for ornamental purposes, and for tliat are really pretty adjuncts to landscape-gardening. But the most ornamental black- berry that we have ever seen, is a new variety wliicli we first saw in the garden of Andrew S. Fuller, Brooklyn. The Mdiole stem is of delicate pale- green color, and the foliage is very pretty. G21. The Rnuning or Trailing Blackberry has been lately cultivated with great success, and as much improved in quality, size, and productive- ness as any otiier wild fruit by cultivation and rich manuring. It will grow upon very poor land if manured, and particularly delights in old stone walls, rocks, stumps, or fence rows, and might be made particularly useful upon many places where rocks abound, as they do in New England, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. On Long Island, the running blackberry is one of the most valuable crops that many farms produce. The business of picking and sending to market has been systematized by Joseph French, whose name is worthy of mention as a benefactor to that region. Much of the laud from which Long Island blackberries are gathered is very sandy, and almost barren, having been turned out to common as too poor for longer cultivation. But since picking blackberries has become a business, some farmers have allowed cornfields to grow up along the rows, and continued plowing between, and in some cases using manure, which has made the berries double the size of wild ones. We recommend growing a plot of running blackberries in every farm gar- den where this variety grows naturally. 622. Value of Blackberries for Wiue. — Besides the object of raising black- beriies for the fruit to eat or sell, there is another of equal importance. A very palatable wine or cordial can be made, which, if sold at the usual rates, will make the crop a very profitable one; for the juice of 80 quarts of Law- ton blackberries, with 90 pounds of double-refined sugar, will make a barrel of wine, sncli as has commanded $2 a gallon, for several years, in New York. Now if we count the wine at a wholesale ]irice of only $1 a gallon, and re- duce the price of berries, tlie following would be something like the items of cost of wine: 2i bushels (80 quarts) of berries, for a barrel, at 6} cents, 85; 90 pounds of sugar, at IH cents, $10 35; crushing and mixing, 65 cents; cost per barrel, $16. The product of wine per acre, yielding 100 bushels of berries, would be 40 barrels, costing, exclusive of berries, §11 a barrel, and selling, at $1 per gallon, for $1,200. Upon this calculation, will the market ever be glutted, or will the crop, which costs no more than a crop of corn, exclusive of the picking, ever cease to be remunerating ? 552 SMALL FRUITS OF THE GARDEN. [Chap. V. There is another tiling in tliis connection. We have, we do, we shall send Oliio whisky to France, to be run tlirongh the Stills upon the lees of tlu; wine-press, which we buy back at a high price under the name of brandy. From blackberry wine we can make a very superior brandy at less cost and far more fit for medicinal purposes. We can also make blackl)erry sirup, it' we have the fruit in abundance, that will cure all the summer complaints in the community, and save the lives of an army of children every year. For sirup, no water is added to the juice and sugar; for wine, after the sugar is well dissolved by frequent shaking of the barrel, it is filled up with water and allowed to ferment, and then treated as all domestic wine should be. [See 469 to 47G.] 623. GooscberrieSt — There are about a dozen sorts of gooseberries in com- mon use, the most of them English ; and however much they may be pre- ferred, we liave to say that the English varieties of the gooseberry have never succeeded in this country, only in a few localities, and we doubt if they ever will. Indeed, there is no place on the Eastern Continent where the goose- berry lias been brought to the- perfection that it has in England. In lialy, where it is found in its wild state, it has never received extensive cultivation, or thought worthy of it. In Spain it is scarcely known ; in France it is but little esteemed ; and in no country docs it thrive so well as in the humid at- mosi>here of England. And it is to this perfect adaptation of the climate to the plant that the great improvement of this fruit is owing more tlian to the skill of the cultivator. In Holland and some parts of Germany it is culti- vated with success, having a climate milder than that of England, with much of its hnmidity. To succeed here with gooseberries, we must jilant theni upon soil that is cool and moist, on the iiorlh side of a hill, or a cool and half-shady place, and then keep the bushes properly pruned ; for under such circumstances we have seen abundant and regular crops for years in succes- sion. If cultivators would take indigenous varieties, of which there are some twenty, and many of them superior to the native European variety, and sow the seed, and by so doing improve the fruit, wo should soon have varieties that would be equal, if not superior, to any imported variety. Besides being native, they would be exemjit from those diseases which we liave to contend with in the cultivation of the foreign kinds. The Shakers of New Lebanon, N. Y., have a gooseberry, called the " Mountain Seedling," that is very hardy, and of fair size and quality, that was found growing wild in that vicinity. You must not entertain the idea that you will get an improved vari- ety of fruit by purchasing sorts which have given remarkable results from very high cultivation. The currant will grow and produce fi'uit in almost any locality, badly neglected ; but the gooseberry will not grow in that way. We know that the English gooseberry has failed in most places under ordi- nary cultivation. But we have some very good native gooseberries that are perfectly hardy, and some of these have been greatly improved ; and we hope others will be, until we have a native gooseberry as hardy as the wild Seo. Si.]" QUINCES. 553 one, and as good as the best English ones, which are all seedlings from wild sorts, common in Piedmont and France. The Houghton Seedling appears to bo tiie favorite sort at present. The Houghton is a large, fine berry for marketing, but is not so delicate in texture nor excellent in fla%-or as some of the English sorts. We have seen a seedling variety that originated on Staten Island, that had grown sev- eral years free from mildew, and appeared very promising. Some i)ersons think the most delicate kinds can be grown upon " the renewal system" — that is, never suffer old wood to remain. Others say that if grown upon a clnv soil, and no heating manures ever used, and the ground mulched with salt-hay or its equivalent, all the English varieties of the gooseberry can bo grown in our climate as well as in England. Perhaps. As a general rule, the red varieties appear the most hardy. We believe that good cultivation and care will enable any one in almost any locality to grow good gooseberries free from mildew. But we do not be- lieve that farmers in general will bestow that care. If any one will, it is not necessary, perhaps, for us to resort to the native sorts, but we may at once» procure the very choicest English varieties, like some of the beautifid speci- mens exhibited at every fruit show. We will give the names of a few of the leading sorts of gooseberries culti- vated by gardeners and amateurs : Sheba Queen, Champagne Red, Cham- pagne Yellow, Whitesmith, Golden Drop, Keen Seedling, Green Gage, Crown Bob ; the first and last of the list are the most popular. The '• Mount- ain Seedling" should be added to tlie list. 62i. Quinces* — Although quinces can not properly be ranked among the " small fruits of the garden," Ave will introduce them here because they more properly belong to the garden than to the orchard. They should belong to every garden, because they are excellent fruit, always acceptable for family use, or salable at a liberal price in market. The tree is very hardy, and grows from four to twenty feet high while in good bearing condition. We have known them set by the side of a garden wall aad stand there neglected for thirty years, producing a crop every year. Tliey will, however, pay for better treatment. If set in clumps in a lawn and kindly cared for, they art highly ornamental. The main stem of a young quince bush should be cut back at a year old, and then it will form several branches, with curious crooked limbs, and it may be trimmed to form a bushy head of almost any shape. The form, foliage, flowers, and fruit are all ornamental. This plant is a bush rather than a tree, and comes to us from Cydon, in Crete, its bo- tanical name being Ci/donia vulgaris. It grows best in moist, or rather mucky soil, by the side of rivulets, or streams, or ponds ; but it should not be neglected as it is generally, unless knotty, miseral)le, bitter, sour fruit is preferred to the fair, smooth, high-flavored fruit produced by cultivation. ISTo tree or shrub pays better for manuring than the quince. It is true, after its form is once established, it needs but little care in the way of pruning, and if located in a favorable situation, does really flourish Avithout care. 554: THE GARDEN AND ITS FKUITS. [Chap. V. But we arc sure that a quince orchard would pay for care as well as one of peaches. Tlie variety called the Apple quince is very productive, and tlie fruit, though it is unfit to eat out of hand like pears, apples, poaches, is always salable, for it is universally esteemed for sweetmeats, jellies, nuirma- lade, etc., and for adding piquancy and a delicious flavor and aroma to apple tarts, pastry, and stewed fruit. The quince can be easily dried eitlier raw or cooked, and is then excellent to add to other fruit. In England, wine has been made of quiuces, and it is esteemed a valuable medicine by asth- matics. It is very easy to extend the cultivation of quinces to any desirable point, and the plants are general!}' true to the seed, and if not, seldom produce a worthless sort. They also grow from cuttings set early in the spring in a ricli shaded border, M'lierc they may be put in as tliick as hair until roots start, and then set in a nursery bed. The poorer stocks can also be budded with good sorts, and they have frequently been grown by budding upon thorns. Quince stocks for the propagators of dwarf pears, are indispensable. (325. Varieties of Quinces. — In purchasing quinces, do not suppose that there is a large variety of sorts because you find a great number of names in the nursery catalogues. There are just three distinct varieties : the Apple- shaped, or Orange quince ; the Pear-shaped, or oblong quince ; and the Portugal quince. The fruit of the last is considered superior to cook, and it is occasionally mild enough to eat out of hand. The leaf is larger and broader than the common sort, and the tree grows strong and bears large fruit of oblong shape, of rather light-colored skin, but the flesh, when cooked, turns to a fine purple. This variety would be more esteemed if it was not such a shy bearer. Ilea's Seedling is the name given to one of the quince famih', the fruit growing very large and handsome in color, shape, and general a|)pearance like the Orange quince. 62G. Oruameutal Quinces. — The Japan quince is more for ornament than use. The blossoms are handsome, of bright scarlet color, and the fruit green, hard, and useless. The Chinese quince is of the same character as the Japan, an ornamental shrub — nothing more. In conclusion, we will say of the quince in general terms, it. is one of tlie very best fruits for preserves, marmalades, sauces, sirups, jellies, citiier alone or with other fruits, to which it imparts its fine flavor. The li(juid, after washing the mashed fruit with water, and standing for twentj'-four hours, makes a good wine with sugar. Medicinally, the quince is strengthening, giving tone to the stomach. Baked with sugar, they are su])erior to apples, and dried quinces are frequently mixed with apples, in making ])ios, to im- prove their flavor PLATE XVT. (Page 655.) This is a fitting frontispiece to this important chapter upon tlie orchard. It is indeed "a dessert fit for a farmer." It is placed here as a sign of something good in the following pages. It is made tempting in its appearance to tempt you to taste of what is said of fruit culture. The basket is a symbol of what every farm should be — overflowing with its abundance of choice, rich, luscious fruits. Its place by the side of the wall is suggestive. Fruit needs protection. The view of water behind the wall is symbolical. A situation near water, if the soil is dry, is fiivorable for fruit-growing. The scene beyond is that of the quiet country home, where six days of labor and one of rest and thanksgiving in the village church shall bring a store of just such fruits as are here exhibited. Reader, look at this picture! study its lessons, thank God, and enjoy the fruits of the orchard. 556 THE ORCHARD. [Chap. VI. to England, contains much valuable infonnatiou for American farmers, and also all of Lindley & London's works; and many others, both English and American ; and we hope that this cliapter will contain a little, if but a little, that will be valuable. One of the most thrifty orchards we know of was planted by an old sea- captain, who took reason rather than practice for his guide. He made but one error — he used trees too large, such as fail nine times in ten. lie first plowed and subsoiled his orchard ground nearly two feet deep ; then lie dug holes eight feet across, two and a half feet deep, and filled them all with sur- face soil, scattering that dug from the bottom in place of that taken from the surface between the rows. Then he went to the nursery and dug his own trees, or at least directed every stroke, and brought them home in liis own wagon and planted them witli his own hands, straightening out and carefully bedding all the roots just as deep as they originally grew, and then mulched, and kept mulched for two years, the whole space occupied by the roots. In six years he had a productive orchard of apples, pears, and peaches, and in eight years it was one of great notoriety for its vigor and fruitfulness. The following-named trees arc transplantable in tho order in wliich tliey stand, as to the success attending their removal, viz. : plums, quinces, aj)- p!cs, pears, peaches, nectarines, apricots, clierries. Yet we have successfully removed choice cherry-trees of six inches diameter. Make it a rule never to occupy the ground of an old orchard with new trees. In the first place, you can not properly plow the ground, on account of roots ; and secondly, if you could, the trees will not grow as thriftily. Tiie aspect of land for an orchard in a hilly country is a matter of some importance. The most natural one for the growth of trees appears to be a hillside, facing the southeast ; but it has been found that some trees, liable to injury from spring frosts, are more apt to be affected upon such an aspect, because the morning sun strikes the trees earlier than upon other aspects ; so, many farmers, of late, have planted trees on the side of a hill facing the north. But there is then danger from the extreme cold of winter, as it has been pretty well ascertained that a sudden turn from mild winter weather to twenty degrees below zero is fatal to peach-buds, and dangerous to buds of other fruit-trees; and there is sometimes danger that a northern ex- posure will not perfectly ripen the fruit of some trees. Upon the whole, we would compromise the matter by selecting a hillside with a southwestern asi)ect. South of New York, northerly slopes may be more safely selected, and as far sonth as "Washington would be generally preferable ; and by tlie same rule, as far north as the middle of Vermont, the southern slopes will always be found the safest. 027. Roots— Their Function, and the Effect of Soih— The function of the roots of a tree arc not merely, as some persons suppose, to give it a hold upon tlie ground, to support it in its place, but to feed it as really as an ani- mal is fed. The many spongioles at the extremity of the fibrous roots ase its Seo. 3D.] PROPAGATION, PLANTING, AND CULTIVATION OF TREES. 557 mouths. Tliese, as the name indicates, are little sponges that suck up and cany into the circulation any substance that presents itself in a liquid form ; and manure, until it assumes that form, is as useless to plants as sticks or s!ones, and it can not become liquid until it is thoroughly decomposed ; hence tlie value of composting all coarse manurial substances before applying them as fertilizers. Hence, too, the advantage of deep tilth, that these spongioles may go in search of food. Let it be remembered, when we think about the flinty character of the outside coat of stalks of wheat, rye, corn, and some of the "sickle-edge" grasses, that this all comes from quartz held in solu- tion, having been dissolved by alkaline substances furnished by the decom- position of vegetable matter that affords potash, or from some other source, and thafe this liquid flint has been sucked up through these little rootlets and carried in the sap to the outer coat of the stalks, and deposited there to dry and harden in the sun, to give strength, which enables the slender stalk to support the fruitful head. Let us also remember that every variety of soil grows its own particular variety of plants, and that it is useless to attempt to grow those naturally adapted to one kind of soil upon another. As a swamp is drained and made dr}', the vegetation naturally changes. The ^gilops, a wild grass of Italy, cultivated carefully upon rich soils, has become wheat. And if we would produce the finest fruit, we must not only plant the right kind of trees, but we must })lant them in the right kind of soil, and give them proper cultiva- tion. Soil that will grow apples may not produce peaches ; and careful cul- tivation may produce almost as great a change in all fruit as growing wheat from -(Egilops. 028. Propagation by Cuttings and LaycrSi— Some kinds of fruit are much easier propagated by cuttings than grafts or buds. Cuttings of last year's growth of currants, gooseberries, quince, figs, mulberries, and hardy grape- vines, with two buds, one planted below and one above the suriace, in good, moist soil, will send out roots and branches, and soon form thrifty plants. The cuttings must be taken off in autumn, and placed in dry soil, about one third out, or in boxes of sand in the cellar, to winter, or else they must be cut very early in the spring, before the buds swell. Some prefer to have the cuttings a foot long, and plant two thirds of the length below the surface, and that is a safer plan than short cuts, with persons not well skilled in the business. Scientific propagators, with the aid of hot- houses, fine soil, and moisture, in pots, will propagate from a single leaf bud. Propagating by layers is done by cutting a branch half ofl' on the under side, and laying it down under the soil, staked down, with the end turned u]), so as to be supported in its growth by the parent stock, while roots start out frwn the cut, by which a rooted plant is obtained by cutting ofl' the branch beyond the new roots. The limb should be layered in spring, and may be transplanted in autumn, or next spring. Cherries and some other fruits may be propagated from suckers, where the 6ort you wish to multiply comes from the root. 558 THE ORCHARD. [Chap. VI. As a general rule, suckers of any fruit-tree should not be used for graft- iiig. If otlier stocks can not be obtained, select your suckere from trees wliicli do not naturally produce tliein in abundance; because tiie rule liolds gcjod, that like produces like, and if the tree originates from one given to a <:oiitinnal production of suckers, j-our new tree will be likely to do the same, cither I'rom roots, body, or branches. An applc-trcc covered with suckers has an unsightly appearance. We have just sent a man through the orchard, in June, to clear it of these useless sprouts, -which absorb a great deal of the EUilcnance of trees, and give nothing in return. C29. Wheu and How lo Plaut Fruit-TrceSt — This is still a mooted question, whicii we can not settle to the satisfaction of any of the advocates who con- tend, upon one side, that autumn is the very best time; and on the other side, others contend that trees never should be planted at any other time than spring. Is this so ? Much the largest portion of the trees planted have been removed from the nursery to the orchard in the spring, often to the inconvenience of the farmer, because he was impressed with the idea that that was the only safe time to dig up, remove, and re-plant them. Yet, in nine cases in ten, where the trees are ordered from a professional nursery- man, he dug them up in the fall, and kept them heeled in, ready for sale in the spring. Now if it is a good practice to dig theni up, and bury the roots so as to have them handy to pack up when ordered, why would it not be a better practice to put them at once where they are to grow* G30. Shall we Plaut Trcc^ in Spring or Autumn ?— Andrew S. Fuller, an ex- perienced horticulturist, of Brooklyn, N. Y., says: "Twenty years ago, the cry was that the country would soon be over- stocked witli nurseries and nursery trees. But that mncii-looked-for day has not yet dawned upon a fruit-loving community, and we fear it never will. '•There are at least ten millions of fruit-trees for sale in New York State to-day ? Will tliey all be sold ? Most assuredly. Will they all live and bear fruit? No, not one half of them. There are several reasons wliy they will not, among whicii wo may mention that many are unsuited to the cli- mate ; others are grafted or budded upon stocks that have not sufficient affin- ity for the graft to make a permanent and perfect union ; many will die in being transported from the nursery to the place where ihey are to be plant- ed, owing to improper packing. " But the great destroyer, and the one who thinks everybody and every- tliing to blame — soil and climate included — is the 2)lanter himself; while the nurseryman, as M'ell as others who are careful in such ma!ters, will t:ike trees that have been boxed up on board of a vessel from two to four months, and plant them, and not lose one in a thousand. Another i)erson will take trees fresh from the ground, and plant them again within the hour, and yet lie will not make one half grow. Why this wholesale destruction ? Simply because the planter is ignorant of the first principles of vegetable physiol- ogy, or he is wofully negligent. " We are obliged to confess that we, as a nation, are very ignorant in re- Seo. 35.] PROPAGATION", PLANTING, AND CULTIVATION- OF TREES. 559 gard to many things that pertain to the garden. Most of the European nations are in advance of us in this branch of industry. Besides, we have no patience — when we undertake to plant trees, we iuirry through the job. If it is well done, so be it ; if poorly done, we blame somebody — generally the nurseryman, but never ourselves. " Is tlie fall of the year the best time to plant trees ? We answer, Yes, for some kinds, but not for all. We would never plant evergreen trees in the fall, but always late in the spring, just at the time they commence to grow. " Ajjples, pears, hardy ornamental trees and shrubs we would plant in the fall, provided our soil was well drained either naturally or artificially. " If trees are planted in wet, heavy soil in the fall, the roots are very likely to rot or be very much injured before spring. " When trees are planted in the fall, in suitable soil, the wounds that arc made on the roots while being transplanted become healed over ; a callosity is formed, from which, or near which, the new roots put forth. " It is a disputed point among vegetable physiologists whether the cal- lous which is formed ou the root is indispensable in the formation of new roots. " We know it seems natural for plants to form this callous before they emit new roots. "We make cuttings of hardy trees and shrubs in the fall, for we have found that cuttings made at this time root much more readily than if de- ferred until spring. "This is evidently owing to two causes: first, they are not exposed to the cold, by which they lose much of their vitality and power of emitting roots from the alburnum or inner bark, which is always more or less injured by severe cold ; second, when cut and put away in a dark place, where the frost does not reach them, they are placed in a position to commence the change from branches to roots, which they must undergo if they live. Now it takes time for a plant to make this change, and it is evident that we had better give plenty of time than too little. Further, roots will form at a much lower temperature than that at which leaves arc produced ; and, owing to this fact, we can have our plants rooted and ready to furnish nourishment to the leaves as soon as they put foi'th. "Trees transplanted in the fall, and the roots properly prepared, cutting off all broken parts, and smoothing the ends with a sharp knife, will com- mence tiie formation of roots in the spring, long before the leaves are pro- duced. Yet most persons will succeed better with spring planting than with fall planting, because trees i-cquire much care to keep them in a jiropor position through the winter, when they have lost a portion of their roots. "In transplanting trees either in the fall or spring, they should always have a portion of their branches pruned ; no matter how carefully the operation may be performed, the roots will surely receive a check, and some of tnera may be lost ; therefore, to establish an equilibrium between root 560 THE OECHARD. [Chap. VI. and top, a portion of tlie latter should be cut away. "We alwaj-s shorten tlie branches at least one third when we transplant any deciduous tree. , " If we receive trees that iiave become dry and shriveled by long ex- posure, we bury them, root and branch, in the ground, and let theia remain there until they have swelled out to their original condition; then lift the top branches first ; then, in a few days, lift a portion more, and so on, until, the whole stem is exposed. Then take it out and prune it severely and plant it. A tree that has become so dry that it would never show a sign of life if planted immediately, will often make a vigorous growth the first season if treated as we have described. " One fatal error into which many Ml is in buying large old trees instead of small, young, and thrifty ones. The old adage, 'Haste is not always sjieed,' is wonderfully true in this ease. " What we strive to get by fall-planting is to get the trees in a condition to grow at the eai-liest possil)le day in the spring. The roots of a fall-planted tree will heal and begin to grow in the fall, if properly planted, and not too late. That is why I advocate fall-planting. I transplanted some peach-trees in tlie middle of summer by cutting off all the limbs, and the trees lived, and are now growing fi^el3^ "Pear-trees may bo transplanted at almost any age or size, but as a general thing two or thi-ce years' old are the most convenient size. In ])lanting dwarf pears, we want aH the quince stock to be covered; the junction to be one or two inches below the surface. If the root is too long, and there is danger of the lower roots becoming injured by being buried too deeply, cut off a portion of the lower end. If your soil is as deep as it shoidd be, and well drained, then the quince root will remain perfectly healthy one foot below the surface; if it is not, then you had better defer planting dwarf pears until you can properly prepare the ground for their reception. " There is no danger of planting dwarf-trees upon land that is dug two feet deep. The quince stock shoidd always be buried so as to throw out roots, but if the root is too long, be sure to cut it off. Trees should never be grown in the nursery with deep roots. Care should be had in cutting back the first year's growth of a tree, to cut it at a bud opposite the side budded, so that the main limb will balance the tree. Cut off all the ends of long roots and most of the fibrous roots, and all that are broken or bruised, when you transplant a tree." " In (ircat Britain," says TToveifs Magazinr, " planting is continued from aulumu until spiring, the weather usually being sufliciently mild to permit of this; besides this, the latter season is dull and moist compared wiih our own, and there is no heat of summer to disorganize and set at naught all that has been accomplished. No cloudless skies and torrid blasts of w'eeks' duration disturb the fears of the planter or blight his hopes. Whether done at one season or the other, though there may be some preference even in tiiat climate, there is little or no danger that any fatality worthy of con- Seo. 35.] PROPAGATION, PLANTING, AND CULTIVATION OF TREES. 561 sideration will attend the labors of the cultivator, and he may await con- tentedly the result. " But all is changed here. Spring arrives with its cold storms, making the ground as the frost leaves it, a cold, clammy, sodden earth, too wet to dig or plant, until so late in the season that the trees have already begun to swell their buds and put forth their blossoms. Yet, so rapid is vegetation, that the work must proceed with haste, or the opportunity be lost till another year. Even under these disadvantages, all would be w^ell enough but for the summer heat and drouth. These set in at once, before the tree has had time to recover, and following so close, exhaust the sap, shrivel the wood, and if they do not kill th.e tree, enfeeble it more or less, so that at least one year is lost in the work of recovery. If these are the eifccts that follow in our climate, which we think will not be denied, then, at least, it must be acknowledged that climate must be taken into consideration in transplant- ing; for however advantageously the operation may be performed in a cool, damp climate, like that of Great Britain, it will not do here. " There are few springs, unless late in May, when the soil is in such a loose, dry, and friable condition as it is in the latter part of October and November. Besides, it has not yet parted with its ■warmth, whicii is of more importance than is generally supposed ; for the roots, yet active, continue their growth when not checked by cold and wet. Experiments have been accurately made by careful planters, who have found fresh roots from trees, transplanted in October, in a growing condition during the winter. The opportunity to prepare the soil, its better condition at the time of removal, and its greater warmth, are all in favor of autumn planting. " As a general rule, do not have manure, unless perfectly decayed, applied in immediate connection with the roots, particularly in spring i:)lantiiig, for it acts as a stimulus -when the delicate fibers are not in any condition to ab- sorb it, and the effect is to cause their decay rather than their growth and extension. Especially is this the case when the summer is dry and hot. But in autumn planting there is not so much danger of injury, even with fresh manure. " The soil, cooling down as winter approaches, prevents any heating effects from the manure, while its mechanical operation is to lighten the earth when it would too rapidly become compact by winter rains. In autumn planting, manure is best applied upon the surface of the soil, by the application of a bushel or two immediately around the tree. This not only protects the earth from deep and penetrating frosts, but all the entire strength and virtue of the manure is carried into the soil." 631. Simple Rules about Tree-Planting.— A great many other experienced persons just as earnestly advocate spring planting. Our opinion is, that both are right, under certain circumstances. Upon a well-drained or naturally dry soil we should prefer to plant in the spring, if it could be done early. If farmers will prepare the orchard ground by deep plowing and subsoiling in the fall, and by digging large holes, leaving tlieni open, and the dirt thrown out in a pile, to be pulverized by the action of freezing 5G2 THE ORCHAED. [CnAP. VL and thawing, and then set their trees early in the spring, there will be no doubt about their growing. As tree-planting is generally done in the hurry of spring work, we are sure it is not as likely to produce good results as autumn planting. But whether planted in spring or autumn, it is of the utmost importance that the tree has not been spoiled in taking it up. There is where most trees get their death-blow. Adopt these few simple rules, whether you plant in spring or autumn. First, have plent}- of roots to your trees. Second, dig large holes and make the ground mellow at the bottom. Third, do not set your stocks too deep. Fourth, fill the earth carefully around them, and trample it solid. Fifth, raise the earth slightly, so the water can noi stand in a puddle around the tree. Then cover the ground, four or five feet each way from the tree, with some kind of mulching, and depend upon it you will not complain of trees dying. There is one thing more for you to do. Keep your horses, cattle, sheep, and goats out of your orchard. The best form of setting apple-trees is that called quincunx. Set four trees two rods apart in a square, and a fifth one exactly in the. center. " No tree should be planted in a hole less than four feet square and two feet deep. The bottom of the hole should be well loosened, and a compost of leaf-mold and manure mixed with it. In planting, care should be taken to cut ofi' all bruised or broken roots. In filling, the soil should be finely pulverized and worked in among the roots, and the tree gently shaken up, so that the soil may reach every root. " A tree should never be moved backward and forward, as every pull you give it draws the roots out of their jjlaces, and causes them to become doubled up, thus defeating the very object you had in view when you spread the roots. Great care should be taken in treading in the soil, for if not prop-, erly filled in, the roots are very apt to be broken off. "Avoid deep planting ; more trees arc lost every year from this cause than any other. No tree should be planted more than a couple of inches deeper than it was before. " Mulching trees after transplanting is a very useful practice ; in MMnter it helps to exclude frost, and in summer prevents evaporation of moisture, and prevents the roots from suffering from drouth. " In pruning the heads of trees before transplanting, much will depend upon the size of the tree ; large trees require more pruning than small ones. It needs but little judgment to enable the planter to ascertain how much of the top it is necessary to prune, in order that the loss may be equalized between the branches and the roots. The poor success attending the trans- planting of the large trees in the Central Park of this city may be attributed to the fact of their not having been pruned ; if one third of their tops had been taken off, the result would have been different. "In transplanting, two very important tilings are to be considered: first, preservation of the spongioles of the roots ; second, the prevention of evap- oration. The next important part is to choose that season when the tree or Seo. 35.] PROPAGATION, PLANTING, AND CULTIVATION OF TREES. C63 plant, according to its kind, is eitlier losing its sap in a state of repose or just before sap commences to start for another season ; eacli has its advo- cates ; every tree, even of the same species, will not admit of transplant- ing at the same time, and it will tlierefore depend much upon the judo-- ment of the planter. The majority are in favor of early autumn planting, but this has reference to the state of the plant as well as the state of the season." Although large trees may be transplanted by following the advice given, it by no means follows that it is advisable to buy large nursery trees, be- cause both theory and practice indicate that it is more economical to trans- plant small trees, that is, from three to seven feet high. The impatience of those who are about to establish new orchards is very apt to prompt them, whether buying trees, or moving them from their own nnrser}', to select trees too large for successful transplanting. Young, vigorous trees, of the size of a man's thumb, three feet high, will generally produce a bear- ing orchard sooner than trees four times that size, and not one tenth as likely to die at first as the large ones are, and the mature trees will last much longer, because they need not lose mucli top or roots in transplanting, and the vigor of growth will scarcely bo checked. Whenever it is possible, go yourself to the nursery and select yonr trees and see them dug, choosing always good stocky plants, rather than large sizes. The sooner you get them home and in their places the better; but if you can not move them home at once, see that they are carefully heeled in to await your order ; and when they arrive at your place, if you are not ready to plant them, have them heeled in where water will not stand about the roots ; and in so doing, let the trees rest easy at an angle of about forty- five degrees, with dirt well sifted among the roots, and if to remain over winter, you may cover the ground over the roots with mulching, but do not cover the bodies of hardy trees, lest you make a harbor for mice. If possi- ble, have your orchard ground, and the holes for trees, all ready before you go to the nursery. 632. How to Move Large Trees. — If you desire to move a large tree, M'hetlier an apple or any other kind of fruit, or a forest-tree, you must com- mence the year before, or at least the autumn previous, by digging a trench around and cutting otf the roots, leaving a ball of earth with the tree in the earth. If the tree is very large, it is best to remove it while the ball is frozen, and this can be done with a pair of timber-wheels, lifting and keep- ing the tree upright. It can also be done with an ox-cart, by tipping it up and fastening the tree to it, and then tipping it down, witli the root hanging off behind. It will generally be necessary to load stone on the forward end of the cart, or .else have three or four men jump on to make it balance. The tree may bo loaded on a wagon, without any box, by backing up to it and pulling the top down, so as to have the roots hang behind the hind axle. The tree may also be pulled over and rolled upon a sled, or set upright on a stone boat. If you move any tree with a large top, you must also move a 5G4: THE ORCHARD. [Chap. VI. large root. The triminitig of the top.s and roots sliould correspond. It is a good practice to prepare trees of large size for moving two 3'ears in .ad- vance, by digging and cutting all the roots around the center ball of eartii, and then filling the trench and leaving the tree over one summer to throw out new roots, and heal the wounds of the ones cut off, and also the wounds of the limbs. By this process a very large apple, pear, cherry, or other tree can be safely moved. We have known a farmer to defer building a new house, year after year, because he could not build without destroying sonic favorite tree, and did not know how to move it. "We have often known a new road fought against for years because it would cut through some man's orchard, the owner of which finally had to yield to the necessity of the case, and see his valuable trees sacrificed, perhaps just as they were large enough to com- mence bearing, because he did not know how easily he could move them. It is our opinion that, as a general rule, trees from four to ten inches di ameter can be moved at an expense not larger, per tree, than a dollar for each incli the tree is in diameter. An orchard, with half the trees prostrated by a gale, the trees of which woidd average eight inches in diameter, we have seen righted at an expense of not over a dollar a tree. The broken roots were carefully cut away, and the earth behind properly excavated, and about half of the top cut away, and a tackle attached from a standing tree to the fallen one, when two men would set it up in five minutes and brace it fast with two poles. Tlic second year after, these trees bore as good a crop as they ever did before. Thomas Cavenach, an experienced and observing gardener of Brooklj-n, furnishes us some good rules about moving trees. He says: "Large trees and shrubs can not be removed without injury to their roots and at their ends, the very parts of most importance to them, because there the spongioles are situated, and these, if once destroyed, must be reproduced before the plant can derive any nourishment for its future suppoi-t. Tiecs removed in the fall will have these organs the soonest produced, and in the spring the latest, if at all in the later case ; the trees are left without sup])ort at the very time they most need it, and in consequence the leaves wither, the tree dies, or becomes greatly injured. The state of the weather has much to do with the successful removal of all trees. Dry, windy, and frost}' weather, as well as very warm sunshine, is the most unfavorable of all ; evaporation goes on more rapidly in such states of the weather tiian at any other time. A mild, damp day is the most fitting for the operation of transplanting, and this will be greatly enhanced if mild showers fall during the night. " Small trees and plants may be moved with less chance of failure than large ones, because their fibers are less liable to injury than others. Ever- greens should always be removed when in a growing state, because the moisture surrounding the roots is absorbed, and at once assimilated as food for the plants. The wounds where the roots have been injured quickly heal Sec. 35.] PROPAGATION, PLANTING, AND CULTIVATION OF TREE?. 565 over, and new roots are formed ; but if removed in winter, wlien the ground is frozen and the tree in a dormant state, tlie moisture which surrounds the roots has a tendency to rot the portion of the roots where they have been severed. " Forest and fruit trees may generally be most advantageously moved in autumn, because the wounds made in their roots Avill commence to cicatrize and throw out granulous matter, and sometimes even s^Jongioles imme- diately, so that by tlie time spring arrives the tree will grow with almost as much vigor as if it had not been transplanted. " Preparation of the ground is the most important matter connected with moving trees. I have known many who could not in otlier matters be called ignorant persons, plant trees much in the same way as we would set up a post in the ground, under the mistaken idea that a tree, Avhen it is placed in the soil, will grow under any circumstances. 633. Preparation Necessary for Trec-Plantiiig. — The greatest cause of fail- ure of success in growing trees is in the preparation of the soil. Let it be re- membered that the soil for a tree nursery should be as good and well worked as a well-cultivated kitchen garden. Manure, and particularly that made of leaves or ashes, is valuable for tree nurseries, whether fruit or forest trees. Weeds must be exterminated, or they will destroy the nursery. Care must be taken in selecting soils. No wet soil, nor a ferruginous one, should be chosen. The young trees, too, must be carefully guarded against the depre- dations of cattle, as all farm-stock are fond of j'oung shoots of most fruit or forest trees. Do not plant trees on a retentive soil in wet weather. It is almost as necessary to keep a new plantation of forest-trees or an orchard clear of weeds for two or three years, as it is to keep the nursery clean. In all cases farmers should be much more careful in preparing the soil and planting trees. TIio want of success in growing fruits is to be traced to negligence in this department, because a tree is a vitalized body, possessed of delicate organs, bj^ means of which the tree is enabled to build itself up from the food to be found in the soil and the air — also to perfect its fruit. Study the habits of your trees, and give them all they require. But of one thing do not lose sight : all fruit-trees of value require a loose, deep soil, free from excessive quantities of water, and well supplied with mineral food. If your soil is wet, drain it deeply ; if compact, loosen it with a plow as deeply as possible, and follow in the bottom of the furrow with the lifting subsoil plow, if in a field ; and if in a garden, trench the soil deeply through- out the whole plat. Supply no manures but those well decoinjjosed, such as woods-mold, muck, chip dirt, rich road scrapings, composted with ashes, or salt and lime, or both, some weeks before applying them to the soil, mixing iu the compost a small quantity of tine barn-yard manure. When the soil has been thus prepared, place the tree no deeper than it grew in the nursery, unless it be a pear on a quince stock, when it should be left so as to entirely cover the quince with soil. None but the best soil 666 THE ORCHARD. [Ciijli-. VI. should be put under or about the roofs. No plaster, ashes, phosphates, or guano should touch them. No fomenting manures of any kind should be allowed under the tree to injure its roots by the escape of gases. Sprinkle fine soil on the roots while the tree is held still, regulating it as necessary to secure the natural position. In all but heavy clay soils pour a pail of water over the loose earth and allow it to settle away before setting the tree. Do not churn the tree up and down in the hole. Do not trample on the earth with your feet, leaving great spaces in which no soil finds its way. Do not throw in clumps of earth or stones. Fill up the hole carefully, keeping away grass and sods. Cover a wide space around the tree with coarse litter, leaves, salt-hay, sawdust, tan bark, or stones loosely piled around. These will shade the soil, keep in moisture, and enable you to water the tree without forming a thick crust on the top of the soil, or pack- ing it down too closel}'. Should you be unable to subsoil or trench all your land, dig wide and deep holes, leaving out all the subsoil, returning nothing but surface soil, and proceeding as before. For large trees, use strong, limber stakes, to which they should be attached by soft ties of willow or straw. Trees thus carefully set will grow and reward the planter. 634. How to Wiuter ¥oung Apple-Trees. — A new beginner in the nursery business, in Wisconsin, wants information. He saj-s : "I planted, last fall, about three acres of ground to apple-seeds, and have now some fifty thousand fine-looking plants. Now will it be the best way to take them up and house them in a cellar the first winter, or leave them standing, and shall I cover them or not? If taken up, could I graft them successfully during the win- ten? Which is best— to graft them in the root or stock?" It is the safest plan to take them up and store them in a dry cellar, or else heel them down in furrows in the nursery grounds where they grew. They may be grafted, when of the size of one fourth to one half inch in diameter, inserting the graft in the stalk close down to the crown of the root. On ac- count of grafting, it is better to put all that are large enough in the cellar, where they can be got at to work upon in winter. If left standing and cov- ered, the trees ai-e sometimes half cut off by mice. L. M. Parsons, of Waukau, Wis., speaking of the benefits of snow, says ; "Tlic virtue of perennial life is due to processes which can only be carried on in conditions which exclude the light, like that of snow, rubbish, or shade. Indeed, the tannin increment is almost limited to snow-clad districts; and l)erennials are the most abundantly supplied with it where the concealment of snow in winter is continued through the summer by the agency of moss, leaves, and shade. Hence it would seem, that to perpetuate an old orchard, it should either be supplied with the perennial increment in solution, or that the ground should be so concealed from light as to secure a perpetual elaboration of that element. "This view is supported by the dwarfed appearance of perennial plants Skc. 35.] PROPAGATIOJT, PLANTING, AND CULTIVATION OF TREES. 567 throughout the prairie region of the West, where autumnal fires, from time unmeasured, have robbed the soil of every concealing object, thereby limit- ing the time of perennial gestation to the short period of shade afibrded by cereal plants, and the quantity of perennial food to the simple want of such plants, M'herewith to embalm their seeds. Hence young orchards, on our richest cereal soils, like our scattered forest trees, are weak in fiber, false in heart, and early show the marks of dotage, and on them the undying para- site makes his pre-emption before his time. N^othing is more fatal to prairie orchards than open culture, or blighting than the plow, and nothing moi'c beneficial than straw, boards, or anything to make concealment. The soil of old orchards, however well supplied with the embalming element, in its virgin state, becomes exhausted by-open culture, naked grazing, and usually deprived of shade by the unsocial distance of tlie trees, so that in the run of time the soil of Eastern orchards, like Western prairies, fails to do perennial service. " Six years ago I put out some nursery trees of three years' growth, on prairie sod, digging the pits only three inches deep, with a drain, and cov- ered the roots with soil from an old cultivated field, and having scattered potatoes over the ground, covered them with straw fifteen inches deep, putting a little dirt on the top to pack the straw, and some sawdust around each tree to protect it against mice. I had a good yield of potatoes, all the trees lived, and now have the spread of an old orchard, and give a good yield of fruit. One tree was set where there had been a hog-pen ; that tree has borne, for five years, the finest of fruit (though a seedling) to such extent that it has been necessary to support every limb, and it now measures fifteen inches around its body a foot above the ground. None of these trees have a blight upon them, while trees near by, treated in the usual way of open culture, have not over one third the growth, and already show the mark of dotage, the yellow leaf, and the worm of time." Snow sometimes proves detrimental to trees, by affording the mice an op- portunity to gnaw them. The following is given as a remedy by Andrew Kerns, of Grundy County, 111. He says : if Last winter, the first we knew, ten or fifteen young apple-trees were completely stripped of their bark — some of them from the ground eight or nine inches upward. Upon examination, we found a number of mice-roads through the frozen ground and grass. We mi.xed two ounces cayenne pepper in a pan of soft-soap, and gave all the trees — about one hundred — a good coat of this wash with a brush, and not a mouse has touched them since. We shall repeat the dose next winter." 635. Winter Protection — Fruit-Trees on the Prairies. — We advocated the plan, twenty-five years ago, of planting orchard trees on the surface, hauling up a sufiicient quantity of earth to cover and support the roots, instead of putting them below the natural level of the earth, Avhere, in many sites that we have seen orchards planted upon, the water would stand for weeks, so as to completely cover every fiber of roots. This is not alone the case upon flat 568 TDE ORCHARD. [Cn-vp. VI. prairies, but frequently where it is quite rolling, the soil being of such a na- ture that it retained water almost as well as a sponge. Had the plan been generally followed by those who have planted orchards upon rich, loamy, prairie soil, there would have been now many more thou- sands of apple-trees alive in Michigan, Indiana, "Wisconsin, Iowa, and Mis- souri, in all of which States we have annual nioanings over winter-killed fruit-trees. If all orchards were planted and tended like the one mentioned in the following extract from a letter in the Prairie Farmer, we should cease to hear anything about winter killing. "We advise all prairie orchard owners to put the plow at work. The letter alluded to says : "I visited, not long since, the successful orchard of 75 acres owned by Mr. James "Wakeman, of Cottage Hill, Du Page County. One of the lead- ing features of this orchard is, that the trees have the appearance of being planted on ridges, which has been caused by annually plowing toward the trees. He commences plowing next to the rows of trees, and this leaves a deep furrow in the center between the rows, which acts as a partial drain — a very efficient surface drain in winter. For when the snow is thawed by the influ- ence of the sun, the ground being frozen, it runs into the lioUows, as it can not penetrate tlie soil, and if the slope is completed to the dead furrow, it flows there. But if there is a hollow immediately about the body of the tree, water settles in it. I have seen it stated recently that the expansion or lift- ing power of ice is nearly equal to twice the lifting power of gunpowder. Hence the eflfect of a body of ice immediately about the bole of a tree — hence, too, the importance and benefits of banking up with earth, in tlie fall, so as to shed off water. I have had trees destroyed in winter by ice form- ing about the collar, and I have seen hardy grapes ruined in the same way. Scores of trees, whose bodies are otherwise protected from freezing, arc killed at the colhir by this lifting ice. It is a good plan, I think, to bank up about trees in the fall, and especially to plow orchards as above described." It is a good plan — there is no doubt of it — to plow every orchard upon retentive soil, in the manner indicated; and the advice, like the almanac, is suited to all places in this latitude. It is true the best plan is under-draining ; for there is not one acre in ten in all the "West that will grow an orchard successfully until it has been tlioroughly drained ; and even then, we believe ridging the ground before planting the trees would be advantageous. Some kind of winter protection is also much needed, particularly for nurseries. When an exposed situation is unavoidable, then the very first step should be to provide shelter in the speediest possible manner. For this purpose, belts of rapid-growing trees — say double rows — should be planted so as to intersect the ground at intervals, and ward off the prevailing and most inju- rious winds of the particular locality. In the culture of dwarf trees, flowers, vegetables, and all crops of low growth, common hedge-rows of buckthorn, privet, Osage orange, or any rapid-growing shrub, will be of great service as a protection from cold winds, though some of them exhaust the soil. Seo. 35.] PROPAGATION, PLANTING, AND CULTIVATION OF TREES. 669 The value of woodland for a winter protection of orchards is not suf- ficientlj appreciated. The prairies have never been wooded. Tlio land is now just in the natural condition of the bottom of a lake, from Avhich the water has receded and the land dried up, and which first produces weeds, then grass, and afterward trees, as the prairie land now readily produces them where fires are kept out ; and one of the wisest things for any one wlio would grow an orchard or nursery of choice fruit upon such open grounds, is to begin with a belt of forest trees. The locust, JRobinia jj^seudacacia, will grow in five years so as to form quite a shelter. A correspondent gives us a detailed account of his observations nj^on a piece of wheat in Delaware, about five acres of which, alongside a grove, made a good crop, and seventy acres exposed to the full blast of an almost Siberian winter was not wortli cutting, lie says also of the effect of wood- land in Michigan upon fruit-trees : "Our orchards here did very well when the country was new and the clearings were small. But as our forests recede from the orchard, the bark on the west side of many a fine fruit-tree is killed by the piercing west wind. Some of our neighbors have very considerately preserved belts of tin)ber and clusters of shell-bark, black walnut, and butternut; while others, like time, have cut down all, and are now gathering the fruits of their folly in- stead of their orchards." Tlie winter protection of snow is one of the causes of health in many trees. Without it they would perisli. C36. Cheap Labels for Fruit-Trecs. — Take two pieces of wood, and hinge them together with a leaden M-ire, and write the name between the two. The lead wire is preferable to all other metals, because it is always flexible and readily adjusted. The name being written on the inner side, is shielded from the action of -the weather, which soon eflfaces the name when exposed. The cost is not over fifty cents a hundred. Zinc labels, written over with a lead pencil, are also durable. If written upon with any acid ink, it will eat the name into the zinc. The following recipe for making ink that is indelible, used on zinc labels, is recommended : Take one drachm of powdered verdigris (acetate of cop- per), one drachm of powdered sal ammoniac (muriate of ammonia), half a drachm of lampblack, and ten drachms of water. Mix the ingredients to- gether in a two-ounce vial, and shake it every time before using it afresh, and from time to time while using it. It is ready for use as soon as the verdigris and sal ammoniac are dissolved. In using the indelible ink there is one secret to be attended to, it is this — that the zinc label should, just previously to being written upon, have been rubbed bright with some fine glass-paper. A steel pen is far better than a quill for writing on zinc. Tlie best form of tree-labels we ever saw or used is made of a slip of zinc, seven or eight inches long, three quarters of an inch broad at one end, tapering regularly to a point at the other, with a quarter-inch hole in the big end. On these labels a number or name may be stamped, or the name of 570 THE ORCHARD. [Chap. VI. the fniit Mrittcn ivitli ink ^-jrcpared as above, or witli a soft lead pencil, Avhicli latter is remarkaLly permanent, though not very conspicuous. Tlie danger of cutting trees by attaching labels by -wires is so great that it should be guarded against; the label is broken otT, or forgotten, or unnoticed, and by the growth of the stem or limb it is nearly cut off by the wire. With these labels that ditHculty is obviated. The zinc strip is bent around a limb, loosely, and the pointed end tucked tiirough the hole and clinched. SECTION XXXVI.-TIIE ART OF PRUNING, GRAFTING. AND BUDDING. RAFTING, budding, pruning, are all arts that must be acquired, like any other art or work of skill. A pruner must understand why ho prunes, and never cut a limb without fii-st being fully aware * of the effect. Yet pruning is mostly done at random — a limb here and a limb there is cut away, the top lessened, and that is all. The fruitfulness of the tree is Bot improved, and its looks as a systematic work, such as nature builds, most decidedly injured. It is idle for any man of common sense to emjiloy an itinerant pruner. They are often ignorant of the first princijiles of the art, and generally do more harm than good. If you doubt if, ask this question of one when he is about to cut oft' a limb : " What for ?" If he can an- swer that to your satisfaction, he possibly understands his business, provided j'ou can answer the question yourself This is the true law of pruning. Never suft'er a tree to go nnpruned that needs it, and never cut away a limb without first asking and answering that qnestion — what for ? If you understand the art, you may have a tree of any desired form, and always of iiandsome shape. The great feature of this was cutting back very short tiie first year's growth. Never plant a tree with a full top. Pruning in autumn makes the strongest trees or vines. Spring )>runing produces the most fruit. A weak-growing tree should always be trimmed in autumn. 637. The Ri^ht Time for Pranin^. — ^The right time is in the growing season — the time when wounds heal the most readily. The time to begin is the first year of growth in the nursery ; not to trim up sprouts to grow whi])- stalks, but to shape the trees just as nature intended the particular species to grow. If an apple-tree, a short bole with a round, symmetrical head ; if a pear-tree, a somewhat longer bole, with a top shaped like a well-formed, slim haystack. A peach-tree may be grown with a single short bole and a very open-branching top, or it may be branched from the ground by cut- Sec. 36.] THE ART OF PRUNING, GRAFTING, AND BUDDING. 571 ting away the top of the young shoot the first year — a plan that we prefer. A quince-bush should always be grown in that way, branching from the root ; and it always looks to us like forcing nature to prune a currant-bush into the form of a tree. A dwarf pear-tree should be pruned from the start to form a pyramid or sharp cone. Look at the extinguisher of your candle for a pattern. Cherry-trees do not need nor bear much pruning, except to cut away the winter-killed ends of limbs, and that should be done to all trees. As a general rule in pruning, study symmetry; it is the first law of beauty ; if you can not see it otherwise, try it upon yourself Lop off a right ear, a left eye, a right hand, and so on, just as some pruners do the symmetrical beauties of a tree. In pruning all sorts of fruit-trees, keep "What for?" constantly before your eyes. The answer is, to increase their productive- ness. This can not be done by cutting away many healthy limbs, but by disentangling them, so as to let in the light and air to the center of tlie branches. 63S. Over-Pruning. — There is a tendency to over-prune among all amateur fruit-growers, and more particularly among all who are just beginning to grow ornamental shrubs and trees. There is no practice that needs reform more than this one. There is no quicker way of spoiling such trees than this injudicious over-pruning. There is not one forest-tree in ten that will bear the eternal clipping to which some are subjected. Autumn appears to be tlie most favorite time for this sort of vandalism. Tliere is nothing like the let-alone system, and above all for all sorts of evergreen-trees. "With very little assistance, nature will do all the pruning that is required. Use tlie knife and sliears only to assist nature, when trees are brought into un- natural situations. Of evergreens, do not cut away the lower limbs till you make your tree look like a big broom with the liandle stuck in the ground. In all pruning of fruit or ornamental trees, or shrub or vines, do not make a cut till you think what for, with what object, and what will be the effect. Tliis is always necessary to prevent over-pruning. 639. Objections to Spring Fruuing. — There never was a more certain truth uttered than the following words of the editor of the Nexo England Farmer^ who is not only a practical farmer, but one who never does a thing without first answering the question, " Wliat for ?" to the satisfaction of his own reason, and therefore is more entitled to attention than a mere utterer of dog- matisms. He says : " Never prune an apple-tree in the months of March, April, or May. All the borers in the world do not commit half the havoc in our orcliards that tlie pruning-knife and saw do, applied at the wrong season of the year. In the spring the sap is abundant, thin, and active, and where limbs are taken off, it passes through the pores of the wood to the surface, and coming in contact with the atmosphere, becomes bitter and acrid, runs down the bark and poisons it, so that it is often killed quite into the wood. This is what causes most of the black lines so often seen upon apple-trees, which fre- quently causes their death." 572 THE OnCUADD. [CnAP. VI. 640. Objections to late Autumn Pruning. — "William S. Carpenter, of "West- clicstcr County, N. Y., lias devoted much attention to tlic cultivation of fruit, and he says: "There is no time so good as midsummer to prune all sorts of fruit-trees, and no worse time than late in autumn. That is rather worse than early spring. I am an advocate for pruning young trees in sum- mer with the thumb and fiuger, or a pocket-knife, so constantly and regu- larly that they will never require the saw. If that must be used, let it be applied in midsummer. With me that course is the most successful. In planting trees, apple or pear, I dig two feet deep and six feet wide, and fill the hole with good soil, and set the tree nearly level with the surface, and never use manure. I make the earth very fine, and am careful in setting them. In budding pears upon quince, set them on very short stalks. A dwarf pear set upon a quince stalk a foot high is almost worthless. It will be quite so if not carefully pruned." Another practical fruit-culturist gives the following: 641. Practical Directious about Pruuing. — "Trimming is now reduced to a system. By dwarfing various kinds of trees, such as the pear on the quince stock, we are enabled to train it and keep it within our reach, and make it both ornamental and useful. The most approved form is the pyramidal. In order to form a perfect pyramid, we should encourage the tree to branch near the ground, and train the side branches so that they will be regularly distributed along the body. To effect this, summer pruning or pinching must be resorted to. Having as many side branches as we desire, we may continue its shape by pinching off the laterals from the side branches when they have grown to about three inches in length, taking care to leave these laterals about one inch long after you have pinched them ; these will again push and grow, and must be treated as before. This method of sum- mer pruning will check its woody growth and force it to expend its energies in fruit-bearing, and at the same time increase the size and quality of the fruit. For standard or orchard trees, a different treatment must be prac- ticed. For these, but little pruning is necessary, beginning when the trees are young, and annually going over the orchard. Cutting out all suckers and crowded branches, j'ou avoid the necessity of cutting off large limbs in after years — a practice that should .always be avoided. I have seen whole orchards nearly destroyed b}^ this injudicious pruning. A limb should never be cut from a tree when more than two inches in diameter. Pruning should never be done except late in the spring or in midsummer. I would never prune a tree in winter. A limb cut oft' when full of frost will cause the wound to crack and split, thereby admitting the air into its M'ound, which will soon cause it to decay. It is to be regretted that so little atten- tion is paid to the orchard. It is quite common to see suckers growing around the bodies of trees until they are nearly hid from view, their branches covered with moss, and putting on altogether a stunted and neglected appearance. You come to the conclusion that the owner of such an orchard does not think that fruit-growing is profitable. The wonder is Seo. 3G.] TITE art of PRUNING, GRAFTING, AND BUDDING. 573 that such trees bear at all. But they Avill malcc an effort, as it is natural for all fruit-trees to reproduce, but the s])ecimens will be miserably small and deficient in flavor. If we desire good fruit, an orchard that will pay, trees that will delight us and our friends, we must do something for them. We must clear away all suckers, scrape oft' all the old rough bark and moss that have been the safe abiding-places for the destructive insect, and then with a solution of potash and water wash the trunks and limbs of the trees. If the orchard is yet young, plow it and put on a good top dressing of ma- nure, and then cultivate a crop of potatoes, or corn, or any other crop that will require thorough tillage ; follow this practice for a few years, and you will find it will most effectually renovate your orchard, and you will be made to acknowledge that fruit-growing is profitable, and that your orchard is your dependence and delight, and you will be found encouraging your neighbors to plant, and thus extend this delightful branch of industry." 642. Root-Pruning. — Root-pruning is apt to induce fruitfulness where the tree is making a too rapid growth, and pruning during the growing season in June will accomplish a similar result. Putting a wire around a branch of the grapevine so as to obstruct the flow of sap, will improve the quality. Eoot-pruning is to check the too rapid growth of wood. The result of ring- ing the vine is the same, and that enlarges the fruit. Various methods have been proposed for making fruit-trees bear early. As a general thing, it is not best to force trees into early fruitfulness, as it is necessary that they should have time to make a good and substantial growth, and obtain a proper form to bear, in after years, tiie strong demand made iipon the vitality of the tree by successive crops. Eoot-pruning tends to in- duce a slower growth and more solid ripe wood, and checks the tendency to over-bearing, which always injures the young tree. 6i3. Grafting and Budding. — It is easy for an}' one to learn to graft, but to be a skillful grafter or budder requires a steady hand and a good deal of practice. No farmer — indeed, no person having an interest in a garden spot — should neglect to learn how to perform both operations skillfully, because it is the true way of propagating almost all choice fruits. It is an art which women can practice as well as men. It has been practiced from a very remote time, as we have accounts of it in the earliest printed books. The proper time of grafting fruit-trees is in the spring, as soon as the sea- son is warm enough to put the sap in motion. This period comes earlier with the cherry and plum than it does with the apple and pear. In this vicinity apple-grafting often continues till the last of May in backward sea- sons. The best time is when April showers are prevalent, but the scions must have been previously cut. They may be cut and buried in autumn, or stored in a dry, cool cellar, with the lower ends in sand or dry soil. For scions, cut the thrifty wood of the last season's growth from bearing limbs — not water sprouts. Those shoots found near the top or center of the iiead of an old tree are preferred by grafters. Never cut scions from sickly trees or 574 TQE ORCHARD. [Chap VI. branches. Scions from young trees are apt to grow most vigorously, and we prefer them from the iij)right branches. Stocks for grafting, if not grown on the spot, should be transplanted to the nursery at least a year previous to being used, as there is not usually vigor enough in a tree to recuperate its own powers and grow a graft the same season it is transplanted. Gii. Graftin,; an Old Orchard, with the design of giving trees entire new heads, is practiced as follows : Conunence the summer previous to cut away the old tojis freely. Next spring set the grafts, cutting away all that is necessary to give them room, and free simlight and air. Next sj^ring, go over the trees about the first of June, and pull oil' all the suckers, particu- larly around the grafts, and cut off any limbs that interfere with their growth. AVe advise a side branch left uj)on each limb that has a graft in its end, to aid in kcejiing up a healthy circulation. Indeed, brandling limbs should always be selected in grafting an old tree. "Watch the growth of the grafts during the second summer, which is sometimes very rapid, and may reach overhanging limbs; in which case, cut them away. In June or July, after the grafts are two years old, nearly or quite all the old top may be removed, and, if necessary, the grafts trimmed slightly, to put the top into the right course of forming a new, handsomely shaped top. 64:5. Cleft Grafting is the mode practiced in putting a new top to an old tree. That is, a large limb, or one perhaps two or three inches diameter, is split by driving a strong knife or chisel in the end just sawed off, and the cleft held open by a wooden wedge, driven in the center, while the scions are sharpened and inserted in the edges of the cleft, so that the bark of graft and stock exactly fit, and then the wedge is withdrawn, and the end of the limb covered with grafting-wax. Gi6. Splice Grafting is ])i'acticed when the stock and graft are of equal size, by cutting the stock with a sharj) knife scarfing upward, and the scion downward, so that the two will fit an inch or two together, the edges of the bark exactly corresponding, and then the two are tied together with bass matting, or woolen yarn, if the former can not be had, and covered over with grafting-wax, or grafting clay, which by some is preferred. Sonie grafters spread their wax on strips of cotton cloth, and wind that around, and stick fast the end or tie it. Watch must be kept after the graft is grow- ing vigorousl}', that whatever is tied around does not get too tight before it is cut off. C47. Tongue Grafting is much like splice grafting, except that a shoulder or sort of cleft is cut at the bottom of the scarf on the stock, and the point of the scion cut to fit in it, or else the notch is cut in the upper end of the scarf, and the scion shaped to fit. By this mode small grafts can be set upon large stocks, or four can be set upon a stock so as to form a four- branched head, if all grow. All that is necessary is to see that there is some point of contact of scion and stock, and that the inner bark of one exactly fits the other; the more the better, but the graft may live with a very Sec. 3C.] THE ART OF PRUNING, GRAFTING, AND BUDDING. 575 small point in connection, if carefully fastened and covered. The covering Bhould be removed about the middle of July. If clay is used, remove the ball after a rainy day. Care should be used, in cutting a scion, to have a bud come close down to the top of the stock. GiS. Root Grafting is much practiced by nurserymen, the scions and roots both being stored in autumn, and the work done in winter, by splitting the end of a root and inserting the scion, and laying these away in a cellar till spring, when they are planted out ; the joint being entirely covered, no wax is used. Fanners may do the same. Sometimes roots are grafted while attached to the tree, by digging them up and cutting oft' an end and insert- ing the graft, and then putting the root back, with the end of the graft out of the grouud. "When it is a year old, a section of the root is dug up and transplanted. 049. Saddle Grafting, which is done by cutting the stock to a wedge, and Ep)litting the scion, is particularly recommended for cherry-trees, because it gives a larger surface of union. Sometimes one leg of the scion is fitted so as- to insert between the bark and wood of the stock, while the other leg is brought down and fitted upon a scarf on that side of the stock. 650. New Method of Grafting.— Horace Everett, of Council Blufl's, Iowa, writes us about a method of grafting common in Tennessee, that may be ■worth knowing in other localities, and which he says is not described in any fruit-book that he has read. The following are the directions : " A long, smooth shoot or limb is selected, cut from the tree, and a sharp iron wedge driven through the limb, every four or five inches. Upon with- drawing the wedge, the graft is inserted, allowing the shaved end to extend an inch or so through, so that when a graft had been inserted in every split, the limb looked like a long stick, with the grafts extending from^it at right angles, a shoot of four feet having about twelve grafts. This stick or limb was then buried in the ground, the top of the grafts only being allowed to come above the surface. During the year the grafts took root, and grew from twelve to thirty-six inches. The next fall the limb was taken up and sawed apart between the grafts, thus leaving every graft with a portion of the limb adhering to it in the shape of a cross. I planted these grafts, and the trees grew and throve well. It is certainly a very cheap and economical stock for grafting." 651. Natural Grafting. — We give the following reported fact for the encouragement of farmers who may happen to entertain any doubts upon the practicability of grafting : "There is a white oak tree, of fine healthy growth, standing near Eobin- son's Coal-Oil Works, in Perry County, Ohio, on which, at fifty-five feet from the ground, is engrafted a black oak top of lofty and vigorous growth. It is about two feet in diameter at the usual hight of cutting trees, and the body stock is fourteen inches at the grafted portion, and the black oak imme- diately above it at once enlarges to twenty-two inches." 576 TDE ORCHARD. [Chap. VL Tlie joining is perfect, and both above and below the limbs arc true to the stock from which they spring. What freak nature performed in setting tlic graft is only to be imagined ; its condition should admonish every one who owns fruit-trees to set grafts. G52. Antiquity of Grafting.— There is a style of grafting called the Aristotle graft, and also the Pliny graft. Tiiis shows the great antiquitj- of grafting. The Tschuda graft is another curious style of grafting, and by the process tomatoes are grafted upon potato vines, selecting stalks of the same size, and cutting both with a knife as sharp as a razor — sharper, if possible — the join- ing being bound together with a ligature, and the plant shaded until the two unite. It will then grow tomatoes above and potatoes below. An ancient writer, speaks of grafting cultivated grapevines upon wild ones with success. 653. Graf.ing flay and Max. — Clay used to cover grafts is made by mix- ing one part of pure horse-dung -with two parts of clay and a little plaster- ers' hair. It must be very thorougldy Avorked several days before required and made very plastic when used, b}' heating and tempering. Gi-afting-wax, which is made of three parts of beeswax, three parts of rosin, and two parts of tallow, melted together, and worked while warm by the hands in water, is much neater, and more convenient, and not much more expensive than clay, where only a little work is to be done. "Where large limbs or wounds are to be covered, of course clay will be the cheapest. (irafiing-wax is sometimes composed of six parts rosin, one part- beeswax, and one i)art tallow ; but this, we sliould think, would be too hard for cool weather. French grafting-wax is made of half a pound of pitch, half a pound of beeswax, a pound of cow-dung, boiled together, and spread on the graft, while hot, with a brush. Another sort is made of equal parts of beeswax, rosin, and turpentine (crude pitch), and spread on cloth or paper, to be used in strij)s Avrapped about the graft. The most common American grafting-wax, and the cheapest, and easiest remembered and made, is composed of rosin, tallow, and beeswax, in equal parts, melted, and worked in water; if it is needed of a softer texture, it is made so by increasing the proportion of tallow. Prof. Mapcs gives the folloM-ing formula for making grafting-wax : Take Canada balsam one pound, clean beeswax one pound, and boil together and knead into a putty consistency, or keep in a kettle, to be warmed as wanted for use, and put on with a brush. It is very convenient, when spread thin ujjon eloih or paper, to be cut in strips for use, and its great advantage over any other material is that it will adhere to a wet surface. Tliis is sometimes of great advantage, as the composition may be used to cover wounds in va- rious plants. C5-i. Preservation of Grafts.— Grafts packed in pure sawdust of any sweet wood, it is said, will keep tifteen months. Moss for packing should be put Seo. 36.] THE ART OF PRUNING, GRAFTING, AND BUDDING. 5T7 up slightly damp. Grafts set in crab-apple stocks, thorn stocks, or any other wild shrubs, generally produce one result — lost labor. Tiie greatest advan- tage we ever found in setting grafts in such stocks was in preserving them over one season, in a new country, where apple stocks ordered failed to ar- rive in time to set the grafts. 055. What Influence has Ihe Stock on the Graft ?— Perhaps the only answer needed to this question is, "None whatever." And this is true, if the stock is of a character suited to grow the scion engrafted into it. An apple should be engrafted into a stock of similar texture to the scion to form a good tree. That is, a scion from a free growing tree engrafted upon a wild crab-apple may live, but it never will do well, because the graft outgrows the stock, but it has no influence upon the fruit. So it is with pears engrafted upon quince, which dwarfs the growth of the tree, but does not afl'ect the fruit either in size or flavor, though the productiveness is increased ; but that is owing to the obstruction in the descending sap when it reaches the stock, thus forcing more into the fruit-buds and limbs bearing fruit. Another influence that a stock has upon a graft is to enable us to produce fruit from a semi-tender plant, by engrafting it upon a hardy native ; as the peach upon plum, or almond, the pear upon quince or mountain ash, or fine plums upon wild stoclvs, or foreign grapes upon native vines. Make it a rule never to engraft anything upon a diseased stock ; not that it is likely to influence the fruit, except so far as it will affect the scion and make it unhealthy. It is asserted that a diseased graft will communicate the same malady to the stock, so that a shoot springing from the stock below the union will show the same symptoms that affect the graft. G50. Budding is a mode of engrafting which can be practiced after the season for grafting is past. Tiie budding season does not commence until after the leaves have grown and the bark will slip. Then a bud of the pres- ent season's growth is neatly cut from a thrifty shoot, avoiding double buds, which are fruit-buds, and the leaves being cut off, leaving half an inch of the foot-stalk to hold the bud by, it is set in a slit made in the bark of the stock, by a T-shaped cut, and loosening up the edges with the flat bone handle of the budding-knife. Some persons remove the wood cut from the stick with the bud, and some insert it. After pressing the bud as far down in the slit as you can, cut off the upper end even with the cross-cut of the slit, and tie strips of soaked bass matting around to keep all snug. If the bud lives, it will look plump two weeks after it is set, and in four weeks will need to have the bandage loosened, or perhaps removed. Late buds may not have to be loosened till spring, and at tnat time the limb of the stock budded must be cut away, and the bud goes on to form a new limb, or the whole tree, if a single stock was budded. Some trees do not grow buds as readily as others, and such may be tied with a band above and one below. The latter being firsr removed, allows the bud to grow, while the upper one checks the flow of sap up the stock 578 THE ORCHARD, [Chap. VL two or three weeks longer. All buds must be watcbed and untied at the proper time. Another method of budding is called annular budding, and consists in cutting two rings around the stock, and taking off a ring of bark, a quarter or half inch wide, an'd filling its place by a strip taken from a budding shoot containing a bud, which will grow if tlie bark adheres, which it is likely to do if carefully tied and the joints covered with wax or clay. This mode is sometimes practiced to save mice-eaten trees. Many other kinds of trees and ehrubs are propagated by budding, as well as fruit-trees. G57. Use of Bass Matting in Budding. — Bass matting is imported and used extensively in place of our native stock, we suppose, because people do not generally know how easy it is to prepare the bark for use. It is simply to take the whole bark of the bass-wood, or linden-tree, as it peels from the tro.s when the sap flows freely, say about June in tliis latitude, and sink it under water until the liber (inner bark) will peel and separate easily from the coarse bark. Tliis soft, tough substance is then dried and stored away for future use, and the j)urposes to which it can be applied are almost num- berless. In budding it is almost indispensable, being one of the very best and cheapest articles for tying the buds in the stock. G5S. Uses of Shellac and Collodion in Grafting.— Gum-shellac, or seed-lac, dissolved in alcohol, is kept constantly on hand by some orchardists, and used to seal the ends of cuttings or accidental wounds in trees, or to cover the stumps of large limbs pruned oli' at a lime when they are liable to decay. The following metliod of preparing shellac is recommended as superior to that dissolved in alcohol, which will sometimes peel off. Take an ordinary glue-pot, which is in a water-bath, and put therein one part of spirits of ammonia (hartshorn) and eight pans of water ; bring them to nearly the boiling-ijoint; put in shellac gradually, until the whole is about the consistency of varnish, stirring all the while ; when entirely dis- solved, take it from the fire, and continue stirring until it is cool; then bottle, and keep for use. This makes an entirely waterproof coating, and in sum- mer pruning may be applied to the ends of the limbs with decided advantage. For all trees that exude gum, like the cherry, peach, plum, and many forest and ornamental trees, it is extremely useful when applied to all wounds and cuts, as it keeps out the water and allows the wood to heal quickly. Shellac can not be dissolved in water alone. The ammonia in the mixture dissolves it, and afterward evaporates, leaving nothing but shellac and water, which can not in any way be injurious. Seed-lac is about as good ; it is certainly cheaper. The above mixture forms an elastic covering, which is much better than shellac dissolved in alcohol. It must not be m'ade in an iron kettle ; it will not mix well. Use copper, zinc, or tin. It is said that shellac may be dissolved in alcohol ; then add water and Seo. ST.] APPLE AND PEACFI TREES, ETC. 579 boil till the alcohol is evaporated, :iud it will make a coating tiiat Mill not peel off; but a solution of ammonia is undoubtedly best, and should be used whenever procurable. Some persons paint the wound or cut with white lead in oil, which, if thickly applied, answers very well. So would a coat of tallow, or covering of clay. A coating of dissolved shellac is sometimes used in cleft-grafting large limbs, instead of wax or clay. Collodion is made by dissolving gun-cotton in ether. It is sometimes called " liquid cuticle," as it may be spread over an abrasion of the skin and form a substitute, perfectly impervious to air and water. This substance is excellent for all wounds, particularly slight burns, to shut out the air, and is invaluable and perfectly efficacious to prevent pits from small-pox. In England it has been applied to the purpose of preserving cuttings of plants, by dipping the end in the solution, which completely shuts up the moisture in the wood, so that they are more than twice as likely to live as when left unprotected. It is an excellent thing to apply to wounds in deli- cate plants, is not very expensive, and is sold by druggists generally. The Imperial Journal of Horticulture^ Paris, gives an article upon a new mode of grafting or budding. This method may be employed at any time of tlie year, provided the buds are cut at the right season and preserved. A little piece of wood is taken oft* when the bark will not peel, and the bud fitted and sealed over immediately with collodion. Ifone but large, strong buds should be used. _ SECTION XXXVII.-APPLE AND PEACH TREES ; THEIR GENERAL MANAGEMENT-CHOICE KINDS OF APPLES. 'HAT apples shall we cultivate? is a question of much importance. The short answer to this ques- tion, for farmers who grow them principally for their own use, and with a view to sell the surplus to their neighbors or nearest village, without mak- ing a regular business of putting up apples for market, is this : you should select such as will give you a succession of fruit, from the very earliest summer apple to such as will keep sound till July. We can not give you a list that will suit all sec- tions, but for the vicinity of New York the follow- ing short list has been recommended by a committee of gentlemen who gave the subject careful consid- eration, and who say : "The chief object in making this selection has been to guard the inex- 580 THE ORCUARD. [Chap. VI. pcrieiiced cultivator against the errors so-oftcu made when the lists of the nurserymen are the only guide. Many young orchardists buy everything recomuiondcd in the fruit-books and caiulogucs, and lind, after years of careful cultivation, that a large portion of their trees are worthless, and the fruit of the remainder of but little value. Some fruits of the first considera- tion in one locality are worthless in another, and some trees are productive on one soil and barren on another. "This frequently involves the necessity of regrafting, causing years of delay and labor without reward, until in many cases patience becomes exhausted. As an instance, the Yirgalieu pear, in western Xew York and most of the Western States, is probably without a superior ; while here and on the sea-coast generally, it is only an incumbrance to the ground. The eamc may be said of many other though less known varieiies. "In making this selection, we do not wish to be understood to discourage amateurs from planting any, or even all, the old varieties that the catalogues pronounce good, neither do we wish to discourage eflorts to originate new kinds ; but we do say, from our own experience, that, in this locality, we believe the list here recommended will ])rove satisfactory — that all tliesc sorts, with proper cultivation, will be productive, and that none will require regrafting. " Many persons will probably think, on reading this report, that better sorts have been omitted, and some of the committee will concur in this opinion ; but they beg leave to say that while they have left out such fine varieties of apples as the Northern Spy, the Swaar, Peiinoek's Red, Newtown Pippin, Yandevere, Pearmaiu, Smitli's Beauty of Newark, Ilubbardstown Nonsucl), etc., all could not bo included without making too long a list, and that some of them are only superior in their native localities. Some have been proved inferior here, and otiiers have not yet been proved at all. The same may be said also of all lists of j)ears, plums, and other fruits." 659. Select List of Apples.— The following is their list of apples : Smnmer Apples.— 'E.ixvly Bough (sweet), Early Harvest (acid), American Summer Pearniain, Summer Rose, Strawberry. Autumn.— Axxtwmn Bough, Gravenstein, Ilawley, Fall Pippin, Porter, Jersey Sweeting. TT7/ierfectly hardy. "The Early Sweet Bough, Newtown Pippin, and Ortley (or White Belle- fleur) appear to possess a less vigorous and a somewhat unhealthy con- stitution.'' Tiiis valuable information should be remembered by all prnncfs. (SOS. Dwarf Apple-TrceSt — When scions of the common apple arc engrafted on what are called Paradise-stocks, the trees become dwarfish in growth. Tiiey thus form, wheji in a l)earing state, very pretty objects in the garden, and the}' oftentimes bear more apples, in proportion to their size, than com- mon trees of the same variety. As they are small, they can not of course produce a large crop, but are fine garden ornaments, combining both beauty and utility in a small compass, and will bear full, upon perfect trees not over two feet high, if the land is very rich, and rather moister than is suit- able t\)r apples. These dwarfs are made by grafting the crab scion in a shrub known as chokeberry. We would suggest, in addition to this, that the common thorn-bush, Avhich grows about our pastures, would make a good stock to engraft the apple upon for dwarfing. The pear will grow well upon it, and the apple will also probably do pretty well. But the best way to get dwarf trees is to order them from an experienced nurseryman, unless you are a skillful grafter and would like to try your hand to sec what you can produce for your own use. C(i4. Peach-Trecs— How to Plant and Treat Them. — Peach-trees of one year old are the only ones that should be planted. Shorten their side branches to two or three buds, and the main stem one third ; wash the roots clean and e.xamine them carefully; see that you do not plant a peach-worm with the tree. Trim the roots and tlien dust them over with ashes. After the tree is planted, put a handful of ashes or lime around the stem on the surAice of the soil; this will almost invariably prevent the peach-worm attacking the tree the first year; next year, put a little more lime or ashes around them, close to the bole, keeping the ground clear of weeds with the hoe or cultivator during the entire season. This is indispensable, and must not be neglected. Nectarines and apricots should be treated in tlie same wa}'. It recpiires more care than is generally bestowed ujx)n the planting of peach-trees to insure success. Prof. Mapes says : " In taking a tree from the nursery, I cut oif all the limbs and set the tree Sec. 37.] APPLE AND PEACH TPvEES, ETC. 587 an inch higher in its new phice than it stood before. I shorten in all the limbs next year two thirds the length by cntting oti" always at a leaf-biid, and not a frnit-bud ; and I let the trees branch from near the gronnd. Natural seedlings are longer lived than budded trees. It is positively iicces- "sary to disturb the ground as early as possible in the spring. All peach limbs should be shortened in so as not to be pendent. No organic matter will answer for peach-trees. Barn-yard manure will kill them. Nothing but inorganic manures will answer. Trees should be trimmed early in the spring, as soon as the weather is warm enough to make the limbs supple." 6C5. Soda-Wash for Peach-Worms.— These are frequently destroyed, or, i-ather, prevented, by using the caustic soda-wash — an application accident- ally discovered by a New Jei-soy gardener, a few years ago, to be the best thing ever applied to kill insects and make smooth bark. "This soda-wash is made as follows: Take common sal soda and put it in any old iron pot or other vessel, and heat it red-hot, and then ])ut it hot into water — one pound to one gallon — and let it stand till cool, and use it with a brush or swab to the body or limbs of the trees you wish to clean, and it kills all insects it comes in contact with, and makes the bark assume a smooth, polished appearance. It will not injure any growing plants." G66. Cutting ont Worms from Peach-Trees is a remedy somewhat like the Frenchman's flea-powder. The only easy remedy is boiling water. Put a cloth around the tree and pour boiling hot water on, and the steam will kill the worms. There is no difficulty in killing peach-worms in trees with hot water. It would not hurt the tree to apply a jet of steam direct to the worm-affected part, but it will hurt the worm. It would be impossible to pick out the worms in an orchard, such as some in Jersey, of 80,000 trees. The best cure for the yellows is to give the trees as vigorous a growth as possible, by the use of inorganic fertilizers. 667. Winter-Killed Peach-Trees.— The severity of some of the past winters has entirely destroyed all peach-orchards, even of twenty years' growth, far south of the center of Illinois, and committed great havoc in the apple- orchards. The same, or some other couree, has produced a similar effect, we believe, generally, throughout the country. In the face of these in- clement winters, trials have been successfully made to produce fruit-trees in Minnesota under otherwise unfavorable circumstances. Ought those ot a milder climate to be discouraged on account of partial failure? Let us notice some facts that favor the opposite opinion. As far as the hardier and more valuable fruits are concerned, they arc easily produced in central New England and New York, where the climate is colder and not so uniform, and the soil less friable than it is in many places two or three degrees farther south. The Lake Ontario slope of western New York produced peaches abund- antly before the country was laid open by the removal of the primeval forests, and is now one of the best fruit-producing regions on the continent, as it respects the really valuable fruits. 5S8 THE ORCHARD. [Chap. XL Tlie cold fnnj) of the -winter of 1S50-G0 killed a preat deal of fruit in tlie State of New York, but that should not prevent furtiier trials. C. Olncy, of Pittsford, IMonroe County, writes under date of Jan. 21. iSf^O : "The peach crop in this vicinity bids fair to be almost an entire failure the coinin|i; season. I find more living Imds upon frees that stand in the corneis of the fences than npon those where the land was cultivated last season. On some of them nearly all are alive ; on others, not more than ten feet distant, every one examined is dead. I am unable to say whether any ]iarlicular variety escapes more than another, for I liave only owned njy jircsent premises one year, and last season there was no fruit on the trees by which I could tell the varieties, ify thermoineter has only indicated four degrees below zero. Who can tell the causes of destruction, if it is true, as it has often been asserted, that it requires a degree of cold 18 degrees below zero to kill peach-buds?" fifiS. Seedling vsi Budded Peach-Trees.^A general impression j^revails that seedling peaches are more hardy than those propagated by budding. Tliis is true, though not in the sense in which it is generally received. T!ie pro- cess of budding in no way changes the character of the variety budded, cither for hardiness or otherwise. The fruit is no more liable to be killed by frost than the original seedlings from wliich the budded trees have de- scended. All varieties were once seedlings, and it is said are improved from the bitter almond. This improvement is the result of cultivation, crossing, and hybridization. Tlie pulp is merely the envelop or covering nature has pro- vitled for the protection of the seed. Hence the vital force is directed to this end, and the seed is consequently fully developed, and the product is hardy, and those varieties that are least removed from the original type are the most hardy. The imju-ovement is the I'esult of art, and so fiir as im- l)roved or removed from the state of nature, just in that proportion is it at the expense of the hardiness of the variety. This fact holds good throughout all the departments of animated nature as well as in the vegetable kingdom. Compare the native Indian with the present cultivated races of mankind, also our races of domestic animals with those in the state of nature — how different is their character for hardiness ! One characteristic of the peach is, the power of the different varieties to withstand the effects of cold according to the character of the blossoms. Some— and this is generally' true with seedlings — have large blossoms, the ])ctals of which afford a thicker covering to the embryo fruit ; hence this class is generally most hard}', while those kinds with smaller blossoms arc more tender, and others are still more so where the petals stand out, or the blos- som is file least cupped. It is only the improved kinds that are found most desirable to perpetuate by budding ; these have become fender because they are improved and far- ther removed from the state of nature, not because they have been propa- gated by the artificial process of budding. Sec. sr.] APPLE AND PEACH TREES, ETC. 589 In our extremely variable climate the propagation of seeilliiig poaches sliould be practiced to a greater extent than it is, but with more care and calculation. In selecting seed to plant, choose from the best of those kinds that have large blossoms, as well as others most hardy with smaller cupped blossoms. The yellow-fleshed peaches can be depended on with more cer- tainty to produce their kind than the white-fleshed peaches. In some in- stances the seedlings may be superior to the parent ; in more, they may be of equal quality, while a large j^i'oportion may be inferior ; but as the infe- rior peaches are most hardy, these may afford us a crop, while the others or budded varieties entirely fail ; so that where land is cheap or in favorable situations, we advise that calculations should be made to produce seedling peach-trees every year of the seed of the most improved varieties. 660. Peach-Trees for Fuel. — Peach-trees sliould be grown upon the prairies for fuel. No tree grows more rapidly, and no seed is more sure of germi- nating than the peach. The stones should be planted in the nursery, and the first summer's growth cut olf two or three buds above the ground before autumn, or in time for the wound to heal and new shoots to start. The young trees may then be taken up and ]ilanted out ten feet a])art in or- chards. Tins mode of cutting back gives two to five trunks instead of one, which make more wood, and are less likely to be winter-killed. If the shoot is not cut back until the next spring, let the root remain another season in the nursery. Another good way is to plant the stones in drills, ten feet apart, in the orchard, the ground to be well prepared, and the rows kept free from weeds by the plow. In the fall, turn a good furrow from each side against the rows, and level them, if necessary, with a hoe, and then mow oflT the shoots even with the ridge. Draw out, for planting the next sunnner in other places, the weakest of the plants, and let the otiiers grow, heading back each year. In three years the trees will begin to bear, and those which do not promise good fruit may be used for fuel. Of course, the fruit is a sec- ondary object, and all that is got is clear gain — as the trees arc grown that fuel may be had at less cost and trouble than to haul it from a grove four or five miles distant. 670. Manuring Fruit-Trees — Use of Hogs. — There is no better manure for an orchard than swamp muck, composted with lime and salt — that is, lime slaked by a solution of salt. "Wood ashes, leached or unleached, are also good, and we doubt not coal ashes are beneficial. If the land is in grass, it should bo thoroughly harrowed in the spring, and again after mowing. Use the orchard in the fore pai-t of the season as a sheep pasture, and graze close. When the apples begin to fall, turn in the pigs and let them eat the wind- falls. Valuable trees, or those of delicate nature, will be highly benefited by mulching, both summer and winter. The use of hogs in an orchard we have never seen so clearly demonstrated before as we did in the summer of 1S62. The Shaker Society at New Leb- anon discarded the use of pork and quit keeping hogs about ISOO. From 590 TDE ORCnARD. [Chap. YT. tliat time, an orchard that had been used as a liog pasture, declined in vigor and fruitfidncss, and as the hiiid couhl not be very well cultivated, it was determined to try the hogs again, and a number were purchased and set to work. In a few weeks, in pursuit of tlie worms, they liad thoroughly rooted up the turf, and the effect upon the a]>ple trees was so visible as to be readily remarked by every one acquainted with their previous condition. Autumn or early winter is a good time to manure fruit-trees, provided you do not use such as will harbor mice, for tliat will be likely' to injure young trees more than the manure will benefit them. Ashes and rotten wood and leaf-mold are particularly good for trees, and so is any well-rotted compost. Spread it over as much ground as the top covers, and do not be afraid of i)utling on too much. A heavy-bearing tree, or one that you want to make bear plenty of good fruit, must have some food to produce it from ; and a young tree needs as much cultivation every year as a hill of corn, and sliould have, in proportion to its size, about the same manuring. And there is no crop that will pay better for manure and cultivation than fruit of all kinds. It is the secret of peach-raising in New Jersey and Del- aware. G71. Lime for Trees. — We have seen a statement that lime has been most successfully used in England in transplanting trees by mixing a small quan- tity— a quart or two — with the earth in which the tree-roots arc planted. It serves a double purpose — assisting to keep the earth moist, and converting vegetable substances into food for the tree. Tiie statement looks so reason- able that we advise its trial. The English papers say that every tree in a large plantation served in this way flourished finely. We object to applying lime to trees in the form of whitewash upon the boles, but in no other way, whether liquid or powder. Hon. John A. Clayton, late of Delaware, assured us that half a bushel of powdered lime applied close about each peach-tree was the best thing that he ever tried to promote health and increase growth. Wiiitewasliing trees is not a good practice. Indeed, wo know of nothing that can be said in its favor. Water, saturated with lime, used as a caustic wash, would be bene- ficial, while the lime itself, jjlastercd u})on the tree in the form of thick whitewash, would be injurious. It would be of far more use to the tree spread over the ground; there it would add to the nourishment of the tree. Another benefit derived from the use of lime around fruit-trees, is the fact, of its seriously aftecting more or less all kinds of worms and insects that infest the apple-treo. Most of the ver.min that annoy fruit-trees in the sum- mer remain in the ground during the winter. A quantity of lime spaded in around the roots of the tree will have a good effect toward destroying tlio canker-worm, if applied in season, and a small mound of lime around tho collar of the tree will prevent the ravages of the borer, which almost always enters the tree in the tender bark near tho ground. It is beneficial on all soils, except, perhaps, calcareous ones; it will greatly assist in destroying all vermin that harbor in the ground under the tree ; it is always injurious Sec. 37.] EENOVATINa ORCHARDS. 591 wlicn applied to the bark, as it stops the pores and impairs tlie liealtli of tlie ■\vliole tree. G72. How to Renovate an Old Orchard.— It may not always be practicable to renovate an old orchard with swine, as practiced by the Siiakers, as men- tioned in 6t0, therefore the following account of what a woman did is valuable. Euth II. Lynde writes us from New Bedford, Mass., as follows: "Some years ago I lived on a small farm in New York State, and one of the in- ducements held out for hiring it was, that there was a line apple orchard of choice grafted fruit. Tliis decided— -but the trees were in a miserably sickly condition, and the fruit scanty and mean, knotty and wormy. In the fall, a circle was dug around every apple-tree nearly two feet from the crown and over a foot and a half in deptii. Dressing from the hog-pen was put into each hole until within half a foot of the top, and anthracite coal-ashes spread over up to the crown. In the spring the trees were pruned, the orchard plowed, oats sown, and the crop of oats was fair; the trees bloomed more, but the fruit was scarce and still poor. That fall, after the leaves had fallen, the trees were scraped — tlie trunks, branches, and boughs — and the grnbs scraped ofl' that were in the loose bark sufficed to feed for two days a hun- dred fowls, consisting of turkeys, hens, and guinea-fowls. The fowls gen- erally were in an inclosed place, and corn kept in a trough for their daily use; as the corn was untouched and the fowls healthy, my statement can be relied on. Next spring the orchard was a mass of blossoms, and so beau- tiful, I never wearied looking at it. The trees were so laden with fruit that two of them split in the fork, and a person could not walk upright under them. I never saw such quantities of fruit, and fine fruit, too — Bell Flow- ers, Fall Pippins, Seek-no-Furthers, Summer Pie-apples, etc." The subject of renovating old orchards has been discussed several times by the American Institute Farmers' Club, and here are some of the facts elicited. We give them with the names of the authors for what they are worth, as they are all men of experience in fruit-growing. Prof. Mapes — There was an old orchard on my place that had ceased bearing, which I fully renovated and afterward cut down, because I can not afford the shade. The land is too valuable to grow large trees upon. I can produce fruit upon dwarfs more economically.. All old apple-orchards are deficient in lime, but the lime must be properly prepared to be of use. The caustic soda-wash, spoken of last week, will clear them of insects and fungi, I subsoiled the old orchard, which was in grass, and applied lime. I recom- mend ten bushels per acre, sowed in a caustic state on the surface. Lime is only soluble in large quantities of water. The next spring I applied ])hos- phatc of lime. This orchard was then in vigorous bearing, and had not before borne for years. The grass crop was also more than doubled. Eun the subsoil plow up and down hill and it will serve to drain the land. I only run the subsoil lifter furrows some four feet apart, without disturbing the soil. Lime and manure should not be applied at the same time to orchards. Tlie plowing is an important part of the treatment. 592 THE ORCHARD. [Chap. VI. Mr. YEEEnEE, of Albany, said : A German, -working for me, )>ractiees re- moving the cartli from the apple-tree roots in the fall, and that lias com- pletely renovated an old tree on my farm. I have great faith in the value of entting off the long runners of tree roots. I know tfne apple-tree that bore, two years ago, in Schenectady County, seventy barrels of apples. Adrian G. Bergen said — I wish I could make the apple-trees on Long Island produce as they did thirty years ago. The trees have generally, failed. I believe trees are failing all over the land. It is not all owing to want of lime. There is sometliing besides this that affects api)le-trees. AxDEEW S. Fuller— I recommend lenovating old trees to find how far out the roots extend, and would dig so as to cut off three or four feet of the out ends of all the roots by a ditcli three feet deep and three feet wide, which I would fill witii good soil and manure. It will almost always renovate them. If trees are mossy, scrape them with a hoe. Tnos. "W. Field — I agree with Mr. Fuller in this recommendation. "W'm. p. Gates, of Windliam, Ct., wants to know how to treat the soil in an old orcliard, or where trees have been planted ten years. Plowing cuts and bruises the roots, and, he thinks, must injure the trees. How, then, shall the soil be loosened ? Judge French, of New Hampshire — "Wc generally keep our orchards plowed two thirds of the time, and work the land at first as deep as possible. We do not think it good policy to ripen grain in an orchard. Sow with oats and cut tlicm for green fodder. Plant with corn, and cut green. Potatoes are the best hoed crop for an orchard, old or young. Tnos. W. Field— I have been trying to answer this question a long time. Some orchards on Long Island that are plowed often, have ceased to bear, while trees in tlie hedges and walls continue to bear fruit abundantly. Some pomologists contend that orchards should not be disturl]ed by the plow. Trees derive very little nourishment from deep soil ; it nearly all comes from the fibrous roots near the surface. If we can keep the surface loose, it will be useful; but plowing I believe injurious. Prof. Nash, of Amherst, Mass. — I concur generally with Mr. Field in this; but for naturally drained land, I liave no doubt it is the best practice to let the land lie in grass. -No general rule can be given, but it must be adapted to the situation and circumstances of each orchard. PoBERT L. Pell — My experience is, that all orchards require plowing. I have found roots in my orchards as large as my arm, extending fourteen feet deep. Pye will kill an orchard quicker than anything else. I never stop to inquire whether my plow is cutting the apple roots or not. It does not injure them. Soi.oN PoBiNsoN — I hold to the Scriptural injunction to renovate an old tree; it was: "Dig about and dung it." Success attends the same method now. Dig about certainly as far as tlie branches extend, but do not dig too deep or injure the roots unnecessarily. Stirring the surface soil frequently is what they want. Try that, and you will be amazed at the renovation you Sec. ST.] RE^'OVATIXt^ ORCHARDS. 593 work in an old apple-tree. Mulching, or cultivating with a hoe to keep down weeds and let in air and moisture, answers the same purpose. To clear suckers from orchard trees they should not be cut off, for new shoots will spring from every stub left. The riglit way is to keep the ground smooth, mellow, and clean ; and then about the middle season of growth, or during the iirst half of summer, put on tliick cowhide boots and stout buck- skiu mittens, seize one sucker at a time, placing the boot upon it close to tlie tree, give a sudden jerk with the hands, and it will be torn out root and branch, leaving no stump. An occasional repetition of this process will keep the orchard clear. Suckers always give a slovenly appearance to an orchard, and favor the depredations of the borer. Trees growing on mucky soil sometimes make wood so fast that they ap- pear to have no power to produce fruit. In such cases we recommend heavy dressings of lime, salt, and bone-dust, and if convenient, sand and clay. The debris of an old charcoal-pit or a brick-kiln would be beneficial. When old pear-trees fail to bear, or, rather, to perfect their fruit, we would invariably dig about them and add all the above ingredients, and afterward stable manure spread on the surface as far around as the linibs extend, or far- ther, after having dug up the surface thoroughly. A caustic soda-wash, or a wash made of weak lye, or of a solution of two pounds of potash to eight quarts of water, and rubbed on the stems of the tree, will prove more beneficial and far less injurious tlian whitewash. There is probably no substance that can be applied at so small a cost as lime that will do so much toward the renovation of an old orchard. It will promote in an astonishing degree the flowering and fruiting of almost all plants, because calcareous salts promote evapora- tion and the concentration of the sap. Air-slaked lime is an excellent manure for fruit-trees as a top-dressing ; or if spaded in around the tree, it will render it much more fruitful where the soil is not too calcareous by nature. In the use of lime, do not use it in great quantities, because only a small portion can be appropriated by the growing plants. Our opinion favors about ten bushels per acre, though many persons apply thirty bushels. We believe if that qnantity were applied at the rate of six bushels a year for five years, it would be more beneficial, and we would always apply it on the surface either in autumn or spring, according to the crop, and not work it in. It will find its way down as deep as water can penetrate. The worst situation that can be selected for an orchard is a deep valley with a small stream of water, for there the frost is much more apt to kill buds than it is upon exposed hill-tops. This is not the case with the bottom lands of large streams, nor on the borders of lakes, or ponds of considerable size. Where- ever fog follows frost, it will save the fruit from injury. 594 THE ORCHARD. tCHAP. VI. SECTION XXXVriI.-CnERRlES-BE.ST VARIETIES, SOIL, SITUATION', AND CULTIVATIOX-HISTORY, USE, AND VALUE OF CHERRIES. I / HE cherry, as one of the fruits of the farm, is not ap- preciated as much as its merits ^varrant. The rea- /^ ^ ) son that farmers do not appreciate it is, simply "•'V^ because they do not know it. Not one farmer in a ^ thousand, take tlie -whole country through, ever had tree upon his place that produced cherries of first qualify, and not one in a hundred ever tasted of tlie best sorts ; and some, we know, do not believe that cherries ever grow of such a size that it is necessary to " make two bites of a cherry," nor of such luseiousncss that a family would sit down to eat and enjoy a dish of cherries as they would sweet peaches, plums, pears, or apples. The reason is, that their standard of opinion, of the character of cherries, has been formed from such as have been most generally cultivated, such as the Kentish, which is the old, common red pie-cherry, sour and bitter until verv ripe; or the old-style Morello, or Cluster-cheiTy ; or the old Black Mazzard, the Ox-heart, Red-heart, and liemington, etc., none of which are hardly fit to eat out of hand ; and with opinions based upon such a standard, it is no wonder that cherries are not esteemed by some as worth the time and trouble of growing, which, however, is very small, for no kind of fruit is easier grown, and none will give a family greater satisfaction. If any doubt this, we beg them to seek the opportunity of tasting some of tlie finest sorts in their perfection, a few of which we will name. 073. Choice Varieties of Cherries. — The Blgaireau, most generally known as Yellow Spanish, is in perfection the last of June, and is a most delicious fruit; the flesh firm, pale yellow, juicy, and rich, and grows very large. Tins cherry is often picked before fully ripe, and is not then esteemed. The tree is a thrifty, though not a large one, but forms a handsome liead. Tlie Napoleon Bigarreaxi, is also an excellent cherry, ripening later than the other, of very large size and firm flesh, so much so as to be urged as objectionable. Tlie skin is pale yellow, or amber, when shaded, dotted with red, with a crimson-marbled check, very handsome. Tlie Black Tartaria7i is a superb cherry of large size and good flavor, and the trees are very productive, and of a remarkabh' rapid, vigorous growth, with crest head. The leaves are large and beautiful, and the tree very ornamental when full of ripe fruit, which is glossy -black, very rich and delicious, half tender, of a purplish color inside, with a very small stone, ripening from the middle to the last of June, and a few days after Mayduke. Sec. 38.] CirERRIES. 593 Coe^s Transparent is a grec cherry: ''The trees should be taken uj> early in spring, before the swelling of the buds, the branches trimmed oft' and top cut back to within four or five inches of where the head is to be inserted. Tiiey are then to be planted in orchard or nursery rows, to be grafted as soon as the buds are ready to break and until the leaf is half grown, which is the season of grafting. The scions should have been cut in the fall or winter and kept in some cool place, so that they shall not have materially swelled their buds. If the stock is half or three fourths of an inch in diameter, cut it off at an angle of forty-five degrees, square oft" the upper part of the cut, and insert as in cleft-grafting, with this diff'erence, that the knife is held at an angle so as to cut instead of splitting the bark ; but when the stock is of less size, make the usual splice graft, but without the tongue, simply putting them together and winding with linen thread. Cut in lengths of si.xteen to eighteen inches, and protect by incited wax, put on with a brush. So soon as the growth indicates that the thread Avill cut into the bark, it must be cut, and cutting down through the thread, even into the wood, will do no harm, but the thread should not be removed, as the M-ax -will hold it so as to protect the graft from blowing oft" until it is firmly knit to the stock. " Do not prune too much before grafting, nor cut back the branches at the time of grafting; they are to be shortened in, as the graft is (capable of ab- sorbing the sap. Those suitable for splice-gi-afting can be safely pruned at the time. The faidt in grafting the cherry has been mainly in doing the work before active growth. " Grafting the cherry and plum, even after they are in bloom, is safer than very early. The caution to be observed in rooted trees, is not to oit away too much of the top at once ; and in newly transplanted trees, deprived of vigor and the growth cheeked, it is not safe to set the graft until the growth is resumed. No buds or sprouts should be rubbed or cut from the tree the first season after transj)lanting." Most nurserymen prefer budding to grafting. They plant the common l_. Sec. 3S.] CHERRIES. 699 Black Mazzard cherries to produce stock. The cherries are gathered wlien fully ripe, and allowed to lie in bulk until the pulp will wash oif easily, and then the pits are planted at once about an incli deep in seed-beds. At a year troni planting, set the plants in nursery rows a foot apart. The next August the plants will be in order for budding. When setting the plants in nursery rows, place all of equal sizes together, so tliat the growth will be even. 677. Soil, Situation, Cultivation, History, and Uses of Cherries.— Any rich, dry soil will grow cherries, but a sandy or gravelly loam or rocky situation produces the finest fruits. In wet soils tlie cherry-tree is apt to decay young ; and if the soil is very rich, the young trees are apt not to ripen the wood and therefore winter-kill the ends of the limbs and make scrubby ti-ees, or else produce more wood than fruit. It is well to set cherry-trees for fruit on northern exposures, wherever they are apt to start very early in the spring, as that is often fatal to the crop of fruit. This was almost uni- versally the case in the spring of 1861 in the vicinity of New York. Pruning cherry-trees should always be done in midsummer, and but little of it, only cutting out dead branches, or those that interfere. More harm is done than good, as a general thing, by pruning. It is believed that our cultivated varieties of cherries came from Asia, first to Italy, and then to all other European countries. The name Cerasus comes from the name of the place they were brought from into Italy, more than half a century before the commencement of the Christian era. Our stock came over with the early immigrants from England, Holland, Belgium, and France. As a dessert fruit, cherries are everywhere esteemed, and are better to eat out of hand than in any other way ; that is, the varieties that are not only sweet, but lusciously so, rich and delicate, and the peculiar admixture of sugar and acid is exceedingly refreshing. Cherries are also excellent for culinary purposes, both fresh and dried. Some of the sorts are so particu- larly applicable to the purpose that they are called pie cherries. In Europe, intoxicating liquor is distilled from cherries. In Germany, a very fiery stuflf, called kirschwasser, is made of Black Mazzard cherries, ground, so as to break the pits, and the mass then fermented. At Grenoble, France, a peculiar cordial is made of cherries, well known by the name of ratafia. In Italy, a celebrated liquor called maraschino, is made by mashing a small irazzard cherry and fermenting it with pulps, pits, and leaves mixed, to which honey is added. In this country the common wild cherry, both the black and choke va- rieties, are used to make " cherry rum," which is done by filling a bari'el half full of liquor, and then adding whole cherries to till it, and bunging tight to stand a year or more. The wood of the cherry is hard and durable, and when this country was first settled, and large forest-trees of Cerasus serotina were abundant, the wood coo THE ORCHARD. [Chap. VI. was extensively used for furniture and house-joinery. One locality was so celebrated for the abundance and size of these trees that the town took the name of ''Cherry Valley" (N. Y.), by which it will be known long after the origin of the name is forgotten. The gum of the cherry-tree is much like the gum known in commerce as gum-arabic, and is much esteemed by some tor its medicinal qualities, and is called rich in nutritive matter, though but seldom used for eitlier of these purposes. The cherry tree does not exude gum in large quantities while it is in a healthy condition, and when it does exude copiously, it is generally a sign of final decay. It is recommended to cut out gum spots when they first make their appearance upon young trees, being careful to injure the bark as little as j)ossil)le. We think it belter to keep the bark clean by good cultivation and in a healthy state of growth. Trees may be much im- proved by washing with soda or potash solution. Sometimes trees are hide- bound, and are benefited by slitting the bark in midsummer. The boles of cherry-trees sometimes burst by freezing. When this happens, it is a good plan to pare the edges of the bark in spring with a sharp knife, and plaster the crack over with grafting clay (G53). Cherries and plums may be safely transplanted when they are two or three years old, but we prefer two-year-old trees to any others. All of our stone-fruits are liable to produce gum from their wounds, and this often prevents them from healing over, and the older the tree tlie more liable it is to become diseased from its wounds. Tliis can be seen by .exam- ining an old cherry-tree which has had a branch broken oflF; it takes a long time to heal over, if ever, while on a young tree it heals over quickly, scarcely leaving a sign of the accident. S. N. Coats, in the Gardenn-'s Monthhj, says it is reported on good evi- dence that a cultivator of cherries has met with signal success by trainino' his trees with low heads, and at the approach of winter bending down the lower tier of branches all around and covering thcni up with soil, havino- the position of the tree so that no water can stand about it. At the ap- proach of spring he removes the soil, and the work is done. It is stated that not only the branches and fruit-buds covered by the soil, but those left exposed to the winter's cold, are perfectly preserved from its eftects. Sec. 39.] VARIETIES OF PEARS. GOl SECTION XXXIX.-PEARS-SOIL, SITUATION, CULTIVATION, AND VARIETIES. EAES may be named as the favorite fruit cf inan- kiiid. Though not as universal as apples, nor quite as much sought after as peaches in their short season, they are everywhere appreciated as the best standard fruit wo liave, and in some of tlie numerous varieties having almost as long a season as the apple. The wonder is that farmers do not pay more attention to the production of such a rich fruit — one that is not only uni- versally a favorite on account of its pleasant taste, but one that really aflords a very cheap, healthy food, and can be grown near a market town as a profitable crop. At least, such is the opinion of a great many pear culturists, though some other persons declare that pears, as a general thing, can not be grown profitably. We think they can, and will try to tell how. In the first place, select good sorts. For a small assortment, suitable for any farmer, the following list has been rec- ommended by a competent committee for the vicinity of New York : 678. Varieties to Grow, and fiiltivatiou. — Summer Pears. — Doyenne d'Ete, Dearborn's Seedling, Beurre Giftard, Eostizer, Tyson. A2itu7)i7i.—Bart\ett, Seckel, Beurre d'Anjou, Beurre Superfin, Doyenne Boussock, Duchesse d'Angouleme (on quince), Flemish Beauty, Fondante d'Automne, Speldon, Urbaniste. Winter. — Beurre Gris d'lliver Nouveau, Lawrence, Vicar of Winkfield. Some of the committee were anxious to place the Beurre Bosc high on the list of pears, and if it was uniformly as good with others as it always is wilh Mr. Hayes of New Jersey and some few other cultivators, it could with propriety head the list of late fall varieties. We recommend all ama- teurs to try this also, and if they succeed in bringing it to full perfection, they will have a pear in size, beauty, and quality inferior to no other. In the second place, give your pear-trees deep, generous tillage, by which is meant a trenching and manuring of the soil from one and a half to three feet deep. In other countries, where labor is cheaper and fruits dearer than thjy are here, this work is often extended to a depth of four feet, receiving a profitable return even from so small a fruit-bearing plant as the straw- berr}'. It is from a want of such cultivation that the finest pear-trees taken from our nurseries often die or come to nothing. They have " no deepness of earth," "no root," and, as a natural consequence, they share the fate of the w'asted seed of the parable. The following rules are also important : 1st. Cultivating or mulchiuij the surface around the trees for a distance 602 THE ORCHARD. [Chap. VI. cijiial, at least, to the drip of their hranches. But especial care should be taken to avoid the slightest bruising of the roots, and the mulc'.i niustsiot be so thick and heavy as to smother them. 2d. Under-drainagc, wlierever the subsoil is of a retentive nature. But all covered drains, whether of tiles or stones, should he not less than three feet deep — no less than six or eight feet distant from the trunks of tlie trees; for many a fine tree set out directly al)ove a shallow underground conduit has been poisoned to deatli by tiie foul air therein contained. 3d. Thinning of the fruit, especially of tlie class of trees known as great bearers. Pruning may be performed at any season of the year ; but the best time is believed to be about the longest days of summer, while the woi-st effects t]]at happen arise from using the saw or knife during the full flow of sap in the spring. An exception, however, must be made in cases where it is considered necessary to head in a newly planted tree. As to tlic kind of soil, almost any tlioroughjy drained soil will answer, but a dry one is absolutely necessary. A true loam, or sandy one, if enriched, will answer a good purpose. A rocky or gravelly soil, fertile for grass and other farm-crops, is good for pears. A hillside is generally considered a favorable situation ; and in all localities affected by late spring frosts, a northerly slope is recommended, on acccunt of keeping back the buds, which are apt to start during eav]y warm days in southern exposures. CT9. Rules for Poar Culture. — A cultivator of pears in Missouri gives the following as his rules for pear cultivation. lie says : '• In the fruit countries of old Europe, pears are generally more plentiful than apples, and easier to raise. Thev will not do quite so well here, but would do a great deal better if the following rules were observed, by fol- lowing which I have no difficulty in raising sound trees that bear well, un- less, perchance, a late frost or ver}' heavy showers of rain injure the blossoms. " 1st. For position, I prefer the northern slope of a hill, otherwi^e the northern corners of a fence running west and east. " 2d. The soil should be rather heavy than light, yet permeable to a depth of at least three feet or more ; not altogether wet, but not too dry. " 3d. The growth of the pear-tree should be only moderately rank ; by the end of June the young shoots ought to cease growing. Do not manure your pear-trees nor stimulate their growth by much cultivation of the ground, unless they appear to grow too poorly. Do not stir the ground or remove the grass during hot and dry weather. " itli. The lower the head is formed, the sounder the tree will be. Such varieties as the Seckel, growing in the shape of a poplar, might have their lower branches one and a half feet from the ground ; others are best at three feet. " 5th. Bend the lower limbs toward the southwest, to make them fully shade the trunk and ground around it. If that can not well be done, cover Sbo. 39.] GROWING PEARS. 603 the ground round the trunk -with half-rotten straw, and keep the trunk en- veloped with straw, rags, or even paper during summer. ""6th. Do not trim much ; a bearing tree -will generally help itself witli- out mucli pruning. " 7th. In setting out your pear-trees, make a deep and wide hole, fill up with ordinarily rich ground, then plant not deeper than the young tree had been in the ground before. " 8th. Urine is good manure for pear-trees when applied in the winter time. " Fine pears can be profitably raised at a dollar a bushel. Plant Seckel, White Doj'enne, Napoleon, Bartlett, Beurre Bosc, etc., all good bearers, and yielding delicious fruit. " Thus far goes my experience in Missouri." Thos. W. Field, of Brooklyn, author of a work on pears, says : " Near New York city we can not grow apples to any profit. So it is with every crop ; it must be adapted to suitable soil and climate. Within fifty miles around New York the pear grows to perfection, with the exception of a few kinds. The pear-tree here has a great longevity. The peach is ephemeral. Apple-trees endure in a scraggy form, but unproductive. Cherries and plums are short- lived, while pear-trees are found everywhere aliout here of great size and age." 680. Size and Iinprovfineut of Pears.— The original pear, like the api)lo, was very unlike the improved sorts now known to us. Something like it may be seen here and there growing in a semi-wild state, called choke pears, a sort only eatable when cooked. The pear has been a cultivated fruit a great length of time. It was so among the Romans at an early period — so history tells us ; and it was also known to Syria, Egypt, and Greece. Pliny speaks of numerous varieties, some of M'hich were, by his description, as delicate and agreeable as they are at the present day. There were also early and late pears, some of which were used for only baking. Probably the Romans did not better understand the art of ripening pears in a fruit-room than most of our farmers, some of whom have no idea that some pears, which are uneatable in autumn can be ripened artificially into perfect lusciousness. We knew an instance illustrative of this fact. A pear culturist saw a farmer in New York market with a couple of bushels of " winter pears," which he recommended as " good for baking." Our friend saw at a glance what these " winter pears" were, and bought the lot at a very low price, because, as the owner said, " seems as though nobody wanted baking pears." lie had, however, met with a customer who did, and who paid him a dollar a bushel and took them home and stored them in his fruit-room. In January following he brought them to a Broadway fruit-dealer, and sold them by count at a price equal to over $20 a bushel. So much for knowing what to do with choice fruit. Pear-trees do not appear to be native to this country, though flourishing well in almost every locality, and sometimes attaining great age. The " old 604 THE ORCHARD. [Chap VI. Stii\'vesaiit pe:ir-trec," still staiidiiig at the corner of Third Avenue and Thirteenth Street, New York, has borne several crops of fruit since it attained the respectable age of two hundred years, having been plantid by the old Dutch Governor Stuyvesant upon liis farm, then a long way out of New York cit}', or rather the little hamlet that has since attained to its city dignity and size, and has absorbed the old governor's farm, and many othei-s miles farther from the starting-point at the old Battery. There is a remarkable old pear-tree near Yincennes, Indiana, on the other side of the "\Vabasli. The trunk girts ten feet above the swell of the roots, and more than half that nine feet above the ground, and it has yielded one hundred and eighty bushels of pears in a single season^and every year gives a great product of early autumn pears of fair quality; some who never tasted better ones think them excellent. If the quality was like the Bart- lett, Flemish Beauty, Seckel, or some oilier choice autumn pears, or Easter Beurre, Doyenne d'Hiver, Lawrence, "Winter Nelis, or other choice winter pear.-, which often bring §5 to §10 a bushel, what an enormous money pro- duct this one tree would give its owner! And if other trees would not give as much, it is certainly for the encouragement of all farmers to plant jiear- trees to know how long they will live, and how Tuuch they will produce in quantity and value. In England, France, and Belgium, pears are largely grown for the same purpose that cider-apples are here, the fermented juice, called Perry, being niuch used as a beverage. The fruit is also dried, and extensively used as an article of food. It is so, to a limited extent, in some parts of this country ; and so it is for cooking in various ways, and preserving in air-tight cans, but its great value is for a dessert fruit, and for tliis purpose none are suitable but those sorts having a soft texture and buttery, melting flesh filled with sugary juice and delicious aromatic flavor, of which we consider the Seckel the type. GSl. When to Gather and how to Ripen PcarSi— One of the most common mistakes with those who grow pears, jjarticularly among farmers who have not, as a general thing, studied much upon the subject, is in letting the fruit hang upon the tree to ripen. AVith some of the best soris of winter pears this is simply impossible, and with nearly all of the best varii'ties it is im- j)oli;ic, because the fruit is far better when picked before it is ripe, and matured in the house. Of late many people liave built fruit-rooms on pur- pose to ripen the choicest varieties both of pears and apples. Some pears that are almost worthless when allowed to hang upon the tree, are excellent when artiticialiy ripened. The time to gather pears which are to be ripened in a fruit-room, or in default of such a room, in a dry, sweet cellar, or in a cool upper room, may be judged by watching for the ripening of those which have been injured by worms and a few prematurely ripening specimens. Then all that appear full-grown may be gathered and placed singly on shelves, or on the floor of the room where they are to ripen. Sometimes the pears show maturity Sko. 39.] "WIlE^r TO GATHER PEARS. 605 by a change of color, or by a disposition to fall from the twig upon a very slight touch. Then, if taken into the house, they will gradually attain their proper color, and will possess a richness never attainable on the tree. Pears ripened indoors will mature more gradually than upon the tree, so that you will have the fruit in perfection much later. There is another important advantage to be gained by this indoor ripening. A thief will seldom strip a tree of hard, uneatable pears. He probably does not know the art of ripening them, and if he docs, has not tlie conveniences. Besides, he has not the opportunity that the owner has to know when is the proper time to gather them. The owner may therefore frequently save the crop by his superior knowledge and ability to gather it while quite unfit to eat, and ripen it in a safe store-room. Some of the latest winter pears, like late winter apples, should be allowed to hang as long as the state of the weather will admit. The finest sort for the table should be very carefully handled, and wrapped each in a piece of soft paper, and packed in barrels, or boxes of smaller dimensions than a barrel, and stored in a dry room — not in the cellar — ^just barely warm enough not to freeze, M'here they shoxild remain till about two weeks before the time required for use, and then ripened in a warm room, keeping them covered to prevent shriveling. In this way some pears, that are natu- rally tough, become tender and delicious. When brought into a wai-m room to fiinish ripening, the temperature should be kept at about 60 or 70 degrees. There are some pears that may be gathered and treated exactly like winter apples, and they will ripen just as well. The one called D'Aremberg is of this kind. The Glou Morceau, Columbia, Eedding, Easter Beurre, Char- monte, and Vicar of "Winkfield grow well near New York, and there is no diSiculty in any farmer in "Westchester County producing fine crops of these winter pears as easily as winter apples. In sending pears to market, great care should be used in putting them up neatly. A person who grows pears some distance from this city liad a quantity of Louise Bonne de Jersey, which is only a second-rate pear, and he put them up in such a neat manner, one dozen in a box, that they sold at $5 to $7 a hundred. This shows how important it is to know how to put up fruit for market. 682. Pears and Poultry. — There appears to be a connection between pears and poultry which is worth inquiring about. Messrs. B. & S. Beatty, of Aurora, New York, have a very largo poultry establishment ; they fatten and prepare tuns of poultry for market every year. Of course they have a good deal of the very best manure, the feathers forming no mean portion of it. They grow, probably in consequence of using this manure, reniark- ably fine, lai'ge, rich j^ars ; and the richness of them is not the most re- markable thing, for some of the Seckels were the largest we ever saw, and were, they said, a fair sample of many grown on two standard trees, standing 606 THE ORCHARD. [Chap. VI. near a stone ash-house, which consequently get plenty of alkalies. They are also dug around and manured. Docs the keeping of large numbers of fowls have a tendency to lessen the ravages of curculio ? That is a question worthy of more attention. 683. Pear Blight. — ^That sometliing to increase the production of this | | valuable fruit is worth thinking about is very certain. The greatest diflBculty \ appears to be in what is familiarly known as jxar hlight. This mysterious [ [ disease of the pear-tree has, so far, batfled all the arts of pear culturists, and / ; more than anything else has deterred men from extending their attempts to produce larger quantities. 68-1:. SecdJing Pears. — It is thought by some that if we should pay more | j attention to seedlings we should be more free from disease. Independent of this, there is great encouragement to grow seedlings, since some of our valuable varieties are such. The Tyson pear was found in a hedge near Jeukintown, Pennsylvania. It is thus described : "Fruit small, roundish, pyrifi)rm, irregular; color yellow, shaded red to \ the sun, russeted, and numerous black specks; stem long, slender, inserted ; , without depression; calyx large, in a shallow basin; flesh fine-grained, sugary, melting, aromatic ; season, from the middle to the end of August, i ■ Mr. Barry believes it to be a cross between the Madeline and Seckel." . A remarkably good summer pear, brought into notice within a few years j ■ by Mr. Charles F. Erhard, of Eavenswood, opposite this city, on Long j Island, originated from a small tree found in the woods and transplanted to | the garden, where it fruited and proved one of the very best early sorts | I known. It is smaller than the Seckel, but nearly as rich, and is a summer j : pear, while that is an autumn one. , ' 685. Can Farmers Grow Pears as a ProGtable Crop ?— Lewis F. Allen, of Black Rock, X. Y., has written a good deal in the Ilorticultiirist and Xew York Trihuiic to prove the negative of this question. He is a well-known farmer, stock-raiser, and agricultural writer, and his opinions are entitled to respect. He says : " There are some localities in the country where the pear once flourished, but now they have all, or nearly all, died out; and newly planted trees are refractor}', or, if growing for a few yeai"s, then dying away, and proving an unprofitable object of cultivation. "&t'07i(/, There are certain localities in the L'nited States where pears still appear to be successful ; but those localities are limited in number, and no one disposed to embark in pear culture should do so unless assured, from a limited trial of his own, or the experience of others in that locality, that it is favorable to their growth and longevity. " Third, The dwarf, or the pear worked on the quince to any extent, is a recent introduction in this country ; and although millions of trees have been propagated and sold by nurserymen, pears are still scarce and dear fruit in market, and not at all abundant on the tables of their cultivators. ^'■Fourth, Although thousands of both, on their own stocks and on the Sec. 39.] IS IT PROFITABLE TO GROW PEARS? 607 quince, have been planted in mj own vicinity, I do not now know of a single orchard of any size that has not proved a failure, so far as either profit or general success is concerned. Sucli is the experience, not only in my own neighborhood for many miles around, but in diiferent parts of this and other States. '■^ Fifth, Some ten years ago, partaking of the enthusiasm which pre- vailed for dwarf pear culture, 1 planted out aii orchard of about six hundred trees, together with a few hundred on their own stocks, or standards, on my Grand Island farm, situated in the Niagara Eiver, and fronting it on tlie east, about four miles from the outlet of Lake Erie. Tlie land has been re- cently (about twenty years) cleared from the original forest ; well elevated (fifteen to twenty-five feet) above the water, gently declining toward the stream ; rich in phosphates, a clayey loam soil, the best possible for botli quinces and pears, each on their own stocks, and on which I had them, with many apple-trees, growing successfully for some years ; the pear, however, with the drawbacks already named. On this pear-orchard site I had pre- viously cultivated in succession good crops of corn, oats, barley, wheat, pota- toes, sugar-beet, mangel-wurzel, beans, carrots, and parsneps. It was M-ell surface-drained, naturally rich, and highly manured with barn-yard dung. I obtained my dwarf trees from several different nurseries — of a celebrated Rochester one among others, to the number of one hundred and fifty, cer- tain, if not more, good-looking trees. Some of the trees were impromising in appearance; some so-so; some very good ; but such as they were, with a previous preparation of the ground -with a well-cultivated potato crop, I planted faithfully and well, under my own immediate eye and hand. The trees were properly pruned and cut back, both at root and top, according to the authorities. The first year the trees, on an average, grew well, but iii^j dying. Tlie next year more died, which I replanted with new trees from the nurseries, some of them imported, and said by the venders to be better than those of domestic origin and growth. Some of the trees by this time bore fruit, fair in appearance and quality ; and although I cultivated them well, and according to the books, they still continued to die. The cause of their death was an occasional ' fire blight' striking them promiscuously over the field, yet often by a sort of bark and leaf blight, or canker, appearing in black blotches, diseasing the bark, leaves, and twigs — at all events they died, although they were hoed repeatedly, and manure was forked in, and the ground turned up for several feet around their roots every year. In that orchard, although but of six hundred living trees at any time, I planted out about fifteen hundred while it lasted — that is to say, I replanted nine hun- dred to keep the orchard. Some of the trees, of the first planted, grew well, bore well, and flourished to the end. In short, they were a mixed-up collec- tion of good, bad, and doubtful growth — all of the ' best' varieties in fruit, and dying out in about like proportions of the various qualities, in appear- ance of the trees as they came from the nurseries. To cut this long story short, after about eight years of this poiut-uo-point experience, in the fall of 608 TIIE ORCHARD. [Chap. VI. 1855 the whole country became infested Avith myriads of field mice, and during the succeeding winter immense havoc was made throughout the nurseries and orchards by tiiem, and they cut down nearly all my pear or- chard, both dwarf and standard, and thus terminated my hitherto very doubtful labors in that line! " Now whether, had the mice let my trees alone, I should have reached any final success, I do not know. I do not believe I should, judging by the practice and experience of my neighboi-s since. I sold and marketed a good many pears while my orchard existed ; but the price I obtained led me to abate very much of my confidence in the public valuation of a good pear. Three dollars a bushel is the highest price I ever knew the best Bartletts to sell for. Yirgalieus, which, by the way, are apt to crack and spot all over the country, are scarcely worth four to five dollars when good ; and Seckels, the best of all, though inferior in size and appearance, bring no more, on account of their looks; and no better pears, in their season, than the above three, are grown. ''I have mentioned the apparent diseases which have killed the dwarf pears, both my own and those which I have observed in other grounds, with the exception that manj- of them blew down, being dislocated at the point of junction on the quince stocks. But the gist of the want of success in the culture of the dwarf, in my opinion, is this: ^^ Sixth, A want of compatibility in the open-pored, thrifty wood of the pear to unite with the close-pored, small wood of the quince. The pear, in its natural estate, is a large tree, growing, at full maturity, fifty feet high and two feet and upward in diameter. Consequently, -when the pear is worked on the quince stock, and growing thriftily, as it does for a few years, it then demands more sap than the quince root and stock can furnish ; it then stops growing at all, or the growth is feeble and sickly ; and it is no secret to say that when a young tree of any kind lacks for nutriment, although it may, for such lack, go to bearing fruit, yet, if no young wood can be formed to still grow on to its natural stature, such tree must, in com- pliance with its physical nature, become diseased and die. It is an unnatu- ral forced life which has been put upon it. Neither eoil, climate, nor any- thing else which man can do, can long perpetuate its existence. And although extraordinary cfibrts or circumstances may prolong its life for a few years on the quince alone, unless it can strike its own roots from above the junction of the quince into the soil, so as to give it new expansion and support, it must die. The opposite formations and natures of the pear and quince refuse to join and become an inter-knitted wood, as the woods of two vaiietics of the same species, as the apple, pear, or quince, separately, will do when grafted or budded into each other; and thus the pear and quince, so worked, years afterward, in most cases, will be found to bo only partially joined at the bark and a portion of the sap-wood, the body of the different woods still preserving their own different form and habit. An occasional exception may be found in the case of a small-grow- Sec. 39.] CULTURE OF DWARF PEARS. CUU ing, close-grained pear-wood worked on a very thrifty, open-pored quince, but rarely. " And this I conceive to be the grand difficulty and cause of disease and death in the dwarf pear, and, of course, the want of success in their cultiva- tion ; for they have been years cultivated in ground iiiiniediately adjoining thrifty growing and bearing pear and quince trees, standing on their own roots, with not half the cultivation and pains given to the dwarfs, while the latter have become diseased and died. Now, if the quince would grow and thrive on its own roots and tops, Avhy not on its own roots with a pear to]?, if my theory is wrong? Analogous to working the pear on the quince is the long-exploded practice of grafting or budding the pear on the common wild thorn. It used to be practiced in old times, when, for a temporary purpose, our farmers wanted a pear in shorter time than it would bear on its own stock. But although they succeeded for a few years, they were short- lived and unprofitable. The quince, although fibrous rooted and more tena- cious of life than the thorn, and therefore easier worked and transplanted, I consider in the same category when permanent pear-orcharding is the object." There are others who contend just as strongly that dwarf pears can be profitably cultivated ; and one writer, who visited Mr. Allen's farm, insists that he failed because the orchard was located upon the bleak eastern shores of Grand Island, in the Niagara Iliver, on a level, stiflf agricultural clay tliat had never been under-drained, and probably, as it was recently-cleared forest land, never deeply plowed, and so full of water that mosses and coarse sedge grasses (calex) were found growing in the sod, and lichens upon the young trees, and the recently turned-up earth dried in the sun almost as hard as sun-dried brick. Wow let this fact be remembered by all who would grow pears, either as dwarfs or standards, that land naturally cold must be warmed ; naturally wet, must be drained — not upon the surface, but tliree or four feet below; naturally stifi" land must be ameliorated, and made as friable for pears as for garden vegetables ; and land naturally poor will not grow pears any more than naturally rich land will that is suffered to grow weeds and grass till the life is choked out of the trees, or eaten out in winter by mice. And let this other fact also be remembered, that signal failures have occurred, upon soil apparently suitable, with no lack of care and cultivation. The above facts and arguments in opposition to cultivation of dwarf pears, or, rather, both dwarf and standard, may be all facts at Buffalo, and quite the reverse at Boston, as the following statement from that vicinity will show: 686. The Weight aud Culture of Dwarf Pears. — "When we come to speak of luscious pears weighing from half a pound upward, we are conscious of presenting weighty arguments in favor of their culture. The merits of the little trees which load themselves with fruit when they have scarcely a growth shoulder high, are not appreciated by our farmers. If they were, 610 TUE ORCHARD. [Chap. VI. we should not see so many risking all their chances for fruit on standard trees that may bear in seven j'cars or seventeen, as the case may be, wlien tliey could have it in three or four from dwarfs. It will be a novelty to most of our farmer friends, we presume, to learn tliat we have seen jiears, enumerated in the following list, sold to rich people at one dollar apiece, and that it is quite a common thing for them to be sold at 18 to 25 cents each. This enormous folly docs not result from the extreme tenderness and a necessary rarity of dwarf pears, but from the fact that the ease and profit of their production are not fairly known. Generally speaking, it is as easy to raise dwarf pears as apples ; while their early fruiting, and tlie small garden space they require, commend tlicm to the favorable notice of the smallest landholder. It has often been asserted, and as frequently de- nied, that dwarf pears weigliing above three quarters of a pound are com- monly raised. Tlie Worcester (Mass.) Horticultural Society have settled the question by the aid of steelyards. They took the fairest specimens of several varieties shown at tlie fairs of 1850 and ISGO, and found a marked difference in their weight in tlie two years. It ajipears that this year, in twenty-four specimens, the aggregate gain since the former year has been forty-seven ounces, or about two ounces to the pear. Of course, the remark- able increase is in part owing to a very favorable season, but probably much more to improved cultivation. Weight ia 1850. 1860. Andrews 8J 7 J Beuri e d' Anjou 10 11} Beurre Clairgeau 12} 14 J Bcurre Gris d'Hiver "J 10 Beurre Montgeron 5' 6} Beurre Boso 8 9J Beurre Die! llj 15 Beurre Langelier 5 8J Belle Lucrative 8 lOJ Buffum 5 6i Doyenne dc Cornice 6J 11 j Doyenne Boussock 9 14 ■Weight in 1S50. 16G0. OZ. 02. Duchesse 12 1 3^ Easter Beurre 7 10 Fulton 4 5 Flemish Beauty 12 13 Gansel's Bcrgamot 6 7\ Glou Morceau 9 1 2i Henry IV 4J 5 Paradise d'Automne S C} Seckel 3i 4J St. Michael C' CJ llrbaniste 9 10 Winter Nelis 5} 5} "Three varieties only of acknowledged merit were exhibited in I860 that were inferior to the specimens of 1850, viz., Duchesse d'Orleans, Sheldon, and Zepherin Gregoire. " The following is the weight of a few other leading varieties exhibited that year, of which no specimens were shown in 1850 worthy of ])articular notice. Several of them have probably seldom, if ever, been surpassed : Bartlett 12 Beurre Nantais 8j Beurrfc Superfin 13} Di.'c 9 St. Michael Archango 7J Lawrence G.V Marie Louise 8j Swan's Orange 14} Sieulle 9| 687. List of Pears for Cultivation. — Wc copy the following list from "Downing's Fruits and Fruit-Trccs," as a guide for persons desirous of making up a good assortment, ripening in succession from harvest-time till spring, the winter pears, of course, being carefully stored for ripening. Sko. 39.] LIST OF CHOICE PEARS. 611 " Pears to Ripen in Succession from July to April. —Doyenne d'Ete, Made- line, Bloodgood, Dearborn's Seedling, Beurre Gifford, Rostizer, Ott, Bart- lett, Tyson, Osbands' Summer, Belle Lucrative, Flemish Beauty, Beurre Bose, Doyenne White, Doyenne Boussock, Beurrd d'Anjou, Seckel, Urba- iiiste, Church, Beurre Diel, Dix, Btnirre Langelier, Lawrence, "Winter Nells, Beurre d'Aremberg, Beurre Gris d'Hiver, Nouvean, Easter Beurre. '■'■ Pears for a Cold Clihude. — Doyenne d'Ele, Bloodgood, Eostizer, Ful- ton, Heathcote, Buffum, Beurre Bose, Flemish Beauty, Louise Bonne de Jersey (on quince). Belle Lucrative, L^rbanis'e, McLaughlin, Dix, Beurre Diel, Beune d'Amanlis, White Doyenne, Lewis, AVinter Nelis, Prince's St. Germain, Glou Morceau (on quince), Jaminette, Vicar of Winkfield, Doyenne d'Hiver, Nouveau. " Pears for Dwarfs on Quince Stocks. — Belle Lucrative, Beurre d'Aman- lis, Beurre Diel, Beurre Langelier, Beurre d'Anjou, Duchesse d'Angou- leme, Doyenne d'Ete, Doyenne Boussock, Easter Beune, Figue d'Alen^on, Glou Morceau, Louise Bonne de Jersey, Napoleon, Nouveau, Poiteau, Ros- tizer, Soldat, Laboureur, St. Michael Archange, Urbaniste, Uvedale's Sr. Germain or Pound (for baking). Vicar of Winkfield, White Doyenne." A list of pear-trees of fine appearance, of vigorous growth, of a natural pyramidal shape (or easily kept in that form), of good bearing disposition, with fruit of good or best quality ; in a word, best adapted to a lawn or garden walk, where ornament and beauty are required, as well as the more essential qualities of a pear-tree, given by Louis E. Berckmans : Beurre Langelier, Beurre Superfin, Belle Lucrative, Esperinc, Fig of Anglers, Glou Morceau, Nouveau, Poireau, St. Michael Archange, Ur- baniste, Vicar of Winkfield, Andrews, Buifum, Belle Epine, Dun:ias, Cap- sheaf, Frederika Bremer, Kingsessing, Lawrence, Onondaga, Oswego Beurre, Sterling, Walker. AVith the above lists always at hand for reference, no one can be at a loss what to select so as to make a good assortment either for family use or to grow as a crop for market. If you have room for only one tree, you may safely choose the Bartlett. For a second sort, take the Seckel. The best early pear is the Rostizer, and perhaps next best, Dearborn's Seedling. The Flemish Beauty is an excellent pear, and the trees hardy, and good bearers. Winter pears will not give as general satisfaction to farmers as summer and autumn ones, because they really require a good deal of skill and experience to rioen them to perfection. C12 THE ORCHARD. [CiiiP. vr. SECTION XL-PLUJIS, NECTARINES, APRICOTS, JIULBERRIES, AND OTHER FRUITS-TRANSPORTING FRUIT. , HE parent of our cultivated i>lnins came fi-oin Asia and the south of Europe, and as this fruit lias almost ceased to pay for cultivation on account of disease and insects which infest the trees, it is matter of interest to in- ^ quire whether we sliould not look to the sorts native to American soil and flourishing in a wild state from Maine to Florida, and up to the Lakes and over tiie Rock}' Mountains. There are three principal varieties of wild plums in tiiis countr}-, all of which arc good, though not as good as the improved sorts in cultivation. They are named aiuJ de- scribed by Downing as follows : " I. The Chickasaw Plum {Pmniis Chicasa, ilichaux). Fruit about three fourths of an inch in diameter, round, and red, or yellowish red, of a pleasant, sub-acid flavor; ripens pretty early ; skin thin. The branches are thorny, the head rather bushy, with narrow lanceolate, serrulate leaves, looking at a little distance some- what like those of a peach-tree. It usually gi-ows about twelve or fourteen feet high, but on the prairies of Arkansas it is only three or four feet high, and in tiiis form it is also common in Texas. The Dwarf Texas Plum, described by Kenrick, is only this species. It is quite ornamental. " 11. "Wild Red or Yellow Phun {P. Amo-icunn, Marshall). Fruit round- ish oval, skin thick, reddish orange, with a juicy, yellow, sub-acid pulp. The leaves are ovate, coarsely serrate, and the old branches rough and some- what thorny. Grows in hedges and by the banks of streams from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Tree from ten to fifteen feet high. Fruit ripens in July and August. " III. The Beach Plum, or Sand Plum {P. marlttma, Wang). A low shrub, with stout, straggling branches ; found mostly on the sandy sea-coast from Massachusetts to Virginia, and seldom ripening well elsewhere. Fruit roundish, scarcely an inch in diameter, red or purple ; covered wi:h a bloom ; pleasant but somewhat astringent. Leaves oval, finely serrate." 688. Soil, Climate, and Cultivation for Plums.— That the soil and climate are well adapted to the growth of cultivated plums is fully proved by the natural growth of these wild sorts, and if wc could get rid of the enemies of the plum, wc could raise all that could be eaten fresh, aiid a great surplus for use dry, or for exportation in the form of what arc called "prunes" — tliat is, dried plums. Unlike pears, plums should be fully ripened on the tree, whether for eat- Sko. 40.] CULTIVATIOX OF PLUMS. 613 ing out of hand, or drying, or making into sweetmeats. For drying, the plums are halved, the stone extracted, and the fruit dried in the sun, or in slow ovens, or a drying-room. See 349. Prunes are largely imported into America, principally from France, the best coming from the neighborhood of Tours, made of the St. Cathei'ine plum, and Prune d'Agen, and Perdrigon Blanc, the Brignole, and Prune d'Ast. The plnms are allowed to ripen on the trees until they will fall upon being lightly shaken. The plums are laid upon wicker-work forms in the sun several days, which softens them, and then shut up in a spent oven twenty-four liours, and then taken out and the oven re-heated, and as they are now considerably dried they mmU bear a greater heat, and this is again re- peated with increased heat. What is termed "rounding," which gives the prunes of commerce their particular form, is done after drying, though while still soft, by turning the pit half round by the fingers, without breaking the skin, and pressing in the long ends by a pinch between the thumb and finger, after which they are dried and packed. In picking the finest kind of plums for the table, the French are very particular not to touch the fruit. Each one is broken off from the twig by the thumb and finger, and laid upon vine-leaves in a broad basket, so as not to touch each other. Care is taken to pick them a day or two in advance of using, and the early morning hour is selected, so as to preserve the bloom. In the fruit-room they grow mellow and attain the highest per- fection. The propagation of fine varieties is generally rather difficult, except by experienced nurserymen. The pits of wild plums, or those of any free- growing sort, are planted while fresh in beds (damsons are not free-grow- ing), and the next year the largest plants are transferred to nursery-rooms, first reducing tops and the tap-roots. The following July these may be budded. Insert tlie buds on the nortli side of the stock, and tie light, and do not be disappointed if half do not grow. Plum-trees require but little pruning, but the fruit is always improved by thinning Out. The best soil is rather a heavy loam, and the trees flourish well upon the banks of ponds and streams, and some suppose that in such situations the fruit escapes tlie curculio. It is a general opinion that curculios are much more troblesome on sandy soils than upon soils of a more compact nature; and it is asserted by some that a close pavement under a plum-tree is the best remedy for this pest. One of the best manures for plum-trees is salt-water marsh-mud. In tlie absence of such, the mud of a fresh swamp may be beneficially used, with an addition of salt, at the rate of from half a peck to a peck to each tree. This should be applied in winter or early spring. Seedling plums of such rare excellence have been so often produced, that we recommend every one who succeeds in growing them to plant every year a few seeds, and nurse the plants up to a period of fruit-bearing. 614 THE ORCHARD. L^hap. VI. It is possible you may get a seedling not only of good quality, but one not so liable to be destroyed by the little beetle called plum-weevil, or curculio, against which no certain remedy has been discovered, though several " in- fallible" remedies have been from time to time published, the best of which is to spread a sheet under the tree, and then by a sudden jar, as by a stroke of a mallet, shake down the insects, and gather and burn them. Tliis rem- edy, to be eflectual, must be continued every day for at least a month, and perhaps all the months of May and June. Making the plum-orchard a pig and poultry-yard in the same inclosure is recommended as one of the best preventives of curculio. Covering the ground with a thick coat of clay mortar, and picking up all the fallen fruit and destroying it, is highly recommended. Liine and sulphur is another remedy. To a barrel of whitewash add eighteen double handfuls of sulphur, and apply the liquid with a syringe to the trees as soon as the fruit is set, and continue to apply it every two or three days for four or five weeks. The black knot, which so disfigures plum-trees, it is pretty well settled, arises from this same insect, so that any remedy that will save the fruit will also prevent the appearance of the black knot. 689. Selection of Choice Varieties of Plums. — ^The list of really good plums has become so large, that one needs some guide in making a selection. The following list is given frem good authority (Downing) : Elvers' Early Favorite, Green Gage, Imperial Ottoman, Jeiferson, Lawrence's Favorite, Purple Favorite, Purple Gage, Coe's Golden Drop, McLaughlin, Imperial Gage, Howard's Favorite, Prince's Yellow Gago, Prune d'Agen, Reine Claude de Bevay, Schuyler Gage. The most popular, and for substantial reasons, of all the list is the Green Gage. It is high-flavored, and everywhere esteemed. It is one of the ohl sorts, having been named Queen Claude, in France, in the reign of Francis I., say about 1520. It took the name of Green from its color when ripe, and Gage from an English family of that name, who introduced it from tlie gardens of the monks of Chartreuse. It afterward acquired the title of the " Best Plum in England." The fruit is hardly medium size, round, with a yellowish-green skin, often dotted red at full maturity. The suture is faintly marked, the stem slender, slightly inserted, less than an inch in length. The flesh of the plum is also of a pale-green color, and separates freely from the stone, and is juicy, melting, luscious, sprightly, and ripe in August. There are many seedlings of the Green Gage, none of which are supcricr to the original. Some of the other favorites named in the list are larger ; for instance, the Golden Drop, which is a very large plum, oval-shaped, and yellow in- side and out, and of a rich flavor, ripening here the last of September, and not sure to ripen much north of this. The Jeflferson plum, which originated with Judge Buel, at Albany, is one Sec. 40.] PLUMS AND OTHER FRUITS. 615 of very large size, and of such excellent flavor that none but connoisseurs would be able to say it was inferior to the Green Gage, and on account of its superior size it is always more attractive. The skin is golden-yellow, with purple-red cheek, and flesh deep orange, parting freely from the stone, and ricl), juicy, luscious. 690. Graftiug Wild StockSo — This is worth while in many places where M'ild stocks are plenty. In the report of the Wisconsin Fruit Growers' Afsociation, John C. Kanouse gives his experience as follows upon this sul)ject: "1. Grafting English plums upon native sorts renders them much more hardy and less liable to injury by our severe winters. "2. They will fruit from two to three years earlier than when grafted on the English stock. " 3. The fruit is less liable to injury ; the crop more certain. " This practice has one disadvantage, viz., the tree will be somewhat dwarfed. This can be remedied by planting more of them. My method of cultiva- tion is as follows — " Early in the spring I go out in the forest and take up the native plum, about one inch in diameter, being careful to take as much of the root as possible uninjured. Cut ofl" the tops, then take the roots home; then, with a flue saw, take off the body about an inch above the roots, insert the scion, and then set them out where I intend to have them fruit. The scions sliould be of the present year's growth, and one of the buds must be imdcr the ground. If the scion dies, still the root is sure to sprout, and then you can bud the sprout the next year. If you desire fruit the second year from the scion, select large trees, take them up with great care, and graft in the top ; but these you will be likely to lose with high winds, etc., and yet this practice will abundantly repay any man on a new farm. By staking the scion he may have fruit for two or three years, and then his others, grafted at the ground, will take their place." 691. ApricotSi — We do not recommend this fruit for general cultivation l)y farmers, particularly where they fail with peaches and plums; for there they would surely fail with this more delicate fruit. The apricot-tree grows handsomely, twenty feet high, flowering very early, and is highly orna- mental in flower, foliage, and fruit. It is liardy enough to produce fruit be- low 42°, if the insects would allow it. The fruit is smooth-skinned, and peculiarly attractive to cnrcuiio. The color when ripe, at midsummer, is a beautiful ruddy gold. It is quite delicious, of a peach flavor, and, ripening between cherries and plums, would be very acceptable. In countries where it does flourish it is used for a dessert fruit, and for sweetmeats, and pre- served in spirits, and also for drying. It is generally propagated by budding on plum stocks, though many good seedlings are grown, which appear to be more hardy and productive than the finer sorts which have been imported. It bears fruit in the same way as the peach, and may be treated in the same way, though it is more commonly 616 THE ORCDARD. [Chap. VI. grown as an espalier, trained upon a trellis or brick wall. It should not be exposed to the morning sun, for fear of encouraging the buds to start too early in spring. The apricot is a very conimoii fruit in Arabia, China, Ja- ))an, and otlier Eastern countries, and would be here, if we could get rid of the destructive curculio. Tiiere are about twenty named apricots grown in this country, out of which you may select the Large Early, the Breda, Peach, or ^loorpark for familj' use; or if your situation is pretty far north, take the Red Masculine, Roman, and Breda ; but do not think of getting a crop without a continual fight for it with insects. Tiiere is a double-flowering apricot used for an ornamental tree in Europe, but not very common in this countr}-. Tiiere is another that is grown for its ornamental fruit, which resembles a small, yellow plum, growing very abundant, in clusters. 692. The Nectarine, an India fruit, is 6im])ly a wild variety of peach, growing small and smooth-skinned, of a piquant flavor, exceedingly liable to be destroyed by curculio, but is a very popular dessert fruit, when it can be produced, from its beauty, being of such a wax-like appearance. The tree grows anywhere that the peach-tree flourishes, and if the fruit is not de- stroyed, there is no trouble in getting as certain crops of nectarines as of peaches, and the culture is exactly the same. The Early Violet, Roman, Boston, New White, and Ilardwicke's Seedling ma)-^ be taken as a good assortment for a garden. 693. Mulberry Fruit. — A new mulberry has fruited in England, which is called the " Synion Sweet White Mulberrj-," that is very highly spoken of, the berries being very sweet, and growing as large as the common black mulberry, this being of a pearly white. The foliage of the tree is also said to be very beautiful. The tree may be beautiful, but if the fruit is better than "Downing's Seedling Mulberry," it is remarkable, for that is very richly worth cultiva- tion, being very fruitful, and bearing a long time. The fruit is much richer than the fruit of the common purple or wild mulberry, and more than twice the size, and it is really a very pleasant fruit to eat out of hand, and it pos- sesses excellent qualities for cooking — in a pudding, better than any other berr}'. The tree grows in quite an ornamental form, with rich foliage, and when filled with its purple fruit is beautiful. 691. PawpawSt — It is a wonder that pawpaws are not cultivated, or at least preserved from annihilation, in the great regions of the West, where they were found growing wild in great abundance. The fruit is sometimes called the American custard-apple, on account of its resemblance, when per- fectly ripe, to a rich custard, as the mellow pulp within a tough skin is opened to view. Pawpaws are a feature of the St. Louis market; luickster-stalls and fruit- shops all liaving them for sale in abundance. Tliey are nearly, if not quite, as good as bananas. Some people prefer them to bananas, or even any other Sec. 40.] PACKING AND TRANSPORTING SMALL FRUITS. 617 fruit We think they could be grown in any garden south of lat. 41°. They flourish best in shaded places, upon rich bottom lands of Ohio, Kentucky, and other Western States. The natural growth is about as large as quince bushes, usually branching in several shoots from one root, and in appearance are not unlike a bunch of young chestnut sprouts around an old stump. C95. Th6 Mangosteen. — This is the name of a tropical fruit tliat has been lately perfected in English hot-houses, and is attracting some attention in this country, on account of its very peculiar character, it having a thick, succulent rind that is so astringent that it is used as a medicine for dysen- tery, and which exudes a yellow gum in wet weather that resembles gam- boge. The fruit is of a spherical form, of the size of an orange ; when young it is of a reddish green color ; when ripe, of reddish brown ; and when old, of a chestnut brown. The pulp has a snowy whiteness, melting in the mouth, with a refreshing, delicious flavor. The seed-lobes separate like those of an orange. 696. The Jiyube Fruiti — This is another tropical fruit, though it has been grown in Georgia, and may become acclimated farther north. The fruit re- sembles a plum, and, although not so much prized as a dessert fruit, is con- sidered valuable where it grows, because it furnishes the material for the well-known jujube paste. The seeds were imported from the south of Europe for experiment in the Southern States. The tree grows in the form of a shrub of middle size, bear- ing a red, oval fruit, about as large as olives, inclosing a stone of the same shape. The fruit is sweet, but not eaten among us out of hand. In Algiers the fruit ripens in the month of June, and is much sought after by the in- habitants, who consume large quantities, both fresh and dried, as well as in the form of a delicious paste. 697. Small Fruits for Field CuIturCi — What we have said in Section XXXIV^., about the cultivation of blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, and cranberries, is applicable in a general sense to their more extended cul- tivation in large fields, as a farm crop, where the farm is situated within easy reach of a market. What the distance must be to bring it within easy reach of market depends entirely upon the facilities of transportation. "We will state a few facts which will enable readers to judge for their particular cases, whether they can send their fruit to a city market. For a number of years previous to the rebellion, the New York mar- ket was regularly supplied with strawberries from Norfolk, Va., via Balti- more, and by steamers direct. For several years, strawberries have been sent to New York from Albany ; and the present year, from Pittsburg, a passage of 18 hours by rail. This is the longest transportation of such a tend^er fruit within our knowledge. Every year of the last five or six, since people learned that it could be done, blackberries and raspberries are brought from 50 to 150 miles by rail /o this market. Grapes, if properly packed, may be transported still greater distances, as 618 THE ORCHARD. [Chap. VI. poaches, pears, and otiier perishable fruits are. The greatest difficulty in all transportation of fruit is in its preparation. In no art are we more deficient than that of packing fruit so that it may be carried a long distance without injury. Tiiree fourths of all our summer fruits sent to market any considerable distance are more or less injured. Indeed, much that is brought to cities by growers only a few miles distant is scarcely fit for sale. Occasionally fruits are sent us, with a request to ex- hibit them at our horticultural shows, but in most cases the specimens are 60 injured when received as to be entirely unfit to show. CDS. How to Pack Fruit for Transportation. — As no person can enter into the l)usincss of field culture of small fruits with any hope of success, unless he fully understands the art of transportation, we will give some general rules ; and first those adopted by Mr. Kidd, gardener to the Marquis of Breadalbane, who sends fruit and flowers from the garden near Hampton Court, England, to the Higldand residence of the Marquis, subject to 50u miles' carriage ; yet his method of putting them up insures their safe trans- portation and arrival in almost as sound and fresh condition as when first gathered. Eipe tomatoes, for instance, which arc as difficult as almost any article to transport, arrived in a perfectly sound condition. He gives his method of packing fruit as follows : " I have found no better method in all my experience, which has extended over a period of twenty years, with all kinds of fruit, varying in distance from 50 to 500 miles. It simply is — box, soft paper, and sweet bran. A box is chosen, in size, accord- ing to the quantity to be sent. A layer of bran is put at the bottom ; then each bunch of grapes is held by the hand over the center of a sheet of paper; the four corners of the paper are brought up to the stalk and nicely secured ; then laid on its side in the box, and so on until the first layer is finished ; then fill the whole over with bran, and give the box a gentle shake as you proceed. Begin the second layer as the first, and so on until the box is coiupleted. Thus, with neat hands, the bloom is preserved, and may be sent to any distance ; but with clumsy hands, quite the contrary, and often an entire failure, as the putting in and taking out of the box are the most important points to be observed. I have, invariably, packed sixty or eigiify bunches of grapes and fifty or sixty dozen of peaches or apricots in one box, and received letters from employers to say that they have arrived as safe as if they had been taken from the trees that morning." "We commend this plan to all fruit-growers in this country. A fruit-carrier was patented a few years ago, Avhich appears to us like a useful aid to the transporters of tender fruits. A frame of any given size is made to surround the box or crate containing the baskets of fruit, say about eight inches larger than the box. In this frame the box is suspended by gum-elastic straps, Avhich sustain it in the air, never touching any hard sub- stance, bottom, or sides. To illustrate : Take the frame of the lower part of a common kitchen chair, without the bottom, and a box, the cube of which is some inches less than the space within the frame, and suspend tiiat by two Sec. 40.] PACKAGES FOR SMALL FRUITS— FIGS. 619 strings from the top round upon each side, and then attach two other strings to each side of tlie box and the lower rounds. Now place something in the box, and take hold of the frame r.nd shake it, and you will see that the jar is far less upon the articles in the box than it would be if the shaking was applied directly. With such an easy carrier as this, and such packing as Mr. Kidd recommends, Ave believe that the softest fruits might be as safely carried 500 miles as they could one mile in the rough way they are too fre- quently brought to market. The neatest small fruit basket is one known as Cook's patent, made to hold exact pints and quarts. Those of quart size are 3i inches across at bottom, and 5i at top, and 5 inches high. One is made of eight pieces of stuff nearly an inch and a quarter wide, and a full sixteenth of an inch thick, cut into four strips at top and over half the length, so as to allow sjireading equally. They are fastened to a wooden bottom, which has a hole in its center, by tacks driven through a band of tin about one fourth inch wide, and the tops are held firmly in place by a strip of tin put on like binding over the edge of cloth, and crimped hard upon the wood, making a smooth, neat finish, and baskets cheap and durable. Of course, the work is all done by inge- nious machinery, contrived especially for the purpose, and the baskets are put up in convenient-sized crates for transportation ; that is, 5G quarts or 112 pints in a crate, which, being made with openings at the sides, allows a free circulation of air among and through the baskets, which is considered better than tight boxes for all kinds of berries. The great desideratum, however, is a basket made so cheap that it could be sold with a quart of berries for a cent or less, so that it would not be necessary to return it. Tlie same plan is now pursued with honey, which is stored in clieap boxes, which are sold witii the contents. Such baskets, we believe, can be make of shavings cut just wide enough to form one side of a basket, and laid two strips across, when the ends being turned up and fastened, would form a square box or basket of sufficient strength for the service required. Wild blackberrries, which have oecome an extensive article of traffic in the New York fruit market, are generally picked in square wooden boxes, of the capacity of a quart, and these are packed in the field in crates of one to four dozen, which are carried directly to the retailer, so the berries are not disturbed until required by the consumer. All berries, however packed, should be handled no more than what is barely necessary between the picker and consumer. Blackberries and whortleberries are frequently brought to market in bulk, and are often in a musty condition before they reach the consumer. It is a poor way to send any kind of fruit to market. Every kind of berry should be put up in just such sized packages as families usually buy, and these should go undisturbed to the very tables of the consumers. It is on this account that we hope yet to see baskets or boxes made so cheap that the re- tailer would not desire to empty them before sending the contents to his 620 TUE ORCUARD. [Chap. VI. customers, kuowing, as he generally does, that it is about an even chance that a buyer will not return the basket. 699. Figs — Where and How they Grow. — Figs grow in almost all countries with a semi-tropical climalc. In the southern portion of all the Southern United States they flourisli as well as peaches, and, with moderate winter protection, as far north as New York, tigs liave been ripened year after year, but they do not possess the excellence of those grown in a warmer climate. Figs are natives of Asia and Africa, where the tree grows in the form of a low spreading peach-tree, some twenty feet high. The leaves of a fig-tree are rough, deeply lobed, and not unlike tliose of the sycamore in size, and some- what in appearance. The most curious thing about a fig-tree is that it ex- hibits to the casual observer no appearance of blossoming. The flower and fruit are united — that is, the former, such as it is, is concealed in a fleshy subsjance which grows at once into fruit, which, in its ripe state, just plucked from the tree, is as unlike its dried representative as a dried peacii is unlike the luscious fruit we eat out of hand in the peach-orchard of choice fruit. The fig-tree has become so completely naturalized in the south part of Europe, that the cultivation of its fruit forms an important occupation of many inhabitants. It is one of the most popular market fruits in all coun- tries where it grows freely, and forms an article of food to a large extent, and has been the longest in cultivation of any fruit known to us. The Komans had some dozen or two varieties; the first introduction of tigs into Ital}' being about the year 154S. It was brought to the United States in 1790, and spread rapidly, being easily propagated by cuttings taken off in spring and planted in a mellow soil naturally calcareous, or made so by the addition of lime. In the Middle States, fig-trees should be grown in the form of low shrubs, easily covered in winter, and kept carefully root- pruned to prevent too much growth of wood. It is possible that by pur- suing this course, a hardy sort of figs may be acclimated gradually north- ward, just as sweet potatoes have been. In truth, the peach was once thought to be as much a tropical fruit as the fig is now. Of course, we can expect but one crop a year ; in warm climates the tree gives two crops. In unfavorable seasons the ripening of figs is hastened by inserting a drop of sweet oil in the eye of the growing fig by using a rye straw dioucd iu oil, and thus carrying a drop to the eye of the fruit. The best varieties for open culture in this country, except at the extreme South, are the Brown Turkey fig. Brown Ischia, White Ischia : the latter a very small sort, growing about one inch in diameter. Loudon says, a fi"' called Nevil is the richest one grown in England. One called Prcgussata, appears to be the favorite for growing under glass. We recommend all who live in latitudes where figs can be grown easilr, or by a little extra care, not to neglect trying to produce enough at least for family use. One friend assures us that he can grow figs at Xew York as easily and surely as he can the choice kinds of raspberries. Let us all try. Seo. 41.] MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS ABOUT FRUIT CULTURE. 621 SECTION XLI.-MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS ABOUT FRUIT CULTURE. ;S it is a fact that not one family in fifty has a sup- ply of the most common of the fruits we have mentioned, not even those most easily grown, such as currants, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, cherries, we can hardly say too much to encourage their extended cultivation, and therefore, under this head, will add several little things that may be useful to the searchers after knowledge. Would that we could whisper a word of encourage- ment to every land-owner, be it a quarter section or a four-by-eight lot, till he resolved to furnish himself with an abundance of these little luxuries ere another year rolled around. Many plants are so cheaply in- creased by division of the roots, and so easily kept in order, they may and should be purchased by all with- out hindrance. Any man with the facilities for growing a full supply of fcinall fruits, who fails" to do it, should be doomed to eat sour grapes, wild strawberries, and crab-apples as long as he lives. Though a class of fruits are termed small, there is, in reality, no excuse for their being so inferior in size that they are scarcely worth the gathering. Give them good cultivation, thoroughly working the ground with the spade and the hoe; then cover it over witli half-rotted manure (chips are best), which will be a mulch as well as a source of fertility, and the result will probably astonish you. 700. €ranbeiTies as a Field Crop. — We have already said that cranberries may be grown in the garden, and we now say they may and should be grown as a farm crop upon hundreds of farms that have tracts particularly well adapted to their growth. Upon this subject, Noble Hill, of Caton, Steuben County, N. Y., writes as follows : " That the cranberry is a favorite luxury, is abundantly proved J)y the high price which a good, and not unfrequently an inferior, article will com- mand in the markets. That it is easy of cultivation, and that there is an abundance of land now lying waste which is just adapted to its growth, is perhaps not so generally known. If the thousands of acres of swamps, of a peat soil, within the bounds of th.e single State of New York, were to be converted, as they certainly might be, into cranberry meadows, the fruit would never again be quoted at $14 or $15 per barrel in New York city. The following is submitted as the result of several years of observation and experience in the cultivation of the cranberry. The subject of my experi- ment is a swamp of several acres, and of a peat soil. Formerly it was cov- 622 THE ORCUARD. [Chap. VI. ered with small brush, moss, grass, and weeds; no large timber being fonnd on it, owing to the fact that it was submerged during a great portion of tlic year. On the borders of this swamp a few cranberry vines, indigenous to tlio soil, wore to be found. By a series of open ditches leading across it and through a bank at its margin, I was enabled to remove the superabundant surface water. This done, cranberry vines began to make their appearance in different portions of the swamp, but more plentifully in the central por- tion, fiom which they began to spread over the land at a rapid rate. In their progress, however, they encountered an enemy in the shape of tlie brnsh, wliich not only retarded their growth and prevented the full develop- ment of their prolific qualities, but in some places entirely excluded them. Hence it occurred to me that an advantage would be gained by thoroughly subduing the soil previous to its occupancy by the cranberry. To this work I then addressed myself, accomplishing it with the plow on the borders, ■where the land had become sufficiently dry to render that mode practicable, and witii a spade in other portions on which a team could not bo driven. As done by a spade, the work consists in paring off the surface and throwiuLC the result into heaps, which, wlien rotted, answer a good purpose as manure for fruit-trees. The clean surface thus exposed should be spaded to the depth of two or three inches, when the process of transplanting may be per- formed. If, however, the transplanting be deferred until the following spring, and the soil be occasionally stirred during summer with a hand- harrow, the plants will thrive the more rapidly. They should be set closely, as they Avill the sooner cover the ground to the exclusion of weeds, from which, if kept free for two or three years, they will thenceforth need bnt little, if any, attention. In soil thus prepared, I have transplanted the last of May, and have picked fine clustei-s of berries the ensuing fall. In two or three years a fine crop may be expected, and thenceforth, so far as my ex- perience goes, will be annually realized. To insure largo crojw, the soil during summer should be kept well saturatctl with water, and if flowed in the spring, all the better. This I accomplish, as far as possible, by a proper adjustment of my drains, opening and closing them according to the varia- tions of the weather from wet to dry. As to transplanting, there is no difli- culty whatever. If an equal number of cabbage and of cranberry plants be set, more failures would be found among the former than among the latter. A cranberry plant a yard long, set in a melloAv peat Boil in a wet season, will take root at every point of full contact with the soil." It is a pity that we can not convince all the owners of such swamps as Mr. Hill describes that they can grow just as good berries as ho does. There are many such places within a few miles of this city that are now pests to the owners, that would be profitable ever after if once set in cranberry vines. The cranberry has been very much improved — as much so as any other fruit. I do not know of any fruit that offers greater inducements to experi- ment with than the cranberry in seedlings, since it has already shown such Sec. 41.] CRANBERRIES— FIELD CULTURE. 623 good results. If cranberry seed, or any other Lard seed, is difficult to veg- etate, it may be scalded with boiling -water. There is no doubt that cranberries can be grown upon any soil that has Avater a few inches below the surface. Upon tolerably dry upland cranber- ries have been grown to advantage, and they will grow in very bare saud if either naturally or artificially watered. Considering the high price which cranberries always bring in market, and the cheap cost at which they can be produced, it is strange that more shrewd farmers have not gone into the speculation. A good deal of attention has been given to the cultivation of cranberries in Burlington County, New Jersey, about 150 acres having been planted in one season. Of this, one farmer named Chetwood lias set out 25 acres ; another, named G. Gowdy, 17 acres; and Mr. Allen, 10 acres. Upon Cape Cod, where cranberry culture lias been carried to the greatest extent, swampy land that was a few years ago considered utterly worthless, has now a salable value of $800 to $1,200 an acre; and some of the owneis of such land have found it a good investment of time and money to expend from $200 to $1,000 upon an acre to bring it into a condition fit to be planted with cranberries. All over this country there are numerous bogs which might easily be con- verted into fruitful cranberry gardens. In view of these facts we make this pertinent inquiry of every farmer in all the Northern States, where cranberries are found growing wild : " Are there no swamps, or wet valleys, or brook borders upon your farm, now, perhaps, unsightly spots — wet swamps in winter, and dry and pestiferous in summer? If you have such, plant them with cranberry-vines, and tend them one or two years till the vines get well set, and then they will tend themselves, and produce you on an average more bushels of fruit per acre than you get of potatoes ; and it is not much more work to gather it than it is the tubers, and, generally speaking, you can sell a bushel of cranberries for the price of five bushels of potatoes." Truth, it is said, lies at the bottom of a well. The well that holds the truth in relation to cranberry culture and its profitableness upon many of the worthless bogs that render farms unsalable, and detract from the value of the upland, must be a remarkably deep one, or it would have been dug out before now, and made to shine in all the rich crimson luster of a field of this ripe fruit. 701. Varieties of Cranberries and How to Grow Them.— The American cran- berry {pxy coccus inacrocarpxis) is divided by growers and dealers into three varieties — the Bell, the Bugle, and the Cherry. It will grow on almost any soil where the water is not more than a foot from the surface, yet experience has proved that the soil best adapted to them is nothing more nor less tlian the plain beach sand, entirely free from any matter, either animal or vege- table; in fact, this berry may be said to live entirely on air and water. Peat is found to be well adapted to this berry, but requires some care in 624 TUE ORCHARD. [Chap. VI. preparing, owing to its liability to bake and crack in hot weather; this may 1)0 obviated, however, by taking oti' the turf and grass, leaving the surface exposed to the action of the weather for a year, after which it becomes light and porous, and fit for the reception of the vines. Cutting-planting has been adopted by some as the most economical plan, and as the plant sends out long ruiinei-s, sometimes to the length of five or six feet, it is self-evident that the first cost of cuttings must be small. The cutting should be about six or eight inches long, and should be planted by thrusting the middle into the earth with a dibble, permitting a few inches of each end to project, so that when it takes root you have two plants instead of one. Another plan of propagating by cuttings is to cut the vines into pieces of about two inches in length, for which jnii-pose a common hay-cutter may be used, and sowing them broadcast on ground prepared for them, and then harrowing them in as you would wheat or rye. It is preferable to plant them in drills at such distances as will permit cultivation with the plow for the first two years. These small cuttings will soon take root from tlie point M'here branches join the stem, and will send out runners the second year after planting. Planting separate vines has been found to be the most effectual plan, and although it consumes more time, and is perhaps attended with rather more expense, yet from the absence of weeds and the fine chance for the vines to spread, the cultivator finds himself amply repaid for the increased outlay. The distances of planting must be regulated by the nature of the soil ; if liable to weeds, you must give yourself room to work among the vines ; but if you are planting on plain beach sand, the closer your plants are the bet- ter, for the great object in forming a cranberry -yard is to have the entire surface covered by a thick mat of vines as soon as possible. The time of planting generally preferred is in the spring, as in this case the roots are not so liable to be thrown out by the winter frosts — say from the 15th of April to the 1st of June. As a general rule among farmers, they will be able to select some spot of meadow land which is low and moist, free from stagnant water, and some- what sheltered from storms, as this may be considered the best location. A position where the yard can be flooded in winter is very desirable, as the vines, when exposed to very severe weather, are liable to be winter- killed down as low as the roots, which throws them back in bearing for a year; besides which, it is sometimes desirable to flood them during the fruit- ing season to prevent the attack of the worm, which in some localities is quite destructive. An acre of vines, properly cultivated and well matted, will produce at least two hundred and fifty bushels of berries ; in some instances a yield of four hundred bushels per acre has been obtained, but this is above the aver- age, and may not be relied npon. Two hundred and fifty bushels of berries, at the low price of three dol- Seo. 41.] CRANBERRIES— FIELD CULTURE. 625 lars per bushel, gives us seven hundred and fifty dollars as the product of one acre. Vines for a new plantation should be procured from meadows whioli liave borne well, and of good fruit, as the best way of knowing good bearers. If the yard can be flowed, though not absolutely necessary, the water may remain on all winter, and be let ofl" in March. It should be let on about tiie 20th to the 25th of May, and again the 1st of June, not exceeding thirty- six hours. After this it is not needful. Blossoms are injured by the water remaining on too long ; the object of flooding is to destroy the insects. After this second flowing, there is little to fear from them. A Cape Cod cranberry grower gives some useful advice to persons dis- posed to embark in cranberry culture. He says : " Suppose that those who are favored with some of the natural facilities desire to do something with cranberries, it would be folly to expend much money in clearing up a swamp. The best thing to be done is to study the nature of the soil in which the vine is flourishing, and then to prepare a small patch — say two or three rods — and plant the vines there, and bestow- ing some trifling degree of care upon them, by way of weeding occasionally, you will see by this experiment whether it will do for you to proceed much farther in their cultivation. If you fail, that failure will most likely sug- gest to you the remedy. Great mistakes are made in anticipating from planting waste lands with cranberry vines, that they are about to realize two hundred per cent. It will do very well for an experienced man to make large yards, and with certainty of success, but it will not do for a man who knows nothing about the cranberry and its culture to go rashly to work. You will prevent future expense and galling disappointment by making your first trial on rather a small scale. " The cranberry vine can be naturalized to those regions of country in which it is not indigenous. The Bugle cranberry is generally found to throw its runners from the swamp toward the upland. The runner receives its moisture from the roots of the vine which rest in the damp soil. Now, if you Avill take these runners and plant them where there is some moisture, in an upland soil, and stir it frequently during the hot montlis of summer, they will live through the apparent drouth. Two years hence take the young vines and carefully plant them, and you will find that you have done much toward naturalizing the vine even to a situation where there can not be any overflowing. Many persons have planted on the upland with vines from the swamp, and the transition from abundant moisture to a comparatively dry situation has been too sudden, and the vines have consequently died. Those who try the upland should got the vines which have been naturalized to a dry soil, or it will require immense trouble and some years to do anything to advantage. It will be well for those who intend to try the cranberry vine on a comparatively high and dry situation, to remember that the fruit produced is not so large, nor yet are the quantities equal to those which are yielded in more favorable locations, where there is either peat, beach-sand, or fine 626 THE ORCHARD. [Chap. VI. gravelly loam, and the ability to flow in ^vintcr. T believe that the time will come when the commercial value of the cranberry will be better under- stood, and when farmers in all parts of the country will feel it to be their interest to cultivate a jjatch of this fruit, and when its requirements will be better undertood than at present, and when it will be a source of profit to those who think it worth their while to raise tiie beny. " A short time since I saw a swamp which was formerly so covered over wilh brakes, Imckleberry-bushes, and briers, that it was of no use to tlie owner until he paid some attention to the subject of cranberry cultivation, and cleared the swamp, which he found to have a peaty bottom. The ground was then jjlanted over with vines, and the jiroperty, including clearing, vines, and planting, cost him $300, but I was informfil by the proprietor that he had muck from the swamp which he valued at $150. The first year he had off this one acre and a half one or two bushels; the second, twelve bushels; and the ne.\t year, seventy-three bushels, which were sold at $1 per bushel. If the yard cost him $300, he nearly rcalizx'd in the third year subsequently to its being made, the sum of money he first expended upon it." Our final advice, to all who desire to plant cranberries to any extent, is to hire some experienced person to do the work, and give instructions for the future care of the yard, according to the circumstances of its location. High bush, or tree-cranberry, is the co'.nmoii name of a berry sometimes sold under the recommendation of being equal to the fruit we have been describing. It belongs to a very different order of plants from the cran- berry— the real oj-'ycoccus. Tiie only use of it is as an ornamental shrub. N^o housewife will trj' to use it but once in the place of the true cranberry. Tiie fruit is almost wholly a hard, long seed, scarcely covered with pnl}), and when cooked with much sugar, though resembling the true cranberry, sadly mocks the taste. 702. How to Couk Crauberries is an important question. They are sour, acrid, unpalatable, and unwholesome in a raw state, and but little better as they are usually cooked. We have often seen them hastily scalded, sweet- ened, and brought to the table floating in their juice, not one half of them cooked enough to burst the skin. Bah! what food! But how diiferent when cooked! Put them, with only water enough to prevent burning, in a tinned sauce-pan, and stew until by stirring the whole becomes a homogene- ous mass, with no semblance of whole berries, and then add clarified sirup, previously prepared, and stir a few minutes while boiling. When cold, you have delicious cranberry jelly. 703. Fruit-Trce Protectors, of an ingenious character, to guard against worms that crawl up the bole of a tree, invented by Wm. W. Taylor, of South Dartmouth, Mass, have been considerably used in New England, and found highly efficacious and satisfactory, being so constructed as to be an impassable bar to everyiiiing that seeks to go up or down the body of the tree. This protector consists of a circular kind of dish that shuts on to the body of the tree, and is kept filled with some liquid, usually a preparation Seo. 41.] MISCELLAKEOUS MATTERS ABOUT FRUIT CULTURE. 627 of bitter or salt water, entirely offensive and destructive to insect life. Tlie top part of the dish constitutes a projecting roof, to prevent flying up from the lower ledge, also to exclude rain-water. They are usually made of cast iron and of different sizes, to adapt tliem to different-sized trees. There is a soft packing used to fill a considerable space between the collar of the dish and the body of tlie tree, so as not to interrupt growth or free circulation. 704. Watering Newly Transplanted Trees often docs as much injury, or more, than it docs good, by forming a liard crust over the ground imme- diately over the roots. If water is applied at all, the earth should be first removed from the roots, and a copious supply i^oured on. But this, too, is of little use. The roots are drenched for the moment, and in a short time are as dry as ever. Tlie only remedy is a thick, heavy mulching. If of old straw, it should be about si.x inches thick, covering several feet in diameter. A young tree will scarcely ever die if treated with such a covering, thougli transplanted in midsummer, when without the mulch, death would surely ensue. 705. Thumb Pruning, that is, pinching off buds, which if let alone would grow into useless slioots, is much better tiian waiting until they are grown, when the knife or saw must be used. lu large trees, shoots often grow out from the upper side of large branches, and in process of time make a tliick bushy top, where good fruit can not grow nor be easily gathered. Eub them off wlien forming, or leave only such as will improve the tree. The same thing should be practiced upon blackberries and raspberries, Avhose new shoots, wlien about four feet high, sliould be pinched in, that is, have the tips nipped otl" with thumb and linger. This will start out side- shoots, which should also be pinched in when a foot or so in length. This treatment makes stout, compact busiies, that will bear abundantly next season ; whereas, if left neglected, the stems will extend in every direction, prevent proper cultivation, and sci-atch and tear every person who comes within a yard of them, besides giving a poor crop, and leading the owner to conclude tliey are a humbug. As soon as they have done bearing they should have tiie old bearing canes cut out, and all the new shoots, except half a dozen of the best, which will then grow unimpeded, and make fine bearers another year. The common practice of allowing a mass of canes to grow up thickly together, to be thinned out only the following spring, is a waste of growth, and weaker canes and smaller crops are the result. 706. Stirring the Soil about newly planted trees or plants of any kind during droutli is one of the best things tiiat can be done, so that care is used not to disturb tlie roots, for it increases moisture. Ileat, light, and elec- tricity are all accelerated in their action as chemical agents by moisture. Therefore let it be known that a vast Ijed of soil well stirred and mellowed is a prodigious laboratory, producing, chemically, all the elements necessary for vegetable nutrition. It is owing to this, and not manure, that the peach- orchards of New Jersey and Delaware have furnished such immense crops; 628 THE ORCHARD. [Chap. VI. they arc frequently plowed, but not ulantcd to other crops. The plowing is to cultivate the trees. 707. Tobacco for Worms that infest peach-trees is highly recoinmeiideil. A pcrsoti who thinks he saved his trees by applying tobacco, sa^'s : " I found the gum oozing out plentifully, and just under the caith's surface, iu and about the roots, numbers of small white worms. I took a mason's trowel and a sharp knife, and scraped all I could away ; also the ground from the roots, and then purchased a keg of common smoking tobacco, cut fine, cov- ered the trunk just above the roots with it, and drew the earth around the tree again. This summer the trees have revived and are now in a healthy condition." 708. Sugar-Drying Peaches is one of the iiicthods of preserving this fruit that should be known to all who have orchards too far from market towns to enable them to sell their fruit direct from the trees. Peaches prepared in this way are richer than by any other process, and to our taste far superior to figs or raisins to eat out of hand, as they will almost melt in the mouth, giving the true peach flavor. To prepare this fruit, pare rich, ripe peaches, and take out the pits, and lay the halves on the back upon plates, filling the hollow with fine white sugar. This dissolves and forms with the peach-juice a most excellent sirup. The best plan woidd be to place the peaches on perforated covers of shallow dishes, so that the juice would drain down, leav- ing the fruit to dry slowly in the sun or a slow oven. A steam-pipe heated room would be better. The quantify of sugar required is about one si-xlh of the weight of the fruit. The process is very simple and easy, and tiie product both in sirup and fruit very good. See 485. The sirup is bottled and nsed for sauce on puddings, cakes, etc., and for flavoring mince-pies. Excellent as this preparation of fruit is, vast quanti- ties of peaches go to waste every year, even where they are gathered for market, for some become too ripe for transjiortation, and sucli are just right for sugar-drying, and would luidoubtedly sell higher than figs or raisins. 709. The Best Apples for Keeping are those grown npon mature trees, planted upon dry soil. Tiic most important thing about preserving apples for shipping is to pile them under straw on a barn floor and sweat them dry ; then put a layer of sand at the bottom of the barrel ; then layers of apphs and sand, and head up air-tight. The latter is very important. Apples m:iy be kept through freezing weather in an upper room headed xqi in this way, and so they may in linen bags. 710. Cider-Making without Pressing.— It is stated that a man at Tarkcrs- burg, Va., is successful in making cider by the following process : He grinds the apples, and fills casks with one end open, the bottom having some sticks and straw, like a leach-tub for ashes. On the pomace he ponrs as much water as it would yield juice by pressure, and that displaces the juice and sends it to the bottom, from which, after two days, it is drawn by open- ing the faucet, and as the cider is lieavier than water, it runs off at first pure. The pomace, too, having au afiinity for water, absorbs that, which Seo. 41.] MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS ABOUT FRUIT CULTURE. 629 displaces the natural juice and leaves the pomace quite tasteless. This process may be useful to persons who have a few apples and no cider-press. 711. The Orchard Uousc is the name given to a glass-roofed structure now common in England, and to a small extent used in this country, to grow all kinds of fruit, though not by artificial heat. At Newport, 11. I., Wm. B. Lawrence has what we see termed an orchard-house, 300 feet long, which is heated by hot-water pipes, while real orchard-houses are intended to keep an even temperature all the year round ; but since this can not be done except by fire heat, owing to our severe climate, the objections are many against this mode of growing fruit. Such structures are nearly as cool at night as the temperature outside, while the sun heat by day, without con- stant airing, is equivalent to an English vineiy. Hence the trees, being im- protected, are chilled by frost and excited by heat, either of which, alone, would be injurious to the crop, and, in combination, destructive, so that orchard-houses, wherever necessarily conducted as mere hot-houses, arc too expensive for growing any but high-priced fruits. 712. Apple-Paring Machines are a necessity in every family that owns an orchard, and an equal necessity is to know which of the many that have been patented, and offered with wonderful recommendations, it is worth while for a farmer to buy and try to use. After spending a goodly sum of money, and a good deal of time and patience upon a variety of apple-parers, we wrote our experience for the benefit of others, wherein we said of one : " As a funny rattle-trap to amuse children, and sell for a good profit, it was a very ingenious Yankee invention, Init as an ' apple-parer and slicer' it was a — humbug." Having thus vented our opinion of apple-parers, we were favored with one more of the same family, called by the inventor the "Turn-table Apple- parer," and after three years' use, we are willing to say of it, that it will pare apples expeditiously, and it can be operated without the aid of an engineer. It makes no pretensions to do anything but pare the apple. You put it on M-ith one hand, turning the crank all the time witii the other, and no matter what size or shape the apple is, the knife will follow tlie surface and take oft' the skin. When the skin is oft", the same motion of the crank continued, carries the knife away from the apple and back to the place of starting, where it is to begin upon another. The pared one i? taken oflF and another put upon the fork while the knife is passing round. Tiie whole machine is made of iron, and can be packed in a box eight inches wide and four inches deep. When used, it may be attached to any table or bench by a thumb-screw. This perfect little machine, which every family that pares a pock of apples a year should have, is made so cheaply by Yankee ingenuity and macliinery, that it is sold at retail for a dollar, and it is, in onr opinion, the best of the whole family of apple-parers. CHAPTER VII. THE VINEYARD. SECTION XLII.-HOW TO PLANT AND CULTIVATE VINES-WHAT SORTS TO PLANT. ,_ F any of our readei-s expect to find in this section tlie (y whole art of planting and cnltivating a vineyard, and manufacturing its fruit into wine, they will be disap- pointed. The intention of the author is to produce just enough information to whet the appetite for more, and induce research into other sources of instruction, from some of which we shall draw facts that will be interesting and useful for every one to learn. 713. Uistory of Varieties of Grapes.— The origin of varie- ties is a matter of interest. The most common and best known sort is supposed to be a native of South Carolina, brought to Brooklyn, N. Y., and distributed from there under the name of Isahella, in respect to Mrs. Isabella Gibbs, wife of Capt. Gibbs, who brought the vine home from one of his Southern voyages. It is ver}' remarkable that this grape is not found now in the State where it is supposed to have originated, except where it can be traced back to the Gibbs vine. Tlie Cataiuha is also a Southern grape, having originated, according to the best evidence we have seen, in North Carolina. It is a little singular that both the Catawba and Isabella are now well acclimated north of latitude 42 degrees, and are much more grown in Northern than Southern States. The Ilerbemont also does well at the North. AVe give some slight descriptions of several of the most common sorts of grapes, taken mostly from Dr. Grant's catalogue, which is a pretty good treatise upon grape culture. Dr. Grant is the greatest propagator of vines, under glass, in the world, having about an acre covered, on an island called lona, in the Hudson, near Peekskill, forty-five miles above New York. The Offen Grape is the name of a seedling originated at Painesville, Oliio, a sample of which, sent us by Mrs. Nancy T. 'Offen, convinces us that she Juul better devote her attention to cultivating one of the dozen other sorts, which are far superior to this in all that coiit-titutts a good grape for the table, and for raisins or wine. Nicholas Longworth says : " I obtained from Vermont a grape, hardy Sec. 42.] HISTORY OF VARIETIES OF GRAPES. C31 in that reo-ion, called the Lyman, and some others, that I believe will be valuable for wine. And the Clinton grape, from the northern part of New York, from Mr. James H. Watts, of Eochester, I have made wine from. " The Fox grape is readily distinguished. It has a fine aroma and flavor, and may be smelled at a distance, but is deficient in sugar and not abundant in juice ; skin thick, pulp hard, leaf thick and white on the under side, vine more or less covered with hairs." ITnion Village, a standard garden variety, is worthy of general culti- vation. J 1 • Zcnoir, ripens early, has a great degree of hardiness of wood, and win- ters perfectly in very exposed situations farther north than the Isabella. It will still be prudent to stop the shoots in August or September of young vines, and lay them down for winter. Allen's JL/hrid.— This shows itself vigorous and hardy, and probably will not disappoint tlic high expectation entertained of its value as a leading garden variety, and our best white table grape. Tcvjloi- or Bullitf.— Tins is a beautiful white grape, of excellent flavor, by Jud"e Taylor, of Jericho, Ky. It is described as remarkal)le for hardiness and productiveness, and is worthy of trial wherever the Isabella will thrive Pauline comes highly recommended from the South, but from actual trial, little known at the North. It is very distinct in its flavor, and adds to our variety. , At the South, especially in Carolina and Georgia, some very excellent varieties arc grown, of which the Kerbemont is a type. It was first intro- duced, about the year 1825, by Mr. N. Ilerbemont, a zealous pioneer in wine-making, at Columbia, S. C, where the original Ilerbemont s Madeira is still growing. The Delaivare is a small grape of surpassing beauty and most excel ent flavor It attracted the attcntiou of Mr. A. Tliomson, of Delaware, Ohio, and was exhibited by him at the county fairs, under the name of Heath Grape A few years later, after becoming fully assured of its great value, ho introduced it to the public under the name of Delaware. Its great ex- cellence proved a hindrance to its dissemination, for it was claimed that no such grape could be of American origin. . c The history of the Delaware grape is, that it originated in the garden of Mr. Prevost, in Frenchtown, N. J., and is supposed to be a seedling from the Catawba, fertilized, perhaps, with some foreign variety. Wherever known it is esteemed above all other varieties for its wonderful hardiness as well as excellence of fruit. Mr. Longworth, who at first thonglit the De a- ware and Traminer identical, has now given up all ideas of that kind, and his head-gardener stated, a short time since, that lie considered the Delaware tlie best grape in this country for general cultivation. Pet-sons who have ordered vines have undoubtedly been much imposed upon by this Ked Traminer grape, sent to them as the ^11""°^.^ J'^^!;^,j^ Eochester grape-grower says the Delaware is the best of all Ameiican g.ape.. C32 THE VINEYARD. [Chap. VII. and is tlic best that we have ever seen fur out-door culture in this latitude, because it possesses great hardiness, productiveness, and earlincss. It lias been known to stand uninjured wlierc Isabella, Clinton, and Ca- tawba have been killed to tlie ground. It is a great bearer. The berries and bunches increase in size as the well-cultivated vine grows older, and it ]irobab]y will ])roduce more pounds of fruit to the acre than any other sort in cultivation, and it ripened at Delaware, Ohio, about the middle of Au- gust, and in western New York will ripen early in September, and there is no other native grape, nearly as good, tliat ripens so early. Delaware vines are very hardy, and adapted to all situations, ripening both wood and fruit in the uplands of Ohio or on the sea-board. It grows finely at Hartford, Conn., and New York, Albany, and Newbnrg, X. Y., in various soils and situations. It is more hardy than the Catawba or Isabella at lona, where it has been more largely jiropagated than anywhere else ; and Dr. Grant is entitled to tlie gratitude of the lovers of good fruit for having done more than any other man to bring this valuable new grape into notice; for the world will appreciate it as soon as it comes to know the value of it, Tioth as a table grape and for wine, for which it is the best of any grown in the Atlantic States. • The 3lario7i grape deserves attention as a very early variety. The To Kalon grape resembles the Black Hamburg. Dr. Grant speaks of it as desirable for a private garden, and says the fruit is exceedingly sweet and luscious, has very delicate aroma, and when well ripened is with- out toughness or acidity in its flesh. It ripens a week earlier than the Isabella. The Concord is a very vigorous and healthy grower, and bears abundantly, although not much disposed to over-bear. It ripens ten days before the Isa- bella, and its leaves are much less likely to mildew than that variety. In flavor it is very sweet, and will undoubtedly become a valuable market fruit in the latitude of New York and farther south. The liehccca, originated by Mrs. E. 11. Pcake, and introduced by Mr. Brocksbank, of Hudson, N. Y., added another to the list of valuable and beautiful grapes. The Diana takes its name from Mrs. Diana Crehore. It is a grajie of sur- passing excellence and beauty. The Anna is an early and profuse bearer, and the produce of young vines is of very high flavor, but not without a considerable degree of toughness, which disapjiears as the vines acquire age and maturity. It ri2>ens quite as early as the Diana, and fully two weeks before the Catawba, hangs very late on the vines, and is not injured by severe freezing. For late keeping it is unequaled, and its raisins are not surpassed in quality by any foreign variety. The Hartford J^rdijic is hardy, vigorous, and productive. Bunch large, shouldered, and rather compact. Berry large, globular. Skin thick, black, and covered with a thick bloom. Flesh sweet, moderately juicy, with con- Sec. 42.] VARIETIES OF GRAPES DESCRIBED. 633 Biderable toughness and acidity in its pnlp, with a good deal of native per- fume. Kipe ten days heforc tiie Isabelhi — at New Yoriv, September 5t]i. Our olijoction to it was its disposition to drop its fruit as fast as it ripens, just liko ll;c Fox grape in tlic woods, covering the ground with scattered berries. Cultivation lias nearly cured this fault. The York Madeira is early, hardy, and when fully ripe very sweet and somewhat vinous. There are two or three sub-varieties of larger size, but of greatly itiferior quality to that which lias been somewliat extensively dis- seminated under that name, and of which Canb^/s August ajjpcars to be a syiionyni. The Elsingljurg is vigorous, hardy, and productive ; ripening early — ■ about one week before the Isabella — and is in quality best, but its berries are small, and its bunches not compact, though generally large. It has no toughness or acidity in its ]>iilp, and to give a large, rich mouthful of its enjoyment, several berries may be taken at once. It is worthy of a place in every garden. Tlie Louisa, a seedling raised by Samuel Miller, of Lebanon, Pa., must be considered an acquisition by those who adopt the Isabella as a standard of excellence. It is ten days earlier in ripening, and to most tastes a better fruit, and appears to be more hardy. Tiie Logan is a black grape of medium size, and bears a strong resem- blance, in general character and appearance, to the Marion, which also was found in the same region. 714. Dr. Grant upon the Cultivation of Grapevines. — The following direc- tions were given by Dr. C. W. Grant in an address upon the subject of grape culture. In relation to pruning, he said : " Cut oif tlie first year's growth above two buds, and next year cut back so as to leave two buds of that year's growth. In nature a vino grows both branch and roots to a great length before bearing fruit, as it can bear no fruit until its leaves and branches reach the air and sun at the top of the tree. In cultivation we must train vines to new habits. "We can not de- pend upon any but native varieties. A well-grown vine will reach five or six feet tlie first year, and ten or twelve feet the second year, and its success as a bearer will mainly depend upon the manner of training and trimming it tlie first years. No imtrimmed vine can remain healthy or be productive. Fruit-buds grow upon the same branches but once. Ten feet square of ground is required for a root, and six or seven times that for the vine. Mildew is the great enemy to contend with, and the vine must have air and vigorous growth, for that tends to prevent mildew, and it must have room so as to expose every leaf to the sun. On the third year two bunches to a cane or branch are all that can 1)C grown to perfection; all others must be plucked off. The leaves naturally develop themselves to the sun, and no more leaves must be left than will fill the space. No healthy leaf grows in the shade. Vines suffered to bear loo full the third year are mined ever after. 634 THE VINEYARD. {Ciup. VII. "Tlie fourth year train up four upriglit caties, and these will each produce three bunches, and the horizontal shoots will produce twenty-four bunches and bud out new shoots. Only three bunches to a shoot should be grown, and a buncli never should be exposed to the noonday sun. Training vines upon the trellis is best for the vineyard. The arbor gives shade, and may give satisfaction, but the trellis gives the most fruit. Four feet length of elevation of canes is as much as will produce perfect fruit. " At the end of the seventh year the vine is fully established, with three branches on each shoot, which will give six bunches, three on each arm be- tween each upright. At the base of each shoot is a bud for the fruit-bear- ing shoot next year. The ends of the fruit-bearing branches must be stt)pped at about two feet from the base. It will shoot again and must be stopped again, leaving one leaf. The best thing to tie vines to the trellis wires is basket willow. Bulrushes are also good. Hatters' trimmings are also recommended. " If all the fruit-buds arc permitted to grow, the vine will soon be ruined. The best bunches always grow nearest the stalk. November is the best time to shorten back a vine to the buds that are to be left for bearing. It is an object with the young vine to cut back or stop the growth of branches to give strength to the root. Pinching the bud of a growing vine is to give vigor to the root as well as the buds that are to furnish the canes for fruit next year." The Doctor exhibited vines one year ohl six feet long, and two years old twelve feet long, grown from two-eyed cuttings of the Diana grape, which is considered a slow grower. He said : " Long cuttings should never be planted. Two or three eyes are better — two eyes are best. A serpentine form given to a young vine makes it grow stronger. The best plan to get new vines is by layers. It makes vines that will bear earlier. I have seen five bunches upon a Delaware cane of one year grow perfect ; but three bunches to a cane generally is as much as can be depended upon. A vine must not be made to over-bear or over-produce wood. Sparing the knife spoils the viiie. I think in this country that the trellis form of growing vines, both for wine and market fiuit, will be the best plan — better than growing upon stakes. On posts seven or eight feet high place five wires, and set the rows ten feet apart, and running north and south if convenient. Grapes can be grown to advantage in the city. A vigorous vine can be carried up si.x or eight feet a year without bearing until it reaches the top of the house, and there trained upon a trellis, and produce good fruit many years. Vines can also be trained upon brick walls or in yards that have four hours of sun a day. It is not necessary that the sun shine constantly on the ground where a vine is rooted, so that it reaches up to a sunny spot for leaves and fruit. I have trained vines up a house- side three stories high. " All sides of a house may be used, but on the north side the fruit will not ripen well. A northeast exjjosure on the sea-coast is not a good one for Sbo. 42.] PRUNING ^VND TEAINING. 635 grapes. One objection to an eastern exposure is bright suns after frosts. Summer pruning is indispensable. In the angle between the leaves two buds start, and if one is not pinched out it will produce a shoot tliat will bear green grapes in the fall. Care must be taken not to cut off tiie vines in the hard wood in the summer. The shoot must be stopped in the bud by pinching, and not by cutting away hard wood. Vines never should be trimmed with ordinary shears, but with a very keen knife, with a smooth cut. "The bunch iie.xt to the main stem covers the bud of the fruit bearing branch for next year. In autumn pruning, all of the fruit-bearing arm is cut away to one bud. November pruning is better than March, on account of the sap exuding. There are many advantages in pruning in November, but if neglected then, it must not be neglected altogether, for upon that, and also plucking off all excess of fruit, depends the success of grape- growing. " Carrots are an excellent crop to grow upon ground prepared for grapes ; they will pay all the expense of preparation. " -^"J' goo*i corn land, deeply prepared, will grow grapes, but for a suc- cessful vineyard the land should be trenched tliree feet deep and made rich, and there is nothing better than swamp muck for this purpose. It siiould bo composted with animal manure, and well rotted, and thoroughly mixed with the soil. Dr. Grant stated that he had imported " every variety of grape, and had found none that could withstand our winters, while the Delaware grows in every kind of exposure, and never suffers. As for the story about the Delaware growing wild in Pennsylvania, I have investigated that matter thoroughly, and defy any one to produce an iota of evidence to sustain the story. "In planting a vine, recollect the above few simple rules, and you will have no difficulty in growing them to your satisfaction. " Although the wants of the vine are few, simple, and easily supplied, yet they are imperative, and, as witli all the other fruits of our climate, it is only to judicious care that it can yield its richest delight." 715. Grafting Grapes.—" Grapes can be and are sometimes grafted when it is desired to test a variety in as short time as possible. We understand that Mr. Longworth sometimes obtains fruit the same year the grafting is performed. This is owing to the fact that the grape bears fruit on the cur- rent year's growth, and not on wood of one, two, or three years old, like the peach, apple, and others. It is not, however, a profitable method of in- creasing the grape, being rather a slow job and imcertain in growmg. Be- sides, the same labor in raising stocks on which to graft might grow a better kind of vines from cuttings or roots." The late Dr. Togno, who spent much of his life in this country in pro- moting the culture of the vine, told us, when establishing his vineyard at Wilmington, N. C, that he expected to derive considerable advantage in 636 THE VINEYARD. [Chap. VII. grafting cuttings of choice grapes into the wild vines that grew abund- antly ui)on tlie land, and fhat only under similar circumstances would grafting be of any use. His i)rocess of grafting was very simple. In some cases we noticed that gimlet-holes were bored, with a small inclination downward, into large vines, and the graft sliarpened and inserted so as to bring the base of a bud in contact with the fresh cut in the old stock ; and in others the grafts were inserted in a cleft, either in the side of a vine or the sawcd-oft" end. 716. Caution about Buying Grape Cuttings.— Do not buy cuttings of Dela- ware vines, and others of similar growth, as they can not be depended upon to make roofs under ordinary cultivation. They are not cheap at any price to oi'dinary formers, who usually will be obliged to plant them in open ground, where they will have but little attention. It needs hot-house propagation and very skillful management to grow good Delaware grajievines from buds. It has obtained such a wide noto- riety for its excellence that great care should be exercised, so as to be sure not to get a Red Traniiner, or something equally worthless. Buy rooted vines of responsible men, and though slow of growth the first years, do not be discouraged ; keep your vines well cared for, and you or yours will enjoy the fruit. 717. Proflts of Grape-Growing. — ]\Ir. Andrew Reisinger, a German vine- di-esscr of forty years' experience, settled some years ago in the town of Pultney, Steuben County, N. Y., and in 1851 procured from Ohio six thousand cuttings of the Catawba grape, which he planted, four feet apart, on land well trenched and subsoiled, and in 1857, from an area of less tlian an acre, pressed three luindred gallons of juice. Next spring he increased his area of grape culture by an acre and a half, and from an acre of older vines, one eighth only two years planted, pressed six hundred gallons of juice, besides keeping fonr hundred pounds of grapes to show to buyers of cuttings the qimlity of the fruit. lie tliinks the grape culture can be made decidedly profitable, even on the highest suitable lands in Kew York; that is, on sandy or gravelly loam having a southern to southeastern exposure. Of course the cultivation must bo very thorough. A Mr. Provost, of AVilliamsburg, L. I., manures his vines highly, and covers the manure with sand. He exhibited a bunch of an Isabella vine ten feet long with seventy bunches of grapes. Such a vine must be much more jirolitable than the one mentioned in the next paragraph. 718. Gigantic Grapevine. — The Ilorticidturist for October, 1858, gives an engraved representation and account of a grapevine at West Ilili, near Bur- lington, N. J., that measures six feet and one inch around the trunk three feet above the ground, and three feet around at ten feet high. In extent, it is equally enormous, spreading over four large forest trees, otie of which is a full-sized black oak, the largest tree being ten feet in circumference two feet above the ground. This monstrous vine is a male, pf the wild grapes of the country, and although regarded as a wonder, it had never been known Sec. 42.] VINE-GROWING IN CITIES. 637 to bear fruit. Tlie diameter of the circle of the ground covered by the branches of this vine is over one hundred feet. Vines are recorded of the known age of six hundred years. Statues have been carved from grape- wood, and pillars made from it ; even the large doors of the cathedral of Ravenna are made of the grape-tree. In some parts of Italy, sa3's Miller, " A vine is considered young at one hundred years, and there are plants in existence which liave been cultivated three hundred years." 719. How to Grow a \ iae in a City Lot. — " It so happens sometimes that we have an inside walk running near the house — so near tliat we have not room enough to make a border between it and the house on which we wish to train our vine. In that case we should take up the walk and enrich the ground under it, so the roots can penetrate it, which they will readily do; or we may plant the vine on the outside, and when we have produced a good strong cane — say eight or ten feet long — we can take up a narrow strip of the walk, make the soil rich, and then lay the vine down, covering it three or four inches with soil, put down the walk again, and bring the vine out on the opposite side. Vines treated in this way will grow as strong and as well as when planted in the open border. " The most simple and easiest managed system of training the vine is with horizontal arms. To grow a vine on tliis plan, we commence by growing one cane on an upright stake, pincliing off the little side branclies or laterals, leaving one leaf; this pinching is to be repeated when the laterals grow again, and an additional leaf is left at each successive pinching. "If the vine is planted in a lot so shaded that the grapes will not ripen near the ground, the vine may be trained up the wall, quite to the top of the house, and the fruit-bearing arms formed on a trellis on the roof. By skillful training a vine can be grown, and grapes produced in abundance, upon any city lot, no matter what the exposure." 720. Training Vines Upon Walls. — This is more practiced in Europe than here. There walls are built on purpose and pay a profit, and doubtless might be made to do so near cities in this countrj-. The plan is much practiced in France. A very thick high wall is found to be so heated in the daytime that it retains the heat during night, and this makes the grapes much sweeter, and saves them from danger of cold weather. 721. Kinging Grapevines. — This is a process adopted to increase the pro- duction of a vine and enlarge the fruit. It is to remove a ring of bark about one fourth of an inch, or perhaps half an inch wide, from the bearing branch, near the junction with the main stem, about the time of the setting of the fruit in spring. The effect is an increased vigor of growth upon the branch so treated, and larger, handsomer — not better — fruit, which in some instances has ripened ten to fifteen days earlier than the fruit upon branches not rung. But mark, these rung branches will have to be cut away another season, as the wound is not likely to heal over so as to make a Jiealrhy branch next year. So, you see, care must be taken not to ring any branch of a vine that you wish to preserve for training, and it would be advisable 638 THE VINEYARD. [Chap. VU. to ring oul}' a portion of the branches you intend to cut away at the next pruning. 722. Grapes Fndcr GlasSi — Mr. diaries Butler has demonstrated to the suburban lesidents of New York city what can be done in raising grapes under glass. Ilis place is near AVhito Plains, Westchester County, N. Y. Mr. Butler has erected vineries a thousand feet in length, with a line ex- posure, and has ini reduced the rarest and finest grapes, and in less than three years from the lime of setting out the vines, he has taken oft' about two thousand pounds of grapes, of extraordinary size and flavor — the Black Hamburg; the Muscat of Alexandria; the Zinfendel, a native of southern Italy ; the Tokay, the Syrian grape, growing in immense clusters, sometimes attaining, in its native clime, the weight of ten or fifteen pounds. These are the grapes of Eschol, such as the spies brought on a pole between them as samples of what the land of Canaan -would yield. Beside these, he has the Cannon Hall, Chasselas of Fontaineblean, "West St. Peters, Lombardy, White Frontignac, Purple Damask, and White Xice. But the most magniticent of all is the Barbarossa, which has rarely been fruited in tliis country. 723. EcoHOHlcal Grape Trellis.— At Westchester, Pa., Mr. Jefi'ries has a cheap grape trt-llis. A cedar-tree, possessing a symmetrical Ibrm of branches, is selected, and when cut down the branches are carefully preserved, thin- ning out the smaller twigs, but leaving the ]>yramidal shape prominent. This is Utcd as a stake, and when covered with vines is highly ornamental, as well as forming a superior support for the grape. A row of them, seen from a distance, has the appearance of lu.xuriant forest trees. The French, near Fontaineblean, have a cheap way of making very good and durable trellises. They set posts of locust, about three or four inches ia diameter, two feet in the ground and six out, and about eight or ten feet apart. They then tie across the posts strips of white oak or ash, about one inch thick and ten or twelve feet long. These strips arc split out in the same way that we split out hoops for flour barrels, and tied to the posts with an- nealed iron wire. 724. Delaware and Red Traminer Vines Described. — Andrew S. Fuller gives the following directions for distinguishing the Delaware from the Red Traminer. He says: "There has been much talk alx>ut the Delaware grape being the Red Traminer, but it was oiily by those who did not know cither. How any person, even a casual observer, could confound the two, is more than we can understand, for the difl'erence between them is so apparent that a man, by the sense of feeling, could easily tell one from the other. The buds of the Traminer, like all the foreign varieties, are very prominent — much larger than the Delaware, altliougb the latter has buds quite large for a native. Tlie large bnd is a marked cliaracteristic of the foreign varieties. The bark of the Delaware has the deep striated appearance of all our natives, with a hard silicious covering, perhaps the hardest of all, not excepting the Con- Sec. 42.] MAXAGEMENT OF GRAPEVINES. 639 cord, wliicli it resembles in color. It is nearly destitute of blooin, which is always upon the wood of the Traniiner. Toward tlie end of the shoots, the Delaware exhibits the peculiar hairiness which is another characteristic of the native vine. The Traniiner has a soft wood, M'ith large, light-colored spots upon it, especially when grown in the open air, and is cpiite tender in this latitude, killing to the ground unless protected, while the Delaware is as hardy as any of tlie M-ild fo.x-grapes. The Traniiner has a thin ruffled leaf, difficult to prcGS flat without its lobes overlapping or splitting. The Dela- ware is perfectly flat, thick, and leathery, like the Catawba, Diana, Concord, and Anna. All of these have thick leaves, and are not liable to sun-scald or mildew, while the Isabella, Rebecca, and some others have thin leaves, and are subject to this disease unless grown under very favorable circumstances. The mildew is not likely to attack a perfectly healthy native vine, and it gener- ally attacks them at the time of cold, cloudy weaMier, when the leaves have become weak from the want of sun ; therefore it will be seen that vines, to be heaWiy, must have a full exposure to the sun if you would keep tliem free from this malady. Weak growers are not likely to have well-ripened wood and leaves the first year from cuttings, unless assisted by artificial lieat, con- sequently they have unripened roots. The Traniiner does not ripen its wood in the open air, while the Delaware does perfectly. It is quite difficult to make the Delaware strike roots from cuttings ; the Traminer strikes very readily. The mildew that attacks our native vines is quite different from that which attacks the foreign. The one that attacks the foreign commences on the upper surface, and passes to the peduncle, and thence to tlie fruit, and is of a dark color. The one to which our native varieties are liable ap- pears more gross, presenting the appearance of small transparent bladdei's or minute pearls, that are disposed to attach themselves along the middle of the leaf on tlie under side, consequently they often destroy it before a per- son is aware of what is the matter. This native mildew and sun-scald are mutually disposed toward each other; that is, if a plant is weakened by sun- scald, it is particularly predisposed to be attacked by mildew, and a plant ijpon which mildew fastens is obnoxious to sun-scald, as its life-blood is sucked out by this parasitic plant. The fruit of the Traminer does not re- semble the Delaware as much as a Baldwin apple does a Spitzenberg, and one who can see a difference between these, would not find it difficult to dis- tinguish the grapes. If you will pick the Delaware before it is quite ripe, you will find that the skin parts readily from the flesh like the other natives ; the Traminer adheres to the flesh the same as others of its class. If you al- low young vines of the Delaware to mature all the fruit that sets, they will have quite a tough pulp, and have that peculiar foxiness which no foreign grape ever had." 725. The Isabella Grape— Is it a Seedling ?— The Catawba.— It is stated that the original location of the Isabella grape was Newbern, N. C. It was brought to Brooklyn in 1818, but it is not known whether the grape brought from Xorth Carolina was a seedling or the original of the variety. tJiO TDE VIIfEYARD. [CnAr. VII. One of the great difficulties of growing seedlings from any native fruit is to get it to vary from the wild sort. Tiiere is no difficulty in getting varia- tions from those cultivated or improved. "When a variation is once obtain- ed from any seedling, it is very easy to continue this variation, and produce something better. Tiie best proof that the genuine Isabella is not an ordinary seedling is its liigli character, so different from the wild Fox grapes. It is important tiiat the country should know if it is a fact that this variety of grapes is failing, or diseased so as to be more difficult to grow than otlicr sorts. I3y many persons it is stated as an incontrovertible fact, that the Isaliclla grape is dis- eased, and that it is not worth while for any one to plant a vineyard of Isa- bella vines in their present unhealthy condition. "William S. Carpenter states that lie has taken much pains to grow them, and has not had a good bunch of Isabellas for five years. lie has tried both close pruning and no pruning, and his pruned vines produced quite as well as the uni^runed, which proved the assertion false, that the failure is owing to injury from close pruning. Mr. Pardee states that he saw five distinct sorts exhibited at one fair all labeled Isabella. Of course these were seedlings, and though like the orig- inal, were not the pure sort. With so many grapes called by one name, how is any one sure of getting the true Isabella? The Catawba is supposed to be like tb.e Isabella, a native wild grape of the Southern States, and it is now considerably cultivated in Georgia and the Carolinas. It was introduced North about 1S30, and since has been our principal wine grape. It flourishes best awa}' from the moisture of the sea- coast in the dry climate west of the Alleghanies, and at this time thousands of acres at the West are devoted to this crop. Geo. Ilustman, well known as one of the most intelligent grape-growers in Missouri, thinks " the Catawba should be struck from the list as unworthy of cultivation, because it is superseded by better sorts. The same is cer- tainly true of the Isabella hereabout." Ira Smith, of Peoria, 111., under date August 16, 1860, says : " I have a hundred Catawba grapevines, which I cultivate on poles the nsual way. Having all my grapes destroyed last spring by a late frost, and being desirous to increase the number of vines to enlarge my vineyard, I buried all my last year's wood and allowed an extra vine on each trunk to grow from a point near the ground, which I have also buried. Tiie side branches of the old and new vines are taking root and growing finely, and have not at all hindered a heavy growth for next j^ear's fruit of from two to three vines climbing up the poles; but some of my neighbors inform me that the side branches, commonly called suckeis, will not produce good bearing vines." This is a mistake. It will not make the least difference whether tlie bearing vines arc taken from such suckers as the writer mentions or from the main stalks. Sko. 42.] CATAWBA AND ISABELLA VINES. 641 The Isabella grape flourishes finely upon Kelly's Island, in Lake Erie, in tlie neighborhood of Sandusky, Ohio. In 1860 it was estimated tliat nearly one tenth of the land on the island, or 230 acres, had been planted in vines. This is in lat. 41 i°, but the climate is ameliorated by the proximity of tlie water, the land not being elevated much above the lake. As a general thing, it is not safe to depend upon the Isabella or Catawba as far north as lat. 41° for a market fruit crop or for wine. The most successful grower of these two varieties in the vicinity of New York city is Dr. Underhill, at Croton Point, thirty-five miles up the Hud- son, where the vineyard is almost surrounded by water, and is but slightly elevated above it ; the soil a sandy loam, which has been deeply trenched and fertilized by immense quantities of muck dug from a marsh that has been subject to tide-water overflow. The same thing is true of the vine- yard of Dr. Grant, upon lona Island, about ten miles farther up the Hud- son. His land has been made homogeneous by trenching three feet deep, and working in miick and manure compost. Upon such laud in favorable situations, below lat. 41°, the Isabella and Catawba can be grown ; but even as far sontli as Maryland, as appears from the testimony of many persons, other sorts are preferred. 726. How to Grow Grape Cuttings. — ^The most difficult thing with those who have no experience about grape culture is to get a start from cuttings, which, they are told, are just as good as rooted vines. So they may be to those who know how to use them. The following plan of an amateur grape- grower appears to be a good one : " Have a box two feet high and about two and a half feet wide — the length as you require ; fill half full of well-pulverized soil ; prepare the cuttings with three eyes ; cut smootii below the bottom one ; place them in a slanting position, witli the last bud just above the soil ; nail a thin piece of cotton cloth tightly over the box ; give warm soft water freely every evening. Place the box in a sunny nook, and in a few weeks it will be filled with grapevines ready for potting or planting in borders." 727. The Hardiness of Varieties of Grapevines in Winter.— Tiie following statement, published in 1860 in the Genesee Farmer, shows how the winter afl't'cts ditt'erent kinds of grapevine^ at Rochester: " In the garden of a gentleman in this city there is a long trellis, on which are grown several vines of Isabella, one of Delaware, one of Rebecca, one of Diana, one of To Kalon, and one of Hartford Prolific — all having the same exposure. " The vines are pruned early in the winter, and left tied up without any protection, and are all from six to eight feet in hight, with laterals. " Most of the buds of the Isabella are killed from the tops of the vines to a line within two feet of the ground. This is particularly the case on young wood of last year's growtli, and many of these canes, even, are dead. "Tlie Diana sufi'ered fully as severely as the Isabella, and shows live buds only on the lower part of the vine. 042 THE VINEYARD. [Chap. Vll. "Tlie Rebecca and the Ilartlbrd Prolific -n-eve killed entirely, Imds and wood, within a lout of the ground. " The Delaware is entirely uninjured ; every inch of wood is perfect to the very tips, and all the buds are now bursting. "The To Kalon is iininjured, and is as hardy as the Delaware. " This test we consider a very fair one, and it must place the Delaware- combining, as it now appears, superior quality with maturity and great hardiness — at the head of all our varieties of native grapes." At ITtica, a vine obtained by a Mr. Foster from New Jersey, without a name, almost as long ago as one of the same sort was taken to Delaware, Ohio, proved to be the true Delaware, and stood eighteen years unprotected, and never failed to yield him a full crop of most luscious grapes annually, and had always ripened before our early frosts. 728. Five Grapes i» tlicir Order of ExcelleQce.— A correspondent of the American Farmer, whose experience entitles his opinion to respect, fur- nishes the following list of grapes, the merits of which are given in numer- ical order : " 1. Delaioare. — Bunches and berries medium size, round, red ; ripens four weeks earlier than tlie Isabella; of the highest excellence as to qualiiy, hardiness, and productiveness. Its right eminently to the first rank is gen- erally conceded by all who have learned its value. " 2. Diana. — Bunches large, mostly shouldered ; berries large, round, red; vine vigorous and productive; ripens two weeks later than the Dela- ware, and approaches it in excellence, both for table use and for wine. If grown in a small space, must be root-pruned at the end of the first season, and if very vigorous, at the end of the second. "3. Anna. — A Avliite grape of the highest flavor; bunches and berries medium to large; vine hardy and productive. It begins to ripen as early as the Diana, but does not progress so rapidly, but is much earlier than tlie Catawba, and greatly surpassing it in rich vinous flavor. " 4. Ilerhemont.—Kn immense grower, and the most ornamental of all our out-door vines ; perfectly hardy south of New York ; its berries are me- dium or small in size ; color deep purple, covered with blooni ; the bunches are very large. Its rich, spicy, vinous flavor is very distinct and of the greatest excellence. It is fitly described by Downing, who says its berries are bags of wine. An admirable variety for the latitude of New York city and farther south. In texture and flavor it may stand in comparison with the best European varieties. " 5. Lenoir. — All that has been said of the Ilerbemont will apply generally to this variety, except that the Lenoir is much earlier, ripening at least two weeks before the Isabella. Its fruit is very sweet, rich, spicy, and vinous, and has a very high character for wine as well as for table use. "The liehecca would deserve all commeiulation fur the garden, were it not that its leaves, which are not abundant, like those of the Isabella, in most localities, are subject to mildew in unfavorable seasons. Sec. 4-2.] REMEDY FOR THE ROT IK GRAPES. 643 " There are two otlicr varieties that sliould not be passed without a word, since few who have gardens would lilce to be without them, viz. : " Union Village — which originated with the Shakers at a place of that name near Cincinnati, Ohio, and was introduced by Mr. Longwortli. In appearance it is like a monstrous Isabella, and resembles it in flavor, but is richer, and rijjens at least one week sooner. In bunch and berry it may be represented as twice the size of that variety. "Tlie other is the — " Eisinghiirg. — ^This is directly the reverse of the above, having small ber- ries, but of the highest flavor, and of a decided European character, but it is hardy, early, and productive ; with care, its long shouldered bunches become very handsome ; fruit sweet, spicy, and delicious. " The skin of the Ilerbemont, Lenoir, and Elsiugburg adheres firmly to the flesh, like all of the foreign varieties." 729. Diseases of Grapes— Remedy for (he Rot.— The following remedy for the rot, and the reason why it is a remedy, is translated fi'om the Kdliiische Zeitimg : "Dr. Franz Vnlkan, of Eppan, in the Tyrol, having learned by experience that the parasites of vegetables can not exist on animal matter, has discov- ered a remedy for the grape disease. He dissolved two and a half pounds of common glue in ten gallons of water by boiling, and then cooled the so- lution until it was neither stiff nor yet too watery, but had the appearance of lye. Diseased grapes were dipped in this solution, and after forty-eight hours they assumed a lustrous, dark-green color, like that of those which had not been attacked. In September they ripened into the finest fruit. To make sure that it was that solution which produced the desired result, he se- lected three bunches on the same branch ; he dipped the whole of the first, half of the second, and the third not at all. The first was entirely un- touched, the second as far as it had been dipped, the third remained dis- eased, and in four weeks burst and rotted. On another vine, where branches, leaves, and fruit were infected in the highest degree, a similar experiment produced a similar result. In places where large tracts of vines were struck with the blight, single clusters were dipped, and these were healthy and gave very fine fruit, while all the rest rotted. Perhaps the sprinkling of po- tato vines might be equally successful. The cheapness of that remedy com- mends it to general use." Mr. Bullock Webster, of England, writes from Athens that the applica- tion of sulphur has proved most successful in Greece upon grapes, pota- toes, beans, peas, fruit-trees, roses, etc. The sulphur ought to be applied.in a very fine powder in the early stage of the growth of the plant, as soon as any blight shows itself, either by means of a large tin pepper-box or small bellows, by which a woman can dress an acre of vines per day. Should rain fall within five days after the application of the sulphur, the operation has to be repeated. A French journal recommends removing the grape disease by brushing 6i4 THE VINEYARD. [Chap. VII. off the fungus wiili ;i sou wing of a bird. The bunches appear covered wv.h a dust which is easily brushed off. In tiie experiments tried, tlie bunches brushed perfected themselves, while those unbrushed entirely failed. In this section, a small caterpillar some seasons trims off the bunches of grapes. Perhaps it is only a provision of nature to jirevent over-bearing. Wm. Aldrich, in a letter to the Gardenc)'''s MontJdij, relates a curious fact in relation to the effect of different trees upon the healthiness of vines. lie says : "A neighbor of mine has an Isabella grape on a Balm of Gilead tree, bearing full crops of grapes, while vines on a Black locust generally rotted. Another neighbor had a vine, one branch of which extended from a locust- tree to a Balm of Gilead tree, with the same result between the different branches of the same vine, though on the two respective kinds of trees." 730. Hints upou Planting, Pruning, Fertilizing, and general Care of Grape- vineSi — Those who have neither the time nor the taste to carry out any par- ticular system need not be fearful of producing plenty of fruit if they follow the one cardinal rule, of not allowing any old wood to accumulate, for that never bears a second time. This should be ever kept in view, for though a vine may extend its shoots a hundred feet, or be traiud to a four-foot stake, it will bear just in proportion to its strength. It has been urged that our native grapes were more injured by pruning than the exotic vines ; but whether this is so or not, remains to be fully proved. The rot which attacks the Catawba and other natives has been attributed by some to the French system of pruning, though not many ex- periments have been made to prove it. The foreign vine is, as a general rule, much more subject to disease here than our native sorts. We have no doubt that much in regard to health as m'cII as fruitfulness depends upon pruning and projter training. The importance of system in the treatment of the vine, both under glass and in the o])en air, is therefore apparent. And independent of those facil- ities which attend it, the beauty which comes from method is a powerful reason that we should practice it. With the adoption of system, the same course of pruning is pursued year after year. When the vine is pruned once, it is pruned again without much trouble; a fresh exertion of judg- ment is not necessary that too much should not be taken away here or there, and after all, the result be unsatisfactory. The land for grapevines must be deeply disintegrated. It is idle to plant ' them in hard ground, or stick them into holes dug or punched in a stiff soil. There is no preparation ecpial to trenching with a spade three feet deep. The next best preparation is by the double plow, revei-sing the top soil fifteen inches, and stirring the subsoil ten or fifteen inches more with the subsoil lifter. The very best manure for grapevines is swamp muck, composted with animal substances. The ground intended for a vineyard should be well manured the previous year, either by a coating of lime, where that kind of manuring is proper, or Sec. 42.] HOW TO PLANT AND CULTURE VINES. 645 by gypsum, where it can be had ; or by plowing under some green-sward, such as clover ; oi-, at least, by a good and thorough coat of manure, straw, or even leaves. Afterward the surface, for the depth of twelve inches, should be turned beneath the next twelve inches with the spade, or if stony, with the mat- tock. For this purpose a trench is first dug foui* feet wide, and to the depth to which the vineyard-man is going to spade up and trench his vine- yard. It is far better to liavc a small, good vineyard, than a large poor one. The ground thus spaded up should be permitted to settle well before the vines are planted. One or two good rains will generally accomplish this. The best method is to trench in the fall and plant in the spring. We are all too apt to trust to the vh-gin richness of our soil, and in our confidence are apt to forget that spading up the ground for several feet is done for other reasons besides mere fertilizing ; the present surface-soil being full of decomposed vegetable matter, is the hot-bed of all manner of insects. In many parts of Europe they spade up the ground to the depth of three and four, and even five foet. Wo never prepare the ground itself during tlie preceding year, while in Europe it is tended in clover with good coat- ings of gypsum and manure. Some soils are naturally rich and deep, but we would sooner trust to a hard, rocky, or gravelly soil that required digging willi a mattock to the necessary depth. In vineyards along hillsides it is well to use the stones for the purpose of erecting walls. Where stones are lacking, you may raise banks by sodding them. They are not as good as stone walls, since the green-sward is apt to subject the neighboring vines to frost, but the ground must be protected from washing even at this risk. Some persons suppose that tlirowing old logs, brushwood, or stones under- neath, promotes the growth of vines. They may not hinder tlicm, it well packed with ground, but great care should be had not to leave vacuities, as they are sure to impart to the roots an imhealthy state. One successful vine-grower throws in a laj^er of corn stalks or brush, cut with the leaves on in summer, at the bottom of the trench. This serves as a partial underdrain, and also as a manure. George Husman, of Missouri, says; "The best situations are generally our hillsides, with an eastern, south- eastern, or southern exposure. The freer the location, and the more exposed to the draft of our prevalent M'inds in summer, the better. The slopes ad- joining small water-courses should be particularly avoided, as they are peculiarly subject to frosts in winter and spring, and also, generally, to mil- dew and rot. "The soil best suited for the vine is a dry, calcareous loam, with a porous subsoil. Any soil retentive of moisture, for example, wet, stiff clay, or wet, spongy land of any kind, should be avoided, as the grapes are much more 646 THE VINEYAKD. [Chap. VII. subject to mildew and rot ou sucli soils, and the vines are apt to make a rampant, uiihealtby growtli. "If you intend to make a plantation of cuttings, they should Lc made of sound, wuU-ripencd, young wood, and contain at least four eyes or joints ; cut them oif close below the lower eye, and about an inch above the upper ; if a heel of the old wood is left attaciied, so much the better. They should be cut in autumn, tied in bundles, and buried in the ground until wanted for planting. This refers, of course, only to such varieties as Catawba, Isa- bella, and otlier kinds which will grow from cuttings. Man^' of our most valuable kinds, such as Xorton's Virginia, Delaware, and others, will not grow from cuttings, and must be propagated by layering or grafting. Most of those varieties which have very lirui hard wood and but little pith will not propagate readily from cuttings. " As a general thing, rooted plants are very much to be preferred when- ever they can be obtained at a moderate cost. The first summer after plant- ing, nothing is necessary but to keep the ground free from weeds, and the surface well pulverized, either with the hoe, cultivator, or plow. Should the vines grow very strong, they may be tied to the stakes used for marking ofl" the ground, and only one shoot be allowed to grow. The next winter, stakes should be provided. Here, again, opinions dift'er, some preferring simple stakes, otliers prefer trellis. Tlic latter is undoubtedly the best, and also the cheapest, if well made in the following manner: Take cedar posts, where they can be had ; if not, mulbei'ry, walnut, locust, white oak, or any other durable timber, split up to about throe inches in diameter and seven feet long. Point one end, and make holes with a crowbar two feet deep in the spaces between the vines, setting the stakes firmly. To these stakes nail three latlis, one about two feet from the ground, the others eighteen inches apart. They can be split of black oak, one inch broad l)y half an inch tliick. Provided the stakes are made of durable timber, such a trellis will last from ten to fifteen years ; is much more convenient for tying the vines and training the young wood to them, and will prove the cheapest in the long run. '•The after-culture of the ground is precisely as in the first and second years. It is generally observed as a rule that, during wet seasons, the ground should be kept clean and smooth, stirring but little. During dry seasons, the ground should be drawn up to the vines and M-ell stirred. Should a vineyard show a decrease in vigor, it can be manured by digging a small trencii just above the vines, laying in manure, and covering up again with a plow or spade. " Vegetable manure and compost I should consider most suitable ; but good decomposed stable-yard manure will also do. Ashes are, no doubt, very beneficial to the vines. " After the third year the vine may be considered as established, and a full crop expected. It is in pruning now that the nicest judgment, as to tlie capabilities of each vine for bearing, is req^uired, as the success of the vintner Seo. 42.] HOW TO PLANT AND CULTUEE VINES. 647 in raising a good crop, and also preserving his vines in a healthy condition, depends principally on judicious pruning. " Pruning is best done late in autumn or early winter, but it can be fol- lowed up all winter until the 1st of March, though it is best in autumn, as it will prevent all flow of sap, and the cuttings are also better if required for propagating." Sui/wier prxming is earnestly recommended by Andrew S. Fuller, of Brooklyn, N. Y. He says: " By summer pruning we do not mean the cutting off of large branches, but a system of pinching or stopping the young shoots with the finger and thumb, which is called smnmer pruning. When a vine is planted, we should never allow but one shoot to grow upon it the first season, and never allow any side-shoots or laterals to grow any length ; if we do, the Lud at the axil of the leaf where this lateral springs, wliich is the embryo fruit- bi'anch for the coming season, will be verj' much injured, if not entirely destroyed ; besides, the sap will be distributed through many small branches, instead of being concentrated into one strong shoot. " In all modes of training, this operation is necessary for directing the vital principle and proper maturation of the plant. It is not only an economical operation, saving much labor that would be otherwise lost if the vines were left until the annual pruning, but by concentrating tlie sap into that particular portion of the vine where it is needed, we are able to produce a much larger quantity of superior fruit than we otherwise should. "The operation of pinching off the laterals is generally performed thus: When they have pushed out and formed one or two leaves, then the end is pinclied off, leaving one leaf; when tliey have pushed again, pinch again, and leave another leaf, and so on as long as the vine continues to grow. This keeps them in check, and by leaving occasionally a leaf it does not de- prive the vine of so many leaves as it would if tlie laterals were broken off close to the main stem, as is sometimes done, and as wo may safely do at the beginning of the season ; but at midsummer, and later in the season, there is danger of forcing out the next season's fruit-bud, which is at the base of the lateral, and when this is done, of course you lose your next season's crop. This summer-pinching has always been an operation that was strictly attended to in s.U well-regulated vineyards in all ages. "It was called, in olden times, pampiiiating — taken from the word pam- pinus, a young shoot; in later days, weeding the vines. Columella says that we should suspend the operation while the vines are in flower, for fear of destroying the embryo fruit — an idea worth remembei'ing. The main shoot may be stopped when it arrives at the proper hight, and then let the uppermost buds push out and grow for a while, and then check these. By doing so we can often make our vines much stronger in growth than they would otherwise be if this was not done, besides ripening their wood thoroughly. If we allow all the laterals or side-branches to THE VINEYARD. [Chap. VII. grow on a vine, and by doing so divide and subdivide the nutriment wliicli it receives througli its roots, we shall then have many small and weak branches, none of which will be strong enough to fully develop or mature their fruit. " In our northern latitude we have always observed that, when vines were allowed to grow in this way, these small shoots were never well ripened when the cold weather came, and tlie consequences were we had immature wood and immature roots, both of wliich were destroyed by the cold weather. For it is indisputable that unless a vine is made to mature all its branclK'S by the tiina cold weather comes, a corresponding number of its roots will also be unripe. To this cause alone a great projwrtion of the failures in vine culture in this vicinity can be attributed. Further, when we come to the annual pruning, if we have one hundred branches to cut ofl' we make one hundred wounds, each one of which will take a certain amount of al- burnum,to heal over, and thereby cause a vast amount of the strength of the vine to l.v directed to tliis purpose, which might have been used in furnish- ing food for new wood and fruit had there not been more than one tenth of that number of wounds, which is all that would have been necessary if the vine had been properly summer-pruned. "!No definite rule can bo given that will be applicable in every case, for some vines will grow strong and others weak ; some disposed to throw out many branches, others few ; besides, each different mode of training will re- quire summer pruning consistent with the plan adopted. •■ In some modes of training it is fonnd quite beneficial to pinch off the end of the fruit-bearing branch three or four leaves beyond the last bunch formed ; in other modes it would be very injudicious. But in pruning, as well as in all other operations in the vineyard, the operator must fully understand what he wishes to accomplish, knowing that certain causes will produce certain results. Those who believe that nature is the best teacher, and therefore leave their vines to ramble without check or restraint, would do well to icmember that our cultivated fruits are no longer wild plants, but have, in a great measure, changed their natures, and have become somewhat artificial and no longer in their normal state. "The objects of pruning are various ; among the most prominent are, pro- moting the formation of fruit-buds ; lessening bulk ; modifying form ; pro- moting growth ; increasing tlie size and proper distributioti of the fruit among tlie branches; creating an equilibrium between root and stem; re- moval of diseased portions of the plant, etc., all of which should be kept constantly in view when the operation of pruning is being performed, for by doing it we will save much time and be more likely to produce the intended results. '• There are various opinions in regard to the best form in which vines shonld be trained ; but all of them that have been successful for any consid- erable length of time have been founded upon the same princijiles. All successful plans are commenced by a gradual accumulation of wood from Sec. 42.] UOW TO PLANT AND CULTURE VINES. 649 two to six years, at which time the structure may be considered as finished, after which the vine is not allowed to extend, always pruning it to the same point as nearly as ])ossible from year to year. " The vine is thus made to produce its fruit very near the old wood. This is very important when high-flavored fruit is desired. The importance of having old or matured wood in close proximity to the fruit is a princij)le so generally conceded to be true by experienced vine-growers, that in the best wine districts of Europe they seldom attempt to make wine for the purpose of testing the quality of a variety until the vine has been established for several years. It is necessary to have old or well-matured wood as a basis upon which to grow yonr fruit. A superabundant quantity, instead of being beneficial, is deleterious. "This is one reason why all the various plans tbat have had for their object the entire renewal of the vine biennially or triennially from the same root have been discarded when thoroughly tried. These renewal plans have often been brought forward by theorists, but what is equally true, none of them have succeeded, and at the present time not one of theni is in successful operation. " Another difliculty which we have had to contend with, when growing vines on these renewal plans, is that we are obliged to resort to such severe pruning at the time of renewal, that we destroy the equilibrium between root and top. "When the vine has become fully established (say from five to ten years, and no vine can be considered as established in less time), it is with great difliculty that it can be restrained suflaciently to produce a healthy shoot from the one eye or bud to which it is pruned. "The large amount of food which will be accumulated in the roots of a healthy vine, and is constantly being collected by them, can not find em- ployment, and the new shoots or shoot which put forth can not consume this superabundant supply, and a sort of plethora is produced. A portion of the roots becomes inactive, and consequently decay. " Let any one examine the stump of a large tree that has been cut down, and he will see this fully demonstrated. A few trifling shoots may be produced which will grow rapidly, but the greater portion of the old roots will die in consequence of the sudden check which they have received. Some varieties of trees will not produce sprouts at all from the old root when the top has been cut away, while others will produce them in abundance. "We believe the only true mode of renewing the entire vine, when it has become enfeebled by age or accident, is by layering a portion of its young shoots. This is the general and successful method practiced in old and established vineyards. "The first pruning a nursery vine receives is when it is transplanted, at which time it should be cut down to one eye or bud above the ground, from Avhich one shoot is allowed to grow. This should be kept tied to a stake, all side shoots, or laterals, as they are termed, plucked ofl", leaving one leaf 650 THE VINEYARD. [Chap. Vil. on tlicin the fii'st time ; if they start again, pinch them oil', leaving another leaf, and so on througli the growing season. " The second year the vine is down to two buds, if strong, but if weak, cut again to one bud, and repeat the operation as the first year. When the vine makes a strong growth the first season, it may be safely cut back to two buds, and from there we allow two shoots to grow, which must be at- tended to during their growth, such as tying to stakes, or trellis, and pinch- ing off laterals, as was done the first year. " The third year we are supposed to have two strong shoots from one root, and we are now ready to adopt the plan on which we intend to train our vine. Nearly all the systems now in use start from this point, whether it be the bow sj'stem, thomery, or the common trellis plan ; this seems to be the starting-point for them all. " A very simple plan, and one which is peculiarly adapted for a trellis, is formed by bending down the shoots which we should have on our vine at the end of the second or third year, to form horizontal arms, leaving them about two feet long. The shoot that grows from the end bud we save for continuing the arm next season ; but it should not be lengthened more tiian two feet in any one season. Only the number of buds required for the up- right shoots sh 'uld be left to grow wyion these arms. The upright shoots are to be cut down to one or two eyes every year, and from the young shoots that spring from these we obtain our fruits. " Another mode is to cut down every alternate shoot to one eye, and the others to four or five, the long canes bearing several bunches, and the others none. Next season this order is reversed, those bearing this year bear none the next, and so on. "Sometimes a vine is planted in a trench five or six feet from the trellis or wall on which it is to be trained, and each j-ear a portion of the vine, say two feet, is layered, and thus wo go on, step b}' stej), until we reach the trellis, and have formed our two shoots for arms. The object of this layering is to get a large quantity of root before the vine is called upon to produce a large quantity of fruit. There is a suihcient amount of top allowed to remain on the vine each year (which is also allowed to liear fruit) to keep the roots active and healthy. Whatever system yon adopt, let it be vigorously adliered to until you succeed or fail ; and in case tlie latter is your fate, you may confer a great favor u])on others by dding so, for it is often the case that the failure of one man is of more benefit to the community than the success of many. If you do not adiiere to the one sys- tem that you start with, we can not tell whether it was your neglect or the fault of the system that caused the failure. Of course we are supj)osing that tliere is no fault in the variety or in the cultivation." Mr. Fuller advocates the single ej'c system for propagation, as likely to produce the best vines in the shortest time. The old wood serves to nourish the new shoot until it can send out new roots to sustain itself. The best plan for training vines for family use is upon trellises. Ko vhie should Sko. 42.] HOW TO PLANT AND CULTURE VINES. 651 ever be trained ui^on an arbor for any other purpose tlian a shade. Never use an arbor to grow fruit. It is very difficult to arrange an old vine into any good shape ; to make a good one, you must start aright with a new vine. Upon whatever plan you train your vines, make your fruit grow close to the ground — that is, within reach without using a Hreman's ladder. He gives the following as the philosophy of autumn pruning : " During active growth of leaves and stems the liquid portion of the sap is exhaled almost as fast as it enters the vine. "When cold weather first checks growth, it does not aifcct the roots, which continue absorbing food. In autumn, then, the vine becomes surcharged with sap, which, during win- ter, undergoing its natural change, would deposit solid matter throughout the entire length of the vine, so that each bud would be equally supplied with its quota of food to commence vegetation anew in spring. Now, sup- pose a portion of the vine is cut away in the fall or early winter, it is ap- parent that what remains has the whole root for its support, and it may receive all the strength that would have been diflused throughout the un- pruned vine. These few buds will of course put forth in spiing much more vigorously, and continue to send out fruit-bearing wood in g eater perfection than it is possible for an unpruned vine to do. " The rule for pruning, then, should be : If the vine is w^ak, prune early, that is, as soon as it sheds its leaves. If your vine bears fruit, and is not a vigorous grower of wood, and you wish it to produce more, prune early. If your vine is a vigorous grower, but a shy bearer, prune late. If severe cold may soon be expected, at the time you are pruning do not ciit the cane near a bud, but several inches above it. If desirable, you can cut away the spur above the bud after cold weather is past. The growth of wood or fruit is regulated more by pruning than by the soil iu which the vine is grown. "It may be set down as a fact, that no vine in the climate of New York can ripen a crop of fruit upon all the wood its roots will produce." In pruning, the vintner should have a two-fold object in view. First, to raise a good crop of well-developed and well-ripened fruit ; secondly, to get a supply of strong, well-ripened young wood, to give a good crop next season. Dr. Underhill says : "It depends upon the richness of the soil about summer pruning. If the soil is very rich, there is danger of the fruit-buds starting as soon as the la- crals are pinched in. If the laterals and leaders are both pinched off, the tendency will be, in a strong, growing vine, to send out the fruit-bud form- ing, so as to have new grapes in autumn and no crop next year. In mod- erately fertile soil, the Isabella will bear pinching m pretty closely, but not upon highly fertilized vineyards. I do not of late stop the growth of my Isabellas I think the practice of summer pruning inapplicable to the Isa- bella vai'iety and all other strong growing plants. '• The Catawba grows its wood more firmly, and admits the German cul- tivation better than the Isabella. No grape but one of slow growth will (»o2 THE VINEYARD. [Chap. VH. bear to be cultivated entirely on the renewal eyetem. I would put new plants into generous soil, and give thcni all the growth I could to ripen the wood thorougiily. Still, it is not best at any time to drive the growth of a vine too fast. A rapid growing vine, or a vineyard forced by high niannr- ing, will not make as good wine as one of slower growth. Bones and com- post of muck and yard manure are the best fertilizers. I never use guano, nor any very heating manures, such as that from the hen-house or pig-pen." The advantage of taking off laterals off a very rapid-growing vine is to give the fruit more sun and air. "In ISGO it was estimated that there were about four thousand acres laid out in vineyards in the State of Ohio, of which nearly one half were in the immediate vicinity of Cincinnati, and with good weather that the yield would lie 1,600,000 gallons of wine. '' Propagating choice vines by layering should be practiced by all. When trimming your vines in the fall, save one or more of the canes of well- matured wood, and in the spring dig and manure the ground in a line for a trench, in which to lay down the vine, which at first you may cover about two inches deep. Drive some pegs over the vine to keep it fast, and -when the eyes have sprouted and grown a foot or so high, tie them to stakes, and earth up around the base, and repeat this from time to time imtil the layer is six inches deep. The result will be that each upright will become firmly rooted, and be a good vine for transplanting next season."' 731. What is a Merchantable Grapevine ? — A vine with a stem no bigger than a straw is not a fair merchantable vine. Such a vine, of one of the very rare sorts, may be sold to a purchaser present -who perfectly under- stands what he is buying, but should not be sent out to fill orders. Xeither should a stump of a vine, upon which a few roots have been forced to grow iw-a hot-house pot. Xo definite rule can be adopted as to the size of vines, because there is a great variation in growth of different varieties. The Isabella, the Catawba, the Concord, the Northern Muscadine, the Hartford Prolific, and some others, are strong-growing, rather coarse, woody vines, which at two years old might be twice as large as a good Delaware, Diana, Rebecca, Anna, or some other sort that does not make wood fast while growing. The Delaware, in particular, grows a small, hard, wiry vine, verv hardy, and well rooted. A Ko. 1 Delaware vine, from an honest nurseryman, will have a cane as large as a pipe-stem, with three good eyes and a mass of fibrous roots, which will require a hole twelve to eighteen inches across to spread them out in, as they should always be in planting a vine. The Diana, Kebecca, Lenoir, and Anna are of the same character of growth, and should be of the same size to be " merchantable." The Catawba, Isabella, Ilerbemont, Concord, Hartford Prolific, Union Village, Canby's August, etc., being vines of a stronger growth, should be, when sold from nurseries, the size of one's little finger, with cither entire canes or three eyes and plenty- of roots. Such vines may be taken as a fair Sue. 43.] HOW TO PLANT AND CULTURE VINES. 653 standard, and people who are anxious to plant vines should not be cheated by having inferior ones palmed off upon them. It is that which discourages them, and sets back the grape cultivation more than all we have said in i s favor for years can set it forward. 732. Grape Culture in faiiforuia. — In no other part of the United States has grape culture advanced with such rapid strides as it has, or rather does (1861), in California. The California Farmer of September 7, 1860, speaks of a vineyard which the editor visited in Sonoma, on the estate of Gen. Vallejo, managed by Mr. Ryan, that looks like rivaling in a short time some of the large vineyards of Europe. It says : "Tlie old vineyard called Laohryma Moiite, or 'Mountain of Tears,' was planted with about 3,000 vines by the old Jesuits. The trunks of the vines are now like trees ; the balance of this vineyard — 7,000 vines — was planted in the years '56, '57, and '58. "The new vineyard, which contains 20,000 vines of California grape, and 5,000 foreign varieties, v/as all planted on subsoiled ground thoroughly pre- pared, twenty to twenty-four inches deep, and these vines are now doing ad- mirably. "Dr. Victor Fourze is the vintner, and the wine vaults are five in number; four are 22 by 50 feet, and one 20 by 40 feet; the buildings are adobe, very thick walls, floors double, and admirably fitted up as wine cellars. The stock on had now is about 8,000 gallons, and several parcels bottled of wine of '56 to '60. Tlie amount anticipated this year is 15,000 gallons, and he will make 5,000 or 6,000 bottles of champagne, besides 200 gallons of brandy. " Col. Ilarasztby's vineyard is on a tract of mountainous land of about 5,000 acres. The vineyard covers 260 acres in all. There are now 8 J acres in bearing, with 680 vines to the acre, set 8 by 8 feet, which is the proper distance. The vines bore well last year, and made 4,000 gallons Xo. 1 wine. They will make this year 60,000 gallons, valued at $1 50 the gal- lon, or $90,000. Some lots of vines averaged forty pounds per vine, and there were vines that gave 300 pounds ; these were California grapes. Col. Harasztby lias already one hundred and eighty-six kinds of foreign vines, but has tested only thirty-six kinds. He has already contracted to deliver to Messrs. Grossinger, of San Francisco, 300,000 pounds of grapes this year at 3i cents per pound, four miles from the vineyard, the purchasers to find boxes. This will establish the value of grapes at wholesale for wine purposes. "The wine cellars of Col. Harasztby are made into the liill, composed tf concrete matter, chalk, lime, blue clay, and gravel stone. There are two cellars now, one is forty feet deep and the other one hundred feet deep. There is a new one building, which is to be 400 feet deep ; the first one is fourteen feet wide and eight feet high, the last will be sixteen feet wide and seven and a half feet high. These are grand and complefe cellars, being moist and dark. The temperature will be uniform ; it should be sixty de- 654 THE VINEYARD. [Cuap. VIL grees, and moist. Some pci-sons object to moisture in wine cellars becanso tile casks decay, but tlie gain to the wine and less loss doubles the loss on casks, as the evaporation of wine in dry cellars is great ; in moist cellars the loss on a sixty-gallon cask is only one half gallon ; in a dry cellar, one and one half gallons. " The experience of Col. Harasztby is, that foreign vines are superior to the California grape for wine, and he will not plant any more California vines. There have been j^lanted in Sonoma more than 1,000 acres. "It is getting to be so common a thing in California to find vineyards of eight or ten thousand vines, that they are not deemed particularly worthy of notice. So rapid is the increase of vines, and the manufactures of wine in this State, that the day is not distant when ships sent with cargoes — if they have anything to send — from Xew York will return freighted with wine-casks, and California wine will be as common in this city as wine from France. It is also asserted that raisins can be manufactured in California, and will be as soon as the price of labor finds a level corresponding with other grape-growing countries. " In France, a first-rate crop of grapes is 5,000 lbs. per acre, while 2,000 lbs. is regarded a fair crop. In the grape-growing districts along the Ohio River, where a superior grape is produced, 8,000 lbs. is considered a very large crop — 4,000 to 5,000 lbs. is regarded as a good average ; but in Cali- fornia, the ordinary crop is from 10,000 to 13,000 lbs. to the acre, and more is not unusual. " In the Old World, and in the Atlantic States, the grape crop frequently fails on account of frosts and disease ; here, it is sure to yield abundantly. There, the vine must generally be supported by poles ; here, it stands without artificial aid. Tliere, a large amount of cultivation is costly ; here, it can be had for almost nothing. Tiiere, the rains frequently interfere seriously with the ripening and gathering; here, during the vintage, we have an un- clouded sky. The returns of last year show the grape crop to have been 51,000 tuns, and the wine product 300,000 gallons, besides a large quantity of brandy."' 733. Grape Culture in Austria. — Although European culture is not alto- getiier appropriate to this country, we think there are some things stated in the following excellent letter from Austria, written by A. Hamilton Gilberts, that are well worthy of preservation in this volume. He says : " At the first planting of a vineyard in this country they invariably use cuttings — so invariably that they would throw away a root and take a good cutting from the vine to set out in preference. The manner of setting out or planting is to dig a hole in the ground three feet long by two feet wide, and the rule for the depth is, as deep as to a man's knee ; and the cut- tings they use are the length across the bottom of the hole, up the side, and lying against the side to the top of the earth. They then put into this hole about five cuttings, spread along about two feet, the ends reaching six or eight inches above ground. The man then stands. in the hole on the vines Seo. 42.] EOW TO PLANT AND CULTURE VINES. 655 and cuts in the standing sides of the hole, treading the earth close upon the vine about six inches deep, and then hauls the balance of the earth in, and fills the hole up a little rounding. It is usual to throw in a handful of wheat among the cuttings before filling in the earth. Its value I do not know. The cutting in tlie side earth is to give a large, loose area to the roots. ''They put in five cuttings to insure vines enough. They make the holes about nine to eleven feet apart in the rows, and the rows about twelve to fifteen feet apart. " The first and second year nothing is done to the vine except to keep the ground loose and free from weeds. " Between the rows they usually sow wheat or oats, or plant corn ; and I notice they always plow a shallow furrow one foot from the vines, and turn the earth away. If they do not plow they make this trench with a hoe. " The third spring from setting out they trim the shoots down very close — say, leave one or two leaf-buds and set sticks to train the vine to, or what is more usual, they plant with the cuttings a slip of a tree, somewhat re- sembling the Lombardy poplar, which they head down, and only use to support the stock. This third year the vines yield a few grapes. The spring of the fourth year they take two or three of the most vigorous vines and bend them over about the hight of the knee, and carry them along hori- zontally toward the next hill or cluster of vines, and bring some of the shoots from that cluster, and wind and tie them together. If they do not reach together, they cut a limb from the poplar and lengthen them out. From these horizontal vines they expect their grapes. " It is of course a known fact that the climate of Europe, on the same parallels of northern latitude, is much milder than ours in New England. Tiie region in which the vines I send you grew lies a little north of 45 de- grees, yet snow is rare, and ice on large bodies of water seldom seen over two inches thick. We have, howevei', cold, i^iercing winds occasionally until the middle of April. " The mode of cultivating the grape here is in some respects peculiarly adapted to a more inclement climate. They rarely allow the main trunk to grow much higher than the knee, and the vines are trained together by tying, and support themselves, or are helped temporarily by a stick in the growing season, and then they can be trimmed in November, and brought into a very small compass, and protected from the most extreme cold. "The Tesano Eefosco is the grape from whicli is made the choice wine of that name. It is quite peculiar to the province of Istria. A peculiarity of its manufacture is, tliat after the fruit is ripe, the vine on which the fruit is borne is cut off, but suifered to hang in its place until it shrinks a little be- fore it is picked and the wine made. This is not a good table grape. " The Muscats are of two varieties, the whitQ and black. They are both ex- cellent for eating out of hand, particularly the white variety, and both make a good common wine ; that of the white is considered the best summer wine. They usually mix them together in planting. 856 THE VINEYARD. [Chap. VII. " The Tesano is the grape from which the best of the common red wine of this country is made, that is universally drank by all classes. Its i-etail price is about twenty cents a quart. About half a pint of wine and bread, worth a kreutzcr — a little less than a cent — make the daily breakfast of tens of thousands from childhood to old age. Such wine is simply the ^uice of the grape — a pleasant, cooling beverage, slightly acid. It is transported into the city in two huge leathern bottles, across the back of an ass, quite in the primitive way. " It is most customary, however, for the country people to bring the fruit into the city fresh from the vines, in large conical tubs, on rustic carts; stop in front of tlie houses, and inquire if you wish to buy their wine ; if so, then they press it out and put it into barrels, and go on. It is then used with- out adulteration or refining, after the first fermentation ; and in this form I can readily appreciate it, with the corn and the oil, an inestimable gift from a beneficent Providence. '"TiicUvaBianca, or common white grape of the country — a large, delicious grape, veiy good for dessert — makes a good summer wine. "The Olovina, also a good table grape, large fruit, and from wliich, alone or mixed, as is common with the Tesano, a good red wine is made. "The conmion method pursued by those who make a large quantity of wine is to cut their grapes in clusters and put them in large vats, with a grating about midway of the vat, so fine as not to let the stems and leaves through, but to admit the pulps and skins to fall to the bottom ; the grapes are mashed, and usually turned once each day with a stick or ladle, for eigli/" days ; then the wine is drawn oft' and put into barrels, the bung left loosd four weeks ; it is then bunged tight or put into bottles. If kept in the bar- rel and drawn from that for use, the bung should be just drawn and a little fine sweet-oil poured in ; it makes a coating on top of the wine, and keeps it from souring. " For the best wine for family use, the grapes arc not mashed, but are sufl'ered to bui-st by fermentation. The wine is more delicate." It must be kept in mind that the above rules of wine-makers, simple and easy as they may be in Istria, with the grapes of that country, may not be so applicable in America, as the information we will give in the next section. But all who desire to make wine should read both directions carefully. Seo. 43.] CULTURE OF GRAPES FOR WINE. 657 SECTION XLIII-CULTURE OF GRAPES FOR WINE-RULES FOR WINE- MAKING. - -N Section XXVI. we have given rules suited to domes- >^ tic wine-making, though principally intended for other fruits than grapes. Some of the matter of this section will be interesting to those Avho liave, or may be about to plant, vineyards. The production of pure wines for home consumption is a subject not only of much importance as a matter of economy to us as a people, but of still greater im- portance as it relates to matter of health with the masses, and will continue to be so as long as so many will persist in drinking something besides water. We will not attempt to discuss the subject of total abstinence, or whether wine is better than water, but when we look over the past history of man, we find him always attempting to improve or change the works of nature. He is not content with the fruits and vegetaltles of earth as he finds them, but is continually trying to bring about a change, or, as we express it, an improvement. A good and pure wine made from good grapes has been acknowledged for ages to be a drink that is con- ducive to the Iiealth and long life of the partaker. But it must not be ex- pected that a palatable wine can be made from a hard and unpalatable grape, and a wine made fi'om such a grape, and made palatable by mixing some foreign substance with it, is well known to be pernicious ; and we have been surprised to hear men state that large quantities of pure wine had been made from our Northern Fox grape, with only the addition of sugar, when they must know that when cane sugar is added to the juice of the grape it is no longer pure wine. A grape to make wine like the finer wines of Europe must contain sugar and tartaric acid in sufficient quantities to make it spirituous and vinous, but not strongly alcoholic ; although the alcohol that is generated by the fermentation of grape sugar is not the same as that produced by the fer- mentation of cane sugar, and it does not produce the same effect upon the human system. Taste is simple, but flavor is compound. Thus, by high flavor in the grape, we mean the combining of grape sugar and tartaric acid along with that peculiar vinous aroma which belongs to the grape alone ; and when we drink of its juice we taste what we smell, and both sets of organs which constitute those of tasting and smelling are alike refreshed, invigorated, and delighted. The mouth is left cool and free from that acrid, biting sensation which is experienced when we partake of inferior grapes or wine. 734. What Makes Good Winct— The great difficulty with our grapes has 658 THE VINEYARD. [Crap. VII. been that they did not contain sugar enough to create alcohol in sufficient quantities to prevent the wine undergoing the acetic fermentation instead of the vinous ; so that we had vinegar instead of wine — unless we added sugar, which produces rum, and grape juice instead of pure wine. Grape sugar and cane sugar are chemically different, therefore we conclude the alcohol produced by the fermentation of the two is different. Although chemists can not or do not tell us in what the difference consists, yet we know that they act differently upon the human system. A grape to make wine that is pal- atable and that will keep, must contain sugar enough to produce a certain amount of alcohol, but not in such quantities as wc get in onr imported trash, or in wines made from our poor sour grapes, with sugar added. None of the best pure light wines of Europe are ever imported, for the very reason that they will not bear a sea voyage unless they are recharged with alcohol. Those who have been accustomed to sweet wines and sweet drinks of all kinds, do not appreciate a pure wine if it is a litrle sour, as most of the pure wines which contain but a small per cent, of alcohol are. The acid of wines is mostly tartaric acid, and therefore comparatively healthy. The preservative qualities are alcohol and tannic acid, with a small quantity of malic acid. Sometimes, when there is not sugar enough to produce alcohol sufficient to jireserve the wine — and a sour wine is not objectionable — the juice is fermented with the stems and seeds, so as to extract more of the tannic acid which is mainly derived from these. The wines made in hot climates are more alcoholic than those of colder countries ; and when we get grapes here that will make wine that is sweet enough for our tastes, or our tastes become modified or cultivated so that we can appreciate a pure wine, then we may rest assured that this latitude of the United States will produce as pure and wholesome wine as any other country of the globe. 735. Wine from Several Kinds of Grapes— Per Cent, of Alcohol.— John L. Mottier, of Cincinnati, one of the best wine-makers in that city, lias made wine from the Delaware, Ilerbemont, Minor, Lincoln, Union Village, and Catawba grapes, nothing but pure juice, without the addition of any foreign substance, which has been pronounced equal to any foreign wine. The Isabella grape seldom contains sufficient sugar to produce alcohol enough to keep it. If the grapes are partly dried before they are pressed, the proportion of sugar to the juice is greater and the wine far superior, but we do not consider it a good wine-grape. The best six wine-grapes in the lati- tude of Cincinnati are named in the following order, and their relative quality graduated by Mr. Mottier in the order they are named : 1. Delaware. 4. Lincoln. 2. Herbcmont. 5. Catawba. 3. Minor's Seedling. 6. Union Village. "With the Diana he had but little experience, but from the wine he had made from it, he was inclined to place it next to the Delaware, in the place now occupied by the Ilerbemont, that grape having j^rovcd to be very un- certain in its crops, as the vine is too tender for this climate. Sec. 43.] CULTURE OF GKAPES FOR VflKE. C59 The Delaware wine was the richest, and preserved the real bouquet of the grape, and it improved by age. The vintage of 1859 contained 8^ per cent, of alcohol. Herhemont. — Yery uncertain ; no good wine since 1850 until 1859, when the crop was good ; wine very good ; quite delicate ; will not bear trans- porting to any great distance. Alcohol, 5| per cent. Minor's Seedling. — Quite foxy in flavor, but a fine light-colored wine. Alcohol, 6 per cent. Lincoln. — A dark-colored wine ; resembles the finer grades of clarets, only much better tiian that we generally import. Alcohol, 4i per cent. Cataioha of 1859. — Much body and strength ; light amber color. Alco- hol, 8 per cent. Union Village. — A beautiful dark-colored wine ; not mucli body or strength ; will make a fine, light, summer drink. Alcohol, 5| per cent. These wines were all made from the grapes without the addition of sugar or any other substance. The grapes are gathered when very ripe, and all green, broken, or decayed berries picked out and thrown aside; all the ap- paratus that belongs to wine-making is kept in perfect order, and cleanli- ness is a prominent feature with all such wine-makers as Mr. Mottier and Mr. Schneicke, as it always must bo in every establishment where good wine is expected. The wines of Cinciimati have already become so celebrated that they sell for a much higher price than many of our imported wines. It is charged that large quantities of poor Hhine wines have been taken to Cincinnati and put upon the lees of tlie Catawba and fermented with them, and then sold at a profit for Catawba wine, for that will bring $1 25 per gallon, when cheap claret can be had for 50 cents. To show that our pure native wines are not so strongly alcoholic as many common drinks, we will give the amount of alcohol that some of these beverages contain. Of course they vary much in diiFevent specimens, but this list will show very nearly the average : Elderberry wine 9 per cent. Cider 7J " Ale 7 Currant wine 20 per cent Porter 23 Champagne (pure) 12 " Gooseberry wine 12 " The lowest Ehine wines 4i 736. Rules of a French Wine-Maker. — The following are the rules adopted by an extensive vineyard proprietor, as we find published in the Vigneron, a French journal devoted to the interest of grape-growers. Tliese rules, in all essential particulars, are as applicable in America as France, and are very concise and pertinent. "1. The grapes should not be gathered until they have arrived at com- plete maturity, that is to say, when they do not grow sweeter in a sensible degree. If the weather is good, they may be allowed to hang some time after this for the purpose of giving the watery parts of the fruit time to evap- orate. This increases considerably the strength and sweetness of the wine. Black grapes intended for red wine should not be allowed to become too ripe; if they do, they injure the color of the wine. 660 THE VINEYARD. [Chap. Vn. " 2. The vessels sliould be clean, and, above all, should not have con- tained soured wine. Caro should also be taken that nothing should be al- lowed to fall into the must, which might cause acidity during the ferment- ation. " 3. "White grapes should be put into a tub and pressed as quickly as pos- sible, with the stems on. If obliged to wait before pressing the must, take out a portion at least of the stems, else the wine may taste of them. The must of weak and mucilaginous wines ought to be allowed to ferment some days with the stems, so that the tannin which they contain will assist in the pre- cipitation of the mucilaginous matter. For good wines, the mash or rciid- uum of the grape should never be pressed, as the last juice which comes from the press usually contains a great deal of acid and but little sugar. "4. For sharp wines of inferior quality, and for sweet and mucilaginous wines, it is indispensable to put the must into open tubs, and leave it there several days. There forms during this time a layer or stratum of a dirty brown color, which contains a great part of the mucilage, yeast, and acid rejected by the must, and which should be taken off with care everj' time it forms, 60 as to remove all those sulistances which alter the taste of the wine, cause fermentation, and do a great deal of mischief. " 5. Care should be taken not to put the must into casks which are dirty, or which liave been fumed with sulphur. There are some wine-makers who think thiit the fumes of sulphur applied to casks preserve the sweetness of wine, and purchasers are cheated in the quality of the wine by tlie sugar which the imfinished fermentation has left without decomposing. The fol- lowing summer these wines are found to be muddy, and ferment often with great force, become sour, and are often completely spoiled. "Wine should be placed in casks which have not been fumed, and no obstacle to fermenta- tion should be opposed. There is no exception to this rule, save for those autumns which are unusually warm, and which cause fears that the fer- mentation will be too strong. In such a case the vessels may be fumed with sulphiir. " 6. The fermentation of red wine should be treated diflFerently from that of white. The must of black grapes may remain twenty -four hours with the stems, so that the tannin contained in them may communicate itself to the must ; then the stems and seeds should be separated by means of a sieve, and the must poured into open vessels, which should be lightly covered during the fermentation. The temperature of the must, during the fer- mentation, should not be allowed to exceed 15 degrees of Reaumur (65J de- grees of Fahrenheit), in order to prevent the spirit from escaping. Every three or four hours the fermenting mass should be stirred, so as to prevent it from souring. " 7. At the end of fifteen or twenty days, when all action has ceased, and the skins have yielded their coloring matter to the must, it should be put under the press and strongly squeezed, so that all the coloring matter shall be extracted. The wine is then placed in casks not fumed, and if it is de- Sko. 43.] CULTURE OF GRAPES FOR WIIfE. 661 sired to increase the capacity for tannin, some of tlie seeds — wliicli should be sej^arated by a sieve from the mash — should be added to it. " 8. If the weather is cold, the openings to the cellars should be closed, so that the fermenation may meet with no interruption. Persons should never enter the cellars until they have been tested for carbonic acid by a light. The carbonic acid maj' be driven from the cellars by opening all the issues, V)y lighting a fire on the stairway, by throwing hot water into them, and by scattering freshly-slaked lime in them. During the fermentation the bung- hole should be closed with vine-leaves, or by a little bag filled with sand — the object being to prevent the air from entering at the same time that the carbonic acid is permitted to escape. " 9. Toward Christmas the clarification of the wine is about completed, and the yeast, which has become insoluble during the fermentation, is pre- cipitated. Four weeks after the commencement of the fermentation, the casks, which should not be quite filled up at first, become completely full. " 10. The racking or drawing off from the lees at Christmas is very im- portant and necessary. There always remains in the wine, after the first fermentation, a certain quantity of soluble leaven, and if this is not scat- tered, and the wine still contains iindecomposed sugar, the liquid will be- come turbid, it will ferment again, and possibly be spoiled. In the first racking, toward the commencement of the year, care should be taken to expose the wine as much as possible to contact with the air, in which case tlie oxygen of the atmosphere precipitates the insoluble leaven, and the liquid clarifies completely, so that the second racking may be retarded until the end of April, there b.eing no further fear of fermentation. " 11. The following autumn another racking should take place, after which the wine may be considered as completely made. In drawing off, great care should be taken not to mix the portion of the wine at the bottom of the cask, which is still turbid, with the clear part which is above. The turbid part should be placed in a separate vessel and submitted to a new racking before it is added to the other." The author of these rules closes by saying: "If our wine-growers will strictly observe these prescriptions, without permitting themselves to be turned aside by local usages, they will obtain beautiful and good wines." 737. Rules of an Americau Wine-Maker.— The following rules for wine- making we find given by Prof. "Wm. Hume, of Charleston, S. C. He says : "The grapes are bruised and pressed, and the juice strained into a cask. To every gallon of this must let one pint of deodorized alcohol of 80 degrees be added, and the cask shaken to effect a mixture before the bung is put in. The effect of this mixture is to coagulate and to precipitate all the fecula contained in the must, so that at the end of twenty -four or forty-eight hours a thick sediment is formed at the bottom of the cask and the juice brightens in color. At this period I filter the whole by piercing above the sediment, and allowing the clear portion to run first, and then the sediment. An up- ward cloth filter or a downward sand filter is necessary, as the fecula soon 662 THE VINEYARD. [Chap. VII. covers the clo'.h and renders it impervious. This filtration is practiced to prevent the i)utrefactive fei-nientation from proceeding in the fecula and im- parting a bad flavor. Its presence is of no possible advantage to the wine, and its absence secures us against the possibility of future fermentation. "Whatever ferment there may have been in the must is now removed. All tlie sugar has been retained to secure sufficient sweetness, and the added deodorized alcohol has communicated no flavor or odor, and supplies the place of that which would have been formed had two pounds of sugar been added to the must. The original flavor of the grape is preserved, and with sucli accuracy as to enable any one to detect the kind of grape that was used to prepare the must. This quantity of alcohol, which is 10 per cent., is sufticient to preserve the must from any future change, and ranks it in strength to the weaker wines of France and Germany. The plan is so nat- ural and simple that the wonder is that it lias not long been put in practice. The nearest approach to the method is the jjractice common in Spain, Portu- gal, and Madeira, of adding brandy to their wines in order to strengthen them to suit the taste of the English and American markets. A question of economy frequently arises on the introduction of a new manufacture. I am only anxious to point out those processes to which the grapes may be subjected to produce a wholesome, agreeable, and harmless l>everagc, which all may enjoy, at prices far below what is now paid for dangerous com- pounds wliicli may have been made in Europe, but are also largely made in these United States." 738. Wiue-Makiiig in f alifornia. — The old mode of making wine, still used by some of tiie old Californians, is to erect four posts four feet high, and forming a square about two feet and a half in size. Upon the tops of these posts (he corners of a raw cow-hide are fastened, hair down, the middle of the hide bagging down in the center. This bag is nearly filled with grapes ; an Indian gets in, mashes the grapes with liis feet by tramping about ; the juice is then dipped out, poured into a barrel, left a few weeks to ferment, and the wine is ready for use. * The native Californians have a wine which they call Angelica (pro- nounced An-hel'-i-ca), which they make by mixing one gallon of grape- brandy with throe of grape-juice, fresh from the press, and adding some sugar. It is a thick, sweet, and strong drink. Messrs. Froehling and Ivohler, and probably others, have another way of making Angelica. They reduce the pure, fresh juice about one fourtli or one fifth by boiling, then place it in barrels, and rack it ofl' once or twice till it gets clear. Neither kind of Angelica ferments, the brandy and the boiling serving as preventives, though, no doubt, the Angelica made by the latter method would ferment if long exposed to the air in a warm place. The manufacture of champagne wine was commenced on a large scale in 1S5S-9 by Messrs. Sainsevain Brothers, proprietors of the large vineyard of Alisal, at Los Angeles, with indications of great success. Don Pedro Sainsevain made a tour through the wine districts of France on purpose to Ssc. 43.] CULT ORE OF GRAPES FOR "WINE. 663 study the business, and he brought with him an experienced and skillful wine-maker from the champagne districts. Tlie firm have filled 50,000 bottles of the vintage of 1859, and they intended to make 80,000 bottles of Lhe vintage of 1860. They use white wine, and mix with it about a fourth ot' old white wine of previous years. The first year they lost about one bottle in five by bursting ; proof that the wine will be as vigorous as the best of France. No foreign substance is mixed with the grape-juice to make it lively ; all the gases in it are pro- duced from its own substance. The grape used in California for making wine is of Spanish stock, and was introduced by the Spanish missionaries when they established their missions, between the years 1769 and 1780. The berry, when ripe, has a dark reddish-brown color, varying to a piirplish-brown in the northern part of the State. The vine is hardy and healthy, the grape is juicy and strong. An acre is expected lo produce, ordinarily, 1,000 gallons of wine per year, and never less than 800, though 400 gallons is considered a good yield in Ohio, France, Germany, Spain, or Greece. The California grape begins to ripen about the middle of September, and is gathered from that time until the end of the year, there being no frost and little rain to interfere with the harvest in the southern part of the State, which is the chief seat of the vine culture. Tlie berry is considered to be ripe when the heart has taken a tinge resembling the darkness of the skin, when tlie berry is sweet and may bo picked easily, and leaves no juice upon its stem, and when, on holding a bunch to the sun, tlie fibers running from the stem into the grajJC are nearly or quite invisible. The bunches are cut oif with a knife, after nine o'clock in the morning, when the dew has disap- peared, put into a basket and carried to the press. l^early all the wine and brand}' made in California comes from Los An- geles County, which is, no doubt, better fitted in soil and climate for the culture of the vine than any other part of the State. It is estimated that 350,000 gallons of wine were made in the State in 1859, viz. : Gallons. Saiusevain Brothers 73,000 Froeliling & Kohler 60,000 B. D. Wilson 20,000 William Wolfskin 12,000 Matthew Keller 10,000 It was also estimated that the amount of brandy would be 50,000 gallons. A great many of those who make wine about Los Angeles throw away all the refuse and sediment of their presses and wine casks, thus wasting a large amount of matter, such as French brandy is made of by distillation of lees and waste. The manufacture of grape vinegar might be very much extended, where the refuse of Aviue is not used for making brandy. 739. Rules for Making Domestic Wiae. — "We have already, in 1 469 to 475, given rules for making domestic wine, yet M-e will give one more here under Gallons. Clements 5,000 Julius Weiss 4,000 Others 146,000 Total 330,000 664 THE VINEYARD. [Chap. VIL the head of wine-making, from one who has been nniformly Buccessful, who says : "The currants should be fully ripe when picked; put them into a large tub, in which they may remain a day or two ; then crush them with the hands, unless you have a small patent cider-press, in which they should not be pressed too much, or the stems will bo bruised and impart a disagreeable taste to tlie juice. If the hands are used, put the crushed fruit, after the juice has been poured off, into a cloth or sack, and press out the remaining juice. Put the juice back into the tub after cleansing it, where it should reiuuin about three days, until the first stages of fermentation are over, and remove once or twice a day the scum arising to the top. Then put the juice into a vessel — a demijohn, keg, or barrel — of a size to suit the quantity to be made, and to each quart of juice add three pounds of the best double-refined sugar, and water suflicicnt to make a gallon. "Thus, ten quarts of juice and thirty pounds of sugar will give you ten gallons of wine, and so on in that proportion. Those who do not like very sweet wine oan reduce the qtiantity of sugar to two and a half or two pounds per gallon. "The cask must be full, and the bung or stopper left ofl' until fermenta- tion ceases, which will be in twelve or fifteen days. Meantime the cask must be filled up daily with water, as fermentation throws out the impure matter. "When fermentation ceases, rack the wine off carefully, either from the spigot or by a siphon. Cleanse the cask thoroughly with boiling water, then return the wine, bung up tightly, and lot stand for four or five months, when it will be fit to drink, and can be bottled if desired. " All the vessels should be perfectly sweet, and the whole operation done with cleanliness. In such, event, every drop of brandy or other spirituous liquors added will detract ivom the flavor of the wine. The fermentation of the sugar gives all the spirit required." If any spirit is ever added to currant M'ine, or that made from any other fruit in a domestic way, it should bo deodorized alcohol, called " pure spirit," for this is better than brandy for preserving fruits or fruit juice. 740. The Missouri Wiuc-Growers" Association.— Every neighborhood wants juet such an association as that at St. Louis, called The "Wine-Growers' As- sociation, before vineyards for wine-making will be successfully cultivated. It is a business that no individual can undertake unless he is a man of very large means. At St. Louis, or vicinity, any one with means enough to plant one vine is sure of a market for his fruit at a fair price. In 1859 the Associa- tion paid from seven to ten cents a pound for Catawba grapes, and from seventy to one hundred cents a gallon for the juice. By this the poor vine- grower is encouraged, for he can immediately realize the value of his crop, instead of waiting to manufacture and ripen the wine. It was estimated that year that at least eight hundred acres were covered with vines in Mis- souri, within a radius of some eighty mile»south and west of St. Louis, and that the fruit was nearly all gathered by the first of October quite sound, Sec. 43.] CULTURE OF GRAPES FOR WINE. C65 and would yield from three to four hundred gallons of wine per acre in vine- yards that have received careful and judicious management. A letter says: " The Catawba is about the only grape grown in vineyards to any extent. Many experiments, however, are being made with other varieties by intel- ligent men, who are desirous of procuring a sort that will prove its superior. This, I think, will be found in the Delaware, and I look forward to the time when the Catawba, as a wine-grape, will give place to the Delaware on our hills of Missouri. It is now about fourteen years since William Glasgow, Jr., first planted a vineyard of Catawba grapes for wine-making, and it is from his example and success that a very great portion of the present favor toward vine-growing is attributable." "What a blessed thing it would be for a thousand other places if each had a AVilliam Glasgow to plant a vineyard and give the business a start, since there is scarcely a town in all the Middle States, south of latitude -tS de- grees, that might not have its vineyard as well as St. Louis ! Every warm, rocky hillside, now of little or no value to the owners, in Connecticut and eastern New York, might be made to yield " three or four hundred gallons of wine per acre." Every acre of Long Island that will grow scrrb-oaks, if planted in vines, would yield grapes as well as the lands of Missouri or Ohio. The native wild grape is gathered by the Germans by hundreds of bushels in Missouri, and a heavy, strong, dark wine is made therefrom, much esteemed by them, and used by the Wine-Growers' Company for making claret. 74L The German Vine-Growers of Missouri.— Ilermannn, the seat of the German vineyards, is about eighty miles from St. Louis. One who has vis- ited these vineyards thus pleasantly writes about them : " For miles away, on the side of the river where we were, there was a broken view of vine-topped hills, while the lower slopes were heavy Avith rich woods, and the valleys green with grain. There is something about a vine-growing country peculiarly suggestive of joy and gladness. We do not easily escape the old associations of Hebrew terms — ' the shoutings and singings in the vineyard.' " Most of the settlers, said Mr. E., were very prosperous, and their wine was coming into great demand. They covered the barren hilltops far in the interior with their vineyards. They lived a good deal by themselves, and had nothing to do with the slaveholding Americans, and he believed led a happier life than any other Germans in the Western country. The town had produced last year some 80,000 gallons of wine. "The good situations for vineyards cost from $1 to $5 an acre; those which are already improved, $15 or $20. It needs three or four years' prep- aration before a vineyard pays its cost. During this time the vine-grower can support himself by farming and other work. Still, to succeed, each new immigrant should have some $200 or $300 capital to build his wine- cellar and house, buy his cattle, and pay extra labor. After three or four 666 THE VINEYARD. [Chap. VII. years the vineyard will yield, on an average, from 250 to 300 gallons of wine to tlie acre ; a very favorable site has been known to produce 1,000 gallons, and 400 gallons was the lowest ^Mr. H.'s jilace had given. One man, with industry, can manage five acres. Tlie wine is worth from $1 25 to $1 35 per gallon, so that SiOO an acre is a common return. "The worst weather in Missouri is the sultry, moist heat of July — only a few sorts of grapes can survive this — but the frosts and storms of September and October, which destroy the vines or fruit in Germany, the American vineyards entirely escape. I asked Mr. R. wliat oifcct he considered this culture of the vine to have on the habits of his countrymen. lie tiiought that those living in this vine region were much more sober than tiie Ger- mans of the cities, and that the native wine was already driving out whisky and brandy from use among the Americans. He believed the making of cheap native wine ihe best of all means for checking intemperance witli the mass of the people, and he had already seen its eifects in this direction in Missouri. " Great care was needed in selecting sorts of vines. He had experimented with vines from California, from Spain, Italy, Hungary, and even from Palestine, and had at last settled on certain native sorts — the Norton Vir- ginia Seedling, the Isabella, and Catawba being the best. He and others had also worked out a number of new varieties, and some they had introduced. Of these the most valued are the Clara (white), Eabec (red), Cassady (very white), Rebecca, Emily, Diana, and Concord. "The wines made are less alcoholic than the Ohio Catawba, and resemble both burgundy and the common Rhine wine. Of the space in the State for this culture, he says, with Prof. Swallow, that ' there is more good vine land in ilissouri than in all France.' " 742. Prize for a New Wiuc Grape. — Nicholas Longworth, of Cincinnati, crffers a prize of $100 for the discovery of a new Fox grape, superior to the Catawba for wine. lie says : " I have for thirty years believed that a Fox grape might be found, among the thousand varieties which cover our land, that would prove superior to the Catawba for the purpose of making wine ; the Catawba, it is well known, belongs to the Fox family, and superior, also, to any wine grape in Europe on account of the fine aroma and flavor. Tiie only fault in the Catawba is its not possessing more of the aroma and flavor which belong to the Fox. The common Fox grajies have these ([ualities in a high degree, but they have a thick skin, a hard pulp, yield but little must, and are deficient in sugar and moisture. " I will give a silver goblet of the value of $100, or that sum of money if preferred, for grapes that will be superior to the Catawba for the purpose of wine — the decision of the question to be left to our Vine-Growers' Associa- tion. I will also be pleased to send the person who may furnish me with the best quality of grapes a box of pure, still Catawba wine, with all charges paid." PLATE XVTI. (P.igo GOV.) All that Ave Lave said of Plate XYI. we might repeat of tliis. It is one for careful study. It will give more information at one examination than we could convey in twenty pages of type. It is of the liighest importance tliat c'cry farmer should carefully study this plate, for here he will learn that in growing the staff of life, he has to contend with a host of enemies, and that he can not sit in peace under his own vine. Althougli we liavc devoted a chapter to the' vineyard, we have not found room to describe these pests of the vine-groves and destroyers of grain, excejjt in a few brief notes in Section XII., showing instead this more expensive, yet more valuable method of calling the reader's attention to this very im- portant study. We earnestly commend this plate to his careful consideration. m 1>'NK«'TS Ir.iruior.s Tii^'hkat. iML 1^ ^ \ ^ ^ t 1^ S?' ■^855» •4^ C il A V rv.l i'rcparalicn of ><> 111 l)urniii;j; a tort- tim prepartttion (>■' 668 CEREALIA. [Chap. VIH. garden is^rofitablc, and none who try it under proper circumstances will donbt that deep plowing in the field is so. The subsoil plow is a valuable implement on most soils, in deepening the tillage and giving sufficient room for the descent of tlie roots of jilants, and for the ascent of moisture in dry weather. Where no advantage has been t'ound from the operation of subsoiling, the cause may undoubtedly be traced to the want of proper preparation of the ground by draining. Numerous examples have been given to the public, showing the great utility of this implement. By its use the subsoil is loosened deeply, mixed with the top soil, and gradually brought to the surface, where, by changes from the air, snows, and frost, it becomes improved, and restores in some measure many fertilizing substances that have been lost on old lands. An American subsoil plow, which is fur superior to the English one, is the one generally known as "Mapes' Subsoil Lifter." Its form is tolerably M'ell represented by a sixth part of an orange-peel, pointed at each end and rising in the middle, where a thin, flat standard is attached that connects it with the beam. 74:4. FertilizatioD of Soil for Wheat. — Lime and salt arc the first two things to be thought of on an old farm — that is, upon a farm where it is said the land is worn out so that it will not produce wheat, but will produce clover. If five bushels of salt are dissolved in water to a point of saturation, and that water used to slake fifteen bushels of shell lime under cover, the mass left until it effloresces, and then applied to an aero of land thoroughly pulverized, we venture to insure a good crop of wheat. "We know whole farms, and many farms together, that liave been raised from almost entire barrenness to a point that produces good wheat and clover crops by the use of lime alone, spread at the rate of thirty bushels of air-slaked lime to the acre on the surface after the wheat is sown. In Virginia, between the Potomac and TJappahannock rivers, there are large tracts of sandy land that had become so poor it would not produce five bushels of r^'c per acre, and this land has been made to produce fifteen to twenty bushels of wheat, followed by a fine growth of clover, from an application of 200 lbs. per acre of Peruvian guano. In some cases, a bushel of jjlaster per acre, sown in the spring, lias benefited the wheat and been of the greatest importijncc to the clover crop. The use of guano as a fertil- izer of wheat has worked M-onders in several of the wheat-growing States south of New York. Lime, plaster, guano, bone-dust, superphosphate, ashes, salt, potash, may be all profitably used as fertilizers of the wheat crop. But after all, the great fertilizer must be clover. A most celebrated successful wheat-grower in this country is Gen. Ilar- man, of Genesee County. lie says: " We can take a wheat crop every third year and improve our land, if we feed oS the clover w-ith sheep. I always sow timothy in the fall and clover Seo. 44.] FERTILIZATION OF SOIL FOR WHEAT. 669 in the spring upon all wheat land, and so I do with all small grain. We tnrn under the clover sod in June wiih the Michigan plow, and then work it with a gang plow till first of September, and then sow Mediterranean seed by a drill machine. If the sowing is delayed till October, the fly will eat it all up, or, rather, that was the case. I have not lately seen the Hessian fly. The Golden Drop and Dayton wheat are much sown in my district. I tried spring wheat some years, but it does not pay for growing. There is a dif- ference of two weeks in wheat maturing from seed of the same district. I have sown forty sorts of wheat in one year froni all sections. The Virginia May wheat ripens earliest of any with me. All of the finest strawed wheat ripens earliest. I am not satisfied that seed from the South will ripen any earlier than the same sort grown here. I do not think there is any other crop that can be grown to so good advantage as wheat. I turn down clover for corn, first spreading manure; then I sow oats or barley, seeding again with clover and timothy, and that clover I plow under after mowing or pas- turing it one year, so that I get a wheat crop every third year. I do not plant all my wheat land to corn, as I have about fifty acres in wheat and ten acres in corn. I average thirty or forty bushels of wheat per acre. I do not believe that there is a gradual decrease in the productiveness of wheat land in this State, though the crop has decreased in consequence of the midge. The use of plaster on wheat tends to prevent its early ripening, yet I think one bushel of plaster and three bushels of ashes per acre will increase the crop four bushels per acre. Plaster sown broadcast will do more good than it will put on the hills of corn." Another successful wheat-grower in the same county, Lewes E. Ileston, says : " My farm is on limestone soil. I drill two bushels of seed wheat per acre, usually after peas, and harvest twenty -five bushels an acre. The straw I feed to sheep. I think it desirable for the farmers to increase the wheat culture, as we can graze sheep on clover, and feed them straw in winter. I sow one peck of timothy with the wheat, and six quarts of clover-seed per acre in the spring. I do not cut clover for hay, but pasture it and plow it in. The soil is almost inexhaustible. I once spread the earth from the bot- tom of a cellar, and the wheat grew so rank that it did not head well. I cultivate 160 acres, and 50 of it in wheat. It is a common practice to sow clover and timothy upon all wheat land." J. Jackson, of Butternut Kidge, Ohio, gives the following as his expe- rience in getting a good crop of wheat : " In 1857 I harvested a field of Mediterranean wheat that yielded 36'^ bushels to the acre ; the ground was jjrejjarcd in the following way: When it had lain in clover one year after a croj) of oats, it was plowed in the fore part of June, about eight inches deep, with one strong yoke of oxen, and harrowed three times. The third week in August I gave it a light dressing of yard manure, about twenty loads to the acre ; cross-plowed and sowed the last week in August. The soil is a clay loam." It is the opinion of many that land which has ceased to be remuneratively 670 CEREALIA. [Chap. VITI. productive Jn wheat would again bear good crops if the ground ■were put in a condition to allow the roots to penetrate deeply into it to search ont and absorb new materials of stalk growth. The plant requires the mineral sub- stances of the lower strata brought up and mixed with the vegetable sub- stances of the surface, producing a mutual decomposition which will be fa- cilitated by the growing of the root plants, and penetration of their roots through all its comminuted grains. The roots of a plant will penetrate a great distance in search of food and drink if the soil is made friable, hence the productiveness of rich land is due to its naturally friable condition, which allows the roots to penetrate, rather than to the richness of the sur- face-soil. Of the use of plaster on wheat, one writer says : "The fact seems to be well established that plaster has a much better effect on clover than on wheat, while superphosphate benefits turnips more than wheat. Liebig thought plaster drew ammonia from the atmo- 6i>lierc. To this there are two objections: first, it is very doubtful whether plaster will attract ammonia from the air ; and, second, if it does, an appli- cation of plaster ought to have the same effect as a dressing of sulphate of ammonia, but it has one just the reverse. Sulphate of ammonia improves wiicat much more than clover, while jilaster benefits clover, and has little, if any, effect on wheat in the majority of cases." Top-dressing wheat land with maniire well decomposed, or with a rich compost, will always much more than pay the cost upon all the old farms of the Eastern States. One farmer who has practiced it says : " On the part dressed with fine manure at the time of sowing, the seed grew a week earlier and produced double the crop of that on the land im- manured. It is true that the land that was top-dressed was higher and drier than the imniauured portion, but that onlj' aftccted the start. Top-dressing gives the young plants a good start iu the fall, enables them to withstand the winter better, and brings the crop i-apidly forward to maturity." Salt for wheat we consider as indispensable as it is for animals, and there are not many farmers who can be made to believe that their stock would not suffer without it ; and John Johnson, " the old Scotch farmer" near Geneva, N. Y., believes just as fully that his M'heat crop would suffer MMth- out salt. In the autumn of 1S5S he sowed five bushels per acre upon sixty acres of wheat, and we heard him say that lie believed every bushel of salt used produced an extra bushel of wheat. But this was only a small item in the account of profit. The great advantage was in hastening the ripen- ing several days, by which he escaped the ravages of the wheat midge, while his immediate neighbors suffered great losses. It is believed to be also one of the best preventives known for rust, as it certainly stiffens the straw and gives it more vigor. The proper application of salt is five to eight bushels per acre, sown broadcast immediately after the wheat is harrowed in. To prevent lodging, one writer recommends to sow several varieties together. Sko. 44.] SPRING WHEAT. 671 for the reason that some kinds bend less in storm, -which helps the weaker sorts to stand up, or get np after a storm, and a larger crop is gained. But we believe that any of the fertilizers that we have recommended, particularly salt, lime, potash, and bone-dust, will so strengthen the straw that it will not lodge. 745. Kaked Fallows for Whead — This old-style system of fertilizing land for wheat we hope to see give place to more enlightened views — such views as those of General Harman, detailed in a preceding paragraph. A clo- ver fallow is altogether preferable to a naked fallow. A few farmers who follow the old beaten path of precedent, who seldom take the trouble to think, still hold to naked fallows. An advocate of them, writing to us of anothei-'s practice, says : "He plows once in six years, and lets the land lie fallow one year, tliat it may have the full advantage of the summer sun and the winter frost." The full advantage of a want of thought! E.xpose land to the full ad- vantage of the summer sun! What for? What is the object? What is accomplished by the process ? The land is drenched and washed upon the naked furrows, and some of the lightest portion takes its course toward the ocean's depth, never to return, except in costly guano, seai-weed, or iish manures ; and it is baked and burned and dried in the sun, and its volatile properties set loose to float away upon the wings of the wind to enrich the growing crops of some farmer who never commits the great error of expos- ing his soil to waste in naked fallow. There is one kind of land that is benefited by exposing naked to the action of the frost — it is a stiff clay. But there is a better way to ameliorate that. It is by aerification through tile drains and the furrow of the subsoil plow. We doubt whether autumn plowing can be advocated, in itself, as a good system of farming. It is only a resort of necessity, to help along the M'ork of spring upon land not under- drained,, which remains too wet to plow without injury, long after the frost has left it loose enough. As a general rule, we do not believe that land in good tillable order was ever improved by a naked fallow. . If it is to be left one year without a productive or salable crop, how much more sensible to sow the fallow-plowing with any sort of grass or grain, even buckwheat, or with turnips, but far better with clover, and let the crop grow and fall down, shading, mulching, manuring, and really improving the soil. The man who practices in the manner quoted in the text of this item is spoken of as " a man of facts." What facts has he, or his biographer, or anybody else, to prove that naked fallows are more beneficial to lands than green fallows ? We should like to know. 746. Spring Wheat. — Spring wheat can be more profitably grown than winter wheat in some sections of the country, even where the winter variety can be grown. In some sections, winter wheat is so liable to kill out that it is an even chance whether a field sown will ever be reaped. Mr. Walworth, a wheat-grower of St. Lawrence County, thinks spring wheat exhausts the soil less than winter wheat. This opinion is entertained 672 CEREAUA. [Cbap. VIII. by a very large portion of the farmers iu that section of the State, also in all of the Xew England States. It is therefore t)f the highest importance to find out the most improved varieties, since there is a difference of full twenty- five per cent, in several kinds in common cultivation. Ambrose Stevens, of Genesee County, X. Y., speaks highly of a new wheat from New Mexico, that ripens earlier than Canada Club wheat, and almost entirely escaped the ravages of the midge that entirely destroyed the otiier sort in the same field. It is a red wheat, the berry flinty and pearl- like in character; the straw medium in size and strong, the heads well bearded, and the chafi" thick and tough. It was sown on the Tonawanda Creek, April 16, and kept back by the cold, wet spring, and harvested August 1, yielding from a light seeding seventeen bushels per acre. Mr. Stevens says : "Had it been more plentifully seeded, and Iiad the wire-worm not troubled it, it would probably have produced from tweuty-two to twenty- live bushels to the acre; and it makes whiter flour and bread than the Mediterranean wheat; and when grown, so as to allow of a fair comparison, has yielded better." In the summer of 1861 a new spring wheat, supposed to be the same as the above, was grown in the east part of Westchester County, X. Y., that would average thirty bushels per acre, ripening in July a long bearded head and plump grain. George Miller, a large farmer in Canada, sows spring wheat upon ground that grew a crop of turnips in the previous fall, for which it was well ma- nured, and he says : " I can get ten or fifteen bushels an acre more of spring thaif winter wheat. I got from seven bushels of seed, which I sowed at the rate of less than a bushel per acre, 393 bushels of grain. I put manure upon all green crops. I carry manure in winter upon turnip land, and put that in the turnip drills in June. I prefer to plow under my wheat seed." Hon. A. B. Dickenson, of Hornby, X. Y., docs not believe in spring wheat in the southern tier of counties of Xew York. He says: "I have known fifty-four bushels of winter wheat per acre iu this State — that can not be done with spring wheat." Mr. Bowen, Orleans County, says: " Some of my neighbors raised thirty -five bushels per acre of Mediter- ranean wheat. Some of tliem sow sixty acres. It is put in the last of August." IIow can a farmer spend a little time more profitably than in the ex- amination of the question of wheat-growing? Firet, whether by the use of pi-oper fertilizers he can grow wheat profitably; and second, which sort, winter or spring ; and third, wliieh of the many varieties is the best. 747. When to Sow Spring Wheat. — As a general rule, we have found that the earlier wheat can be sown in spring the better. If the ground is well plowed, and manured if necessary in the fall, we would advise pntiing in the seed with a drill, or cultivator, if you have no drill, just as soon as the Sec. 44.] QUANTITY OF SEED TO THE ACRE. 673 frost is out of tlie ground, and is dry ciioiigli {o work. And even if it is not very dry, the crop will probably be better than if deferred to a late period. "\Yc have seen spring wheat put in upon the prairie of Indiana and Illinois when it was so wet that a man walking over the land would sink almost over shoe at every step. This was in March. Eight alongside a piece was sown in May, when the soil was in excellent condition for working. That first sown was worth double that last sown. As a general rule, it is bad policy to work land while it is wet, but it is worse policy to wait a month after i': is time to sow spring wheat for the soil to become perfectly dry. The ouly safe way to grow sjiring wheat is to pre- pare for it in autumn. 748. H'hesi to Sow Winter Whcati — The time depends somewhat upon lati- tude, but the rule must be to give it a chance to grow and spread out into a complete mat of leaves, covering all the surface before the ground freezes. It is a great object to get a good strong root to the wheat plant in the fall of the year, as it sends up more shoots, and the heads are more likely to ripen carl^-. John Johnson says he would give a prize of $1,000 to any one who could tell him how to ripen his wheat ten days earlier than it does now. Even four days ahead of his neighbors is a great advantage, and saves him in a great measure from the ravages of the midge ; and this is one of the advantages that he has gained by the use of salt, lime, high manuring, and underdraiiiing his laud. His object is to have his M'heat in ear from the 5th to the lUth of June. The 0/iio Ciiltlvaior says : " Between the lOih and 1.5ih of September is the golden period for getting in wheat in Oliio and other States of the same character in soil, climate, and other agricultural condition. Peculiarities of season will vai'y this period ; as, for instance, we have known the best of crops raised from fields sown in August, and equally good from fields sown in October. It often happens that the midsummer drouth is at its hight in the early part of September, and grain put in at that time will not readily vegetate, or if sown shallow, will never vegetate at all." We indorse eyery recommendation to sow wheat early. If the ground is very dry, sow deep. In 1861 we grew a small piece of excellent, beardless, white wheat, which was sown in the last days of August on dry soil, plowed in. 749, How Much Seed to the Acre ? — "The quantity of seed to be sown to the acre is a matter of the very highest importance, and may be considered, first, with reference to the anticipated produce of a given quantity of land, and second, to the yield of the grain sown. There is no doubt but that by sowing thick a larger yield will be obtained than by sowing thin. East of the AUeghanies, on rich land, 2\ bushels yield 35 bushels to the acre, when two bushels will only yield 30 bushels. In Mississijipi, rich land, with 2i bushels sown, yield 44 bushels ; with two bushels, 40 bushels. In Vei;- 074 CEREALIA. [Chap. VIII. c'ziiula, 2i bushels will yield 44 bushels. In the cuvirons of Paris, 2^ bushels will only produce 25 bushels. In England, on the best soils, 34 bushels. In Loniliardy, on irrigated lands, 25 bushels." The following table shows the number of grains upon a square foot, yard, and acre at certain quantities : Grainspcr »q. foot. Groins per sq. yard . Grains per acre. 4 ... 31) 174,1:40— 1 peck »".'..'.'.'.'.'.'.'....'.'.'. 72 348,480—2 pecks. 12 108 522,726— 3 pecks. K; ■ . ...144 096,900— 1 bushel. 32 . .288 1,393,920-2 bushels. 48' . .' 4.32 2,090,880-3 bushels. C4 570 2,787,840— 4 bushels. 80 '. 720 3,428,800—5 bushels. " If any pei-son will mark upon a board or paper a square foot of S2>ace and then divide it into four equal squares, and place a grain of M'heat in the center of each square, he will liave not far frona one peck of seed to the acre. If he can place two in each square, he will have half a bushel, which, if every seed should vegetate, would give as many plants as the land could well mature, unless very rich. Eut divide the foot into sixteen squares, each of which contains nine sui)erficial inches, and place a grain in the center of eacli square, and it w;ll give one bushel of wheat to the acre. If any pe:- son will examine his winter wheat, he will find that if the plant have a vigorous growth, each seed fully stooled covers more space than it would find in the area of nine inches. Put two grains of oats to each square, and it will give two bushels to the acre. Make three to each square, and there will be three bushels of seed to the acre. " Place three grains of clover-seed upon each square inch, and it gives less than a bushel of seed to the acre." The experience of the farmers over the whole wheat region of the State, after nearly or quite forty years' experience, is that sixteen pounds of good clover-seed is a heavy seeding to the acre. A Chenango County farmer says, " he knows two bushels of seed wheat per acre are better than one, which his father taught him to sow." We know that it depends upon the soil, which this writer proves by saying that his fields yield 28 to 32 bushels per acre, where formerly they only gave I.t or 20 bushels from one sowed. That may he entirely owing to the increased maturing power of the fertilizers added to the land. The writer also says : " I raised in my garden, from one grain of seed, 3,275 grains of plump wheat in G4 heads, besides two heads given away, and 175 sliriink grains. The land was in high cultivation Avliere ashes, lime, and salt had been spread, and the seed was planted in August." What would have been the quantity of seed per acre required, and what the yield, if the same facts had been applied to field culture ? English wheat-growers seed heavier than Americans. On good wheat land two bushels, and on poor land two and a half bushels are recommended to be sown broadcast. If wheat is carefully drilled, we believe a bushel and a peck sufficient. Sec. 4-t.] WHEAT.— SEED PER ACRE.— DRILLING. 675 All wheat for seed should be washed thoroughly before sowing, to get every foul seed out, so that nothing but wheat grains will be sown. If brine or solution of copperas or several other salts are used, the smut disease will be cured. 750. Drilling Wheat.— The Hon. David Crocker, of Tompkins County, K Y., rocoinnicnds farmers who drill in their wheat to set the gauge so as to drop only half the quantity of seed that they desire to plant per acre, and after going over the field once, turn the other way and put in the other half, so that the plants will stand in checks instead of rows. lie puts in two bushels per acre, and thinks it jjroduces better from being so much more evenly planted over the whole surface, so that it more than pays for the extra labor. The heads of the drilled wheat stand up side by side, and nearly every one has six rows. The stalks of broadcast wheat are unequal in hight, and some have only four rows of grain in the head. One experiment showed a gain of nine bushels per acre in fiivor of drill- ing in the same field. An advocate of drilling wheat refers to the follow- ing Ohio farmers : " Mr. Sickman, Mr. ISTapp, Mr. Molan, and J. Shook, of "Wayne County ; Isaac Smoker, of Ashland County; Squire Ililderbrandt, an extensive farmer of Stark Count}' (who plants 200 acres of wheat annually) ; John Shaw, of Summit County ; H. C. Kingsbury, of Medina County ; John Fulton, of Ricliland County, can give the names of over a hundred farmers in Wayne, Stark, Medina, Ashland, and Richland counties, who urge all farmers, even those who only plant twelve acres of wheat, to buy drills, because at the very best they will warrant a yield of three bushels to the acre over that sown. " The seed is all deposited three and a half inches below the surface, in rows eight inches apart, at the rate of li bushels of seed to the acre, and is not as easily picked up by the fowls and pigeons. " Drilled wheat is not winter-killed as often as that sown broadcast, and being evenly deposited and well covered, it stands drouth better. The roots having a firmer liold in the ground, the stalks are not so liable to be thrown down ; and for the same reason, in seasons when the fly makes havoc in broadcast wheat, that drilled is but slightly injured." These facts prove that every man who annually plants ten acres of grain, Indian corn included, can well afford to keep a drilling machine, even if he did not, as he undoubtedly would, have many profitable jobs from his neigh- bors, who only put in three or four acres, and who would be sure to hire a drill, though they were too small farmers to buy one. As to the question of open or close drills, the following is to the point : Dr, Ilartstein, Director of the Agricultural Institute at Poppelsdorf, in Prussia, has demonstrated the futility of the idea that wheat grows better in drills so wide that it can be cultivated. Four years of experiments have shown that fields planted in rows four feet apart produce but four fifths as mucli grain as that sown in the ordinary way ; it weighs, however, about a 676 CEREALIA. [Chap. VIII. pound and a halt' more to the bushel, and produces but little more than half as much straw. 751. Seed Wheat— Selecting, Preparing, and Mixing Seed.— Next to the thor- ough preparation of the soil, the most important thing to secure a good crop, is proper selection and preparation of the seed, and then just such careful planting as is eflccted by a good drill. Too much care can not be given to the preparation of seed wheat ; the selection of variety, the growing of it, cleansing it, and then the time and manner of sowing it, as also the kind of soil, and the preparation of that soil. All the minutife connected with that seed materially afl'ects the crop. One man sorted some Chili seed carefully by hand, and sowed four kernels in a hill, and from one seed the product was nine hundred and twenty-seven. By another exjieriment with two seeds of Club wheat, the product was one hundred and thirty-two heads. One lot, planted in hills, required only eight pounds to the acre. Charles I>rackett, of Rochester, Fnlton County, Ind., says : " In July, 1856, I noticed some wheat in my field — one root — bearing some two thousand grains. I ]>lan!ed several rows of this seed in my gar- den, which yielded at the rate of two thousand one hundred and sixty grains to the single grain of seed. The rows were eighteen inches, two feet, and three feet apart, and at harvest the heads were as thick as they usually ap- pear in a field of sowed wheat, and were six and seven inches long, the smallest containing seventy-two grains, and the largest heads one hundred grains. The wheat stood about six feet high, and was not lodged or in- juriously aifected by the heaviest winds. The soil in my garden is a sandy loam, enriched by barn-yard manure, swamp muck, and ashes; the subsoil a mixture of sand and clay, colored by iron and underlaid by coarse sandy gravel. The surface soil to the red earth is from one to two feet deep." The following is the plan of an old farmer in selecting seed wheat : " He took his seed wheat on the barn floor, and threw a handful at a time across the barn, and none but the very nicest, plumpest kernels would reach the farther end of the floor : all the chess and foul stuft" would not go half way across." Samuel Ileirstern, of Chester County, Penn., says that he practiced mix- ing seed wheat sixteen years with the best results, and recommends that each farmer should cveiyyear exchange with another a part of his seed, and mix the two or nioi-e sorts together. An Ohio wheat-grower thinks it would be to the advantage of farmers to change their seed as often as once in three years, but that seed from milder climates— as Italy, for instance— is not beneficial. This is contrary to the opinion of some other farmci-s, who think seed from the South would ripen earlier and escape the midge. An Illinois wheat-grower states that his crop increased over three bushels per acre by changing seed. The eflfect, in our opinion, was not jjroduced so seo. u.] wheat— selecting and preparing seed. 677 much by a cli.inge of seed, the variety being the same, as from tlic fact tliat the seed ho obtained liad bcc^i better selected. It would require but little labor for a small quantity of seed, compared to the value it would produce, to go through the wheat-field selecting the choicest heads. The next best way is to select the very best portions of the field, and cut them especially for seed. Many years ago, when wheat- growing was more common in the Eastern States than it is now, a farmer became noted in iiis neighborhood for his superior variefy of wheat, wliich he caired " barrel wheat," and sold at a higli price to his neighbors for seed, before they discovered that it was identical with their own ; the only differ- ence was in the manner of saving the seed, by which it got its name. And this was it: lie selected the best sheaves from the field, and took them to his barn, and placed a barrel on its side upon the thrashing-floor, and took each sheaf separately and beat and whipped it over the barrel, by which the longest and best heads only were shelled, and the best grains saved for seed, and the process repeated year after year until lie got a '• new variety." If seed wheat is taken from the bulk, it should not be sown before it has been screened over and over, until there is not a grain of wheat or anything else that will pass through the sieve. In this way you may make a pretty good selection of the best portion of the wheat, and exclude all small, shriveled, diseased grains, and all seeds of chess and weeds, except cockle, which defies the arts of machinists. There is not one farmer in a hundred that does not kno^ and acknowledge the advantage of selecting seed corn by gathering the most perfect ears in the field. If he will practice selecting wheat seed, he will probably become a? fully convinced of its advantages. We believe that the wheat crop of the whole United States can be increased as much upon every farm as the Illi- nois farmer increased his. 752. PickliBg Seed Wheat. — ^The value of pickling seed wheat, as a prevent- ive of smut, is beyond doubt. It is a fixed fact. "Water saturated with connnon salt is esteemed suflicient by some. In Scotland, a common pickle is urine of Cattle or people, saturated with salt. Sulphate of copper, known by many as " blue-stone," used one pound to eight gallons of water, is highly recommended as a pickle for seed wheat. Sulphate of iron (copperas) is also highly recommended. In this pickle the wheat is thoroughly washed, and then dried by rolling it in dry, powdered lime, or ashes, or plaster (sulphate of lime), or dust. In putting the wheat in the pickle, let it be scattered in very thinly, so that any imperfect grains or light seeds of any kind may float and be skimmed ofi", if any such have escaped the screening process, which should be very perfect, so that none but the large, sound, heavy grains should go for seed. If there still remains, from some imperfection in the operation or incompleteness of the antidote, something that induces or produces some smut in the product of the immersed seed, what may be expected of that 678 CEREALIA. [Chap. VIII. ficiin seed taken right out of tlie heap as it comes from the thrashing-ma- chine iind winnowing mill ? 753. What Becomes of Seed Wheat?— 11 Does Not all Grow.— Cliarles Brack '.'tt writes as follows, July, 1S5S : '• I wish to present tlie following matter of vast importance in regard to tlio cultivation of wlicat. "I planted last autumn five rows of wheat, with spaces between different rows if three feet, two feet, and eighteen inches; this was kept clean with the hoe, and the product is as follows — Average number of stalks from each seed, 32 ; number of grains to the liead, 12 to 100. " Now, if wo count only thirty stalks from each grain of seed, and seventy- two grains in a liead, vrc get at the rate of over two thousand-fold, and three thousand two liundrcd, counting the highest yield. J>om the year 1845 to ISoo the average of wlieat in this and ]>arts of the adjoining counties, ac- cording to my record, was less than eight bushels to the acre, the very best being thirty-three bushels. "Tliirty stalks to the square foot will give 104,053,600 grains to the acre, which, allowing 89S,5C0 grains to the bushel, gives nearly 116 bushels to the acre. This estimate is a correct one, based upon actual facts, and, although it looks like a wild calculation, will prove so nearly correct as to help reform our present slovenly and extravagant mode of wheat culture. The quantity of seed rcquii-ed to plant an acre is only a trifle over five pounds, if put in as above described. "Suppose every seed of the bushel sown, per acre, grew and produced, as some wheat usually does, three stalks to the grain of seed, each bearing thiity grains, would not the acre }>roduce ninety bushels? But how much does it jiroduce ? Eight bushels and less on an average. "What becomes of seed wheat? is an interesting matter for investiga- tion." The following table shows an English calculation of the number of grains of wheat in a bushel, as well as several other seeds : Wheat 600,000 ; Bmkwheat 1.4W.000 Oats 672,000 Kcii clover .15,000.000 Barley 550,000 ! Wliite clover 40,2L'O.O(lO Kye 1 ,230,000 ! Sweet vernal grass 9,250,000 There is r.o doubt in our mind about the injury of wheat seed by fhrashiug- machincs, and consequently there is an inc.nlcnlable number of grains of wheat which will not vegetate. Careful experiments are needed to show the pur-centage of kiss uj>on machine-thrashed seed over that thrashed by the flail, to determine whether true economy Avould not dictate a change, and that all grain for seed should be thrashed by hand. According to the above calculation of 660,000 grains of wheat to the busliel, there would be 2,640,000 grains in four bushels, and if we assume all to vegetate, there would be one wheat plant to every 2| superficial inches, if that quantity is sown upon an acre, as there are in an aero 6,272,640 Euperiicial inches. A good strong wheat plant, upon good soil, with plenty Sso. 44.] WHEAT— WHAT BECOMES OF ALL THE SEED SOWN? 679 of room, will tiller ten-fold, and a field in proper condition should average that. Now let the advocates of thick seeding make their own estimate, and see how many plants they will have to the acre, and then go into the best field to be found, and see how many are actually growing upon each foot square, and compare the result with the number that four bushels of seed per acre should produce. In our opinion, a better preparation of the soil, a careful selection of perfect seed, and a careful planting of it, so that all would grow, and so that half a bushel would give better I'esults than four bushels, would show the best economy. Before, however, any certain rules can be adopted by American farmers, the actual number of seeds in a bushel mnst be ascertained, and very care- ful experiments made. In the New York State Agricultural Society Transactions for 1849 there are some experiments reported. It is stated that wheat sown in squares one and a half inches each way, taking nearly four bushels of seed per acre, gave a product of almost seventy bushels, while one fourth the amount of seed, in squares of three inches, gave fifty-one bushels ; and other trial plots, using two bushels of seed, and three fourths of a bushel, gave respectively products rating at sixty and at forty-five bushels per acre. English experi- ments give about the same result, pointing strongly to an even distribution of the seed over the ground on all clean soils. Under a perfect system of tillage — giving all the ground and all the strength of the soil to the one product of wheat — no doubt the rule would huld good, that the greater the number of perfect stems and heads per acre, (he greater the amount of grain produced. Weeding wheat, where needed, compensates for the loss of space in drill culture, and we are not without experiments showing thin seeding very i'avorably by the side of the more liberal supply, especially in cases of early sowing on rich or very carefully cultivated soils. These various discussions and experiments point at least to one fact for the guidance of the farmer — but one not very generally known and considered — • that rich, deep, thoroughly worked soils do not need as great an amount of seed as those of a less fertile character. A new kind of wheat, or cheat, was extensively advertised in the spring of 1861, under the name of '"Japan wheat," which the issuers of the ad- vertisement pretended will yield " three hundred bushels per acre." That story is too big. It is a big eflibrt to "raise the wind" at the farmer's ex- pense. It is rather more than every grain of four bushels of seed per acre would produce. 75-4. When should Grain be Cut ?— A most important question for every fanner. Careful observation and some little experience during twenty years' residence in a great wheat-growing country, have convinced the writer that it is fully ten per cent, profit to cut wheat before the grain is fully ripe. Com- mence cutting as soon as the earliest part of the crop has passed from the milky into the dough state. There is no necessity to let it lie to cure, if 630 CEREALIA. [Chap. Vin. cut while the straw is still partially green. Bind it up as fast as cut, and set the bundles in stocks, two and two leaning together in dozens or twen- ties, or any given number, so as to give an even count. Set in this way, the most unripe grain will cure and perfect itself. The advantages are: the grain is heavier, sweeter, and whiter; there is less loss of shattered grain ; the straw, where that is an object, is so much better feed as to make it worth while to cut early, even if there were a loss on the grain, which is not the case. For seed, the best portion of the field should be set apart and left to ma- ture until fully ripe, and then carefully cut by hand and very carefidly han- dled, because the very grains which should be saved for seed are the ones most easily shattered. Give those bundles a slight thrashing, and give the grain a thorough winnowing; screen out all but the most plump kernels, and sow those for your ne.xt crop, and you will succeed in improving both quality a!id product. In the 2d volume of British Husbandry, pp. 136, 137, it is said that grain should be reajjed, as a general rule, before the uppermost grain can be shaken out. But in this a mediutn course should be adopted, for although grain, if allowed to become too ripe, assumes a dull, husky hue in the sample, yet, if not ripened enough, it shrivels in the drying. Cadet de Vaux asserts that " grain reaped eight days before the usual time, has the berries larger, fuller, and finer, and better calculated to resist the attacks of the weevil. An equal quantity of the corn thus reaped, with corn reaped at maturity, gave more bread and of a better quality. The proper time for reaping is that when the grain, on being pressed between the fingers, has a doughy appearance, like a crumb of bi-ead just hot from the oven." Mr. C. Hovrard, in the Report on Select Farms, says : '* Wheat ought never to be allowed to remain uncut till it is fully ripe. By permitting it to stand until the straw has lost its succulency, gains nothing in plumpness or bulk of grain, and loses much in its color and fineness of skin, besides the risk of shelling, by high wind, or by its being cut under the influence of a burning sun. "When fully ripened by standing in the shocks, no dry hour should bo lost in getting it well secured." Loudon observes, that " in harvesting wheat, the best farmers, both in England and on the Continent, agree that it ought to be cut before it be- comes dead ripe. When this is the case the loss is considerable, both in the field and in the stack-yard; and the grain, according to Von Thaer, pro- duces an inferior flour." An experienced Pennsylvania farmer of our acquaiiituncc always cuts his oats while the straw is green. This he learned to do by accident, for it was contrary to the practice of his father and all his neighbors. His hay crop was short one year, aiul he determined to cut his oats green ; that is, a few days too soon, as he thought, losing the grain for the sake of the straw. For Sec. 44.] WHEAT— WHEN AND HOW HARVESTED. 681., seed, lie left a strip through the middle of tlie field, where the oats were best. Tlie grain of those cut was just in the dough and milky state, and he expected thej' Avould all shrivel up. Wliat was his surprise when he came to thrash, to find the early-cut straw yielding as much and as plump grain as that which stood till it was dead ripe, while the straw was in- comparably better — in fact, the stock ate it as readily as they would tim- othy hay. We have known many instances where early-cut grain was saved, while that left to ripen was lost. A farmer offered two samples of wheat, one cut on the 20th of July in a green state, when the crushed grain had the ap- pearance of thick dough ; the other, cut six days later in a ripe state, the cars drooping, and the grain firm and hard. Botli'samples remained in stack until the 17th of October, when the grain was thrashed, the grccn-cut portion was equally dry with the other, and the green-cut grain weiglied twenty-eight ounces per bushel more than that which was allowed to stand till it was quite ripe, and produced a better sample of flour with one twelfth less bran. 755. Shockiug Wheat in the Harvest-Field.— It will be often found to be good economy to take the sheaves from the bunches or dozens which have been set up two and two to cure, and put them in hand stacks, when they can not be got into a permanent stack soon enougli. The following is a good rule : Bring sufficient sheaves togetlier, say 100, and place them in a circle or ring of about fifteen feet in diameter, with the butts to the center. Set a good- sized sheaf in the center of the inclosed space on the ground, and lay down successive sheaves, elevating the heads at first by laying them across the first sheaf, and so on around this nucleus until a circular bottom is formed sufficient to receive the quantity of sheaves brought together — always taking care to keep the heads of the sheaves duly elevated until the stack is fin- ished. The bottom should be made of ample size, so as to permit the sheaves to have due space ; otherwise the center will be too high and cause the sheaves to tumble ofl", or the whole to assume a leaning position. It is better, therefore, to allow full size, and then to draw the stack to an apex rather suddenly in finishing. This is more especially necessary when the sheaves are large, for it is difficult otherwise to make the top sufficiently pointed. With the foregoing directions faithfully observed, a man with ordinary judgment may rapidly secure his wheat in the field against all ordinary weather for a month or more. 75G. Storing Grain in Stacks.— In England, where, for a certainty, there is no lack of means to build barns, and where the climate is quite as humid at harvest-time as it is here, there is a vast amount of grain put up in stacks, and it is contended that there is less loss upon the average of grain stacked than upon grain stored in barns. In this country there is an anxiety on the part of farmers to have barn room enough to store everything, and stacking 682 CEREALIA. [CnAP. VIII. is considered wasteful. And bo it is, as stacking is generally done, but it need not he so ; the fault is in the stackers, not in the system. In England, a fanner has a permanent stack-yard, with forms, or founda- tions upon which to build the stacks, and these are often made of stone pil- lars, capped with flat stones to prevent rats and mice from climbing up and getting into the grain. Here, some brush, old rails, poles, old straw, or a few loose stones may be placed under the grain or hay, though often the stacks are built right upon the ground, and we have seen a thickness of two feet of the bottom of stacks frozen together so firmly that the hay or grain could not be got at until after a thaw, and then only in a very poor condition. The tops arc frequently built equally faulty, and wc once had a stack where the lazy k>ut who built it clung to the pole and pressed the hay down around it to such a degree that water settled in the cavity and penetrated down tlirough the center to the very foundation. Sometimes wheat-stacks arc so faultily built that the butts of bundles on the outside are higher than the tops, serving as conductors of water to the center; and such stacks by hun- dreds may be seen upon the prairies coated with green during a warm Sep- tember rain. . With so many evidences of wastefulness in stacking, it is not to be wondered at that American farmers arc prejudiced against the system, and only adopt that plan of storing grain when compelled by necessity. Some of the remarks about stacking hay (835) will apply equally well to grain. So well satisfied are English farmers about the economy of storing grain in stacks, that we sec of late, in all the English agricultural papers, advertisements of iron stack bottoms — iron frames, supported by iron pil- lars, about a foot and a half high. 757. Thrashiug-Macllines vs. Flails. — Because wheat must be cut by ma- chines, farmers arc apt to apply the same idea to thrashing. The rule will not always hold good. Upon the great prairie farms of the West the grain must be thrashed by machines, because the work must be done in the open air, and it is like hay-making, it must be done ■while the sun shines, and therefore is usually done by a ponderous machine, driven by the power of four, six, or eight horses, attended by eight to twelve men ; that is, one to feed the sheaves into the thrasher, one to cut the bands and ]ilace the sheaves on the table convenient to the feeder, and one to three, according to the situation of the stack, to get the sheaves to the baud cutter ; and three to six men to take away the straw and grain, and one to drive, and a stout boy to do a score of nameless things. It is a heavy and always dreaded job to have the thrashing-machine about the place, and when we grew wheat on the prairie the actual cost of thrashing was 12 to 15 cents a bushel. The straw was of no value, and was often burnt after the thrashing was done to get it out of the way. We once took the trouble to pile up the straw of fifty acres, thinking it might be useful in just such a hard winter as the one that preceded the harvest, for our own or some other one's stock, but it was not needed, and the stack stood until it gradually decayed several years after- Sec. 44.] VHEAT— STACKING AND TURASHING. 683 ward. Ill such pl.ices, wliere straw and cliafF are worthless for cat;le feed, it will be good econoni}' to thrash with a machine and get rid of the sfraw in the easiest manner, which will be by hauling it away from the machine with a horse-rake. But where straw is valuable, either for feeding or bed ding, on the farm or in market, we think it good economy to thrash with a flail or with a one-horse machine in the barn from day to day, as the straw is needed. Upon this point we give the testimony of a very practical, ob- serving farmer, one who knows whereof he speaks— the Hon. Geo. Geddes, of Fairmount, Onondaga County, N. Y., who has most successfully con- ducted the farm that his father managed, and which liis son is now con- ducting without deterioration in its productiveness. He writes under date of March, 1S58, as follows : "I will give you some of the reasons that make me think that the flail is better than the large thrashing-machines for most of the farmers of central New Yoik, cJTcept in those cases that require the grain to be thrashed soon after it is harvested. The ordinary price for thrashing wheat with the travel- ing machines here is five cents per bushel, the owner of the machine having with it two men and four horses that the farmer must feed. The fanner must provide six more horses, and from five to eight men — say an average of seven. All the expenses will bring up the cost of thrashing to ten cents a bushel. I have paid that for thrashing a large crop. Wheat is the only crop that makes so good a comparison for the machine, for ten cents is just a fair price for flailing out wheat in the winter, the thrasher binding up the long straw, and feeding the sliort straw daring the day to the sheep and cattle. '• Barley can be thrashed v/ith a flail for three cents less than by machine. Oats about the same, and yet there are cases where we use machines. Last autumn we could sell our wheat for $1 50, and our barley for $1, so we hired a machine and piit the crop into market, well knowing tliat the prices must fall before winter. "We appeared to save about half a dollar on each bushel, but tiiere is some drawback on that calculation. Our men being thrown out of this thrashing in the winter, we liave had to look up work for them that we really did not want to do, and we have lost our straw nearly, as the heavy rains of October and November could not be kept from going down through the stacks and injuring them very much. Though our sheep have had a vast amount of good hay, they are not in as good order as usual at this time of the year. Most of the farmers in Onondaga raise grain, make some butter and cheese, raise a few cattle, horses, and sheep, and intend, during the winter, to make their stock eat and trample under foot the straw of their grain, so as to get it into shape to manure tiieir fields. The plan of thrashing it during the winter, either by flails, or stamping it out with horses on wide floors, or thrashing with a very small machine, that two horses and three or four men can handle, has this advantage, that all the short straw is fed from day to day as it is thrashed, and thus nearly every grain saved in some way. The farmer will find it to his profit to keep 684: CEREALIA. [Oiulp. VIU. this winter work for his men, wlio he can not do without in summer, and l>y doing tliis he can raise a few sheep, calves, and a colt or two, without losing money on thcni. "Tlirashing is the only winter employment the farm can give hirelings, and in this view, thrashing, in fact, costs but little, for the money paid to these men during the winter enables us to employ them in the summer at reasonable prices. The result to them is constant employment ; to us, econ- omy in the first cost of thrashing. " Machines do not thrash cleaner than flails. I have had a great deal to io with machines, but I never saw one at my barns, or my neighbors', that did not leave grain enough iu the straw to make the stacks green with sprouicd grain as soon as the rain wet them. A good flail-thrashcr will leave but little, and that little the sheep know how to find. And oats and barley arc, when thus fed to stock, worth tlieir usual market price, and wheat more than half. " If you find it necessary to employ machines, have a sufficient number of able-bodied men to assist. Persons inclined to diseases of the throat and lungs should not labor in the dust created by the thrashing-machine. A moistened sponge, tied over the nostrils to prevent the entrance of dust, should always be used by those most exposed." 758. Cleaning Grain for Market.— Tlie practice of sending wheat to mark3t in a very badly cleaned condition is injurious to the farmer's interest. In 1S59 the Chicago Board of Trade reported that some samples of rejected wheat, returned from Xew York, show that the grain was an originally good, fair quality of spring wheat, and in about the condition of Chicago spring wheat generally, but so badly cleaned that it had got damp and musty and unfit for use, emitting a sour, disagreeable odor. Another lot, considered standard, that passed inspection because dry, perhaps, was found to contain oats, barley, kernels of yellow corn, and plenty of dirt. The berry of this was so good that, if it had been properly cleaned, it would have passed as extra, and fully equal to a kind known as Milwaukee Club, which sold in Iscw York at ninety cents, while the Chicago wheat brought but eighty-two to eighty-four cents. Xow, what is fact in this case is fact in others arising from the same basis, and no farmer can aflbrd to be such a sloven. He can not put twelve per cent, of dirt iu among the grain, which ho mu*t do to make up the difference iu price. But great as the fault is on the part of farmers, it is greater on the part of those who buy the grain of the pro- ducers, for they pay just as much for dirty as clean wheat, or if they find a load too dirly to pass without notice, they deduct from the ]u-ice paid the producer, and then mix good and bad altogether, and it sometimes happens that a farmer who has shipped wheat on his own account, that he had taken extra jiains to clean, only gets the average price of the whole cargo, his honesty being taxed for the benefit of the cheater; with many the cheat in intentional — for dirt and cheaper grains have been purposely mixed in with wheat, because it would then bring just as much a bushel as the cleanest. SEa 44.] THE PRODUCT OF WHEAT PER ACRE. 685 Tliis may be tlie case at first, but in the end, as in the case mentioned, the loss comes back upon the farmer, and unfortunately all suffer alike, for the value of tlie whole crop is reduced. The only remedy that we can suggest is for every man who does honestly clean his grain to set his face against all such cheating. Refuse to sell to a man mean enough to buy dirty wheat because he can mix it with yours that is clean, and so average it ; and refuse all countenance to a neighbor who puuposely sells such grain. 759. The Product of Wheat per Acre. — What is the average product of wheat per acre in any State, or in any given district, is a question very dif- ficult to settle, because the poor crops are never reported, nor is such a year as that of 1S40 in the great wheat district tributary to Chicago, when the entire crop was blasted with rust, ever averaged upon the most fruitful years. There is generally, too, a disposition to estimate good fields too high. The following method of making an estimate of the 3'ield per acre of a growing crop of wheat, yjq, oats, or barley has been found correct in En- gland, and seems easy of application and approximately correct: Frame together four light sticks, measuring exactly a foot square inside, and witii this in hand, walk into the field and select a spot of fair average yield, and lower the frame squarely over as many heads as it will inclose, and carefully shell out the heads thus inclosed, and weigh the grain. It is fair to presume that the product will be 4 j^j j part of an acre's produce. To prove it, go through the field and make ten or twenty similar calcula- tions, and estimate by the mean of the whole number of results ; it will cer- tainly enable a farmer to make a closer calculation of what his field will produce than he can by guessing. A year or two since a statement was published in the American Fanner, at Baltimore, from M. T. Goldsborough, of Ellenl)oro, Md., that a field of 271 acres, carefully measured on the farm of his father, yielded 55 bushels of wheat to the acre, and nine of the best acres each yielded Gli bushels. The field had been subject to a rotation of corn, wheat, and clover for a number of years, and repeatedly manured with barn-yard manure, swamp muck, woods'-mold, marl or lime, and especially with large quantities of cal- careous manure obtained from the Indian oyster-shell banks. It was plowed six inches deep but once, and harrowed and rolled till the earth was loose,' and not a clod could be seen. The seed was drilled in with a nine-inch drill on the 4th, Gth, and 7th of October. For 18i acres, only 28 bushels of seed were used of white wheat from North Carolina. The straw averaged five feet six inches in hight, but many specimens six feet four inches long were found. S. P. Mason, of Walnut Creek, N. Y., tolls us how he grew wheat at the rate of SO bushels per acre from California seed. He inclosed with boards an exact rod of dry, gravelly soil, and spaded it 18 inches deep, mixing in well-rotted clayey turf, sifted, to the amount of a cart-load, and a peck of salt, half a bushel of ashes, and one pound of guano; then markcij the bed into squares of three inches, and planted, Sept. 10, one grain in a hole two 686 CEREALIA. [CnAr. VIII. indict deep in the center of each square, using nine grains to cacli foot, wliicli lie thinks is too thick. It came up in eiglit days, and ]>y Dec. 1 it was a ])erfect mat, so tiuit tlie ground was liidden. On this he sifted throe ]>ecks of charcoal dust, and when the snow melted off in March, the wheat M-as very green. It was watered a little in a dry time, and harvested July 10, after the birds had taken a share, and dried, and the grain weighed 29i pounds, or nearly 80 bushels per acre. That the yield can be increased we have abundant evidence. One writer on wheat culture says : " If the season is backward, we may hasten the germination of our seeds by watering with a weak solution of chlorine, iodine, bromine, sulphate of iron, dilute sulphuric acid, or nitric acid, and the compounds of ammonia, and afterward, by the proper application of suitable manures, we may con- tinue the development of all parts of the plant during the entire period of its .'irowih, and thus increase to an amazing extent the return of seed. " I once sowed two and a half bushels of wheat on a Avell-prepared acre of sandy loam ground, and it yielded me 1,G00 lbs. of grain and 3,000 lbs. of straw. On an acre of rich, stiff soil, abounding in organic matter and calcareous earth, thoroughly manured, on a pea crop, the same quantity of seed yielded 2,000 lbs. of grain and 4,000 lbs. of straw. "The grain was placed in dilute sulphate of soda for two hours before it was sown, destroying the germs of parasites." 7G0. The Ability of America to Produce Wheat.— Those who believe in the inexhaustibility of American virgin soil to produce wheat will do well to read the statistical lacts in the following article prepared after the great crop of 1860 began to come into market. Our belief is, that under our 2:)resc:it system the great wheat-producing regions of all the Atlantic States are gradually becoming less productive, and will in time be reduced to the condition of the New England States, where wheat is only grown upon favuritc Sfjots highly fertilized, and only in small plats for family use. In this view of the case, it becomes a serious question what is to be done to maintain our ability to grow wheat. "In 1790 the United States exported 1,018,339 bushels of wheat. In 1820 the export had sunk to 25,821 bushels. In 1830 it rose to 408,910 bushels; in 1840 to 858,585 bushels; and in 1850 to 1,026,725 bushels; or only 8,386 more than sixty years previously. These extraordinary vibra- tions in the export arc measurably governed by the shortness or abundance of the crop ; but the fact has long been noticed that our wheat-producing power is rapidly declining. In fifty years this great staple of Ohio has diminished from an average yield of 30 bushels per acre to less than 15. In eleven counties of that State, Avhich in 1850 yielded 7,531,757 bushels, there were but 4,413,207 produced in 1857, though in the interval many thou^auds of acres of new land must have been broken up and sowed with wheat. Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware have ceased producing largely, while in New England the diminution is almost incredible. In 1840 Rliode Sec. 44.] TUE ABILITY OF AMEEICA TO PRODUCE WHEAT. C8T Island produced 3,098 bushels, but ten years later only 49. "Within the same period Connecticut fell from 87,000 bushels to 42,000 ; Maine, from 848,000 to 296,000 ; Massachusetts, from 158,000 to 31,000 ; New Hamp- shire, from 432,000 to 186,000 ; Vermont alone maintaining her ground by yielding 535,956 bushels in 1850 against 495,800 in 1840. In the same pe- riod Tennessee fell from 4,569,692 to 1,619,386 bushels; Kentucky, from 4,803,152 to 2,142,822; Georgia, from 1,801,830 to 1,088,534; and Ala- bama, from 838,520 to 294,044. The whole wheat crop of the Union in 1840 was 88,513,270 bushels, while in 1850 it had risen only to 100,585,844 bushels, an increase of only 12,072,544 in ten years, of which increase, Illi- nois, Indiana, and Wisconsin supplied every bushel — showing conclusively that all the old wheat regions were rapidly deteriorating. "Within the same period only nine of the fifteen slave States increased their crops, Avhile the falling off in the whole fifteen was 2,200,316 bushels. " In New York the increase in 1850 was not ten per cent, over 1840. Many portions of the State, which once produced 25 bushels per acre, now barely average five. An English traveler iu 1775 was amazed at finding that the land around Albany yielded 30 to 40 bushels per acre witli the most imperfect husbandry, while in England their best managed land did not yield half so much. Yet in 1845 the average of the same Albany region had sunk to 7^ bushels per acre. In Dutchess County it had dwindled to five ; iu Columbia to six ; in Rensselaer to eight, and in "Westchester to seven. In some portions of Maryland and Virginia, wheat is no longer cul- tivated on land which forty years ago produced abundant crops. Ohio it- self, the second on the list of wheat-producing States, is rapidly losing ground. In Canada, the yield is so steadily diminishing that within a pe- riod of seventeen years it fell from 22,981,244 to 942,835 bushels, a diifer- cnce of over 22,000,000. "It is evident that the relative production of food to increase of popula- tion is annually diminishing, notwithstanding the ojDening up of virgin soils to the plow. As these are opened, others are abandoned from exhaustion. "Without these virgin soils to fiee to, the failure of a single wheat crop would occasion a national scarcity. Actual famine can never occur in this country, because in its enormous corn crop it will ever hold a granarj' almost large enough to feed the world. The boast has been tliat we could feed the world with wheat, but nothing could be wider of the truth. In the single month of October, one year, we shipped $6,000,000 of grain and flour to England, but in the same month of the preceding year we sent none. Such are ilie uncertainties of dependence on a market abroad, instead of upon one a" iiome. The crop of 1848, amounting to 126,000,000 bushels, is held to he an average one. "We then had 22,000,000 inhabitants, giving within a frac- tion of 5i bushels to each. But England consumes 166,000,000 bushels an- nually, or six bushels each. "We send her wheat whenever she needs it, Imt we spare it only because we have corn to fall back upon. If it were not lor this peculiar product of our climate, all the wheat we raise would be insufli- 688 CEREALIA. [Chap. VIIL cieiit for our own wants. Our average export is 12,000,000 bushek. Our 2)opulation doubles in about twenty years, yet tlic relative diminution of tlie wheat crop is so great that, unless our mode of agriculture is improved and the ratio per acre increased, the export will entirely cease, and we shall not ]iroduce enough for ourselves. The census of 1870 will prol)ably establish this fact. " The gravest reasons exist for such an opinion. The prevalent belief that this whole continent is adapted to wheat-growing is a great misapprehen- sion. Our wild lands are not all wheat land. On the contrary, the true, relialde wheat region of ihis country is ascertained to be lin)ited to ten de- grees of latitude and twenty of longitude, covering about half t*e States. Beyond these limits wheat is certainly produced, but it is almost exclusively sjiring wheat, an inferior article, giving less yield and always selling lower. As New England lies outside of this belt, it can never be a wheat ])roducing region. Vermont alone increased her product in the last decade, the in- ci'case being only 40,000 bushels, and this in the face of legislative pre- miums held fortli to stimulate its cultivation. Formerly she was a large wheat-expurting State ; )iow she does not export a busiiel, but inipm-ts more than half of all the flour she consumes. Manufacturing has euperscded agriculture, because more profitable, and the consumer having placed him- self beside the ])roducer, both are prospering. New England soil, when first broken up, produces good M'hcat, but exhaustive cropping has dimin- ished its productiveness ; everywhere, ui fiict, a virgin soil will wear out. The lands south of North Carolina have never been and never can bo re- liable for wheat. In only four States south of this line has there been an increase in the last ten years, and that of only 150,000 bushels. In the ex- treme South the diminution has been enormous. The gain in Delaware and Maryland exceeded more than half the loss of the whole fifteen slave States. Florida, Louisiana, and Texas produced in 1850 only 43,373 bushels. " Spring wheat is raised so readily on prairie soil that it is no wonder the yield of Illinois rose from 2,335,393 bushels in 1810 to 9,414,575 in 1850, and Wisconsin in the same period from 212,110 to 4,286,231. But the popular opinion that this region is to be the permanent granary of the Union may well be doubted. It will undoubtedly go on increasing its annual product :is new prairies arc broken up, until the whole has been subjected to tillage ; but while Uie new lands are yielding liberally, those first tilled Mill be wearing out more rapidly than those of the Atlantic States. "On the great American plains, extending to the Eocky J[ountains, i)er- petual barrenness rests. Thence to the Pacific is a wilderness in which Indians alone can dwell, because it produces game only. Nearly all Sonora is sterile, and most of New Jrexico. No wheat can be grown over all this vast region, unless it be in a small portion of western Texas, and the nar- row belt along the Pacific. Ohio is the real AVestern boundary of the wheat-producing region. As a general rule, in those sections where no Sec. 44.] "^THEAT-GEOWING I>f DIFFKICENT STATES. 689 heavy snows occur to protect the winter grain, wheat can not be raised to profit, and spring wheat must be the substitute. It is even doubted by close observers whether winter wheat has ever been grown to profit unless covered by a blanket of snow. This region embraces Ohio, the southern por- tions of Michigan and New York, all Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware. It is proved by the census returns that the product of those States in 1850 was 48,385,000 bushels, or 2,000,000 less than half of the whole national harvest. Geological research points to the large mixture of clay in all these soils as being indispensable to continuous production of wheat, and infers its absence from the AVestern prairies as foreshadowing their early abandon- ment as wheat fields. Ohio, with a clay loam, produces 16j bushels to each inhabitant, while Indiana, with a richer soil, produces only S\ bushels ; and Illinois, with a soil still richer, yields only seven bushels to each in- habitant. " While the ratio per acre has thus been steadily diminishing during half a century, British agriculture has been revolutionized the other way. Here we have been skinning the land to exhaustion, and like the wasteful cotton- grower, pulling up and moving off to newer land that needed no labor for manuring. There they have swept the battle fields of Europe for the bones of friend and foe, brought them at great expense to their own shores, and ground them up to fertilize their lands. Ships are often loaded at New York and Philadelphia with bones for English wheat fields that ought to have been retained for use at home. They have expended an imtold sum for guano. More underdrains have been laid in England than in all the world besides. Fertilizers innumerable are consumed in immense quanti- ties. Roots have become a staple of the kingdom, feeding more cattle than ever, and producing manure in abundance. Under this renovating system the land is so enriched, that in England the average yield of wheat is 36 Inisliels per acre, while crops of 83 bushels have been raised. Yet she has never been able to raise food enough for her vast manufacturing population. A failure in her grain crop aflects the exchanges of the world. In France the same calamity produces revolution. We are now helping to feed both nations, though England is our largest customer. Yet England is the greatest exporting country known. What we sell to her in flour and grain we buy back in cloth and iron, which we should manufacture ourselves, thus building up communities of consumers on this instead of on the other side of the ocean." 761. Wheat-Growing in Different States. — California soil is undoubtedly the most productive of wheat of any in America, or the world, unless it may be Australia. The following item from a California paper shows what that State is capable of producing, and our comments will show the fertilizer used : " The Indian Agent at Fresno, in charge of the Peservation there, reports that the yield of 300 acres of wheat on the Reservation will probably amount to 30,000 bushels ; that is, 100 bushels per acre." As we know that farming upon these reservations is generally performed 690 CEREALIA. [Chap. VUI. by Indian laborers, there can be nothing in the mode of cultivation to account for the yield, and we are naturally led to inquire what is in the soil to aftbrd such a production so much above anything we are accustomed to on this side of tiie continent. Neither can we look upon this as an isolated case, for such a production is not new in California. Now what is in the soil that makes it so productive? Nothing, probably, that is not in any good wlieat soil of the Atlantic States. Then what is the fertilizer applied to make it so productive? That (piustioii we can readily answer. Although in this account it is not stated, yet we think, from our knowledge of what has been applied in other cases, where great yields were the result, and the only thing that we ever heard of being a])plied, we know that wc are safe in saying that the only fertilizer applied was water — water from an irrigating ditch, led through the field and spread out in a net-work of little channels upon the surface, moist- ening all the roots just when most needing it. And need it they surely do where there is no rain. Here, to make irrigation advantageous as it is there, we must connect it with nnderdraining. And then in the same parallel of latitude, say in Virginia, North Carolina, or Georgia, upon some of tlie first- rate wheat soils abounding in these States, who can say that one hundred bushels of wheat per acre will not yet be grown? Illinois wheat-growing does not appear to be very profitable by the fol- lowing tables made up l>y these wheat-growers. " Making a calculation on thirty acres of wheat, and estimating the crop at twenty bushels per acre — a high rate, including the whole State — and setting down the cost of seed and labor at what we farmers paid last year, the result is as follows : 37 J bushels seed wheat, at $1 $37 50 | Feeding 4 horses 2 days, at 25o. per head $2 00 Plowing thirty acres 37 50 Sowing wheat, one hand tlireo days, at $1 per day 3 00 Harrowing twice, G days with teams, at $2 50 15 00 llolling ground in spring, 2 days 5 00 Cutting with reaper, 75c. per acre 22 50 7 binders, at $1 50 per day 21 00 3 shockers, at $1 50 per day 9 00 Boarding 12 hands, 72 meals, at 20 cents per meal 14 40 Total $425 00 " Some may object to my estimate of the cost of thrashing ; but six cents per bushel is what was cliargcd last fall in this section, the owner providing everything, and double that amount when he provided nothing. Thus we see that the cost of producing was very nearly seventy-one cents per bushel." Another one says : " I consider it cost me last year to raise twenty-four acres of wheat as follows : Hauling, two teams and hands, at $2 50 three days 15 00 2 hands stacking, 3 days, at $1 per day. . U 00 Thrashing at 12 cents per bushel 72 00 Hauling from G to 9 miles, at G cents per bushel "0 00 Interest on 30 acres of Land, $3 per acre. 90 00 Interest on horses, wagons, harness, plow, etc 40 00 Plowing land at $1 50 per acre $36 00 Seed, IJ bushels per acre, at $1 25 per bushel 52 50 Sowing and harrowing at 75 cents per acre 18 00 Harvesting at $1 50 per acre 86 00 Hauling and stacking at 50 cents per acre 12 00 Thrashing COO bushels, at 6 cents per bushel 33 00 Hands, two teams, board, etc., while thrashing $25 00 Hauling to market at 5 cents per bushel . 33 00 Kent for land at $3 per acre 72 00 Total cost $317 50 Value of wheat at 50 cents per bushel . . S30 00 Gain on 24 acres of wheat $12 60 Sec. 44.] WHEAT-GROWING IN DIFFERENT STATES. 691 " The first year I broke twenty acres, and here is what Thrashing 660 bushels, at 5 cents per bushel $33 00 Hands, teams, and board 12 GO Hauling to market at 3 cents per bushel 19 80 Total cost $350 80 Value of wheat at 80 cents per bushel . 628 00 Another man says : it cost me : Fencing 160 rods SI 60 00 Breaking at $2 50 per acre.-. 50 00 Seeding, 1 1 bushels per acre, at 80 cents per bushel 24 00 Sowing and harrowing at 60 cents per acre 12 00 Harvesting at $1 50 per acre 30 00 Hauling and staclviug at 50 cents per acre 10 00 "My gain was $177 20 ; or $8 86 per acre." A Wisconsin wheat-grower sums up tlie account of wheat-growing, which is very fair on paper, and very good in fact, every time it does not fail : " I take one hundred and twenty acres, and fence eighty with rails ten and a lialf feet long, got from the land. I used mortised posts, ten feet apart, making a fence with three rails, the lowest two and a half feet from the ground, making a strong fence against large stock ; stone handily got from a ravine and blulf near, to underpin at leisure. " The esthnate is for debt and credit, as follows : WHEAT CEOP TO SUNDRIES, DR. , VIZ. : To 1 20 acres of raw land, at S5 To two months of man breaking, at $14; board $10 S88 To use of team, plow, etc., for same 75 — To two months of man making and hauling rails, at S12 24 To board SIO ; use of team, $10. . . 20— To two months making fence, at $12, $24 ; board $ 0 To 120 bushels seed wheat, at 80 cents (present value of such wheat for St. Louis market) To harrowing and sowing 80 acres, at 60c. (large estimate) To harvesting and shocking 40 acres, at $1 ...$40 By 120 acres improved farm, at $10 $1,200 $G00 To harvesting and shocking 40 acres, at SI 50 60 To stacking 80 acres, at 40 cents. ... 32 To board of harvest hands 20 — To thrashing-shed and fanning-mill . . . To four months' thrashing, at $12 ; board $20 (Use of team, etc.. largely paid for by straw thrown daily to stock.) To one month man marketing, $12 ; board, $5 ; teams $40 — To miscellanenous and personal ser- vices $152 50 Total. CONTRA, CR. I To 2,000 bushels wheat Dr. (52 cents per bushel) 1,120 To fanning mills, etc., on hand. 50 — 1,250 | " The wheat used and parceled out wonld much more than meet the item for personal services, etc. Again, raw land in the neighborhood will not readily sell at $5, while improved would readily bring over $10. My object has been to figure so as to make the wheat cost something. The real profits of the operation were fully $1,600." AVill farmers please make a note of this fact. If yw; want to grow smut, sow it. If you prefer to have clean wheat, sow nothing but clean wheat for seed. Michigan is a good wheat State in favorable seasons. L. G. Hunt, of Kalamazoo County, Mich., gives the following as first crops upon newly-cleared woodland. On ten acres, cleared and bui-ned off in the spring of 1855, and plowed ten inches deep, one half yielded fifty bushels per acre of Dent corn, and the other half twenty-five bushels per acre of eight-rowed yellow corn and three loads of pumpkins. Sowed to wheat in 692 CEREALIA. [Chap. Vm. October, the yield next harvest was eighteen bushels per acre. In 1856, another ten acres yielded fifty bushels per acre of Dent corn, with the large trees girdled and left standing, and was sowed to wheat in September among the standing com. In 1S5S, another ten acres, entirely cleared, gave forty bushels per acre of Dent corn, and now has a growing crop of wlie.it sowed among the standing corn. He attributes his success to deep i)lowing, as by deep garden culture he has secured good crops of all sorts of vegetables. Minnesota has just began to develop its capacities as a wheat-growing State. Hon. W. C. Dodge, in a letter to the author, in 1S61, speaks of an im- proved variety of spring Avheat grown in that State. He says of this wheat, that "from two bushels sown on one and three fourth acres of land, there were produced, gathered, and tlirashed eighty buiiliels. Tiiis would make an average yield of forty-five and five seventh bushels per acre, which is the more remarkable from the small quantity sown per acre — being only about half the usual quantity. It was grown by Messrs. Starr & Gay- lord, of Lake City, "Wabasha County, Minn., on prairie land, on which corn had been raised the previous season, and without manure of any kind. It was sown April 2d, and harvested July 15. Mr. Geo. Hendrickson, residing in Rose township, Ramsey County, near St. Paul, sowed the following kinds, with the results as appended : Namber acres. Total yieki. TieM per acre. Kind of Wheat acres, rods. busb. biuh. White Wheat 5 33 162.\ 31 l-o Scotch Club 3 47 153j 46J Rio Grande 17J 572} 34 Canada Club 7} 217 28 "Average yield of whole crop, 33 bushels per acre. Of barley, 11^ acres produced 500 bushels, averaging 45 per acre. Of oats, Si acres produced 450 ; average, 53 bushels per acre. " Mr. Middaugh, of Red Wing, raised a crop of wheat of sixty bushels per acre, of sixty pounds per bushel, of sound, white, plump grains." Ohio shows, by the assessors' returns, that 1,695,412 acres of wheat were grown in that State in 185S. The product given is 17,655,483 bushels, showing an average of 10| bushels per acre. It was estimated that the crop of 1859, in Ohio, covered 2,000,000 acres, and that the average would be 15 bushels per acre. Tlie Ohio Farmer says that from 1840 to 1S50, though the number of acres of wheat grown in Ohio largely increased, the number of bushels de- creased 2,084,310, which it attributed to bad farming. "We do not know about that. "We are inclined to think tlie cause is owing to destruction by insects, and perhaps to tlie natural deterioration of the soil in its ability to produce tliis important portion of the stafi" of life. It is true that liigh farming might correct the loss, but while all the AVest is open to settlement and cultivation of new lands, high farming does not appear to pay. Do the Ohio farmers, who perceive that the productiveness of their laud Sec. 44.] WHEAT-GROWING IN" DIFFERENT STATES. 693 for wheat is failing, always sow it upon a clover lea, wliich proves so ad- vantageous everywhere else? The falling off in production is so great, that something for a substitute has already been talked of. C. W. Carpenter, of Mount Gilead, O., speak, very highly of a kind of spring barley from Italy as a substitute for wheat. He says : "It weighs over 60 lbs. to the bushel, has no husk like the common bar- ley, but is smooth like wheat ; it must be sown very early in the spring, and I think it is as certain and will yield as well as oats — certainly better than rye or wheat ; it has always been sown very thin on the ground in order to increase it as fast as possible. It makes as white, nice flour, and bread as white and light as wheat. It can not be distinguished from wheat bread, onl}' it is sweeter and more palatable. It is certainly the best substitute for wheat known." Pennsylvania feels the difiiculty of " something wanting in the soil" to grow wheat. In a letter from Joel Sneedley, dated Fulton, Lancaster County, Pa., 8mo. 9, 1858, he says: " I have for several years past been troubled with my wheat failing before maturity. I have been induced to believe there is something wanting in the soil to impart strength to the stalks. The system that I have pursued for several years is to manure the corn ground in the spring with clover chaff, having a clover mill ; this method almost invariably produces good corn. The next spring I sow the stalk ground with oats and clover seed. The oats fre- quently fall before ripe ; the clover is left standing the next season, and either mowed or pastured ; if the latter, the ground is manured from the barn- yard, and after harvest is plowed and sowed with wheat ; the wheat stubble is again slightly manured from the barn-yard, plowed and sowed again with wheat and timothy seed, with the view of setting it with grass. My fields have all been hoed over twice, and some of them three times, within twenty years. If a practical remedy for the evil referred to can be sug- gested, a very important benefit will be conferred on a large portion of the farmers of this section of country, who have suffered in a similar way with myself." It has been suggested that the use of a roller would be highly beneficial in such cases as this. Tlie rolling should be done as soon as the frost leaves the ground. In England, wheat that is not rolled is apt to fall down. It is first dragged by a large bush, and then rolled. One case is reported where the portion of a field that was rolled produced 16 bushels more wheat per acre than the portion not rolled. As a remedy for weak straw, we should recommend lime, salt, potash, and drilling in the seed. A farm in Chester County, Pa., of 224 acres, owned by Wellington Hick- man, which for ten years has averaged 75 or 80 bushels of corn per acre, gave an average of 30 bushels of wheat upon 14 acres in 1850. The follow- ing is the statement of the entire products of the farm for that year, which has 200 acres in meadow, pasture, and plow-land : 694 CEUEALIA. [Chap. VIII. 14 acres of wheat produced 420 bushels, at $1 40 $588 17 •' oats •' 1,200 " 83 390 IG •' c-oru '• 'JtiO " 00 576 Market value of grain crops on 47 acres Sl,560 42 acres of hay produced 75 tons, at 8 10 750 THE STOCK. 30 lioiiii of cattle, l)Ought at an average cost of $40 per head, sold for 877 each ; profit on the thirty, at $37 1,110 72 ewes, l)ought at S2 50, sold with their 92 lambs at 84 25 ; profit on a total of 1G4 sheep and lambs 602 Gross product of farm valued at $4,022 Of course tliis statement is larger than the actual net return of the farm, as the hay, and probably much of the grain, are counted a second time in the profit on the live-stock consuming them. But tiiat does not lessen the value of these figures for purjioses of comparison. It Nvill be perceived that the wheat averaged 30 bushels per acre, and tlie oats a fraction over TO bushels; and that tlie money return Avas $i2 per acre for wheat, $23 29 for oats, and $36 for corn, or an average of $33 19 per acre for tlie 47 acres in the three grains, whicli is not by any means an unpleasant result to reach. ]\Ir. Hickman considers tliat pasturing the land -with sheep before breaking up for corn, and then putting a little salt in the hill, together constitute an ahnost sure protection against the cut-worm. 702. Red and White Wheatt — Tliough the white varieties maintain a supe- rior price over the red, both in our own and foreign markets, yet red wlicats are hardier, grow on poorer soils, and withstand the attacks of mildew, rust, and insects better than the white varieties, and are cultivated Avitli most profit. Red wlieat that is partly transparent, hard, and flinty, is best suited to the city baker, afiording what is called strong flour, that rises boldly with yeast into a spongy dough, and contains the largest projwrtion of gluten. For bread of the first quality the flour should be fine as well as strong, and therefore a mixture of the two conditions of wheat is best suited for making the best quality of bread. " Generally speaking, the lightest colored white wheats indicate most opacity, and of course yield the finest flour, and red wheats are mostly flintj', and therefore j'ield the strongest flour ; for a translucent red wheat will yield stronger flour than a translucent white wheat, and yet a red wheat never realizes so high a price in ihc market as white, because it contains a larger proportion of refuse in g.iniling." 703. The Price of Mhcat for Sixly ¥cars.- The following tabic exhibits the market price of wheat at Albany, a' New Year's, from 1793 to ISol. It is from the minutes kept at the offico of the Van Rensselaer Manor, at Albany, where large ainomits of rent arf ]iayable in wheat, or a cash equiv- alent, on the Ist of January each year; and as two parties are deeply inter- ested in the price, it is probably the nm^t reliably correct of any record that can be obtained. There is quite a lesson in these figures — look at them : Sec. 44.] HOW WHEAT IS STORED AND HANDLED. 695 1793 50 75 17a4 1 00 1790 1 37i 1791). 17U7.. 17ii8,, 179!)., ISOO., IHCiT'. l!r^02., ISO:? . , 1S04., 2 00 1 50 1 -25 1 18| 1 56i 1 31i 1 00 1 12i 1 25" 1805.... 180G.... 1807.... 1808.... 1809.... 1810. . . . 1811.... 1812.... 1813.... 1814.... 1815.... 1816... 1853. 1817. 1818. 1819. 1820. 1821. 1822. 1823. 1824. 1825. 1826. 1827. 1828. ..31 1 .$2 25 , . 1 87J ,. 1 75^ . 1 00 .. 77 . . 1 12i , . 1 25' ,. 1 25 .. 1 00 , . 87i , . 1 00 . . 1 00 I 1854... 1829. 1830. 1831. 1832. 1833. 1834. 1835. 1836. 1837. 1838. 1839. 1840. ...$1 75 ... 1 00 ... 1 25 . . 1 25 ... 1 25 ... 1 00 ... 1 00 ... 1 50 ... 2 25 ... 1 62J ... 1 75^ ... 1 m .SI 75. 1841. 1842. 1843. 1844. 1845. 1840. 1847. 1848. 1849. 1850. 1851. 1852. 00 25 87i 00' 931 18| 12i 3li 18| 18} m 00 You will notice that only six times in all these years wheat has been $2 or upward per bushel, while it was seventeen times at $1 or under — once at scveiity-tive cents. Only once in thirty-seven years — that is, since 1S17, to wit, in 1837 — has it exceeded $2. The average price for the whole period is $1 38. For the last thirty years it is $1 25. The price of wheat at Chicago since liiat began to be a wheat market, say about 1840, has ranged from 40 to 90 cents as a general thing. The amount stored there in 1860 was almost beyond belief, considering the young age of the country and the town as a wheat market. 7G4:. How Wheat is Stored aad liandled. — AVithout dispute the city of Buf- falo is the greatest grain market upon the American continent. Here on a little creek, a convenient harbor for Indian canoes, just where Lake Erie contracts into the Niagara Elver, a trading post was located, out of which, iu half a century, has grown a beautiful city. From accurate information, we are assured that the quantity of grain passing through Buffalo, including that iu the flour, equaled thirty millions of bushels in one year. The lower part of the city is cut up with canals almost as much as Venice, which unite with the waters of the creek on a level with the lake. The creek is the harbor for all the lake vessels as well as for a fleet of canal boats, and is entirely too narrow for the great commerce centering here, and would be entirely inadequate but for the little tug-boats that j^ull the others here and there, so as to prevent an inextricable tangle. Along the north bank of the creek are located the warehouses and count- ing-rooms of the flour and grain merchants, and with one exception the steam elevators, by which all the corn, wheat, oats, etc., coming over the lake in bidk is lifted from the hold of the vessel and carried to the high- est loft of the warehouse, and thence spouted down to separate bins upon either floor, and thence into canal boats. One of the largest of these ele- vator warehouses is on the south side of the creek, having a slip under the center long enough to hold and load three canal boats at the same time, with a slip outside for a large vessel. This house can take in 57,000 bushels of grain a day, and deliver 65,000 ; it can store 400,000 bushels. There are eleven of these elevators on the creek, which are, altogethei', capable of lifting 25,000 bushels of corn an hour ; there is storage room for 1,600,000 bu.ihcls. 696 CEREALIA. [Cdap. VIII. The charge for taking a load of grain out of a vessel and delivering it in a canal boat is half a cent a bushel — one half to the vessel and one half to the boat. If the grain is stored, the charge is one fourth cent a bushel for ten days. The grain is accurately weighed as it is taken up, and that is the measure by which it is l)Ought and sold. And all this work is done by four men — that is, 50,000 bushels of grain arc taken up and accurately measured and delivered to the boats that take it away, or lodged in store in one day by four men, independent of the shovelers who throw the corn in the ves- sel's hold up to tlie buckets that carry it up as fast as twenty men can shovel it forward. The leg, as it is termed, that contains the elevating buckets, is lowered down when the vessel conies alongside, into the hold, and when the grain is exhausted from that end, the leg is lifted up and the vessel moved forward so as to receive it in anotlier hatchway. It is for the protection of these elevators that we see those square towers on the main houses. If the owner of corn requires it, he can at the same time it is elevated have it screened and the weight made good for one cent a bushel. AVhcat is screened at the same price, but the owner takes the screenings and sutlers Lis own loss. "When a merchant desires to sell a cargo of grain, he takes a samjile in a small box under his arm and goes to the Corn Exchange, wliere there is a general congregation of all parties at twelve o'clock each daj'. If the sale is made, the buyer receives the warehouse receipt and becomes the owner of the grain specified, which he may sell again or remove at his pleasure. A fluctuation of a cent or two a bushel often changes owners of immense quan- tities of grain in the space of a single hour, and it is no remarkable tiling to see a hundred thousand bushels started from the warehouse eastward iu a single day. IIow could all this grain be handled without steam machinery, is the natural question of every one observing the magnitiulo of the grain trade at this immense granary of the world. The New York Central Kail- road Company have a very large freight-house on the dock, and an elevator by which they can take the grain from the vessel's hold up into tlieir store- house and then spout it down and load a whole train of cars in less time than one car could be loaded by liand. In Chicago, Buffalo, and Oswego immense quantities of grain are all measured and handled by steam-power machinery. At Oswego there are eight elevators along the creek, five of which are double ; that is, two sets of elevating buckets to each building. Elevators are also to be seen at many other lake towns, and wherever they are known it would be considered the very hight of fully to persist in measuring grain in a half bushel. 765. Preserving Wheat iu Bius. — In sections where the weevil is tronble- Bome, it is the practice of some farmers to store wheat after it is thrashed, in the chaff. It is also stored that way on some prairie farms, where tight bins can not be provided to hold it after it is cleaned. The practice of putting stones or bricks in the center of a bin is good to absorb moisture, and prevent mustiness. The best way to prevent weevil Sec. 44.] SMTJT— ITS CHARACTER CONSIDERED. 697 from destroying -wheat that we liave ever seen tested, is the one detailed bulo\r. Mr. II. Barber, of Juueau, Wisconsin, is also well satisfied that it is a preventive of smut. Mr. Barber says : " Wiien I tlirasli my grain I sprinkle in dry slaked lime with it in the bin. The lime absorbs the moisture, and when the grain is wanted for use, the fanning-mill blows out all the lime, ^^liis method I have practiced for years, and my seed I take from grain tlius treated, and I never have any smut in my wheat." 76G. Smat— ils Character fonslden'd. — " "What is smut ? atul, What causes it '^ and. What will jn-event it?"' are interesting and important questions. Some years ago, these questions were pretty thoroughly discussed here and in France. M. Philippar, professor of agriculture in the JYormal School of Agricidtuiv, Versailles, France, asserts that smut is a parasite plant, belong- ing to the mushroom tribe of the genus Uredo. M. Poiteaii declares that it is a local disease, contagious by touch, and not a parasite plant. M. Tillet and Tezzien, M. Benedict Provost and M. de Candolle, have written much upon this subject, and have all expressed their opinion that it is a parasitical plant, of the mushroom kind, and argue in the main and more essential points with M. Philippar. " A parasitical plant is one that derives its aliment from that on which it grows. Afimgus, a parasitical plant or production of a cellular texture, having no flowers, and deriving its nutriment from the atmosphere, and nourished also from the stalk, stem, or spawn. Its propagation is efiected by means of small and very curious seeds, sj)ores, or sjMrules, inclosed in skinny integuments, called sjwridia, or spore cases. Animal and vegetable substances in a state of incipient decay are those which most generally pro- duce fungi, but those of the simplest organization frequently locate on tis- sues. Of this class we may enumerate common mold as being the most fan;iliar and best known. Of this, however, there are two types — the first of which, when examined by a microscope, is found to exhibit jointed threads, and to consist of a cellular structure, the small cavities or cells being arranged end to end, apparently independent of each other, and capable, under certain contingencies, of reproduction. The second type presents the aspect of a thread-like structure, the spores being elevated on the tops of the threads, or processes, and sometimes very thin and minute capsules or cases, which explode, and thus cause the dispersion and dissemination of the seed. "When smut was first declared to be a plant, the labors of the micro- scope, applied to botany, wei'e very imperfect ; matters were declared to be vrcdos, erinees, and erysiphes, which have since been discovered to be insects' nests, or tissidar maladies to which the plant was subject. Hence it followed that, as microscopic botany became better known, these pre- tended plants gradually disappeared from succeeding editions of botanical works. Now these plants have been generally classed in the category as the smut ; and as these have been proved to be not of the mushroom race, so may smut also. 698 CEREALIA [Chap. VIII. " A most remarkable thing is, that if the thick oil which is distilled from smut by holding it over a hot fire, is placed in contact with sound grain, nearly one third of the ear will be aflected by smut." M. Poiteau maintains tliat this is altogether inexplicable, unless smut be contagious by touch. After fairly considering all these scientific arguments, we are of the opin- ion that farmers should use all nieaps within their power to kill the seeds of smut, 60 as not to grow it from seed of their own sowing. 767. Cbloi'oform for lusccts iu Wheat. — "A commission was appointed by the French government at Algiers to inquire into the means of protecting stored grain from the ravages of insects. The commission state, as the result of their experiments, that thirty grains of chloroform, or sulphuret of car- bon, put into the interior of a grain-pit, hermetically closed, are sufiicient to destroy every insect iu a metrical quintal (220 lbs.) of corn in four or five days. Or seventy-five grains of sulphuret of carbon, suitably divided amidst the grain, will do it iu twenty-four hours. Chloroform operates rather more slowly. The sulphuret, in a still larger quantity, succeeds on grain laid in a Iieap and covered with an impermeable tarpaulin. A committee of the Academy of Sciences is to give its judgment upon the process." If, as a German writer says, there arc thirty thousand difi'erent insects that prey upon wheat, we think it will be a hard fight, even with all the aids of science, ever to get entirely rid of the pests ; but we must keep up the fight, and use all the preventives within our reach. One farmer says : " I have learned, or think I have, that wheat sown early, say in July, in soil properly enriched, will not suffer from the fl}-." Then he will not need to buy chloroform. 708. Wheat Ueaviiig Out — a Preventive. — The disposition to heave out dur- ing freezing and thawing that is natural to some land, can be cured as cer- tainly as corn can be grown by the labor of plowing and hoeing. All that is needed to prevent the soil from so doing is to drain it of surplus water. Land that is saturated with water M-iU heave out and destroy winter grain ; and sometimes the difliculty is so great that timothj' grass will not endure more than two winters. Thorough draining is the only remedy, and that is a certain one. Where the land is not drained, and the danger is great in the spring of the year of losing the crop by repeated freezing and thawing, we recommend rolling the land. If you have no roller, use a stone boat, or bbmt-toothed drug, or a heavy bush, or turn a large flock of sheep on the wheat, and drive them about until they have trampled the ground thoroughly. The object is to compact the earth, and press back into the soil those roots which have been hove out by the frost. 7G9. Rye— its fuUivation and Yield.— All that we have said about tne cultivation of wheat is about equally applicable to rye, which, though usu- ally sown upon poorer soil than wheat, with much less care in its cultivation, will always pay for extra care in its extra productiveness. The following account of a great rye crop is given by a correspondent in Seo. 44.] RYE— ITS CULTIVATION AND YIELD. 699 July, 18G1, and is commended to the attention of those who doiiht about a crop of rye being profitable. We grant it is not, wiiere the straw is of no value, and where three bushels of grain per acre is all that can be made. 'In July, 1859," says the writer, "I had land in grass that gave a ver3' light crop. It was plowed as the grass was taken from it. About the mid- dle of September it was again plowed, and subsoiled, manured, harrowed, and sowed with one bushel of rye to the acre. Grass seed was also put upon it. In July it was harvested, and in February thrashed by hand. The pro- duct was ninety-one busliels of rye from two acres and twelve rods of ground. The straw weighed 9,400 pounds." As this crop was made near K^ew York, where the straw sells as high as timothy liay, it must be set down as a profitable one. Anotlier farmer says : " With regard to rye, I usually sow 2i bushels, and find it will thrive in nearly all soils, and in many that will not grow wheat at all ; the return of grain is nearly the same average as that of wheat. From an acre of land producing 25 bushels, 5i pounds to the bushel, there would be reaped 1,360 pounds of grain and 4,100 pounds of straw. " On land of the same quality, where I only sowed 1| bushels to the acre, my yield of grain was 1,000 pounds and 3,000 pounds of straw." Every farmer should sow an acre of rye for pasturing sheep in autumn, when all other herbage is dried up or consumed. By this means the flock will be strong by the commencement of winter, and able to withstand the rigors of that season. In spring this rye will afford the earliest and best soil- ing for horses or cattle, and will furnish provender for nearly a month before clover is fit to cut. Rye is grown as a common crop in all the New England States, and often upon land that once produced a good crop of wheat. It is about the last efibrt of some of the worn-out lands of Virginia, and produces from three pecks sown, three bushels of rye upon an acre. When they will no longer produce that, they are given up to old-field-pines and sedge gras.s — both worthless products. li^'e is generally considered an exhausting crop, but we do not know wliy, utdess because it is a crop in a very exhaustive system, or rotation, that will exhaust any laud ever cultivated, which is less fertile than the delta of the Mississippi. Such a system as corn upon a shallow-plowed field, with a little shovelful of manure in each hill, followed by oats sown upon the corn stubble, after splitting the hills with a single furrow, and this oat crop fol- lowed with rye, fertilized with nothing but the oat stubble and weeds, and that with buckwheat, and then corn again, unless, perchance, oats intervene to save the trouble of the volunteer buckwheat in the corn ; and so on for a series of years, until the land can not produce more than three busliels an acre of rye, and then we hear that "rye is an unprofitable crop." So it is, and so have been all the crops ever grown by farmers who thus destroyed the natural fertility of their farms. 700 CEREALIA. [Chap. VnL Although rye, as a general thing, may not be as profitable a crop as wheat, ■we are satisfied that it will give a handsome profit upon land that can not be profitably cultivated in wheat, if it is treated with a fair dressing of proper fertilizing substance, such as either of the following : that is, bone dust, at the rate of 10 or 15 bushels per acre ; Peruvian guano, at the rate of 250 to 300 Ihs. ; superphosphate at the rate of 400 to 600 lbs. "Wood ashes, 30 bushels per acre ; or stable manure, 10 to 20 cords per acre ; or a cvmpost of muck and manure, 30 one-horse cart-loads, with 10 bushels of salt in it to an acre, all of them applied as a top dressing. But to make this treatment profitable, clover and timothy must be sown with the rye, and that must be dressed with lime, or plaster, or both. Remember that rye is not a profitable crop on barren soil — it is profitable on good soil, where the straw, as it does near New York, sells for as much as the grain. 770. Oat-Growing FarmerSi — ^Tliose who usually devote their main atten- tion to the oat crop are seldom very energetic in draining, composting, and manuring — seldom go to any great expense to improve their breeds of stock, or provide for their comfort and thrift in winter. A dairy farmer gives the following account of his oat crop for the year : " Sowed about two and a half bushels per acre, on six acres of sandy loam, without manure, except one acre, which had about a dozen loads of horse manure after potatoes. This acre yielded about double any other acre in the field of six acres. " The yield was two hundred and sixty bushels, or forty-three and one third bushels per acre ; was the third crop of oats in succession, a kind of farming he can not commend. It requires either rest or manure to bring the land into grass, or the profitable production of any other crop, after being so exhausted." Oats are generally sown in the most hap-hazard sort of a way of any grain in this country. One man writes : "I take less pains in preparing land for oats than any other grain ; it does well as a first crop on newly-broken land, and succeeds best on a soil not much pulverized, sown after a single plowing as early in April as possible." This " less pains," is too true of many. The old fashion in Kew England was to split the corn-hills with a small plow and sow the oats, about one third of the seed falling upon fresh earth, and the other upon the hard surface, or in pools of water, or on the hard roots of the corn stubble. Tiie seed was then very lightly plowed in, and perhaps seeded with grass or clover, under a bush drag. If the butt-stalks of the corn were not cut away when the corn was harvested in autumn, they were frequently cut and bunied in the spring. And such land was expected to bring a crop of grain that requires and pays for manure as well as any crop planted, except, perhaps, Indian corn. "We are not even certain that that docs. We are certain that oats should always be sown upon land properly dressed with some sort of fertilizer. 771. Quautitj of Seed per Acre.— The quantity usually sown varies from Sec. 44.] A GOOD CEOP OF OATS, AND HOW TO MAKE ONE. 701 one to two bushels in this country, though a few reading farmers have learned that it is profitable to sow more seed. In England, the common oats arc sown at the rate of six bushels per acre, and potato oats at the rate of five bushels, and one man will sow sixteen acres a day. One American farmer publishes the following statement : " I sow from three to six bushels to the acre, according to the size and weight of the grain. If potato oats are sown, two bushels will always be ample, because it has no awns, consequently there is a greater number of grains in a bushel, and it litters better than any other oat. On medium soils, three biishels will be requisite, and on upland soils six will not be found too much. If an acre produce 2,260 pounds of oats, there will be 3,000 pounds of straw. This can not always be calculated upon, because there is no grain grown that yields so variable a quantity of straw as the oat. I esteem it very highly as fodder ; and it furnishes a large proportion of my winter feed for stock. Its chief enemy is the wire-worm ; and if you find the ground impregnated with the larvas, defer plowing until May, when you will bury them so deep that the oats will grow beyond their reach before they can come to the sur- face of the ground." Another one says : " Two of my neighbors had each one acre of land, which they wished to seed down with oats. Their farms join, and the soil was the same, and treated alike, except that one neighbor sowed one bushel per acre, and measured up forty, of as handsome oats as I ever saw, as tlie result. The other man sowed three and one half bushels per acre, and measured up but thirty-three bushels. But he had a much larger quantity of straw. If these results were to decide the question, I should think that where the largest quantity of fodder was the most of an object, the heavy seeding would be the best. The man who has practiced seeding with but one bushel per acre, has received nearly the like results for the past two years." 772. When to Sow Oats. — As a general rule, there is no time to sow oats 60 good as just as soon as the frost is out of the ground, so that plowing can be done ; and if the land is not naturally dry, or has been underdramed, so as to plow very early in the spring, it should be plowed in autumn with a Michigan plow, aud tlien it can be harrowed or scarified with a cultivator, and sown and lightly dragged. And it is even better to sow without any stirring of the soil previously, if it is very soft, rather than to wait for a good time. The year 1S58 will be long remembered as one of unusual wet- ness in the spring, and one of failure of the oat crop. Yet in every instance where the seed was put into the ground early, where it had been previously prepared, or where it had been underdraiued, tlie crop was good, both in straw and berry. 773. What is a good Crop of Oats, and how to Make One ?— In tlie spring of 1860, wishing to sow a little patch of oats for soiling, if they sliould be needed, we proceeded as follows. Tire ground was corn stubble, it waa 702 CEREALIA. [Chap. VIII. very poor, and six hundred )>ounds of superphosphate to the acre had been applied in 1859. It was plowed in autumn, and the next spring plowed with a subsoil plow for the first operation. This new way of plowing attracted some attention. Several passers-by stopped to look and wonder, and say pooh ! After it was thus plowed, it received a moderate dressing, com- posed of barn-yard manure, well-rotted, and hair and spent lime, from a glue manufactory, and old ditch bank stuff, to which was added a small per-eentagc of the bulk of printer's roller composition, and about half a bushel of salt to a cord of manure. It was piled in autumn, and over- hauled once in the winter, and was not quite ripe when a portion of it was spread upon the oat ground. After harrowing over the manure, to break the lumps and mix it with the soil, three bushels of common black seed oats were sown, and plowed in with a light plow, and again harrowed. This was done about the 12th of April, and the season that followed was not favorable to the growth of a good crop. It was altogether too dry for the growing plants to get the full benefit of the manure; but they grew, and I soon began to hear that " Eobinson had the best piece of oats in the country." I wished every day that tlie piece had been large, as well as the oats. My neiglibors were sadly disappointed, I believe, that the crop did not all fall down before it was ripe, but it did not — only part of it, and that part on the new ground — which is, say, two fifths of the whole. The great drouth in July prevented the plants from attaining as large a growth as they would, particularly on the old ground, which is part of a piece noted for its poverty. A fair average sample of the growth upon the corn-ground was about four feet and a half long. Some of it on the new ground was full a foot higher, and stout in proportion. Intending to feed the crop without tbrasliing, I had it cut pretty green — that is, as soon as the most of the straw turned yel- low. That on the corn-stubble part, and a portion of the other, was bound up into very stout, double-banded sheaves, which were, when well seasoned, quite as heavy as I cared to pitch u])on a pretty warm day. Of these sheaves we had thirty-one dozen, and the heads were well loaded with plump grain. The other part was mowed and cured like hay, and pitched up into cocks, so that we could estimate it as though in sheaves, which we did, at full twenty dozen. I think it was more, as it made two snug ox-cart loads, and more than two thirds the bulk and apparent weight of the other part. Then there was, besides, a little load of rakings. I will call the whole fifty-two dozen stout, double-banded sheaves, which, if thrashed, would surely yield a bushel to the dozen ; and this was a good crop for land badly worn, upon a piece of ground of the following dimensions: the first side is loG feet; the one opposite to it, 183 feet; the two other sides, one is IGS feet, and the oj^po- site 213 feet. The supei-ficial contents, if I calculate rightly, are 32,290 feet. The superficial contents of an acre are 43,500 feet. Three fourths of an acre, then, contains 32,670 feet, so that my patch of oats lack 380 superficial feet of surface of being three quarters of an acre ; and farmers hereabouts con- sider it a pretty good crop, and I want to know Avhether it is not worth Sec. 44.] RUSTY OATS. 703 tlieir while to think about manuring oat-ground? And also think about plowing oat-ground with a good-sized subsoil plow? And what do they tliink about plowing in the seed ? And finally, what about sowing four bushels of seed per acre, and harvesting sixteen-fold ? It is a matter which will do to think about. We have no doubt that it would be quite as profitable to apply manure to oats as to corn, and that there is no need of exhausting land with oats. To prove this, and also to prove that my neighbors were in eri-or when they told me that wheat could not be profitably grown in this neighbor- hood, and not at all upon oat stubble, and that grass and clover seed " would not catch," I plowed under the oat stubble, running a subsoil plow in every furrow, and gave the land another light dressing of manure, which was afterward plowed in with a light plow, and sowed wheat at the rate of three bushels per acre upon the rough furrows and harrowed in once, and then timothy seed, a peck per acre — sowed and harrowed again. After the wheat was up it was dressed with plaster, two bushels per acre. The winter being almost without snow, and freezing and thawing fre- quently, was hard \ipon wheat, and there were consequently several sage remarks in the spring, such as, " There, I told you it was no use to sow wheat upon oat stubble." 'No matter; the grass looked well, and that was the main object, and so four quarts per acre of clover seed were put on, and afterward salt, at the rate of about five bushels per acre, was sown, and after a while the wheat began to recover from its hard winter, and if any- body had a better yield or finer plump berries I am glad, and should like to see it. At any rate, I am convinced that wheat will grow upon oat stubble, and good timothy and clover afterward. Still, we would not recommend sowing wheat or any other grain upon oat stubble, because we prefer to sow grass and clover, and let that grow one year at least, so as to have a good sod to serve as manure. 774. Rusty OatSi — This is, compared with rusty wheat, a new disease, only appearing to any extent in this country within five years. Some oat crops, badly rusted in Illinois, have been reported as producing death when the straw was fed to horses. An article in the Southern Homestead, when the disease first apjieared in tlie Southwest, attributed it to insects. It says : " From microscopic examinations, we are satisfied that the cause of all this destruction of the oat crop is a living worm, too small to bo plainly seen with the naked eye.. A single blade or leaf of the oat sometimes contains hundreds of them. They lie incased in the tissues of the leaf or blade, where they have been generated, beneath the epidermis or thin pellicle over the exterior portion of the blade, and as they progress in development, the skin of the leaf is raised into curious pufiy blisters. Tiie growth of the worm subsequently ruptures these, and it escapes to feed on the plapt. When first released from their covering, they are of a beautiful clear red color, al- most transparent, but soon begin to change color and form, getting more opaque and dark in appearance, until in the course of transformation they 704 CEREALIA. [Chap. VIII. hecome a Llack bug, with legs and wings, when they attack the head or grain of the oats. "Under the microscope, the dust which remains on the leaf closely re- sembles that on the wings of butterflies. " How this innumerable army of infinitesimal worms originated is yet a mystery. It is a singular fact, however, that wherever the greatest quantity of rain has fallen, there the oat crop has fiired the worst." As cause and effect are often mistaken or misplaced, it may be so in this case, and that the rust was occasioned upon the oats by the excess of rain and heat, which does produce it on wheat, and the worms followed this dis- eased condition as they do disease and decay of many other vegetables. 775. Barley f ultivatiou. — The cultivation of barley in the State of Xew York has largely increased since the destruction by the midge has been so great ;;s to deter many farmers from all attempts to grow wheat. Tliere are two principal kinds of barley as of wheat — winter and spring. Winter l)arley is sown from tlie middle to the last of September, at the rate of two and a half busliels per acre, and will be ready for harvest the last of June. A correspondent in Kentucky recommends sowing winter barley after oats, rather tlian after winter wheat, for the reason that the laud, having been plowed in the spring, can be got into better condition than that which has not been plowed for twelve months. Our severe winters do not injure barley when it is sown on dry uplands, but it does not succeed on low, moist land. It should be sown early — tliougli many do not sow it till after they have got in their wheat, and it requires the same culture, and when sown on good soil, properly prepared, the yield is large. There is one thing that farmers must remember about barley — they can not grow it on poor land. Of the cultivation of spring barley, a Xew York farmer, who has grown it some years, says : " In the cultivation of barley I usually sow 2^ bushels to the acre of the two-rowed Ilordeum distichon, which yields 3S bushels of 36 pounds to the bushel, or 1,368 pounds of barley and 2,800 pounds of straw. '' The best season for sowing it is about the 1st of May, after some crop on which manure has been applied ; it will not succeed a summer fallow well ; tlie best soil is a rich, finely pulverized loam. I usually sow it broad- cast, but it will do better iu drills. On a contiguous piece of land I sowed 1\ bushels to the acre, and found great disadvantage in it; the season wa5 dry, and few or no oflsets were thrown ofi". The yield was 1,000 pounds of barley and 2,000 pounds of straw." A Georgia paper recommends barley as a valuable crop for that section. The writer .says : "This is one of the most valuable winter crops that can be grown at tlie South. "We give some directions for its proper culture. In the first place, the ground must be rich, and any time after the first to the middle of Oc- Sec. 44.] BAPwLEY CULTIVATION^. 705 tober is the right tiiue for seeding. jSTew land that has been lieavily cow- penned yields enormously. Tiie ground should be well broken up, and about one bushel and a half sowed to the acre, and then plowed or har- rowed in. In its early growth pigs may run upon it, and after a while calves, but never full-grown stock. For horses and cattle, the grain is almost equal to corn, and there is no green food that sustains a working animal like it." In harvesting hadeij, it is important to cut it at the right stage, when neltiicr too green nor too ripe. If ratlier green, the grain shrinks, and is of light weiglit ; if fully ripe, it sliells easily, is liable to become discolored, and the straw is of less value. Wiien the head begins to assume a reddish cast and drops down upon the siraw, the proper period of harvesting has arrived, and as after this the grain ripens rapidly, it should at once be cared for. It may be mown or cradled, or cut with a reaper; if the straw is long, it should be bound ; if short, with proper forks it can be pitched at once from tlie swath and stored without binding. Barley should be secured as soon as thoroughly dry, which will be soon in favorable weather. Tlie varieties of hurley are numerous; Scotland has some thirty, though really there are but three decidedly distinct sorts ; that is, the two-rowed, four-rowed, and six-rowed. The two-rowed barley grows the largest grains, that is, 80 to the drachm ; the four-roWed, 111 grains to the drachm, and the six-rowed, 93 grains to the drachm. The MSfi qfharley is principally for making malt for beer, but there is a good deal used for making pearl barley. It is not much used in this country for bread, though it makes a very sweet, nutritious food, and very palatable when eaten as hot cakes. The profits of a larleij crop, reported for premium in 1859 by Hiram Mills, Lewis County, N. Y., were $31 98 upon two acres. The soil was clay loam, with hard clay subsoil. The crop in 1853 was peas on sward. The land was plowed in autumn, and in the spring 26 loads of cow-stable manure spread and plowed on the 9th of May, and sowed next day with two and a half bushels per acre of two-rowed barley, put in with a culti- vator and then harrowed. It was cut with a scythe Aug. 11th, and spread like hay to cure, and raked with a horse-rake, and hauled from witirows to the barn, and thrashed with a macliinc Dec. 12th. The yield was a fraction over 122 bushels, of 48 lbs. per buslicl, on two acres. The whole field of 13 aSfi-as yielded over 50| bushels an acre. It sold at 75 cents a bushel, and the straw was valued at only $5 an acre. In some localities it would be valued much higher, so that npon the basis of this crop, grooving barley must be accounted profitable. A Niagara County, N. Y., farmer offers the following opinion upon the subject of growing barley. He says : " The question of the profit of barley- growing to the farmer is one which ought to be discussed. We are getting doubtful of the propriety of using our best soils for so uncertain a crop, while corn, oats, and hay arc much surer, and hence, on an average, more 706 CEREALIA. [Chap. VIU. renninerative. Besides, the use, or rather abuse, wliich is made of the great- est jiart of this product, is one tliat conscientious, thinking men can scarcely reflect upon witli ])leasure. Barley requires, with us iu Niagara County, the best laud we have, prepared in the most thorough manner ; and it must then have a very favorable season, free from drouth or excessive wet, to insure a fair yield. Barley straw, well cured, and not over-ripe, is freely eaten by cattle and sheep. It is worth more for fodder than wheat straw, and our cattle, while the grass is yet green, will fill themselves from the straw-stack every night when they return to the yard. By elevating the straw-carrier above the lower sieves of the separator, wlien thrashing, the bearded chaflf is thrown into the manure yard, thus escaping its presence in the straw to the injury of sheep by getting in the wool while eating. This straw is sometimes of small value, because over-ripe and weathcrheaten, or because carelessly saved and stacked. In our opinion, it is worth better treatment." 77G. Buckwheat as a Farm Cropt — A large portion of tlic farmers of the Kew England States, and also some of the other Northern and Western States, raise a little buckwheat for family use, but few depend upon it as a farm crop, because most of them believe it to be an exhausting one, and some think a few successive sowings would utterly ruin land. Now, /*• buckwheat an exhaustimj crop ? We find this question answered according to our notion of facts in the Country Gentleman : " I will give an authentic case, coming under my own notice, at variance M-ith the usually received theory. A neighbor of mine has grown buck- wheat on the same field (and a poor field naturally, at that,) for twenty-six consecutive years, with a fair average return, no other manure having been carried on the field than the buckwheat haulm, which was regularly returned. Said neighbor having died, the farm came into the possession of others, who raised in the succeeding years good crops of corn, wheat, and clover." Buckwheat straw, if cut before frost, makes very good fodder, everybody's opinion to the contrary notwithstanding, and we have no doubt makes good manure for any other crop. It certainly does when turned in green. As to the profitableness of growing buckwheat we are well satisfied, jiro- vided it is not, as is too apt to be the case, turned ofl" upon the very jioorest old field on the farm. With a fair chance it will average twenty-five or thirty bushels an acre. The premium crop of New York, 1859, was thirty-five and a half busliels, grown upon sandy loam in good order, where a crop of rye badly winter- killed had t)ceii plowed in July 1st, and the buckwheat sowed July 6th, one bushel per acre. It was harvested the last week in September, and sold at 62i cents a bushel. The whole field from which the acre was measured, yielded two hundred and two bushels upon six acres. The profit upon the crop was counted $11 an acre. We look upon buckwheat as the most important crop for planting late in the season of any of the substitutes for wdieat. It may be sown as late as Sko. 44.] MILLET AS A FARM CROP. 707 the first of July. Some farmers consider half a bushel of seed upon good laud sufficient, as tlie more it branches the more productive will be the crop. It is a profitable crop, as it is easily cut and thrashed upon the field, or it may be stacked and kept till winter. The grain, besides its use for human food, is one of the most valuable for poultry-feeding, and to fit up a horse quickly with a sleek coat there is no grain equal to buckwheat. For ordinary stock-feed it is not as valuable as corn, barley, rye, wheat, or peas. Indian corn should never be planted upon buckweat stubble. We are not aware that it injures any other crop. 777. Millet as a Farm Crop. — Very few farmers sow millet as a farm crop, and many never saw it grow. Of late years, one variety has been a good deal extended at the West, under the name of Hungarian grass. That kind grows with a ))ranching head, heavily loaded with round seed, somewhat larger tlian turnip seed. Another sort grows a spike-head, eiglit or ten inches long, and is generally called Syrian millet, and the other is called German millet. The botanical name of the millet mostly grown here is Panicujii Sorghum, and it is largely cultivated in some parts of the world as a bread crop. It grows well in sandy soil, and is really a productive croj), and one of the great advantages of it is that it may be sown after corn, oats, pota- toes, and spring wheat have been provided for. From the 1st to the 15tli of June is the right time to put it in, and it is fit to cut after grass and grain. For poultry feed, millet is excellent, and well worth growing for that pur- pose. It is estimated that a fair crop of millet will produce three or four tuns per acre of straw, and twenty bushels or more of seed. If the crop is sown for the purpose of making seed, it is recommended by those who have grown it most, to sow twelve quarts, and if the crop is intended to be cut for hay, sow half a bushel of seed per acre. When allowed to stand till all the seed is well ripened, thirty bushels an acre is a common yield. For a soiling crop millet is very good, particularly the large sort, which grows in rich soil with large succulent stalks, and makes as good feed and as large a burden as sowed corn, and often succeeds when that fails. It requires no more skill, and hardly as much labor to grow a crop of millet as a crop of oats. In districts where it is most grown in Europe, tlie opinion prevails that millet yields more food for man and beast than any other cultivated grain. Cut for hay, the crop is large and of excellent quality, and, it is said, im- parts a vigor and elasticity to working cattle that is acquired from no other food. Stock, too, are very fond of millet hay. Writers in Europe, treating upon the cultivation of millet generally, con- cur in the following statements : If allowed to ripen its seed, it is an excellent grain for animals, possessing as much nutriment as Indian corn, but not its fattening property. In Europe it is often ground, and where people are accustomed to its use, they are fond of millet bread. A rich, light soil is best, and it should be deep and finely prepared as for wheat. If grown for hay, from thirty to forty quarts of seed 708 CEREALIA. [Chap. VIII. should bo sown to the acre. It should be cut while the seed is in the milkj state, and as soon as it is well -wilted it should be put up and cured in cocks, as reconmiendod for clover hay. If the wcatlicr is line, it will be sufficiently made in three or four days, when the cocks should be turned and opened a few hours before it is hauled in. When sown for the grain, from sixteen to twenty quarts of seed are required to the acre, and if put in witli a good seed drill, the crop of seed would bo much improved. No attempt should ever be made to secure both seed and hay from tne same field. Plant one field for seed and one for hay. A good crop will yield five tuns of hay per acre. For seed, the upper parts of the heads must be ripe before they are cut. There is one advantage in growing millet that ought to commend it to all farmers — it flourishes well in the driest seasons. Farmers who once commence the cultivation of millet seldom, if ever, abandon it. 778. Grain Farms and Stock Farms.— In closing this section upon the cereals (except maizej, we could write a long paragraph upon the subject of uniting stock and grain farms, but will only copy from the New York State Agricultural Society's Transactions the following suggestive and in- structive paragraphs from lion. George Geddes' Survey of Onondaga County : "In that part of the county best adapted to tlie cultivation of grain, our farniers generally intend to keep stock enough to manufacture their hay, cornstalks, and straw into manure. The teams to do their work they must have, and the cows to make their own butter, and perhaps a small surplus to sell ; the rest is generally made up with sheep, as the most convenient stock to handle, with the least labor. They calculate that eight merino sheep can be kept as well as a cow on the farm, and with far less labor. A good ewe should yield four and a half })0unds of wool, worth 45 cts. per lb., which for the eight gives $16 20 ; and the eight shoiild raise six lambs, worth in the fall $2 each, which with the wool gives $2S 20. AVe could not profitably devote all our lands that are good for grain to raising sheep, but we can connect them in proper numbers with grain-raising to advan- tage— we think to more advantage than any other farm-stock. '•To show the advantage of raising some stock in connection witii grain, we have only to take Camiilus, which is a grain-raising town, and we find that only l^'/s acres are devoted to ])asture, -,Vj to meadow, for each head of neat cattle, of horses, and of eight" sheep. This gives for j^asture and meadow ly^/j acres for each head. From this it is evident that the straw and cornstalks of Camiilus winter about half the stock, and the pasture from grain-fields nearly half pastures tliem. If we carry this calculation fully out, the comparison beiween the purely grazing and mixed agriculture would be still more striking. The town of Camiilus has a large number of horses engaged in other business than farming, the c.inal running through the town, and being near Syracuse, a considerable part of the hay is sold PLATE XVIII. (Page 709.) This picture, although not so showy and attractive to sight at first view, is one of the most valuable in the series. It should be most carefully studied by every farmer. He must learn to readily tell his woi'st enemies from his best friends. Here both are placed be Tore him. He should examine them so carefully, that he can afterward distinguish tlieni as easily as he can tell his own horse from that of his neighbor. The tlu'cc classes of insects illustrated upon the upper part of this plate are the most destructive of all the pests of the farm ; yet the farmer wlio has not informed himself all about insects, would be just as likel}' to destroy those represented upon the lower part of the plate as he would the others. Yet they are his best friends ; without them he could not exist. The destructors of fruit and grain and trees would prev.ent man from growing a sufficiency of food, if it were not for the "insects bene- ficial to the agriculturist."' The little that we have found room for under the head of Ento- mology (Sec. XII.) will only serve to whet the appetite to study the habits and character of all insects in works devoted to the subject. "Without sucli works, much may be learned from tliis j^late. Many, perhaps for the first time, will be made to understand that each of those pretty little spotted bugs which frequently swarm about the garden, which we have been merely taught the common name of, and because it is pretty, have called "the lady bird."' is one of man's co-laborers in the garden ; and so are several others wiiich he will see pictured in its company. We entreat you to study the picture of every one of these insects most carefully. . 1>.-*K..-1» ijCllKIUITS To FRriT x\"m EfSgj/.lepo.lI.d PLCJf ■WBEVH.„ CCHCrtlO BH u S£0. 45.] there. In t paslnro »■ ■ COIIN. Kill fractic '1 of Rtook ro9 J .^ I'l.V > t ( '1U> ;T often grown l>j ti makes in the wooiJs. ^i'l of Ill's lioe .:i!<."e W 0 |")rn requires breathing tubes at the ends of its rootlets. Go into a cornfield which has been left 'decently alone' -after it is two feet high, and trv- to find an inch square of ground without com rootlets pro- truding from it ! Docs the plant know best what it requires ? If not, cut and haggle away at its rix)ts, as your grandfather did before you I" From all that we can read or hear al)out corn, aiid after some experience, our motto is level culture, and such preparation of the ground as to fit it so as to require but little after-cultivation. There is no labor on the farm, per- haps, tliar will pay better than working corn at the proper time, and in a drouth, all the time. Instead of hand hoeing, use some of tlie light horse lioes, with which one man will do more good than ten with hand hoes, fol- lowing a mold-board plow. As for manuring corn, that is a necessity in all the Eastern States.- Upon the rich lands of tlie West it will not pay. It is idle in the older States to plant corn upon a majority of the farms without purchasing some kind of fertilizer. We have never recommended a fanner to neglect his barn-yard manure, but to add to that guano, bone-dust, im- proved superphosphate, and everything of the kind that he can buy, be- cause no farmer can make as much nianure as he can use profitably. It is nonsense for a farmer to be content with forty bushels of corn per acre when he can get eiglity bushels by ^3 more expense. It is nonsense to say that barn-yard manure is all that is necessary to be applied to any land, or that it is not profitable for a farmer to purchase just such specific manures as analysis or experience shows the land requires. As to working among corn, commence as soon >« the rows show, using a subsoil plow, two furrows be- Sec. 45.] POP-CORN IS PROFITABLE AS A CROP. 727 tween each pair of rows, running as close as you safely can to the corn, and follow with a horse-hoe to brush over the unbroken surface and kill any re- maining weeds, but leave the surface as nearly level as possible. In two weeks repeat this operation, keeping farther from the corn with your plow. Once or twice thereafter run through the field with a cultivator or horse- hoe, and if any weeds remain, uproot them witii the hand or hoe, but do not let any plow go down three inches below the surface after the plants are a foot high. If the corn looks well, pull one or two of the feeblest stalks in each hill at the second plowing. If you have not applied ashes or plaster before planting, throw a handful of the two naixed upon each hill before plowing the second time. The distance traveled in cultivating an acre of corn is greater than most persons suppose. AV^e have seen one statement made from actual calculation, that gave sixteen hundred miles as the aggre- gate travel in growing a: hundred acres of corn. Is it not worth the time and calculation of some farmers who grow very small acreable products to inquire how much they have traveled to produce each bushel, and what they shall do to lessen that distance? If it requires sixteen miles of travel with a horse to each acre of corn, farmers must get a better yield than some of them do to make the business pay a fair compensation for so much travel. 7SS. TranspIantiDg Corn. — ^Transplanting corn can be done with as much ease and certainty of success as cabbage. For early roasting ears, corn could bo started in frames so as to give it three or four weeks tlie start of corn jdanted the usual way. Transplanting would be valuable also in the field where hills are missing. Tlie safest way to do it is to make up a mixture of cow-dung, loam, and water, of the consistence of thick porridge, and dip the roots in it as tiiey are taken from the ground with a transplanting trowel, and carried in this to their place, where, being carefully set, and shaded, if it is sunny, with a bush or some artificial sluide stuck in the ground, tlicy will be almost certain to live and grow. Like all transplant- ing, it is best done when the soil is wet. 789. Pop-Corn is ProG(able as a fropi — It is said of a Boston merchant now engaged extensively, that he commenced business as a peddler of pop- corn by tlie cent's worth. Is it any wonder that he grew rich — -that is, rich enougli to enlarge his sphere of action — particularly if he raised his own corn, or got it of those who did, at about first cost? Let us look at the profit. A writer in the Weio England Fanner '• calculates the value of an acre of pop-corn, at the prices which city residents pay for the article when fitted for their palates — that is, v.dien parclicd and on sale by the grocers and candy men— at four cents a quart, and calls a quart the j^roduct of a mid- dle-sized ear. The corn may be planted tliree feet by eighteen inclie;. Al- low eight ears to the hill, which is not equal to the average, and it would be about eight thousand hills, or sixty-four thousand ears to the acre. Tliis is §2,560 per acre, paid by those who eat the corn. Take away half the amount, if you please, for every coutingency which may be thought of, and 728 CERE ALIA. [CnAP. VII I. we still liave $1,280, which the consumers pay for the product of au acre of ground; and wlio among them pretends to call pop-corn dear eating?" But this, the farmer Mill say, is the price of the article manufactured. It is not what 1 should get. True, but still the price is liberal. The crop of 1860 we sold at STi cents per bushel of ears, wholesale in New York, and we are told it has been worth that price, or more, iu previous years. We are sure that one huiulred l)usliels per acre can be easily grown, and the stalks being small, make excellent fodder. It is well worth growing to feed poultry ; and as a crop, we are fully satisfied that pop-corn is profitable. We have treated largely of its value as food (see 418), and now add the chemical cause of the ctl'ect produced by heat. The ])opping of corn is in reality chemistry made easy, by bringing it to the very fireside. It was formerly attributed to the conversion of the water contained in the starch into steam, but modern science has proved this phenomenon to arise from the rupture of the cells in the glutinous part of the grain by a conversion of the glob- ules of oil into gas. If au attempt be made to pop the Tuscarora corn, which contains no oil, it will never succeed. Popping effects a change in corn of considerable importance, for it is much moi'e digestible by man after this decomposition and extrication of the oil, though not so fattening to animals 790. Various Experiments in Growing Corn. — Table showing the results of experiments on Indian corn, made in 1857, near Rochester, N. Y., by Joseph Harris, editor of the Genesee Farmer • A. B. 0. P. E. F. G. II. 1 — No manure 00 7 67 — — — 2— 100 lbs. plaster (gypsum, or s«i!p/iateo/' ftjw) 70 8 78 10 1 11 3— 400 lbs. unleachcd wood ashes aud 100 lbs. plaster (mixed) .. . 68 10 78 8 3 11 4—150 lbs. sulphate of ammonia 90 15 105 80 8 38 5^300 lbs. superphosphate of lime 70 8 78 10 1 11 0 — 150 lbs. sulphate of ammouia and 3(X) Ibs.superphosphate of lime (mi.xed) 85 5 90 25 — 23 7 — 400 lbs. unleached wood ashes (uncertain) 60 12 72 — 5 5 8—150 lbs. sulphate of ammonia and 400 lbs. unleached wood ashes (sown separately) 87 10 97 27 3 30 9 — 300 lbs. Buperphdsphate of lime, 150 lbs. sulphate of ammonia, and 400 lbs unleached wood ashes 100 8 108 40 1 41 10— 400 lbs. unleached wood a.shcs 00 8 68 — 1 1 11 — 100 lbs. plaster, 400 lbs. unleached wood ashes, 300 lbs. super- Iihosphate of lime, and 200 lbs. Peruvi;m guano 95 10 105 85 3 38 12— 75 lbs. sulphate of ammonia 78 10 fiS 18 3 21 13-200 IKs. Peruvian guano f^8 13 101 28 6 34 14 — 400 lbs. unleached wood ashes, 100 lbs. phistcr, and 600 lbs. Peruvian guano Ill 14 125 51 7 68 A. No. of the plots. B. Descriptions of manures and quantities applied per acre. C. Bushels of cars of sound corn per acre. V>. Busliels of ears of soft corn per acre. E. Total number of bushels of ears of corn per acre. F. Incre;ise per acre of ears of sound corn, (i. Increase per acre of ears of soft corn. H. Total increase per acre of ears of corn. The superphosphate of lime was made on purpose for these experiments, and was a pure mineral manure of superior quality, made from calcined bones; it cost about 2i cents per pound. The sulphate of ammonia was a good commercial article, obtained from London at a cost of about 7 cents Seo. 45.] VARIOUS EXPERIMENTS IN GROWING CORN. 729 per pound. The ashes were made from beecli and liard maple {Acer Sacchar- nium) wood, and were sifted tlirongh a fine sieve before being weighed. The guano was tlie best Peruvian, costing about 3 cents per pound. It was crushed and sifted before using. In sowing the ashes on Plot 7, an error occurred in their application, and for the purpose of checking the result, it was deemed advisable to repeat the experiment on Plot 10. Tiie following table gives the results of the otiier experiments : A. B. C. D. E. F. 0. H. t —No manure 75 12 87 — — — 2—20 loads barn-yard manure 82.} 10 92} 7} — — 3 - 1.50 lbs. sulphate of ammonia 85 30 115 10 18 — 4-300 lbs. superphosphate of lime 88 10 98 13 — — 5— 400 lbs. Peruvian guano 90 SO 120 15 18 — 6—400 lbs. of " canccrine ".or fish manure 85 20 105 10 8 18 A. No. of the plots. B. Descriptions of manures and quantities applied per acre. C. Bushels of ears of sound corn per acre. D. Bushels of cars of soft corn per acre. E. Total number of bushels of ears of com per acre. F. Increase ears of sound coin per acre over unmanured plot. G. Increase ears of soft corn per acre over unmanured plot. H. Total Increase of ears of corn per acre. As before stated, the land was of a stronger nature than that on which the first set of experiments was made, and it was evidently in better condi- tion, as the plot having no manure produced 20 bushels of ears of corn per acre more tlian the plot without manure in the other field. Plot 4, with 300 pounds of superphosphate of lime per acre, gives a total increase of 11 bushels of ears of corn per acre over the unmanured pjot, agreeing exactly with the increase obtained from the same quantity of the same manure on Plot 5, in the first set of experiments. Plot 3, dressed with 150 pounds of sulphate of ammonia per acre, gives a total increase of 28 busliels of ears of corn per acre over the unmanured plot, and an increase of 22 -V bushels of ears per acre over Plot 2, whicli re- ceived 20 loads of good, well-rotted barn-yard dung per acre. Plot 5, with 400 pounds of Peruvian guano per acre, gives the best crop of this series, viz., an increase of 33 busliels of ears of corn per acre over the unmanured plot, and 2Ti over the plot manured with 20 loads of barn- yard dung. The 400 pounds of " cancerine," an artificial manure made in New Jersey from fish, gives a total increase of 18 bushels of ears per acre over tlie unmanured plot, and 12i bushels more than that manured with barn-yard dung, though 5 bushels of ears of sound corn and 10 busliels of " nubbins" per acre less than the same quantity of Peruvian guano. The result of the following detailed experiments was published in the Rural Amcnean. Ten equal quantities of White Flint corn were treated as follows : No. 1, I soaked in tar water eight hours, until it was perfectly black, tlien rolled in lime. No. 2 was merely immersed in tar water, ana rolled in lime. No. 3, soaked in clear water over-night, then immersed in tar water, and rolled in lime. 730 CEREALIA. [Chap. VIIL No. 4, iinmersed in tar ^vater, and rolled in ashes. No. 5, soaked in clear Avater over-night, then dipped in tar (not tar water), and rolled in ashes. No. 6, soaked over-night iu clear water, immersed in tar water, and then rolled in ashes. No. 7, soaked in tar water eight hours, until perfectly black, and then rolled in ashes. No. S, immersed dry in tar, and then rolled in lime. No. 9, soaked in clear water over-night, and dipped in tar, and then rolled in lime. No. 10, immersed dry in tar, and then rolled iu ashes. On the 23d of May I planted the several prepared parcels in similar soil, at an equal depth as nearly as possible, and each parcel received like treat- ment and culture throughout the season. Now mark the result : JULY 26. Aboat one half the grain np. Somewhat backward, hut promises better than No. 1. Growing finely — promises well. Backward, weaklr, and fj-indling. Very backward. Thrifty — promises well. Middling — rather better than Nos. 4 and 5. Looking exceedingly well — the best of the ten parcels. • Tolerably well — a trifle better than No. 7. Remained long in ground before it gcnnin- up— weakly. ' ated — verj' backward — about the same as Nos. ' i and 5. Soon after the corn came up, No. G appeared to be the most tlirifty and promising ; No. 3 looked nearly as well, but No. S soon shot ahead of No. 6, and remained so through the season. Nos. 4 and 5 were the most backward of any. On July 26th, Nos. 3, C, and S I judged to be from two to three weeks in advance of Nos. 4, 5, and 10 ; the former Nos. being silked and tasseled, while none of the others were. No. 8 was the most forward — ears best set, and largest. No. 8 finally produced the best corn, and the most of it. So of all tlie above preparations I give that mode of preparing the preference. There is an evil I think, however, attending the application of tar in any shape to corn previous to planting ; it retards the germ, while at the same time I know of no benefit I have received from its use. 791. The Yield of Corn per .^cre. — ^This question causes uiucli coutroversy, as the modes of measuring have been so diverse. TTeighing the e:ii-s grown on an acre is certainly better than measuring oft* one square rod, and shell- ing the corn, and nmltiplying liy one hundred and sixty. "A good deal de- pends upon what we call a bushel, as corn will shrink from December to JTSE 8. No. 1. Only about one quarter of the grain germinated— looks weakly. No. 2. All the grains up — looking middling well." No. 3. Every pi;ain np. and looking nicely. No. 4. All up ; look tolerably well— not so well as No. 3. No. 5. Tardy — just up — very weakly. No. 6. Every grain up — looks first-rate. No. 7. Only one half the grains germinated — weakly. No. 8. Every grain up — looking well, and growing finely. No. 9. About one third the grains np— rath- er weakly. No. 10. Only about one tenth of the grains Sko. 45 ] YIELD OF CORN" PER ACRE. 731 May fifteen per cent. A good crop is sixty bushels per acre. Premiums are often awarded to a very rongli manner of measurement. Never count your crops until sold ; upon M'liatever they measure then, estimate tiie yield per acre." Some say that corn shrinks twenty -five per cent, in weiglit between tiie time it is ripe enough to gather, and the next summer. If you wish to estimate how much an acre of corn will yield while standing, count the hills, or estimate the number upon an acre, and shell the cars from a given number, and measure the grain, and calculate from that base. If you have four thousand hills per acre, and a pint of corn per hill, your acre will yield sixty-two and a half busiiels, as it measures at that time, and so in proportion. To make one hundred and twenty-five bushels per acre, each hill must give a quart, and there must be none of the number missing. You may find now and then a square rod that will yield a quart per iiill, but who gets such, a yield from every rod of an acre ? and if one could, let him be sure that it does not cost too much. If we can grow sixty or seventy bush- els per acre, we are doing well. It is certified that James Armstrong, of Knoxville, Tenn., raised, in 1S59, upon forty acres of land, four thousand bushels of shelled corn, measured in the half bushel, which M'eighed sixty pounds per bushel. The best acre of the forty gave one hundred and sixty-six bushels. The same forty acres produced, with the corn, fifty two-horse wagon-loads of pumpkins, forty bushels of Southern peas, and ten bushels of beans, yet we do not believe that the average yield of all corn crops in the Southern States is ten bush- els. The yield of nine lots of ten aci'es each, entered for j'remium at tlie State Fair of Kentucky a few years since, is given by the comujittee as fol- lows : Bbls. Bush. Qt Bbls. Dnsh. Qt. A. Hedges, Bourbon -1 2 1 per acre. E. W. Hocaday, Clarice 20 Dr. Dudley, Fayette 20 II. A'arnon, Bourbon 19 3 " J. Matson, of Bourbon 37 4 1 per acre. Peter Pean, of Clarke 37 4 S. H. Chew, of Fayette 27i J. Hutchcraft, Bourbon 23* A. Vanmeter, Fayette 21 3 J A barrel of corn in Kentucky is five bushels of shelled corn. About the year 1840 (or 1841), Mr. Bryant, and Mr. Young, of Jessa- mine County, Ky., each grew a crop of five acres, which averaged one hundred and ninety bushels per acre, according to a well-certified report. Over one hundred bushels of corn per acre, in Maine, are reported by John II. Willard, of Wilton, Franklin County. He says : "I have repeatedly, within a few years past, raised from eighty to one hundred and ten bushels of dry shelled corn to the acre. All my farming is on a small scale ; but the same cuK'vation would produce the same re- sults on a large as on a small scale, 'fue best crop I ever raised was in 1853, which was the best corn season we have had in this vicinity for many years. The produce that year was fifty-five bushels and eight quarts tVom half an acre. I proceed to give an account of the vai-ious steps I pursued in raising that crop, and shall persevere in following nearly the same course till I learn a better. The soil is a gravelly loam, and the land stony. The stones near 732 CEREAUA. (Chap. VIH. the surface had been removed, and put into a ■wall. As to the component parts of the soil, I am as ignorant as most farmers are respecting theirs, having no means of ascertaining. I only know it contains a fair portion of lime, having previously raised a good crop of wheat on the same land. The wheat was sown on the sward newly broken up. Soon after the wheat ■was cut, I plowed in the stubble, and plowed very shallow, say from two to four inches deep, so as to just cover the stubble, and not disturb the sward. In the spring, put on si.x, cords of manure, twelve to the acre, one half spread, and the other half in the hill. I spread the manure, aud harrowed previous to plowing ; then plowed and cross-plowed about ten inches deep, being a little deeper than the land was jireviously broken ; plowed fine, that is, in narrow furrows, not more than two thirds the width the plow would turn. After harrowing, I furrowed the rows straight, three feet eight inches apart, and put the hills two feet four inches apart ; covered the ma- nure in the hills before dropping the corn, whicli I put in liberally, nearly double what I wanted to grow ; covered the corn thoroughly from two to three inches deep ; hoed the corn thoroughly twice, having run a cultivator twice between the rows before each hoeing, and having tliinned the corn to five stalks in each hill previous to the second hoeing, by pulling up the poorest stalks. I cut the corn up at the roots, when the stalks were wilted above the ears, and green below, and cured in shook before husking. The seed was thoroughly dried by the ears being hung near a fire. The manure used was stable, part cow and part horse, with a good deal of straw litter, kept under cover till spring, and one or two hogs kept on it. The largest part was from horses well grained. The coarsest part, or last made, was first hauled to the field and put in a heap to ferment for the hills, the other spread. When the heap got into a high state of fermentation, I pitched it over to prevent its burning. 1 know it is said that manure must be thor- oughly decomposed before it is food for plants ; hence many infer it must be in that state when put on the ground ; but I have had the best luck when I put it into the hill in such a state of fermentation as to be uncom- fortably hot to the feet through thick boots, and planted and covered imme- diately before it cools. I had no potatoes, pumpkins, or beans, and but few weeds among my corn, for weeds are the most unprofitable crop I ever raised." "We hope a good many small farmers who read this account will pursue the same course, and raise an equally good crop. The way to do it is simple and sensible. Dr. John T. Tuttle, of Rye, tw^i^y-five miles northesist of Xew York city, near Long Island Sound, give&-«i9e following interesting statement of what kind of a corn crop can be produced upon such a forbidding soil as the most of the land in this region of country : " According to request, I send you an account of my crop of corn grown on two fields, one containing eight and a half, and the other sis acres, mak- ing fourteen and a half acres. I paid ^150 per acre for the land. It being Seo. 45.] YIELD OF CORN PER ACRE. 733 too wet, naturally, for good corn land, I determined to drain it, and accord- ingly laid six hundred and forty rods of three-inch sole drain tile, which was sufficient to thoroughly drain the fourteen and a half acres. The tile was laid about three feet deep; this is necessary, in order to get it out of the M-ay of the frost. If laid too near the surface, and permitted to freeze, it will ci-ack, fall in, and destroy it. This land being originally very poor and neglected, I was obliged to bestow much labor on it, in order to re- claim and make it productive. Completing this result, I valued my land at $400 per acre. I then plowed it, turning the soil up eleven inches deep, following with a sul)soil plow, so that the entire piece was mellowed to the depth of eighteen inches. I then carted on three hundred loads of good composted manure, and harrowed it in. I marked out eight and a half acres ^or planting, three feet each way, and planted it with Improved King Philip corn, four grains in each hill ; the balance of the plot of six acres I marked out three feet in drills, and planted it nine inches apart in the drill, one grain in a place. The fourteen and a half acres yielded two thousand two linndied and seventy-six and a half baskets of ears ; each basket yielded eighteen quarts of shelled corn, making an average of eighty -eight bushels, one peck, two quarts per acre for the entire plot. The six acres planted in drills was much the best corn, and the yield much the largest ; this I esti- mated at one hundred bushels of shelled corn per acre. I should recom- mend this mode of planting in drills : the yield is much larger than the hill system. I think the Improved King Piiilip the most productive corn in cultivation, and as it ripens in less than one hundred days, is sure to escape tiie early fall frosts ; it is a most valuable variety of corn. The following is the average result of the fourteen and a half acres : Dr. Interest on 1 acvc, value per acre, S400. .$'28 00 Twenty loads of manure, per load $1 . . . , 20 00 Plowing and subsoiling, per acre 0 00 Harrowing, per acre 1 00 M.irking out for planting 75 One peck corn seed 25 Planting, per acre 1 28 Running cultivator through four times. . 4 00 Hoeing once 1 25 Cutting up corn from the ground 1 50 Gathering 100 baskets, at 3 c. per basket 4 80 Total $68 83 The following is the corn crop of an Ohio farm : About five miles below Cliillicothe, Ohio, there is a tract of high river bottom-land, known as the " Claypool Farm," now owned by the widow of James Davis. Tlie corn crop of 1858 was forty-seven thousand bushels, sold at seventy-five cents a bushel to a distillery. We submit the problem to political economis's, of how many persons the products of this one farm would have fed one year, and how many its products will make miserable after passing through that distillery. 792. Two Huudrrd Bushels of €orn per Acre.— It has been i>ub!i.-;hcd — and, so far as we can see, duly certified — that Dr. J. "W. Parker, of Cnhiin- Cr. Eighty-eight bushels, on j peck, twoqts., at 75 cts. per bushel $66 23 Three tuns stalks, at $5 per tun 15 00 Four and one half cords pumpkins, at S2 per cord 9 00 Seventy-five bushels turnips, at 20 cents per bushel 15 00 Total.. $105 23 Profit $36 40 734 CEREALIA. [Chap. Till. bia, S. C, grew, in 1857, upon his farm near that town, two hundred bush- els and twelve quarts upon one measured acre of ground, and one hundred and sixteen bushels and six quarts upon another acre. In tlie report to the State Agricultural Society, Dr. Parker states that the seed selected for planting was from North Carolina, and designated " Bale Mountain Corn." After soaking it during the night in a strong solution of niter, it was planted from eight to twelve inches distance in the row, cov- ered with hoes, and the ground rolled, leaving it perfectly level. The land was the border of a small creek, underdrained, and prepared by plowing in November, and manured in December with twenty -five two-horse loads of cow-house manure, plowed in, and followed by a subsoil plow drawn by two mules. About the first of March another coat of good stable and cow ma- nure was spread, and plowed in. Early in April, three cart-loads .of air- slaked lime, and two sacks of salt were spread over each acre, and lightly plowed under. On the 1-tth of May the ground was thoroughly plowed with Glaze's large iron plow, harrowed level, and laid off thirty inches apart with a shovel plow. Guano and plaster were sprinkled in the furrows, near two hundred pounds of the former, and three hundred pounds of the latter to each acre. On the l-ith of May the corn was plowed with a long, very narrow plow, and dressed over with hoes. On the 5th and 17th of June the same work was repeated, each time leaving the ground level. About the first of July it was necessary to draw a ridge about the roots of the corn to prevent its falling. During a protracted drouth, acre No. 1 was twice irrigated, and acre No. 2 had the water turned on it once. The yield of acre No. 1, as before stated, exceeded two hundred bushels. No. 2 was partly replanted, which the committee say prevented the yield being as large as the other. True, this crop cost labor and manure, but does it not pay better than the tens of thousands of acres that do not yield ten bushels per acre, for such are as common as blackberries all over the Southern States. The land used being " sand-hill branch land,'' required the high juanuring, as it is not naturally fertile enough to produce such crops. The secret, however, is in the underdraining, the frequent plowing, and subsoiling and irrigation. 7'.)3. How to Bind Corn Shocks.— Iliram Harris, of Ohio, has made the world a gift of a valuable invention. It is a way easily to bind shocks of cornstalks, which have been cut and set up ready for binding, and which have to be hugged together tight enough to put the band on. This new plan saves that dirty, hard job. Any one can make the implement. It is a wooden spindle, round and smooth, sharp at one end, and long enough to thrust through the loose shock at the point where it is to be bound. On the other end is a crank and turning-pin, like the crank of a grindstone. A few inches from the crank is a cross-piece on the spindle, of a few inches in length, to one end of which a stout cord is attached, long enough to go round the shock and hitch a loop on the other end of the cross-piece. Now, Sec. 46.] HARVESTING CORN. 735 Lj tnrning the crank, the cord is drawn tight, compressing the loose stalks as firmly as may be desired, wlien the band is put on firmly and the crank unwound and applied to another shock. It enables the operator to do double the work, doubly better than he can without it ; and as there is no strain upon the band in the attempt to draw it tight, as is usual in trying to compress the shock, there is no breaking of bands in putting them on, and they may be made of stalks, straw, bark, or twine. Any farmer can make one of these little implements, which saves so much labor. Indeed, a smooth young hickory, sharpened at one end, with a crank at the other, will be the best material. The rope should be small and very strong. 794. Requisites in Uarresting Corn. — 1. Have a good corn-cutter. 2. Lay the corn (2 or 4 hills in a place) so that the tops of tlie second two rows will lie toward the tops of the first two, the tops of the fourtli two toward the tops of tlie third two, and so on. By throwing the left arm over, never under the stalks, bending them down slightly, one blow of the cutter M-ill generally bring down the whole : and a large field may be leveled at short notice, far quicker than the top stalks can be cut. 3. Make yourself a good corn-horse. Take a small pole, about three inches through at the large end, 10 feet or so in length, light and dry ; if a little curving, so much the better. With an incli-and-a-half auger, bore two holes near the large end, so as to insert two legs, standing outward and for- ward, the curving side of the pole being upward. Next, bore a liorizontal hole about 2i feet from the large end, into which a broken rake-handle or smooth slick may be run. Here we have a complete corn-horse all ready for use; the horizontal stick forming with the other four corners, around which we may set up the corn, 16 to 32 hills in a stook. Then tie firmly, with wilted suckers or small stalks, or, what is better, lye straw bands, and bend down the tops and tie a small band over them, to shed rain, and then draw out the horizontal stick ; take hold of the horse just behind the legs, draw it along a few feet and run the stick in again, ready for another stook. The husking may be greatly facilitated by first breaking o3' the ears. This is done by jJressing the thumb and fingers firmly against the butt of the ears and bending over with the other hand. One may acquire the habit of breaking them ofi" so that many ears will have few, if any, luisks left. The stooks need not be untied. By a little ingenuity at contrivance, one may fix a low bench three feet wide, or so, throw a stook upon it, sit down with feet under the bench, begin at one side to break off, and make clean work as he goes ; or he maj' kneel down to the stooks as they stand, or lie on the floor. If possible, let the corn be fairly glazed before cutting ; but if a cold September morning, which threatens a hard frost at night, finds a field standing unglazed, I should prefer cutting and stocking, with the wilted side inward, to letting the frost take it. In such a case, it will harden off better in the stook than in the field. The corn-horse described above has been used by many, and declared by 736 CEREALIA. [Chap. VIII. all who have used it to really save one third the time tisually employed in cutting up and stocking corn. Never top corn, and why ? Tlie sap wliich is elaborated in the leaf and upper part of the stalk is fitted to perfect the grain. Tlie best farmers in tlic country settled that question years since. In a large field of com one topped several rows, left the same number to ripen unmutilated, and cut up by the ground an equal portion at two different periods of growth, viz., one when the kernel was fairly seared, and another when tlic corn was thoroughly seared. The result proved, conclusively, that the corn cut at the ground when fairly seared was the best and heaviest, and the fodder was also best of all. If you have not yet become fully convinced of the folly of cutting stalks, try tlic following experiment : Cut the stalks on fifty hills of corn at the usual time, cut up fifty hills at the ground when the corn is glazed, and let it -mature in the shock, and let the stalks remain on fifty hills until fully ripe, and weigh the corn on each Mhen dry. And try this : Plant the same quantity of ground M-ith corn of the same kind, with compost manure, at the rate of twenty-five loads to the acre, and with guano, at the rate of 260 pounds to the acre, and -weigh the corn in the autumn, keeping an account of the cost of eacli kind of manure on the land, and which ground is easiest kept clean of weeds. When there is no danger of frost, adopt the rule to cut no stalk till the corn is ripe, and do not try to swindle nature by fisliing for a crop of beans, or turnips, or pumpkins among the corn. One good crop each year is enough to exact of land in this latitude, and these extras often hinder the harvest as much in the loss of corn as they are worth. 795. Corn Harvesting Machines. — The following is the description of a pa- tent corn-cutter : A driver sits upon a small cart, drawn by one horse walking between two rows of corn planted four feet apart, either in hills or drills. Attached to the forward end of the body are two circular saws, arranged to work just as near the ground as may be desired. These saws are driven by gearing attached to the cart-wheels, and one is designed to cut a row one side and the other on the other side ; the hoi*se walking forward saws off the stalks right and left, and, like all circulai saws, the faster they run the easier they will do their work. The stalks as they are cut off are held by an arm so as to fall on a platform upon each side, which tips them off out of the way of the machine. It will be easy to arrange a machine to cut rows of any regular width apart, and the plan looks, on paper, as though it would work well on land, and be a real lal)or- saving machine. Hon. Henry L. Ellsworth, when he was growing corn upon a largo scale in Illinois, contrived a very cheap corn-cutter. Two pieces of wood, like the sides of a triangular harrow, were hinged at the point, and held apart at the wide end by a piece of hickory, represented by half of a stout hoop. The side pieces were armed with short scythe blades. TJie frame was sup- Seo. 45.] CORN HARVESTING MACUINES. 73 T ported upon blocks that raised it above the surface, and ran on the ground like sled runners. This frame, drawn by one horse between two rows of corn, had the blades pressed against the stalks by tlie spring, and cut them off as fast as the horse could walk ; men following picked tliem up rap- idly, setting them in shocks. The objection urged against this machine was, that uidess the stalks were gathered row by row, as they were cut, they were apt to become tangled together, and the men said made, instead of saved, labor. At the New York State Fair of 1S61 we saw a corn-cutting machine that looked as though it would prove effectual. A few stout cutters are fixed upon the bar of a mowing machine, and a box to hold the corn as it falls, until enough accumulates for a bundle, when the driver by a slight move- ment opens the box and drops the corn. The horses walk by the side of the row to be cut, just as they do by tlie side of the grass. The additional ex- pense to a mowing machine was stated at twenty-five dollars. A corn-shock cart is in nse in "West New Jersey, which we thought a great labor-saving machine, by which a boy and one horse would move more shocks of corn in a day, where the distance was not over half a mile, than two men and a team could do in the ordinary way. A horse-cart, with a frame to tilt, having rather long shafts, and a windlass on the shafts be- hind the horse, with a stout rope fast at one end of the windlass, consti- tutes the machine. The cart is backed up to a shock, and the frame tilted up against it, and the rope thrown over, and the loose end hooked on the windlass, M'hich is turned by a crank or arms, and winds up both ends of the rope, drawing the shock tight upon the frame, and that down to its place, wlien the windlass is fastened by a catch, and the horse trots off to the barn, or out upon the grass at the side of the cornfield, if the object is merely to clear the corn-ground, and then the catch being loosened, the frame and sliock tilt back by their own weight, and the corn is set upright npon the butts, just as it stood originally. A pair of old city dray-wheels answer a good purpose to make a corn-shock carrier, and such a machine will be found extremely useful to those who wish to sow rye or wheat upon the corn-ground. 796. llusking in the Field. — A letter from Tioga County, Pa., reconi- mQuds pulling down four shocks of corn toward a center, and tlien throwing the corn to that point from all, thus making one pile instead of four; and also laying the stalks, as the ears are stripped off, in bun- dles of eqnal size for binding. In commencing to husk a shock, stand up and drop the first stalks at your feet ; then kneel upon them until you get enough to form a seat, when tired of kneeling. This change of position is said to be a great preventive of fatigue. It is recommended to pull down the shocks in the morning, when the dew is on, and bind them at evening, when a little moist. The best time to gather the ears of corn and store them in the crib is when they are hot and dry in the sun. Tlie ears never should be thrown upon wet nor frozen ground, except the weather is cold 738 CEREALIA. [Cntp. VIIL enough to keep it frozen. But, after all these directions for busking in tlic iiukl, it is a question wlicthcr it is not altogether the best economy, where stalks do not grow larger than they generally do in the Northeastern States, and where they are valuable for fodder, to haul the shocks of corn up to tlie barn, so that all the fodder can be saved in good order, as fast as the ears are liusked. Filling a large shed, or the barn floor, with the shocks of corn, to be husked on rainy days or evenings, is a good old fasliion that need not be lost sight of in days of modern improvement, and the machine described in 795 will be found a very useful thing to those who wish to pursue this good old fashion. A Pennsylvania farmer, John F. Overshire, of Alliens, Bradford County, gives his mode of cutting up and husking corn in the field, which appears to be a very good one. He says : " I cut and set my corn in stooks of thirty-five hills to each, set in squares. I do not leave a hill uncut to support the stook, but bind a bundle to set in the center; and I never tin-ow the corn down, but set it up as fast as cut, which takes less time, and there is no liability to injury from rain while lying upon the ground. In husking, never throw sound corn on the ground, but in baskets, sorting it at the same time. Empty the baskets into a cart or wagon, and thence to the crib. I place a husking bcncli between four stooks, and pull them to it, and it saves many hours of back-ache and cramps of limbs. A good busker can put sixty bushels of ears in the wagon in a day. Tlie bench is two b}' five feet, made of inch boards nailed upon cross-pieces that hold legs put in a two-inch auger hole, so as to stand two feet high. The legs at one end being set back from where the busker stands against the end of the boards, he can crowd his stalks in a pile down between his own and tlie legs of the bench.'" 797. Sowing Corn Broadcast or Drilling for Fodder. — Tlicre are not many farmers who would not find a small plot of sowed corn the most profitable crop of the whole annually planted. Land produces of sowed corn a greater burthen of excellent fodder to use green, and, if cured, makes more of win- ter food for stock than any other grain. We have sown corn broadcast upon a mellow piece of ground, plowed in after the first of July, and got a very heavy crop. It should not be plowed in unless the land has been previously plowed, because plowing the land as deeply as the crop requires would bury the seed too deep. The best way to plant this fodder crop is with a wheat drill. The next is to sow broad- cast and cover with a gang plov/, or share cultivator, that will turn the seed nearly all into straight rows. Some persons sow it wide enough be- tween rows to be cultivated. Warren Ilutchins, Bethel, Vt., says . " I plow evenly, sowing the seed in every third furrow, and roll the ground and harrow lightly in the direction of the furrows. I run a culti- vator once or twice between the rows. If the crop is to be plowed in for manure, I commence about September 1, with a plank fastened on the Seo. 45.] DOURA CORN- SOILING CROPS. 739 beam to break down the stalks, so that they will turn under well, making my furrow across the rows. I find this a cheaj) way to enrich land that lies far from the stables. "This day, June 1, I have sowed an acre for fodder, with the assistance of a boy half a day. Last year, a half acre left to ripen had 25 bushels of ears, besides a great yield of fodder." It is preferable to cut the corn for fodder before the ears get of any con- siderable size, and as a general thing tlie crop is most valuable wlien grown 60 tliick that ears are not likely to form; and when sown broadcast upon rich soil, and plowed in lightly, the last of June, it will grow of sufficient size and maturity for good winter fodder, before the usual time of frost, which in this latitude is usually about the first of October. 798. Doura Corn for Fodder. — This is one of the varieties of sorghum, much esteemed by some fanners for a fodder crop. Its great advantage over corn is that it will sometimes grow when and where Indian corn will not. One farmer says : " Having found from experience that where stands of corn are broken it does not pay either to supply breaks with seed or to transplant, I have, for years past, done neither, but always plant Doura corn or sugar millet in all missing liills in iny cornfields, and I have found it to do and pay well. When planted early, the Doura corn will make two or three heads to the stalk, and tlie first head will shell as much as an ordinary ear of flint corn ; M'lien planted late, say in April or May, it will still make as much as the corn, and it answers as an excellent substitute for corn to feed to poultry, besides making very good bread." The above word is spoken of a region where February and March are the corn-planting months. In a wet season, the Doura corn here would grow a good fodder crop after the first of August. It is only by experi- ment that it can be determined which is the best for the purpose, the Doura corn or sorghum saccharatum, known as Chinese sugar-cane. 799. Value of Sowed Corn for Soiling Milch Cows.— For a soiling crop we do not know of any plant cultivated that is of greater value than Indian corn. In a large milk dairy, where sowed corn is much used at the time of our usual sununer drouths, when pastures fail, the following results were noted ; From the first of April to the first of July there is a gradual increase in the quantity of milk produced ; during the month of March it is stationary ; it increases in April, as warmer and pleasanter weather comes on ; and thenceforward the quantity keeps exact pace witli the growth of grass and the advance of the season, until the maximum is attained in the first week of July. This point once turned, the yield decreases, by slow degrees at first, but with greater rapidity as the autumn months approach, and it can only be increased by feeding the green corn, and then the gain is sufiicient to pay a large profit upon the soiling crop. For sowing broadcast it will require two bushels of seed per acre, and some prefer to sow three bushels. When used green, the objection urged against broadcast corn, tliat it is difli- 740 CEREALIA. [CnAP. VIII. cult to cure it, does not apply. With us the trouble about saving the stalks for winter was overcome with one lieavy croj) in this way. Wo com- menced cutting and setting tlie stalks against the fence, and after clearing a strij) about 30 feet wide, hauled poles from the adjoining woodhuid, and laid them on forked posts, and then cut anotlier strip and set the stalks on each side of the poles, and so on through the field. Tliis plan will only answer where woodland is very convenient. The stalks, however, may be bound in small bundles, and set up in rows, and will cure perfectly. When partially cured set them in shocks, to prevent bleaching. But we look upon tiiis crop as more valuable for soiling than for preserving for winter use. In all cases where pastures are liable to be short in autumn, liave a resource in loserve in a soiling crop of broadcast corn. 800. Corn ia Drills or Hills. — A correspondent in East Hamburg, Erie County, N. Y., gives the following as the successful practice of Wni. Ilam- bleton, of that place, in raising corn: " After a faithful plowing, he makes furrows with a light plow, one way at 3i feet apart. These furrows are then nearly tilled with sr.eh a compost as usually accumulates every year al)0ut farm buildings, or by well-rotted stable manure, and on this the corn is drilled, the kernels six inches from each other in the row. From beginning to end he is death on the weeds, and tlic labor of raising corn in this way is hardly more than by the old method, while the harvest is doubled by it, and sometimes averages 100 bushels to the acre ; and the greatly etilarged quantity of stalks pays every expense of cultivation." Wc arc much in favor of drilling corn, but not in favor of sustaining the practice by such statenients as this, that " the harvest is doubled by it." If the land is rich enough to sustain corn in drills, six inches between stalks and 43 inches between rows, it will give 2i,S91 stalks to an acre 10 by 16 rods square ; and the same land would grow four stalks in each hill, planted three feet apart each way, and that would give 19,360 stalks ; and, as the stalks will produce equally, the result will be that if the drilled acre pro- duces 100 bushels, the acre in hills will produce 79 bushels ; or, say one fourth more, instead of doubling the crop ; and that, we think, sufficient to induce any one to adopt the drill system. The estimate of Southern corn is 100 cars to a bushel. The ordinary Northern corn will require nearer two hundred than one hundred ears, as they average through the field, to make a bushel; but sujjposo we say 150 ears to the bushel, and that the stalks average one car to each, the product in bushels per acre will be 165 bushels for the drills and 129 bushels for the hills. Is this restdt produced in one field m a thousand ? and, if it is not, is it not a question worthy of considera- tion by the owners of the 999 fields, whether the rule should not be reversed so far that in a got)d season not one field in a thousand should produce less than 100 bushels per acre? 801. MeasuriuR Corn in Bulk.— A correspondent of the Prairie Farmer gives a rule for ascertaining the number of bushels of shelled corn in a crib Sbo. 45.] YIELD OF STARCH PER BUSHEL, AND ITS USES. 741 of ears, by multiplying the cubic feet in the pile by (forty -five hundredths) .45. "Example: In a crib or bin of corn in the ear, measuring ten feet in length, eight feet high, and seven feet wide, there will be two hundred and fifty- two bushels of shelled corn. Tims — 10 x 8 x 7 x .45=252. This rule agrees with weighing corn — seventy pounds to the bushel in the ear. Assuming this rule to be correct, it will be very important to keep it where it can be readily referred to at times when it will be found vei-y useful. But the rule applies only to localities where three heaped half bushels of ears make a busliel of shelled corn. In the Eastern States, where it takes two bushels of ears to make one of shelled corn, in order to use said rule we must pro- ceed as follows : To find the contents of a crib ten feet long, eight feet wide, and seven feet high, 10 x 8 x 7 x .45=252. Then 252 x 3=756-j- 2=378, the number of bushels of ears, or one hundred and eight^y-nine busliels of shelled corn of Eastern varieties. It would probably come nearer the truth to multiply the cubic contents in feet by 3i, and cut oS the right-hand figure, to wit : the number of bushels of shelled corn. Thus, 10 x 8 x 7=560 feet; 560x3^=182— cutting off the right-hand figure." 802. Corn — Shrinkage hi Dryingi — Experiments have been tried where the quantity of newly-gathered ears supposed sufficient to make a bushel of shelled corn, weighed seventy-five pounds, which, after being thoroughly dried, only weighed sixty pounds — nine of cobs and fifty-one of grain. The proportion of cob by weight to grain will generally average about one sixth ; and we think the diffcreuco in weight of ears between the time of liarvest and spring is never less than ten per cent., unless the corn stands until very ripe, and is then gathered in a very dry time. The shrinkage is more in the cob than in the grain, but there will be a considerable less upon the grain, stored in a good crib, from autumn till spring. 803. Yield of Starch per Bushel, and its Uses.— As the starch in corn is the principal ingredient of value as food we should grow the varieties that afford the most. The average yield is about thirty pounds per bushel, and if not separated from the other ingredients, it will not prove too nu- tritious, although we generally take our food in a highly concentrated form, that is, too much starch to the bulk. All grain is more wholesome when used without separating its parts. Starch will not make as much fat as corn meal, though it is much used for food, and saves flour. It is also used in calico printing, not only as starch, but, by a chemical process, to make a sort of gum much required. It is very doubtful whether the largely increased manufacture of corn starch has proved beneficial to mankind, if it is true, as it has been stated, that nine tenths of it has been used for human food, since a corn-meal pudding is far more wholesome than a farina pudding, notwithstanding one is vulgar and the other fashionable^ one tickles the eye as well as palate, while the other is the subject of an apology whenever offered to guests, even at a farm-house. The increased demand for corn starch within a few years past has caused the building of immense manufactories ; one in particular, at Oswego, N. Y., 742 CEREALIA. [Chap. VIII. is very large ; and the process, which is very simple, though requiring largo si>acc to conduct it in, separates all the starch contained in the corn, and makes as pure an article as can be made from any other substance. Indian corn yields a larger amount of farinaceous food to tlie acre than any other grain, and it is tlie most certain crop ever planted, but there is a great loss in goiii" over a large space of ground — better make the same number of bushels usually made, upon one third of tho space. 804. foru and Pumpkins Together. — A writer in the Genesee Farincr objects, with a good deal of reason, to gi'owing corn and pumpkins together, on account of the shade the vines give the land. He says: "I believe more than the value of the pumpkins is subtracted from the value of tho corn crop. In Illinois Me raise them in great pei-fection on the prairie sod, tho first season after breaking. An acre of land cultivated entirely in pumpkins will yield an immense quantit}- ; and I think this method pref- erable to planting among corn. Tho crop is a valuable one — I have n)ade excellent beef with no other feed but pumpkins and hay. The pumpkins should be cut up, and fed in a clean trough. I had two hogs, one of which I intended to fatten, and the other to keep through the winter. As soon as pumpkins were ripe enough to gather, I shut them apart, and fed one on corn all he could eat, with an occasional pumpkin for sauce, with slops of the house, and milk. The other I fed entirely on pumpkins. They were both of an age, and size very nearly alike. In December I killed the one fed on coi'u, wliicli weighed about three hundred pounds; the other was as heavy, but not quite so fat. I then concluded to fat the last one, and fed him on corn and pumpkins all he would cat. In about a month he was very fat, and weighed nearly a hundred more than the first. This experi- ment convinced me that pumpkins were good feed for hogs, and that corn and pumpkins fed together were much better than corn alone." Several other farmers are convinced that there is no profit in growing corn and pumpkins together. 805. Corn Hybridszingt — We planted one season some of the Improved King Piiilip corn, side by side with several other sorts, all of which hybrid- ized, while the King Philip remained pure. The sort most affected was the little rice corn. Now, what is the philosophy of this mixing and running out of old sorts? Nature never works at random, nor is there a foolish tiling to be found in all her works. They are full of niystery, but not of wasted forces. In this, as in a thousand other instances of hybridization, there is something to be learned. My own theory is, that this rice corn is a very low type in the family, perhaps only one remove from the original wild state, where each kernel is enveloped in a separate husk; and therefore nature, ever willing to aid man in improvements, makes a greater show upon this than any of the others, toward a variety that will be more valu- able for cultivation ; for that, though toothsome in its green state, is not to be compared to some of the best varieties of sweet corn for the table, and is not near as productive. The stalks are low and bushy, and may grow Seo. 45.] THE COST AND PROFIT OF A CORN CROP. 743 close together, the ears small, and set near the ground. The principal object in growing it is for popping. The Improved King Philip has reached a liigh point toward perfection, that is difficult of further impi-ovement. Hence it does not mix freely with any other sort. Nature shows plainly in this, that it has already expended its main force in bringing it up to its present point. 80G. Coru and CrowSi — Until the mooted question is settled, whether crows do more damage to farmers than they do good, we shall say : Frighten the crows, but do not kill them, except one to use to keep his fel- lows off your corn. Pick off part of his feathers, and scatter them on some spot in the field easily seen, and near by lay the carcass of the dead crow, and you will see his late companion sailing over the field, and looking down upon what has been done, but very careful not to light where he, too, might fall a victim. If j^ou can not kill a crow, you may make a very good show of a dead one with a black hen. Crows are too valuable as ver- min-destroyers on a farm, to be wantonly destroyed because they pull up a little corn. One fanner says : " In protecting fields from crows, he has found the best remedy to tie young crows to strings stretched across the field. Tlieir calls drew a great many old crows, which came to see what the matter was, and went off, and kept off that year and the next." Another one says: "A very troublesome case of crow depredation was cured by suspending young crows dead, which so alarmed the old ones that they left in disgust. I find tarring corn seed a good preventive." If crows are to be kept off by any kind of scarecrows, they miist be put up as soon as the corn is planted, before the thieves get a taste. That is the " ounce of prevention" that is "worth a pound of cure." 807. The t'ost and Proflt of a €orii Crop.— The growing of corn ; the varieties grown ; the manner of planting ; how cultivated ; whether high manuring, and much labor to produce a great yield per acre; whether corn siiall be grown — particularly in the Eastern States — will always depend upon the cost of production ; which, in all but the great fertile corn region of the West, is not less than thirty cents a bushel. There it can be grown for less — there it has been often sold below twenty-five cents a bushel. For many j^ears in Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, a sort of universal price of corn prevailed, at a dollar a barrel, which is a local measure of live bushels. Yet during those years we have known large car- goes delivered on the bank of the Ohio, or its tributaries, at half that price ; of course, for that is the custom, always in the ear, and at the rate of three heaped half bushels of ears for a bushel of grain. The gene- ral price of corn upon the Illinois Central Railroad during the summer of 1861 was ten cents a bushel, delivered in the ear, at a measure that would make a bushel of shelled corn. On the rivers it was not worth as much, and we heard of sales upon interior farms at three cents a bushel. At these prices corn does not pay ordinary farm-laborers' wages to grow it. The price it has sold for also proves that the great value of CEREALIA. [Chap. VIH. land is not its richness ; the great sourco of profit is not the great crops produccii, but tlic market for that produce; and land is valuable just in proportion to its nearness to a place where its produce caii best be sold. It ought to be a leading feature in the calculation of every land purchaser, Where is the market i Ever}' producer should also keep this question con- stantl}' before his eyes, and shape his productions accordingly. Before the age of railroads the price of wheat in the interior of Indiana and Illinois was twenty -five to thirty-five cents a bushel, "store pay." It was not a cash article, because there was no market. Indian corn was still more a cheap drug on hand, and many a " broad horn" has been loaded upon the "Wabash and other rivers for the far-off New Orleans market, with corn at six to ten cents a bushel. The strongest incentive to high fanning is a high market. Is it profitable to grow corn in New England ? 808. Early Ripening Sweet Corn. — Sw.eet corn, which is the kind tliat shows shriveled grains when fully ripe, and tastes sweet, is not an early ripening corn. Our pop-corn is fit for boiling two weeks before the sweet corn ; but neither pop-corn, nor any other kind of corn, is to be compared to the sv.-eet corn for table use, and is only tolerated by those who grow sweet corn until that is large enough to boil. There is a black variety of sweet corn that ripens early ; but this we would onl}- grow for early use, on account of its color, and that probably is one of the causes of its early ripening, as all dark-colored things absorb the rays of the sun. Some of this black corn has black cobs and husks ; others, the grains only arc black. "Wo have grown an excellent sweet corn with white grains and dark-colored husks, which is quite early ; that is, iu ordinary seasons, fit to eat in July. 809. The Value of Sweet Corn. — ^There is no variety of corn that afifords the farmer so nmch value, or gives so groat a return for the labor of grow- ing it, as sweet corn ; and it should be grown in suflicient quantity to give every farmer's lamily an unlimited supply for the table at every meal, if desired, and also for the children and servants to roast and eat between meals, from July 20th to October 20th — three full months. There is no food that can be furnished so cheaply, and none that is more nutritious and wholesome. It is always a welcome dish to chance guests, and in case of deficiency of other food at such a time, a dish of ears of green corn can be gathered, husked, cooked, and put upon the table in 30 minutes. And upon two or three cars a hungry man makes a satisfactory meal, with very little other food. In first cost, in cost of jireparation, in value as food, is there anything equal to green corn? In value as food, so far as nutriment is concerned, sweet corn is 25 per cent, above any other sort, and 50 per cent, above as regards its wholesomeness. Being softer it is easier masticated, and goes into the stomach in better condition for diges- tion ; and being almost entirely destitute of oil it is believed to be more easily digested than the common field corn. Sweet corn should be planted for family use in hot-beds for transplanting; bEc. 45] BROOM COPvUr. 745 or, if you Lave no hot-bed, in bits of inverted sod, in a box in the kitchen, so as 1o have them ready to put out in a rich warm spot as early as possible, and at the same time you should phmt a few jiills, and after that every two weeks till the middle of July. Stowell's Evergreen Sweet Corn can be planted so late that it will barely mature so as to be eatable when frost comes, previous to which if it is cut up and shocked, or packed closely in a room, it will remain tit for boiling till New Year's. Green corn may be preserved very late in autumn, by tying a bundle of straw, or cornstalks, around a hill of corn while it is growing, and before it is injured by frost. Another value that sweet corn has is for drying for winter use. Scald the ears when the grains have acquired their full size, and cut them off and dry them in the sun, or in a very slow oven, leaving the door open to allow the moisture to evaporate. "When dry, store it away for winter use in a bag of open texture, hung up in a dry store-room — on the rafters in the garret is a good place. It may be cooked by soaking and boiling alone, or with beans, as " suc- cotash ;" and when boiled it may be eaten with meat or with milk, or with sirup ; or it may be stewed in milk, adding butter and salt, and form an excellent breakfast dish. A variety of sweet corn, known as the Excelsior, is considered the best where but one sort is grown. It grows two or three ears to the stalk, with twelve or fourteen rows to the ear, and is very rich when cooked. 810. Broom Corn— How it 5s Grown, and Value of the Crop. — We arc aware that broom corn does not come properly under the head of this section, be- cause it belongs to the Sorghum family. But as it will be more likely to attract attention under the head of Corn, we give it a place here. In some sections of the country, particularly on the Mohawk liiver, broom corn is a leading crop upon many of the farms. It recpiires the best kind of soil — that is, soil that would produce forty or fifty bushels of Indian corn per acre. It also recpiires the best kind of preparation by disintegration and manui-ing, and then the seed is planted in drills or hills, like Indian corn, at about the same time in the spring, and it should be tended in the same way, thinning out the plants, which will probably grow in excess, as the seed is usually planted very thickly, and it must be carefully attended to at the first and second hoeing. When the broom corn is matured suHiciently, the heads are bent down before cutting. If the seed is to be saved in a mature condition, the corn is allowed to stand until the heads are well filled, but not dead ripe, when the heads are bent down by a man walking between two rows and bending all the heads inward. It is then allowed to stand until ripe, but uot dry, when it is cut by a man walking between the same rows with a keen knife — a large-sized shoe-knife is about the best kind that can be used — cutting off the brush with six or eight inches of the stalk at- tached. The brush is thrown in bunches by the cutters, and is or should be immediately gathered up and carried to the barn, or somewhere under cover. It must uot be cured in the sun. It is frequently stripped of the seed as 746 CEREALIA. [Coap. VIU. fixst as it is cut, and spread all through the barn, over the hay and grain lofts, or under sheds, or tied in bunches and hung against the walls. The seed that is to be saved must be handled carefnlly, as it is very liable to heat. It may be cured in the sun, or spread upon tlie barn floor, or on a loft with a very open floor, and it must be frequently stirred so as to give it air. Sometimes the brush is cured •with the seed adhering, but it is not as well, as it is more difticult to cure it perfectly, and it is bulky and heavy to haadle, and really in the end requires a good deal more labor. It is said, also, that the dry brush scrapes much harder than when first cut, and certainly it is more liable to be injured. For some work the brush nuijt be cut and cured quite green before the seed is mature. Then it is scraped oft' and fed out at once, and is of about the same value as hay. The ripe seed, cured for winter feeding, is considered by some nearly equal in value to oats. We have never been satisfied that it was worth half as much. Perhaps it would be if ground. The stalks are not considered nearly as valuable as Indian cornstalks. If neat cattle are turned into the field after the brusli is cut, tliey will pick oS" the leaves, but never eat the stalks. So they will if the stalks are cut and cured, and fed out in the winter. About the best use that the stalks of broom corn can be put to is to litter yards in winter to give cattle dry beds. They may also be used to make temporary shelter, or wind-breakers, for stock, or for covering root piles, or protecting more valuable forage from the weather. They are not valuable for manure, and would probably be the most so as'mulcfi. It is the most common prac- tice to let the stalks stand till spring, letting the stock pick and trample what they like, and then cut and burn the remainder on the field. Scraping oft' the seed is a laborious job. A machine has been extempo- rized for this purpose, and is described as follows : "Take an old fanning-mill (a new set of wheels in a strong frame, so that you could use a balance-wheel, would be better), put on two plank wheels in place of the fans, then take slats of the length you wish to make your cylin- der, three inches M-ide and three fourths of an inch thick, hollow them a little at the ends, so as to fit the wheels ; drive eight or ten wrought nails through each slat, and nail it to the wheels with the nail points out, in such a way that they will not bo in straight rows around the cylinder, but bristling all over. One to turn the crank pretty smartly, one to hold on tlie brush m handfuls, and a boy to hand it uj), will scrape two or throe wagon- lo.ids a day.'' The value of the crop is the most important consideration to those who may be tempted to embark in the business. We have seen various estimates of the amount of produce per acre. "We think that a tun of brush from five acres is a pretty fair estimate, and this will sell at from $100 to $150, or it will make up about one hundred and twenty dozen brooms, and any man of tolerable skill as a farm laliorer can soon learn how to make good twine or wire brooms. Tliere are machines used by broom-makers which greatly lacilitate the work. They cost about $35 each. Seo. 45.] BROOM CORN. T47 The quantity of seed grown upon an aero wc have seen rated as liigh as sixty bushels. Wc do not believe that one crop in ten will give that. The writer of an article now before us estimates the value of well-ripened seed for horses, sheep, and poultry higher than oats. The stalks, when left to ripen the seed, are of no value for cattle food. The seed is more valuable, but the brnsli is not; tbat is most valuable when cut green, and when the straw is fine, and retains a bright, lively color. In January, 1860, it was estimated that 2,000 tuns of broom corn had been received in this city within a year past from Illinois ; from Ohio, 500 to 600 tuns, and the same quantity from the State of New York. The quantity grown in the New England States is mostly manufactured before it reaches the cit}'. Tiie average price of broom-corn brush is six cents a pound for the green sort, and foui- cents for the red brush. The average crop per acre at tiie West is 400 pounds ; in this State, 350 pounds ; in New England, 250 pounds. It is not considered profitable to grow broom corn on a small scale ; but as a crop it docs appear to be so. There is a dwarf variety which has been recommended as more profitable for cultivation than the large and more common kind, because it furnishes finer and higher-priced brush ; but for cultivation on a large scale there are serious objectiour> against this variety — the sheaf of the upper leaf adheres so closely to the stalk it is very ditii- cult to separate it. For family use this would not be so objectionable. It would only make a little work for small fingers, while larger ones were making brooms in winter evenings. Shaker brooms are so common, that people generally suppose that broom corn is one of the staple crops of the Shaker Society. It may be in some families of the community, but not in all. The largest and oldest Society in the country, that of New Lebanon, Columbia County, N. Y., find it more advantageous to use their tillable land for some other purpose, and buy the brush, which they manufacture extensively, from the broonvcorn farms of the Mohawk Valley. The soil there is not only productive in this crop, but the quality of the product ranks higher than it does ujion the richer lands of the AVest, where the yield is larger, but the brush is coarser and less valuable. In conclusion, we advise caution about embarking in the culture of broom corn, without more knowledge than we can impart. CHAPTER IX. THE GRASSES-CULTIVATION AND USE. SECTION XLVI.-MOWIXG AND PASTURK LAND.-SEEDIXG LAND TO GIIA6S.-VAIUET1ES OF CULTIVATED GRASS.-WHAT IS GRASS? (HAT is grass * maybe more important to the bot- anist than to tlie farmer ; but what tanner's son of ordinary intelligence would not like to be able to answer that (juestion ? How can he, if he is never taught ? "Who has told him that clover is not grass, and that Indian corn and sugar-cane do belong to the £jrass family ? But it is not so much our present object to answer the question, as it is to speak briefly upon several practical things about the cultivation of grass and clover, and making tJiem into winter feed for farm stock, and all matters that pertain to this very important crop. "We are sure that every one who studies what we have compiled under the head of the grasses, particularly young readers, must be instructed in very important useful information. Natural grasses extend over the whole globe. Very curious and various provisions are made for the diflfiision of the seeds; many of them are furnished with creeping roots. Tlicy are not, like other plants, injured by the laceration of their herbage. The'making of artificial meadows is an art yet in its infancy. "We never bear of ihem in England prior to a. d. 16S1, nor in tbis country until about A. D. 1720. So little is known of natural or uncultivated grasses, tbat very few know the names of the grasses growing on their farms, nor can they distinguish one from another. One sixth of all the plants on the globe belong lo the fan.ily of grasses— two hundred and thirty genera, including three thousand species, are already known, and new species are constantly presenting themselves. Six tenths of the cultivated area of Xew York is devoted to the growth of grass, and the grass crop ot the United States is estimated at $300,000,000 annual value. Think of that, and you will see the imp'Mianee of every treatise upon this farm crop. 811. Varieties and Value of Grasses CultiTated.— J. Stanton Gould, of Columbia County, X. Y., has devoted much attention to the study of grasses. Of those most commonly cultivated, he gives tiie following brief description. First, of the Icscms : Tif^ it'-" .')> IND USE. M-my, USD TO Imlmbeiliieto ««W,ifkei>iKTet itedmrimotgTass, ■pMH io bdoDg to iMtvwkwpeseDt !■,■«• toffokM ' ■^ iK ik ddntioD 1 ^1^ An all vintcr g ggM ill potiio to i fiMMRlbteTeiT ,lMM|Uiiiertbe g^^hrr- ^('^'^ ^ pl^ oa the gloiie ^^ Of JKOB TfOinrG rAM»i PLATE XIX. (Page 748.) This plate needs no explanation. It is a beautiful picture of tjouib of the most valuable of our cultivated jjlants, which, collectively, make a farm crop so much more valuable than that which has been falsely called king, that when the two are fairly compared, "king cotton" dwindles into insignificance. Compared with grass, it is no more than a word. Without cotton we can live. Without grass, the world would be a desert, and man and beast would perish. It is because it is of such vast importance, that we have devoted a whole chapter to its consideration ; and for the purpose of attx'act- ing attention to it, we have placed this picture as a frontispiece. Each one of these grasses will be found pretty fully described in the following pages, which should be studied with careful attention. The pictures may be depended upon as true representations. Sec. 46.] VARIETIES AND VALUE OF CULTIVATED GRASSES. T49 '■^Fcduca ovina is essentially a, grass of fhe tliin soils resting upon rocky uplands, as on tlio mountain limestone, and most mountain ranges. "7'^. dunuscula. — In the valleys between such hills, and in tlie more shel- tered pastures of the upland districts. "i'l rubra. —In the more sandy loams of the lowland meadow, and by the sea-shore. "/''. loUacea. — Rich meadows on river banks, or under irrigation. "7'^. pratensis. — Best lowland meadows, not liable to floods. "i^. clatior. — On sandy clays, or other stifl' and strong lands, especially on the sea-shore. " The fescues are invariably present in our best pastures, and especially present in those of the most famous cheese districts. "Tiie F. pratensis is worth $3 33 when timothy is worth $5 per ton. It follows next after meadow foxtail (jdopecurus) as an early grass, and af- fords a l)ito earlier than orchard grass. ^. "The i?r(57rtws family has a very bad name, being neither agreeable nor nutritious to cattle. Bromus erectus is said to be the only perennial species in tiic genus. Early mowing is recommended as a means of extirpating tliis family. '■'■Lolium 2yerenne, or rye grass, is the favorite grass of England, and occu- pies there the same place that timothy does with us, and is probably better ada]ited to a wet climate like England than to a dry one like ours. Sixty varieties are cultivated in England of this one species. "■•Lolium Italicum, Italian rye grass, is worth $2 69 when timothy is worth $5. One hundred pounds of it give twenty-four and a half pounds of dry hay. It is best adapted to limestone and light soils, and is one of the most desirable varieties for irrigated meadows. " Triticum repejis, known as ' quack,' ' twitch,' or ' dog' grass, is very easily recognized by its spikelet of eight or ten-awned flowers placed flat- wise toward the sac/iis. It is a terrible pest in alternate husbandry, grow- ing in all sorts of soils, and robbing the cultivated plants of the richest por- tion of their food. In very diy seasons it may be killed by plowing it very thoroughly in July, and sowing the ground with buckwheat. Its stalks sometimes attain an altitude of tiiree feet, but it ordinarily stands two feet liigli. It forms a tolerably good hay, and is much relished by the stock as a pasture grass. It operates as an emetic on dogs, and is very useful in binding the sloping banks of railroads. '•^ Anthoxanthum odoratum, sweet-scented vernal grass, is not very valu- able for hay or for pasture, as one hundred pounds of it give^ only nineteen pounds and three quarters of dry hay, and an acre three quarters of a ton. It starts very early in the spring, and continires to throw out leaves during the summer. " Glyceria nervata grows in wet places. Its culms are extremely succu- lent; it is the hardiest grass in existence, and always grows more vigorously after a severe winter than after a mild one. 750 THE GRASSES— THEIR CULTIVATION AND USE. [Cdap. IX. Poa serotina, or foul-meadow, is one of the earliest grasses cultivated ill this country, and is still among the best. It does not injure by standing, as do other grasses, but may be cut at almost any time. It is easily made into hay, and never seems hard or harsh, and produces sound seeds in great abundance. " Trisctum subspicatum is a mean, stingy grass, growing on stiff clayey side-hills which have a northern aspect. It is only tit to be grown on soih that will bear nothing else. ^^ Zigaiitla aquatica grows in places wholly covered with water. It is very sweet and nutritious, and cows fed npon it have a copious flow of milk. In favorable situations it produces five or six tuns to the acre, grow- ing to the hight of nine feet. Its seeds resemble rice. " /V(Z^'«wi/»?'a^f/i«w.— According to the analysis of Professor Way, timo- thy yields more dry hay from a given amount of grass, and more of albu- minous, fatty, and heat-producing matters, from a given amount of dry hay, than any of the grasses upon wliicli he experimented. But it must bo remembered tliat Professor Way did not analyze either Poa comprcssa or Poa serotina. A crop of pure timothy on the farm of George Geddes, near Syracuse, N. Y., gave three tuns to the acre, and it is reported that John Fislier, Car- roll County, Md., cut from an acre five tuns and one thousand six hundred and twenty-two pounds of dry hay. The proper time for. mowing timothy is just when the first dry spot appears above the first joint. If mowed earlier, t!ie plant is injured. If left to a later period, tlie starch and sugar are converted into indigestible woody fiber, and the nitrogenous compounds, on which its value chiefly depends, are transferred from the leaves and culms to the seed, which mostly drop out before thej' reach the manger. Timotliy is not well adapted to hot sands, gravels, chalks, nor hard, sterile clays; but tlirives on j^eatj'-, damp soils, and especially on most calcareous loams, where it exhibits its fullest perfection. " The great drawbacks to its utility as a permanent meadow grass are, the very little after-math it produces, its liability to run out after two or tlu'eo years, and the injury it receives from insects with whicli it is infested. " A/ojja-urun (Meadow Foxtails). — Tliere arc five varieties of tliis genus viz. : A. j)ra((!7isis, A. a^jresds, A. geniculutus, and A. ristulatus. Tlie A. pratensis may be distinguished from its allied species by the equality of length in tlie glumes, and by a twisted arm twice the length of the blossom. It rarely exceeds three feet in length, and does not nsuaily yield over one tun to the acre. It is very watery in its composition ; one hundred pounds of the green grass give only nineteen ])ounds and three cpiartcrs of dry hay, while an equal quantity of timothy gives forty-two pounds and three quar- ters. If one tun of green timothy be worth $5, the foxtail will be worth $2 07, if Professor Way's analysis can be relied on. It is found abundantly in some of our best pastures, is one of the earliest to start in the sprin^, and Sec. 40.] VARIETIES AND VALUE OF GRASS CULTIVATED. 751 the first to mature its seeds ; its after-math is exceedingly abundant, start- ing up immediately after mowing, and if the weather be sliowery, will, in a week or ten days, give a fair bite to the cattle. It is not well adapted to alternate husbandry, as it requires three or four years to bring a meadow to full perfection. It is very difficult to procure good seeds, as jnany heads arc entirely destroyed by the Insects. It is better adapted to pasture than to meadow, flourishes most luxuriaiitl}^ on rich, moist, strong soil, the pro- duction from a clayey loam being three fourths greater than from silicious soil. '^ Setan'a glauca is good for nothing in meadows and pastures ; it should be exterminated as soon as possible, which may be done by a thin coat of horse manure applied in autumn. " Dactt/lis (/lomcrata, or orchard grass, sometimes grows iive feet high, and has jJi'oduced five tuns, one thousand eight Inindred and fifty-nine pounds to an acre. One hundred pounds of it produces thirty pounds of dry hay ; it contains nearly as much of fat and flesh-forming matter as timothy, but contains much less of heat-forming matters. If the latter is worth §5 a ton, orchard grass will be worth $3 59. It flourishes well in shady places, and receives its trivial name from its adaptation to orchards. Its disposition to grow in tussocks may be prevented by harrowing and rolling in the spring. It flourishes well in almost all soils and climates ; best in sandy loam. It is known in England as cocksfoot. In tliis country it is most common in New England, New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, and less common in most of the other grass-growing States. We say grass- growing States, for, strictly speaking, the cotton States are not so, not- withstanding the planters are always grumbling about being overrun with grass. It is, however, an annual that troubles them most, and in all those States very little grass seed is sown to produce a crop either for hay or j)asturc. For both purposes, orchard grass is good, but most especially for pasture, producing good milk, beef, mutton, or wool ; and every kind of stock eats it freely, and thrives well upon it ; and after being mowed or fed off, it throws up a now growth rather more readily than any other grass. It is not inclined to run out in any situation where it once gets good root, though as easily subdued by plowing as timothy ; it is better than that to mix. with clover, ripening more nearly at the same time. For pasture, we would mix orchard grass with several other sorts. '■'■ Poa pratcnsis (the Kentucky blue grass) docs not grow liighcr than two and a half feet, and can not be relied upon to yield more than a tun and a half to the acre. One hundred pounds of the grass yields thirty-two pounds of dry hay, and is worth $3 20 per tun when timothy is wortli $5. Butter made from this grass will keep sweet longer than that made from any other species. Its after-math is very luxuriant, and it stands the cold better than any other, but is liable to burn up in liot, dry weather. Its favorite locality is a limestone soil. " Pea compressa (wire or blue grass) is believed to be the most nutri- 752 THE GRASSES— THEIR CULTIVATION AND USE. [CniP. IX. tive of our grasses; it grows heavy, about twenty inches high, standing thickly on the ground. It causes an abundant flow of very ricli milk, and horses fed upon it alone do well. Sheep fatten upon it, and all grazing ani- mals eat it witii avidity. ' Affrcsfis vithjaris (red top) grows about two and a half feet long, and yields about one and a half tuns to the acre. It is not a first-rate grass, but seems to be better relished by working oxen than by any other stock. It grows in very moist land. ^^ Agresiis a/J« (white top) seems better adapted to sandy soils than the preceding, but resembles it very nearly in its botanical character." No country can be a prosperous agricultural one that inaports its hay. Yet we find that Sonth Carolina has done so; not merely from Maine and other Northern States, but from Holland. From a remarkably able report by Oscar M. Lieber, State Geologist of South Carolina, upon " the Agri- cultural Capacity of the State, and the Obstructions to its Full Develop- ment," puljlished in Mai'ch, 18G0, he very plainly shows liow a country that neglects grass culture will deteriorate. He points out many instances where the original condition of the soil was very desirable, which is now the re- verse, because the owners import hay, and leave their own soil naked. Ho says : " There are other considerations, such as thorough manuring, which should be duly remembered ; but it is certainly owing, in the very first place, to these causes, that those once fertile lands are now in many instances de- populated and abandoned by their former owners ; that a district as promi- nent in her vii-gin productiveness as Fairfield is gradually losing her origi- nal legislative representation, and that a section of the State, capable of supporting perhaps ten times the population of our entire Commonwealth, is now, to a ver}^ considerable extent, thrown out as irreclaimable. But how is the system to be changed ? Nothing easier. Clothe your barren hill- sides with grass — decrease the area of your cultivated crops — manure highly with commercial and compost manures — and, to enable you to do the latter, keep cattle, sheep, and hogs ; feed tliem well, and make them pay you in rich returns." 812. Grasses Reconiinendfd by (he New York State Agricultural Society.— A committee, composed of Wm. Kelly, J. Delafield, B. P. Johnson, to whom 'the subject was referred by the New York State Agricultural Society, reports as follows : "The following described grasses are, by common consent, admitted to be the most valuable now cultivated in England. There are othei-s of great value, wliich might, perhaps be profitably cultivated in our climate, but for the experiments now projiosed, your committee recommend only the varieties here named. Meadow Foxtail — {Alopeciirus prateiisis). — This is a very early grass, l)roductive, and exceedingly nutritious. It is the principal grass in all rich pastures, is a favorite with sheep and cattle, and is one of the most per- Sec. 46.] VARIETIES RECOMMENDED. 753 iiiaiieiit of the cultivated grasses. The objections to it are these — that it is slow to establish itself and acquire its full growth, and in England does not produce its seed perfectly. Not more than one third of the seed sown usually germinates. In our climate there ought to be no difficulty of this sort. Meadow Fescue — {Festuca praiensts). — Fibrous root. This is one of the most valuable grasses. It is nearly as early as the foxtail, and equally nutritious, though not so productive. It is found in all the richest natural pastures, is much liked by cattle and horses, and is among the most per- manent of grasses. It thrives best in the clay districts of England. It ripens its seed well, but, like the meadow foxtail, is slow in arriving at maturity. Rough Stalked Meadow Grass — {Poa trivialis). — This is a superior pas- ture grass. It has fibrous roots, and in a moist, rich soil is productive and very permanent ; but on dry and exposed land its product is inconsiderable, and it soon dies out. It is not remarkable for its nutritive properties, though cattle seem fond of it. Fertile Meadow Grass — {Poa fertilis). — Is a native of Germany ; roots slightly creeping ; is productive, one of the earliest grasses, and is remark- able for the large crop of after-math, sending up a succession of flowering culms till the frost arrests it. It grows well on any good land, but thrives best in moist ground ; is among the most nutritious grasses, and I'ipens its seed well. Sweet-scented Yernal Grass — {Anthoxanthum odoratwrC). — This is one of the earliest as well as one of the latest herbage grasses, is extensively culti- vated in Eastern Pennsylvania, and imparts the peculiar richness of flavor to Philadelphia butter. Perennial Eye Grass — (Lolium ■perenne). — The root is fibrous. It is the most generally cultivated of the herbage grasses in England. It is adapted to a wide range of temperature and soils, soon reaches maturity, ripens an abundance of seed, is early and productive, but not particularly nutritious. Rough Cocksfoot, or Orchard Grass — (Dactylis ylomerata). — Said to be a native of Virginia, is cultivated with us, but does not rival timothy ; yet in England it ranks very high. It is always sown there in mixture with other grasses, and by ex[>criment is the most productive of all, yielding a greater weight of forage per acre, though less nutritious than other favorite sorts. »' Meadow Cat's Tail, oe Timothy — {Phleum jn'atensis). — The cultivation of it in England is recommended in mixture with other grasses, but not alone, as with us is most common. Farm, or Bent Grass — American names are Herds-grass, Foul Meadow, and Red Top — {Agrostis vulgaris, and Agrostis stolonifera latifolia). — In England, several varieties are recognized, the largest of which is Farm, or large leaved creeping Bent ; this is more productive, though not so well adapted to upland, as the common Bent Grass, or Herds-grass. 75i CLOVER— ITS CDLTIVATIO^T AND USE. Chap. IX. Smooth Sialkeu Mi:adow Gkass — American names: Spear Grass, Juno Grass, and Blue Grass— (/^wfjy/'(//<;««,s-).— This grass is indigenous, and is llic ordinary' growth of our roadsides. It is very early, and continues its growtli throughout the season until very late in the autumn ; it resists drouth, makes a close sod, and is a great favorite with slieep. As a hay grass, it is not so valuable as many others ; it is very i)erinanent. It is asserted that npward of two hundred varieties of grass are grown in Great Britain, mostly indigenous. In a single sod taken from a rich pasture were found thirty varieties, and there are usually twenty-six or more in all lirst-rate pasture land. If we expect to rival natural pastures, we ought to imitate nature in scat- tering a variety of seeds, instead of confining ourselves to one or two sorts. 813. Gcorse' Gcddes on Growin,; Clover.— "The agriculture of Onondaga County is based on the clover plant, Trlfolium jmitensc. It is used for pasture, for hay, and for manure. Strike this plant out of existence, and a revolution would follow that would make it necessary for ns to learn every- thing anew in regard to cultivating our lands. We have this most valuable treasure and appreciate it ; its influence and importance to us demand an extended account. "There are two varieties of red clover, known among the farmers as the large and small. The large is but little cultivated, and is generally con- sidered of less value for hay or pasture, and yields but a single crop of hay in a season; but where wanted for manurd only, it is sometimes preferred for its heavy growth. " Clover seed is usually sown on winter wheat, in March or April, in quantities varying from two to ten quarts to the acre : eight quarts is gene- rally sown by the best farmers. Sometimes this seed is sown on oats, barley, and spring Avhcat ; but as it can be sown before the spring frosts are over on winter wheat, it is more certain to be covered by the freezing and thawing of the earth, and for this reason success is more certain than with any other crop. " Gypsum, at the rate of a bushel or more per acre, is usually sown after the ground is settled and the crop has commenced growing. Sometimes the sowing of the gypsum is deferred until the wheat is harvested, and then sown on the stubble as soon as convenient. If the season is wet, and there- lore a growing one, the small kind of clover will be in full bloom before the frosts of autumn kill the plants. "It is common to pasture this young clover moderately in autumn, and opinions arc somewhat divided as to whether this injures the future growth of the crop. "In the following spring, gypsum should be again sown on the clover, at the rate of a bushel to" the acre. By the 25th of June or the 1st of July the small variety is ready for making into hay, and should yield a tun and a half to the acre. Various opinions have been entertained as to the proper stage for cutting this hay crop ; but the general practice is to cut Seo. 46.] CLOVER— ITS CULTIVATION AND USE. 755 when in full bloom, or as soon as the earliest heads show si_2:ns of ripening. The true process of curing is to handle as little as possible, and to cure mostly in the cock. As soon as the hay is drawn away, gypsum, at the rate of a bushel to the acre, should be sown. By about the first of October the second crop will be ready to cut for seed. This crop should be allowed to ripen so that the seeds are full and mostly hardened ; and should be care- fully cured, or it will heat in the mow to the injury of the seed. In winter, the seed is thrashed out at a cost of about one dollar a bushel. The straw and chaff are eaten with avidity by cattle and sheep, and are of consideral)le value for forage — perhaps enough to pay for cutting, curing, and putting the crop in the barn. The seed generally averages three bushels to the acre — soiiictimes six bushels have been saved — and sometimes the crop of seed is a failure. The usual market price is about six dollars a bushel. "After the seed crop is removed from the ground, there is a considerable part of the crop of hay left, particularly if it was cut higli, as it should bo. This stubble is usually pastured to some extent. "In the spring following, the ground is plowed, unless wanted for pasture. If plowed, corn, oats, barley, or spring wheat is sown, and a good crop is con- iidently expected. If it is intended that the clover shall remain on the ground more than one year, other seeds are sown with the wheat so as to make a more perfect covering of grass, and aid in filling the soil with roots. Timothy (herds-grass), Phleum pratensc, sown in September with the wheat, will aid in every part of the cultivation of the clover. The crop of hay will be benefited, and the surface of the ground ^vill be more perfectly covered, and thus weeds kept out, and in case the second year is to be for pasture, it is important. " According to Boussingault, one acre of the perfectly dry roots of clover will weigh 1,275 lbs., and these roots are valuable manure for the next crop, and the same may be said of the tops that are plowed under. The roots run deep into the soil, and thus jnilverize it, so that a single perfect plowing brings it into a most satisfiictory conditiim. Some of our best; farmers plow their fields once in a few years, and then shallower plowing of this clover sod will show the long tap roots that have been pulled up from the subsoil by the plow, projecting above the surface all over the field, looking quite like dead weeds. These roots have transferred the fertilizing matters of the lower soil to the surface. "If our soils require improving we turn the clover crop under, and repeat the operation until there is suSicient fertility to allow us to carry tlie clover ofl\ The oftenor we can fill the soil with roots, and then plow them undei-, and thus allow them to rot, the sooner we exuect to get our land in condition to crop with grain. " A very considerable part of the cultivated land of this county has never Had any other manuring than this clover and gypsum, and its fertility is not diminishing. Fields that are distant from barn-yard manure are rarely treated to anything but gypsum and clover. These fields are not cropped 756 THE GRASSES— THEIR CULTIVATION AND USE. [Chap. LV with grain as often as those that have the benefit of barn-yard manure, but they are manured at much less expense. The cost of a fouifli of a bushel of clover seed, at $6, is $1 50 do. Bowing is about 08 do. three bushels of gypsum at the mills i8 24 do. drawing same 12 do. Bowing at three different times 38 Total cost of manuring one acre with clover $2 32 "A field treated as described, having the first year given a crop of hay and another of seed ; the second year, an acre will nearly or quite pasture a cow from the 20th of May until tlie middle of August. If then plowed si.x or eight inches deep in the most perfect manner, it will be in the best pos- sible condition for winter wheat ; or if not wanted for wheat, the land may be used the second year for pasture the whole season, and put into corn or any other crop tlie next. Clover is a biennial, and two years is all that one seeding should stand." 814. Clover Seed— How Much to Sow per Acre. — John Johnson, " the old Scotch farmer" near Geneva, N. Y., says: "I never have sown over twelve pounds of clover seed to the acre, unless done by mistake, and I have always had large crops if any one else had in the neighborhood. My man once ac- cidentally sowed, by the use of a machine, twenty-four quarts per acre of clover seed. The result was, the clover never got taller than the natural white clover we some seasons have in such quantities, but which is generally too short to cut ; while that sown at about 10 lbs. to the acre was as good as I could wish." Kobert L. Pell, of Ulster County, N. Y., once stated that ho generally sowed a bushel of clover seed per acre. Upon this Mr. Johnson remarks : " I read that Mr. Pell sows one bushel of red clover seed to the acre. Now such nonsense as this should not go out among farmers, a great many of whom are opposed to anything like book farming ; and when they see a record of such folly, it is less wonder that they should believe nothing that is writ- ten on agriculture further than their own practice." Tlie statement was, like many others, made without proper consideration, and liable to mislead others. Tlie quantity named by Mr. Johnson is correct. Can any one tell the true value of an acre of clover, and whether it is worth more to plow in than it is to rot upon the ground, or cut and cure and pass 'hrough animals, before it is given back to the earth as manure? And who can tell the value of a tun of manure ; that is, as a smelter of ore can tell the value of a tun of it which he puts into the furnace? Does not the farmer put the manure into the earth lor a similar purpose? One draws out refined metal, and if that is worth more than the ore and fuel and labor, then he makes a profit. The other has for an object to change the mass of dirt into corn, wheat, and fine flour, which, after all, is nothing but refined dirt, and upon the process depends the profit, and one should be just as well able as the other to tell the value of the crude article. Seo. 46.] GROWING AND HARVESTING CLOVER SEED. 757 815. Growing Clover Seedi — Clover will produce only one crop of seed in a season, and if we allow it to grow until it has blossomed, and then permit it to stand until the seed begins to form, or until the seed has formed, and some of the blossoms begin to turn brown, we can not reasonably expect to have much of a crop of seed the next time the clover is cut, because the seed-producing substances have been too much exhausted to mature another crop the same season. There is usually too much anxiety to get a good crop of liay, and afterward a crop of seed. It is better to be contented with less hay iu the first crop, and have more seed in the second crop, than to lose a dollar's worth of seed for a dime's worth of hay. It is said that the application of plaster to the clover field in spring will secure a better yield of seed from the second crop, while a direct application after mowing the first growth is found to increase the rankness of the hay at the expense of the filling of the heads with seed. 816. Harvesting Clover Seed. — We recommend cutting when two thirds of the head are brown. The chance of good weather is better, and there is less loss from shelling while handling ; and the straw is of greater value as fodder than if allowed to stand until the whole is dead ripe. Besides, the later ripening heads are poorly filled with seed. Sometimes, however, both the first and second growth may l)lossom largely and yet produce very little seed — -from some cause not well understood. The best implement for harvesting is a reaper — the grain platform at- tached, with a board at the back edge to retain a larger amount of clover — when full, to be pitched or raked off in heaps. If clover stands well, it may lie cut high ; it saves time in curing and labor in handling, and leaves the dryer portions of the stalk upon the field. As soon as fairly dry it should be drawn to the barn, as it can not be secured in the cock against rain. When spread out, however, as when left in the swath, or in small gavels from the reaper, it is little injured by rain, though heavy storms may wash oflF a portion of the seed. In cutting with the scythe, we may turn two swaths together to facilitate the work of raiding. With good weather it will be cured suflicientl}' to draw in the second day after cutting ; if not, it may be raked, when slightly damp, into small bunches, or pitched together with a barley^fork. Care in handling is requisite to prevent loss from the dropping of the heads, and, from the stiff bush-like character of the straw, it may be placed in the mow in a greener state than hay or grain, without injury. The moisture should be dried off, but an occasional juicy stalk will do no harm. The seed can be separated from the straw with a common thrashing ma- chine cylinder, having a long shaker or box full of holes attached, so that the heavier part of the chaff, which contains the seed, may fall through. This work is best performed in freezing cold weather, when no dampness is present in the seed or air. To get the clean seed, a clover-huller is em- ployed— a machine which rubs the seed from the chaff, which is passed through it again and again, until the separation is complete. Wherever the 75S THE GRASSES— THEIR CULTIVATION AND USE. [Chap. IX. crop is much grown, there are fanners who make it their husiness to go from barn to barn with these machines — ilirashing, hulling, and cleaning the seed at a specified price per bushel, usually about one dollar. If grown only in small quantities for home use, clover seed may be thrashed with flails or trodden out with horses and sown in the chaff, which is full as certain to catch, and jierhaps more sure than that cleaned ever so nicely. Still it is difficult to regulate the quantity as closely, or distribute as evenl}', as with the clean seed. 817. Cutting (lover for Hay. — Clover for hay should be cut when the heads are about two thirds open, and it may be housed the same day, and salted with a peck to the tun, and will keep jjcrfectly sweet, though sweat- ing and turning almost black. We prefer to cock clover to cure, cover- ing it with hay caps in case of danger of rain. The value of a crop of clover for hay is esteemed great by all farmers, and some liave learned to value it liigher for improving the soil for future crops than they do for hay. One advantage over any other crop grown to improve the soil is that its roots are earth-workers, and when they decay, they not only manure the soil, but leave it light and porous. It is a question well worth the consideration of farmers, where clover grows heavy, so as to effectually shade the land, how much is lost by not plowing under while green. Some suppose that the shade, together with the mold of the clover on top of the ground, would im- prove the land as much as plowing under. Others think the benetit pretty much lost, and others still would consider it a dead loss to devote a crop of clover to manurial purposes. They will cut it for hay, haul it home, and haul the manure back again. ^^/lite Clover is seldom cut for hay. Its greatest purpose is for pasture. Its growth should be encouraged by all who keep bees — it is good bee-pas- ture. The growth of white clover on soils natural to its production may be encouraged and promoted by a top-dressing of plaster and ashes. SIS. Lucern, Alfalfa, Lupine, etc. — Several of the plants named in this paragraph are used for forage, though not properly called grasses. They are worthy of farmei"s' attention. Midicago sativa (lucern) succeeds best upon limestone loam. It is j)ar- ticularly liable to be injuriously affected by weeds, to avoid which it is generally sown in drills, and hand hoed in England, where its cultivation has been mostly in small patches for soiling, for which it is very valuable. Mr. Gould says : " The best soil for it is a sandy one, resting on a porous calcareous sub- soil. Its roots penetrate fourteen feet in depth, and hence a hard subsoil is fatal to successful growth. It arrives at its greatest perfection after three years. In one recorded case, eleven acres sufficed to keep eleven hoi-ses two hundred and ninety-nine days. In another, a field of eight acres kept , eight horses three lunulred and fifteen days. In both cases a large number of sheep were fed on the ground after the last cutting for the horses. Chan- cellor Livingston, in Columbia County, X. Y., cut twenty -five tuns from an Sec. 4G.] LUCERN, ALF^VLFA, LUPIKE, ETC. 759 aero in five mowings. It is ready for cutting about the first of Maj^, and may be cut over every thirty days thereafter. It is remarkably adapted for milch cows, where the milk is sold in the market, but butter made from it is not so sweet as from other grasses. It is greatly relished by horses and cattle ; one hundred pounds of it will make twenty -five pounds of dry hay, and its nutritive powers bear such a relation to those of timothy, that it is worth §3 13 per tun where that grass is worth $5. The only difiiculty with lucern is to get it started. It must be sown in drills, and carefully hoed until it is large enough to cover the ground. If this precaution is taken, and a di-outli does not occur just as the young plants are starting, it will be pretty sure to succeed, and will last for twenty -five or thirty years. If, however, it is overrun with weeds in the beginning, or a severe drouth occurs, it grows feebly, and soon dies out. The seed is covered with a very hard and com- pact coat, wliich, if the weather be dry, will greatly retard vegetation. It is therefore generally the practice to steep it in warm water, to soften the coat, for six or eight hours before sowing. From fourteen to eighteen pounds of seeds are usually sown on an acre ; but, as many of the seeds are imper- fect, and as fine and succulent plants are more desirable than coarse and rank ones, it is better economy to sow twenty -five pounds." Alfalfa, sometimes called Peruvian clover, is beginning to be appre- ciated in California. It can be cut several times a year, and afford a very lieavy crop. In deep soil the roots penetrate so far that drouth does not prevent its growth, like ordinary grass or English clover. It should be cul- tivated here for soiling cattle. Lotus corjiiculatus (bird's-foot trefoil) is a prostrate perennial, common on open grassy pastures and dry places. It is a leguminous plant, equally nutritions ns clover, and is instantly eaten down whenever cattle have access to it. It is one of the commonly cultivated artificial grasses of England, and is always recommended as worthy a place in all mixtures for perma- nent pastures, and especially for lawns, orchards, and shady places. Mcdicago lupulina is another leguminous plant, a fibrous-rooted peren- nial, very common in dry pastures, especially if of good loamy quality, where it forms, with other plants, a thick sward. The pods are short, black, twisted, and arrayed in oblong heads. It is not equal in nutritious quali- ties, perhaps, to red clover, but is valuable on dry, poor soils, where, how- evoi', it is apt to run out in a few years. ■ White lupine is highly recommended as a fertilizing crop on sandy land, where no other crop would grow. Portugal has been highly benefited by growing lupine for soiling and manuring. It is of very rapid growth, jiroduccs a large amount of vegetable matter, and draws from the subsoil a large quantity of alkalies. It is rarely or never injured by drouth or in- sects, and is admirably adapted for enriching unfruitful sandy soils ', .while its strong stems and roots open and ameliorate, ds well as enrich, heavy tenacious clays. M. Vilmorin, of Paris, says it is sown in that vicinity about the middle of April, after all danger from frost is past. He says the 760 THE GRASSES— THEIR CULTIVATION AND USE. [C.iai-. IX. green manure yielded by this plant is excellent. The seeds, soaked in \ratt'r, form a good cattle food, and the young plant is readily eaten by sheep. Spergula Arvensis (Spurry). — No jilant has been more lauded for enricli- ing sandy soils than 6])urry. Yon Vogt states that by its use the wo;st shifting sands may be made to yield remunerative crops. Vicia Saliva (Vetch or Tare). — In England this is an exceedingly valua- ble plant, especially on heavy soils. It can be sown in autumn or spring — the latter generally yielding the heaviest crop, though the former is the earliest. Vetches are principally used as a green food for horses ; an acre of good vetches, fed in the yard or stable, will keep more horses than six acres of the best pasturage. They succeed best in a wet season, and on this account are not likely to do well in this country, though we have seen them in Canada, and sheep and horses both fatten upon vetches f;xstcr than upon clover. They are good, too, for all horned cattle, particularly milch cows. Pigs eat vetches as well as clover, and thrive without grain. Mr. Lawes' experiments on vetches, extending over many years, prove that, like peas and beans and clover, vetches are an enriching rather than an imjjoverish- ing crop. Barn G?'ass. — The editor of the Maine Fanner thinks that very common plant in New England, known as barn grass, would prove as profitable for cultivation in that section as Hungarian grass of Iowa notoriety, which it very mucii resembles. Both are annuals, and if grown upon a good corn soil will produce a heavy crop of green or dry feed, but no grazing after bemg mowed. Wc have never considered the barn grass a valuable forage plant, and do not believe it will ever come into general use, because Indian cornstalks are more nutritious, and will produce more per acre when sowed in drills or broadcast. In a dry season, and on good soil, it will produce more than most of the grasses that we cultivate. Horses and cattle like it when the seed is in the milk. Horses and poultry like the seeds. There is as much farinaceous matter in the seeds, in proportion to the size and weight, as in some of the cultivated grains. 819. Uungariau Grass> — This is a new name for an old thing. It was in- troduced into France in 1S15, and has met with much favor. It germinates readily, withstands drouth to a remarkable degree, remaining green even when other vegetation is parched up, and if its development bo arrested by dry weather, the least rain restores it to vigor. It has numerous broad and long leaves, so that it affords a great amount of nutrition for stock. According to Mr. Flint, Hungarian grass flourishes in somewhat light and dry soils, though it attains its greatest luxuriance in soils of medium consistency, well manured. One of its characteristics will go far toward recommending it to farmers. Mr. Cornell says that one piece of his was blown down by storms three times in succession, and each time recovered its upright growth. He thinks it twice as heavy as timothy. On poor soil it attained a liight of two and a half feet, but on a sun^U patch, more highly manured, it grew to even three and a half feet. This grass is a good forage Sko. 40.] ^ HUNGAEIAN GRASS. 761 crop on the rich lands of the "West. It will exhaust soil, and if It is not rich it will not produce a profitable crop. The time of sowing is the same as that of oats. We would use a peck of seed per acre, and cut for hay before the seed is in the milk. It should be cured like timotli}', and stock will eat it as well — many say better. The Hungarian grass is millet. Whether precisely the old German millet or not, which has long been cultivated in this country, is no matter. It is, at least for the prairie farmers, a good crop plant. The sellers of "honey blade grass seed" are knaves of the meanest sort, when representing the seed they sell as anything but millet, and millet is no new thing in this country. In some situations it certainly is a good thing, and we hope its cultivation will rapidly increase, but wo object to humbugging anybody into it under the impression that they have found a new variety of grass, under the name of " Hungarian." A farmer in Illinois says : "As a forage plant for milch cows and cattle it is, Lbelieve, an excellent article, when sown thick and not allowed to ripen the seed, or to feed after the seed is thrashed out. For horses, it will not do to feed with seed. Where it does not produce death it reduces the animal's strength, though not always his condition as to fat or lean. From feeding with this grass I have lost three horses. The seed is to liorses a stinmlating diuretic, acting upon the kidneys energetically ; and when used continually, the increased diuresis produces irritation and inflaumiation of the kidneys, weakness of the loins, shortness of breath, inability to undergo much exertion, and death ensues, unless tlie cause is removed and remedied. I do not think it too rich a food, but the oil contained in the seeds is injurious. It operates upon cattle also as a diuretic, and rather more so than I like in milch cows, unless fed upon shorts or bran at the same time. My ojiinion is tliat the straw is a good feed when not too coarse, but with the seed, in- jurious to horses and sometimes to cattle. In one experiment made -with Hungarian grass upon two acres, the seed, sown the first of July, ripened before frost, and two tuns of hay per acre Avere cut. A third of a bushel of seed sown broadcast suffices for an acre." The It'orthioestern Fanner says: "It is well known to those who have fed the Hungarian grass, that it is remarkably nutritious, and that horses and other stock thrive more rapidly when fed on it than when fed on any other kind of coarse forage. Hence it should be fed more si>aringly. If any injury has resulted from feeding it as stated, it can only be accounted for in the action of the seed upon the animal organism. The seed is as rich as Indian corn^ and should be fed with care, as horses are liable to eat too much." One farmer says of it: "I have been told that it is not safe to feed to my horses, as it would obstruct the flow of urine. My opinion is the reverse. I tliink it somewhat diuretic and aperient, especially for animals that are worked hard. " If I have a horse, colt, cow, or calf that appears unwell, I feed Hunga- rian hay as a remedial agent, and have been gratified upon all such trials to r62 THE GRASSES— THEIR CULTIVATION AND U3E. [Chap. IX. see how soon the animal would begin to gain. I consider it the best liay we can have, if fed properly. I would say, never confine your working horses to this ha}- alone, but alternate with prairie hay or some other kind. If fed in mangers in tight stables, a dust arises from it that will make horses cough." From all we have learned by our own experience and that of others, we can not commend its cultivation to farmers in the Eastern States ; and this we find to be the opinion of many others. We have, however, one cor- respondent at Bristol, Addison County, Vt., who is jubilant over his success in growing Hungarian grass — two tuns of dry grass and nearly twenty-five bushels of seed from tour quarts sown. lie says : " It is a very nutritious and sweet grass, and a great favorite with liorses and cattle. Sowed June 1, it matured by August 1, standing dry weather well. The average yield is said to be si.x tuns of dry grass and thirty bushels of seed per acre. The stalk is finer than timothy of the same length, with fine, succulent leaves. It forms a large stool from a single seed, and, although an annual, will pay bettor tlian most of the perennial grasses, as the hay is good when mature enough to ripen its seed, which is as valuable as oats." The following statement about Hungarian grass is from the Gtnesce J^ariner, the editor of which, we believe, would not say a word for or against it which he did not believe to be strictly true. As he is a man of scientific acquirements, his statement that it is nearly or quite identical with the common millet, may be accepted without hesitation. He says : "This grass has attracted a large share of attention at the West, where it has supplied, to a great extent, the place of timothy grass, which it is diffi- cult to grow on account of winter-killing. It is nearly or quite identical with the common millet, Sdaria Germanica, growing, perhaps, not quite as large straw, and a trifle smaller seed, or about the same as millet, on rather poor soil, sowed quite thick. That it is valuable as a forage plant, all know who have ever grown the millet to any extent ; and to the farmers at tiie West it has been a great boon, from its quick and luxuriant growth. It is an annual, thriving best on warm, rich, sandy soil, and may safely be calculated to yield from two to three tuns of cured hay, which horses and cattle prefer to the best timothj'. To be obtained in the best form of hay, it should bo cut as soon as the seeds on tlie tops of the stalks begin to turn, and before the bulk of them are ripe. We commend it, either as Hungarian grass or millet, to the attention of farmers, not for making their fortunes, but as an excellent auxiliary as food for farm stock. This is the testimony of farmers in Monroe County, N. Y., who have grown it, and have no seed to sell, either as millet, Hungarian grass, or honey blade grass." 820. How Much Grass Seed per Acre ?— The answer to this question would vary in almost every neighborhood. To answer it understandingly, we must know the number of seeds contained in a pound or in a bushel. A table, in an English work, gives tlie following calculation of several iinds of seed : Seo. 46.] SEEDING GRAIN" LAND WITH GRASS. 763 Seeds per lb. lbs. per bus. Italian rye grass contains. . . 270,OUO 18 Rod clover 250,000 60 White clover 687,000 61 Sweet vernal grass 925,000 10 Drumhead cabbage 112,000 52 Scotch drumhead 127,000 65 Seeds per Jb. lbs. per bus. Swedish turnip 104,000 54 Buckwheat 26,000 54 Kye 22.000 56 Barley 15 000 60 Wheat 11.000 60 Oats 21,000 32 An important condition to the Lcalthy germination of all seeds is, that they should have become perfectly ripened before being collected. Another condition is, that they should not be sown too early in the spring, as no seed has ever been known to germinate below the freszing-point. It is of the first im])ortance in raising any kind of crops, that the seed 60wn should be perfectly good, fresh, and thoroughly rii^ened. It is gene- rally kept in shops for so great a length of time that it is often in a state unfit for vegetating when purchased by the farmer. In rich, well-disintegrated soils, every good seed grows, while in poor, badly tilled soils, be the seed ever so good, half of them will fail, particularly in dry seasons, and a third of those that come up will die afterward. > Rich soils are supposed to require a smaller number of seeds than poor soils, as in the rich earth they have a much better chance of growing and becoming luxuriant, thus individually occupying greater space. In deciding upon the proper quantity of seed to be sown, the farmer must consider whether the season is favorable or not, or he may meet with serious loss. Our opinion favors a very liberal seeding of grass and clover. Timothy, say twelve quarts sown with winter grain in the autumn, to which add 10 lbs. of clover in the spring. It is a good plan to sow it on the last snow. Red- top seed is sown in the chaff, three bushels per acre. Orchard grass in the cliatf, one and a half to two bushels. It is good economy to sow grass seed and clover with every crop of small grain. The growth of only a few months, say from the harvest of winter grain till time to plow for Indian corn, makes a great deal of manure for the next crop. As a rule, never leave the earth naked. The globe is a mass of vegetable life. Plants are the universal covering — the dress of the naked earth. Their functions are to reclaim naked, barren spots, and improve all its surface. They are the basis of animal life and ex- istence ; their very beauty, their social and benevolent language, render even this troubled scene a place of delight. He who communes and meditates among trees and flowers shall find his Maker there to teach his listening heart. 821. Seeding Graia Land with Grass. — If a field of wheat is well harrowed in, and the ground is fresh, it may be sown with timothy without doing any- thing further ; the first shower will cover the seed suSiciently. If the sur- face is not entirely smooth, it will pay to drag over it a large bnsh when the grass seed is sown. Some land that is pretty wet is apt to send the timothy ahead of the wheat in the spring, and injure the crop. Such land had best not be sown till spring. It is a good plan to sow upon a light snow, if there is one at the right time. When it melts, the grass seed will be sufficiently covered. If there is not a snow, or if the laud is dry, the grass seed may be 764 TOE GRASSES-THEIR CULTIVATION AND USE. [Ca-vp. IX. sown ill March, and lightly harrowed or bushed in without any harm to the ■wheat. It' wheat land is to be seeded to clover, wo woiild mix the seed with l>]aster, and sow it in March or April, without harrowing. Tiie quantity of timothy or clover seed per acre varies from four to eight quarts, and plas'er from half a bushel to two bushels. In sowing grass or clover seed \ipon oat ground, care should be taken to sow it directly after the oats, while the ground is fresh ; and it will be an advantage to roll tlie land, or drag it with a bush. There is no method of manuring land so cheaply as sowing grass or clover seed, and turning in the sod with a Michigan plow for a hoed crop. The foundation of all good husbandry upon any farm not devoted to some special crop, as cotton, sugar, rice, fruit, is an abundance of grass. And this grass, either as grazing or winter keeping, must be fed on the fiirm to domestic animals. It can not be sold oS without endangering the fertility of the land. Every Northern farmer who would be successful, must devote his energies to making his farm productive in grass. 822. Seeding ludian Corn Laud with Grass.— It is not uncommon in some places to seed corn-land with some sort of small grain, not so much for the crop as to protect the grass or clover with which it is desirable to seed the land. Sometimes corn-ground is put in small grain at considerable trouble, for tlie purpose of seeding it to grass or clover, the grain crop not being considered an object, as it is, compared with other crops, not a profitable one. "We presume such farmers never think, because they never heard, that they could just as well sow their grass seed among the Indian corn as among the wheat or rye stalks, and that one would serve as a shade for the young l)lants just as well as the other. Where it is intended to seed corn-land, care must be taken in the last working of it to leave the surface as level and smooth as possible ; then sow the seed and harrow with a light, fine-toothed one-horse harrow both ways, or else rake between the hills where the harrow teeth do not touch, with an iron-toothed hand-rake. If the stalks are cut above the ears, in the way common in all the East- ern States, we would pluck the ears when ripe, and leave the but-stalks standing till spring, and then roll them down. If the corn is cut up by the ground, the stubs may be rolled or beaten down in the spring ; and if tliere arc any spots where the grass seed did not take well, they may be re-sown and harrowed, raked or bushed. There is probably no way in which land can be cheaper or better seeded than by sowing the seed among corn ; and a good mixture will bo found to be composed — of clover, five pounds ; red-top, one peck ; timothy, one aiul a half pecks per acre ; and if for pasture, we would add four or six quarts of orchard grass, and we would not take any pains to level the surface. In the spring we would sow at least a bushel of plaster per acre, and we are sure that the change from corn to grass will be quicker, easier, and more certain in this way than in any other. Seo. 46.] SOWING GRASS SEED IN AUTUMN. 765 An Illinois farmer gives his experience in seeding corn-land as follows : " The men were set to work abont the middle of Augnst, or a little be- fore, with garden rakes to smooth the rongh places and prepare the ground for seed. We then sowed liberally with timothy. We ent the corn np at the ground as usual. In the spring we rolled the ground while rather soft, and have seldom liad fields left in smoother and better condition for the mowing machine. Tlie seed took remarkably well, and produced the next year a fine crop of excellent hay." Farmers need not fear to sow grass seed and plow it in among corn. Some farmers of our acquaintance have tried the experiment of plowing it in, and are convinced it is the best way of planting. It is contended that where it is deeply buried it will vegetate and find its way to the surface in time, and having roots deep set it withstands the drouth better than it does when sown upon the surface or only slightly covered ; and, besides, it is not so likely to heave out. One man says : " I have practiced sowing grass seed and plowing it- in for twelve years, and I have sown on five different farms in this way, and on every variety of soil, from gravelly ledge to black muck, and never failed to get a fair crop of grass when seeded in this way." 833. Sowiug Crass Seed iii Autumn.— P. Morrill, in the Maine Farmer, offers the following reasons for sowing grass after harvesting the grain crop, instead of with it in the spring : " Grass seed should be sown in autumn, because it is tlie natural time, as much so as winter rye or Avheat. By turning under stubble for sowing grass seed, you give it the clean possession of land. If sown with grain in tlie spring, the tender grass plants are cro\Vded by grain and weeds above, and- their roots below, and for thi-ee months they have a hard struggle for life in the shade. All plants derive the chief part of their bulk and value through their leaves, and in liarvesting the grain by mowing the grass- leaves are nearly all cut off, leaving the bare stalk suddenly exposed to the scorching, withering rays of the sun. I plow the land just deep enough to cover the stubble completely, harrow with a light harrow, then sow the grass seed, and brush it in thoroughly." Another farmer says : " The best way I have found to raise good timothy is to get your ground in good order, the same as you would for wheat, and harrow very fine, and then the beginning of September sow one bushel of timothy seed to four or five acres, and give a light harrowing after." A writer from Buchanan County, Iowa, says that he prepared ground in September, harrowed and sowed six quarts of timothy seed jjer acre in March, and from nine acres made twenty tuns of good hay in July. Another says : '' 1 would always sow timothy in autumn, and I have had considerable experience in sowing and raising grass, especially timothy, and have always found where I sowed a peck to the acre, the grass was suffi- ciently thick, and sometimes too tliick, and have come to the conclusion that cue bushel sown to five acres is nearer the proper quantity." 766 THE GRASSES— THEIR CDLTIVATIOX AND USE. [CnAP. IX. 824. Seeding Prairie SlOH.?hs to Red-Top.— An old fanner of Cedar County, Iowa, wants ns to advise all prairie farmers to turn their slonglis into red-top, as it is a much more valuable crop than the natural growth, lie sa\-s : " As soon as the ground thaws enough in the spring sow your seed, say one bushel to six acres, and harrow M'ell to cut the sward, so that it will take root and grow. Then mow it before harvest, so as to give it a chance by tlie aid of autumn rains. If left too late, the wild grass will smother it out. Do not be discouraged if it does not head out the next year, but mow as before, and ever after you may look for an unfailing crop — say two or three tuns per acre. AYhen there is plow-land on either side it can be got in around the edges without the use of the harrow, as the wash will spread over so that it M'ill take root. I choose this method in preference to break- ing. Some prefer ditching, but this is an error. Only where the water re- mains during the whole year is ditciiing necessary. For pasture, one acre of red-top is worth three of the slough grass." In many places, particularly in Korthern Indiana, there is a nativo. red- top grass that is equal to anything of the name for hay for all kinds of stock. No doubt that could be extended by cultivation upon the plan above recommended, which we know is a good one. 825. A Cheap and Speedy Way to set a Grass P!at.— A iady gives the following plan: "At ditferent times during last season, in im2'i'o^''"g tlie grounds about the homestead, we had occasion to sod several ])ieces, but no rich, thick-set grounds were convenient where we could procure the turf entire ; we therefore adopted another plan. "We procured less perfect sods, cut without care, and threw them into the cart promiscuously ; and after plowing the ground well to receive them, we chopped them up into snniSl pieces, say from one to two inches across, more or less, and worked these under the surface, barely covering the roots. After the first rain, these small pieces of turf sent np numerous blades, and in a short time the ground became entirely covered with grass. These experiments were tried several times from July till September, and always with perfect success, though of course the latest planting did not become so thickly set before cold weather set in." In all ordinary cases we should prefer this method to entire sodding, even if turf was at hand, on account of the saving of time and expense. Bine- grass roots are very tenacious of life, and when scattered in the wa}' above named, so as to cover one quarter of the ground, will soon spread so as to make a thick-set lawn. 82G. TlK! Way to Harvest Ttmotiiy Seed.— If the timothy is very tall, and not too heavy, cut it with a grain-cradle, as high as practicable, and after it is raked and bound, set it up in long shocks, to cure about three or four days — then it is hauled to the barn. Then cut the stubble close to the ground for hay. Sometimes when the bottom of the grass is not very thick, cut it with a machine close to the ground, and leave it in small gavels for a Sec. !'•,.] NOTES ON MEADOWS AND PASTURES. 767 (lay or two, if the -weather is favorable for hay-making ; then turn them over, stir them up a little, and bind, and when cured, haul to the barn, and spread over a large surface, so as not to injure the vitality of the seed. Another way is to mow the grass with a scythe as soon as the seed is ripe enough, and allow it to remain about one day in the swath ; and the next day, turn the swaths upside down. Should there be some very thick, green bunches, they should be stirred up, so that the whole would dry out in a day or so if the -weather is favorable. As soon as it is cured, vre -would bind in small bundles, and shock it, and allow it to cure for several days, -when it may be stacked or put in the barn. Most farmers allow their seed to remain too long in the field after it is cut. In mowing timothy grass for seed, it is very desirable to have it all laid evenly and straight, as if it had been cradled, so that -we can bind it. In order to do this properly, a man must be not only a good mower, but he must have the knack of fetching his scythe around at every clip in such a manner that his swath M'ill not be tumbled over and over, as it sometimes is -when -we mow grass for haj'. It is almost impossible to give the necessary directions on paper how to do it; but, in the first place, it is very important to point in low. This must be done by dropping the entire scythe, ffom heel to point, flat on the ground, and keeping the heel down on the ground throigh the entire clip or sweep. 827. Notes on Meadows aud Pasturrs. — The follo^ving excellent article is from the pen of Professor Buekman, of England : " Plants are weeds»in pastures, if they do not add to the crop either of grass or hay. The following plants take up spaces, but yield no produce. That is : Broad-leaved plantam {Plaiitago media) ; Dandelion {Leontodon taraxacum) D^sy ; {Bcllls jxTennis). The leaves of these grow too close to the ground to be eaten ofl' by cattle or be cut by the scythe. "Cowslip {Primula veris) ; Primrose {Primula vulgaris) ; Green--winged orchis {Orchis mono) ; Early purple orchis {Orchis viascido). These take up room in growing, are not eaten by cattle, and being dead before hay- making, add little or nothing to the rick. " AVe have just been examining a pasture full of the first three species of the above list. Of the plantain we made out as many as twenty-five in the square yard, varying from two to six inches across ; we removed them, and bare patches to the extent of a quarter of the surface was the re- sult. Of the dandelion we have as many as six tufts in the square yard, each more than half a foot across: we remove them, and in so doing have sown some hundreds of flying seeds over the rest of this field, or sent them to our neighbor. And now for the ' wee, modest, crimson-tipped flower,' looking So bright with its silvery stars dotting the green field, surely this is not a -weed ? Alas ! yes, all is not gold that glitters, or silver that is bright, and on the spot where the daisy is growing, a grass root is not, and we have just stepped out to look at a meadow half daisies. However, as regards these three plants, there is no doubt that the first two are the most mis- 768 THE GRASSES— THEIR CULTIVATION AND USE. [Cuap. IX. chievons, and the question of Iiow to keep plantains and dandelions out of the pastures, and still more out of lawns, is one worth more attention than has yet been given to it. With respect to the plantain, wc know of no better method than absolutely cutting thetn up with a common knife and drop2>ing a bit of salt in each hole, as without this they sprout up again from any part of the old crown that might be left in. "Mr. Baily Denton invented an implement for this kind of weed destruc- tion, which would eject a caustic fluid as it cut up the plants, and he named it the 6cor])ion spud. A boy with a knife can easily clean pastures very foul with plantain and dandelions, at one shilling an acre, a cost Avhich would be amply covered by the first hay crop, for it Avould, indeed, be a comparatively small admixture of plantain that did not take up the space that M-ould grow a hundred weight of hay. " As regards seeds for laying down permanent pasture, care should al- ways be exercised to prevent this plant from being sown, as a few seeds will soon stock the ground; and if the new pasture is left pretty much to itself, for some two or three years the plantains will increase very rapidly. It should be considered that a single root may in one year produee from three to six thousand seeds. " Care should be taken to prevent the seeding of dandelions in waysides and waste places, as each flower-heud may produce one hundred and sev- enty seeds and twelve heads to a single root at one time, and they keep on forming for several months ; it is indeed of consequence always to prevent, if possible, all weeds from seeding. " ' One year's seeding, seven years' ^^■ecding. "There are many other plants in meadows that die out before grass- cutting ; but still, as they grow with the grass, and take up space at the most critical time, as far as yield is concerned, they arc very detrimental, and to its hindrance ; they are, besides, evidence of poverty and bad man- agement, which only exists in bad grass-farming. Cultivate on proper prin- ciples a meadow in which they occur, and the amount of success will be indicated by their more or less' rapid decrease. " Plants wiiich, though innocuous, yet take up sj^ace, and so dilute the quality of the hay and injure the productiveness of the pasturage, are named below. This ofl^ers a somewhat large list, as all the plants found in pastures, which have a tall growth, have neither spines nor other mechanical hindrances, nor any poisonous qualities, must be ranged under this head. These are injurious, simply because they take up sjiace which might be bet- ter appropriated to the growth of grass or some nutritious herbage ; for, as ihcy have no qualities to cause them to be eaten by cattle, so in the hay they do not nourish but simply dilute the bulk. " Blunt-leaved dock {Rumex obtusifolius) ; Crisp-leaved dock {liunux crispus) ; Marsh dock {Rumcx imlustrifi). All three are rather common meadow plants, especially in damp places. " Burdock {Arctium la^ypa). Often found in the borders of fields. Skc. 46.] NOTES OK MEADOWS AND PASTURES. 769 " Butter burr {Petusitcs vulgaris). . Occupies tlie sides of Avater-courses. " Cow parsncp {Ileracleum spliondtjliwrn) ; Wild-beaked parsley (^Antliris- cus vulgaris). These two umbellifei-ai are very coinoion, and most unsightly. " Ladies'-sinock {Cardamine pratensis), found in wet meadows, and Com- mon yellow rattle {Rhinanthus crista galli) in very poor meadows, and the Ilawk-weeds and others (the several Compositce), everywhere. '• These, though only ofiered by way of examples, yet in themselves make up a formidable list of plants injurious to the pasture. Their large roots and tall stems take up much space to the injury of the grass ; and though it is quite true that they go far in making up weight in the trusses of hay, yet the hay will always be of an inferior description ; and in fields where plants of this character prevail we shall often have a good pasturage for cattle — that is, the animals will get on well on the grasses, of which only tlicy will partake ; and then one is too apt to be astonished that good feeding meadows should yield a poor hay ; but the truth is that hay, with a fourth of its bulk and weight of these objectionable plants, is diluted to that extent by rubbish with no feeding qualities, and well indeed is it if they do not many of them contain positively injurious principles. " How, then, are we to get rid of these pests ? The simplest answer, with regard to the docks and umbellifei-je, will be — Let them get tolerably strong in their stalks, and then take the opportunity, when the ground is soft, to pull them out of the land. They must not be mown, as in this way small branches, or buds that will make branches, will seed before the sum- mer is over, and then fifty new plants will appear for one old one that wa have destroyed ; but by pulling, we take out the crown, and usually enough root to destroy it. " But now, as regards pulling docks when the flower has advanced, it is but right to caution the farmer against the practice of putting them in a corner of the field, out of the way, for the thick succulent roots will have sufficient vitality, and especially if kept moist by companionship, to grow again." 828. Remedy for Short Pastures.— Those who have but a limited range of pasture, and keep stock enough to crop it close, are always at the mercy of the weather. If there chance to be favoring rains, and a good season for the growth of grass and clover, all is well ; but if, as frequently occurs, there comes a long period of drouth, the brown fields, already close cropped, fail entirely, having little to protect the roots from the full power of the sun, and the cattle suffer, and milk-pails show serious diminution, the dairy profits shrink, and the effect of the drouth will be felt throughout the sea- son, for much of the pasture being thus summer-killed, the full flow of milk can hardly be regained. This may be guarded against by putting in a small plot of corn, sorghum, millet, or other suitable crop for cutting and feeding green. An acre of corn sown broadcast will very soon yield sufficient to give great relief to the short pasture. It is not necessary to stable the cows ; cut a good supply for thorn, and feed night and morning before they leave the yard ; they will 770 THE GRASSES— THEIR CULTIVATION AND USE. [CnAP. IX. eat it with a relish, and make ample rotunis in the milk-pan and the churn. Even if the threatened drouth docs not come, and alnindance of grass bIiouUI grow, the soiling crop need not he lost. Cut at the proper season, and pro- perly cured, it will not come amiss next winter. 829. Itlixiug Stock in Pasture. — In Nos. 24 and 110 we have treated \ipon overstocking the farm, and how many cows an acre of good pasture should support, but no one will get the full value of his pasture if he has but one kind of stock. There is just as much economy in grazing bullocks and sheep upon the same farm, as there is in having hogs follow the herd wliile feeding corn. Every feeder knows that hogs will fatten well upon the drop- pings, and every grazier who ever tried it, knows that sheep will fatten upon herbage rejecteil by the bullocks, and the pasture for both classes of animals will be improved, and if not overstocked, both will do better than one sort alone. 830. Improving a Wild Pasture by Sheep.— Mr. Fay, of Lynn, Mass., states " that on a tract which was overrun with woodbine, briers, and other shrubs, he turned 150 sheep. At that time a cow could not have lived on the whole tract. The sheep were kept there several years, and so killed out the wild growth that the tract now affords good pasture for 15 cows." We sup- pose the sheep were fed elsewhere, and Avere occasionally turned on this waste land merely to enrich it by their droppings, and kill out the useless herbage and shrubs. We have known a great deal of this work of killing out bushes and briers done by the aid of salt — line salt thrown upon the leaves while wet, to induce the sheep to browse them off. In this way a thick plat of bushes may bo 60 killed out in a single year, that the land will take grass seed. 831. Cattle Forage— How to Produce and Iiow to Use it. — This is one of the most important questions for the stock -farmer, both summer and winter. Manuring pastures is not as unprofitable as some persons suppose. A dress- ing of either lime, ashes, plaster, superphosphate, guano, bone-dust, niter, potash, salt, upon pasture, will almost always increase the feed to a value much above the cost of the application. If pastures fiiil in drouths, cattle must be fed. The question is, upon what? We answer, any green food that can be grown in season. At one time, rye — -another, oats — then, corn, buck- wheat, turnips, etc. Grinding grain increases its value. One writer suggests grinding the entire straw asd grain together. Will that pay? We doubt it. Much has been said and done about grinding cobs to increase the forage. We would give just as much for basswood rails as for corn cobs, to grind for any kind of stock. For hogs, we believe cobs are absolutely worthless. For horses, neat cattle, or sheej), clean cut straw is better than ground cobs. As to grinding corn fine or coarse, it does not make so much difference, if fed immediately to the hogs. For any other purpose on earth, coarse meal is better than fine ; and for human food, fine meal that has been ground a month is absolutely deleterious — it is not fit to eat. Seo. 46.] AMOUNT OF FODDER NECESSARY. 771 One farmer says: "I found that cob meal lessened the richness of the milk, though one animal fed with corn and cob meal did thrive better than upon corn alone. " Corn cobs weigh seven pounds to the bushel, and some of my neighbors say it will not pay the extra cost of grinding the cobs, as it costs a quart more corn to grind a bushel of the cobs and corn together, than it does to grind the corn alone, so that in fact we give a quart of corn for seven pounds of cob meal. I have ground a good many cobs, and have now thrown away my cob-mill, and would not give it house-room. I can not afford to grind cobs, nor to feed any grain unground ; and I can not afford to feed hogs with uncooked meal. I cook meal six or seven hours, and I practice feeding it to hogs hot. The corn cob has some value, but not enough to pay for grinding. "VVe can not grind cobs fine without great expense." S32. Amount of Fodder Necessary • — " The Springfield (Mass.) Repuhlican states that AVilliam Birney has wintered forty-two cattle, three horses, and four sheep on the produce of sixty acres of land, which, supposing the whole stock to equal forty cows, gives an acre and a half of land for the annual sustenance of each animal. Wheat bran and oil-meal are purchased and used for the stock, which is balanced by the disposal of corn and hay of equal value. The amount of fodder consumed daily by Mr. B.'s stock is slated as follows: 378 lbs. of chaffed com fodder and straw. . $1 89 77 lbs. loni; hay 70 120 lbs. wheat bran 1 20 10 lbs. oil-meal 17 10 lbs. cob-meal 12 " This makes a cost of about seventeen cents a day for each animal. It is stated that the stock is in fine condition, and that the quantity of milk diminishes when steamed food is withlield. Mr. B. generally cooks twenty bushels of roots per day for Iiis stock, and on feeding, by way of experiment, the same quantity raw for tliree weeks, there Avas a diminution equal to a quart of milk a day to each cow." Estimating the roots at fifty pounds per bushel, and adding that to the other articles, will make 1,595 pounds of food daily ; divided between forty cows, is within a fraction of forty pounds of food to each, which is 14,600 pounds for the year. This is seven tuns three cwt. per annum for each cow, wliich looks like pretty strong feeding; but we have just read a statement of a writer who declares that it will require from five to six tuns of the best timothy hay, or its equivalent, to support an animal twelve months ; and as no land in this country has produced this quantity, he argues that no man can sustain a cow per acre. "With him, two horses and sixteen cows, mostly dry, consumed a tun of hay per week, besides brewers' grain and turnips in abundance. 20 bushels roots S2 00 Fuel for steaming the above 40 Total S6 48 772 THE GRASSES— TUEIR CULTIVATION ANP USE. [Chap. IX. SECTION XLVII.-HAYING AND HAYING MACHINES. ,„ N the Eiiigle, comprehensive word haying, we have the y most important matter connected with American agri- culture. The hay crop is of more vahie than the cotton, the corn, or tlie wheat crop, or any other single article of farm produce, and upon many farms of more value than all others combined. Of what immense importance, then, is haying. Of what vast consequence to individuals, and to the whole country, that the best of all appliances that modern ingenuity has provided should he lirought into use to save the hay crop — the crop upon which the lives of three fourths of all the horses, cattle, and sheep in the United States de- pend from November to April. One half of the year, in the States that produce the working animals, as well as beef, butter, cheese, hides, mutton, and wool — these animals so necessary to our existence as a civilized people, must be mainly sup- })orted upon hay. We could find a substitute for every other crop grown. For hay there is none. Farmer ! have you thought how much depends upon the four weeks of haying time ? Are you provided with the tools necessary to secure this im- mensely important crop in the short season that nature gives you ? For you must " make hay while the sun shines ;" and that never again will shine enough during the haying season, in this country, to enable you to make it with poor old hand-scythes, fastened to crooked sticks cut in tlie woods, and forked sticks for pitchforks, with rakes to match — such as were in almost universal use in New England fifty years ago. You can not secure your crop with such tools. Fortunately, you liave no need to use such. None but a sloven will. None but a bad manager will use hand tools, excellent as they now are, except to a very limited extent, because Y'ankee ingenuity has been at woi-k, and machines have been in- vented, tried, improved, tried again, and now are extensively manufactured in an almost perfect state, by which iiorse-power is substituted for man- power to mow the grass, to spread it, to rake it in windrows, and, in some cases, to pull it together in cocks, or to the stack ; to lift it from the ground to the stack, or upon the hay -cart, and then to lift it again from llic cart to the mow — all by horse-nower. Have yon got these machines, or any one of them? 833. Mowing 91achilics> — As most important of all farming tools, have you got a mowing machine? Of these, the family is numerous — all children of tiio original American reaping or mowing machine, invented and put inio successful ojieration by Obcd Ilusscy, of Baltimore, within the last twenty years, and all, with slight variations, working upon the same principle. Seo. 47.] HAYIKG AND HAYING MACHINES. 773 Upon Hussey, McCormick improved, and carried off the palm of success, until "McCorniick's Reaper" has become of world-wide renown. Though botli of these original machines would cut grass, they were not successful enougli as mowers to come into general use. The honor of a suc- cessful mowing machine was reserved for Ketchum, of Buffalo. His first machines gave great satisfaction tliough requiring a strong team, and were too heavy and costly for small farmers. "Wood's Improvement" of the Ketchum machine has been generally considered an important one. Of mowers, up to the haying season of 1858, the great want was a one- horse machine that would do the work as perfectly as the best two-horse machines, with speed proportioned fo the power. In short, a machine for small farmers, such as compose nearly nine tenths of the population of all the Northeastern States. Since that date, such machines have been extensively manufactured. One made by Joel Nourse, of Boston, we have seen in successful operation. It is a machine that no man who has five acres of grass to cut; can afford to be without. It is constructed entirely of iron, with a movable cutter bar, adapted to uneven surfaces, or it can be raised from the ground and held stationary while driving from field to field ; it certainly looks as though it had all the elements of strength and durability, and yet it is not heavy. One of the advantages of such a machine we will state: A gentleman bought a small place, which was mostly in what the owner called grass ; it was, however, more than half weeds, upon a rough surface, and the first year afforded a meager crop of poor hay, cut at one mowing with a scythe. In the spring, he procured one of these little machines, and as soon as the weeds were large enough, he harnessed his carriage horse to it, and mounted the seat and shaved tiie lot. During the summer he repeated the operation, again and again feeding the crop to the horse and cow. The consequence is, that the weeds are killed, and the grass mucli improved. The swatli cut by one of these machines is about four and a half feet wide, and the work done is at the rate of six or eight acres a day of heavy grass ; and it will stop and start anywhere without.clogging. It has another advantage : it costs somethmg like fifty dollars less than a two-horse machme. It works so easily that we have seen one man pull it through grass stout enough to make a fair swath ; and one horse can work it without fatigue, and in very small inclosures — in almost any situation where mowing can be done with the hand scythe. The advantage of such a machine in a hillj'^ region is very apparent. No farmer can afford to do without one mowing machine, and some can afford to have two. Every one who has one of heavy draft, or with any serious imperfection, can afford to buy a new one. The great hay crop hereafter 7n,ust be cut by horse-power. There is another great advantage besides substituting brute for man 774 THE GRASSES— TIIEir. CULTIVATION AND USE. [Chap. IX. power. With tlie scythe, the man must cut the grass -while the dew is on, and tliat requires extra labor to cure it and e.\tra labor in saving it. With tho machine, the grass is more easily cut dry, and time is aftorded to do it ; and the man, while riding and guiding his mower, has no fear of the burn- ing sun. It is the horse that sweats, not the man. lie rides at nearly as much ease as he would in his wagon on the road to mill. 834. Horse Rakes aud other Haying Machines. — Of horse rakes there arc several patterns, all good, and some of them operate with as much case to the man as the mower; for he sits in a chair, mounted upon a pair of wheels, to which the rake is attached. To rake hay by hand, when it can be so much more speedily done by Jiorse-power, shows a great want of economy and sound judgment. Unloading hay at the barn by horse-power is such a simple operation, that it seems wonderful how a sensible farmer can continue the excessively hard labor of lifting it, a forkful at a time, in tlie stifling heat of the barn, of a July afternoon. To unload by horse-power, a taeklc-block is attached to the ridge, the fall being brought down to a snatch-block at tho door, to which the horse is hitched, and as he walks oS on tho ground, up goes the "horse-fork," with almost a fourth of the wagon-load at once ; it is pulled to its place by a guy rope, when, by unloosing a catcli, it is upset all in a heap. Stacking is done by the same operation ; using a set of shears — tlu-ee poles in a triangle — set up over th-c wagon, to sustain the tackle. We liave now indicated some of the most important labor-saving imple- ments of the hfiy -field, to which should always, on a large farm, be added a tool-wagon, made convenient to carry all tho hand-tools, always including a grindstone, and the spare clothing of the men, and a large refrigerator of ice water as a substitute for tiiat accursed old black jug that has been the ruin of so many men in haying. With this we close our homily upon haying, and repeat the question to every farmer, Are you ready ? Have you got any, or all of these apjdi- ances? If not, there is no time to lose; the haying season comes round with tlie revolving seasons, always once a year. S3.5. Stacking Hay. — We ask tlic reader here to refer to what wo have said in 75(3 wynm stacking grain, as it is equally applicable to stacking liay, and in botli cases wo must advocate stacking in an economical j)oint of view. Stacks of hay or grain, well built, will keep, with an amount of waste absolutely less than the interest of the money that barn shelter would cost. Whatever the size of a stack, a hen's egg should be. taken as the model of form, the small end up, wliich should be made to shed rain as })er- fectly as the roof of your own house. Tho most perfect mode of doing this is to take straw, or long, coarse grass, and commence at the lower part of the taper, and thrust a little handful at a time into the stack iintil you en- circle it, leaving the long ends hanging straight downward, and then put in another course a little above, lapping over the first one, and so on, tying the Sec. 47.] HAYING AND HAYING MACHINES. 773 ajjex to a little stick thrust into the top, making, with two or three hours' work, a thatch that will preserve the stack for years. We have seen the thatching of a stack made somewhat as tassel fringe is made, by twisting the long hay into a small hay-rope on tlie ground, until enough was made to cover the stack-top, the whole being rolled up in bun- dles as large as a man could carry up a ladder, when it is unwound and joinned to the stack. This is more work, and only better when there is danger of the thatching blowing out when put on in the manner first de- scribed; and that difficulty can be obviated by drawing hay-ropes or cords of twine around each course of thatching. After tlie stack of hay has settled, if it is found that the stacker did not allow enough for tlie settling, and the bulge comes down too near the ground, take a hay-knife and cut away enough to give the stack its proper egg-shape. If a mistake has been made in a grain-stack, it can not so welt be remedied. Always remember that a well-formed stack will be, after it has settled, smaller at the bottom than it is a few feet above. In a stack of six tuns, there should be room enough for a man to lie down under the bulge and be well sheltered from a shower. lu building ricks, or long stacks, the same rule as to form should govern the builder as in building a round stack, so that looking at the cud we should see the same egg-shape ; and in building ricks or stacks of sheaves, the secret of success is keeping the middle full, so that the butts of all the sheaves are a third lower than the tops. Such a stack will always shed rain. There is no doubt that hay or grain may be put up in a stack much greener than in a barn, Mith perfect safety, and if we make a hollow stack, as is sometimes done in England, by setting up four poles, three feet apart at bottom and joined at toj), we could stack our hay as soon as it was what we now consider half-cured. This country, as a general thing, has a good deal yet to learn of the art and economic value of stacking hay and grain. 830. A Machine to Stack Uay is in use in some places in Ohio, but very little known in others. A mast is framed with braces into a foundation that moves like a sled, and can be drawn about from place to place in the field, or carried on wheels to distant fields. At the top of the mast is a yard, braced by a rope at one end, with a tackle-block at the other, from which a fork is suspended, upon which as much hay can be hoisted at once by a horse as a man could fork up at a dozen times. Sometimes the stack is so situated in i-elation to the cocks, that they are brought up to the frame by a drag-rope, and hoisted bodily to the top of the stack. A very convenient implement for moving cocks up to a stack may be cheaply made as follows : Two white oak or ash poles, about twenty feet long, framed together in the middle by three cross-pieces, three feet long, are formed like shafts of a wagon at one end, sharpened at the other and smooth, to run under a cock of hay. The shafts should be cut and framed while green, and then bent and seasoned in the proper shape, so that when attached to the horse the rear part will rest flat upon the ground. A boy 77G THE GRASSES— THEIR CULTIVATION AND USE. [Chap. IX. can operate it as well as a man. lie trots rapidly bcrween the stack and cocks, leading short distances or riding long ones. He backs up to a cock, running the poles under it, and then throws a rope around, whieli is attached Ly one end to the off-shaft, and draws it tight and liitehes the other end by a loop to a hook on the other shaft, and then trots back to tlie stack, casts his rope loose without stopping, and hurries back for anotlicr .load. It is a very rapid, easy way of stacking hay — a man and boy and two horses will haul and send up the hay as fast as the best stacker can place it. 837. Storing Hay — Ventilation. — Many formers, those of New England in particular, have a custom of storing hay in large masses in the barn, in a }>lace called " the bay,'' without a sign of any ventilation under the bulk, which usually rests upon a few loose poles or boards on the damp ground. A '• bay" should have ventilation, not only under it, but up through it, by means of a chimney made of four poles fastened together by rounds like a ladder. A loose stone foundation could bo laid for the hay bottom, with an air-chamber from the outside leading to the chimney, directly over which there should be a ventilator in the roof. This simple contrivance would not only save many a tun of hay from mustiness, but it would enable the owner to put in his hay in a much greener state. That next the chimney would always come out very sweet. It is also an excellent plan to ventilate stacks. It can be done by setting up four rails, two feet apart at the bottom, fastened close together at the top with a rope, strip of bark, or a withe. AVe once put up a very large rick of wheat, that is, a long stack, which was thought too green to keep well, but it did, for we took a convenient rail fence and built a flue sixty feet long, big enough for a man to crawl through, in the center of the foundation, so that a current of air passed up all through the wheat. At another time, in building an immense rick of prairie hay, we made an air-tube of brush, Avhich greatly aided in the preservation of the hay. A good timber bottom, elevating the whole stack so that air would circulate under it, would be still better. 838. Hay Caps, their Taluc — How Made. — We look upon hay caps as we do any other labor-saving implement in hay-making, and they are of such great advantage that we never heard of any one who had once learned tlieir value, who was willing to forego their use. They are the means of saving thousands of tuns of hay after it is well cured, every year, in Massachu- setts, where they appear to be best known and most used. Simply cotton cloth caps, pinned with little sticks over the haycocks that are in danger from an approaching storm, are the kind most in use there. Grass may be cocked as soon as wilted, and hay improved, if you are provided with hay caps. One of four feet or four and a half square is considered ample size ; and of compactly woven, good, though light sheeting, much better than heavy, and a simple ring-loop of cord sewed in at each corner, but left 60 as to slip, finishes the cap ready for use. It is fastened at the loops by pins fourteen to sixteen inches long. Take care not to pack them or let them Sec. 47.] THE BEST TIME TO CUT GRASS. 777 lie in a heap wlien wet or damp. A season may pass, and they will be of no use ; but another time they may pay the whole expense in protecting the hay through a single storm. A sheet twelve or fifteen feet square should always be kept on hand to cover a half-finished stack or load of hay caught by a sudden shower. 839. The Best Time to Cut Grass should be authoritatively settled, and not left to mere assertion; one farmer contending tliat it is best to cut it in the blossom, and another not until the seed is partially ripe. Levi Bartlett, who is good autliority, says: "As far as practicable, we cut our herds-grass when the seed is in the dough state, and belbre the bloom is much shed. It is said by those who have carefully investigated the mat- ter, that too early mowing of herds-grass results in great injury to the next year's crop, mucli more so than to that of other grasses. It being a bulbous- rooted plant, if cut too soon, the bulb has not stored up the necessary nutri- ment in it to secure a vigorous after-growth. Clover should be cut when about half the blossoms have turned brown, and cured mostly in the cock."' When should grass be cut? Our answer to the question is this : While it is grass, and not after it has become hay. To make good food for cattle, the grass must be cut and cured, not cured and cut. A new and rather thinly- seeded piece of timothy will grow coarse stalks, which must be cut while younger than the crop of an old field which was thickly seeded, and has grown thick and fine. The field where the growth is thin we would cut as soon as it blossomed. The field where the stalks grow thick and fine we would allow to stand still until the seeds in the but-end of the heads were in the milk, and after the grass was cut, a portion of them would mature so as to grow. Other grasses and clover we would cut in full blossom, taking care not to dry them to death in curing. We would never mow while the grass was wet with dew or rain ; and if cut with a machine, we would not care how soon after it was cut it was raked into windrows with the horse- rake. If cut with a scythe, turn the swaths over as soon as the top is well wilted, and, after an hour or two of hot sun on the other side, let a man with a three-pronged fork begin to pitch the swaths together into wind- rows. If not previously bleached, grass will stand a hard rain in swath or windrow without serious injury. It should always be put in good-sized, well-made cocks before it is dry, and then let it sweat. It may even turn black without injury, but it is preferable not to allow it to reach that stage, for fear acetous fermentation should take place. No matter how green the grass or hay of the cock looks, or how much it smokes from the sweating process when you pitch it on the wagon, if the air is hot and windy, it will dry out so as to keep perfectly in the mow or stack by the time you have pitched and carted and pitched again, and then again in mowing it away. Grass cut at noon may be cocked at four o'clock and hauled the next morn- ing and make better hay than it would if cut in the morning and afterward spread, and stirred, and raked, and pitched about, and finally cocked in the afternoon, and the cocks opened and shaken up again the next afternoon, 778 THE GRASSES— TEEIR CULTIVATION AND USE. [Cuap. IX. because lliey ielt a little warm inside, and finally, after getting as dry as tinder and jjufiy as feathers, hauled away to tiie barn. In our opinion, there is a tbolisii fashion of cutting grass with tlie dew on, and an unnecessary labor in curing it, and an altogctiier causeless fear of putting hay in the barn too green. It should be put away in such a condition that it will be green in color when fed out in winter. We can hardly set too high a value on flavor in hay. The relish with which food is eaten makes part of its value; and it goes further with man or beast than that which does not relish. 840. Wheu to Cut Timothy for Seed. — "When the heads have simply turned brown, the seed is fully matured ; and if it is cut then, but little of it will be lost by shelling, and the stalks and leaves will make, sometimes, tolerably good fodder, especially if it is run through a straw-cutter. The spot for seed should be selected early in June, or July, wliero the timothy is the best and tallest, and where the heads are longest, and if there arc any noxious weeds, improve some leisure hours in pulling or cutting them all out. When we come to cut it, if a single weed lias escaped noiice, let it be taken out at that time. We have known several prairie farms stocked with weeds, where none grew before, from sowing what was bought for pure grass seed. 8il. How much Grass can Land Produce? — It lias been published that, njjon the Earl of Derby's land, a field of one hundred acres was dressed with liquid manure, by a steam-engine and pipes, and a hydrant and hose to each ten acres, and this land was mowed seven times, and gave upon one acre one hundred tuns' weight of grass, and estimated an average of seventy-five tuns upon each acre. The meadows near Edinburgh, watered witli sewer- age water, grew fourteen feet of grass a year, which, cut at several times, weighed some eighty tuns. In x\yrshire, similar treatment of forty acres of land has enabled its owner to feed one hundred cows. If the grass upon one acre should weigh one hundred tuns, perhaps it would not make over twelve tuns of dry hay. Mr. Lincoln, of Worcester, Mass., has done some- thing like this. 842. Uow much Hay must we Provide ? — How much hay to provide, or how much to feed to each animal, is a matter not sutficiently understood. The following is the English rule, said to be made from careful experiment with good sound English hay. An ox requires two per cent, of his own weight in hay per day if he does not work, and two and a lialf per cent, if lie works. If you have an ox that weighs 1,500 lbs., he will require 30 lbs. of hay per day if he does not work. Apply this rule to all neat stock, and give to each animal twice as many pounds as it weighs hundreds. In. this hv'iitude, the jjcriod of winter feeding is never less than one hundred and fifty daj's, and oftener one hundred and eighty, and it is not safe to calcu- late upon less than two tuns a head of sound hay, or its equivalent, for a stock of oxen, cows, heifers, and stcera. The equivalent in turnips is 5 lbs. to one of hay. So if an animal requires 20 lbs. of hay, and it is thought best to give only half that quantity, and make up the required quantity in Seo. 47.] HAT RIGGING OF CARTS AND WAGONS. 779 turnips, 60 lbs. must be given. The equivalent of corn meal is estimated at about 8i lbs. of meal to 15 lbs. of liay ; but we have no doubt tliat a milch cow or a working ox would do better upon 10 lbs. of hay and 5 lbs. of meal than upon 20 lbs. of hay. Of milch cows, however, it should be remarked that they must have more than two per cent, of hay, or its equivalent, to give a profitable yield of milk. Carrots, bests, turnips, ruta bagas, may be calculated at nearly double the value of white turnips. In England, mangel-wurzel is preferred to all other roots for feeding milch cows. 8-13. Pea Viae Hay. — In the Southern States, the vines of the " cow pea" {p/iaseoltis), are sometimes used for hay. The peas are usually planted among corn after the last working, in hills four feet apart, midway be- tween tlie rows. For hay, the vines sliould be gatiiered while the pods are green, and well cured under shelter before stormy weather, or the leaves will mold. A planter in Mississippi says : " I gather my pea vines about October 1st, and cure them in windrows by turning several times daily. "We know of no reason why this kind of pea could not be grown for hay in most of the JSTortiiern States. Tliere is a sort called the Oregon pea, that originated in the State which gives it the name, which could be grown on this side of the continent, as far north as it grows at the "Far West." 84-1:. Uay Rigging of farts and Wagons.— A properly constructed hay wagon is one of the important liaying implements that should not be, as it too often is, neglected till the last moment, when a rack is patched up " so it will do for now," and like nearly all patched-np tools it does very poorly. Every farmer should have a well-constructed hay-rack, made to fit the wagoji or cart, of light, strong materials, put together with screw-bolts, so it could be readily taken apart for storing away when not in use. With the hay-rack there should be a light, strong, folding ladder, attached so that it could always go with the wagon, without occupying any more room than a round pole three inches diameter and of only a few pounds' weight, easily drawn out from the load, and in one minute you open out a ladder twelve or fifteen feet long, being not only convenient, but a real labor-saving imple- ment— saving time, strength, and danger, in climbing on or off a load of hay or stack. As it would be a great annoyance to have a wagon-tire come off while hurrying home a load of hay to avoid a shower, you must guard against such a mitfortune by having the wheels manufactured in such a way that tires will never get loose. See that they are made of thoroughly seasoned wood, and thep, before putting on the tire, saturate tlie felloes with linseed oil. To do this in the best manner, a cast-iron trough will be required in which to heat the oil and keep it boiling — not burning hot. Hang the wheel on a Slick througli the hub, so as to turn freely, and suspend a portion of the rim in the oil, where it must remain one hour or more for each portion. Then set the tire, and it will never run away and leave the wlieel, since no change of the hygroraetrical condition of the atmosphere will aSect wood perfectly 780 THE GRASSES— THEIR CULTIVATION" AND USE. [Chap. IX. Batunitcd with boiling oil, and, besides tbat, it will be iniieli more dur.-ibk-. An ordinary painting of felloes is of no more value than a coat of boot- blacking would be. It is washed and worn off in the fii-st mud puddle. 845. Carting Hay to Market. — Tlie following is the statement of work done by one Long Island farmer, in carting hay to the New York market. Ten ye.-.rs — 70 loay measurement, it will save the labor of weighing and something in the value of hay, which will be deteriorated by the handling necessary to weigh it with the appli- ances ordinarily at hand in the country. In estimating for our own use, we would always count gross tuns. In buying or selling, it should be as we could agree ; the custom of the locality would govern the calculation. An old farmer thinks that to those living at a distance from hay -scales, the following plan will be desirable. It is this : " Multiply the length, breadth, and hight into each other, and if the hay is somewhat settled, ten solid yards make a tun. Clover will take from ten to twelve solid yards per tun." This statement has been extensively circulated, and we print it here to prove that it is erroneous, which we do by the following testimony. "We hope all who have circulated this error will inform their readers that, in a well-settled mow of good hay, where ten to twenty tuns are stored together, they may ascertain the number of tuns approximately, by careful measure- Sko. 47.] NUMBER OF CUBIC FEET IN A TUN OF HAY. 781 ment nnd calculation of one tun to from four hundred to seven hundred cubic feet, according to quality and the degree of pressure. Nowhere but in tlie bottom of a large mow of timothy hay will four hundred feet make a tun. But to the testimony. One writer says : " At or near the bottom of a large mow where twenty tuns are stored, four hundred and fifty feet will make a tun ; while near the top of the same it would take seven hundred to seven hundred and fifty feet. It rarely takes one thousand feet, where hay has lain together a length of time, unless it be coarse and near the top, when it may sometimes require even that number of feet." E. Pratt, Jr., of Freeport, Me., says : •' In a mow forty feet long, sixteen feet wide, and fourteen feet deep, well settled, the common estimate is from four hundred and twenty-five to five hundred cubic feet for a tun. For some fifteen successive years I have pressed hay in my own barn from a mow less than the above, and the aver- age number of cubic feet required — including tare, which is about five per cent. — has l)een about four hundred and twenty-five feet per tun." C. "^V. Fairbrothers, of Saxton's Kiver, Vt., says : " I have had some experience in measuring and weighing hay, and find that of wliat we call scaflPold hay, not pressed, of a coarse quality, it takes some seven hundred feet to the tun. But of scaffold hay pressed by grain lieing put on the top of timothy and red-top, free from clover, we have a rule to allow eiglit feet cube, or five hundred and twelve cubic feet to a tun, and the same rule will apply to a mow of considerable size and same quality. It takes somewliat more clover to make a tun." A farmer of West Enosburg, Yt., says : " Wiieu there is a large quantity together, four hundred cubic feet will make a tun ; but where only a small quantity like a scaffold is stored, it will take for a tun not far from five hundred cubic feet. It depends some- thing on the quality, but I am speaking of good herds-grass hay. I saw a scaffold measured and weighed a few days ago; it was twenty-six feet long, eleven feet wide, and nearly five feet high, making one thousand four hun- dred and thirty cubic feet ; it weighed five thousand eight hundred pounds — so you must see that it varies but a fraction from five hundred feet to the tun." A Jefferson County (N. Y.) farmer gives a cube of seven feet of good hay as a tun, by actual measurement and weight, in a large mow. Scaffold hay, he says, " I buy or sell at five hundred and twelve feet, or eight feet cube for a tun." William Pease, Oswego, says, March 16th : "I have just measured and weighed a mow of haj', two tliirds clover and one third timothy, cut wet and dried, and pitched with a horse-fork, and stored six months in a mow twelve by twenty -six feet, ten feet deep, which took five hundred and forty- nine cubic feet for a tun." H. Kobie, Georgetown, N. Y., estimates five hundred feet as the fair aver- 782 THE GRASSES— THEIR CULTIVATION AND USE. [Chap. IX. age for a tun of liay in well-settled mows, and seven hundred feet on scaf- folds. C. W. Ingerson, Xew Bremen, Lewis County, N. Y., says : '■ I liave carefully measured and weighed several mows of liay ; in all cases it was weighed in the barn, and varied but little from four hundred cubic feet for a tun. A piece cut from the middle of a good-sized mow, seven feet square by eight feet deep, or three hundred and ninety-two feet, will weigh a tun. And there is not the difference generally supposed in tlie top and bottom of a hay-mow which has lain from harvest \intil winter. I speak of timothy or hords-grass, cut when the seed had nearly matured, mowed in the forenoon, and secured in the afternoon of the same day." J. W. E., West Almond, Alleghany County, N. Y., says : " I filled a mow that is fifteen by thirty feet with common timothy hay, so that it settled to twelve feet high. I weighed out twelve tuns, which is four hundred and fifty feet to the tun." J. T. Keelcy gives the following weight and measure of his mows : '• Mow No. 1, twenty-one by twenty-one feet square, thirteen feet in depth, required four hundred and sixty solid feet to Aveigh two thousand pounds. This hay was limoth}^, not very coarse ; cut while in blossom, and well mowed away by two men. " Mow No. 2, ten by twenty feet square, five and a half feet in depth, the hay the same quality as No. 1, required six hundred and fifty solid feet to weigh two thousand pounds. " Mow No. 3, eleven by twenty-four feet square, fourteen feet in depth, timothy hay, part of it rather too ripe when cut ; required five hundred solid feet to weigh two thousand pounds. " My experience is, it will require five hundred solid feet of timothy hay, cut in season and mowed away as it should be, to weigh a tun taken from the center of a mow twelve by twenty-four feet square and ten feet in depth." J. W. Cressinger, of Sullivan, Ashland County, Ohio, writes, March 20th : " That the result of weighing that day was one hundred and forty jjounds to a cubic yard from a mow fourteen by sixteen feet, the hay lying about twelve feet deep, and that taken out to-day was luilf way down. This was timothy, with a trifie of while clover, cut the second week of June, when the first blow was off. Previous weighing lias clearl}' proved to me that timothy hay, cut when the blow is off, and before it is ripe and properly cured, will weigh from one hundred and thirty to one hundred and forty-six pounds to the cubic yard, and clover from one liundred and twenty to one liundred and forty jiounds to the same. I find that fourteen and a half cubic yards of mow or stack hay well packed, if taken below half way down, will make one tun where there are more than four tuns put up together ; fifteen cubic yards, taking tlie whole together, will make one tun where there is not too much clover among it; and clover will take of an average sixteen cubic yards." Seo. -17.] KUMBER OF CUBIC FEET IN A TUN OF HAY. T83 A fanner of Cass County, Mich., says, March 4th : " I have just measured ten feet square, tiiirty inches deep, of a well-set- tled mow, which weighed one thousand pounds." G. G. Snclling, of South Thomaston, Me., says: " I have sold hay from tlic bay or ground mow, four hundred cubic feet to the tun ; but in doing so, have discovered that I generally suifered loss. Hay on scaffolds requires more cubic feet to the tun than hay in bays. Since reading your article, I sold from the bottom of a hay-mow, thirty feet long, ten feet wide, and originally fourteen feet high, two tuns and three quarters of very fine hay, and found on accurate measurement that it occu- pied eight hundred and thirty-one cubic feet, or a fraction over three hun- dred and two cubic feet to the tun. From the top of another mow, the hay a little coarser, I cut a square, eight by ten feet, and took off the hay to the depth of three feet, and found it M'cighed one thousand one hundred and seventy pounds, which is about four hundred and ten cubic feet to the tun. Hay, according to bulk, weighs more some years than others. Last hay season I discovered, on examination, that the stalk where it was cut by the scythe was entirely filled — a circumstance which rarely occurs." J. Farnum, of Uxbridge, Mass., gives four hundred feet for a tun in a mow twenty feet high, twenty feet long, and twenty feet wide, as the lowest number of feet he ever heard estimated. " In a scaffold of hay eleven^ and a half feet by eleven and a half feet square and nine feet high, making one thousand one hundred and ninety and one quarter solid feet, there was by actual weight five thousand and seventy-si.x pounds of hay, or a little over two tuns and a half of hay. The hay was what is here called intervale upland, a kind resembling the English red-top, though not so valuable. This estimate gives a fraction less than four hundred and sixty-nine cubic feet to the tun. Under ordinary circumstances, five hundred solid feet of well-packed, not very coarse hay is considered with us to be a fair estimate for a tun." Harvey Head, of Paris Hill, N. Y., says : " I have two barns thirty by forty feet, each of which has a bay across one end sixteen by thirty feet, which at fourteen feet high to the plates gives six thousand seven hundred and twenty feet as the contents when filled. For the last fifteen years I have usually sold one of these mows, generally by weight. I find by looking over the account that nine tuns and eight hundred is the least I ever weighed from one of them, and that fourteen tuns and seven hundred is the largest amount weighed from the same hay. In tlie case above, the mows were filled above the plate with oats in the bundle. You will see by the wide difference above, that I have long understood that without a good sound dis- cretion to back it, there was no safety in buying or selling hay by measure. For while it will be difficult to get a tun of coarse clover and timothy hay into seven hundred feet, it will require no very sharp practice to get a tun of pure timothy that will make about twenty to thirty hundred to the acre into four hundred feet. The heaviest hay we make here is timothy. Take 784 THE GRASSES— THEIR CULTTJTIVATION AND USE. [Chap. IX. a field of it not so thick but the sun shines quite to the ground among it, cut when a little past full in blossom ; if good weather, get in the same day ; the mow will steam just enough to pack solid, and four hundred feet make a tun. Dry the same hay crisp, so that the mow never warms, and it will take four hundred and fifty feet or over for a tun. On the other extreme, take a field of coarse-lodged clover sparsely sprinkled with coarse timothy all out of blossom, and it requires seven to eight hundred feet in large mows to make a tun." Asaliel Burnham, Jr., of Arkwright, Cattaraugus County, N. Y., gives four hundred feet as the liule for a tun. B. P. II., of Onondaga, says : " Tlic hay that grows on old, worn-out meadows is much heavier, according to bulk, and far more nutritious than that on meadows recently stocked down ; besides, the qualisy and weight of hay on the same meadow varies from year to year ; in a very wet season you get a greater bulk; in a dry season greater weight; and clover hay occupies a quarter more space than timothy, so all rules are uncertain." G. II. Ilarroun, of Patterson's Mills, Iowa County, Mich., says his expe- rience in selling hay is, that timothy mixed with one fourth clover, cut when timothy begins to ripen, and cured in cocks, and packed in a mow eighteen by thirty feet, and kept over summer, weighed a tun to four hun- dred cubic feet. Clover took five liundred and twelve feet to a tun. A. S. Myrick, of Jefi"erson Valley, N. ♦!'., says : " Dcderick's presses make a bale of three hundred and seventy-five to four hundred and twenty- five pounds in twenty cubic feet (four feet by twenty-four inches by tliirty inches)." The weight of the testimony is that four hundred cubic feet of the bottom of a large mow are required on the average for a tun ; five hundred feet in the middle, or as the average of a mow ; and seven hundred feet for a scaf- fold of a few tuns of what is often called English hay, and about a quarter more for clover. The calculation of ten yards is a blunder. If you doubt it, try it. Measure across a mow fifteen feet wide a strip of six feet, and take off the hay three feet deep and weigh it, and see if it makes a tun. The statement, just as soon as you begin to analyze it, will appear ridicu- lous. Tlie smallest quantity given for a tun is a cube of seven feet — three hundred and fortj'-three feet. As a general rule, it will do to calculate every cube of eight feet in a large mow as a tun, and unless the hay is packed solid, it will take more rather tlian less than such a cube to make a tun, particularly if the tuns are estimated at gross weight, which we think is tlie general custom. With the above estimates, based in most cases upon actual weight and measurement, the farmer will have but little difficulty in determining how much hay he has stored in any particular place. CHAPTER X. EOOT CROPS AND SUGAH CHOPS. c^-^;^ SKGTION XLVIII.-POTATOES, TUliNIPS, BEETS. CARROTS, PARSNEPS, ONIONS ( HE value of root crops other tlian potatoes lias never been appreciated in this country as much as in Europe; ;£_ for instance, turnips in England and beets in France. _^ Tlie potato, Solanum titberosum, is considered in- '^,^^^^ dispensable in Middle and Northern States; and the sweet potato, Convolvulus hatatas, in Southern States. Within a veiy recent period, American farmers have begun to regard carrots and ruta bagas among the im- portant farm crops. The common white turnip has long been grown by most Northern farmers in a small way, but rot as a great field crop, as it is in England. Many fann- ers, who know very well how easily turnips are grown, have no faith in tlieir value as feed for stock. They have faith in po'a'oos, and as they are considered the most valuable of all root crops in America, we will open this chapter with their history, and give opinions of Ijractical men as to the value of various kinds and modes of culture. Si7. iHsiory of Ihc PotaiOs — Historically, we are told that it originated in South America, ]U'obably within the torrid zone. It was introduced into Europe by Sir "Walter Raleigh about the year looG, and into Ireland in IGIO, and as a field crop in Scotland in 1728. At first its culture was confined to the gardens of the nobility of England. In 1C13, the price of potatoes is stated, in the household expenses of Queen Annj, at Is. per lb. English writers estimate that twice as much food is produced from an acre of potatoes as from an acre of wheat. jNo theory of climate, soil, or culture can as yet explain the phenomena of its growth, or the nature and cause of the disease which of late years has reduced it from the most certain to the most uncertain of crops. Though a native of the torrid zone, it grows most luxuriantly in the Korthern States and British provinces of this continent, while in Ireland its culture attains the highest relative importance. In Sweden it is cultivated as far north as the sixty-fourth degree. The origin of the various sorts now in use is from planting the seed of the balls, or where the seed has ac- cidentally sprung up and produced tubers. 78G ROOT CROPS AND SUGAil CROP.-?. [Ciiai-. X. Tlio potato known as the Mercer, or Nishcnock, was first grown about foriy-scveii years ago, in Mercer County, Penn., on Big Nishcnock Creek, b}- Joim Gilkcy, who called it the Nishcnock Koyal potato, and it got the name of Mercer from Mr. Bevan Pearson, who carried a few in his saddle- bags to Darby, below Philadelphia, from which point they liavc spread over the United States under the name of Mercers, while from the original jioint tlicy have spread under the other name, which has been corrupted into Xesli- anocks, Meshanocks, Chenango, Bone's potato, and several other misnomers. Rev. Chauncey E. Goodrich, of Utica, X. Y., has originated more new potatoes than any other man in this country, and some of remarkably good quality, lie says of the origin of the potato: "In a state of nature, it is found on tb.c sides of llie Andes, and in tlio adjacent valleys. At tlie base of the mouniains, the tamarind, yam, and banana; the melon, corn, tomato, and pepper come higher up; and above these is the belt where the potato thrives most vigorously, the climate being equable, and the root not ex- posed to tJie frosts." SIS. The Character of Sevi-ral Prominent Sorts of PotatoeSi — The char- acter as well as origin of several sorts of potatoes in general use is given in the following notes, by Nathan R. French, of New York, who has paid great attention to the cultivation, salableness, and value of potatoes as a farm crop. lie says : "As a general rule, yellow j^otatocs are rank and strong — white ones, good flavored. " The Mercer has been for many years the standard variety. When first introduced, it was objected to on account of the blue streaks pervading the otherwise white meat, but the excellent quality and reliable y\c\d has kept the Mercers in general use. This and other parti-colored vai-icties are very much whiter when raised in this latitude than at tlie North, and if Northern seed of these sorts be carried South, tlie product will be much whiter and handsomer tlian the original seed, taking precedence in market over the same varieties of Northern growth. The Mercer seems to be now on the decline in many sections, and likely to be succeeded by new varieties of Northern growth. ".The Carter is one of the finest table ])otatoc3 ever grown. It is white throughout, slightly oblong, with deep under-set eyes, and when boiled lias a dry, light, flour-like appearance, with great delicacy of flavor. It ori-ri- nateJ some twenty years ago with a Mr. Carter, near Pitfsficld, Mass., and was soon cultivated largely by the Shakers. From them the culture spread northward, and is now mostly confined to Washington County, N. Y. " The Carter ripens late, and has failed of success in this latitude — is very liable to rot, and is now running out where it has succeeded best. "The White Pinkeyes, or Pink-eye Kidneys, are an old variety of excel- lent quality, rambling growers, generally yielding fairly upon rich and well- ada])ted ground. " Jnnes, Yellow Pinkeyes, Northern "Whites, and Rock Wliitos are all of the same fagiily, or nearly related. They are yellow-meated, waterv, and Seo. 48.] SEVERAL PROMINENT SORTS OF POTATOES. 787 Bomctimcs rank flavored. They mature early, particularly the Junes, on which accoiiut they are a good deal cultivated, and generally escape the rot, and yield fairly. " California potatoes are oblong-shaped, yellow-meated, parti-colorcd skin, great size, immense yielders, strong, watery, unfit for the table (of Chris- tians), but are fit successors to the old and discarded Merino potatoes, once so popular throughout Xew England, and still cultivated in some places for stock. " Tlie Dikeman is a native of Oneida County, N. Y., where it was started from the seed by a farmer whose name it bears. The tubers are round, white, with pink eyes ; it ripens earlier than the Mercer, and generally escapes the rot ; is a good 3'ielder, and is extensively cultivated as an early potato for this market. It degenerates rapidly, however, in this vicinity, so that a yearly renewal of seed from its native locality is necessary. " "Western Eeds are one of the best of the yellow-meated varieties, and when raised on Long Island or in New Jersc}-^, are very fair table potatoes. They are in large demand for shipping, and are exported to Bermuda for seed, their product — the highly prized Bermuda potato — being returned to us in the spring. It is remarkable that all other varieties tried in the Ber- mudas have failed. "The Black Mercer was introduced into New Jersey some years ago from Western New York. It is shaped much like the Mercer ; the flesh is entirely white, the skin very dark and thick. It is very late, requiring the whole season to mature ; yields largely, jiroducing twice as much as the Mercers. If peeled before cooking, the quality is good, particularly in the spring, though not so dry and ligj,it as the Mercer. The dark skin is preju- dicial to the sale, and it has rotted badly some years, so that many are now abandoning its cultivation. "The Buckeyes have been grown in Monmouth Count}^ N. J., with remarkable success. They are handsome, round potatoes, white throughout, except a little bright pink at the bottom of the eye; cook dry, mealy, and fine flavored. They wei'e introduced from Ohio to the vicinity of Ilochcster by D. S. Whitlock, from whom J. S. Whitlock, of Monmouth County, N. J., obtained seed and planted three acres of sward ground, which averaged 250 bushels per acre ; on corn stubble he had an average of 165 bushels per acre. His brother, G. S. Whitlock planted three acres corn stubble whi(-h averao-ed 200 bushels per acre — in both instances giving a yield more than double that of Mercers in the same fields. While all other varieties in the same neighborhood rotted badly, this was sound, and brought the highest price in market. '•The Prince Albert is a seedling imported from England, and introduced iulo Massachusetts a few years ago; in shape oblong, a little flattened, entirely white, with very few eyes, which lie upon the surfixce, scarcely indenting the thin, smooth skin, being one of the most beautiful potatoes ever grown, ripening early as the Mercer, of handsome size, sometimes very large, and very productive. 7S8 ROOT CROPS AND SUGAR CROPS. [CniP. X. "Tlio Peacli Blows and Slicpard lleds arc seedlings from tlic Western licds started by Mr. Shopard, of Saratoga County, N. Y. Tliey arc round, with M'liitiftli-ycllow meat and deep eyes. The former liave a parti-colored skin ; the latter a rough red skin with pink streaks in the outer portions of the lie.-l . The Peach Blows arc very fine table potatoes, cooking dry and light. They have heen grown to some extent in Monmouth County, N. J., with promis- ing success, though they did not attain the size of those raised at the North. The quality, however, was decidedly improved by change of climate and soil, being smoother, whiter, cooking dryer and lighter, and selling fifty cents per barrel higher than those of Northern growth. The Slicpard Keds have a less attractive appearance. Both varieties ripen late, and like all late potatoes are more liable to rot than the carlj^ sorts. "Dover potatoes are small, round, red, with deep eyes, white flesh, and from their superior quality sell to a limited extent at good prices. They are not economical for the table, and we presume their jneld is light. They grow principally in Rhode Island." James F. C. Ilyde, of Newton Center, Mass., speaks highly of "Davis' Seedling." "This is one of the very best potatoes grown, taking into consid- eration size, productiveness, and hardiness. I do not mean to say it is of the best quality for eating when compared with the State of Maine or Car- ter; but I do mean that it is a good eating potato, which, added to all its other good qualities, makes it a very desirable variety. Its color is red out- side and white inside, slightly tinged with pink just under the skin; largo size, and very free from rot. This variety originated in Sterling, Mass. It is far superior to Peach Blows, Vermont "Whites, and Pinkeyes. It yielded better than any other out of the forty kinds I raised last year. " State of Maine is a fine eating potato, unsurj^assed by any in the whole list, not excejiting the Riley or Carter. It is not more than half as productive as the Davis', but superior in quality for the table. It is white outside and inside, and shaped somewhat like the White Chenango (Mer- cer). This varictj' is quite early, being not more than a week later than the Chenango, to which it is superior. Should not consider it so profitable a variety for the market, except for early, as the above-named variety. " Jackson White. A sort of recent introduction, and promises well. I have grown it two years with fair success, but have never had it dry and mealy as the State of Maine. This is a white potato, nearly round, medium size, eyes deeply sunk, fair as to productiveness and hardiness, worthy of trial. "St. Helena. This is an old and well-known sort that was formerly culti- vated in this region, but for some years has been neglected. It now comes out nnder otiier names, such as Laplander and White Momitain Seedling. It is a very productive sort, very handsome on account of its good size and whiteness. Quite free from the rot. This potato is apt to be soggy, and for that reason is not so highly esteemed." A Mexican potato, said to have come from seed of potatoes found growing SiV3. 48.J SEVERAL PROMIN^ENT SORTS OF POTATOES. 789 wild in Mexico, has beea disseminated somewhat in Western New York, within tlie last dozen years ; it is highly recommended as having a rich white flesh of good qnality, with very smootli thin skin and shallow eyes. The tops or vines are remarkably small, and from this fact may be planted closer in hills than other varieties, or in drills three to three and a Imlf feet npart and six inches in the drill. May be cut as small as a single eye on a piece, and set four eyes in a hill, one in each corner of a square of four inches. Six bushels will be sutRcient to seed an acre of ground. "Wing's New Mercers. Mr. Benj. Wing, of Eochester, N. Y., says the seed came from Vermont. They resemble the old standard Mercer in shape, but have much less of the blue tint in the meat and skin, being nearly white throughout. They have a smooth skin, and cook as white and as dry as the old Mercers. The vine is larger and more luxuriant; they grow as com- pactly in the hills, and have yielded fully 25 per cent, more than the old Mercers, on the same field, and with the same opportunities. They have been called in some instances Sherman's Seedling, or Seedling Mercers. "Tlie Keeper Blue is a Western variety of large size, round, with dark blue skin and white meat, and of excellent quality. A few planted as an ex- periment in Monmoulh County attained only moderate size, with light yield, ripening rather late ; but the quality of this product surpassed the original stock, being in every respect most excellent — equaling the famous Carter in its best days. "Tlie New Hampshire White, raised in Monmouth County, is a very large oblong potato, white throughout. "The Wood's Seedling is similar in shape and size, with pale red skin mot- tled with white. Both yield very largely, but are not very good table potatoes. " The yellow-meated, poor-flavored potatoes, such as Western Reds, Junes, Round Pinkeyes, English Whites, and Rock Whites, sell at prices 50 per cent, below the clioice white varieties." The State of Maine is a new variety lately introduced, and another from Maine, called the Poggy potato, both of which are highly recommended. Alleghany potatoes is the name of a new sort, described as excellent and free from disease, by D. Edwards, of Little Genesee, N. Y. The Wood's potato and Jenny Lind potato are described by John C. Polley, DeWitt, Clinton County, Iowa, as identical, and he gives tlie fallowing as its history, which is valuable intbrmation, and proves that old things arc sometimes sold at extra prices as something new. "Isaac N. Wood, a farmer, living in Holland, Hampden County, Mass., in the fall of 1845 or 1846, gathered a few potato-balls from the vines of the Peach Blow potato, and the following spring planted some of the seeds. They grew feebly the first year, the tops bearing very little resemblance to those of potatoes. In the fall he harvested about two quarts, vaiying in size from that of a grape to a crow's egg. There were tliree distinct varieties in this first crop. The following spring he planted them in a sandy soil, and 790 ROOT CROPS AND SUGAR CROPS. [Chap. X. raised from one kind about ninety pounds, most of them of large size. The two (itlier v;;rictios yielded very litfle, and were not preserved ; the former were earufiilly stored for seed. Tlieir ajjpearancc the second year from tlie original seed was the same as it is to-day ; and it seemed as mature then as it was afcer years of cultivation. It had the same rough appearance then that it has now ; the eyes were numerous and deep-set. The next year he cut these ninety pounds of seed in such a way as to leave but one eye on a piece, and put three pieces in a iiill. Tiie hilJs were one and a half feet apart one wa}', and three and a half the other. Seeding in this way, he had eiutugh to plant one fourth of an acre. Tiie ground was dry and sandy, and highly manured. I saw them several times during the season, and have never seen a greater growth of tops than on that piece. It was impossible to tell, by the tops, which way the rows went, even while they were stand- ing up, and before they were thrown down by the wind and their own weight. lie harvested from that jiiecc one hundred and thirty bushels of potatoes; some of them M-ere remarkably large, weighing from two to three ])ounds. lie used of this crop only enough to test thoroughly their quality. The next spring he sold them in small cpiantities to his neighbors for seed at an extra price. My father procured some of the seed, and raised them for many years, and always considered them a valuable variety, cspeciall}' for feeding stock. They were not so good for table use as manj^ other kinds ; but they grew better toward spring, and perhaps at that season of the year they arc oti an equality Avith our best varieties. They will go further in seeding than any other kind I now remember, and j'ield much betfer than the average. I think them a valuable addition to the already numerous potato family." The Woodbury Red, California, and Early June potatoes, in Litchfield County, Conn., Dr. Beckwith of that State says, "were not affected by disease. The Woodbury Red yields large crops, but the quality is coarse." Mr. Sperry, of Bethany, Conn., considers Merinos, which are also called Long Johns, the most proillablc potato. lie has adopted the plan of jdant- ing potatoes only on poor soil, to avoid the disease. Tiie drier the land tlie less the rot. Planted on straw between the ridges on corn-land the}' did well ; also laid on the ground and covered four inches deep with straw ; the yield was small, but the tubers sound. Mr. Brown, of North Stonington, has tried White and Black Mcrccra, Peach Blows, Dovers, Californias ; of these the last rotted the least and yielded the best. The Dover is a fine ])otato, but the yield is very small. Mr. Sjjcrry, of Cheshire, has abandoned the culture of the Mercers on ac- count of the rot, and regards the Sand Lakes the best; they are prolific, and an excellent table variety'. A peculiarity of this sort is that the tubers form on roots at a distance from the hill and fill the wliole ground, and do not rot. His ))ractice is to dig as soon as the lojis die, and keep the tubers ex- cluded perfectly from the light. He uses poor, worn-out land, with lime and plaster in the liill, and level culture. Seo. 48.] IMPORTANCE OF THE POTATO CROP. T'Jl Mr. Peck, of Chaplin, plants on old pasture grounds, using aslies i-n the hill, with iinit'onn success. He regards tlie Dovers as t!ic best potato now raised in Windham County. lie has raised 75 to 100 bushels of Dovers per acre. Gen. Pratt, of Eocky Hill, says: "The Scotcli Gray was the common sort some years since, but of late English Whites, Pinkeyes, and White Mercers are tlie preferred kinds. Potatoes do best on corn-ground, whicli was well manured with the corn, tlic potatoes receiving in the hill a table- spoonful of ashes and one of plaster, mixed. In one experiment tlie potatoes rotted less upon ground purposely left full of weeds than where it was kept clean. The longer potatoes are left in the ground the better. The Mercer potatoes sell highest. Carter potatoes and Ladyfingers, and Dover or Irish crop potatoes are good, and the last named keep good till spring." Mr. Colburn, of Union, says: "Tiie kind known as Peach Blow potatoes was almost exclusively grown in the northern part of Tolland County, and gives it as his experience that early planting and fiat culture arc best. He plants as early in April as possible, and thinks that the crop of an early planting is less likely to rot. He disapproves the use of animal manure in the hill, a!id prefers to plant upon land manured the j^revious year, or upon sward ground, with ashes for a fertilizer." 811). Iiaportaiicc of the Potato Cropi — Notwithstanding disease, bad crops, and all oilier difficulties in the way of growing potatoes, the average yield per acre is at least one hundred bushels, and the average price in New York for years has been about equal to Indian corn, and sometimes as high as wheat, and twice as high as oats. They have often been so high that it was no object for a baker to use potatoes with wheat flour, and they have actually been retailed from the same store, pound for pound, with good wheat flour, at the same price. Under such circumstances, the importance of the potato crop will warrant us to devote some pages for its consideration. English and Irish farmers may well wonder at the statement of the price at which potatoes are sometimes sold at retail in this city; that is, at the rate of eight or nine shillings sterling a bushel of fifty -four pounds, and at this price they have been used as food in immense quantities for many years. Notwithstand- ing the great advance of price, the consumption has enormously increased, which may be attributed in j)art to the immense number of six hundred thousand immigrants annually. If wc estimate that each individual uses but five bushels of potatoes, which is a moderate estimate, it will require lluee millions of bushels to supply this demand. The reason why this class use potatoes so largely is because they can be so easily prepared, and because the taste for other cheap food, such as corn meal, has to be acquired. In September, 1S61, when potatoes were considered very low-priced, owing to an abundant crop just coming on the market, the wholesale piicc was quoted at $1 12 to $1 50 per barrel, and the average quantity in a barrel is not over two and a quarter bushels, making them at the lowest 50 cents a 792 ROOT CROPS AND SUGAR CROPS. Cn.vp. X. l>usliel. At the same time wheat was quoted from 91 cents to $1 27 a bushel ; rye, 67 ; oats, 28 to 34, Indian cofii, 47 to 65, and good wheat flour for fiimily nse at $4 50 to $6 a barrel, say only three times the price of potatoes, with all tlieir weiglit of water and waste in cooldng. Who will doubt the importance of tlie potato crop in America at present prices ? 850. Some General Rules for Potato fuHure.— The first grand rule is, plow your ground — do not scratch it and call it plowed. We should prefer the Michigan plow, run twelve inches deep, with a subsoil plow following in eacli furrow, twelve inches deeper ; and the potatoes planted and cultivated on tlic level system, the work all being done by horse-hoes instead of hand- hoes. The best potato land is a dry, mellow loam. Do not select muddy soil or ground tliat was manured high last j'ear witli nnfermented stable or hog- pen manure ; and do not use either of tiiese manures on the crop. Remem- ber that soil as well as climate has much to do witli the nature of crops. Gravel or loamy soils are best, especially when they contain a large propor- tion of vegetable matter. If potato-ground is well prepared, and then be- comes jiacked afterward, it will not injure tlic product, but wilt increase it ; treading the hills iipon sandy ground will be bcneticial. In planting, wo would use medium-sized wliole potatoes, dropped in furrows three inchca deep, and fill the furrow with loose dirt, well beaten down. For manure, use none but the very best compost or guano, thoroughly mixed witli the soil. Use lime, plaster, and salt, one or all. Twenty busiiels (if salt or fifty bushels of lime per acre would not frighten the potatoes out of one year's growth ; and a handful of plaster upon each hill would tell you a most interesting story. Freshly dug muck, taken from salt or fresli marshes, thrown into drills underlying seed potatoes, will be found to be an efficient manure, while the decomposition of this muck, consequent upon the abstraction of some of its constituents by the roots of the growing potato, prepare it for minute division in the soil by the next year's plow- ing, and thus sandy soils may be made to yield large crops of potatoes, at the same time providing themselves with the conditions which will render them retentive of manures for all time. Use salt and lime broadcast at the first or second tending, mixing with the soil by the cultivator. The plaster may be put on at any time after the vines are well grown. Sods or straw laid in th.e furrow over the seed are good, because they maintain an equal temperature beneath them. The best aspect for a potato field is a northern one, as a Eoutherii heats too much, and an eastern heats too rapidly after a cold night. Seed pota- toes we prefer to plant whole, because it is a law of nature that the tuber or seed furnishes food for the young plant. We would plant early, because early planting gives the plant a slow, hardy growth in the comparatively wet weather early in the season, which fits it to better withstand the sudden transition of midsummer. In Mississippi, potatoes are planted in Novem- ber. "We hayo planted in February north of New York city, and got a Sbo. 48.] GROWING POTATOES UNDER STRAW OR TAN BARK. 793 good crop of early potatoes. Early maturing sorts are the surest of late years. In the culture of potatoes it should be borne in mind that they are tubers ; that the roots which are thrown forth never yield potatoes attached to themselves, the new growth always occurring on the stems, and hence the mode of culture should be such that after the proper number of tubers have appeared upon the new growing stem, no others should be induced, so that all the pabulum collected by the roots may be reserved for the use of the first formed tubers. If this rule be strictly adhered to, all the potatoes will be of full size, and we shall not have assorted crops, part large, part small, part ripe, and part unripe. As soon as the plants are three inches high, turn furrows toward them so that they will be partially covered, but do not make ridges. Keep your culture ujjon the flat system. Take care to keep the field clear of weeds, cost what it will, and you can grow potatoes in these latter days with more profit than you ever did in ancient times of great crops and low prices. There is no better implement to use between potato rows than a subsoil plow. Planting in drills we prefer to hills; level cultivation in preference to ridges ; but the ground must be deeply prepared. 851. Culture of Potatoes by the Plow without Hoeing.— A Connecticut farmer is successful in the following mode of growing potatoes, doing all the work of covering with the plow instead of hand hoe: After plowing deep, he laid out the field with the plow for the seed, drawing furrows three inches deep, two feet and a half apart ; in these were dropped potatoes fif- teen inches apart. They were covered by throwing a ridge over each row, four inches above the general level — the potatoes therefore being buried seven inches deep. Ten days after the piece was cross-harrowed level, or ' nearly so, and then left till the rows could be distinctly seen ; then the earth was again thrown in ridges, covering the potatoes ; this was done by plow- ing twice to each row ; then, the same day that which was ridged was har- rowed flat, there being no more plowed tlian could be leveled before night. "When the plants had attained a hight of six or eiglit inches, they were tilled either with Shares' horse-hoe or with a light plow, according to the soil (which in some parts was too grassy to use the horse-hoe to advantage) ; by this operation the potatoes were pretty well earthed up. Afterward the horse-hoe was used again as a weedcr, and nothing more done, save to go through once and pull the few big weeds which were in the rows. Tiie hand- hoe was used in a few spots onl}-, where sods on the surface made it neces- sary. As the result of this mode of culture there were three acres of pota- toes, and not a weed in sight. 852. Growing Potatoes under Straw or Tan Bark— R. B. Bamford, of England, has issued a pamphlet, giving his method of using tan bark, which is briefly stated as follows ; He does not cut his potatoes, but uses the largest he can select. The rows are thirty inches apart, and the potatoes are put nine inches from each other in the row. The land is plowed only eight inches deep. He treads the manure firmly in the farrows, puts in the tubers, and covers them in with tan refuse, nine inches deep. In 1857 he 794 ROOT CROPS AND SUGAR CROPS. Chap. X. raised six luindred and seventy-five bushels oF potatoes to !he acre, with nothing but waste tan as a eovering, and not a rotten one among them. A similar tiling has been jnacticed with straw and with swtngliiig-tow. J. M. Sniitli, of Beaver County, Pa., recoininends raising potatoes under straw. Plow tlic ground and manure well. Cut the seed and drop in squares two bj' two and a half feet on tiie leveled surfaee, and cover with straw six inches deep. The crop was large and potatoes good, wlien all around, jiotatocs planted in the usual way made a poor crop. Another fanner says: "Prepare the ground well and plant in drills and cultivate once after they grow, and then, wliile the surface is fresh, cover eiglit inches deep with straw." 853. Aslics for Potatoes. — Rufus Brown, of Chelsea, Orange County, Vt., says tliat in an experiment tried by him, the gain in the crop of potatoes by the use of ashes at tlie rate of a teacupful to the hill was about a bushel and a half of potatoes for each bushel of ashes used. The kind of potatoes was tlie English Pinkeye, and yield two hundred bushels per acre. The ground was planted May 7tli, witli tlic aslies in holes and a little dirt over then). It was jilowed and hoed June ISth, the rows being four feet apart and hills three feet. The ashes cost twelve and a half cents a bushel, and potatoes sold at thirty-tive cents, returning full fifty cents a bushel for tlie aslies employed. 8'A. Hoeing Potatoes when Wet. — A correspondent of the Pi'uirie Farmci' states that, having noticed liow potatoes, when interrupted in their growth, invariably pined away and died, if disturbed and bruised when wet with dew or rain, he tried the following experiment: lie selected a patch in his potato-field, had it plowed only once, and then loosened the soil with the hoe when the stalks were above ground, and in the heat of the day when they were dry. He never touched them afterward until they were dug iu Octo- ber. These stalks kept green, and the yield of potatoes was very largo. The other portion of the patch was worked three times, when the stalks were wet with dew. These blighted early, did not produce half a crop, and that of an inferior quality. The ground, seed, and time of planting in both cases were the same. 855. Practical Opinions about Seed Potatoes and Planting. — Isaac Beck- ner, of Goshen, Ind., gives the following as his ])lan, by wliich he gets a good cro]i of sound potatoes: " Plant sound seed three and a half by three and a half feet ; work them with a small cultivator until they are ready to lay by, and then run a furrow in the center of the middle as deej) as 3-ou can with a shovel plow, twice in the same place each way, forming a fine hill. These furrows will drain the hills if too wet, and if it is dry, the hill is in a good shape to retain the moisture. In this way of tending they will need no hoeing, as they will be hilled sufficient!}'." Another farmer prefers drilling the seed. lie says the average yield is twenty-five per cent, greater. Another one not only plants ia squares, but is particular to have each Sec. 48] ' CUT SEED VS. WHOLE POTATOES. 795 piece of seed in its proper place relative to position. After preparing the ground and marking each way with a plow, he marks a place for each piece of seed with a block having four pins inserted at equal distances. Small children may follow and drop one piece in each hole, which may then be covered with the hoe or rake. By this method your potatoes are neither too compact nor carelessly dropped out of place. The after-culture is more pleasantly and nicely performed, on account of every plant standing just where it should be. Another rcconiniends planting the seed very aeep, and proves his theory sound by seed accidenfally buried very deep, always producing well, and tlie potatoes never rotting. He says : " Potatoes planted near the surface arc affected by the changes of the weather ; the blistering sun and drench- ing rain contribute in no small degree to their decay, while those deeper planted are protected from the extremes of heat and cold, of wet and droutli." General Beatson, of the British armj^, who commanded at St. Helena, at the suggestion of the Royal Agricultural Society tried a great number of well-directed experiments in relation to tlie culture of the potato. He found that the proper depth to which the seed should be covered was six inches ; that at a greater or less depth of covering the crop Avas less and of inferior quality. He also found that the largest and most perfect pota- toes, when used for seed, would give a larger yield from the same number of pounds than any other size. He tried them of every size, at every deptli, whole, cut in various sized pieces, the different portions of the potato planted separately, the removal of the ej-es from the potato, and their separate plant- ing, and the result of all these experiments was that the largest-sized pota- toes covered to the full depth of six inches, witii flat cultivation and con- tinued disturbance of the surface of the soil would yield the largest crop. Each of these experiments, even in its subdivisions, occupied a space of not less than one acre. 850. Cut Seed vs. Whole Potatoes. — There are conflicting opinions as to which is best, planting potatoes whole or cut, or whether large or small ones are equally good for seed. Wc give some of these opinions as we find them : our own corresponds to that of General Beatson. The following is a statenicnt of Professor Nash : " Nothing can shake my opinion in favor of planting large tubers. Tiie want of proper food in the soil is often, if not always, the cause of the potato rot, as well as poor crops. A mixture of four bushels of wood ashes, one bushel of shell lime, one half bushel of plaster, one quarter bushel of salt, produced an excellent crop, while, right alongside, a crop without this mixture w.as not worth digging." A letter from Cayuga County, N. Y., contains the following statement: " For twelve years past we have been in the ])abit of selecting potatoes for seed the size of a black walnut, putting one in each hill, and during this time have not had as many as one in fifty affected with disease, except one season, when digging in wet weather, we washed them before they were 796 ROOT CROPS AND SUGAR CROPS. CnAr. X. carried to the cellar, Avlien tliey rotted at tlie bottom of the heap. We have usually planted the kind called Doonjard or Wigdons, and on the same ground, year after year, manuring once in three years. Other varieties have also done well for us with the same treatment, though the rot has been so prevalent in the neighborhood. As to cutting out eyes of potatoes to plant, it is only a theory that may succeed, but it is not according to the laws of science. I therefore contend fur planting whole potatoes. Cut potatoes are more liable than whole ones to become diseased. With regard to planting small ])otatoes, I have proved by experiment that small tubers of the size of English walnnts will produce as good a crop as larger ones." On the contrary, John G. Bergen (a Long Island farmer) says: "I have always advocated cutting potatoes, and my experience has always sustained the theory. True, the circumstances of all experiments may vary the re- sult. My experiments have produced me the best crops of marketable pota- toes. If a potato is cut in the sun or dry atmosphere, a skin immediately forms over the cut part. I have not tried cutting out the eyes, but I do not see why they may not produce as well as from whole tubers. As to the size of tubers, I tried a bushel of the largest, and found that they were earlier and produced a better crop. The best farmers make three sizes, rejecting the smallest, and plant sizes together, and find that tliey ripen more evenly, and the largest end always ripens earlier, whether cut or not. This is an object with gardeners who grow potatoes for market, and find it an object to get the crop very early — a few days making a great difterence in price." Here is the statement of a Michigan farmer, wluch exactly coincides with our own experience : "On the 30th of April, 1S51, I planted, on one square rod of ground, in seventy-two hills, seventy-two small jtotatoes, from the size of a hickory nut to that of a hen's egg. The seed measured about two quarts, and weighed three and a half pounds. To plant an acre in this manner would require ten bushels of seed. On the same day, on a square rod adjoining, I planted seventy-two large potatoes, in seventy-two hills, placing one in each hill, without cutting. The seed measured more than a peck, and weighed fifteen pounds. On the 20th of August I dug botli patches. The product of the small potatoes was five pecks, weighing eighty- four pounds, which would give a yield of two hundred bushels to an acic. The product of the large potatoes was one hundred and fifty-eight poutuls, measuring nine pecks, which would give three hundred and sixty bushels to the acre. The vines averaged four to each hill, while those of the small potatoes were only three. The vines from tiie lai-ge potatoes grew mucii faster and larger than the other, but in the size of the potatoes there was no great diflerenec. Prof. Mapes says: "I tried the experiment of cutting out the ej'es for planting, with a gouge. Tliese were planted, after being rolled in plaster or partially dried, and the potatoes were used as food. I found that the eyes of one bushel of potatoes occupying the same amount of ground, and all other circumstances being equal, planted alongside of a bushel of whole Seo. 43.] EXPERIMENTS WITH LARGE AND SMALL SEED POTATOES. Y97 potatoes, would yield the same number of potatoes, but not of the same weight or size; their keeping properties were not so good, and they were more early attacked with disease." The following are brief opinions of Connecticut farmers : Mr. Sperry, of Cheshire, prefers seed split lengthwise. Gen. Pratt thinks cut seed better than whole — he cuts in two or three pieces, and thinks small seed will eventually deteriorate the crop. Jlr. Sperry, by planting small seeds, obtains the largest tubers. lie thinks too much seed is generall}- used. Mr. Colburn sees no difference from whole or cut seed. Mr. Brown prefers tubers the size of an egg, and four stalks in a hill, lie sometimes plants chits instead of whole seed. Mr. White, of Manchester, cuts an egg-sized potato in four pieces, and uses but two in a hill, planting 85 x 3 feet, or 3x3, upon pasture land, with- out manure, using plaster after hoeing. An advocate of cut seed says: " We do not need many sprouts in a hill, and we do not get many, however many eyes we plant. If we plant whole tubers, one vigorous stalk grows, and we get the same result from a single eye. I would never plant cut potatoes without first rolling the seed in lime, or something to dry up the juice." Our own opinion we give in conclusion as follows : for seed, we should use medium-sized tubers — less than is usual in the hill. If the stalks are abundant, invariably thej are not vigorous, and produce small potatoes and a poor yield. The seed-ci.d of potatoes, we have no doubt, is equally valuable as any- other part for planting, if cut so as not to have too many eyes and sprouts huddled together ; yet we have known some over-nice planters cut off and throw away the seed-end as worthless, just as some do the but-ends of ears of corn, M'ithout being able to assign the reason wherefore. We are in favor of planliiig potatoes in drills, as well as almost every other farm crop. To sum up : Plant potatoes on dry land, deep plowed and subsoiled, manured with compost in the drill, or covered and mixed with all the surface-soil with a cultivator harrow. Plant medium-sized tubers in medium quantities if whole ; or cut so as to divide the eyes equally, and take pains to drop them carefully and with regularity. 857. Accurate Experiments with Large and Small Seed Potatoes. — K. K. Kenny, of Loi-ain County, Ohio, says : " About the first of May I made a small piece of ground very mellow, and planted it w'ith care in the follow, ing order : " 1. Two rows, of six hills each, with pieces from medium-sized tubers, each piece having one eye, and four pieces in a hill. 2. Two rows, with whole medium-sized tubers, one in each hill. 3. Two rows, with eyes hav- ing very little of the tuber attached, four in each hill. 4. Two rows, with small tubers, four in each hill. 5. Two rows, with eyes from the seed-end of each tuber. 6. Two rows, with eyes from the stem-end of the large Wei gill of Avprape No. Av. wi'iBht YiilJ VTclRlit of ATcraffe No. of tubers No. 8cfd. of tubers in 12 hill*, per noro. in hill. lbs. busli. lbs. oz. in bill. 1.... 1 U ... 0 28} .... 150 5... 1 2 . . . . lOi . 2... 3 1 ... lOJ .. 30 .... 100 6.... 1 12 . . .. ]2i 3... 5 ... 8| .. 24 .... 128 7 5 j . 4.... 14 ...15 .. . 31 .... 105 798 BOOT CROPS AND SUGAR CROPS. [CnAP. X. tubers. 7. Two rows, with small, unripe tubers, taken up while quite grecii, on purpose for trial. "At digging-time, the following was the result: Ar. wclzhi TIebl in 13 hills, per acre, lbs. bush. 34 .... 1",»2 42i .... 218 27i .... 14C "I do not suppose that the same result would always be obtained, but this being from actual experiment is of some little value. Those who advocate the planting of eyes, as in No. 3, usually dry them. Mine, however, were not dried, but planted when newly cut. No. 7 would probably compare better in a dry season ; the vines were altogether more vigorous, and appa- rently more healthy. I also drew some young vines, as is usually done with the sweet potatoes, and transplanted them. From these I obtained beautiful tubers of nearly equal size. This suggests the idea of forcing the potato in a hot-bed, and transplanting when all danger of frost is over, thus securing an early cioj). Tlie variety used was the Nishanock." 858. Plauting without Plowing. — The following iten^ of information, wc think, must be looked upon as a valuable discovery by a tolerably large class of American farmers, who are habitually behindhand with their spring work. "We can not say tliat we are entirely satisfied that planting without plowing is worthy of coniinendalinn or adoption by those who can and should do better. Our informant says : " The best, or next to the best, crop of potatoes he ever saw was raised by a neighbor whom ho saw planting on old corn-ground, by merely jiulling over the stubs of corn and dropping a potato in tiie hole, and then crowding the corn-hill back and stepping upon it. The land was not plowed to begin with, but after the planting treated as usual. No manure was used, and the potatoes (pinkeyes) were the largest and best he had ever seen." Upon mellow land, where the corn had been manured in the hills, and in cultivation hilled up, it is possible that the result might be as above stated, if the ground between the rows was afterward deeply and thoroughly plowed both ways. 859. Planting Potatoes tfom Sets. — A farmer who has long practiced growing potatoes from sets, gives the following directions: "Put the seed in drills just wide enough apart to hoe between, and when the sprouts arc up four or five inches, draw them and transplant where they arc to grow, three sprouts in a hill. My second croj^, May 26, is now nearly ready for trans- l>lanting. This method has many advantages over the old one, especially as the young plants are as hardy as cabbages, and can be planted with as much speed as tubers. One bushel of seed goes as far as ten in the old way. " You can have your ground fresh plowed at the time of transplanting, and thus get a good start of the weeds, and no small potatoes ; they are of uniforu: size." J Sec. 48.] MICHIGAN THEORY OF WINTERING POTATOES. 799 860. Plaiitiag Potatoes ia Autumn. — Egbert Lanpher, of West Lowell, Lewis County, N. Y., says l\c has successfully tried the experiment of wintering- potatoes in the hill where they are to grow. He thinks it also a great pre- ventive of the rot. lie says : " I cleared a piece of new mucky land, and planted two bushels, and hilled them, so that they did not freeze during the time that the gronud remained bare of snow. The next spring I planted on the same kind of land, by the side of those planted in autumn. Those planted in autumn remained green two weeks longer than those planted in the spring. I saved the crop, and used them for seed next spring. I put them up in pits or small holes, from three to seven bushels in each, not piling them over one foot thick, so that they would not heat each other; and now I have from last year's crop as line potatoes as any man ever need wisli to eat. j\fy belief is that potatoes should be planted i?i tlie full of tho moon, as early as they can be planted in the spring, and remain undug as long as possible, and tliose intended for seed should be mixed with dirt, through the winter; they never should be put in large piles." All this M-e agree with exce])t the moon part of the story. It is a curious fact that in the year 1860, in a country boasting of its enlightenment, men of fair intelligence and good sense in other matters should still cling to that a-itiquated and thoroughly exploded old notion that planting potatoes " in the old of the moon" could, by any possible chance, have any effect upon the crop. Another person says : "With a view to obtain new potatoes earlier than by the usual process of spring planting, I prepared a small patch in my garden, as follows : " Dug trenches nine inches deep, two feet and four inches apart — strewed on the bottom long stable manure — set Early Junes, whole, eight inches apart; then another layer of long litter, fresh from the stable, and filled up with four inches of soil. All this, November 18th. "As soon as the surface froze hard, I spread a light layer of straw. The sprouts appeared above ground on the 4th of May. Dug between rows, and planted Early York cabbages. On the 26th of July dug ])otatoes, leaving cabbage almost headed. The yield was good, but as an early crop the attempt was a failure. Potatoes of the same kind planted on the 3d of April came up and matured ten days earlier." 661. The Roberts, or Michigau, Theory of Wintering Potatoes.— A few years ago, a new theory about potato seed was promulgated by a Mr. Roberts, of Michigan, which attracted much attention, and as it is a very reasonable one we put it upon permanent record. It is simply to let the seed remain as the tubers grow in the ground, by which they seem to ac- quire vigor and hardihood to resist any killing effects from bugs or any other blighting cause. His plan is certainly worth a trial, as the quality of the potato is un- doubtedly improved by the process. Tlie following is Mr. Eoberts' plan in detail : " Select one fourth acre of arable land, on which water will not stand, on 600 KOOT CROPS AND SUGAR CROPS. [Chap. X. an eastern slope (new land is the best for this use), prepare it early in the spring, furrow four or five inches deep and two feet apart. Select seed roots that arc about tlie size of a hen's egg, that have louchcd the ground during the previous winter. Do not cut thcui ; drop one every six or eight inches apart in the furrows ; cover them by filling the furrows, and then put a top dressing of two inches of straw or forest leaves on each row. When the tops are two inches high, pass between the rows with a shovel- plow ; follow with a hoe, destroying the weeds and leveling the ground ; do not I'.ill. Do nothing more until the ground begins to freeze; then cover with half-rotten straw, chaif, or forest leaves, three or lour inches deep. Your potatoes will now have a chance to ripen and rest during the winter. "The spring following, dig your potatoes, and plant a field crop for culin- ary use in drills four or five inches deep and three feet apart ; drop a potato every eight or ten inches, cover by filling the furrows ; cultivate or hoe twice, and plant another seed patch as above directed. In this way you will get the greatest yield and best quality. Continue a similar practice from year to year, and judging from my own experience, I believe you M-ill find your potatoes yearly increasing in yield and tpiality. " The third year you may increase your field crop by plowing in fine manure. You have now had nature's course pointed out to you ; her laws arc truths ; and I humbly believe I have given them a just exposition. All who follow my directions Avill, the second year, see many seed-balls on the vines. Seed of every variety should be fully matured, i. e., not harvested until fully ripe. That which approaches the nearest to perfection should be selected for seed, and all roots for seed purposes should remain in the ground where they grow until they bear seed ; this course will make the seed mature earlier, and make it the most perfect of its kind." 8G2. (htoring Potatoes iu Winter.— There is no better way than covering potatoes in piles to preserve them through winter, care being taken not to cover them too warm, nor so shallow as to endanger freezing and thawing. They Avill bear freezing once slightly without injury, if thawed in the eai-th. Put about twenty bushels in a jjilo, on a smooth spot where no water can reach the bottom of the pile, and cover six or eight inches deep with straw and a little earth, making it a foot thick and compact, before the ground is frozen, and outside of that put a coat of litter, and hold it on with a few ehovelfuls of earth, or some brush, or poles, or boards. If much warm weather occurs after the heap is covered, it niust be ventilated. This may be done with a wisp of straw extending through the earth covering. When potatoes are stored in a cellar, we recommend them to be put in as large bodies as possible, in the darkest part of the cellar. Potatoes never should be exposed to the light ; and they never should be heated in the sun. They sliould be stored cool, as fast as unearthed, in cellar or piles, where they are to be kept through the winter, and at once covered from the drying winds and light. It is not important that potatoes should be stored dry. Taken from the field iu a rainy day, iu a muddy condition, they havo Sko. 48.] COST AND MODE OF GROWING TWO CROPS OF POTATOES. 801 kept well. One man dried liis potatoes in the sun, and stored them warm. In a few days the pile was steaming and the center in a state of decay. His remedy was to spread them out upon the cellar bottom to cool, and sprinkle gypsum, two bushels to a hundred bushels of potatoes, which gave them the condition they would have had if stored on a damp day. Potatoes would keep better if buried with earth, filliug all the interstices between the tubers, keeping them cool and dark. That is the great secret in storing potatoes. 863. To Keep Totatoes from Sprouting< — "To keep old potatoes from growing, use boiling water, in a tub, witli as many potatoes as the water will entirely cover ; then pour off the water, and lay up the potatoes on boards, in a dry place, only one layer deep." In Scotland, "diluted ammoniacal water, in the proportion of an ounce of the liquor of ammonia to a pint of river or rain water, has of late years been successfully employed for checking the vegetative power of potatoes and prolonging their suitableness for food. Potatoes immersed four or five days in this liquid retain all their edible properties unimpaired for a twelve- month, improved in flavor and mealiness. The effect of the liquid is to con- solidate their substance and extract their moisture. After immersion the potatoes should be spread so as to dry." 8Ci. Cost and Mode of Growing Two Crops of Potatoes.— The following statements show the cost of growing crops of potatoes on Long Island. John McKunn, of Gravesend, says : " My ground was plowed deep, mellow, and furrowed two and a half feet ajiart. I then sprinkled three hundred pounds sifted Peruvian guano in the bottom of the furrow, and on top of the guano four loads of stable manure, and then, after cutting thirteen bushels of potatoes to two eyes, dropped them fourteen inches apart on the manure, and covered three inches deep. As soon as they were well up, I plowed and hoed them, and twice afterward, and then fastened a wooden mold-board six inches wide upon the top of the iron one, extending ten inches back of the plow, so that the dirt was thrown quite up to the vines, covering all weeds. This comprises the whole labor of cultivation : Cost of plowing, per acre $2 00 1 Four loads stable manure, at $1 per load . 4 GO Cost of planting, per acre 3 00 j Digging245bush. potatoes,at6c. perbush.14 70 Cultivating the same 3 00 i Cost of 13 bushels seed, at 50c. per bushel. 6 50 ' Total $41 45 Cost of 300 lbs. of guano, at 25c. per lb. . 8 25 ' — 245 bushels potatoes sold for 50 cents per bushel, $122 50. " The variety was Red Cups, a fine potato, cooking white and dry. Potato- ground I sow with wheat, and seed it down with grass, using a small ad- dition of manure, with a fair prospect of a good crop." John G. Bergen, also of Long Island, under date of August, 1860, gives tlie following statement of result of planting seven acres of potatoes — ex- ])enses — mode of cultivation — crop — marketing and proceeds, gross and net. Location, Eighth Ward, Brooklyn. Soil, sandy, sandy loam, loam, clay Inam, clay and gravel with all shades of admixture. Land all manured be- fore plowing with a broadcast application of either New York city street 802 ROOT CROPS AND SUGAR CROPS. [Chap. X. maiiuro or seaweed. Variety planted, Dikoman, except three quarters of an acre Mercers. The plowing and planting all done between the 9tli and 26th of March ; the jilanting between the loth and 26th of March, inclu- sive. Depth of plowing, eight inches, except one quarter of an acre snb- soilcd to the depth of si.xtcen inches. The crop dug and sold between the 2d vi July and the Ist of August, 1860. Vines exceedingly green and potatoes about half grown -when digging commenced, and, with the excep- tion of about a half acre of the last dug, the vines continued green. Crop 1,590 bushels prime potatoes, 85 bushels culls, and 26 bushels Email, hog potatoes ; total l,701'l)ushels. The crop would probably have been increased 25 or 33 per cent, if all the potatoes had fully matured before harvesting. The yield was 243 bushels to the acre. Amount sold, $1,190, or $170 per acre. The ground since all ])lanted with second crops. The potatoes before planting were all cut from two to six pieces, depending upon size, and were planted in drills — the drills were tiiree feet ajiart, and from three to four inches deep — the sets were placed about fifteen inches apai't. AVell-rotted horse and hog manure was placed in the drills and the seed placed on the manure. The j)otatoes and manure were covered with a small one-horse plow running it on both sides of the drill, throwing up the ground in the form of a ridge over the drill. When the sprouts were within two inches of the surface, the ground was dragged nearly level with a light wooden-tooth harrow. As soon as up, the potatoes received a light dressing with the hoe without hilling, having previously been plowed from the liill with a small iron mold-board plow, run twice through the row. Wlien about six or eight inches high the plowing was repeated, reversing by throwing to the hill. This was followed by another light hoeing, without attempting to raise up the ground to the vines, the plowing, however, having the oftoct to hill up to some degree. A fev/ days later, before the vines closed up the rows entirely, a small cultivator was drawn once through every row. This process left the land almost entirely free of weeds, at the time of digging, which was all done with the potato-fork. All of the ground was cropjied the previous year — most of it being sod or grass land. The potatoes when dug were at once picked up in baskets and sent to Washington Market. Some abatement may be made in the number of bushels, as the cultivation is based on three bushels to the barrel, which is above the true measure. FAPENBE PEB ACRE. 17 loads manure to the acre— broadcast — at ei per load $17 00 Cost of cavtiVRc and spreading manure ... 6 00 12 lo:uls horse and hog manure to the drill, at $2 25 27 00 Team and men to apply tlie manure 4 00 12 bushels seed and proparins it for plant- ins 10 00 Plowing, harrowing, and marking out ground 4 00 Two hocings— 4 days for one man, at 75c. 3 00 Dropping potatoes and covering with horse and plow 2 60 Plowing hetwccn drills ; harrowing ridges down with woodcu-tootli harrow $3 60 Digging, at 4i cents per bushel 10 93 Carting to Washington Market ivnd fer- riage and loading 10 CO Commission for selling $170, 10 per cent. 17 00 Total expense $114 98 Amount sold per acre $170 00 Direct expenses 114 93 Apparent profit $55 07 Seo. 48.] EXPERIMENT IN PLANTING POTATOES VAPJOUS DEPTHS. 803 The potatoes were dug by contract per bushel ; they might have been gathered much cheaper by ordinary farm-laborers employed by the month and boarded by the proprietor. No allowance is made for interest of value of land, and of tlie other capital employed in producing the crop, and the wear and tear of imple- ments, baskets, etc. The land, after a potato crop is taken off, is left in better condition than hetbrc — the second crops receiving no additional manure, except sometimes a light application of gnano. 865. Experiment iu P!a!ilicg Potatoes Various Depths. — Varietij, IL-rcer ; planted May 12, 1850. Ducj Septemher 1th. Vines dead since the middle of August. Planted one moderate-sized j>otato to each hill, and vianured alike in hills. Yield reported hy John G. Bergen, of BrooMyn, asfolloios: !bs. lbs. Ib9. lbs. Average. 2 hills, 2 inches deep— each hill weighed separately '1 \ ■■ 1375 3 hills, 3 inches deep— each hill weighed separately .«.. .. \h \ \\ 1.416 2 hills, 4 inches deep — each hill weighed separately 1 1 2 . . 1.875 3 liills, 5 inches deep — each hill weighed separately l| 1 1 1.166 4 hills, 6 inches deep— each hill weighed separately 2 U H li l.t'25 4 hills, 7 inches deep — each hill weighed separately IJ \\ IJ 1 1.4375 3 hills, 8 inches deep— each hill weighed separately ij 1 I J- 3 hills, 9 inches deep— each hill weighed separately li 11 J 1-166 3 hills, 10 i;ic!ie5 deep— each hill weighed separately IJ 1 \ \.'lb 3 hills, 11 inches deep — each hill weighed separately 1 Ij ij 1.25 3 hills, 12 inches deep — each hill weighed separately % i If 1.083 4 lii'.'s, eye-end cut, one piece. 5 inches deep, 5J lbs. 1.375 4 hills, middle cut, one piece, 5 inches deep, 5 lbs 1.25 4 hills, stem cut, one piece, 5 inches deep, 4^ lbs 1.062 2 hills, one pot.ito each, with plaster, 5 inclies deep, 3| lbs 1.875 2 hills, one potato, pla.ster and ashes, 3} inches deep, Sj lbs 1.625 2 hills, one potato, ashes, 5 inches deep, 3 J lbs 1.625 "It will be observed that tlie best results followed the 4-jnch plantings: and next in order, 6-inch, 7-inch, S-inch, and 2-inch ; while 5-inch, which is between these numbers (and which I think is the right depth for our soil), produced less than any, until we reach the 8-inch plantings. The results are not uniform ; for instance, one hill, 12 inches deep, produced IJ lbs., which is larger than the average of any except the 4-inch planting; and so with other individual cases. Tlie experiment is not conclusive, not being made on a sufficiently large scale, tliough carefully made. The yield was light in every case, but this was from other causes, and does not affect the general result. In all experiments of this kind, the size and quality or condition of the seed should be as near alike as possible. I deduce from these experi- ments, and from observation, the following, as bearing on this question : " First, Time. — The deptli of planting potatoes should be varied accord- ing to tlie time of planting, and possibly according to the character of soils. Early planting, except to protect from freezing, requires the least depth. " Second, Variety. — Those that mature early require the least depth. The habits of varieties differ, and the treatment should vary accordingly. " Third, Season. — Much depends upon the season, -whether wet or dry, or medium. This can not be known beforehand, and hence a medium depth 804 ROOT CROPS AND SUGAR CROPS. [Chap. X. should geiienilly bo adopted. This, for early varieties planted early, and which generally mature on Long Island soils before the crop is severely affected by drouths, should not be over three or four inches, and for later varieties from five to six inches." 866. The Potato Disease that Causes Rot.— "We will not inflict the reader with a homily upon this over-written subject. Neither cause' nor cure of the disease has yet been discovered. The signs of the disease usually are : A wilted leaf on the yoimg rosettes of the plant, which are the tcndercst parts; steel-blue points on some of the older and outer leaves, and yellow iron-rust stains on the inner leaves ; mildew, which quickly follows these signs, and which, if not arrested, kills the whole plant. These signs are pro- duced by cold and wet weather and hot, muggy atmosphere. In cool weather, the flowers fall without setting fruit ; in hot and damp weather seed-balls set freely, but, with the whole plant, fall a prey to mildew. The oidy remedy is to cidtivate as well as we know how, choosing new and hardy sorts of potatoes, plant early, and trust to chance for the rest. The mowing of tops has been tried over and over again, sometimes with success and sometimes the reverse ; and so have other remedies, each of which has in turn been proclaimed a specific. A prize essay in the Royal Society's Jour- nal for 1858 gives us to understand that deep planting is the true and only remedy ; and yet we have planted deep — and so have thousands of others — and lost the crop. It is said that very wet, cold seasons, such as 1857, or hot, damp ones, like 1850, 1851, and 1855, cause rot ; so do sudden alternations of tempera- ture— for instance, from dry, hot weather to wet, cold, and windy ; and these changes destroy the cucumber, squash, melon, tomato, and egg-plant as well as the potato. The years 1847, 1848, 1854, 1858, and especially 1852, were favorablp ones. If we plant in drained lands, or upon ridges where the water will not stand, the crop will rot less than in wet ground. The theory is that warm rains and a scalding sun produce the rot more than any other oye cause. This theory is equally untenable M'ith the tliousand-and-ono others. Tlicre is no cure for the disease — there arc preventives. The one most easy of trial is early planting, dry soil, no stable manure, but other fertilizers, such as well-rotted swamp muck, or compost, lime, salt, plaster, phosphate, guano, potash, or wood ashes. It does not answer to allow vines to be so late that early frosts find them still green. Unfermentcd manure produces late growth of vines, and this as well as wet ground and late planting, leaves the vines green and liable to the influence that kills the tops and rots the roots. As preventives, use seed of hardy varieties, planted early on dry ground, hilling-up to shed rain, and sow plaster, lime, and sulphur on the tops. Lime on carbonaceous soil has the effect to nnike the vines less succulent and more hardy, and that may account for its prevention of rot on such soil. After all the discussioti, we know nothing al)out the potato disease ; but if wo plant early wc arc more likely, or at least so far have been, to get good Seo. 48.] TUE POTATO DISEASE THAT CAUSES ROT. 805 crops. Yet tliis may fail. Another point of a practical nature is this: that if we prepare our ground well, and feed it such ingredients as the crop needs, we are more sure to get a good crop than by the opposite course. The theory that the disease of potatoes is caused by insects lias been advo- cated as a fixed fact. One writer says: "A little black bug, not much larger than the head of a pin, leaves an almost undiscoverable substance on the potato leaves, which turns black and kills the vines, and the rot of the tubers follows." He thinks some bug deposits a poisonous substance upon other vegetable's, injuring them very much for food. Another one says: "The potato rot is nn(picstionably caused by an in- sect, resembling both tlie musketo and the common house-fly, which depos- its its larvae in the stock near the ground, and which does not make its ap- pearance before August and September. It passes over some entire fields in the same neighborhood, some hills in the same lot, and some stalks in the same hill. The weather has no efi'ect except to quicken the activity of the insect or to hasten decomposition after it has commenced." " Unquestionablj' caused !" Is it ? Let us see. Dr. Asa Fitch is good entomological authority. Now hear how he upsets this unquestionable cause. He says: " The cause of the rot is supposed to be an insect, and numerous experi- ments are given to confirm this view ; the insect itself is described at length. Its name, witli the spelling corrected, is the Phytocorls Uneolaris of Beau- vois, and is supposed to be identical with the insect described by Say as the Capsits ohiineatus. Now if the tiieory that the potato rot is caused by this insect is correct, there are these difficulties, which must occur to any one acquainted with entomology : "1. The insect referred to has always been known in this country, and was probably quite as numerous fifty j'ears ago as it ever has been since. From the earliest times the farmers have found it infesting their potato fields, and have consequently given it the common name of ' the potato lug.' Why did it never cause the rot until so recently ? " 2. The insect referred to has never infested Great Britain — the only ex- amples of it seen there, so far as we can ascertain, having been carried thither as curiosities in collections gathered in this country. Why did the potato rot appear there ? Could the devastations of the insect in the crops of America have caused the rot that carried off all the potatoes in Ireland one or two years before?" The disease that causes the potato rot is not a new one. A friend sends us the following " extract from a German paper," which says that " potatoes were first introduced into Europe in 1583 ; fifty -nine years afterward the rot commenced ; eighty years after its introduction no good seed was to be had. In 1696 new seed was imported from Peru ; forty-five years after this the rot again commenced, and in 1779 no good seed was to be had. In 1797 new seed was again imported, and it did not get into general use until 1802 806 , ROOT CROPS ANi) SUGAR CROPS. [Cuai-. X. or 1803." If this is a fact, it should be fully proved, and that would prove tiic necessity of frequently renewing the seed from tlio original locality. SG7. Substitutes for Potatoes.— Must we give up the cultivation of the potato? And if so, what will be tlie substitute? This is a question worlhy of consideration ; for althougli we do not believe that we shall give up their cultivation, we may discover something else worth trying — something wliich may prove valuable as a farm crop. Already vre have had the Cliinesc yam introduced and grown to some extent, and tallced about being grown to a very large extent. Several varieties of lotus liave also been proposed as food plants. SOS. The American Lotus as a Substitute fur the Potato.— Tlic Aj>io or Ovaie Aracacha having been named as worthy of attention as a food plant, a cor- respondent of the Iluitiestead names " the li'elumhiuni lutciuim, or great nut-bearing lily, which, in his estimation, surpasses all other aquatic plants of the United States in beauty and utility. It grows abundantly in tlic shal- low and stagnant waters of our Southern and Western States, and has been found flourishing as far north as the bays and inlets of Lake Erie. It is properly tiie lotus of North America, yielding a collection of tubers, much like tlie sweet potato, at its roots under the water, and also a liberal sujiply of nuts at the top of its stem. Tlic nuts arc all ripe at the same lime, are about the size and color of medium white-oak acorns, so that they might easily be mistaken for them. The nuts are used as food like the chestnut, and are a valuable substitute for coffee. The writer has gathered twenty- one perfect nuts from a single stem. By the extensive culture of this noble plant nuxny of our pestilential pools and marshes, instead of exhaling poi- sonous malaria, will at once become fountains of life-giving fertility." 8G9. The Dioscorca BataLas or Chinese Yam as a Substitute for Potatoes.— The degree of success in tlie cultivation of this root as a substitute for pota- toes has been very widely different, some condemning it as a worse humbug i I than " Rohan potatoes," while others have lauded it so high lliat it has cre- ated doubts of their veracity and its value. In No. 56i we have treated it so fully that we need add but little under this head. A letter fi-om M. D. Darnall, Baiiibridgo, Ind., January, 1858, says : " In the spring of 185G, I obtained live small tubers or seed bulbs. These were carefully cultivated, and in autumn I had five hundred tubers and eiglit large roots. I planted next spring eight hundred hills, and raised sufBcient tubers and large roots for planting one hundred thousand hills. I have two bushels of tubers, which arc not much larger than full-grown marrowfat peas; and over one thousand large roots that may be divided into from fifty to one hundred pieces each, capable of germinating. The tubers are raised by cut- ting the vines and planting the leaves in July and August. Jly roots vary in lengtli from fifteen to thirty inches, and from one half to two inches in diameter. I have had them cooked in several ways, and find thein to possess all the qualities that have over been claimed for them." 870. Sweet Potatoes— Where they can be Grown.- We can well remem- Sec. 48.] GROWING SWEET POTATOES. 807 ber wlieii this plant, the Convolvulus batatas, was considered as much a Soutliern production as cotton is now, and when the commercial designation was " Carolina potatoes." It would then have been considered foolish to attempt to grow sweet potatoes north of latitude 40° ; now it is quite com- mon, though not generally as a field crop. They are raised very extensively along the eastern shore of the Delaware, on the light sandy soil that extends thirty miles southward from Camden. The principal markets are Philadel- phia, New York, Boston, Wilmington, Delaware, and Baltimore. The varie- ties cultivated are Nansemonds, Early Yorks, and Bermudas. The first- named grows large, long, and rougher than the second, yields abundantly, but does not suit the Philadelphia and Wilmington markets as well as the Early Yorks, which are marketable earlier, and grow more smoothly and compactly, and are the most generally cultivaled. The third, a new variety, received from Bermuda, of a light red color, coarse and rough, is inferior to the first two for the table, but attains a marketable size earlier than they do, and produces a much larger yield. The isothermal position of this valuable plant has been gradually advancing, until it is now difficult to say where it^ northern line is or will be. O. S. Murray, of Warren County, Ohio, who is an extensive propagator of sweet potato jilants, says : "Sweet potatoes can be grown successfully in much higher latitudes than has heretofore been generally supposed. They have already been produced, well matured, in Western, Central, and Easieru Kuw York ; in Connecticut, in New Hampshire, in Addison County, Ver- mont, nearly as far north as the center of that State. In Iowa they are raised to considerable extent, and something has been done with them in Wiscon- sin. I have been a successful cultivator of sweet potatoes a dozen jetxrs in Soutliern Ohio." Messrs. Eastman & Snell, of Maineville, Warren County, Ohio, say that a crop will grow and yield well in any ordinary dry soil, provided it is well pulverized with plow and harrow ; and whether the ground is old or new, a light coat of well-rotted manure is preferable. If the soil bo very strong, the vines will be large, but the yield of tubers indifferent. Warren County is situated upon the high lands of Ohio, back of Cincin- nati, between latitude thirty-nine and forty degrees, where the soil is no more favorable for growing this excellent food than it is in a great many other places in the same range of latitude in which sweet potatoes can be grown with profit to the cultivator, and as they can with pretty fair success up to forty-one degrees, the latitude of New York, and with varying suc- cess one or two degrees above that. The best variety for the North is called the Nansemond, from the name of the county in Virginia whence it was taken to New Jersey. Jose|>h Evans brought it into Warren County, Ohio, many years ago, where it has been successfully cultivated ever since. One peculiarity of this variety is, it is mature and good for use at every stage of its growth. Another pecu- liarity is its adaptation to a great variety of soils— even loainy clays, quite 808 ROOT CROPS AND SUGAR CROPS. [Cuaj-. X. lioavy with claj', if lying elevated. Almost any soil tliat will produce corn well will produce this — except low, alluvial grounds, where there is too much vegetable moM, tliat causes excessive running to vines. S71. Slaking Seed Bed aud Growing Plants.— Mr. Murray says: ""Wo have never used glass for these plants, preferring to give them as much air as possible, making them the more hardy. Put the seed in the bed about the middle of April ; transplant after they have been above ground two or three weeks, or any time before they commence running. Place the potatoes in the bed so that tliey will scarcely touch each other — a bushel on from twenty-five to thirty square feet, from the 1st to the 25th of April. Plants can be packed so as to keep perfectly good for fifteen to twenty days while transported from the seed beds to other parts of the country. " Tiie best method of sprouting sweet potatoes is in the ordinary manner of a manure liot-bed. This bed is made by building up the sides with plank and filling in to the depth of fourteen inches with fresh hard stable manure. The manure should be packed as hard as possible, then cover over to the depth of two inches with light soil, then, after laying on the potatoes, cover tlieni to the depth of four inches, with light sandy soil or loam. By cover- ing the potatoes deep, the stems are longer and much more hardy and thrifty. " Cover the ,bed with coarse hay, two or three feet deep, to prevent the heat from escaping, and the rain from wetting it. Take off the hay in the heat of the day, from nine to three o'clock, if it is warm weather. When the bed begins to heat it must bo examined by running the hand into it — a moderate warmth is all that is necessary — more than that will be injurious, and must be counteracted by leaving off the cover at night, or by applying cold water. When the plants appear, and afterward, they must be watered daily, unless the bed should be too cold to allow it. Warm water from a pond or ditch is best. "As often as one growth of plants is pulled, another takes its place. Care must be taken, v.Iien pulling the plants, to hold the potato firmly in the bed by pressing on it with the left hand." 872. Setting the Plants. — Put the plants in the ground from the middle of May to the middle of June. In some seasons you may commence earlier than this; in some you may continue later. Generally, the best time is from the 10th or loth of May to about the same time in June. In setting the plants, care should be taken to have them set well in the ridge, fully as deep as they originally stood in the hot-bed, and tlie soil should be well compressed about the roots. Sprouts should be set from twelve to fifteen inches apart in the ridge, and when in hills two or three to the hill. lu setting out plants, a boy drops one on each hill, taking two rows at once; a man follows, and taking the plant in his loft hand, runs three fingers of his right hand through the top of the hill into the manure; as he with- draws them he quickly thrusts in the root of the plant to the bottom of the Sec. -io.J GROWING SWEET POTATOES. 809 hole, and then, -with the thumb and linger of each hand, firinl^^ presses the earth around the plant. Platits are best set out when the ground is not too ■wet and cold — much better before a rain than after. Some use a common mason's trowel in setting, thrusting in the trowel somewhat obliquely, and as the trowel rises, the plant in the other hand takes its place. Light sandy soil, free from utKlecom])03ed vegetable matter, is generally selected for the crop. Plow as for oats, harrow thoroughly, mark it out thirty-three inches each way for the iiills. Use animal, rather than vegetable manure — that is, naanure from tlie stable, rather than the straw stack. The manure for sweet potatoes must be well rotted by composing it, or otherwise. Marl mixed with it is an advantage. From eight to thirteen two-horse loads, according to quality and abundance, are used per acre, a one-horse cart-load will make from two hundred and fifty to four hun- dred hills, M-liich should be made, or the manure covered as soon as it is put in. Fi-om four to six good hoefuls of earth are sufficient to make a hill. 873. Flowing and Tillage for Sweet Potatoes. — Plow when the land is in good condition, no matter if a week or two before time for planting. At planting time pulverize well, if necessary with harrowing and rolling (or, what is better, drag-crushing), and throw the surface into high ridges by turning together two furrows with a two-horse plow, making the ridges about three and a half feet apart from center to center. It is not necessary for the ridges to be wide, but they must be of good hight, as the potatoes will only grow in length as they are accommodated with loose earth ; so if the ridges are flat, the potatoes will grow short in clumps. Tiiosc wishing to raise but a small quantity will probably find it more convenient to make their ground into hills with the hoe, about five feet apart. Commence tilling with an adjustable cultivator, that can be adapted to the breadth between the ridges, and throw back the earth witii a wide shovel-plow, re-fornung the ridges, finishing with the hoe. In r.;.!ng the hoe, particularly after the vines commence running, be careful not to strike into the groimd deeply near the stem, lest you cut oflfthe best of the project- ing tubers. Mr. Murray says : " All land js the better for subsoiling. "We subsoiled twenty-five acres for this crop last year, and are sure it paid. New grounds produce this crop well, where there is not too much vegetable deposit — not turf. Turf should be subsoiled first with another crop — corn or wheat is favorable. The cultivation necessary is to keep the ground clear of weeds, and should the soil become hard, to loosen the tops of the hills or ridges with hoe or rake." In New Jersey, the crop is tended with small cultivators and hand-hoes. One hand is allowed to attend 40,000 plants, or about eight acres. Perhaps no other plant cultivated for producing food possesses sucl\ tenacity of life — such a fund of vitality to resist and overcome unfavorable 810 ROOT CROPS AND SUGAR CROPS. [Chap. X. circunistaiices in Iraiisplaiitiug as tlie sweet pototo. The plants can be sent in good growing condition a long distance. 87-1. Harvestias and Storing. — In harvesting, some use the plow — first cut- ting the vines near the stein. After the plowing, four-fingered hooks arc used for hauling out. "When the ground is light, it is about as well without plowing to throw out with flat-fingered spading-forks, or even common manure-forks. On a small scale, get them out anyhow, as you do beds or carrots. In Delaware and Virginia the crop is generally dug with large hoes made expressly for that use. When stored for spring, they are carefully placed in baskets, in the field, and then emptied into boxes or barrels, and sometimes covered with dry sand, or leaves, or cut straw, but often without anything to keep the air from them but the lid of the box, which, if tight, is mostly sufficient ; but they must be kept in a dry, warm room. If the crop brings $50 jier acre it is suflicient to pay expenses. All over that is profit ; and two hundred and fifty bushels per acre is a large yield. At the North they are kept through the winter in cellars, prepared ex- pressly for the purpose and kept warm. On a small scale, with experience and plenty of manure, the crop should be, in a good season, from 150 to 200 bushels an acre, as far North as it will grow. Sweet potatoes should always be dug before the heavy frosts in autumn, as a frost which would be severe enough to kill the vines would injure the potatoes very much for table use. In South Carolina wc have seen them kept in a very rnde way ; simply by laying down cornstalks on the ground, and then covering with stalks, and perhaps a little earth. Frequently large ylles arc made, and over them rails set up in form of a roof and covered with straw. Sometimes pits are dug and a tight roof made, and the potatoes stored in jiine straw. The greatest difiieulty in growing sweet potatoes at the North is in keeping them over winter. They will only keep in an atmosphere that is of even and mild temperature, and entirely dry. ST5. The Jei'Hsaleifl Artichoke. — The culture of the Jerusalem artichoke {Ildinnthus tuhcronus) was introduced into England in 1C17, but it is seldom cuUivatcd, except in gardens. It will grow in any soil that is not too wet and cold, yielding a large amount of nutritive matter with little labor. It can not be grown in any series of rotation ; for if the ground is once stocked with roots, it is almost impossible to clear them out, and they will Qome up like weeds, even if the land is seeded down to meadow or pasture. In Ohio, many good farmers bear evidence to its value for feeding stock. The usual method of cultivation is to plant the tubers in rows, three and a half or four feet apart, and eighteen inches to two feet in the row, and cultivate between the rows, as you do corn. The tops soon cover the ground and kill out the weeds, and no further culture is given. In the fall, after the tops have died, the roots are either dug up or the hogs are turned into the field. Commonly a portion are taken up, and the hogs are allowed to follow and di;r up tho Seo. 48.] THE JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE. 811 remainder. Enougli are always left to seed the field for the next season. In this way the same piece of land will bear a succession of crops of this plant without further seeding. T!ie hogs dig or plow the soil very deeply in au- tumn, which destroys any grubs that may be injurious, and fits the land for tile next crop. Cattle, as vv'ell as hogs, relish the roots. In France they are usually fed to sheep, with excellent results. In the Journal d' Agriculture Pratique for April, 1S.5S, M. Doniol gives the results of his cultivation of this plant on inferior soil for fifteen years. lie fed off the steins and leaves Avith sheep in October and November, and then dng the tubers, feeding the sheep with thoni, either on the ground or in tlio pens. He bought the sheep in Octo- ber, and calculated the value of the crop from the increase in money value of the s;ock. Half a hectare (one and a quarter acres) was sufiicient to keep eighty sheep from tliat time until the following April, and the increase in value of the sheep was eight francs per head, or G40 francs (Sill 04), the value of the acre and a quarter of artichokes on poor land. From this i-nust be deducted, however, the cost of culture of the crop and care of the sheep, but both are necessary under all circumstances. It seems that the dieep obtained no other kind of food ; and it is good evidence of the nutri- tive qualities of this root that they were able to increase in value upon i'. Had M. Doniol given the weight of the sheep when newly bought, and the ti\ne of sale in April, his article would have been of more value. This plant has about the same amount of water in its organic composition as ihe potato (76.3) ; but instead of the large amount of starch which is in the latter, there is almost an equal quantity of sugar (14.80) in this, and the nitrogen compounds are nearly the same in quantity (2.38) ; but these amounts vary in tubers raised on diflerent soils and the amount of cultiva- lion they have received. Enough, however, is known to show that these i-oots are woi;thy of attention, not for feeding exclusively to stock, but along with dry feed during the winter. Thus used, they will prove highly advan- tageous. They should be grown on land which they can occupy for a suc- cession of years, that from some cause is not well adapted to the culture of the more regular crops. If occasionally dressed with a good coating of ma- nure, they will soon repay the expense. Ten, and *ven fourteen, tuns (tops and roots, we suppose) per acre have been obtained in Franco, but in this country a much larger yield has often been secur-ed, so that a greater num- ber of sheep could be fed on an acre in Ohio than in France, and the profit v.-ould consequently be much greater. This root should take a position i^uiong the crops raised in this country for greeu feed in winter and early 4-):''ng, when stock need it most to keep them in good health. lu Mississippi we found this root upon manj- tables of good planters' houses, dressed in the same way that mashed turnips are, and it is by no ineans a despisable dish. After a little use it is generally -well relished. 876. Turnips— laiportanfc of the €rop— Cultivalioa and I'se [see No. 521]t — It sounds strangely to an English farmer to hear Americans underrate the 812 ROOT CROPS AND SUGAR CROPS. [Chap. X. importance of tlio turnip crop — a crop tiiat he looks upon as tlie main stay of agriculture as much as Indian corn is here. Turnips are not so important here as there, but would be considered much more so than they arc now if more grown. Some of the Orange County milk dairymen have raided tur- nips to a limited extent ; but many think they can not raise them at such cost as will warrant feeding them in jjreference to grain or other dry feed. And some are of opinion that turnijw cause a large flow of milk, but it is thin and watery, and will generally have a peculiar taste that renders it less salable. This may be in some measure true, but if milch cows can not be fed upon them, other stock can, and cheaper than upon almost any other food of equal value. In the year 1860 wc grew a fine crop of red-strap turnipe, sown broad- cast, after other crops, and wintered two cows almost exclusively upon them, feeding hay but lightly, and but little meal. Tlie bulky food Avas cut corn- stalks. These cows gave a good mess of milk, and after the first two weeks the turnips did not injure the flavor materially. In tlie spring one of these cows was dried oflf and fed meal two or three weeks, and sold to the butcher, and was really good beef. This proved that turnij^s have some fattening qualities. The best use, however, for turnips is to feed sheep. In England they are fed on the field by hurdling sheep, on small portions at a time, and as long ago as when Stephens wrote his " Book of the Farm," were considered worth $25 an acre for this purpose. The sheep eat off the tops and crown of the root, and then a man goes over with a turnip picker and pulls out the bottoms so they can eat the whole without waste, and at the same time enrich the soil. Turnips are most commonly sown in drills in England, and in this country broadcast. There, the bulk of the crop is fed as indicated above, and the feeding continues all winter ; but in all tlie Northern States the winters are too cold for this ; and where they are sufficiently mild, the summers are so hot that turnips are not a good crop. They are so in all the States north of Virginia, notwithstanding the trouble of storing them for winter. The best manure for turnips is bone-dust, or snpcrphospiiatc of liinc, or guano. With manure on well-piepared land, from three hundred to one thousand bushels per acre is a common crop. The best soil is on newly- cleared forest or reversed sod, not too clayey ; but they will grow well on pretty stiff clay if finely pulverized. Turnips of great size are sometimes grown, weighing eight or ten pounds, and measuring two and a half or three feet around ; but those of smaller size are esteemed the best — say one to four pounds. In sowing turnips, great care should be used not to get the seed too thick. This is the greatest fault of ninety-nine out of every hundred persons em- ployed to sow turnip seed. The common rule is a j>ound to the acre. That rule comes from England, where the seed- is drilled, and if all of it grows, about nine tenths of the plants arc thinned out. Sko. 48.] CULTIVATION OF TURNIPS. 813 The time for sowing iii all the Nortliem States is pretty well indicated by the old distich : " On the twenty-fifth of July Sow your turnips, wet or dry." Turnips sown broadcast too thick to grow may be thinned with the har- row, after they are up enough to show, without injury to those that remain untouched by the harrow teeth. Indeed, it is a pretty good way to put them in rows as though planted with a drill. It also kills a great many weeds, and loosens the crust that forms over some land, so that the plants left take a rapid start and grow much better than they otherwise would. It is not a bad plan to treat corn in the same way ; and we certainly have seen M-inter wheat highly benefited by a thorough harrowing in the spring. The greatest trouble that fiirmers experience in turnip-growing in this country is from a small insect called the turnip-fly. We believe the best remedy is to prepare the ground in tlie best possible manner, and use some- thing that will give the plants an early, rapid start. Poudrette is good for this purpose. So is guano, by which we mean pure No. 1 Peruvian guano. "We have found a liberal use of salt highly beneficial ; say five bushels per acre. We think it one of the best remedies for preventing the ravages of the turnip-fly ; and we have never -seen a sign of the disease known as " fingers and toes," where we have used salt liberally ; and we are satisfied that the bulbs grow not only heavier and healthier, but that they are more nutritious. The disease known as " fingers and toes" probably affects ruta bagas more than round turnips, though it sometimes spoils the latter. This disease is said to have originated in Scotland forty years ago. The bulbs become de- formed and grow into excrescences, rendering the crop worthless. Some- times they run to fibrous roots, and sometimes they are filled with insects. Sometimes the excrescences resemble war's all over the bulb, drying the center to a brown, spongy mass. The solid matter of a healthy white turnip is seventeen per cent. One of these forms of disease of the turnips resem- bles the potato rot, and has done great damage. 877. Storing Turnips for Winter Feeding.— Where a farmer has no barn cellar, it is no trifling job to store a large crop of turnips, and that is one of the causes that prevents their cultivation to the same extent as in Eng- land. They can not be left out to be eaten where they grow in the grazing and stock-feeding States, nor kept for winter feed, unless safely stored in cel- lars or pits. The easiest way to save them is to lay them on dry ground, slightly inclining south if possible, in piles like hay windrows, about three feet through, and cover with straw, sedge, or cornstalks six inches thick, and earth eight inches, with straw ventilators every ten feet. Another good plan is to put them in round piles, each of thirty bushels ; but it makes more labor, yet has the advantage that a pile can be opened and taken in before freezing in a cold day, and without exposing the remainder, as in the long piles. 814 ROOT CROPS AfTD SUGAR CROPS. [Chap. X. All turnips stored for winter use should be trimmed of tops and tails. A knife tliat will weigh half a pound, and is eight inches long in the blade, is the tool to trim with. Held all the time in the riglit hand, the operator seizes a turnip with tlic left by the top, and cuts ofl" the tap-root with one blow, and at the same time tosses the turnip and catches it M'ith the top toward the knife, with which he cuts off the top by another blow, and at the same time tosses the turnip into the cart, basket, or pile. One smart work- man at topping will do more than three poking ones M'ho always pick up a turnip wrong end foremost. If you do not care to cut the tops very close, or if you can stand so as to let the turnip fall in the right place, you need not let go the first hold, but cut both tail and top, throwing the latter in a pile instead of throwing the bulb. Xever pull turnips nor handle them in wet weather. 878. Ruta Baga Turnips. — All that we have said about the value of tur- nips, and preparation of ground, manure, cultivation, })ulling, and storing, will apply to ruta bagas, except these should always be grown in drills, and hand-weeded and thinned. Tliey must also be sown earlier — never later — than July 1, and generally not later than Juno 15. It is a good way to prepare the land for ruta bagas, after it has been plowed and cross-plowed, and mellowed, and rolled, to take a small plow and throw up ridges, say two feet six inches apart, rake the tops smootli, and plant the seed with a drill harrow. As soon as the weeds get to be half an inch high, run a one-horse subsoil plow midway between the rows, to loosen up the soil thoroughl}-, and then with Knox's root-cleaner or horse- hoe, extirpate the weeds. Tlie only hand-hoeing necessary will be in the row to thin out plants. When the crop is ready to be dug, run a large sub- soil plow close alongside the row, and the roots will be so loose that they can be pulled up with the greatest case and thrown into heaps, whence they are carted directly to the pit made for them on the dryest part of tlie field, and there topped and buried. These turnips will grow upon a greater variety of soils than the round iiiniip, but the one best suited for a good crop is a rich, alluvial, sandy l():;m. It is advisable to set the gauge of the drill so as to scatter the seed very tliick in the row, and thin them out to stand ten or twelve inches apart, lisiiig the plants where too thick by transplanting them to fill up vacaticles. In a small way, these turnips may be sown in a sccd-bcd and all transplanted like cabbages. The vitiility of rutabaga seed end\ires for several years, but it is not safe to use old seed of white turnips. Tiie soil and kind of fertilizer used have a great deal of influence upon the quality of turnips. Some arc worth double the value of others, cither for tlie table or cattle-feed. As a general rule, all applications of bone manure will be paid for in quality if not quantity. About 15 bushels of bones, or GOO lbs. of superphosphate, or 200 lbs of guano per acre, is a fair dressing. Seo. 48.] CARROTS AS A FIELD CROP. 815 III England, turnip-growers manure high — 15 or 20 full horse cart-loads of strong stable dung, well rotted, to an imperial acre for ruta bagas, and about two thirds the quantity for white turnips. We have had turnip seed lie three weeks after sowing in a drouth, without vegetating. At such a time, if there had been moisture in the earth enough to cause the seeds to sprout, it w'ould have been fatal to them, and we should have prepared the ground anew and sowed more seed. In all English publications the term " Swedes," or " Swedish turnip," is made use of, and it is sometimes confounded with the rata baga, because it is spoken of as a long root ; but it does not appear to be identical with the variety grown in this country under the name of ruta baga. The Swedes, White Globe, Yellow Globe, White Stone, Eed or Purple Top, are all good varieties of field turnips, and can be grown with less labor than ru(a bagas. A bushel of turnips weighs about 42 to 45 lbs., and it is stated that English sheep-feeders allow 18 to 23 lbs. a day to a young sheep, and 24 to 37 lbs. a day to a full-grown sheep ; and that a fatting ox will eat a tun a week. 879. Carrots as a Field Cropi — We have already spoken of carrots in the garden (52^), where they should always be grown, for they really are a most valuable article of food. Perhaps the reason why they are not more esteem- ed as esculents is because the kind grown in the garden is that which should only be grown in the field as food for domestic animals. Perhaps the best for table use is the " short-horn" carrot, but we esteem the long orange carrot the best for field culture, unless the crop is intended for some city market, and then we would grow the short-horn variety. There is no doubt of the fact that this carrot can be profitably grown as a field crop i'or market- ing, near cities and large towns. Whether it will pay to raise carrots for feeding stock, is a question often asked. " It don't pay," is an assertion often made. That it does we assert, without fear of contradiction, in all places where corn costs fifty cents a bushel to produce it, as it does ni)on many farms in the Eastern States. In Illinois, where coru is so very easily produced, and bears so low a price, it may be true that carrot growing is not profitable. Still, cheap as grain may be, as feed for stock, it M'ill sometimes pay to feed carrots on account of the improvement in health to the animals consuming them. We consider carrots a very sure crop on suitable soil, properly pro- jmred ; and for stock, when taken in connection with other feed, they are invaluable. They are not only healthy, but will fatten cattle, sheep, and horses. One farmer who nas grown carrots for stock feeding for twelve years, says : "I have fatted and sold four head of cattle this winter on carrots, with one quart of meal sprinkled on them at a feed, together with cornstalks. One was a Durham cow, which was milked all the while until sold for beef, and was fat. This was an experiment, and proved satisfactory — that cows can be fatted on carrots and meal, and milked at the same time ; at no time was 816 ROOT CROPS AND SUGAR CROPS. [CnAP. X. the meal ov^r two quarts per day. I also have six other cows, all of which give milk of the richest kind, and a good flow of it, that are fed on carrots once a day, and once on poor cornstalks and clover hay." From 700 to 800 bushels per acre is an ordinary crop, with good land and good culture, and 1,200 bushels may be raised by high cultivation. Allow- ing 25(> pounds of carrots, which is conceded by practical farmers to be equal to 100 pounds of hay, and at 50 pounds to the bushel, we have at the highest above rate of yield the equivalent of 12 tuns of hay per acre, which will take seven acres of good meadow to equal. 880 Suitable Soil, and its Preparation for Carrots.— The most suitable soil for carrots is a light, rich, sandy loam. Manure, if used, should be well rotted ; otherwise the roots grow forked. "What wc call cheese manure is best — that is, manure that cuts in the heap like a soft cheese. Take a rich piece of sward, where the soil is deep, the longer seeded the better. Cover with manure ; plow with a double plow ; roll and drag fine the last of March or the first of April. Let it lie till the first week in May ; tlicn gang- plow and drag fine again, to kill weeds, and sow immediately two pounds of seed per acre. If you have not a suitable piece of sward, the next best is land that was cultivated the previous year in potatoes. Whatever tlie land used may be, give it at least two plowings, cross and lengthwise, and liiree har- rowings. It must be made loose — no lumps or stones. If you have got a roller, apply it after each harrowing. Some lands may require plowing half a dozen times, and will pay for all the labor. Ifcw ground will give you the best quality of carrots — old ground the largest roots. The prevailing system of carrot culture, to make drills by throwing two light furrows together, leveling them and sowing on top, is very erroneous. By this the roots and fibers run to the sides and are killed by the hot sun. In England, Ireland, and Scotland this plan is preferable, in consequence of their climate being moist and the soil being very heavy. This borrowed system should be discarded by all who wish to get good crops of carrots, turnips, and mangel-wurzel. 881. Sowing Carrot Seed. — One who grows carrots as a market crop, en- tirely by hand labor, gives the following directions : " I have a marker or large rake made of three-inch scantling — a handle in the center, with a brace on each side to guide and strengthen it. In this six wooden teeth one inch in diameter, six inches long, are set at twelve inches apart. One man works this, opening five drills at each through, as one tooth must be kept in the last-made drill to keep your rows straight. "When marked, one man will sow an acre a day, at least, of those drills. I then sow radish seed in the same drills for market. They do not interfere in any way with the carrols. I have this season sold radishes enough from the carrots, at one dollar per hundred bunches, to pay for tlie whole working." Another experienced carrot-grower says: "I always soiv by hand, as I find it cheaper and better than by any machine I iiavc yet seen, and any one can do it. If I sow at tliirty inches apart, I take a piece of wood four Seo. 48.] CARROTS AS A FIELD CROP. 817 iiiclies wide and two inches thick, drive a staple in the end so as to hold the point of the plowshare, and then mark with small plow and one horse. As they are marked I sow the seed, which sliould he rubbed in sand before sowing. I should advise the soaking of seed, but to inexperienced hands one hundred chances to one but they would let it rot. By sowing your seed dry, you run no risk. When sown, take some twiggy branches and tie them together, just large enough for one man to pull easily, and run this length- wise and crosswise of your carrot rows. This is sufficient for covering the seed." Another thinks it is of great advantage to germinate the seed before sow- ing, by mixing it with fine sand. The mixture is laid in a heap, and occa- sionally watered for two or thi-ee weeks, and then sown in drills. By this plan the seed may be sown later and the plants come up quickly, and are enabled, in a measure, to get the start of the weeds. 882. Cultivation of tlie Carrot Crop.— The first thing to be considered is whether you intend to work them witli manual or horse labor. Close to a city, or where help can be had when wanted, manual labor, when judiciously managed, or when you have only a small farm and wish to make every acre produce double, will not be found unprofitable, although it is a crop that requires a good deal of attention, and the amount of hand labor required, where that is wholly depended upon, we believe deters many people from engaging in the business of growing carrots. We wish to impress upon all such that hand labor, except to a limited extent, is not indispensable. Nearly all can be done by horse-power, or better by a trained mule. In the first place, plow deep ; subsoil deeper, if to be planted by hand ; marking with a subsoil plow instead of a toothed marker will be found profitable. lowing radishes with carrots enables you to see the rows sooner ; then if to be horse-hoed, commence at once, so that the weeds shall not get the start. It is easier to kill ten little weeds than one big one. If the crop is to be hand-hoed, then as soon as the plants are up sufficiently to trace the rows, grind up your hoes sharp, and commence by hoeing between the rows as close as possible to the plants, and be sure to cut across the rows and leave the plants the width of your hoe apart, and if you are a good farmer there will not be many weeds left, because you will not try to raise carrots on a piece of land full of seeds of weeds and foul stuff. After about two weeks hoe in like manner, and what weeds are left pull with your fingers, and leave the carrots about seven or eight inches apart. You will not find it half as troublesome a crop to grow as most farmers imagine. One carrot- grower says the great and principal objection to carrot-growing is the thin- ning of them. Hand-thinning is not indispensable. Of course the carrots are not so large; for feeding, small ones are as good; for selling by measure, larger ones are better, as they fill up and leave very leaky crevices. At present they are frequently bought by weight, as all roots and fruit should be bought. 883. Harvestins, Storing, and Value of Carrot Crops.— A great deal of SIS ROOT CROPS AND SUGAR CROPS. [Cuai-. X. tlic work iif lull-vesting may be done by a horse and plow, either by turning a furrow away from each side, or by ruiniing a subsoil lifter along the rows to-loosen the ground and make the digging and pulling easier. Then a man with a fork works out a row very fast. Where it is not an object to crowd the crop upon a small space, we recommend the drills thirty inches apart, and this gives good room to plow them out. In commencing, take ont ono row in the middle of the plat with the spade, and then plow down one row and up the other, and have hands to follow and pull and throw in a row in the center. In storing carrots outdoors, put them on the surface, in a dry place, in long piles. Lay thena four feet wide at bottom and four feet high, tapering to the top to ono foot wide, keeping the crown or top at the outside, cover- ing all with one foot thick of straw, and on this eighteen inches of earth. The covering of course depends on the climate where raised. Leave a chimney every twelve feet apart to allow the heat to evaporate. This is done by placing a felieaf of straw on top and filling the earth to it. In storing, a few bushels of the best should be selected for seed, and put out in March or April in drills three feet apart, and one foot from plant to plant, the crowns one inch above the surface. As to the yield per acre, this alto- gether depends on your land, manure, working, and the season. One farmer says : " I know that carrots can be raised for five cents per bushel, and think they can be raised for less. Let's figure a little : Vsc of one acre $7 00 I Gauging rows $1 00 Manure 10 00 Seed and sowing 3 00 Plow, roll, and drag 2 00 | Hoeing and harvesting 20 00 Whole expense S-lo 00 And this is liberal for one acre. Estimating the crop at one thousand bush- els, this would give us a cost of 4/^ cents per bushel on the average, and the value of the crop, at 12i cents per bushel, which is low, will be $125, a profit of $82." 884. Carrots and Rye on live same Ground. — We have never seen this practiced, but having seen it suggested, think well of it, and call attention to the plan. The ground is well prepared in autumn, as though for carrots, and is then sowed with rye. In the spring the carrot seed is sown with a drill, or a marker is used, and the seed put in by hand. Of course nothing is done till the rye is harvested, when a cultivator or horse-hoe is run through, or the stubble turned by two light furrows, turned from the row, and tlie plants thinned by hand-hoe. As soon as they get a good start, the furrows are turned back ; afterwards the horse-hoe may be needed to run through once or twice. It is necessary to put in the seed earlier than for the ordinary field crop, which is usually after corn planting. If we were about to adopt this plan of growing rye and carrots, we would drill the rye, leav- ing out a drill every two and a half feet for the carrot rows ; and the rye we would mow for feed instead of saving it for the grain. If corn were planted in May, and rye sown in October, and carrots in April, three full Sec. 48.] PARSNEPS AND ONIONS AS FIELD CROPS. 819 crops could be harvested in two years and the ground prepared for another. Of course this kind of pushing would require high manuring and good cul- tivation. Let it always be remembered that all root crops require deep plowing, heavy manuring, a thorough pulverization of the soil, and good after-culture to keep down the weeds, and they then leave the land in fine order for spring grain, to be seeded down with grass or clover. Root crops prepare the ground for all other crops. Barley succeeds bet- ter after roots than after any other cultivated crop ; and it is noticed that grass always takes well after turnips. 8S5. Parsneps as a Field Crop. — All that we have said of carrots, except storing for winter, will apply to parsneps. Instead of digging and storing, let them stand where they grow till spring, and then dig and feed them from day to day, and they will make butter, beef, or mutton faster, in pro- portion to cost, than any other feed. If the roots are small in autumn, and a snow falls before the ground freezes, they will continue to grow, and will sometimes double in size. They must be dug before commencing a spring grow'th. There is no more productive root crop than parsnejjs, and we do not think there is any of more value during the month in which they can be raised daily from the ground in spring, and fed to any kind of stock. They are very valuable if cooked, for pigs. 886. Onions as a Field Cropi — "We have already spoken of onions in the garden (532), but they are grown to such a large extent as a field crop, tliat we may give some of the best information upon the subject that we can select ; and first, of the soil and preparation. The following statement is made by a large onion-grower, J. "W. Proctor, of South Danvers, Massachusetts. He says : " Any soU, of substance equal to 40 or 50 bushels of Indian corn to the acre, will grow onions — the better the soil the better the crop. Plow to the full depth of the soil, and liberally manure. Plant with corn and carrots, until completely pulverized. Plow early in the spring, and thoroughly intermingle. the manure with the soil. Let all obstructions to the free distribution of the seed be removed, and the ground thoroughly prepared for the reception of the seed, which is distrib- uted by machines in rows fourteen inches apart, as true as a line can be drawn. This is essential, because of the facility afforded for the use of the onion-weeder. After the land has been once thoroughly plowed and culti- vated, shallow plowing is usually practiced — say not deeper than can be conveniently done with one horse — from four to six inches. The next ma- terial point is to get the land ready early. No good cultivator permits weeds to grow among his onions, and consequently is specially careful that the seeds of weeds shall not be scattered upon the land, either in the manure or otherwise. A bunch of purslane may destroy a peck of onions. " You must keep your onion field entirely free of weeds, and then you may expect 500 bushels an acre, raised at less cost and greater profit than potatoes. 820 ROOT CROPS ANB SUGAR CROPS. [CnAi-. X. "Tlie best soil is a saudy loam of a somewhat dark color. Onions will not do well upon clay, particularly if it is a white clay. The surface must be absolutely free from lumps, stones, and sods. A good crop, however, may- be grown upon an inverted sod, even the tough one of the Western prairie. All varieties of onions are grown more or less, but chiefly the Silver-skin, which give the most profitable results in this section. "Never plant old seed, and the nearer the surface you can place your seed, if barely covered, the more perfectly it will vegetate, and the better the bulbs will be, as they naturally grow on the surface, not under it. " Good cultivators grow their own seed ; and they select, for this purpose, onions of the form they Avish to grow, and set them where no bad seed can intermingle, as much depends upon procuring and preserving the seed pure. As well may you hope to grow figs from thistles as good onions from poor seed." 887. The Fertilizers best fltted to Promote th? Growth of the Ouion.— Good stable manure, old and well fined, is always a healthy dressing. Let it be applied generously — six, eight, or ten cords to the acre. " Muscle-bed" is a good application for onions. Guano docs very well ; but there is nothing quite equal to barn manure, thoroughly rotted and fined, spread upon the surface, so as to give a quick start to the crop. Success depends very much upon an early start, as early onions are much better protected from every class of blights, and especially from that chief of devourers, the maggots. Ashes, leached or not leached, are a good application, and ,arc very much used by onion-growers. The first difliculty in the way of raising onions is tlie worms. The next trouble is the weeds, and on this account swamp muck is admirable manure; it will contain no se^d. 888. Remedy for Onion Worms. — Benjamin Clifford, of Norwich, Vt., lias discovered that tar is an effectual preventive against the fly that produces the onion maggot. An equal quantity of hot water and tar was stirred together, and after standing a few hours, the fluid part was sprinkled upon the onions on one of the beds. This application was made in June, Avhen the young plants were first attacked l)y the fly, and the process repeated about two weeks afterward. Tlie result was a fine crop upon that bed, while upon the other not a single onion was raised. Dr. O. "W. Drew, of Waterbury, Vt., writes us that the onion crops of that town had failed to such an extent for years that the people had to get a supply from Boston for their own use, instead of growing them for sale, as they did before the worms became troublesome. He says : " When the plants get three or four inches higli they begin to turn yellow anfl die, and the bulbs become rotten and full of maggots. Many experiments have been tried with lime, salt, ashes, and plaster, without benefit. Last spring (1861) I sowed a bed witli red onion seed, and when the plants were about four inches high, I found that they were affected as usual, and I poured a full stream of boiling water from a large tea-kettle spout directly upon each row, Sko. 48.] QUANTITY OF ROOTS AN ACRE WILL PRODUCE. 821 and repeated the application, and the plants, instead of being killed, were refreshed, and looked as bright as though they had had a May shower, and no more died, though the worms did, and I grew as fine a crop of onions as I ever had in the most successful years. The remedy is apt to deter timid peojile from applying it, but I assure them there is no danger, and it is etfectual." If this should prove to be a remedy in other cases, it will be almost in- valuable to those who cultivate onions as a crop ; many who have depended upon them as no inconsiderable item of annual income, have been obliged to abandon their cultivation. It appears that the fly which produces the maggot which has so seriously damaged the onion-growers, belongs to the same tribe of insects that deposit eggs in manure, and it is therefore recommended to use no putrescent fer- tilizers for onions ; nothing of animal production, unless it may be guano or bone-dust. 889. ProGt of Onioa Culture^ — ^The production of a good crop of onions is estimated at five hundred bushels per acre, and the cost in Massachusetts is stated about as follows : Cost of 2:)reparing one acre of land and planting tlie seed, $10 ; six pounds of seed, $3 ; manure, $30 ; cultivation and har- vesting, $40. Total, $83. The harvesting is done by raking the onions into rows with an iron tooth-rake about the first or perhaps middle of Octo- ber. The planting should be done a week or ten days before corn. At one dollar a bushel, it will be seen that a good yield gives a handsome profit to the cultivator, and where the insect is not troublesome, the crop is about as sure as a crop of Indian corUj and it may be cultivated upon the same spot for an indefinite period. 890. California Wild Onions. — It has been stated in California papers that onions growing wild have been discovered in that State, an inch and a half in diameter, covered with a thick husk like the soap-root. They are palata- ble and even preferable to gai'den onions, and it is thought may pi'ove a valuable addition to the cultivated varieties. We give the statement as a hint to onion-growers to try this variety in a cultivated condition. 891. The Qaa!it!ty of Roots an Acre will Produce. — Some persons wish to know how much feed can be obtained from an acre of any kind of roots. This they can determine by weighing a few of an average size and then cal- culating the number per acre. In this calculation the following table will be useful. It shows the number, weight, and measure of the growth of an acre planted at various distances apart : DisL between Dist. of plants No. per Weight of Bnsbelt the rows. In row. acre. each root, per acr& 2 feet 1 foot 21,780 12 lbs 4,356 do do do 10 3,630 do do do 5 1,815 do do do ..2 726 do 2 feet 10,890 12 2,078 do do do 10 1,815 do do do 5 707 do do do 2 363 822 ROOT CROPS AND SUGAR CROPS. Chap. X. Dial, between DisL of planta No, per Weight of the rowB. in row. m-re. each root. 3 feet 1 foot 14,020 12 do do do. 10 do do do 5 do do do 2 do 2 feet 7,2G0 12 do do do 10 do do do 5 do 3 feet 4,840 12 do do do 10 do do do 5 Bushels per acre. ..2,940 ..2,420 ..1,210 . . 484 .1,452 ..1,210 . . 605 . . 968 .. 800 .. 403 This calculntion of measuro is based upon sixty pounds per bushel. Tlie table shows that it is not necessary to have roots very close together in order to raise large crops. For instance ; if the rows ai-e thi-ce feet apart, and the plants two feet apart in the row, with no vacancies, and the roots average ton or twelve pounds, the crop will bo largo. It also shows the importance of having the ground all occupied, as the yield will be seriously diminished when this is net the case. SECTION XLIX.-SOR(?HUM SACCHARATUM-CHINESE SFGAR-CANE- AND SORGO SUGAR-MAKING. ^ITHLN a few years, the seeds of the pdant generally known as Cliinese sugar-cane, and that of Iiuphee, or African sugar-cane, have been disseminated over the United States, and cultivated with various de- grees of success. To sum up reports, in short, we should say that in all good Indian corn foil, where that crop can be grown to average forty bushels «ii acre, a crop of sorgo can be grown with }.>rotil, if the grower is provided with conveniences for con- verting the juice into sirup, the quality of which is excellent. W. Mathar, of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, says : " I M-ill give the figures, and state, from experi- ment, that sugar-cane is profitable to raise for family use : 58i rods of ground, planted May 27, 1858, harvested October 27, pro- ducing 425 gallons, yielding 91^ gfillons of molasses, worth 63 cents per gallon." The Davenport (Iowa) Times states that one farmer has made sirup at a cost of sixteen cents a gallon. In many places in States M'here apples abound, the old-fashioned cider-mills have been used to grind cane with success. Sec. 49.] CHINESE SUGAR- CANE— PLANTING AND CULTDEE. 823 Such facts as seem important to be known to farmers about tliis plant, we shall give in this section, followed by others about maple-sugar. 892. Soil aud Situatioa for Sorgo.— E. F. Newberry, of Montgomery County, 111., in the Prairie Farmer of April 18, 1861, gives a number of facts in regard to this matter, applicable to its culture in Illinois, from which we extract the following : " The important point of selection of soil has been almost wholly overlooked. It has generally been supposed that the larger the stalk the greater the yield of saccharins matter, and of course the rich- est, deepest mold has been selected for its growth. This is a great mistake. I will illustrate by a little experiment of my own. Part of my cane grew on a southern slope of very moderate richness, and part on a bottom the very reverse in fertility. The stalks in tliQ latter position were of much larger growth than those in the former, yet the first produced more sirup per acre and of a superior quality. Besides, I found no ditiiculty in procuring its granulation, while the lattier would not crystallize. The soil of the slope was a reddish brown, slightly intermixed with sand. The cane brought to my mill by my neighbors from the borders of the prairie and from timber land invariably excelled in quality that grown in the deep, rich soil of the center of the prairie. 893. " Preparation for Planting. — The ground should be put in perfect tilth to receive the seed, as the plant when young is quite feeble. As regards manure, the present richness of the soil should be the guide takeji in connection with the facts stated above concerning the overgrowth of stalk. 894. " Time of Planting. — Experience has proved thai; the seed can safely be sown a week or ten days earlier than corn ; and as the manufacturing season is short, every day we can add to it is precious. A piece planted the 25th of March made the best cane in the prairie. A mild frost inflicts no injury. Cane jjlanted the 16th of April was ready to grind the 21st of August, in Montgomery County, near the center of the State. Seed should be sjjrouted before sowing, and a week can be thus gained. As there is a period, embracing from four to six daj's, in which the cane is in a greater degree of perfection for manufacturing, I would strongly urge sowing in such succession as will insure its being worked up during that period. The cultivator will of course take into consideration his facilities for working up, in regulating their succession. I regard this as one of the most important points in the whole business. The sirup made at such period will, if prop- erly managed, be of a beautiful transparent color, entirely free from any foreign taste or smell. Besides, this is the only time that crystals can be produced with any certainty. I have no doubt that the occasionally suc- cessful attempts at granulation which have occurred from year to year have resulted from accidental manufacture within this period. When the first frost comes, all the cane which remains should be cut and care- fully protected from the weather by being placed under a shed or cov- ered over with straw so that neither the sun nor wind can act upon it. 824 ROOT CROPS AND SUGAR CROPS. [Chap. X. By covering so as to prevent freezing, good second-rate sirup, but uot sugar, can be made until tlie first of December, and thus lengthen the manufacturing season a whole month. It will not do to carelessly throw the stalks in a pile in the open air, expecting them to keep good for a month. S9o. " Manner of PIanting> — Enough seed should be sown in drills three feet apart to insure one plant every twelve inches. Thinner than this I re- gard not only as a waste of land, but as rendering the stalks liable to too great a growth, whicli is an injury. Shallow sowing (from 1 to li inches) insures speedy germinatiou most certainly. Cultivate carefully with the lioe and cultivator. 89G. " Stripping and Toppingi — Tlie cane should be stripped at least one week before using. This course certainly does enrich the cane, and also ren- ders it easy to save the blades for fodder, which should be bound and shocked between the rows. The stripping can be perf(aratus was made of American sheet-iron, imitation of Russia, and consisted of three pans of capacity to hold over three hundred gallous of sap. We broke down in two respects : first, our machinery was inadequate to work up our crop ; and second, we failed to make a perfectly satisfactory article, nearly all having a scorched taste. QOi. " Keepiua: the Cane and Ihe Juice. — We have demonstrated that cane cut up and shocked like corn, before frost, will keep perfect for a montli after. Some of the most perfect sirup we have made was from cane a month old. But if the unripe cane stands imtil killed by frost, the thing is done for ; two days of warm weather will then sour it ; but the sap does not run into decomposition immediately. We ground out for one of our neighbors, four miles off, enough to make eighty gallons of sirup ; ihe sap was taken home, and in the course of the next two days was worked up. This was not all ground at one time, but four or five different times. The sirup thu> made was the most perfect of tlie season." 905. Fruits of Experience in Growing Sorgo. — ^The above writer says : "In conclusion, our experience (and we have bought it pretty dear) has sat- isfied us that the manufacture of the sorgo can only be made profitable in two ways — either in large establishments, with perfect machinery and skill, or on a small scale by farmers, for their own use. The latter is the most favorable view, as to its prospective value at the North. We liave no doubt liumau health and happiness will be largely increased by the improve- ment in diet which will result from bringing this valuable article of food within the reach of all. I am entirel}" satisfied of tlie fact that it can be grown in this latitude (41° 25') successfully. The difficulty is making the mauufacture of the cane into sirup profitable after it is grown." 90G. Chemical Character and Analysis of Sorgo.— A writer in The Farmer and Plant<.i\ Columbia, S. C, says: "Careful experiments made by distin- guished chemists during the last year have settled tiie point that tlie sorgo belongs to the family of grasses which secrete ' glucose' or fruit sugar — not crystaliizablc, or cane sugar. The value of cane sugar, compared to glucose or grass sugar, is three to one. We may give up, then, the hope of making sugar profitably. Cai-efully conducted experiments during the last year, how- ever, have satisfied the writer that a very good sirup can be manufactured at tlie rate of fifty cents per gallon, and for even less, by the small farmer who is not entirely engrossed with the cotton crop. This will prove an in- Seo. 49.] CHINESE SUGAR-CANE— ANALYSIS. 827 estiinable Ijlessing, bringing it within the means of ahnost every farmer owning a horse and an acre of ground, to provide the family with a luxury." This corresponds with our continually expressed opinion, that it was not worth while for those who grow the cane to think of making sugar, but con- fine the manufacture entirely to sirup. Dr. Augustus Voelckcr, of the Koyal Agricultural College at Cirences'.cr, England, has published some analyses of Chinese sugar-cane grown on the college farm. The analysis was made September 26, 1859, with the whole plant, with the following result : In natural Dried at state. 212° Water 81.80. ... — . I Albumen 37. . . . 2.03 1 Other soluble protein compounds 116 6.36 Sugar S.85. . . . 32.15 Wax and fatty matter 2.55 14.01 Mucilage, pectin, and digestible fiber 2.59. . , . 14.26 Soluble mineral matters 74. . . . 4.06 ■f Insoluble protein compounds CO. . . . 3.62 Indigestible woody fiber (cellular) 4.05 22 25 Insoluble mineral matters 23. . . . 1.26 100.00.... 100.00 •Containing nitrogen 245. . . 1.34 fContaining nitrogen 106. . . .58 Total quantity of nitrogen 351 .. . 1.92 "The sorgo contained nearly G per cent, of sugar, which is about the same proportion as in carrots. The canes proved sweeter near the ground, some of the stumps yielding 7.G5 per cent, of sugar. Stems cut about twelve inches from the ground yielded 3.60 per cent, of sugar — not quite half the quantity found in the lower part The proportion of sugar and crude fiber was: in stems cut two inches above ground, per-centage of sugar, 7.65; per- centage of crude fiber, 6.50. In stems cut twelve inches above ground, per- centage of sugar, 3.60 ; per-centage of crude fiber, 13.01 ; while the principal or main stem was quite sweet, the stolons or side shoots were still bitter. It thus appears that all do not ripen together ; the central or oldest stem is perfect before the lateral shoots." Dr. Yoelcker found the unripe canes in August contained no sugar what- ever. He says : " The taste of the plants on the 23d of August was anything but sweet. I did not expect, tlierefore, to find much, but I was unprepared to meet with a total absence of sugar." 907. Effect of Frost on the fasies. — As most of the directions about liarvest- ing the canes say that they must be cut before frost, we give the following counter statement from Preston Eyre, Darlington, Penn. He says: "A neighbor allowed his cane to stand about one month after it was frozen entirely dead; he then cut it oft' in the morning, when the juice was frozen solid, and laid it in the sun, and in the afternoon expressed the juice with iron rollers; the result was 165 gallons of juice, 5 of whicli made 1 gallon of excellent sirup, even superior to my own, which was cut before freezmg. "I cultivated a small patch in my garden; I cut it otf before the frost 828 ROOT CROPS AND SUGAR CROPS. [Chap. X- affected it; I expressed the juice with iron rollers the same day, aud had 30 gallons ; boiled it down next day and had 5i gallons of sirup ; it had some- what of a green taste, which I think is destroyed in the process of freezing ; for let the season be ever so favorable, there will be some stalks not matured, but by freezing they are assimilated aud lose that green taste so perceptible ill (lie immature cane. " I have tasted several samples of sirup, and the best was manufactured from cane which stood several days after being frozen hard, and made with- out nsing lime or any other acid-destroying agent. My conclusions are, that the cane does not lose any of its saccharine qualities by freezing, but they are rather improved." Col. A. T. Morris, of Indianapolis, gives a detailed account of his success in making sirup. He says : "I made two efforts, both unsuccessful, to pro- duce sugar. I suppose that my want of success was mainly owing to the fact that the cane had all been frozen. The effect of the frost was to diminish the quantity of juice ; also to ncuti-alizc, to some extent, its acid properties, and slightl}^ increase its density, as indicated by Beaumfi's saccharometer. " Tlie juice of my unripe cane, before frost, marked seven degrees, Beaume ; that of the ripe cane, nine degrees. After the frost, the juice marked ten degrees." 90S. Yield per Acre in Indianai — "Myself and friends have made about 1,500 gallons of sirup. My cane yielded 225 gallons of very thick sirup to the acre — requiring about six gallons of juice to one gallon of sirup. Tiiat grown by others yielded at the rate of 320 gallons per acre. I tliink 300 gallons may be relied on here as a fair average crop." Col. Morris says : " I tested juice from several fields in this vicinity, and invariably found that the small, thoroughly ripe cane produced the strongest juice— the large, vigorous growth was very generally inferior from one to two degrees. I also found that the bottom of the stalk was not as sweet as the middle, nor the middle as sweet as the top. The juice from each third of the stalk indicated one degree more for the top third than the middle, and this one more than the bottom." 909. How (he Sirup was Made, aud its Cost. — "I filtered the juice, as it came from the mill, through finely powdered charcoal, placed in a barrel with a false bottom, covered with blankets, in the manner used in rectifying whisky. The juice thus filtered was boiled in the usual way, and produced a sirup, I think, equal to any I ever saw. This process I found to require too much labor and time. The charcoal soon became impervious, and had to be renewed, rendering its use too troublesome and expensive when a large amount of sirup was to be made. " After filling the large pan from the mill, I mixed in it a suflicient quantify of lime-water to nearly neutralize the acid in the juice, using litmus paper as a test. I also mixed, at the same time, about three pounds of ivory- black and one half dozen of eggs to every 100 gallons of juice, stirring all together thoroughly. The juice was then heated to near the boiling point, Seo. 49.] CHINESE SDGAK-CANE— FEEDING IT TO STOCK. 829 and the fire then removed from the furnace and the juice not disturbed until sufficiently cool to be in a (juiesceut state. The scum was then removed, and the remainder drawn oft' tlirough a flannel bag into the other pans for boiling. Before boiling, a small quantity of dissolved borax was added, after which it was boiled moderately and skimmed, until the quantity was evaporated to about one third of its bulk ; then the boiling was as rapid as possible, until the sirup was produced. By this process, I have made an article which is very generally considered nearly, if not quite, equal to the best of the golden sirup in our market. " I attempted to boil the juice in ordinary iron kettles, arranged in a fur- nace, in the way usually adopted here to manufacture maple-sugar, but found it impossible to avoid burning the sirup against their sides. I then procured four pans, with cast-iron bottoms and wooden sides. Three of them were two and a half feet wide and three and a half feet long, with sides fourteen inches deep ; and one five feet long, and sanie width and depth as the others. I placed three of these pans in one furnace, made of brick, and placed the largest one in a separate furnace at right angles to tiie first. The smoke-stacks of the two were placed together. The bottom of the large pan was put on a level with the top of the small ones, so as to draw out its con- tents, by a stop-cock, into the adjoining small one. With this arrangement, I could concentrate about 400 gallons of juice each day, consuming about three fourths of a cord of wood. " It cost about twelve cents per gallon to make my sirup, estimating the fodder and seed to pay for the labor of cultivation, and not allowing any- thing for interest on the cost of the mill and boiling fixtures." 910. Best Mode of Growing the Cane and Feedias? it to Stock.— Upon this question Col. Morris says: "My experience and observation induce the be- lief, tliat the best mode of growing tlie cane is to thorouglily break up and harrow the ground, then cross oft" at right angles, Avith something that will merely mark the surface, giving hills tliree and a half or four feet apart. Allow about six seeds to grow in each hill, and pull ofi" all suckers that come from the root too late to ripen as soon as the main stalk, and strip from time to time all heads tliat make their appearance at the joints of the stalks. This method of planting will allow the use of the cultivator earlier, with less liability to cover up the young cane, diminish tlie amount of hoeing, and, I think, would require but little if any more labor than a corn crop. By pull- ing off" the suckers that start too late to ripen, and the seed-heads that ap- pear at the joints, I think the vigor and perhaps the quality of the growing stalks would be increased. "About the 1st of June I planted two acres in drills about four feet apart, running north and south, planting one seed every eight or ten inches. The soil was not rich, but light and sandy. I hoed and plowed twice. Its growth, after being plowed, was very rapid, and most of it was ripe about the middle of October. From two to five full-sized canes grew from each seed ; perhaps the average would be three. The average higlit was about 830 ROOT CROPS AND SUGAR CROPS. [Cui.v. X. ten feet, and the average diameter about one and a half inches at the ground. I made no attempt to ascertain the amount of fodder and seed yielded per acre, but have fed both — also the ripe and unripe staHvS — to horses, cows, and hogs. They eat every part of the cane greedily, and, so far as I observed, seemed to thrive on the food equally with any other. '• "NYliilc making sirup, I fed the scuui to my hog-:, but on one occasion suffered it to remain in a barrel about twenty-four hours before feeding, when I found vinous fermentation had commenced, and it produced its legitimate effects— making some twenty hogs seriously drunk." 911. A Cheap Boiler. — " It is constructed as follows : The sides are of plank one and a half inches thick, one foot wide, and four leet long. The bottom and sides arc of a continuous piece of sheet iron, six feet long by two feet wide, the ends of the iron turned up to form the ends ot the boiler, nailed on the wood. It is four feet long and two wide, holding eigiit cubic feet, and pre- senting an evaporating surface of eiglit square feet. I rest the edges of the boiler on brick-work, the fire passing lengthwise imder the bottom. Its cost was not over two dollars." 912. A New Plan of Extracting €anc Juice.— 11. G. Bulkley, of Kala- mazoo, Michigan, has made a successful experiment upon a new plan of extracting Chinese cane juice, and recommends it to others, as it saves the cost of a cnishing-mill, and enables parties provided with ordinary farm im- plements to make a full supply of sirup for family use at a very little ex- pense. The plan is to cut the canes in a straw-cutting machine, and then steam them until quite soft and press out the juice in a common cider press, and then proceed with the evaporation as with maple sap. Boiling the cut canes will answer where no conveniences for steaming exist, though steam is preferable, and any ingenious man can make a steamer out of a cask, an old gun-barrel, a common kettle witli a wooden lid cemented tight with clay and cow-dung mixed into a paste. But, after all, if the steaming pro- cess should prove more economical than grinding the green stalks, it will be found preferalilo to erect works designed for the purpose cspcciall}'. Mr. Bulkley saj's that he pressed his steamed stalks while hot, in a small cider press, making them dry enough to burn ; and made twenty-five gallons of good sirup by the work of two men and a boy in two and a half days. 913. Description of Cane Mills. — The best cane mills are ponderous iron rollers, some five feet long and thirty inches in diameter, lying parallel, two at bottom and one at top, touching both the others, the canes being mashed by the first contact and squeezed dry, or as nearly so as possible by the sec- ond contact. The canes are fed to the mill upon a long apron or cane carrier, the whole driven by a powerful steam-engine. Tlic next best mill is one of similar form driven by horses. Then there are upriglit mills of two rollers, both of wood and iron, in the South, of va- rious degrees of excellence, some of which do not save half the juice. Good snuxU iron mills, for horse-power, for grinding the canes of sorgo, have been built in Philadelphia and Cincinnati. Witliout a good mill it is Seo. 49.] CniNESE SUaAPw-CANE— BOILING THE JUICE. 831 as useless to attempt sugar-making, as it would be to attempt cider-niaking ■without a mill to grind the apples. Cider may he made by mashing apples between two. stones, and squeezing out the juice in any rude way ; and so may sirup be obtained in the same rude way from sorgo, but the process will not be a profitable one. An iron mill for family use on a small scale is described as follows : A pair of iron rollers, T inches diameter and 12 inches long, set in a frame one eighth of an inch apart, with spout to catch and collect the juice, and a crank turned by hand. 914. Boiling the Juicei — Boiling must be done in the same careful manner that good maple-sugar makers pursue. As soon as the juice begins to boil, the albumen of eggs, blood, or milk will coagulate and rise, bringing with it most of the vegetable mucilage, gummy matter, and dirt, which must be carefully skimmed off, but not before it really does boil, which it will do at 215 degrees Fahrenheit. It will be best to take the kettle from the fire, or put it out, as soon as the scum has arisen, and let the juice cool a few min- utes before skimming it. You may then boil again, until nearly half evap- orated. The true rule is for the saccharometer to mark 15 degrees Beaume. It marked in Mr. Lovering's experiments 8 degrees to 12 degrees in the clear juice before boiling. After this second boiling, the juice should be cooled to 160 degrees Fahr- enheit, and more eggs, blood, or milk added, and again brought to the boiling point, and again stopped boiling and allowed to become quiet and then skimmed. Decolorization is the next process. This is done by decanting the liquid through graniilated burnt bones (animal charcoal), from three to five feet deep. It may be filled into any long, narrow vessel, set on end, through which the liquid is to Ije leached. This filter must be prepared as a careful housewife prepares her leach, so that no ashtjs will be washed downTnto the lye. A board with holes in it, and a piece of wire gauze, may be fitted in the barrel above the bottom, and the bone-black thoroughly wet with ho; water, and that drawn off before putting in the juice. A thin blanket may be used instead of wire gauze. Boiling down the filtered liquid is the next point, asd this requires care and skill, combined with experience. Nothing else will answer; for, "If wo do not boil enough, the sugar contained iu the solution will not crystallize when cold ; or, "If we boil too much, the molasses will become so thick when it cools, as to impair the crystallizing of the sugar, and can not be separated from it. " But how shall we know v.-hen to stop the boiling ? "i?y the heat of the hoillng liquid, as marked by the thermometer. " Pure water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit's thermometer. You can not make it hotter without changing it to steam. " The sorgo juice, being a solution of about fourteen per cent, of sugar and molasses, etc., iu water, becomes three degrees hotter before boiling, and 882 ROOT CROPS AND SUGAR CROPS. [Ciiap. X. boils at 215 degrees Fahrenheit. As the water evaporates, a greater heat is required to keep the concentrated juice boiling; in otlier words, the juice grows hotter and hotter. "When it reaches the heat marked on the thermom- eter 23S degrees Fahrenheit, tliere is just enough water left to enable the sugar to separate from the molasses when cold." A thermometer is therefore an essential implement in sugar-making. The water being evaporated, the sugar will crystallize as the sirup cools, if all the processes have been conducted perfectly, and if not, you will have instead of sugar an excellent molasses. Sometimes that, if kept exposed to the air, will half or more crystallize, weeks after it is put away. 915. Will the Sorgo Juice Make Sugar?— That question is settled that it will, notwithstanding all that has been said about its containing no true cane sugar. Mr. Joseph S. Lovering, the great sugar refiner of Philadelphia, has furnished the evidence that it Mill make sugar ; not only raw sugar, but per- fectly white, granulated, sound refined sugar. A good many other persons have also made sorgo sugar. Among others, a gentleman living in Ev.insvillc, Ind., wrote me that from sixteen gallons of juice he made between ten and eleven pounds of gran- ulated sugar by following the process given in the " United States Dispen- satory," page 633. "We have now before us a handsome sample of sugar, made by Mr. Miller, of Laporte, Ind., in a boiler contrived by him, made of cast iron, circular form horizontally, with a division in the center, and set on a pintal, so that it can be turned oif the fire as easily as a kettle is swung from the fire in the old kitchen fire-place, when hung upon a crane. Still we doubt whether in the ordinary mode of household manufacture, good dry sugar can be easily or profitabl}- made from sorgo juice. To make sugar, either from the sorgo or the tropical cane, successfully and chcai)ly, re- quires costly apparatus. The principal difficult}' is getting rid of molasses. One man details his experience as follows : I brought the juice to the boil- ing point slowly, skimming as the impurities arose to the surface. Afier re- moving the first thick scum, I boiled as fast as possible, until the sirup began to thicken ; then slackened the tire and evaporated slowly, until the sirup would barely run when cold. It was then put in vessels and set aside. In two or three days the mass was filled with crystals. This was all very easy, so far, but I found the draining tedious. This I did by putting the mass in a conical bag, made of thin cotton cloth." As every family, with the hand-mill above described, can grind cane enough at odd time to make a barrel of choice sirup, let that sufhcc, and leave sugar-making to large establishments; for it requires more apparatus than it does for maple sugar. The experiments of Mr. Lovering were very minute, and conducted with great accuracy, and proved to his satisfaction that a fair crop of sorgo will give 625 lbs. of sugar to the acre, of as good a quality as a fair average of cane sugar. He published his experiments in detail in a pamphlet, and that was republished in the New Yoik Tribune, and in several other papers. It Sec. -19.] CDINESE CANE SUGAR-MAKING. 833 is too long to print in whole in this book, and we only give his conclusions in form of a synopsis : ^'- First — That it is obvious that there is a culminating point in the devel- opment of tlie sugar in the cane, which is the best time for sugar-making. This point or season I consider to be when most if not all the seeds are ripe, and after several frosts, say wlien the temperature fiills to 25° or 30° F. ^'■Second — Tliat frost, or even hard freezing, does not injure the juice nor the sugar, but that warm Indian summer weather, after the frost and hard freezing, does injure them very materially, and reduces both quantity and quality. '■''Third — That if the cane is cut and housed, or shocked in the field wheu in its most favorable condition, it will probably keep unchanged for a long time. "■Fourth — That when tlie juice is obtained, the process should proceed con- tinuously and without delay. "Fifth — That the clarification should be as perfect as possible by the time the density reaches 15° Beaume, the sirup having the appearance of good brandy. "Sixth — That although eggs were usea m these small experiments, on account of their convenience, bullock's blood, if to be had, is equally good, and the milk of lime alone will answer tlie purpose; in the latter case, how- ever, more constant and prolonged skimming will be required to produce a perfect clarification, which is highly important. "Seventh — That the concentration or boiling down, after clarification, should be as rapid as possible without scorching — shallow evaporators being the best. " "With these conditions secured, it is about as easy to make good sugar from the Chinese cane as to make a pot of good mush, and much easier than to make a kettle of good apple-butter." We dissent from his last proposition, and conclude by recommending farmers to confine their operations to making sirup. That they certainly can make, of superior quality. 91G. Sorghum that has No Saccharum.— AVe have no doubt of the fact that two kinds of seed have been disseminated through the country so identical in character as to deceive the most careful observer, and producing canes so identical in appearance as to be undistinguishable, yet one aflbrds a sweet juice, convertible into sugar or sirup, while the other has but little more sac- charine property than broom-corn, which is also a sorghum. This false cane is the Soi^ghum vulgare, called in some sections Turkey corn, Guinea corn, chocolate corn. This is a trifle earlier, and grows high, erect canes, which are erect because they are light. The sweet sorghum canes are heavy because they are loaded with sweet, and frequently for that reason, and for their high and slender growth, are prostrated by the winds. One plant of the false sorghum is sufficient to adulterate a whole acre of the true in this way. The sorghums blossom first on the uppermost part ot the 834 ROOT CROPS AND SUGAR CROPS. [Cmai-. X. panicle, and then by degrees follow the panicle to its base, wliero it ceases. It being a long time in blossom, the pollen of tlie false, by the winds and insects, has the first and best opportunity to impregnate the true as soon it begins to blossom. It can readily be seen how easily a wliole field of seed may be adulterated by a few seeds of the false intermingled, without tlie cul- tivator having any knowledge of the fact, until a subsequent crop ; and wlien it is considered that the seed is identical in appearance with the true, tlie mischievous consequences can readily be appreciated. " However this adulteration may be, sutScient facts are elicited to warn the Northern cane-plauter to beware of a cheat that can only be detected after his toil has matured a crop of either sweet or tasteless canes. This tasteless cane was a common plant in Connecticut forty or fifty years ago, and during the war of 1812 it was cultivated for its fancied value as a sub- stitute for cofi'ee; and it is now asserted that at that time there were sweet canes as well as those not sweet, and many persons believe that the true Chinese cane was grown at that day, witliout any knowledge on the part of the cultivators of its being a sugar-producing plant." It certainly requires the utmost care on the part of cultivators to keep the seed pure. Everyone must utterly debar the cultivation of Sorghitvi vulgare on his own premises, and as far as possible on his neighbor's; and if by chance his cane has become adulterated, discard the seed, and iirocurc that which is pure, at whatever cost. 017. Cost of Growing Sorgo and Corn I'qual.— A farmer of Cliester County, Penn., has carefully ascertained the cost of growing sorgo to l)e the same as growing corn. The profit is greater. lie says : " My calculations of the profits of sorgo are as follows : One aero will produce 1,500 gallons of juice, ■which at 4 Rallons for 1 will pro- duce ST.") gallons sirup, which at 30 cents per gallon is 8112 50 And 80 bushels seed, worth 40 cents per bushel 12 00— $124 50 Deduct crop of corn, 50 bushels per acre, worth 60 cents per bushel delivered at market 30 00 Leaves a difference in favor of sorgo $94 50 "The cost of raising the corn and sorgo until both arc ready to cut from the ground — the one to husk and the other to express tbo juice — is ex- actly equal. The hulking, cribbing, shelling, and getting to market tlie corn will probably cost quite as much money and labor as it will cost to express the juice of the cane and convert it into sirup. 918. Stock Iiuured by Eating Sorgo Bagasse— The statement given by some sorgo growers and manufacturers, tliat the bagasse is good feed for stock must be received with some caution. An item published in 18(50, in the Independence (Iowa) Guardian, gives an account of the destruction of seven head of cattle, belonging to I. G. Freeman, from eating the refuse of Chinese sugar-cane, after it had been compressed in the mill. Tlie coating of the stalks is of a very vitreous character, and in the stomach it produced violent inflammation. A post-mortem examination in that case revealed this as the cause of death. Sec. 50.] MAPLE SUGAR-MAKING. 835 919. Sorgo Sirup Vinegar. — In regions where cider vinegar can not be made easily, a very good substitute may be obtained from the juice of sorgo. Tlic quality -will be improved by boiling it about one half away, though we believe a pretty fair vinegar has been made from the juice without boiling. It may be exposed to the air in open vessels, and should be frequently stir- red to allow the atmosphere to come in contact with it, because it is by the oxygenation that vinegar is formed of any fruit juice, which converts the sugar into acetic acid. Vinegar-makers leach eider through barrels filled with shavings of some sweet wood, such as beech or maple, for the purpose of exposing every drop to the action of the air, to hasten the oxygenation, and the same plan may be advantageously adopted in the manufacture of vinegar from sora^o. SECTION L.-MAPLE SUGAR-MAKING. HE Acei- saccharlnum has long yielded sugar to the pioneers of American settlers in the forest. Charlerois, in his history of Canada, written in 1721, speaks of the manufacture of sugar from maple-trees, and gives the process, and says it was first produced by the French immigrants, who taught the art to the Indians, who were previously ignorant of it, though the reverse of this has long been believed ; that is, that the settlers found the Indians already in possession of the secret, and learned the art of them. Although there are none of the lifliculties in the way of converting maple sap into sugar, that we find in sorgo, we believe it is better economy to convert the sap into sirup or molasses, where maple orchards arc convenient to large towns, which will always afford a market for a real nice article of maple sirup at a high price. We have already given full directions as to Chinese cane, which will make excellent sirup, and will only make poor sugar, and that with much difliculty. Maple sirup is more easily converted into a very palatable but not very sweet sugar. It is never, at best, worth over two thirds of the price of pure cane sugar for family use, while the sirup is quite the reverse. We had rather have a gallon of maple sirup than a gallon and a half of golden sirup, or two gallons of Orleans molasses. Although maple sirup is made with very little trouble, it requires much experience and great care to make good maple sugar. Since the sugar-maple is one of the handsomest of all of our beautiful American forest trees, and is as easily grown as an apple-tree, it is some- what surprising that it is not more cultivated, and its delicious products more 836 ROOT CROPS AND SUGAR CROPS.* [Chap. X. used by fanners' families. To aid in tliis, cilher from cultivated or natural trees, we shall give in detail the process of maple sugar manufacture. To those to the manner born, or bred in the camp (of sugar-makers), we do not suppose we can offer acceptable advice about the how to do it, or " how not to do it ;" but to a few others, who liavc not yet learned the best way to conduct the maple-sugar business, wc think we can say a word that will be useful. In the first place, get ready. For that, there is a very good time ; it is now I you never will find a better one. 920. Preparation for Sugar-Making.— No matter what is the season of the year, if it is mid-summer, or mid-winter, and you intend to tap your maple- trees next spring, you can get your spouts, pails, sap holders, kettles, sugar molds, sirup casks, etc., ready. At any rate you can read this article upon maple sugar-making and learn how. 921. Tapping the Trees. — Never tap your trees with an ax, oven upon land that you are going to clear, because you may not live to clear it, and your successor may desire to save some of the trees that your wrong act lias spoiled. Besides, boxing may teach your son the wrong way to do it. The right way is to bore the trees on the sunny side, two feet or more above the earth, with an auger not over one inch diameter, and at first not over half or three fourths of an inch into the wood, with a slant upward. This hole may be deepened or increased in diameter after the surface be- comes so dry that the flow of sap is checked. The right tlma is when the winter is so far over that we begin to have freezing nights and thawing days. Then be ready for sugar-making. 922. How to Make Spouts, and How to Use Them.— To conduct the sap into the buckets, use iron spouts wliich will cost you only the price of thin incli- and-a-f[uarter wide hoop iron, cut in lengths of two to four inches by your own hands with a small, cold-cutting chisel, using the end of a hard-wood block for an anvil. Now grind one end sharp before you make them into troughs, which you can do almost as fast as you can count, as follows : Bore an inch hole through a hard log and saw it asunder so as to leave half of the liole in one end ; drive two nails u]ion one side, an eighth of an inch from the edge for a gauge ; lay the flat ])icco of iron over this hollow, and a round bolt on it, and hit that with a stout hammer or an old ax. You can im- prove upon this by extemporizing a liand-press, both for cutting and shapiuf your spouts. You need not go to a lilacksmith's, and you can not make wooden spouts half as fast, and they will not last half as long. Drive your spouts into the bark only, and when the season is over, pull them out and store away, unless you intend to die before the next year. Instead of boring a first or second time, you may use a gouge, cutting out a clean chip. This will not injure the tree. Boxing or boring with a slant down, holds water and produces decay. This is our opinion about spouts. Now here is somebody else's opinion, which may be equally good. lie says: "There are two objections, in mj mind, to the iron spoilt. The first is, it leaves the hole entirely exposed is Sec. 50.] MAPLE SUGAE-MASING. 837 the air, and the surface soon becomes dry, and the flow of sap is checked. The hole should be closed as nearly as possible, without obstructing the flow of sap. For this reason I prefer the wooden spout ; and the expense is no more. There are in most towns in New England, shops and machinery where spouts can be made from spruce or pine at a cost of not more than one dollar per hundred. Where there is no such facility, they can be made in long winter evenings from elder or sumac, which grows on nearly every farm, with no other tools than a saw, a jack-knife, and a piece of wire with a handle on one end to remove the pith. "My second objection to the iron spout is, when driven into the bark it is liable to fracture it and cause an unnecessary wound to the tree." Wooden spouts can also be made of any free-splitting wood, cut ten inches long and one and a quarter inches thick, which is split by a gouge or crooked iron, to give the right shape. Always commence splitting each block in the middle, and work it so till each piece for a spout is thin enough. One end is to be sharpened, and the hole made with a gouge, and the spout driven in as recommended for the iron spouts. Some bore holes slanting downward and drive a plug-spout in the hole. Still there is nothing, in our opinion, so good and cheap as iron spouts, made of scrap sheet iron or hoop iron, swaged to a trough shape, and ground sharp at one end, so as to drive into the bark — never through it — below the cut from which the sap is to flow. This cut may be made with an auger, gouge, or even an ax, if care is used to make only such a smooth, shallow cut as will soon heal over. Chopping great, rough holes into trees to get the sap is an act as foolish as killing the goose that laid the golden egg. 923. Sap-BuckelSi — ^The best sap-buckets, and in the end the cheapest, are made of tin, to hold four gallons, and just enough tapering to pack together, with a loop in the rim-wire to hitch ujwn a wrought nail, driven into the tree. Such buckets should not cost over 25 cents each — perhaps not over 20 cents. They should be stored drv', in a dry place, in piles bottom up, and be good for your grandchildren. Painted pails make cheap, good sap-buckets. You can hang them by the bail upon a nail set slanting, or else by a piece of small wii-e twisted in one ear. Home-made pails can be made without much cost during the winter, if you have any genius for coopering, and will use the surplus heat of the stove or brick oven to season your stuflf. Leave one stave long enough to bore a hole to hang upon the naiL Do not depend upon things that you can pick up to catch sap, and if you catch a fellow upon your premises making sap-troughs, take a birch sprout and start the sap out of him. One old sugar-maker recommends making tin sap-buckets of a square form, of two sheets for the square sides and half a sheet for the bottom, with Just taper enough to fit together when in store. The tin should be rolled around a wire at the top, with a loop to hang by, or else with a hole under the wire large enough to hang over a wrought nail head or stub horsenail. 838 ROOT CROPS AND SUGAR CROPS. [Chap. X "We Bay wrought, because they must be pulled out of the trees when the season closes. If sap-buckets are not home-made, then tin is undoubtedly the most eco- nomical, and they may be kept clean more easily than any other kind, and never impart any sourness to the sap, and would soon pay for themselves in the increased value of the fine sugar and molasses afforded by their use. When sap-buckets are hung \ipon the tree, as they always should be, the spouts will rarely need to be over three inches long, and being close to the top of the bucket, the sap will not be blown away and lost, as it frequently is in falling a foot or two. 92-1:. Storing the Sap. — It is very bad economy to neglect providing a suf- ficient reservior for sap. In some wooded regions, where suitable timber can be had, a trough that will hold four or five barrels can be dug out with- out any expense, for the man who is tending the first boiling can do the work. "Where a trough can not be made conveniently, a vat can be made of plank, set in a frame to key up tight with wedges. Sometimes a molasses hogshead can be obtained conveniently. A liquor cask will answer if it is brought home some weeks before wanted, and fillad with water. If you can arrange your storage vessel to stand above the level of the boiler, it will save much trouble, as you can thus run the sap through a trough into the boiler. 925. Boilers and Boiling Sap. — Sap-kettles are antiquated. If you iwsscjs any of these, use llioni for the storage of saj), or concentrated sirup, and get a set of sheet-iron pans. These you can also make yourself. See how cheaply. Buy good stove-pipe iron in large sheets ; punch two rows of holes, not in exact straight lines, around the edge, one row close to it and the other an inch and a half from it. Xail this upon a frame made of one-and- a-quartcr-inch stufl', six inches wide, with one row of nails, which should be large-headed tacks or small wrought clout nails, in the edge of the frame, and the other in the sides, upon which the edges of the iron are turned up all round. You may, if 3'ou fear having an untight joint, use a little white lead, but it is not generally necessary. An old sugar-maker thinks copper bottoms would be more economical in the long run. A boiler has been patented that is made in such a wa}- that by a motion given to it, the sap is made to flow into a scries of troughs over the heated flues, in a small stream which evaporates rapidly. A man who has made sugar in Ohio since lSol,says: " I prefer heavy cast-iron kettles to sheet- iron pans, but would like them if of oblong shape with straight sides and ten inches deep, set over an arch. I use four eighteen-gallon kettles, and have often boiled down and sugared oflT 100 pounds a day ; of course work- ing all night. " "We gather our sap in tight barrels. Two make load enough for a yoke of oxen to haul on a sled. "We have a convenient place, so that one man can roll up and empty into the reservoir. Two hands can gather twenty barrels in half a day. "We boil in all the kettles, having spouts to conduct Ssa. 50.] THE PROCESS OF MAKING SUGAR AND MOLASSES. 839 sap into each as fast as it boils away. It is too much work and exposure to heat to dip from one kettle into another, and nothing is gained by it. "When we first start our four kettles, we can boil away two barrels an hour. After tlie sap gets sweet, it will not boil away so fast. We boil in about enough for ten pounds to each kettle, and then boil down to sirup, strain off, wash and scour the kettles, and till up again. By boiling too long we lose time and spoil the sirup. Great care must be used to keep the sirup clean. If necessary, use milk or eggs to clarify with. I do not recommend claying sugar, and all for sale I make in cakes — it brings more." 926. The Furuace and Setting Pans.— Build two straight walls as long as all the pans you will use, and a little less wide apart than the width of your pan, raising at the end of each pan so that the ^second will discharge the juice through a cock or spout closed by a valve or cheap gate. Wliere the ends of the two pans meet, there must be a flat stone, or brick-work, or iron plate. There is no occasion to build the pans fast in the furnace — they are more convenient movable. If you have pans enough to use up all the heat in its passage under them to the chimney, you will be surprised to see how rapidly the water evaporates. You must fill in the bottom of the flue so as to keep the fire up to the bottom of the last pan. 9-27. The Process of Making Sugar and Molasses.— When the sap is boiled to the right point, wliich experiences teaches, draw it from the last pan and strain it through flannel, or cloth of somewhat close texture, into a clean kettle or tub, and let it cool. The tub is the best, with a cock half an inch above the bottom, so as to draw off the clear liquor, leaving the sediment that passed through the strainer to be re-filtered. In the decanted liquor, put a quart of milk, or, still better, a pint of milk and two or three eggs to ten gallons, and heat slowly and skim carefully. The eggs should be well beaten with the milk, and thoroughly stirred into the sirup before it is heated. The kettle should not be over half full, and should be on a crane so as to swing off suddenly, or if set in an arch, with a furnace door and damper, by which the fire could be controlled in an instant, as upon this depends success ; and great care is necessary to prevent scorching after the sirup begins to grow waxy, from which time until it is sufficiently boiled, the tire must be very gentle and under control. Waxy sirup will make drained sugar, leaving a considerable residue of molasses to be re-boiled or kept for use. Brittle, waxy sirup is required to make cake sugar. For dry grained sugar the sirup must be concentrated before stirring, until when dropped upon snow and suddenly cooled, it is nearly as brittle as rosin. To make white sugar, the sirup when strained must be passed through animal charcoal several feet thick. Filtering through pulverized burned bones — -animal charcoal — removes the coloring matter and other impurities. Charcoal is a purifier and acts both chemically and mechanically, but when made of wood it absorbs and wastes the sirup. Sand is only a mechanical strainer. Neither will injure the quality of the sirup, but only animal charcoal can be recommended. 840 ROOT CROPS AND SUGAR CROPS. [Chap. X. Sugar is also made wliitc by filtering white sugar through it, in draining molds. That is simply mechanical — washing the molasses from the grains. It is also whitened by covering the molds with a coat of plastic clay. "Whitening is not at all important, if the sirup is well strained and clarified with albumen, and the sugar not scorched. It will then be rich, clean, and possessed of that delicious maple flavor that constitutes its greatest value, whether white or brown. "Waste nothing. "Wash all the sweet out of everything, and reconcentrate. Study economy in everything. Upon this alone depends the success of sugar-making. Do not suflfer a hand employed in your sugar camp to ever carry such deadly weapons as guns and rum bottles, nor articles so destruc- tive to success as cards, dice, dominoes, and novels. You must watch and work, and then you need not doubt success. Sugar-making is pleasant, healthy, hard work. A camp is no place for lounging. "While boiling, large quantities of sap should not bo poured in at a time, as that will stop the boiling and make irregular work ; but a reservoir should be placed above the boiler, into which a faucet should be inserted, and tiie sap allowed to run in a constant stream, which a little practice will enable the operator to regulate to correspond exactly with the evaporation. A stop-cock should also be placed in the boiler to draw oiF the sirup. A correspondent writes from "NYindsor, Vt., as follows : " Two sheet-iron pans, four feet long and two feet wide, set in a brick arch, one forward of the other, will be sufficient for a sugar orchard of 300 trees, and will boil the sap to sirup in about twelve hours. Put the sirup, after straining tlirough flannel, into a cask, and let it stand two days. Then draw it off and boil it down in one of the pans. I have seen sugar made in this way as white as loaf sugar. In my opinion, milk or eggs sliould never be put in sirup, as I can not see why any advantage should result from it ; and I know it has been practiced with injury to the sugar, and waste, as considerable sweet is thrown out with the milk and egg." We can not see how the milk and eggs can injure the sugar, since the office of any albuminous substance added to the sirup is simply to gather up and hold all such impurities in such a manner that they can bo easily re- moved. In short, dirt that is so fine that it can not be strained out will attach itself to the white of an egg, so that it can be lifted out witli a skim- mer as easily as a potato. There is no need of waste of any sweet, because it can all be washed out in sap or partly concentrated sirup. 928. Making Sugar on a Small Scale.— J. Ilerrick, of Lyndeborough, N. H., wrote to us in 18o7 as follows: "M}' orchard consists of seventy-five trees of second growth, scattered along walls or in a pasture of fifteen acres. I tap with a three-fourth-inch auger four feet from the ground, and hang the bucket by a ring, on a hook driven into the tree so close to the spout that the wind will not waste the sap. I tap at this hight that cattle can not dis- turb the bucket. Some might object on the ground that the lower a tree is tapped the more sap will run. This is not the fact, for the sap will flow as Seo. 50.] THE PROCESS OF MAKING SUGAR AKD MOLASSES. 841 freely by cutting off a topmost branch as it will from a root of the same size laid bare in the ground. And again, any one may learn this fact from the red squirrel, who, by the way, is a famous sugar-maker, and knows wlieu to tap a tree and where to do it. He performs his tapping in the highest per- pendicular limbs or twigs, and leaves the sun and wind to do the evaporat- ing, and in due seasou and pleasant weather you will see him come round and with great gusto gatlier his sirup into his stomacli. "I make only molasses, and clarify in the following manner: I take the sirup when of proper consistence, and while hot strain through a thick clotli into tlie kettle for clarifying; and when cool, for every four gallons put in one egg and a half pint of new milk, well beaten together and mixed with the sirup. Let no further agitation be had by stirring. liaise the heat grad- ually to boiling point, and all the impurities will rise at once to the surface, and must be quickly removed with a skimmer as long as any comes up ; this will leave a sirup perfectly clear, to be evaporated either to molasses or sugar. If the egg and milk are put into the sirup when hot, the albumen of each is charred so that it will form no adhesion with the impurities, and of course will not rise together to the surface. I think that the rapid evap- oration of the sap, in sheet-iron pans, will make a more clear and light-colored sirup than when done in deep, thick kettles; at any rate, it can be done at half the expense of time and Wood. Mine has been a small enterprise com- pared with many in this town v;ho have orchards that number three or four hundred trees. Six years ago I constructed a building for boiling, the whole, including a brick furnace and sheet-iron pan for evaporating, at a cost of $20 ; 75 buckets cost $10, which makes the whole capital $30. My son has done all the labor of gathering and boiling this season, at a cost, including ox help, of $8. I have used li cords of hemlock wood at $1 75 per cord, $2 62 ; and have made 29 gallons of molasses of a consistence that it shall not ferment in the hottest of weather. This is selling here at this time for $1 34 per gallon. The result of my orchard is as follows : Interest on cap- ital, $1 80; labor, $8; wood, $2 62; total, $12 42. 29 gallons molasses at $1 34; total, $38 86. Deducting labor, wood, and interest leaves $26 44, as the result of about eight days' labor." Maple sugar-making is truly a domestic institution. A woman in Van Buren County, Mich., made 61 lbs. of sugar and 2 gallons of molasses from 13 trees, the sap of which she boiled on the cooking stove. From 290 trees, in the above county, one family made 1,800 lbs. of sugar and 40 gallons of molasses. From 90 trees, another family made 400 lbs., besides a supply of molasses for family use. One Vermont boy, 16 years old, in a camp of 163 trees, not favorably located, but with good appliances, made 600 lbs. of sugar. One of his neighbors made 20 lbs. of sugar one season from one tree. From 62 trees tapped late in the season, two small boys, wich a kettle on a crotch and pole to concentrate the sap to sirup, made 321 lbs. of sugar. One man made $75 worth of sugar from trees that he planted for shade along the walls. Another man tapped a few trees left in the clearing near the 8^:2 ROOT CROPS AND SUGAR CROPS. [Chap. X. house, and liis wife made Bugar and sirup enougli for the family all tlic year. A letter from Ilugbesville, Pa., says : "Myself and brother, two boys, have made 400 lbs. of sugar, besides molasses, this season, carrying our wood and sap mostly without team, or any sugar-house, or any conveniences, and losing a good deal of sap, besides suifering the want of dry wood." 929. Is l»laple Sugar-Making ProGtablc ?— ManliusEngle, of "West Almond, Alleghany County, Kew York, says he has been a sugar-maker all his life, and that the business is not only pleasant and health-invigorating, but profit- able, lie saj's : "The average from 200 trees during the past six seasons lias been 1,300 pounds, and the net profits have averaged $125 per season. During the season that has just closed, 3,200 pounds of hard caked sugar have been manufactured from 300 trees, and sold in Angelica at 12^ cenis per pound. This gives $400 as the gross proceeds of the season, from which deduct the following : Two months' labor by Bclf, at 822 per month $44 00 One month's labor of yoke of oxen 18 00 Paid for cutting 24 cords of wood 12 00 Half the interest on 20 acres of land, at $10 per acre 7 00 Interest and wear on sugar apparatus 9 90 For clarifiers, correctives, and incidental expenises 4 00 Total expense S94 90 Net profit 305 10 "The sugar orchard from which the above results were obtained is located on the summit of a ridge about 1,400 feet above Lake Ontario, and consist.^ of 300 trees, mostly of large size, scattered over about twenty acres of ground, the soil of which is a deep yellow loam resting on a gray slate bottom. I boiled five kettles, and every twelve hours boil one kettle down to thin mo- lasses, •which is stored in barrels. I use milk and white of eggs, and a tea- spoonful of saleratus in each kettle. From my experience, others may see what one man can do in the maple-sugar business. The reason why so many fail to make it remunerative is want of diligence and economy. There is no use for rifles, cards, dice, dominoes, novels, or rum bottles in a sugar camp. A tree should never be cut or bored more than two inches deeji. Taking the average of years, 30 maple-trees will supply a family of six pei-sons, and there are but few farmers that have not or might not have that luunber of trees without cost for land." A sugar-maker of Monktou, Vt., gives the following results to show the profit of sugar-making in that section : Dr. To 3J cords of 4 feet seasoned maple wood, at $2 per cord $G GO Labor — 4 days preparing, tapping, cleaning up, and IG days collecting, boiling, etc 20 00 Interest on capital in boiling-house, tubs, and pans, at 10 per cent 6 00 Interest on 5 acres of land, at S50 per acre ($250), at 10 per cent 15 00 Total $47 50 Cr. By 800 lbs. of sugar (allowing 7 lbs. of sugar to each of the 3 gallons of mo- lasses made) , at 12J cents per pound $100 00 Profit $52 50 At 6 cents per pound the receipts would bo only $48 00 Sec. 5u.] PREPARING SUGAli FOR MARKET. 843 The above crop was made from 195 trees, the largest of 500 second-growth trees, such as were not used in 1S56, tapped with a five-eighth-inch auger, and the"sap boiled in four sheet-iron pans, 2-t by 28 inches, 4 inches deep; one of which was, by way of experiment, covered, with very beneficial results." 930. How Much will Maple-Trees Produce ?— The yield of the spring of 1S5S in Ycrmont was estimated by one writer at a trifle less than throe pounds per tree, whieli, he says, is the average of years, and that the yield of 1857 was extraordinary, and perhaps without precedent, being over five pounds per tree. A sugar orchard of 100 trees, belonging to Wm. Searls, Eaton County, Midi., yielded one spring 950 lbs. of sugar, at the rate of 9^ lbs. to a tree. In Vermont, tliirteen sugar orchards (1,600 trees) in Eandolpli made G,100 lbs. of sugar. T7m. DavTs, of Pittsfield, made 1,000 lbs. from 153 trees. 1. Carpenter, Hutland, made 1,000 lbs. from 160 trees. One sugar orchard that has been eighty years in use, tapped with a three-quarter auger, one spout to a tree, yields each 6 lbs. Another orchard, tajjped with two or three spouts, yields but 3| lbs. per tree, in consequence of injury from long time over-working. In Hancock, J. G. Robinson made 2,362 lbs. from 225 trees. A sugar place in "Washington, Mass., containing 100 trees, owned by L. Johnson, produced one season 975 lbs. of clean, nice sugar, nearly one half of which sold for 16 and 18 cents per pound. The sugar was made bv Mr. Arannah Mattoon, of Washington, aged 69 years. From a moderate-sized tree, standing in open ground in front of the residence of the Rev. David King, of Vernon, Trumbull County, Ohio, his wife made 34 lbs. of very fine sugar one season. It is thought if all the sap had been carefully saved it would have given 40 lbs. 931. Ratio of Sugar to ^api — A letter before us gives the ratio of sugar to maple sap as foll.ows : Sap concentrated 30 times makes what wc call good sirup, and this sirup concentrated three eighths makes grained sugar, hard enough when taken out of a jar to require a stifl' knife, which, as I calculate, is that sap concentrated 50 times in sugar. 1 quart water weighs 2 lbs. 2 oz. I 1 quart sirup weighs 2 lbs. 3 oz. 1 quart sap weighs 2 lbs. 1 oz. | 1 quart sugar weighs 2 lbs. 9 oz. 932. Preparing Sugar for Market. — Large quantities for the New York market are made in cakes. The size and shape of the cakes wlU'often make a difierence of one or two cents a pound. "We advise all who intend to uiako sugar for sale, to provide a set of tin molds, so a,s to make wellproporticned, square-sided cakes, in paralellogram form, of exact, marked weights, fi-om ten pounds — never larger — down to four ounces, or perhaps twelve and twenty-four cakes to the pound, for retailers to sell at one and two cents each. Sugar made as directed and cast in such cakes, and those packed nicely in boxes and sent to commission houses here, can always be sold at high prices, and when the maker becomes known, his sugar will be espe- cially in demand. One sugar-maker thinks it is not profitable to make cake sugar. He says: 844 ROOT CROPS AND SUGAR CROPS. [Ciai-. X. " It 13 better not to make it into cakes at all, except for those tliat arc near market or Iia.ve an agent there, and then only in tlic first of tlie season, when it brings a high price. It is true that sugar made into cakes brings a higher price to the retailer, wlicn sold by the cent's Avorth, as it often is, at the rate of twenty-five or thirty cents per pound, but the produccr'gets no more, nor as niucli, counting the extra work, to say nothing of the shrinkage there is in concentrating the sirup into sugar, as he would for drained sugar. By drained sugar, I do not mean this black, hard stuft* which we sometimes see in market, but sugar as light as the best white Havana, and nearly as white as refined sugar, and which can be made without any filtering process by boiling in copper boilers and clarifying with milk and eggs. " I have Bcarely ever made a liundred pounds of sugar in any one season in any other way, and the result was I got from twelve to seventeen cents a pound, while my neighbors got button cents. But this is not all the loss i:i making it into cakes; every one knows that has had experience, that tlierc is a loss in shrinkage of from three to five per cent, in the process of evap- orating the water in the usual way, and the lower the sinip is concentrated, in (he same proportion is the loss or shrinkage, so the difference is from one and a half to two per cent, in favor of strained sugar, while it is almost im- possible to concentrate the sirup to dry-grained sugar without scorching or destroying its flavor. From actual experience I find the result as follows: " Suppose 100 lbs. of sugar in the cake to be worth $10, the same made into drained will give you 87 lbs. dry white sugar worth 12 cts., $10 44; 1| gallons molasses worth 75 cts. per gallon, or 6i cts. per lb., $1 12i ; making a total of $11 5Ci — shov/ing $1 56i per hundred in favor of drained sugar." 933. Plaut Maple-Trees. — It appears to us that we have said enough to induce reasonable men to plant :naple-treos. If exposed, you can tap them above the reach of animals, and hang your buckets as we have directed, and the flow will bo just as great as though tapped down at the roots. 'No tree can be planted with more certainty of profit than the sugar maple. Its form and foliage are beautiful ; its shade delightful ; its sap delicious and healthful in all stages, from the Avater that flows from tiie tree to its honey- like sirujj on the hot buckwheat cakes ; and its sweet products, if made as we have dii-ected, will always be salably profitable. Maple sirup would outsell the very best golden sirup at any time in this city, if it were here for sale ; and maple sugar is sold, tuns of it, every year in the confectioner's shops and in the street, to be eaten like candy, at 30 to 50 cents a jmund. There will always be a market for any surplus that the country can produce, but that is not the grand object with us in urging its increased production. It is because it will greatly increase home happiness — the farmer's home- It is for that that we ask you to plaut at least one maple-tree. CHAPTER Xr. FORESTS AND FENCES. SECTION LI.-TUEES AND TREE PLANTING-WOOD OR COAL FOR FUEL, '' -^y^'MEIilCA will soon be denuded of forests, unless wo plant trees. "Woodland in the oldest States is scarce and dear, and but for coal, fuel would be almost beyond tlie reach of the city poor. We iA "^ should plant trees for timber, if not for fuel, and to improve the health of those regions naturally desti- tute of trees, for they are capable of changing arid wastes to fruitfulness. Stripping the land of wood has produced great changes within the short period since the Pilgrims landed. England is already plant- ing trees. How long before America must follow her example ? Let us consider. 934. What Trees for a Plantation.— To break th- prevailing wind, there is no better tree than our coii.- mon white oak, and none that looks more cheerful in winter. Its bleached leaves still adhering to the branches have a warm look and give an idea of shelter. Maples of all sorts are positively beautiful in green foliage, or after the leaves are variegated by autumn frosts. Black and white walnuts are both handsome and hardy, and produce fruit very agreeable to the cliildren. Elms are good trees, and give us a pleasing impression of .strength as their long limbs wave through the air. Chestnuts make a line addition to a plan- tation, but their blossoms and burs are objectionable near the house. Hick- ory-trees should never be neglected in filling up a plantation ; they can be transplanted by going the year before and cutting the tap-root. If you would attract birds to your lawn, you must plant cherry-trees here and there. In planting, let the rule be to put all small growing trees nearest the house, rising gradually' to the highest in the back ground. 935. Adaptation of Trees to Particular Locations.— In all tree planting, adaptation should be kept prominently in view. The kind of tree hc»t adapted to one situation would be the worst in another. The coniferous tribe — pines, firs, larch, spruce, hemlock, cedars— as a general thing, are best adapted to exposed situations and to barren sands. A sandy soil usually contains the food best adapted to trees like the pine. There is no part of the United States that does not produce several varieties and species of valuable and hardy conifera. But the tree which is most hardy and best adapted to 846 FORESTS AND FENCES. [Chap. XI. a particular locality is not necessarily indigenous to it. Tliis is evidenced in the case of the ailanthus, a tree that grows vigorously in the crevices of rocks, or in driffing sands, or in the city pavements. Its growth npon New York island is uuequaled by any other tree. Its roots are some- times thirty feet in length, and it has a trunk and branches of correspond- ing size after it has been planted only a few years. It was brought here from the South Sea Islands, where it seems to be completely at liome in dry banks of coral sand. This tree, not only because it grows so rapidh', but because it makes excellent fuel, and because it originated upon a sandy sea- coast, will probably prove one of the most valuable in the world for coast planting. If not so much so as the pine, it will doubtless serve well as a first growth, acting as a nurse to pines, larch, or cedar. Another rapidly growing foreign tree in all the Southern States is known as the China-tree, the wood of which makes excellent cabinet work. An objection to it as a street shade-tree is the abundant crop of berries, which no animal will eat. The objection to the ailanthus is the odor of its blossoms, which may be ob- viated by propagating with grafts from trees which bear pistillate flowers, as the odor only comes from the pollen of staminates. Another hardy foreign tree is the paper mulberry, from China and Japan, wiiere its inner bark is used for the manufacture of paper, and also for cloth- ing. In the heat and dust of New York there is no tree that keejjs so per- fectly clean, fresh, and free from dirt, impurities, and insects as this. In planting hills, mountains, or sloping sea-coasts, there is one rule that admits of few exceptions. Plant around the bottom first, and as planting at intervals of a few years is continued, and the summit is gradually approach- ed, the lower and older trees act as a screen, and produce moisture and an amelioration of the atmosphere that arc certain to serve as a protection to those on the highest and most exposed ground. Sometimes one sort only will be adapted to a given locality, but as a rule, there are several advan- tages in planting two or throe species at once. It is not always possible to know which of several is best. Sometimes one species will grow fast, and will form a nurse for a slower-growing, longer-lived, and more valuable tree, which will remain after the first has disappeared. For house surroundings, which add greatly to the beauty, comfort, and health of a place, and for roadside planting, we will give the names of a few hardy trees. 93(J. Descriptive List of Hardy Trees. — Nokwat Maple. — Tiiis is one of the finest of all deciduous shade-trees. A round-headed, densely-leaved, vigorous and healthy true, with deep green foliage, one of the first to come in leaf in the spring, and among the last to drop in autnmu, succeeded after a frost by hues of the most beautiful colors. It is far superior to the popular silver maple, which affords by no means so dense a shade, and which is liable to breakage of limbs in every high wind. To make a good shade-tree of the silver maple, in the country, it should have a rich soil, inclined to moisture, and be liberally headed back. Seo. 51.] DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF TREES. 847 SuGAK Maple {Acer saccharhutm). — One of the cLief beauties of tliis tree is in the very graceful appearance it presents with its straight, slim trunk, when surmounted by its dense and regularly formed head of green. Eather slow in growth, late in putting out, in autumn foliage deep orange and red. Swamp Maple. — A native, and a very pretty tree on a lawn with its scarlet flowers and fruit, but liable to persistent attacks of the borer. TiiK Ashes are not general favorites. They are late in putting forth, among the first to drop their leaves, and liable to the borer. Black Walnut {Juglans nigra) is worthj' of a place in the farmer's yard, both for shade and fruit. Paulonia Impeeialis, of Japan. A few years since a rare tree, and one wliieh has been greatly over-estimated. It is a rapid grower, closely allied in habit and appearance to the catalpa, but becomes a much larger tree. Has a large leaf, with a light blue flower of a peculiarly disagreeable odor, but which perfumers use. Like the catalpa, it is late in putting out, and among the first to drop its leaves ; accumulates much litter during the sea- son, lias an ugly seed pod which hangs on the whole year, and withal pre- sents during lialf the year a bare-armed, desolate appearance. Sassafras {Lauriis sassafras). — One of the prettiest of our small native or foreign trees. The suckers which it is liable to throw up, and which have caused most persons to object to it as a lawn tree, are easily kept down. IIoNET Locust {Glcditschia triacanthiis). — A tree of most rapid growth, but with thin foliage, and therefore a poor shade-tree, and very liable to attacks of the borer — throws up a great many suckers, and is apt to lose its limbs in a high wind. Tulip Poplae {Liriodendron tulipifera). — Slow of growth and difiicult to transplant, but one of the noblest of our many noble-looking American trees. Li planting trees, a common error we make is to plant them .too near the house, or walk, or road, or fence, forgetting to allow for the growth of the tree in after-years. , Evergreens. — The Norway spruce {Ahies cxcelsa) is one of the most healthy, rapid growing, and handsome trees, and never much out of place wherever planted. The Scotch Pine or Flr {Pinus sylvestris). — A rapidly growing, rather coarse-looking tree, but of a very fine dark hue after passing its youthful daj's. It is liable to lose some of its limbs after a heavy sleet or snow. Being of coarse habit, it looks best at a distance from the house or road. Slltee Fik. — A fine ornamental tree with its horizontal limbs and bright silvery foliage. Balsam Fir. — Yery handsome in its youth, but with age, in exposed places, loses its beauty. Hemlock Spruce. — Perhaps the most beautiful and graceful of all ever- greens, but not as great a favorite as the Norway spruce. The Chestnut {Castanea) is one of the most valuable trees that we know 848 FORESTS AND FENCES. [Cuap. XI- of, and it is easily grown from seeds. If they are packed in sand as soon as mature, they may be transported a long distance, and should lie planted in pots or seed beds. TnK Yellow Locust {liohinia pseudacaeia) is a very valuable timber tree, which can be grown from the seeds, no matter bow old they are, if scalded in boiling lye. Linden, oe Basswood {Tilia Americana), is a beautiful but neglected tree. The large leaves on its l>ranches make it an agreeable shade in summer, and in the spring its profusion of blossoms, so grateful to the bees, make it a desirable tree to plant around dwellings and pleasure-grounds. 937. What Das Been Done in Planting Forest Trees.— Amos Otis, of Yar- mouth, Mass., is an extensive and successful planter of pine-trees, and he gives the folloM-ing valuable information upon the subject. He says : " I commenced planting the pitch pine in 1832, as an experiment, and have since planted 200 acres. The growth is very slow at first, but after the third year the average annual increase in hight is about one foot. I have some lots that have averaged a foot and a half upon land that had been worn out by repeated crops without manure. A sandy, or a sandy loam soil — one that is too poor to sward over thickly with grass — is best. Lands that produce no vegetation are unfit. The young trees at first require some protection, and will not succeed in a loose, barren sand. March is the best month for planting. 1 have a machine with which a man and a horse can plant six acres a day. It plows a small furrow, drops and covers the seed, at once passing along. "Those wishing to plant pine seed can take a plow and make parallel fur- rows about six feet apart, and with a machine, used for planting beets or onions, run along in the bottom of the furrows, dropping three or four seeds in a place and about a foot apart, covering them not more than half an inch. If all the seeds vegetate, there will be ten times as many trees as can grow on the land ; but they will die out in the course of a dozen years. When I was short of seed, I put the rows eight or ten feet apart, and drop- ped the seed about three feet apart in the rows. I have paid from $1 to $2 per acre for the land, and the seed and planting liave cost me about the same sum per acre. Adding interest, I have about doubled the money invested. It is a small business, I confess ; but the world is made up of small affairs. " When I commenced planting, my neighbors laughed at me, but now they are all jjlanting their old fields. At Middleborough the farmers arc plant- ing their worn-out soils with the white pine, which is of very rapid growth. When planting with my machine, I rub ofi" the wings and clean the seed. If you plant yours by hand, you should not rub ofi' the wings." The pine extensively planted on the seashores of France and Italy is the Pinus maritlma. There are two other species: t\\c Plnus larico, or Corsican pine ; and the Pimis Calabr/'cnsis, or Calabrian pine, which is also a lofty and beautiful tree, with wide-spreading branches and long foli- age, and both these species are vigorous, very hardy, and of quick growth. Sec. 51.] WHY AND WHEN TO PLANT TREES. fi'rf Tlie French Government has planted immense forests of the American cy- press {Taxodium distichiim), obtaining the seeds from this country. In Germany, American pines and other American forest trees were plant- ed, many years since, and immense quantities of their seeds arc furnislied tiiencc, to supply all Europe. Ilolland has sj^ent many thousands of dollars in importations of seeds from this country. 938. Why and When to Plant Trees. — Now is the time, no mptter when you read this article, now is the time to begin to jdant the seed, buy the trees, cut the grafts, put in the buds, prune the branches, prepare the ground, dig ihe holes, or do something connected with the business of planting, trans- planting, or growing trees. If no more, plant one tree — only one ; it is all we ask ; it is a small job, a mere trifle of labor for an itUe moment ; a moment that may be spent in worse than idle occupation ; a moment that if spent in planting a tree, might be the means of raising a monument to your name, or a monument to mark a point of history in the country, like that of the Ciiarter Oak, so renowned, BO honored in the history of Connecticut. True, tiiat was planted by One who needs no monument, yet has them by the million ; One whom we should imitate ; One whom we may honor by the work of our hands, for with them we can build a homo for the birds and a shade from burning suns for beasts, besides gratifying the eye of man with new beauties — the beauty of trees with green leaves and flowers and fruit. Tlierefore we want every hand in which the warm blood of manly life flows to plant a tree — one tree. Not while the ice and snow hold dominion all over our Northern region, but wliile there is time to think, to promise, to determine, to begin to warm into life yourself, or else you never will come to the point of bringing into life one tree. While you sit around your warm winter fires, which you would not have without the products of trees, while you look out upon the almost tree- less landscape ; while, if you live in towns, you see a hundred brick houses where you see one tree ; while, if you live in the country, you see mile after mile of lanes, and remember that last summer there was not a single shade in all that distance ; and while, too, yoii read of the scarcity and high \)y\q& of fruit, think how many more trees you might grow if they were onco planted. We conjure you to resolve now, to-day, this moment, that when the ice melts and the ground softens, and the spring birds begin to sing, that you will plant a tree — one more tree ; cither for fruit, or sliade, or ornament ; and let it grow free shade, free flowers, free fruit, in a free soil, and lot it be the Tree of Freedom. Do not restrict the planting to the head of tlie family, but let every man, woman, and child plant a tree — a tree to mark the date of the passing year. Think of it; do not let the year pass without adding one more to our cultivated trees — one more monument to remind j-ou of fleeting time; one more guide-mark by the roadside of life, that may in future years give you new aspirations of love for a free country, and for a people who planted trees. Plant them by the roadside — ^j^lant them in yards, streets, lanes, lots — • 850 lORESTS AND FENCES. [Ciiai-. XI. wherever you can find room for a tree to give shade or hear fruit. There is no better time than November to phint Iiardy fruit-trees, and every liun- ih-ed dollars that may be spent in planting such trees along the highway of a farm that lias a public traveled road running through it will add a tliou- sand dollars to the selling price of that farm twenty years hence. Take up large trees with plenty of roots, and plant them as though you intended them to grow, and they will grow. The public seem to need to be constantly reminded that trees will not grow where they are wanted unless they arc first planted. All love fruit — all love shade — everybody admires flowers and green foliage, and even bare branches in winter are beautiful, yet liow few lay the foundation of after-years of enjoyment by planting trees, shrubs, vines, for fruit, flowers, or shade ! For shade-trees, the maple, elm, oak, wal- nut, butternut, Iiickory, locust, sycamore, willow, pine, cedar, fir, American tulip-tree, silver-leafed poplar, for the Northern States; adding the holly, magnolia, live oak, and orange at the South. Remember, too, that cherry and apple trees make magnificent shade-trees, and that so far as possible in setting roadside and pasture shade-trees, either those which bear fruit or nuts should always be preferred. And lasth', remember that nothing adds more to the value of a place than trees, and nothing gives beauty to a coun- try equal to shaded roads. i)39. How to Plant Trees. — This is the way. "Whether for fruit or shade, prepare your ground well before you attempt to put a tree in its place. Always dig your lioles deep and wide, and no matter if the work is done a year before you want to use them. A little freshening with the spade and some loose soil in the bottom will be found by experience just M-hat your tree wants to make it grow. Make it a rule never to injure a single root that you can save in taking a tree out of the ground for the purpose of trans- planting, and never buy a tree that has been taken up without some regard to the importance of having plenty of roots and a moderate amount of top branches. Some trees and shrubs, such as the willow, sycamore, or currant, will grow from a mere stick cut from a top branch and stuck in the ground, while a hickory, or oak, or long-leaf pine can only be transplanted by first cutting the long tap-root while it is growing, and then letting it stand long enough to form new short roots, which must all be moved with the tree, with as much soil as possible adhering ; or by what is termed a ball of earth secured to the roots by freezing or mechanical means. If your ground is stony, lay a floor of stone around your tree ; if not, cover up the surface with straw, old hay, or leaves, or small bushes. This is called mulching, and is one of the most useful things you can do to promote the growth of your trees. In planting an orchard, the whole tract should bo deeply plowed and manured as a preliminary step. Land is seldom too rich for young trees. Ten per cent, of the nursery trees die from bad packing and being long out of the ground, and a vast number arc killed by that stupid practice of trim- Sec. 51.] TRANSPLANTING EVERGREENS IN THE SUMMER. 851 niiiig off all the roots and branches. If your soil is tliin, make it deep by plow- ing and digging deep holes and carting ricli earth to fill them. If your soil is stiff clay, change its character before you try to grow trees in it. If your soil is wet, you may grow swamp elms and maples, or water willows, or sycamore-trees, but it is labor lost to try to grow fruit-trees, for they will not live in water. Nothing tends more to the growth of young trees than undcrdi-aining; and if the tiles are placed five feet deep, as they always should be, there is but little danger of their being closed soon by the roots. Trees in their growtli should bo fed with pabulum for the formation of wood and fruit. There is nothing better than potash ; even coal ashes are bene- ficial. Any kind of decaying wood will give food to growing trees. The pruned branches of a tree should never be carried off the land. Pile them and let them rot, or spread them around the tree. Water your young trees every night in a drouth. If possible, wet the tops as well as the roots. The earth should always be wet when the trees are planted. Mulching serves to keep them moist. Trees that are transplanted with such tops as all trees should always liave, must be supported by stakes to insure speedy growth. 940. Where to Plant Trees. — ^There are so few situations where a tree may not be planted, that it apjieiirs almost unnecessary to discuss the subject as to where it should be planted ; but there is one position upon every farm wliich, more than any other, will pay for tree planting. This is by the roadside. If it is a public road, so much the better ; it will jiay upon any of the farm roads. "We have never seen a tree lined highway tlirough a farm without being impressed M-ith the idea that its value was enhanced much more than the cost of the labor of planting. Wc have a vivid recol- lection of one of this kind, in the farm owned by John Jay, in Westchester Co., N. y., tlie roads through which are lined by noble elms, planted by Ids grandfather, whose name is famous in American history. Let us add our mite of honor in recording the fact that a great and good man planted trees by the roadside. Let all boys, who would emulate so good a man as John Jay in all his life, follow his exam])lc and plant trees by the roadside. Do not listen to the selfish proposition that some land owners urge against planting trees along the road, that it shades and injures the crojis. It is only so to a limited extent, where hoed crops are cultivated. If the shade is objectionable on one side of the road, it would not be so on the other. Besides the highway and farm roads, where trees may be planted, there are always nooks and corners about a farm that would support a few trees, all of which would add to its value, for they would add to its beauty ; and it is that which makes a farm salable. So we entreat you to tea«li your children to plant trees. Among other things, teach them their common and scientific names. 941. Traiisplantiug Evergreens in the SHmmer.— One writer says: "In the very hot weather of July, 1856, I set to work ten men to remove old evergreens, viz., yews, junipers, arbutus, laurestines, and Portugal and common laurels' from four to ten feet high. I made a hole first, not deep. 852 FORESTS AND FENCES. [Chap. XI. but sufficiontlj wide to allow all the roots to 1)0 laid out straight. In tlio removal I cared Lut little for the ball of earth, but aimed to get all the small roots possible. In its new home, cover the roots with fine soil, and tread a little to make the plant stand upright. Then fill U]) the hole with water, and fill in the soil around the hole carefully as the water sinlcs away. Ne.xt day tread the soil somewhat firmly, after whicli make a ridge all round the edge of the hole, in order, as it were, to form a disli ; fill this with water three times during three successive days, then level the ridge down, cover- ing the mud over with soil. After this no more water is required at the roots ; if the weather be dry, syringe the shrubs overhead three or four evenings. Young laurels arc treated the same as the large shrubs, except that they get no syringing. In my opinion the months of July and August are the very best for removing valuable large evergreens. Treated carefully as above they arc sure to grow, and they get hold of the soil immediately, for the earth is like a hot-bed, into which the young roots soon enter." Another one says: "The best time to transplant evergreens is when (ho tree begins to push its cones, or a little after. Froni the middle of April to June, in this latitude, is a good period. A calm, warm, cloudy day should be chosen for transplanting. The roots of an evergreen should never be al- lowed to get dry, or become chilled when taken up. It is the exposure of the roots to such influences that kills so many of these trees. Care also should be taken to save all the roots. They are more iiijurcd by cutting the roots than other trees." 942. Buried Seed of Antediluvian Trees.— The following statement of facts made by the late Judge Burnett, of Ohio, in his " Notes on the Northwest Territory," says : "In the year 1802, a well was dug at Cincinnati, within the central Indian circle, in which, at the depth of 03 feet, two stumps were found, one about a foot and the other about eighteen inches in diameter, standing in the position in which they grew. Their roots were yet sound, and extended from them horizontally and regularly in every direction. Tiie surface of the earth over the place Avhere they were found was 112 feet above the present low- water mark of the Ohio Eiver. They must have grown on the spot where they were found. There is another fact connected with this subject worthy of notice. Before the well M-as dug, not a mul- berry-trco had been growing on the premises, tliough they were found in the neighboring forest ; yet the next season they Sprang up wherever the ex- cavated earth had been spread, in such numbers as made it necessary to destroy them, and they continued thus to slioot up for a year or two, though not one made its ajipcarance on the remote parts of the lot, to wliich the excavated caith had not been carried. Tiiis fact produced the belief that one of them must have been the stump of a midberry." 943. The Age of Trees. — The ago of trees is a marvelous and interesting study. While there are some species that pass quickly away, others live to generations that knew not tiieir planting. Tiic elm has been known to live 350 years ; the chestnut, 600 ; the cedar, 800 ; the oak from 1,000 to 1,500; Sbo. 51.] VALUE OF TREES IS CITIES. 853 the yew, 3,200, and the California giants are estimated from 3,000 to 5,000 years. Tlie Charter Oak at Hartford, Ct., by estimate, was 945 years old, measuring nine feet across four feet from the ground. If we take this as a fair sample of the growth of oaks, a tree should be about fifteen feet in cir- cumference to be five hundred years old. "The Ehodes' Oak," in Stonington, Ct., measures about 21 feet in cir- cumference, and has an age according to the Charter Oak standard, of 735 years. All over the country there are other " remarkable old trees." In the city of New York there is one known as the Stuyvesant pear-tree. Jt was EG venerable when the farm, where it was planted, was laid out into lots and streets, that the corporation inclosed it with an iron fence, and it is now, October, 1862, still alive, and three years ago it bore fruit, at which time the tree was supposed to be fully 210 years old. It stands at the corner of Third Avenue and Thirteenth Street. 94A. Value of Trees in Cities.— An eminent London physician expresses it as his opinion, that if all the trees and shrubs were removed from the two or three thousand acres of parks, and from the gardens and private grounds of the great metropolis, in one year the bills of mortality would show an in- crease of deatiis to the extent of more than fifty per cent. If we cousider that there are ordinarily in London over 1,000 deaths a week, or nearly 60,000 a year, that the deaths by cholera in 1849, during the worst period of the visita- tion,'were at no time over 5,000 a week, we see the bearing and influence of trees according to the opinion quoted— on the health and longevity of the inhabitants of a crowded city. "We might as reasonably expect that land animals could live without air, or fish without water, as that there could be a pure and healthy atmosphere where there are few or no trees or rapidly growing plants, or where, in an extended region, animal life vastly prepoTiderates over vegetable life. " The winters of Salem (Mass.), instead of iiavi-no' been rendered more mild, as conjectured, from the eradication of the forests, have become colder by 6^ Fahr., during the last thirty-three years." 945. Growing Trees from Seeds— Oaks, Evergreens, Locust, Hickory.— Tliere are now growing in England several very fine plantations of oaks, from acorns planted either by the pi^esent owners or their fathers. There is a noted instance in South Carolina, of successful tree planting, by Micajah Buchanan, early in this century. One who visited the place in 1S60 thus speaks of it : "There was a lot of six acres of this new forest upon which oaks, pines, hickories, and dogwoods were growing. The pines meas- ured two feet in diameter ; fine specimens being free from limbs, and of beautiful and thrifty appearance. Several of the oaks measured twenty-two and twenty-three inches in diameter, and from sixty to seventy feet in bight, smooth and thrifty in growth. Only seed of oaks was planted ; the other kinds were self-seeded from the adjoining forest. The success of this ex- periment in growing trees shows how easily they may be reinstated when- ever it is desirable. But we must not leave nature to do what it is onr duty to do for ourselves. "We should gather the seeds, and prepare the soil for 854 FORESTS AND FENCES. [CniP. XI. their receptiou. The soil for a tree nurserj should be as good and well worked as a well-cultivated kitchen garden. Tlie proper way to plant small seeds of forest trees is to pulverize the soil well, and roll it, and then sow the seeds and cover lightly with leaf mold. Great care is required to grow forest trees with success. Care must be taken in selecting soils. No wet soil, nor a ferruginous one, should be chosen. The young trees, too, must be carefully guarded against the depredations of cattle, as all farm stock arc fond of young shoots of most forest trees. Sheltered situations should also be selected for the nurseries. Belts of sheltering trees should always he planted in all open places, like the Western prairies. The trees for these belts may be grown from seed, in advance, or purchased, or in some cases brought from their native localities in the forest. Hickory seeds and those of similar trees should be sown in autumn, in drills twelve or fourteen inches apart, and thick in the row, to be thinned out as the trees grow. Squirrels are great pests to the nurseryman, and much care is necessary to guard against their depredations. Manure, and partic- ularly that made of leaves, is valuable for tree nurseries. So are ashes. "Weeds must be exterminated, or they will destroy the young trees. The larch is recommended as a good nurse for other trees, as it grows rapidly in almost any soil. Do not plant on a retentive soil in wet weather. It is almost as necessary to keep a new plantation clean for two or three years as it is to keep the ni;rscry clean. Locust seed is diiBcult to vegetafe, owing to the very ..ard shell whieii encases the meat. If it is gathered in autumn and mixed with sand, and kept moist, exposed to the weather till spring, it will grow ; or if it is soaked several days in hot water just before ]>lanting, it will grow. Instead of using hot water, yon may use boiling hot lye, and plant the seed at once, and it will vegetate and grow immediately. Evergreen seeds may be treated as follows: Keep the seeds of arbor vitje dry and cool till spring, and tlien plant in fine leaf mold in a shady place. Norway spruce seed, and pine, hemlock, and juniper, should be kept in boxes of sand as it comes from the bank, in a cellar, and next spring plant in shady or half shady spots. If planted in sunny situations, the young plants are apt to perish. If there is no other shade, erect an awning. The juniper family do not vegetate the first year. The common red cedar seed may be made to grow by scalding. The mulberry, which is also rapidly multiplied from seed, was firet grown in England in the reign of James I. The white larch, now very abundant, was accidentally taken to Scotland in 1737. Mr. Menzics, of Cnldarc, having procured four of these plants from Siberia, gave two to the Duke of Athol, which are still in full vigor at Diin- keld, and may be called the ])arents of all the larch-trees in the kingdom. The plum-tree was brought fi-om Asia in 15S0. The coclcspur hawthorn in 1692. The maple-leaved hairthoni was introduced into England from America in the year 1783. A beautiful variety of the alder was first culti Sec. 51.] AX ORNAMENTAL MEDICINAL TREE. 855 vated in tlio year 1780, being bronglit from Switzerland, Silieria, and otlier cold countries, and the cedar in 16Gi. Now look at all of these trees in England — how extensively they have spread ! " "Why," said one to an old man who was planting acorns, " why do you plant things that never can benefit you V " Because I wish to leave the world better than I found it. If others had not planted trees, I should not have enjoyed their delightful and agreeable shade. I plant trees, that others may have the same pleasures, and sit beneath their outstretching and shady branches. The man who only lives for himself and his lifetime without adding his mite to human enjoy- ment, is worse than the veriest miser ; the one leaves his riches, the other nothing but his bones — and those dry and withered." Is that not a sufficient incentive to every good man to plant trees — at least one acorn ? 946. liow Seeds are DifTused. — Many seeds are supplied with a feathery arrangement, which enables them to rise in the atmosphere and diffuse them- selves over creation. This is the case with some of the forest trees, the seeds of which waft upon the wind many miles. Others arc water-proof, and float away upon the ■water. But what if all seeds should grow? Our farms, with all our care, would become a wilderness. S'iT. A Rare Grsameiital and Valuable Medicinal Tree. — Rare only because it is rarely used for ornamental purposes ; yet it is uncommonly beautiful, of rapid growth, and hardy, and easy to transplant from its native woods, where it aboimds in all the States south of latitude 4:1°. This tree is famil- iarly known as the Sweet Gum — an accidental name given to distinguish it from the Sour or Black Gum {tupeld), which is also known in the New Eng- land States by the name of Pepperidge. The scientific name of the Sweet Gum is Liquid Ambar. Both names are appropriate enough. The tree exudes a white wax, odoriferous and soft, which hardens and grows dark, somewhat like amber, by exposure to the air. The tree is one of the very cleanest, so far as regards insects, and its effects upon the earth or air where it flourishes most abundantly, with the exception of covering the ground with its curious fruit, which is about the size of medium " button-balls," the fruit of the sycamore {Planus oceidentaUs). These balls are full of honey- like cells that contain the seeds, which may be planted like those of the pine family. Michaus, the author of that great work the "North American Sylva," spoke of this tree as far north as Portsmouth, N. II., but we have rarely seen it north of the city of New York, where some native trees are in Jones' Wood ; it is quite abundant in New Jersey, and especially so in all the cotton-growing States. It abounds also in Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Southern Illinois. It is held in very low repute as a timber tree for the farmer's use, though it would make good boards for many purposes. It is for shade and ornament alone that we call attention to it, and in that rfespect it is deserving of special notice. It is also of great value as a medi- cinal tree. It is esteemed where best known as an infallible specific for all 856 FORESTS AND FENCES. [Chap. XI. complaints of the nature of diarrhea, for the treatment of which a tea is made of the bark. From what we personally know of its value in such cases, we can not speak too liighly of it. Hovcy, in speaking of this tree, and recommending it, in his magazine, says: "Tiie sweet gum forms a large tree, having somewhat the appearance of a maple, from thirt}- to fifty feet high, according to the soil and latitude in which it grows ; the trunk is straight, nearly uniform in thickness, to the hight of twenty feet or more, where its branches begin to diverge. The bark of the trees while young is nearly smooth ; but as they acquire size and age it becomes thick and deeply furrowed, the secondary branches being covered with a dry, flaky bark, the plates of which are attached at the edge and not on the face, as in other trees. The leaves are smooth and of a yel- lowish green, varying in size from tlu-ee inches to six inches in diameter, and they are palmate, that is, they are divided into four deeply cut lobes, resembling in shape a star. The male and female flowers appear on the same tree, the former being rather inconspicuous, Avliile the latter are oval catkins one and a half inches long. These appear in March or April, and are succeeded by a globular fruit, bristling with points, and containing one or two small, blackish, perfect seeds. The leaves cliango to a deep red, or almost an orange scarlet, immediately after the first frosts, and keep their brilliant color for some time. As the tree is so extensively distributed, so it is found in all varieties of soil, from the dry and gravelly bights of the North to the deep river bottoms of the South and West. On the unpropitious soils it usually does not grow more than twenty or thirty feet high, but in favorable localities it attains its amplest dimensions. Michaux measured a tree which he found growing in a swamp in Augusta, Ga., that was fifteen feet in circumference, with a summit in jiroportion to the size of the trunk." The shape of the leaves is much like that of the maple, and the tree is equally hardy and valuable for a shade-tree. When planted in open ground it branches low and forms a spreading top. In England, where it has been introduced as a rare foreign tree, it is much admired. If better known, we think it would be popular here. It might, at least in part, take the place of the onniipresent ailanthus. 948. The Elder — its Virtuei — It is free of insects, and ornamental. It was stated in England, more than sixty years since, that no insect or worm ever harbors upon the common eWcr (Sainhucus), and that it is a protection to all other plants when grown among them. It is stated also that elder leaves scattered upon insect-infested plants will tend to drive away tlie pests. As a well-trained elder, grown like a tree, is really an ornamental shrub, •why not try to grow plums in juxtaposition with the elders? If the plums failed, you would have the elderberries, which make better wine than most of the small fruits used for that purpose. 049, The Sumac.— AVe perfectly agree with Wilson Flagg, in an article in Ilovcy^s Mcu/azinc, that sumacs are, among our New England scenery, some of its finest ornaments. The foliage is beautiful in summer, and then come Sec. 51.] THE HAZEL. 857 its briglit crimson cones and green leaves: then its rich crimson tints in autumn, and lastly, the spikes of red berries, that remain after all the high- colored I'javes have blown away. There are several varieties of sumac in this country. Mr. Flagg says of that called "Staghorn" {Rhus typhina): "This shrub rises to the dignity of a tree in favorable situations." Yes, to a dignity, in Mississippi, of a tree that is used for common split fence-rails, at least two ten-feet cuts to a tree. Of another variety, the Ehus radicans, Mr. Flagg says: "Its habits are very similar to those of the Virginia creeper {Ampdopsis), though it seems to have more tenacity, and to fasten itself more permanently to the objects it embraces. It seems to be almost parasitic in irs habits ; though I believe a branch will not survive the severing of the connection between it and the root. The numerous radicles with which it penetrates the surface of trees and fences, seem adapted only to support, not to nourish, the plant. I regard this as one of the most beautiful woody vines among our indigenous plants. Some may be inclined to give their prefer- ence to the creeper; but the foliage of the creeper is not so elegant, nor does it invest the object on which it clambers with so close and compact a mass of foliage. It would hardly be advisable, however, to encourage its growth, on account of the liability of many persons to be injui-iously affected by contact with it, though it possesses these noxious properties in a less degree than the poisonous dogwood. The leaves are in threes, and by this arrangement are readily distinguished from those of the creeper, which are in lives. So small is the danger from this plant, that I should never advise one to destroy it in a favorable spot, when the different objects were fes- tooned with its beautiful green foliage." This is the jjlant commonly known as poison ivy, that is so frequently to be found enshrouding an ugly old wall, and giving it the appearance of a live hedge. Its poisonous qualities are not very objectionable. As an orna- mental plant, it is valuable. See where it hides old walls, stumps, and dead trees, making them look alive again. Sec how it may be used to train over hedges or blank walls of buildings, or cover the boles of tall trees. It is a plant to be used, not despised nor eradicated. 950. The Kazcit — Of all other common bushes — so common as to attract little notice — the hazel {Corylus Americana) is the most neglected shrub, while one of the most worthy of cultivation. Such a modest little bush, too, willing to accept as its share of earth's surface the corners of zigzag fences, or sides of stone walls, or little nooks about the rocks where the plow can not reach. Sometimes the woodland edges are still further bordered out with hazel, sometimes growing boldly out into grass or up to the corn-rows, and sometimes tapering down from the tallest bushes to mere little timid twigs. This is the bordering of many of the prairie groves ; and often we find far out in the sea of grass a solitary oak, surrounded with a flourishing plantation of hazels, invariably standing as a living declaration to the home- seeking emigrant, that here he will find a rich, loamy soil, for in such the American hazel flourishes, and in suitable soil it is found in all the Northern 858 FOREST AND FENCES. [Chap. XI. and Middle States. Instead of despising and trying to eradicate this pretty little shrub, we would extend its growth by cultivation. As a border ot" lawn ^vallcs, or for a separation of plats, where a high screen is not required, it is the best that we know ; for it is a clean-growing one, and can be kept, by cutting out the old wood, continually sending up its new, straight shoots ; and then it is one of the first in spring to put forth its beauties ; and wiiat more pleasing sight than its fruit-loaded branches, except it is the squirrels and children that are equally attracted to gather its sweet nuts. We really wish that every unsightly fence or stone wall along the country roads were, as some of them in New England are, hidden with hazel bushes. It need not be said that such thickets would harbor the birds; it is just one of the purposes we wish to promote. 951. To Prevent Forked Trees SplltJing.— J.T. Moxley, Sheboygan County, Wis., recommends to twist or wind together a few of the smaller limbs above the fork, which will grow in that jjosition as the tree increases in size, and form a natural brace. lie states that he has treated many trees successfully in this manner. We have prevented forked trees inclined to split, and even secured those that had alrcadj' commenced to part, by boring through with an inch auger and driving in a strong wooden pin. A small iron bolt, with a head on one end and a nut on the other end, is even better. The new growth ■will soon cover the pin or bolt. 952. Timber Made Durable. — We have often seen it stated, that timber to be used for ax-helves, flails, mallets, ox-bows, axles, etc., in Germany, i$ soaked several days in a strong solution of stable manure, and then smoke- dried, which greatly toughens and adds to its durability. As the process is so simple, we advise every one to try it for himself. 953. Cse and Value of Basswood Bark. — The linden {Tilia Americana), which is more known under the name of basswood-tree, is a valuable as well as beautiful tree — beautiful as an ornamental tree, and valuable for timber, and its bark, out of which bass matting is made. This article is imported and used extensively' in place of our native stock, we suppose, because people do not generally know how easy it is to prepare the bark for use. It is simply to take the whole bark as it peels from the trees when the sap flows freely, say about June in this latitude, and sink it under water until the liber (inner bark) will peel and separate easily from the coarse bark. This soft, tough substance is then dried and stored away for future use, and the purposes to which it can be applied are almost numberless. 95Jr. Value of the Ailanthus in Sandy Wastes.— This tree is good both for fuel and timber, and one of the most rapidly grown in the Northern States, and it has been demonstrated that the most sand}' wastes can be rc-clothcd with trees by jtlunting the ailanthus. Upon a bare, sandy plain, where neither trees nor grass now grow, wc are confident that ailanthus-trees may be planted, with only a wheel-barrow load of rich loam to a tree, and that in ten years the growth would not only be sucli that it would hide tlio desolate barrenness of the land, but would make it of a salable value. Seo. 51.] THE ECONOMY OF FUEL— WOOD vs. COAL. S59 955. The Economy of Fuel — Wood vs. Coal. — ^The following table shows the relative value of diflfei'eat kinds of wood for fuel : Shellbark Hickory 100 Pig-nut Hickory 95 White Oak 84 Wliite Ash 77 Dogwood 75 Scrub Oik 73 White Hazel 72 Apple Tree 70 Red Oak 69 White Beech 65 Black Walnut Co Black Birch 62 Yellow Oak CO Hard Maple 51) White Elm 58 Red Cedar 5t> Wild Cherry 55 Yellow Pine 64 Chestnut 52 Yellow Poplar 52 Butternut 51 White Birch 43 White Pine 40 Although all trees of the nature of hickory, the fibers of wliich arc densely packed, giving great solidity and weight, compared with pine or other light woods, are the most valuable for fuel, there is a great diflerence in tlie value of wood of the same variety, owing to its manner of growth and nature of soil where it grew. Trees Avhich grow in forests or in rich wet grounds are less consolidated than such as stand in open fields, or grow slowly upon dry, barren soils. There are two stages in the burning of wood— in tlie first, heat comes chiefly from flame ; in the second, from red hot-coals. Soft woods are much more active in the first stage than hard, and hard woods more active in the second stage than soft. The soft woods burn M'ith a volu- minous flame and leave but little coal, while the hard woods produce less flame and yield a larger mass of coal. The purpose, however, for which it is needed, must be considered. A thorough white pine, compared to hickory, is only as 40 to 100 for heat. If a quick fire be needed for immediate warmth, or kindling for coal or other wood, the pine is most suitable. For kindling coal fires, we have always found a mixture of hard and soft wood good economy. Speaking of coal, is it economy for a farmer to burn it? It is a question worthy of consideration. It is one that we have already considered, and it has made us wonder at the error of some old farmers in the vicinity of tide- water and railroads, where coal can be had at a low rate, compared with the selling value of wood. They stick to the old-time fashion of days when wood was the only fuel, and maintain wood lots upon land worth $200 or $300 an acre, to furnish their annual supplies of back logs and fore sticks, with as much pertinacity as though their lives depended upon nothing Ijut a sufliciency of firewood. Do such men ever think of relative value? Prob- ably not. Let us show them what we think. A tun of anthracite coal (2,240 pounds) measures 28 bushels. Its average cost at tide-water may be taken at $5 a tun, and hickory wood at $8 a cord. Tlie coal is fully equal to two cords of wood of the best quality, and we do not know how many cords of such wood as we often find for sale, or sucli as farmers use, which they could sell at $4 or $5 a cord. No man in the vicinity of New York can afford to keep woodland or burn wood as a common fuel. Prof. Mapes contends that a man can not aflFord to keep arable land in the 860 FORESTS AND FENCES. [Cbap. XI. vicinity of this city, or any other high-priced locality, in apple-trees, inucli less ill forest trees, except just so far as may be agreeable for shade and or- nament— certainly not for the purpose of growing fuel. 'So man can afford to hire men to cut and haul wood, and prepare it for the stove or fire-place, if it had no other value, wliere coal is not more than S'j or $8 a tun. The most of the farmers in the forest-denuded portions of the country have to haul their fuel, on an average, one mile ; and if it is valueless where it is growing, it will be -worth at home, when cut and piled under cover, at least $2 a cord ; and in many cases counting the value at whicli it could be sold in the forest, and actual cost of labor, it will be worth ^3 to $5 a cord, fitted for the stove. I^ow if good anthracite, or bituminous coal can be delivered, as it often is to the farmers twenty or thirty miles around New York, at $6 a tun, a farmer can not afford to burn his own wood, because coal will cost the least money. TVlierever woodland is valuable, cattle should be fenced out, and paths located so as to drive througli without destroying young trees, and proper care exercised in cutting fuel or timber trees. As to giving up the old worm-fence, there is no hope of that as long as there are ten trees to an acre ; but certainly we can economize by having fewer divisions, fewer fences, and straighter worms. And we can economize in other ways — we can cut our timber at the season" when it will be found most durable, and we can select timber the least valuable for fencing, and leave the best for more important uses. It is not only necessary for farmers to study economy in fuel, as to what shall be used, but if it is to be wood, then practice economy in growing and preserving a suitable supply. t»5C. How Should Fuc! be Seasoned ?— The almost universal way of piling wood is not the best way to season it. Some kinds, if laid upon the ground at the bottom of a pile, will never season — they will rot. That is the case with Cottonwood upon the Mississippi bottoms. Everywhere the bottom siicks of a pile are less valuable than the top ones. For this there is a remedy. Take nature for a guide and set our fuel on end, when we desire it to season. The following plan is an excellent one to season fuel or to store it, as rail- ways sometimes do, to keep several j-ears : Commence with medium-sized sticks set two and two along in a row, leaning together, spread wide enough apart at the lower ends for a good-sized dog to run between them. Con- tinue to lean up sticks outside until the rick is five or six feet wide, with the top ends always down. Now lay on the top a few sticks lengthwise to form a ridge, and then commence to shingle your pile with split wood, with which you can easily form a roof almost water-tight enough to prevent any rain from wetting the pile below. There is no position in which fuel will season quicker or keep better, remaining sound and dry, and actually increasing in value, instead of constantly deteriorating as it docs in cord- wood piles. Do not continue the old way with no better argument for it than this : " It is the way my father did, and he says his father always did so ; and I guess if it was not right they would have found it out." Sko. 52.] STATISTICS OF FENCING. 861 Tliis declaration is the end of all argument. It is a bold son that dares to do as his father and his father's father never did. Yet, in this matter of seasoning fuel, he should have courage and shake off the shackles of prece- dent, and get out of the old hard path of our very respectable (in their time) old-fashioned grandfathers. 957. Wc Should Plaot Trees to Grow Fuel. — "Wherever land is sparsely ■wooded, farmers should plant trees for fuel as certainly as corn for bread. The most rapid growing trees should be selected, such as ailanthus, locust, sycamore, and chestnut. Peach, we have already mentioned (635), and doubtless other fruit trees may be profitably grown for fuel. The ailanthus and sycamore are both good fuel trees, if the wood is i^roperly seasoned. SECTIOX LII.-FENCES.-THE COST OF FENCING ; LAWS REGULATING ; KIND OF FENCE MOST ECONOMICAL ; KYANIZING FENCE POSTS ; FARM GATES ; HEDGES ; WIRE FENCES ; STONE WALLS. N ALCUL ATI"NG the cost of fencing is the only way that we can arrive at improvements in its economy. Those who have never considered the subject can not believe the facts ; such, for instance, as that published by Nicholas Biddle, made from careful estimates, that the "fence tax" of Pennsylvania is ten millions of dol- lars a year ; or that of P. L. Pell, that the farm fences of the United States cost $1,350,000, and that the an- nual charge upon farms to maintain fences is equal to $250,000,000 per annum. These are startling statements, but who can show that they are not facts ? They are at least worthy of consideration from all farmers. Hon. Joseph Blunt, who was a very observing man, and dur- ing all the latter years of liis life devoted a great deal of attention to the question of improvements in farming, estimated that there were in the year 1859, in the State of New York, 15,000,000 of acres under fence, and that this area was divided into 750,000 fields, requiring 120 rods to eaeli field, making 90,000,000 of rods of fencing in the State. He calculated the average cost of the fenciag at the very low rate of seventy-five cents a rod, and that the average duration was not over ten years. His estimate makes the first cost $67,500,000. Interest and annual repairs may be reasonably calculated on the cost at ten per cent., which makes $6,700,000. Dividing the cost of renewal through ten years, makes a like sum, and gives an annual cost for fencing the State of New 1 ork, $13,400,000. SC2 FORESTS AND FENCES. [Chap. XL Hon. T. C. Peters, of Darien, Genesee Co., who as one of the State assess- ors lias had great opportunities to obtain facts in relation to farm fences, made the following calculations, which were presented to the State Agri- cultural Society, October, 1SG2. He had devoted much labor to the calcu- hilio'.i, because he thinks it necessary to enlighten farmers upon the subject of legislation in relation to fences, as the time is rapidly approaching when somctiiing must be substituted for rails, or else a ditierent system adopted with stock. In calculating the length of road fences, he assumed that the average is one mile of road to each mile square of land in the State, and Burr's Atlas makes the area over 28,000,000 acres. The State census gives : Improved acres, 13,657,490 j unimproved acres, 13,100,692; total, 26,158,782. Tiie town assessors make the area about 1,000,000 more. Mr. Peters divides the State into four districts, to show the waste lands in each. Thus: 1st District— Xorth of the Mohawk Valley, and west of the line from its mouth to the north line through Lake Cliamplain. 2d District — East of that line, and east of the Hudson, including Long Island and Staten Island. 3d District — South of the Mohawk and east of the Chenango, including all the Catskill Mountain range. •ith District — All the remainder of the State. lie allots to each division the following number of acres of waste land : Ist district, 6,000,000; 2d district, 1,250,000; 3d district, 1,250,000, and 4th district, 1,500,000, making a total of 10,000,000 acres, still leaving 2,000,000 acres unaccounted for in and around cities and villages, which will give a remainder of 18,000,000 of acres of inclosed lands to bear all the burden of taxation for fences and roads, and will give, upon the calculation assumed, a mile of road to 640 acres of land, say 28,000 miles of highway and 56,000 miles of roadside fences. Assuming an average width of road of four rods, there are 224,000 acres occupied by the public roads of this Stale. The average cost of fence is $1 a rod, and cost of annual repairs equal to the interest upon another dollar. Supposing the average value of improved land in the State to be $40 an acre, it makes the interest $2 SO an acre, or $22 40 the square mile. Cost of road fence per mile $640 00 Capital required for interest and repairs annually 640 00 Interest per square mile as upon improved land, for that occupied by roads 22 40 Total $1,R02 40 The total 28,000 miles of road-fence cost , $17,920,000 00 Annual interest : 1.254,400 00 Interest on capital of sum necessary for repairs 1 ,264,400 00 Annual cost of fencing the highways $2,508,800 00 Interest on value of land used and wasted for roads 616,000 00 Total annual coet of roads, besides labor of repairs $3,124,800 00 Seo. 51.] STATISTICS OF FENCING. 863 The estimated average size of farms in this State is 100 acres, and the average size of the divisions of the farms ten acres. This requires 800 rods of fencing to each farm, which at $1 a rod makes $8 an acre as dead capital per acre, if we could devise some plan of carrying on farming without fences. Upon this basis, the total cost of fences in the State is $144,000,000, and the annual charge upon each farm, estimating them to average 100 acres, is $56, and it requires the interest of an equal sum to keep the fences in repair, making an annual fence tax of $1 12 an acre upon all the culti- vated lands in the State, while all the State, county, and local taxes of the rural portion of the State are only 33 cents an acre. This presents an array of figures well worthy the attention of all farmers who would understand the enormous amount of the fence tax. John J. Thomas, of Cayuga County, thinks Mr. Peters' calculation too low ; he has carefully estimated the highways, by the large and by local maps, at 60,000 miles, and 120,000 miles of liighway fence in the State. Is this enormous expenditure necessary? If it is, the burden must be borne. Will farmers inquire whether nine tenths of it could not be dispensed with most advantageously to the owners of the land, dispensing with many other items of cost which are incidental to tiie present system ? In no other country in the world is the fence tax so onerous as in this. Our fence system has been gradually engrafted upon the people by acci- dental circumstances, growing out of the necessity of early settlers, who fenced around the first cleared field, and let the stock run in the woods. Laws made at first to protect such settlers have been continued, and men educated to bear the heavy burden they have entailed, until they appear to love the law, or rather the custom that forces them to pay such a penalty. The universal custom, and not the law — for really there is no such statute — has led men to believe that every owner of land is bound to fence all the world out, and that it is no trespass upon the rights of property to enter njjon any uninclosed lot and despoil it of half its value. To the cost of fencing should be added a very large sum in damages to railroad trains, which run over cattle wandering at large on the highways. Sometimes the value of human lives must be added to the account. To this add stock lost by accidents and straying, and the loss of costs of litiga- tion about fences ; also, expense of pounds, besides the ill-will and quarrels about stock on the highways, and trespassing upon neighbors' fields. Indeed, the expense of the fence system is almost beyond calculation, and its evils illimitable. . One of these is the actual keeping out of cultivation of millions of acres of good land. Let us look at a case. If the law, or custom, which is stronger tlian law, were for every man to keep his own stock within his own boundaries, instead of fortifying himself to keep everybody's stock out of his fields, a poor man could go upon the Western prairies without a dollar of capital and take up public land and hire it plowed, on credit, to be paid for out of the crop or by his labor, and thus could in a few years become the owner of a good farm. He is kept out 8C4 FORESTS AND FENCES. [Chap. XI. of tliis enviable position, because custom requires bim first to fence his fields, and then plant them. To do this is impossible without capital. The lowest cost would be one dollar a rod, making the expense of inclosing an eighty- acre lot four hundred and eighty dollars. In many places it will cost twice that. Then custom requires division fences, say four twenty-acre lots, mak- ing a total of seven hundred and twenty dollars for fencing a lot of land that cost but eighty dollars for tlie soil. The pasturage of all the stock which the owner of such a lot should keep is not worth the interest of the cost of fencing and annual repairs ; and this is true of a million of acres in this country. Take that of the author, for example. It consists of eight acres of the rougli but costly land of West- chester County, ten miles north of the Central Park of New York. It is bounded on two sides by highways, requiring 1,375 feet of fencing, and on the other two sides it joins two cattle-pasturing neiglibors, requiring 530 feet more fencing for the half that the law of the State of New Yorkcompelsan owner of the land to build, whether he has any use for it or not. To build such a stone wall, which is the common fence of the country, as any man of taste woidd be willing to have near his dwelling, is worth twenty-five cents a foot, making the first cost four hundred and seventy-five dollars for an outside fence, for which the owner has no use whatever. And this creates an eternal tax for interest and repairs, which at ten per cent, is forty-seven dollars and fifty cents a year, or nearly si.K dollars an acre — an annual tax of two per cent, of the salable value of the land, inflicted upon me by law and custom for the benefit of some ])oor neighbor who pastures his cow and geese and pigs in the highway, upon land he does not own. In effect he says : " The law, or rather custom, protects me, and yon have no business to prevent my enjoying a privilege that I have always enjoyed. It is your business to keep your fences up and gates shut." And if I do not, he will rob me as literally as the highwayman wlio says, "Your money or your life!" and of the two, the highwayman is the most honest. The division fence that I am compelled to build is equally onerous. It is utterly useless to me. I never shall allow cattle to run at large on my side. If my neighbors do, they should build the fence to hold their own cattle; it is not right to tax me with the cost offence built solely for their use. 958. Laws Relating; to Feucing llisrhways. — Statute laws do not require land-owners to fence highways. It is the law of custom — a custom that lias been so long in use that many persons suppose it is law. The whole system is founded upon error. The law does protect property ; it can not take it away from any owner, except for public necessity. It never takes it from one owner to give it to another, as it would if it authorized one man to pas- tsre his cattle upon another man's land. The owner of land along a high- way owns all but the right of the public to use it as a thoroughfare. No law can constitutionally give another man the right to mow or pasture the grass, nor compel the owner to fence out the cattle of others. His business is to fence his own cattle in. He has no right to let them run out upon the Sbo. 52.] LAWS RELATING TO FENCES. 865 higliway, because they might obstruct travelers, who have a right to the whole roadway, to travel over it unmolested. If one pig is allowable, a thousand are, and who so blind as not to see tliat a thousand swine in a nar- row lane would effectually blockade it against all travelers. And if one man can legally turn out one old cow to forage for her living upon the road- side, he may turn out a whole lierd of bulls, which would break over any fence that a land-owner would build, and ravage his whole farm. It is not law, by any enactments of any legislature, that any man may pasture his cattle in the highway, and it has frequently been decided by courts in different States, that the owner of land could recover damage of the owner of cattle, fence or no fence. It is custom, and a wrong practice long submitted to, that needs improvement. The idea that cattle can be lawfully turned out upon tlie highway is injurious to the great agricultural interest of America, and shows a dishonest principle in whoever puts it in practice. Is there any difference in a moral point of view between sending chil- dren or cattle out upon the highway to forage upon neighbors or travelers. A man has no more right to educate his cattle in dishonest practices than he has his children, and public opinion should condemn one as well as the other. If an owner of a dog taught him to steal, the man would be held respon- sible as a thief, and the dog killed. The same rule should be applied to all animals. A thieving hog should be no more allowed to live than a thieving dog, nor his owner escajie responsibility. We can conceive but one greater nuisance in a neighborhood than a hog that is always on the watch for an open gate or hole where he can thrust in his nose and root a way into mischief, and that one greater nuisance is his owner. Every citizen should be made to feel that the law protects the owner of land as well as of houses, and that it is just as much a trespass to enter one as the other. Domestic animals should all be made more domestic. It is the best way to save expense in fencing. It is a duty that we all owe one to another, to make this subject of fencing better understood. What it costs and what the law is, not what lias been customary in regard to highway fences, should be matters of constant thought and frequent discussion in all farmers' club meetings. 959. Laws relating lo Division Fences. — In the State of New York, by enactment of April IS, 1S3S, there is a most absurd and wicked law in rela- tion to division fences. It is absurd, because it fixes the form, style, and strength of the fence to suit a peculiar condition of things in one place that is entirely inapplicable to another. It is wicked, because it compels one owner to build fence M-hoUy for his neighbors' benefit, and declares that he shall not be entitled to any damages for trespass from his neighbors' cattle unless he maintains his part of the division fence in a strictly legal condition, whether his neiglibor does or not. In several States, the " lawful fence" is such a one as not one farmer in a 866 FORESTS AND FENCES. [Chap. XI. lniiidred ever builds. If it lacks an iota of wliat " the law requires," it is no trespass to break over it and steal ; that is, sufl'er the animals that should be domestic, but are not, to take that M'hich docs not belong to them. Such laws are wicked, because they are intrinsically unjust, and promote neigh- borhood quarrels, and in more than one I'ecorded instance have been the moving cause of murders. The law should be simply this : " Every man shall fence in his own stock ; no man shall be obliged to fence his neighbors' stock out." This is founded in reason; it is commou sense; it is justice. A common-sense law upon the subject of estrays, or cattle turned out upon the highway, and trespass- ing animals, would be to this effect: It shall be lawful for any one to kill a dog, goat, goose, or hog that comes upon his premises, or endangers them by running at large in the highway. Any laud-owner in the State of New York may seize and confine any neat stock, horses, sheep, or swine found on his land or near it in the highway, and hold it till the owner pays the penalty and cost of kee[)ing, and the owner has no action of recovery until all charges are paid. The law should allow the takcr-up to use the animal while he keeps it, without charge ; or convert it wholly to his use by paying its value, less the damage cliargeable against the animal for its trespass, and those of the same owner in its company. All animals running without keepers in the highway should be liable to seizure as trespassers. Such a law would be good for all honest men, and would promote gooii moials in society. Can any honest man say that he believes it would Ik- unjust or impolitic ? The laws of the nations in times that we call barbarous, were better entitled to the appellation of " civil law," than are some of our own about fences. 960. Unfcueed rommonSi — There is a tract within twenty miles of New York called Hempstead Plains, containing 12,000 acres of good arable land, which might have been in cultivation for two hundred years, if our fence laws had been adapted to a civilized state of society. Having been at first set apart as a " town common," when land was of but little value, it has been kept as such ever since, in the wasteful condition of ii public pasture, which affords not one hundredth of the value to the ])eoplc it would in culti- vated crops. All over the country, around every village, there are similar, though not as extensive, unfenced commons, all of which could be cultivated if law and custom required owners of cattle to keep them within their own inclosures. All over Europe are to be found highly cultivated districts, entirely free from fences. Every foot of common land, up to the very roadside, can be cultivated, and the most humble cottage upon the commou can be beautified with its plat of fiowers. Is America so much less civilized that we should give the possession of every unfenced common to hogs rather than to the use of the poor laborer and his family ? This is a fact connected with American farming that needs consideration. Seo. 52.] KYANIZING FENCE POSTS. 867 9G1. Uow Fences may be Dispensed With. — First by the system of soiling, which would dispeuse with interior fences ; saving land as well as fence ; saving manure as well as time, in always having working animals and cows at hand ; making animals more docile, so as to benefit the morals of farmers' boys, which are apt to partake of the character of the animals, and wild animals make wild men; and trespassing animals make bad neighbors and breed mischief. It is one of the reasons why fences should be dispensed with and a better system of farming adopted. Order and gentleness among animals and men grow out of their greater domesticatiou under the soiling system. Six leading, distinct advantages in favor of soiling are enumerated by writers upon the subject, to wit : Saving land ; saving fencing ; saving food ; keeping stock in greater comfort, good health and better general condition ; producing more milk ; saving the manure by v/hich greater cultivated crops are produced. To these Mr. Quincy adds three more, which he considers equally important. The animals are more docile and easier disciplined ; they commit no trespass, as animals at large frequently do. The business of the farm can be conducted in greater order and comfort, and altogether more economicallj'. 062. Waste of Land Areund Fences. — A zigzag rail fence takes up a strip of laud four or five feet wide, and if stake-and-ridered, the strip is about ten feet wide, which takes from every hundred acres, on the average, as fields are inclosed, full five acres — land which is rendered worse than useless ; for it is a harbor for pestiferous weeds, animals, and insects, and often grows up into a most unsightly blur upon the face of the farm. What farmer would willingly endure a government five per cent, tax upon the value of his land ? Yet this is just what he voluntarily inflicts upon himself in thus losing the use of land, besides the cost of the fence. This waste of land by fencing is enough of itself to condemn the whole system, if there were no other ex- pense. Where land is valuable, as it is in many of the old States, crooked rail fences should be discarded entirely. No farmer can afford to keep such a fence upon land worth a hundred dollars an acre. If he must use rails, he should build the fence straight, which he can do cheaply by setting upright stakes, bound together by wire, to hold the ends of the rails in place. Such a fence looks more pleasing to us, though the other is called picturesque. It may be, but it is not utilitarian. A board fence, although more expensive in the first outlay, would be the most economical on account of its saving of land ; and on that accoimt, wherever a fence can not bo dispensed with, this saving should be consid- ered. If a board fence is built for a permanent one, the boards should be battened over every post and nailed with M'hat are known as fence nails, and the posts, unless of the most durable kind, should be kyanized, and always set in a position reversed from that of their growth. 963. Kyanizing Fence Posts.— The term kyanising is taken from a Mr. Kyan, who introduced the subject in England within the present century. 86S FORESTS AND FENCES. [Chap. XI. It consists in filling tlic pores of the wood with mineral substance, such a- sulphate of copper, zinc, or iron, which act as preservatives, just as salt doci in meat. J. W. Fairchiid, of Hudson, N. Y., kyanized posts for his garden in 1850, made of the refuse strips of a carpenter's shop, by nsing one pound of blue vitriol (sulphate of copper^ to twenty pounds of water (you must not mistake pounds for quarts or gallons of water, as sometimes printed). In 1859 these posts were found as sound as ever. "Without the kyanizing pro- cess every one would have been rotten and worthless. Even the pointed end of a small hand-stake, which had stood continnally in the ground eight years, was found perfectly sound. Spruce posts, which will not last two years unprepared, remain perfectly Bound. Clothes-lines, or any other cordage, soaked two days in the solution used for the fence posts, are rendered more than twice as durable, and no doubt sliingles would be greatly increased in durability. Posts, six inches square, need to soak ten days. The kyanizing liquor must be prepared in a square-sided vat made of plank, in a strong frame, with keys to tighten the joints. A barrel would serve while kept moist. An iron vessel would cor- rode. For small work a large earthen jar would do, or a vat might be made of water-lime cement. A vat that would only receive the ends of fence posts would answer, and it would soon pay cost upon any farm, where every post of every description, and many other things, might be kyanized with great profit. The solution must be renewed for every change of timber, by adding as much of vitriol to the water as will keep it at the standard strength. It makes no difi'erence whether the timber is dry or wet, seasoned or green. Standing trees have been kyanized. 064. f reosole for kyanizing;. — In England, creosote has been found prefer- able to either suljihate of iron, of copper, or the chlorid of zLnc or of mer- cury, either of which is much more expensive than creosote. Timber which had absorbed about eight pounds of liquid creosote to the cubic foot was apparently as sound at the end of five years as when first treated. Its reli- ability has been tested on quite a large scale on the Great Northern and the Lancashire and Yorkshire railroads (England), on which roads creosoted tim- bers that have been down for ten years apj^ear to be as good as when first laid. Creosote is a liquid which may be made from the refuse of the trees that make railroad timbers. It can be kept in wooden tanks in which the timbers may be steeped several days. All timbers for bridges, the sills of buildings, aud the sleepers of railroad tracks should be treated with this substance, or some other equally as good. The refuse creosotic compounds of coal oil — those which are obtained from distilled coal as well as from the natural oil wells — may be as powerfully antiseptic in their nature as creo- sote distilled from wood. Experiments should be made to determine this, because such products are now thrown away as waste, whereas they may be usefully applied to render exposed timber ten times more enduring than it now is, and thus save millions of dollars to our country annually. 965. Salt and Fence Posts. — A correspondent says: "After setting wliite Seo. 62.] PORTABLE PICKET FENCE. 869 oak posts, I bored iuto each about three inches above the ground with a two-inch auger, at an angle of about 45'^, and filled the hole with salt and plugged it up. The plugs are all in, and the posts look as sound as when set. I put in about one half a pint of salt to a post." 966. Fence Posts Top End Dcwni — A farmer says : " I split two bar posts, side by side, out of a chestnut log eight feet long, eight inches wide, and three thick, and set one but down, the other top down. At the end of ten years the one set but down had rotted ofi^, and I re-set it in the same hole. At the end of six years it was rotted off again, and I put in a new one. The other lasted two years longer, when it got split, and I took it out and found it was about two thirds rotted off. Sixteen years ago I set six pairs of bar posts, all split out of the but-cut of the same wliite oak log. One pair I set buts down, another pair, one but down, the other top down, and others top down. Four years ago those set but down were i-otted off and had to be replaced by new ones. This summer I had occasion to rc-set those that were set top down. I found them all sound enough to re-set. My experiments have convinced me that the best way is to set them tops down." The theory of this increased duration is, that moisture can not ascend as readily when the order of growth is inverted. 967. CharriBg Fence Posts. — A writer in the JS^eic England Farmer, who tried numerous experiments in setting fence posts by reversing, salting, and charring, is satisfied that charring did no good. Tliose charred lasted no longer than those from the same tree not charred. Salting dry posts is bene- ficial. Salting green ones did no good. The best things was reversing the ends. 96S. Portable Picket Fence. — Tlie principal use of this kind of fence is for hurdling; being set up zigzag, it supports itself, and is easily separated at each panel. The cost is about thirty feet of lumber for ten feet, and half the value of that for labor. A man and two boys can make fifty panels a day. Where lumber is not worth over ten dollars a thousand feet, this kind of fence could be made and sold with profit for one dollar a panel. Made of oak or similar wood, it will last in good order ten or fifteen years. Tlie rails are cut exactly ten feet long, of stufl' three inches wide and one and a half inch thick. These are bored by machinery very rapidly, twenty-nine holes in each rail. The pickets are sawed square and then turned one and a quarter inch diameter, at the rate of ten a minute. They are four feet long, pointed. The rails are keyed in a frame and pickets inserted and nailed in the top rail. The others are just tacked to hold tliem in place. If the fence is to be permanent, the rails are fastened to posts. If it is to be mov- able, the panels are held together by inserting a picket through the ends of the rails of two panels, which holds them together. Locust posts for this fence are sawed three by three inches at the top, tapering to six inches one way. Tliis is sufliciently strong, as the wind has but little hold of .the pickets. It is sometimes called ladder fence, when made with only two rails. The best form is to use three rails ; and sometimes, 870 FORESTS AND FENCES. . [Chap. XL for variety, every other picket only reaches the middle rail. It is casil}- moved by panels from permanent posts. It is a good kind of fence for the Western prairies, wliore it has been considerably used. The machinery, in- cluding saws to make pickets and bore rails costs about one hundred dollars. Eails can be bored at any angle, so that pickets stand upright, while the rails corrct^pond to the form of the hillside. 969. Fcrmaucut Fence on Soft Ground. — We -were troubled by the up- heaval and loosening of fence posts on the soft prairie soil of Indiana, and adopted the following effective plan : We laid down a sill two feet long under each post, at right angles with the line of fence just even with the surface, setting tlie posts in the center, nailed fast and supported by a small brace each side, nailed to the sill and post. Tins made a cheaper fence than with posts planted in the ground, because the timber used was much lighter, and except the sills, did not require to be of durable timber. 970. Hurdle Fence of Boards. — A plan for a cheap hurdle fence has been adopted, as follows : Panels of live narrow boards of some light timber are nailed with clinch nails through battens, one on each side of the ends and a pair in the middle. To make these, a mold should bo made by cutting gains in three timbers, two inches broader on the face than the battens, so that when one is laid on the timber, the gain can be seen and the fence boards laid directly over. Then lay on the top batten and nail through ; the point of the nails will roach tlirough into the gains and not into solid wood. These panels being light are easily handled, and may be set uj) by braces on each side, or fastened to stakes driven into the ground. But a better way is to fasten the ends of the panels together with wire, or with hooks and staples, which are better and not nmch more expensive. One of the advantages of this kind of fence is, it can be made by any farm hands in winter, or at such times as out-door Avork could not be carried on ad- vantageously. A similar fence to the above has been made of light round poles, of light straight rails, and of rived slats, in panels six or eight feet long. 971. Farm Gates and Bars. — We have given several good plans for gates in No. 30-f, and refer to the subject now mainly for the purpose of urging farmers to substitute gates for bars wherever they are liable to be passed through once a month. The diflference of time in opening will pay the in- terest on the cost of a gate over that of a set of bars. Where a gateway is but seldom used, a board panel, made ccause you can pick two holes on tlie sides of a smooth stone to catcli the points of tlic hooks in, by which the oxen will pull it out, when it would be a long, tiresome job to get a chain arounfj. A good stone boat is indispensable for hauling stones to a wall, and if the distance is long, it is a good i)lan to suspend the boat between wagon wheels just so it will clear the ground. If you have no wagon, use a cart, and sus- pend the forward end of the boat to the a.xlc. This will be a great assistance to the team. For loading stones on a wagon, it will be found a great saving of labor to have a frame with no sides, except a three-inch piece of scantling. The floor should be one and a half inch oak or other strong wood plank. At the hind end have a windlass roller fixed in posts about two and a half feet above the bod, with a chain and pair of grappling hooks, by which a man can raise a stone of five hundred pounds by turning the levers of the windlass. AVhen it is chock up, a piece of jilank is slipped under, from which it can be rolled forward with a bar, or by another windlass at the forward end. "With a w;igon rigged in this wa^', one man can load stones with ease that four men could only get up by hard work and danger. A movable triangle and wind- lass will be found a great labor-saving machine in handling stone. Set over a heavy block, it can be lifted in two minutes high enough to slip the stone boat under easier and quicker by one man than three could load it with crow-bars and hard lifting. The same implement can be used to put stones on the wall. CHAPTER XII. FERTILIZATION. SECTION LIII.-THE ART, USE, AND ECONOMY OF MAKING, SAVING, AND APPLYING MANUIIES, AND FERTILIZING FARM CROPS. OW to make poor land fertile has always been, perhaps always will be, a mystery. If it is affirm- ed that barn-yard manure will do it, we reply, that is no mystery ; but it is a mystery how to obtain it or its equivalent where it is not to be had. No man will ever make or keep his distant fields fertile by carting the contents of his barn-yard. In some cases the farmer seeks relief by resorting to a great agricultural humbug — the analysis of soils. Tlicn he applies the pinch of powder which the quack rec- ommends to restore the " missing ingredient," and sows his seed, and reaps disappointment. How to make barren land productive, or liow to keep fertile land so, is what farmers most desire to know. We can not teach the art, but the following paragraphs we hope will add something to the fixrmer's stock of intbrmation upon this imjiortant subject. 983. Fineness of Soil Proiaotes Fertility. — Remember that the great secret of all naturally fertile soils is extreme fineness of the particles. Pulveriza- tion, as a rule, is better than manure. Disintegration is, however, aided by manuring as well as plowing and harrowing. Fertility will increase by deeply stirring the soil with turning and subsoil plows, and by aeration from under-drains, and by growing plants with deeply penetrating roots. That is why— 98i. Clover Promotes Fertility. — Its roots penetrate and aerify the subsoil, while its tops shade, and when decayed fertilize the surface. Tiie fertility of our soils must be improved by growing the manure on the land. That is, growing clover and other green crops to plow in, so that by very small addi- tions of purchased fertilizers, to replace the things sold and taken oft' the farm, it will not only maintain its original fertility, but increase it, because it will be constantly drawing from the atmosphere. Tlio difficulfy about maintaining fertility is, that it is generally exhausted before the owner of the soil begins to think about saving. The question, therefore, is rather liow to restore than how to increase fertility. Land will improve more while 873 FERTILIZATION. [Chap. XII. growing a crop than it will in a naked fallow. Let that be forever remem- bered as the great secret of " How to increase fertility." Give each food or forage crop the proper pabulum to enable it to draw upon earth and atmos- phere, and it will perfect itself, while it stores up iu the soil pabulum for a succeeding crop, which should follow in rotation, witliout exhausting fer- tilit}-. Von Timer says feeding off a crop of clover with sheep will add twenty per cent, to the fertility of the soil. 985. Color and Moisture of Manures Effect Fertility.— Tiiough not richer in humus, a black soil will be more productive than a light one, because the color elevates the temperature. This has been proved in cold climates, where melons ■were ripened by covering the soil an inch deep with charcoal dust. In Belgium, grape-growers improve light soils by spreading fragments of black slate over the surface. In addition to its fertilizing qualities, peat improves light soils by its color. Earth must be in a hygroscopic condition to be productive. Manure and black earth, and all salts added to the soil, improve this condition. Sandy land is barren because it has no hygroscopic quality. Add manure, peat, black earth, which give that quality, and tho laud produces far more than can be fairly credited to the substance added. All clayey soils are improved by under-draining, which both prevents excess of moisture and at the same time aerates the soil and helps to keep it moist in a dry time. 9Sf3. Theory of Fertilizing Seeds by Incrustation. — ^This is not a new theory, though newly revived in France, where works are erected to execute the process. The fertilizer is agglutinated to the seeds in quantity sufficient to furnish food to the young shoot until it gains strength to draw it from the soil. It is simply carrying out the theory of giving the plants an "early start." Boussingault planted the incrusted seed in calcined quartz sand, and added phosphate of lime, nitrate of potash, and vegetable ashes, and the plants grew luxuriantly, as though in garden mold. Sugar and soot mixed in water are recommended for coating wheat seed. Sugar, half a pound to the bushel ; soot to make the mixture black as ink ; water to make the stuli" as thick as cream : to stand thirty or forty liours ; then stir in the wheat. The editor of The ValUy Farmer thinks this incrustation theory a dangerous doctrine, which if followed will reduce any soil to poverty. " As well," he says, "• might we encase an eggshell wilh food for the chick as a grain of corn with food for the plant." We do not think so, and advise the incrustation to be tried by all farmei-s in a small way, and if it adds vigor to the young shoot, it may much more than pay the cost of application. To coat seeds with plaster and lime : For each bushel of wheat use half a pint of tar dissolved in hot water reduced to blood heat, into which pour the wheat gradually, stirring constantly for a few minutes; drain the wheat in a basket over a barrel, then put it into a tight box, and add as much lime or plaster as will adhere by stirring until the grain is dry. 987. Kitrates, Muriates, Sulphates. — What are they ? And which of them NITRATES, MURIATES, SULPHATES. 879 is good for niaiumal purposes? We can not give tliis information in better form than in tlie following relation of Barnum's experience : Barnum — tlic Barniim — is or was a Connecticut farmer. He has a passion that way. It is a hobby with him. He always has a hobby. Sometimes it is a " Fire Annihilator," and sometimes tlie Crystal Palace, or a Connecti- cut clockmaker, annihilates him. One year he had the hen fever. That was liis hobby. lie rode it till ho spent about $2,000, and then found that he had neither eggs nor chickens for family use. His neighbors' hens that " stole their nests," under the barn or by the side of the fence, hatched more chickens than liis did, and when they were grown, they were healthy and good to eat, while his were droop- ing and sickly in their costly house. Another of his hobbies was to renovate old fields by purchasing and hauling stable manure. That hobby broke down. It has broken down a thousand times before, but the more it broke, the more old-foo-yism stuck to it. It was the ancient custom of the land to plow shallow and top dress with stable manure, sea-weed, and fish. Digging muck was an innovation. It was a good thing, but it did not bear long transportation. Something bet- ter was wanted. Somebody said, Use salt. That did not look reasonable. What virtue was there in salt to make plants grow ? Somebody else said. Use saltpeter. But that was evident nonsense. Saltpeter was only to pre- serve meat — it was not manure. Another wise man told him Glauber salts were good, but a wiser one told him that Epsom salts were better. " Bless, your soul, man," says Barnum, " do you suppose I want to physic my land ? No, sir ; I want to feed it, and make it feed me." So he took to the study of agriculture. He took several learned a"-ricnl- tural papers, and read them, and — well, he concluded that he was dot the only humbug in the world. So he went off lecturing upon humbug as a science, under the full impres- sion that he had been about as badly humbugged, in the agricultural line, hens and hundred-dollar ducks included, as he ever humbugged anybody with woolly horses and Feejee mermaids. Still he was not satisfied. He thought Connecticut soil had something in it, and if it could be stimulated to give it up, it would produce somethino- besides daisies and muUens. As he did not need to study his lecture — that came naturallv — he bou<'lit Johnson's Chemistry, Norton's Chemistry, and Liebig's Chemistry, and de- voted his leisure hours of traveling to search out what was the best and most concentrated manure to apply to his old fields. He had already done one very essential thing : he had plowed the soil deeper than it was ever plowed before; and now he wanted to manure better and cheaper, and make it more productive. So he studied agricultural chemistry. Therein he learned these facts : That an application of 100 lbs. of nitrate of potash to an acre of land had doubled the crop of grass. 8S0 FERTILIZATION. [CnAP. XII. Again, lie read that the Eaiiie quantity of sulphate of soda had jiroduced the same or a better cffeet. It was also stated that sulj^hate of magneda was still better, and that remarkable effects had been produced by a free use of muriate of soda. Nitrate of soda had also done M'onders. The author suggested that the farmer might procure a portion of each of these sulphates and nitrates and mix thorn togetiier and produce a cheaper and more concentrated manure than superphosphate of limo or gnauo. Full of this idea, Farmer Barnum returned to New York, and went forth- with to a dealer in drugs, medicines, and chemicals, and inrpiired the j^rices of — Nitrate of potash?— G cents a pound. Nitrate of Boda? — 4 cents. Sul- phate of soda ? — 2 cents. Sulphate of magnesia ? — 2j cents. Muriate of soda? — li cents. " Very well ; put me up a hogshead of each." In due time tlie farmer was ready to begin to use his new manures, or, rather, he was first curious— even showmen have curiosity — to see what these nitrates and sulphates all looked like. So he ordered the casks that had arrived to be opened for inspection. That was soon done, and the nnn, with consternation written upon his face, came back with handfuls of the contents, and reported : " Mr. Barnum, you're sold — humbugged. Look here ! that was marked " Nitrate of potash" — what do you call that ?" " That ! that is saltpeter — -nothing else." " And this ? This M-as marked ' Sulphate of soda.' " "Why, that! — that"— and he tasted — "that — oh, pshaw!— that is Glau- ber salts." " And this — sulphate of magnesia?" " Bah ! — tiiat is Epsom salts." " And shall I send them back 1" " Yes- no — hold on! Perhaps the druggist in the village has sont for them, and they have made a mistake, and sent my nitrates and sulphates to him, and his physic to me." So lie posted down to inquire; but no — nobody had sent for any Glauber salts; and he came back to write a letter and blow up the dealer who liad befooled him. In the mean time the man had got the cask marked " Muriate of soda" opened, and reported that it contained — ha, ha, ha — simply common salt. " What on earth," wrote Mr. B., to the chemist, " did you send mo Glau- ber salts, Epsom salts, saltpeter, and common salt for? Do you think I want to ])icklc and preserve my land, and if I get in too much salt and salt- peter, physic it out ? Only one of the casks contains what I ordered, and that is the nitrate of soda." The return mail brought the answer: "Nitrate of soda, of course, is right, because it is not known by any other name. "Glauber salts is, properly speaking, sulphate of soda, and sulphate of magnesia is nothing more nor less than Epsoin salts. Seo. 5;!.] PRIMITIVE SOURCES OF FERTILIZING SUBSTANCES. 8S1 " Salt, as WQ nsc the term, is salt, but it is a very unmeaning term amon<'- so many salts. Muriate of soda is the right name of our common, or table salt. " And nitrate of potash is nothing but saltpeter ; don't be afraid of it — it ■won't explode." " But it did explode," said Mr. Barnum ; " it exploded my ignorance. I had studied agricultural chemistry, but I did not know salt nor saltpeter. I do now, and I mean to know that they are good for land." 988. Sulphate of Lime— Plaster of Paris— Gypsum.— These names are syn- onymous, as used in common conversation, though not strictlj' so. "Phas- tcr" is the most common term used by farmers, as applied to sulphate of lime reduced to powder by grinding, when used as a dressing for land. Plaster of Paris is made of the gypseous rock of the vicinity of Paris, France, by grinding and heating, whicli prepare it for use in the arts, as we see it in casts of various figures. Gypsum, or plaster, which is ground sul- jihate of lime, is made of gypseous rock which is found in various localities in this country, and is composed of sulphuric acid and lime. It should al- ways be applied on a green crop, and it does the n)ost good on a succulent one, such as clover or peas, and the spring season is the best time to apply it, when the crop, whatever it is, is in a fresh-growing condition, from natural fertility or manure, since plaster is not a manure, but an assistant, acting as an absorbent of floating ammonia, vhich it yields up again to the growing plants. Plaster sown upon a plowed field in the autumn would be of very liLtle if any benefit to whatever crop might be put upon the field in the spring. It is generally found more beneficial to clover than to any of the true grasses, which is accounted for by the fact that the ingredients of which it is com- posed are found most abundant in the ash of clover. One of the best purposes lo which plaster can be applied about a farm is in the stable and places of deposit of manure, to prevent the escape of am- monia, and thus keep the air sweet and healthy. In some sections farmers complain of not seeing any benefits from plaster, while in others it is their main stay. We know two large graziers in Dutchess County, W. H. & David L. Belding, who have bought up worn-out farms and renovated them by the use of plaster, so as to produce the richest pasturage. 989 Primitive Sources of Fertiiiziag Substances. — There is an abundance of mineral substance, of the same chemical character as the fertilizing portion of manures, locked up in rocks. The Academy of Science, Paris, having investigated the question, say that the primary substances found in rocks, particularly the phosphates, which are almost chemically identical -with bones, are really of but little or no value to growing plants in the first step of their progress; but that all mineral substances, the longer they have pro- grossed through animal and plant life, the better they are as fertilizers. Bones are better than mineral phosphate, and bones of an animal that con- sumes phosphatic food are better than those of one that did not. It has been found impossible by any mechanical or chemical means known to reduce mineral phosphates to snch a degree of fineness as we obtain from bones. 882 FERTILIZATION. -[CnAP. XII. Tliis is one reason why mineral phosphates arc not readily assimilated by growing phiiits. 090. Value of Phosphatic Guano. — There may be some guano known as pliosi)hatic tliat has some maniirial value, but Englisli farmers who have tried some of the substances sold under this name, have no faith in its value as a fertilizer. The editor of the Agricultural Review says : " From our own knowledge wc can affirm that tiie guano from some of the West India Islands is not woi-th the price of the freiglit to this country." B. M. Ilhoads, a chemist of Baltimore, thinks a pound of phosphoric acid in bone superphos- phate worth three times as much as a pound in " brown Mexican guano." 001. Gas Lime — Its Value to Farmers. — T)a.x\^h Much ITanual &aya: '"Gas liuio contains sulphureted liydrogon, sulphuric acid, and ammonia. It can not be used agriculturally till it has been exposed to the air for a year, by which it is converted into sulphate of lime and ammonia, and carbonate of lime. In this state, mixed witii three times it? bulk of soil, it forms a useful top-dressing ; or it may be added, before mixing with soil, to the compost heap or to meadow mnck, say two bushels to the cord." So we say it is valuable, but the farmer must know how to use it. The farmers of Lancashire, England, are well satisiicd that gas lime is val- nable when applied in small cp.nintitics npon pasture lands and meadows, which show the good effects of the application for years. One of our cor- respondents does not beliQve that gas lime fresh from the works is injurious, lie applied it with beneficial effects at the rate of a pailful per rod. 903. Lime Ashes. — " Are the ashes of a lime-kiln valuable — that is, more valuable than lime?" Thus writes a correspondent. Wo answer, No; be- cause from his locality we know the kiln is burnt with anthracite coal, the ashes of which are not worth hauling five miles to obtain the small portion of lime mixed with them. Coal ashes are not entirely valueless, but they bear no comparison to the value of lime. Where wood is used for fuel, the lime-kiln ashes arc very valuable for all soils and all crops. 993. llow to Apply Lime. — After the burnt limestone has been some time exposed to the air, it becomes air-slaked, and in the condition of a dry ]>ow- der, and of twice the bulk it was before slaking, and may be sown broad- cast by hand, or by a machine. If we were about to appl}' lime to wheat ground, we should harrow it in when we did the seed. On a jiotato licld, wo would sow it broadcast over tops and all, after hoeing. If applying it to corn, we would scatter it all over the surface of the earth, cither before or after the last hoeing. As to the quantity per acre, the majority of opinions of those who have used lime most, favors thirty bushels of slaked lime per acre, continuing it every year, or every second or third year, until 120 bushels arc applied. Lime is always beneficial to land full of vegetable matter. The quantity is to be varied according to the condition of the soil. One with much vegeta- ble matter in it will bear much more than a soil almost destitute. Shell lirao is the best. Barren fruit-trees have been made fruitful by dressing the land with lime, for it combines with the acids of the earth, neutralizes them, and Sec. 5:;.] HOW TO DISSOLVE BONES. 883 renders the earth sweet. In all muck land there is a resinous matter that prevents the decomposition of the vegetable fiber. This condition is always improved by adding lime. 99-1. Value of Old Mortar or Plastering. — There is no valuable subsJanco about a farm oftener wasted, by tlirowing into the road, or into some mud- hole, or out-of-the-way corner, than the old mortar of chimneys and latli- and-plastered walls. It is because the fact is not known that this old mortar — the older the better — is a most valuable fertilizer. It is good upon any soil and upon every crop, used as a surface-dressing. It is particularly valuable in garden soil, whicli, notwithstanding its richness in nitrogenous manure, sometimes lacks just what it would receive from a dressing of this old mortar. 995. Durst Earth — Its Value as a Fertilizer. — In England, whole fields arc pared off and windrowed up with brush, straw, stubble, peat, or dried sods, enough to start the fire and heat the clay to an almost brick-burning heat, and then the whole of the burnt mass is spread over the surface, adding greatly to the fertility. Remember this fact, that burnt clay will alwaj's prove beneficial to raw clay, and still more so to sandy land, or to soil charged with nitrogenous matter, such as what we term good garden soil. 99(3. Iron as a Fertilizer. — Sulphate of iron (copperas) naturally exists in many soils, and, imless neutralized with lime, injures some crops. Yet iron in certain forms is undoubtedly beneficial, particularly to fruit-trees. M. Dubreuil, a celebrated European horticulturist, says that it lias been proven " that melons and various species of fruit-trees, the green parts of which had been watered on several occasions with a weak solution of sulphate of iron, yielded much larger fruits than those not so treated." lie adds : " One of my pupils repeated the same experiments in 1854 and 1855 on pear-trees, lie gave the first watering as soon as the fruits were fairly set, in the end of June. He repeated the moistening every fortnight, in the evening, in order to prevent evaporation, and tliat absorption might be completely effected during the night. The solution was at the rate of 26 grains to a quart for the first three, and 35 grains per quart for the last two waterings." The result appears to have been a large increase in the size of the pears. Many soils contain iron, and such, if the iron is not in excess, are generally good fruit soils. Iron dust, from the forge, has frequently been iised by florists to highten color of flowers. 997. Save the Bones — Their Value. — iSTever neglect to pick up a bone ; it is worth saving. You would stoop for a copper cent ; the bone may be worth a dime. True, it is of no value whole, except for grapevines, but it is easily made fine, and then its value is almost incalculable. Lying waste, bones are a nuisance in raowland or pasture. Pick them up and dissolve them into excellent manure. 998. How to Dissolve Bones. — Mix one gallon of sulphuric acid with five gallons of water and put in the bones, after liaving broken them as fine as you can with a hammer. The bones and liquid will form a pasty mass in a few days, if the acid is strong enough ; if not, more must be added. The 884 FERTILIZATION. [Chap. XII. water may be evaporated from the mass, leaving the acid combined with the phosphate of lime of the bones. Tliis is unadulterated superphosphate, and is a very valuable manure. Bones maybe also dissolved in unleachcd aslies, or horse duuij, if broken up and mixed, or covered up. Cliarc-oal-powdcr or plaster should be spread over the heap to prevent escape of ammonia. Sul- phuric acid (oil of vitriol) is very corrosive, and must be liaiidlcd with great care. We recommend a large iron kettle to be painted witli a thick coat of eartliy paint, or even clay dissolved in skim-milk, as the best vessel to dis- solve bones in. A Scotcli farmer adds S-iO lbs. of acid to 25 busliels of line bones, wet with IS imperial gallons of boiling water, and lots it stand two days, and then mixes with two cart-loads of light mold, and turns the mixture over. At this stage the bones are only partially dissolved, but tliey heat and decompose in tlie heap after being turned over three or four times ; and in the course of seven or eight weeks the compost becomes dry and breaks down with a shovel. An American farmer says : " For every tun of bone I provide 500 lbs. of best sulphuric acid and 300 lbs. of guano, and get them distributed among the bone as equally as possible. Ey the fermentation and heating of the bone, better work is done with 25 lbs. of acid than we used to have with 40 lbs. One pound of acid requjrcs nine pounds of water. Bones may be dissolved without acid, if crushed and mixed with line earth or manure, and kept moist." 999. What Manure ^rill best sustain Fertility T— Undoubtedly, barn-yard manure must hold the first place with all farine -s — and rightly — because it contains all the needed ingredients, though it may not have all in as great a proportion as would be profitable to apply. Thus, to bam yard manure muck, salt, and planter may be added ; and lime, applied to the same land that has been higlily manured ; and flesh, blood, hair, and bone will sustain fertility, and their constituents are all needed, because soil imparts nitrogen to its crops, and must have it returned. The following table will show the per-ccntagc of nitrogen in various sub- stances, by which the value of manure made from them may be calculated. The greater the amount of nitrogen the better for manure. TVotcr. Barley straw 11.0 Oat straw 21.0 79 0 Rve straw 14.0 .... Wheat straw 18.0 .... Buckwheat straw 11.6 ... Meadow hay 1 1 .0 Red clover hay 12.7 Pea straw 8.5 .... Carrots 87.6 Potatoes 74.0 Mangel-wurzel 87.0 .... Rutabaga 88.0 .... Rarley IG 0 Malt 7.0 .... Wheat 16 ft .... Oats 16.0 .... M Nilropen Nitrojf'^n ' in natural Ktate. In ilry mattttr 89.0 . . . .... 0.23 . . . 0.2u 79 0 ... .... 0.23 . . . 0.36 86 0 ... .... 0 30 . . . 0.36 82.0 ... .... 0 33 . . . 0.40 88 4 . . . .... 0.48 . . . 0.64 89.0 . . . .... 1.15 ... 1.23 87.3 . . . .... 1.83 ... 2.10 91.6 ... .... 1.79 ... 1.95 12.4 ... .... 0.30 ... 2.40 26.0 . . . .... 0.39 ... 1.49 130 ... .... 0.29 . . . 2.27 11.4 ... .... 0.21 ... 1.87 84 0 ... .... l.CO ... 1.90 03 0 ... .... 1.60 ... 1.73 840 ... .... 190 ... 2.14 84.0 . . . .... 2.00 ...... . . 2.38 Seo. 53.] now TO PRESERVE MANURE. 885 Water. Indian com 18.0 Malt dust 7.0 Malt grains CO Linseed 12.0 Beans, peas, or tares. . . 16.0 American oil cake 11.0 Dry Mailer. Nitrogen ID natural state. Nitrosen la dr; maiier. 82.0 .... .... 1.C4 . . . 2.00 93.0 . . . . . . . . 4.00 .... ... 4.08 94.0 .... .... 4.51 .... . . . 4.S0 88.0 . . . . . . . . 3.75 .... . . . 4.76 84 0 .... . ... 4.00 . . . 4.78 88.4 .... . . . . 5.04 .... ... 5.71 If the following substaucc3 are used as cattle food, tlic comparative value of each tun, in manure, is represented as follows ; Decorticated cotton-seed ■ cake $27 86 Rape cake 2101 Linseed cake 19 72 Malt dust 18 21 LentUs 16 51 Linseed 1 5 65 Tares 15 75 Beans 15 75 Peas $13 38 1 Oat straw $2 90 Locust beans 4 81 Wheat straw 2 68 Oats 7 40 Barley straw 2 25 Wheat 7 08 Potatoes 1 50 Indian com C 65 I Mangolds 1 07 Malt 0 65 j Swedish turnips 91 Barley 6 32 j Common turnips 86 Clover hay 9 64 Carrots 86 Meadow hay 6 43 I 1000. How to Preserve Mannre< — Horse droppings are very liable to injury by heating. AVlien any manure is burned iu the heap, it is little better than ashes. This can be prevented by the application of water to tlie manure heap, frequent turnings, and making compact piles. Mixing with sod, scrap- ings of the roads and walks, and swamp muck will retard decomposition. The best way to preserve manure is to apply it to crops, to grass, corn, and roots, and the orchard, followed by a shallow plowing. Cattle droppings should be mixed with those of horses, to preserve and improve both. If you have no cellar nor shed to save manure in, pile it up, mixing muck, sods, weeds, waste straw, salt, and lime to helji decomposition, and plaster or charcoal on the surface to absorb and retain the escaping gases, and use a jjump to send back all the drainings and other rich liquid, including urine and soapsuds, and old brine, blood, and all sorts of dirty water. Use this well-rotted compost, and you will cscai)e weeds and grow grass and grain. Use all heavy manure upon liome-lots, and treat outlying ones with some concentrated fertilizers and clover. If a manure pile is kept continually moist, its value will be preserved if the drainage is not wasted. When com- posted with muck and other similar materials, and kept wet, the fluid pass- ing through the mass will pervade all parts, and without turning or forking in any way, the intrinsic vahie of each portion will be communicated to the wliole, and improved by this mode of treatment. There is no item of econ- omy about a farm that will pay better than that of saving every old rag, old shoe, old bone, soapsuds, house sweepings, chamber slops, kitchen garbage, and garden weedings for the compost heap ; which in a 3'ear, from these little bits of waste, will grow into a valuable pile. Unlike purchased fertil- izers, the cost of the compost heap is never felt in the pocket It may be made in any convenient place, and will never taint the air if partlj- composed of swamp muck, or fine charcoal, or occasionally sprinkled with plaster. Every- thing that will decompose may be used. Every dead animal should be buried in its center, with muck or charcoal, or with fine clay, if neither of the first can be had conveniently. A cart-load of muck (decomposed with S86 FERTILIZATION. [Chap. XII. lime and salt) or of fine charcoal, such as locomotive cinders, or debris of a coal-yard, or fine charcoal and burned earth of a coal-pit, will prevent any smell arising from the carcass of a horso, and where manure is worth two dollars a load, tlie value of the compost heap will be increased ten dollars by every carcass buried in it. 1001. Uow to Apply Manure— When and Where.— "Wc do not believe it is even a good practice to apply manure exclusively to hoed crops, or upon plowed land. "We believe it would be found almost inconceivably better to apply it exclusively to grass lands, both mowing and pasture, and make them productive and capable of sustaining more animals, which would in- crease the production of manure, and then, by plowing under the enriched sod, any" kind of grain or root crop would be produced at less expense per busliel than by the direct application of manure, except it was of some of the concentrated sorts, such as guano, i)hosphato, pondrette, or well-rotted compost, used to hasten the first growth. Whether this is a correct practice or not is the question that needs discussion and jiositive determination. It was discussed by some of the good farmers of the State of New York, at one of the meetings of the State Agricultural Society, with an almost universal opinion in favor of spreading upon the surface, and mostly upon sod. "We give a few of these opinions. In favor of top-dressing sod with ma- nure, and plowing it under, Mr. Morely, of Onondaga County ; T. C. Peters, of Darien, Genesee County ; Lewis F. Allen, of Black Rock ; Mr. Gold- smith, of Orange County ; Mr. Marks, of Onondaga County ; Mr. Leland, of Saratoga County ; Mr. "Williams, of Seneca County ; T. "W. Field, of Long Island ; George Geddes, of Onondaga ; Mr. Lyons, of Lewis County ; Mr. Iluested, of Ulster County ; A. L. Fish, of Herkimer County ; Mr. Bartlett, of Dutchess County ; A. B. Conger, of Rockland County ; and the author, of "Westchester County. Mr. Lyons, of Lewis, has top-dressed meadows for fifteen years, without breaking up, with good results. Mr. Curtis, of Tompkins, said clover was the most economical manure for him. He seeds with rye, and uses plaster. Mr. Day, of Genesee County, is equally favorable to clover, but can not make it grow without manure. Judge Blodgef, of Lewis County, finds ashes and plaster beneficial as top-dressing of grass lands, but thinks the most important thing is first to give the soil a good preparation by jjlowing. Mr. Sylvester, of "Wayne County, always plows in manure. A. B. Conger thinks the manner of applying manure depends entirely on what sort of a crop is to be grown. If it is a deep-rooted crop, the manure must be deep buried to produce the best result. L^pon grass crops it is probaljle that top-dressing is the most beneficial. 1002. Sundry Expcrimfnts in Surface Manuring.— Prof. Legnitz, of Elden. divided a lot into four e(pial i>arts. To No. 1 no manure was given. No. 2 received about two tuns of farm-yard dung, which was spread immediately and covered in by means of the plow. No. 3 was treated in the same man- ner, with this diflFerence, that the hoe was used instead of the plow. The Sec. 53.] LIQUID MAXURE. 887 same qiiantiry of dung was carried to No. -t, and allowed to remain spread three weeks ou the soil before being covered in by tlie hoe. On the 10th of October, tlie four lots subjected to experiment were sown with about ninety- five pints of rye each. Tlie following are the total results of the crops of each lot, grain and straw included : No. 1 produced 583 pounds ; No. 2 pro- duced 770 pounds; No. 3 produced 8 IS pounds; No. 4 produced 930 pounds. 1003. RcGOvating Old Pastures by -Top-dressing .—One of the best things tliat can be applied to a rocky pasture infested with bushes, briers, or weeds, is gr'lt. Salt them every week while wet witli rain or dew, and let the stock look to that source alone for a supply. Pests of the pasture, including grubs, can be driven out with salt, while the grass will be improved. We doubt whether a pasture can be found that v.-ould not be so improved by a dressing of lime of from five to fifty bushels per acre, as to prove one of the most profitable investments that the owner could make. Plaster, at the rate of one half to two bushels an acre, may be applied to all old, rocky pastures. If any one doubts whether ashes would aft'ord the most profit applied to a field of corn or a pasture lot, let him try the experiment fairly. A great manv pastures-have been grazed ever since the land was denuded of timber, and there is no lack of humus in the soil, but it is inert. Simple exposure to tlie air, and consequent decomposition of the roots of the sod, would make tlie soil again productive, and this would be the cheapest as well as best application ; but where that can not be applied, lime, plaster, ashes, salt, superphosphate, niter, guano, or some otlier fertilizer, will enable the owners to carry more stock, and we sliould like to find the farmer who would say that that was not profitable, whether he converted the grass into beef, mutton, milk, or manure for his hoed crops. lOOi. Liquid Manure. — I am satisfied that the correct method of treating all manure is to put it in solution in tanks at the barn, and send it to the field by steam power, just as has been repeatedly described as practiced by Mr. Mechi and others in England. Upon any farm, level or hilly, where the amount of team work to haul manure is large enough to justify the first outlay, there is no doubt in my mind that steam power is the cheapest of any that can be used, and the time will come when carting manure will be looked upon as a very slovenly way of farming. It will be found far more economical to dissolve it where it is made, and send it to the field through pipes, by a stationary engine. The people that come after us will look back upon this age of the world as we do upon the dark ages of the past, and wonder how it is possible that wo could have been so stupid as to cart manure with oxen and liorses, when it would be so much better and cheaper done by dissolving it, and using steam. The best crops to which to apply liquid manure are grass, clover, and small grain, but it may be applied with advantage to all hoed crops. The ^ame order may be advantageously pur- sued in applying any sort of farm manure. That is, to grass first, and make the sod manure the grain crops. Small farmers, who can not send their 888 FERTILIZATION. [Ciiap. XII. liquid mamirc a-field by steam, may have a large cask or tank on wlieels, ■with a sprinkler attached. A manure tank may be made just as we have directed for making cisterns. (333.) 1005. Use of Tan Bark as ItlanurCt — Tan bark, •when used as a manure, certainly produces very little etfcct, but when used as a mulch and sufl'ered to decay, leaves all tl'c potash that its ashes would give, the value of which, as particularly applicable to young trees, no one will dispute. For straw- berries, we have never seen anything equal to tan bark. We would put it upon the beds in autumn, after forking uj*, and not remove it in the spring, except from tlie crown of the roots. In our opinion, not a bushel of tan bark should be allowed to go to waste, where there are farms within a mile or two of tiie tannery. Be sure that it Avill pay to cart it that distance to put around all fruit-trees, old or young, large or small, and upon all strawberry beds, because with it you can get good crops of this delicious fruit, upon almost any soil. 1006. Manure is Gained by Soiling Cattle. — Hon. Josiah Quincy, Jr., of Massachusetts, says : " Farmers do not generally seem to understand the importance of soiling cattle, on account of the great increase of manure; nor do they seem to understand how much manure can be increased by the use of absorbents, or how great is the value of the manure of a single animal." Upon this point the testimony of Dr. Dana is important, who states that one cow will make twenty-one cords of manure, equal in value to the average of good stable manure, if all her solid and liquid excrements are saved and composted with muck. In soiling cows, Mr. Quincy says, " wo calculate that a square rod will support a cow a day. Grass, oats, Indian corn, and barley are the plants wc use for soiling. Early in April we sow oats at the rate of four bushels per acre. Our sowings are April 5th, April 20th, and May 1st. "We sow corn May 1st, June 1st and loth, three bushels per acre. We sow barley ten days apart till August 1st. Another advan- tage of soiling is the saving of land. An acre will support three cows during the soiling season. It is almost impossible to calculate the value of manures, and how much corn can be saved by soiling cattle." In a discussion upon this subject, Mr. Stewart, of Eric County, X. Y., said : " I find soiling not only beneficial to the animals, but to the land. One acre will do more in soiling than in pasturing, and the manure will more than pay all the expense ; and I find that cut straw, steamed, with a pint of meal to a bushel, and fed three bushels a day to a cow, is better than timo- thy hay. 1 think soiling would double the value of farms, and that farmers would realize three times as much profit as in the old way. I grow carrots and turnips for spring feed. I consider sowed corn the best plant for soiling of any that I have tried. Butter made from corn will keep as well as that made from the best pasture, and have as rich a color." Prof. Sprengel, the celebrated German chemist, asserts that- each cow produces annually 18,000 pounds urine, which contains of solid matter 900 jiounds. This solid matter is fully equal to the best guano, weight for weigh f, so that the liquid manure Sec. 53.] SPECIAL MANURES. SS;> of every cow kept on a f:iriii for one year is worth, when applied to the crops, more than $20 annually, and so in proportion to all the rest of the domestic animals. It may be said that in no other department of rural econ- omy does the American farmer lose so much by neglect, as in the manage- ment of solid and liquid manures. 1007. Special Manures— Their Use Coasideredt — Dr. Anderson (Scotland) gives as a reason why special manures should be used, that the diminished production of a field is rarely in consequence of general exhaustion of all fertility, but because one or more necessary ingredients have been carried off in the crops, or else were naturally deficient, and as plants can not grow witiiout all their constituents are present in the soil, the absence of one may render the land comparatively barren. " A soil in this condition does not absolutely require farm-yard manure, but may be again made to produce abundant crops by the application of the one deficient substance, which is then called a special manure. "Wiien so treated, a soil will retain this re- newed fertility for a certain time, but at length becomes again infertile, even under a continued application of this manure, wliich is then said, in ordinary language, to have lost its effect (become ' guano sick'), although the real reason is that the supply of a second constituent has been exhausted, and it also must be supplied in the form of a new manure." Dr. Anderson thinks special manures should always be used in combina- tion with those of the farm-yard. "A given quantity of the latter can, of course, produce only a certain amount of crop ; but if mixed with a special manure, it is most rapidly converted into vegetable matter, and this is advantageous to the farmer. It may be urged that this is a matter of little moment, and that sooner or later the farmer receives back what he has put into the ground. But tliis is not the case ; during six months of the year, manure lying in the ground is undergoing decomposition, although there are no plants to make use of it, and the constituents then set free are in part, at least, washed away and lost. Even if none of it were lost, it would not be altogether a matter of indifierence ; for, to take an extreme case by way of illustration, if we suppose a part of the manure to remain undecomposed for fourteen years after its application, it will, if only five per cent, interest on its price be reckoned, liave cost the farmer twice as much as that which was consumed during the year of its application. Though I consider the use of special manures alone a most injudicious and shortsighted policy, which can rarely be employed with advantage, there is no question that their proper combination with farm-yard manure is really one of the most important improvements ever introduced into the practice of agricul- ture." This is knocking in the head the very thing that seems to be most depre- cated in this country — that is, using up the manure the first year of its appli- cation. The farmer forgets his interest account. It is, in fact, his interest to use up the manure in every crop it is applied to. His farm is simply a manufactory, where he takes in such crude materials as constitute manure. 890 FERTILIZATIOJT. [Cbap. XIL at a cheap rate, and converts them into salable crops, that he sells at a dear rate, or a profit upon the manufacture. 1008. Guano— its History.— Peruvian guano, which is the best, and tip- kind now generally used in this country, comes from the Ciiincha Islands, three in number, on the coast of Pern, between latitude 13^ and 14-^, i:i the bay of Pisco, about twelve miles from the coast, where rain never falls, and the air is always so dry that the juices of flesh evaporate so rapidly that meat can be preserved fresh, or dried without salt. The waters surrounding these islands are almost alive with fish, upon which birds have fed and deposited their excrement upon the rocks fm- countless ages, which time has formed into a substance resembling yellow snuff*, and almost as pungent as that article, and possessing the powers of i'ertilization to such an eminent degree, that two or three hundred pounds spread upon the poorest soil causes it to produce an abundant crop, even greater tiian a good dressing of farm-yard manure. The North Chincha Island, from whence the principal supply of guano has been drawn, is about one and one half mile long and lialf that in breadth, upon which the guano was piled up over the rocks, giving it a smooth, round appearance, and a depth in the center of two or three hundred feet. Exc.i- vations have been made at one end, not by any means in the deepest part, a hundred and thirty feet deep, without finding bottom, to prove that th.; quality of the guano at that depth was equal to that near the surface. It is so compacted together that it has to be dug up with picks ; and notwitli- standing the vast number of cargoes taken away, the proportion the quantity removed bears to the quantity remaining may be guessed at, it can not be understood, when we state that actual surveys made by the Peruvian gov- ernment gave the sum of the deposit upon the three Chincha Islands at TWENTY MILLIONS OF TTJXS. Tliis quantity appears so enormous that many have doubted its correctness. A French engineer, said to have been em- ployed at a subsequent period by his government to ascertain the trutli of this statement, has reported his estimate of the quantity at twelve million tuns. This amount still appearing too large for belief, Admiral Moresby caused a reconnoissance to bo made, which the person wlio made it says was done in a very imperfect manner, very hurriedly, and without proper instru- ments, and in a measure secretly, and wliich gives the quantity at eight million six hundred thousand tuns. Now if we take the mean of the three estimates it will give upward of thirteen million five hundred thousand tuns, and tlio mean of the French and English estimates is ten million three hundred thousand tups, besides the deposits upon the Lobos and other islands, wliich have been reported at eight and a half millions of tuns. This would give eighteen million eight hun- dred thousand tuns as the mean of the French and English estimates, wliich would give to the world the same rate of supply as at present during the next century. ^^Ameincan Guano" is the name given to the proauct of Baker's Island, Seo. 53.] USE AND VALUE OF MUCK OR PEAT. 891 and otlicr islands in the Pacific, much farther west tlian the Chiiichas, and in a region subject to rains, whicli lessen the value of the deposit. It is nearly destitute of ammonia, but rich in phosphates. 1009. Value and Economy of Using Guano.— Although guano should not ho exclusively depended upon, because it acts as a stimulant, and is mnstlv exhausted by one crop, yet upon all worn-out, sandy, or loamy soil the cul- tivator can afford to use No. 1 guano, at $70 a tun, at the rate of 200 lbs. per acre, well worked into the soil with small grain, if with that grain he will sow clover seed, so that the growth of that M-ill take up all that the grain does not of the fertilizing powers of the guano, and in its turn serve for a rich dressing of manure to the land, renovating it so as to jn-odnce other grain or root crops without further application of expensive fertilizers. Tlie price of Peruvian guano has risen since it was first introduced and ex- tensively used in this country from about $±5 to about $70 a tun. and at that some of our farmers fear its use is not economical. This depends whether he can grow a remunerative crop without purchasing some fertil- izer. If he can not, then it is probable that guano is as econouiical as any- thing in market, since many experiments prove that a dressing of 200 lbs. of Peruvian guano, upon grass and grain, has doubled the yield per acre. Its most profitable use is upon very poor land, to give it a start, so it will produce clover, which it will do upon an almost hopelessly barren soil. If its use is long continued, without other manures, the application becomes unprofitable. Where it has been most extensively and longest used in En- gland, the farmers say that the land has become " guano-sick." 1010. How lo Apply Guano. — If we were aj^plying guano to land for corn, potatoes, or any other crop, we should prefer to do it by sowing broadcast and lightly plowing in. If applied as a top-dressing — which is rarely ad- visable— always apply it, if possible, before rain, or when snow is on the ground ; and if on arable land, harrow, hoe, or scuffle immediately after. There is no benefit in mixing guano with anything, unless it be water, to be used for garden purposes. In that case it should be made a very weak solution, or it Avill kill all it comes in contact with, whether seeds or plants. 1011. Use and Value of Mnck or Peat. — "We lay it down as an incontro- vertible fact, in all the Eastern States, that every farmer who has a muck- bed can double the value of all his other manure by the use of muck, over and above the expense of digging and hauling any reasonable distance. It should not be applied fresh, but composted witli stable, pig-pen, hen-roosfs, and privy manures. It is a great deodorizer. Sometimes a mass of matter is found in the bottom of a pond or swamp, composed almost entirely of vegetable substance. Such will bear hauling a considerable distance. Where the deposit is very fibrous or peaty, it will be advisable to burn it and use the ashes. Occasionally a muck-bed is so largely composed of silt, the most of which is sand, that the deposit will not bear long transportation. It will, however, always prove beneficial where it is applied. Some deposits are so entirely composed of vegetable matter, that when dry they bum, and 892 FERTILIZATION. [Chap. XII. leave no more ashes tliaii tlic same bulk of chips would. Such deposits are called peat, and arc often used for fuel, and would be valuable to burn for ashes, which could then be hauled long distances with protit. All jicaty Biibstaiiccs have an antiseptic quality when wot, and a great deodorizititr power when dried and pulverized. Hence its value as an absorbent of aiii- nioniacal gases arising from stables, sinks, and decaying vegetable and ani- mal matters. One of the benefits of peat in soils is disintegration, and another, darkening the color. It is believed tiiat the acid of peats exerts a powerful decompos- ing power, and ultimately solvent cfl'ects upon minerals in the soil. It cer- tainly influences the temperature. Potatoes have been found ripe two Mccks earlier in a peaty soil tlian in one of a light color. By analysis, dried peat has repeatedly shown a greater per cent, of ammo- nia than the best stable-yard manure, and when mi.\ed with tliat in equal quantities, the mixture has proved more valuable than the manure in a pure stale. These facts are sufticient to induce all farmers, as soon as they learn them, (o add to the bulk and value of stable, and all other manures, when- ever they can have access to a muck deposit. Every one who will look at the following table of analysis of two samples of peat, such as are found in all parts of the country in swampy places, will see at a glance that such sub- stances must possess manurial value. 1(112. Analysis of I'eati — This analysis was made by Professor Johnson, of Yalo College, who says : " It doubtless gives a fair idea of the inorganic ingredients of the majority of the peats," in the State of Connecticut : of Peal Ashes. Analysis of Peat Ashes. I. I'otash G9 Suda 58 Lime 40 52 JIagnesia 6.00 Oxvd of iron and alumina. ... 6.17 Phosphoric acid 50 Sulphuric acid 6.52 35.59 4.92 9.08 Analys Chlorine 15 .43 Suluble Bilic:v 8.23 1.40 Carbonic acid 19.G0 22.48 S.ind and charcoal 12.11 15.04 99.13 100.74 Another analysis of peat, suitable for fuel, is given below, made by Geoi-gc F. Barker, of Cliarlestown, Mass., and is compared with Professor Voelcker's analysis of well-fermented farm-yard manure, composed of dung of horses, cows, and sheep : Peat. Water expelled at 212 degrees. ly.USO i Soluble in dilute solution 3 of Ciirbon.atc of Boda — "2 \ soluble geine 27.190 'e Soluble in Rolution of car- Ef bonate of soda., o I I'otash S.>da Lime Magnesia 48.840 .041 .035 2431 .304 .491 .080 ].9!i0 .1:18 Peat. .310 .OJO .331 .009 .494 i;arl)onic acid 1.175 Sand and charcoal 700 Oxyd of iron and nlumini. rhiisjihoric acid Sulpluiric acid Chlorine Siilublc silica Manure. .Ii73 .400 .121 .018 1 C78 1.401 1 010 Potential ammonia Matters soluble iu water. 100.000 100.000 . 2.920 .735 Tills analysis shows that peat contains five times as much organic matter, and ibur times as much potential ammonia as farm-yard manure ; and it con- tains more lime, magnesia, and sulphuric acid, but less phosphoric acid and Seo. 53.] THINGS TO BE USED FOR MANURE. 893 potash ; and taken altogether, it Avill be seen why they are so well fitted tor mixing together. AVhere not so mixed, bone dust and ashes, or phosphate and potash in some other form, should be used with the peat. It may happen that another deposit of peat would contain all the ingredients, and be actually more valuable than stable manure, as soon as it is decomposed. For heavy soils, peat or swamp muck should always be composted with strong fermenting substances, such as horse and hen droppings and aniuial matters. Some peats arc so charged with iron that they are positively injurious to land until they have been long exposed to the air or mixed with some other substances. The best thing to decompose muck and fit it for convenient use in stables, is lime that has been slaked with water saturated with common salt. Ten bushels of this lime powder may be mixed with 100 bushels of muck. Where fish are used for manure, they should always be made up in a muck compost, until the whole mass becomes hon)ogeneous. 1013. 5Ii\ia5 Mack with Night Soih — Poudrette and tafeu arc names of manures sold in most of the cities, in barrels, at high rates, and much appreciated by farmers and market gardeners, to give vegetables an early start. Every farmer can make his own tafeu as well as buy it, for it is nothing but night soil and peat or muck in a fine dry powder, mixed with the excrementitious matters to absorb the moisture and deodorize the sub- stance, which is then thoroughly dried and jJacked for transportation. In tlie manufacture of tafeu, in a domestic way, one of the best divisors and deodorizers is charcoal dust. Fine clay or loam will answer every purpose, only requiring a greater bulk. Cinders of locomotives that burn wood arc excellent. 1014. Sea-Weed for MaHurCi— Upon all sea coasts, the fertility of the cultivated fields niay be much increased by the use of what is called sea- weed, whicli consists of marine plants cast ashore or gathered from the rocks under water. The latter is called rock-weed, and makes a richer ma- nure than the variety cast up by the waves. Kock-weed is exceedingly gelatinous, and consequently valuable for manure. A good method of pre- serving all the properties of rock-weed is to spread the green plants upon the surface, and turn them deeply under by the plow. All sea-weed is nsed to the greatest advantage immediately after being taken from the sea-shore, in the freshest state possible, while perfectly saturated witli salt water ; if that is permitted to drain from it, decomposition at once takes place, and the value is diminished. In the wet, green state it will add fertility to land already rich, and improve the poorest soil. 1015. Tanucrs' and GIuc-Makcrs' Scraps for Manure.— One who lias used them says: "When I first used tanners' scraps, I found they injured the crops. Kowl consider a tun of them, properly decomposed by the aid of oil of vitriol, and composted with swamp muck, worth as much as three fourths of a tun of Peruvian guano. The horns and piths are also very valuable, as they contain much phosphate of lime. Bono earth is so valuable, that if 894: FERTILIZATION. [CnAr. XII. apiilied to a lot covered witli live-finger vines, it will renovate and make tlie field productive. Any way to decompose these tan-yard substances will muke ilicm very valuable, more so than any farm-yard manure.'' We have used the waste of a glue manufactory with good results, applied directly to grass land, and also to oats. It consists of hair and scraps of fl.'sh, mixed witli lime. 101(5. Forest Leaves for Manure. — At the beginning of winter, every day not otherwise necessarily engaged can be profitably occupied in gathering leaves. There is no danger of getting too large a quantity ; they will bo of service in many different ways, and prove of great value when decaj^ed and unired with the compost heap. Tliere is no substance that can be used for mulching, or winter covering of plants, ecpial to the forest leaves, because thev not onl}- give protection, but in their decay, fertility to the soil. Leaves contain potash and tannin, which make them valuable for covering straw- berry beds ; and for stable-bedding there is nothing better, and their value in manure will more than paj- the cost of gathering. Every acre of woodland would afford a pretty fair dressing for an acre of corn land, if the leaves were gathered and composted. If used as litter in yards and stables they are wortli saving, but not worth half as much as they would be in compost. Tiie same thing may bo said of straw and cornstalks. Suffered to decay in the open air, more than one half their value is lost. Buried in compost, all would be saved and become fine manure. 1017- Turf Ashes for Manure. — Neigiibor A. had a piece of swamp ad- joining the land of neighbor B., which in draining afforded him a vast quantity of material to fertilize his upland. Seeing what A. had done, B. went so far with his part that he cut off the tussocks and piled them up as a line fence on the edge of A.'s open ditch that he had dug to carry off the water of the tile-drains. By-and-by A. complained to B. that his fence was a nuisance, for it grew weed-seeds that blew over upon his tilled land. B. also acknowledged it was a nuisance, not in the growth of weeds, but that it was " of no account nohow as a fence." <' Why not haul it away, then, and put it upon your corn or grass lots on the hill ?" said neighbor A. " Well, to tell you the truth, I haven't no faith in it." " Why, you buy ashes. Don't you think that such a mass of vegetable matter contains potash ?" " Well, I don't know. May-be it does ; but I guess it don't co:i!ai;i enough to ]»ay for hauling. But as you like such stuff, I will tell you what i' is : If yon \i'ill haul it away, you may have it in welcome — the whole string." " When ehall I get it off?" " Oh, any time you like, between now and planting-time next spring." " Enough said. I'll do it." " Very well. No half-way work ; you must make a clean sweep of it ; take everything off down to the surface." " I'll do it." Sec. 53.] POTASH AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR ASHES. 895 So they parted. B. bragged a little tliat he had hitched A. to the biggest load he ever undertook. " lie has no idea how many loads he will have to ])iill up that hill. lie won't do it, but I shall have the laugh at him when lie gets about half of it off aud backs down on the balance." Several times before autumn B. dropped a hint that he thought A. had bc;ter begin his big job. A. said it " wa'n't quite dry enougli yet." It got very dry, however, in September — dry as tinder, B. said. A. took a look at it, and he tliought it " was dry enough." So, one hot, sunny day, he walked down with a few matches in his pocket — handy things those matches, for with them he lighted the old tussock fence into a roasting hot fire, that reduced the whole string in two days to a pile of biting strong ashes, which did not require a very great outlay of team-labor or hand- work to get up on the hill, where thej' made a mark that has not been effaced yet, and prob- ably will not be until after the owner has said to himself several times : " Why the deuce didn't I think about burning the useless old fence and haul the aslies on my own land ? You won't catch me in such a trap as that again." We wonder if there are not some other people in the world who may profit by this man's folly, and learn that dry tussocks will make ashes, and that ashes arc good manure. lOlS. Wood Ashes for Mauure. — No farmer in the old States can afford to poll ashes, for any price that the soap-boiler will pay. Where oats lodge, as ihcy are apt to do upon manured land, an application of ashes would save the crop. Leached ashes are much used upon Long Island, but we doubt the economy of the application, as they cost about ten cents a bushel at Albany. When leached ashes have been exposed to the air a long time, they arc more valuable than when first leached. Potash, the chief constituent of wood ashes, is a necessary clement for most plants, not only as direct food, but as an agent for rendering silex and other constituents of the soil capable of being absorbed and appropriated in plant life. 1019. Potasb as a Substitute for Ashes. — Although we believe unleached ashes a cheap manure at twenty-five cents a bushel, we have no doubt that the same effect may be as cheaply produced by purchasing a crude kind of potash, such as comes from the Syracuse salt works, and has usually cost fifty dollars or sixty dollars a tun. If potash is used, it must be in powder, mixed with dry muck, coal dust, or fine loam, as a divisor. Concentrated manures generally contain very little or no potash. In guano it rarely ex- ceeds three per cent. Superphosphate of lime can contain none of conse- quence. Potash can not be economically added to manufactured manures, because nearly pure potash, or even the raw material from wliich it is made, can be more economically used separately. If any manufacturer of manure says it contains much potash, you may ask how he can afford to use it. 1020. Coal Ashes as a Manure. — "Are coal ashes of any benefit as a manure ?" The Genesee Farmer says : " That coal ashes are of some benefit, there 896 FERTILIZATION. [Chap. XII. can be no doubt. Numerous analyses of tliem liavo been made. Wo liavo now before us analyses of aslios from different kinds of coal. Tliey vary coTisiderably in composition, but on an average contain about 45 per cent, of silica, 40 of alumina and oxyd of iron, 12 of sulphate of lime or plaster, 2 of magnesia, and 1 of phosphoric acid. Commerciallj'^, coal ashes have no value as a tnanure, but to every farmer are vrorth something, and ought not to be thrown away. It is said they are good as a top-dressing for lucern and red clover. They are frequently mixed with night soil for the purpose of absorbing unpleasant odors. Tlicj'' are often employed in the garden, more for the purpose of forming -walks and preventing the ravages of mice, than as a manure. Covering early-sown jjcas with coal ashes is said to for- ward their growth, as they tend to absorb the rays of heat." 1021. Value of Soot as MasurCt — Soot is worth nearly as much as guano. Try it upon the grass ]jlot, the flower bed, the melon patch, the grapevines, or any other plants. Mixed with water, and sprinkled upon vines, it will aid in keeping off bugs ; spread dry upon the surface, it absorbs heat and hastens growth. Upon flowers it adds beauty to their colors as well as strength to the plants. Farmers, sweep your chimneys and save the soot, and you will save a very valuable manure. 1022. Wa.^HCsia as a Fertilizes". — Magnesia is found abundant in the mud of the Nile, which is very fertile ; and in some of the richest marls that have been analyzed, it was found in quantity sufilcient to destroy instead of im- prove soils, if it had been as deleterious as some suppose. The salts of mag- iiorjia may be employed, as the salts of lime, for fixing ammonia, but in that case the profit of its application will depend upon its cost. In one reported experiment, the phosphates of magnesia and ammonia, v/hcn applied at the rate of one hundred and thirly to two hundred and sixty pounds per acre, had a powerful effect npon the production of , Indian corn ; at the rate of three hundred pounds per acre, it increased tlie crop gf grain six times, and of straw three times. 1023. Theory of Atnioiplicric Fertilization. — "Whether the nitrogen which exists in the air, forming seventy-nine hundredths of its mass, supplies the nitrogen essential to vegetation, or whether this element is obtained, during growth, from salts in the earth, or from volatile nitrogenous compounds in the air, has never yet been satisfactorily determined, and nntil it is, our advice is : Look well to your manure heap ; enlarge it as much as possible, by adding ;o it all the coarse straw, slalks, and offal about your buildings. You nuiy aho enlarge the pile, aTid add to the value of your store, by gathering weeds, or Kods, or road-washings and nnick. Sprinkle the heap occasionally u ith i)!aster, but never add lime. Slops of the house and soap-suds will add to fin'tiiity and hasten decomposition, and prove far more reliable than any dependence upon the atmosphere. 1034, Plio?j)!iorus as a Fertilizer. — Phosphorus is found in all animals, combined with a particular organic substance in the brain, the spinal mar- row, the spermatic fluid, and in the milt of fishes, and certain mollusca, and Sbo. 53.] GREEN S AKD— FISH-GD ANO. 897 also in all vegetables. It exists in combination with oxygen in all rocks, in all soils, and in the flesh and bones of all animals, and their secretions. Some of the fossil excrements of extinct animals are of great value as fer- tilizers. The apatite rock of Estramadura, in Spain, contains eighty-one per cent, of phosphate of lime, and is so abundant that it is used as a building material. In the United States, mineral phosphates are found in many localities, particularly in Morris County, New Jersey, and at Crown Point, in the State of New York. The mineral was crushed and sold in onr markets as a fertilizer, but it has gone out of use, because it was found that the phos- phorus of bones was, in a progressed form, of an almost inconceivably greater value than that in its native condition in the rocks. 1025. iJow to Detect Adulterations of Sunerphosphates. — Tlie superphos- phate of lime, from its comparatively liign value, leads to adulteration. "Water is added to increase the weight; earths, chalks, lime, old plaster, and oyster-shells are sometimes mixed in a manner to deceive the eye. Some of these substances may be detected with the aid of a magnifier, by acids, or by simple washing with water and examining the residue after decanting. If old plaster is suspected, the hair will be seen ; if oyster-shells or chalk, the effervescence and particles of shells will furnish indications wliich will lead to closer scrutiny. The sulphate of barytes, or sulphate of lime, increases the weight of the mixture, and the former, particularly M'hen thrown into a tumbler of water, will fall to the bottom more rapidly than the superphos- phate. 1026. Green-Sand-Marl Manurei — This valuable manure abounds in New Jersey, and is one of the best things ever applied to a light sandy soil. Its appearance is not unlike common musket gunpowder, except instead of the grains being black, thej' are of a greenish color. The application of niter to grass, and potash to woody plants, has shown that both, in their place, are of almost inconceivable value to farmers, but not more so than green-sand- marl, which contains an appreciable quantity of potash. 1027. Norwegian Fish-Guano Manure.— In the year 1855 a company in Norway was organized with a capital of $100,000, to render available the great mass of refuse hitherto thrown away in the preparation of codfish at the Loftbden Islands, about 300 miles north of Christiania, where enough of this refuse is thrown away to make 2,500 tons of fish-guano annually. In comparison witli good Peruvian guano, this new guano jirovcd to be as fol- lows : Upon cereals, one pound of fish-guano Avas found, in twenty-five experiments, to produce an average increase of 9.1 pounds, M'hile Peruvian guano produced, in an average of twenty-three experiments, an increase of 6.3 pounds. Upon root crops, one pound of fish-guano was found, in an average, of seventeen experiments, to produce an increase of 15.6 pounds, while one pound of Peruvian guano, in an average of the same number of experiments, was found to give 17.3 pounds of increase. The whole of the experiments showed that the fish-guano was very nearly equal to the best Peruvian guano, weight for weight. 898 FERTILIZATION. [Cnxr. XII. 1028. American Fisb-Guano. — Two companies, similar to the above, are in operation in this country, one in the State of Rhode Island, and the other on the south side of Long Island. They make iisii-oil of the scup or porgies, and tlie menhaden, caught so plentifully along the coast. The veiy consider- able residue after the extraction of the oil, composed of the skin, bones, and muscle of the fish, is dried and ground into a powder, which bears a close resemblance to the imported guano, and is sola at about forty dollars per tun. This m.anufacture might be widely extended if these companies would take the trouble to introduce their article to the notice of farmers generally. 1029. How Much Mauurc Should wc €se ! — We answer : Just as much as can be converted into paying crops. Take five acres in corn : No. 1 with $10 worth of maaure, 40 bushels, worth 75c $30 00 No. 2 " 20 " " 55 " " " 4125 No. 3 " 30 " " 69 " " " 51 75 No. 4 " 40 " " 83 " " " 62 25 No. 5 " 60 " " 97 ' 72 75 Let us now suppose that the rent of soil, taxes, cost of cultivation, will cost $15 per acre, so that with No. 1 the cost of manure and other expenses would be $25, leaving a profit of $5, besides the value of the stalks, which will range througliout in a fair ratio with the yield of corn — then the profit would stand thus : Xo. 1, $5 ; No. 2, $6 25 ; Xo. 3, $6 75 ; No. i, $7 25 ; No. 5, $7 75. The second year, without any additional manure, No. 1 would yield 30 bushels, worth S22 50 profit $7 50 No. 2 " "45 " " 33 75 " 18 75 No. 3 " "59 " " 44 25 " 29 25 No. 4 " " 73 " " 54 75 " 39 75 No. 5 " "87 " " 65 25 " 60 25 The true science of manuring is to convert the manure at a profit into salable products. If the land will produce, say a profit of $20 an acre upon the labor employed, without manure, and with the same labor it will produce a profit of §iO an acre over the cost of manuring, then it is cer- tainly much more profitable to buy and apply the manure, whether guano or any other suitable substance, than it is to work without manure. 1030. Manuring with Green Crops and Lime— Green crops i)lowed under are powei-ful auxiliaries in rendering a light soil fertile. But if this is done too often successively, it eventually renders the soil too carbonaceous — i. e., too full of vegetable matter. This must be corrected by the application of lime. Some farmers complain that they do not get a sufiicient increase of grain to pay for the use of guano. They would get the full value of the guano if they would always sow clover seed on the grain, so- as to have a crop of clover to turn under as manure. Land that is kept rich by green crop ma- nuring never gets as full of weeds as it does from stable mamire. The manure made from one tun of clover hay is worth as much as that made from a tun and a half of timothy or meadow hay. Tiiere is no doubl on this point ; and it is one I'cason why we urge the importance of an increased growth of clover as a means of enriching the soil. If the manure obtained from the consumption of a tun of meadow hay is worth $6 43, that made Sec. 53.] HOW TO INCREASE MANURE- VALUE. 899 from a tun of clover liaj is worth $9 64, or half as much again — and tiiis is true everywhere. 1031. Value of Manure Depends upon Fineness.— All costly fertilizers slionld be examined in regard to their fineness. If properly 2>repared, they arc nearly in the state of impalpable powder. To prove this, pass a small sample through a fine sieve. This extreme fineness is the principal secret of the immediate benefit derived from guano. It has been stated tliat two busliels of bone-dust were worth more for immediate use than one hundred bushels of whole bones. Leather shavings, woolen rags, hair, oil-cake, and similar substances, are valuable manures, because they contain a large per- centage of potential ammonia, perhaps equally as large as the best samples of guano, yet their action is much slower. In all manures which contain potash, it is in such a mechanical condition. that it is much more readily absorbed by plants than the native potash of rocks ; and this is true of nearly every other mineral substance. 1033. Value Of Shelter for Manure.— In England, Lord Kinnard made a variety of experiments proving the value of protecting manure from the weather. Twenty acres of rich, dry loam were selected, one half of wliich was manui-ed with manure wliich had been housed, and the other half with that which had been exposed, at the rate of twenty loads to each acre. The whole was plowed and planted to potatoes, each part receiving the same treatment. Here is the result : Ukhoused Manure. — One acre produced 7 tuns, 6 cwt., and 8 lbs. ; another acre, 7 tuns, 18 cwt., and 99 lbs. Housed Manuee. — One acre produced 11 tuns, 17 cwt., and 56 lbs. ; another acre, 11 tuns, 12 cwt., and 20 lbs. Difl:erence in favor of housed manure about 60 per cent. The field was then sown with wheat, and dressed in the spring with 300 lbs. of guano per acre, and yielded upon two acres, treated with unhoused manure, 84 bushels of grain and 6,864 lbs. of straw. The other part, two acres, gave 109 bushels of grain and 9,482 lbs. of straw. On the first part the wheat weighed 61 i lbs. per bushel, and on the other, G6 lbs. 1033. Immense Value of Manures Used in England.— The value of manure annually used in England is estimated, from statistics carefully collected, at the enormous sum of $300,000,000. In making this calculation, all the home-made manures are put down at their commercial value, and all the im- ported bones, guanos, and other fertilizers, at the prices paid for them by the farmers. Is such high manuring profitable ? That is the test question. It is the one that has governed English farmers — no other would be sufficient to cause them to use such an immense sum annually in manures. It is simply a commercial operation, based upon this question : " Plow much manure is my manufactory (the farm) capable of working up this year ?" 1034. Value of Particular Manures on Wheat.— The following table shows the result of experiments made by Dr. Voelcker, at Cirencester, England, with fertilizers for wheat. The manures were all in fine powder, mixed with ten times their weigJit of soil, sown broadcast upon the growing crop March 22, and washed in evenly by a gentle rain. 900 FERTILIZATION. [Chap. XII. No. of Manures used, and Quantity Yield of Wheal Yield of Straw Increase of Wheat Ine. of Straw Plots. per acre. per acre In bus. per acre in lbs. overunmanM pluL OTerunma. do^ 1 No manure 27 1,984 bus lbs. 2 280 lbs. Peruvian guano 40 1-10 2,570 13 1-10 592 3 195 lbs. nitrate of soda 38 .... 2,690 11 .... 712 4 180 lbs. nitrate of soda and 168 I 406.10 2 736 13 6-10 75'' lbs common salt j ' ' ' ' ' 6 448 lbs. Proctor's wheat manure .391 .... 2,668 .... 121 .... 684 6 672 lbs. " " " .44 1-5 .... 3,032 .... 17 1-5 .... 1,048 7 4 tuns chalk-marl 27 .... 1,872 .... None 112dcc. Tlie manures cost $7 80 per acre, except the large dose of Proctor's wheat manure 011 plot 6, which cost §11 70. The wheat was worth $1 2G per bushel. Leaving the value of the straw out of the question, the profit from the use of the top-dressing was: With guano, $8 70 per acre ; with nitrate of soda, $G per acre ; with nitrate of soda and salt, $9 33 per acre ; with 448 lbs. wheat manure, $7 95 per acre ; with 672 lbs. wheat manure, $13 87 per acre. Taking the first four lots, wiiere tlie same amount of money was expended on each lot for manure, the nitrate of soda and salt give the best result, guano next, the wheat manure next, and the nitrate of soda alone, the least. The extra heavy dose of wheat manure gave the largest profits, although the increase is not quite in proportion to the amount of ma- nure ; that is to say, the extra 224 pounds on plot 6 gave an increase of about five bushels, while the 448 pounds on plot 5 gave an increase of 12i bushels. Tlie cost of producing an extra bushel of wheat was : AYith gu- ano, 60 cents ; with nitrate of soda, 71 cents; with nitrate of soda and salt, 57 cents ; with 448 pounds wheat manure, 62 cents ; with 672 pounds wheat maimre, 45 cents. In these calculations we have allowed nothing for any effect which tlic nninures may produce on the next year's crop. As a general rule, the eS"ect of sucli manure tlie following year is very slight, especially if tljc land is sown with any of the cereals. On clover, the mineral manure left in tlie soil sometimes proves beneficial. This is in accordance with theor\', and agrees witli the experience of farmers who use guano on the poor soils in Maryland and Virginia. 1035. Value of Particular Manures on Oats. — Joseph Harris, editor of t!ie Genesee Farmer, Eochcsler, N. Y., sowed oats May 20, on clover sod, and May 26, just as they were coming up, top-dressed tlie land with the follow- ing manures per acre : No. 1, no manure ; No. 2, 600 lbs. of plaster; No. 3, 300 lbs. superphosphate of lime ; No. 4, 300 lbs. sulphate of ammonia ; No. 5, 300 lbs. superphosphate of lime and 300 lbs. of sulpiiate of ammonia. Tlie result was as follows : No 1 straw per acre. ..1,958 lbs. . ..2,475 " . ..2,475 " . ..2,760 " ..2,675 " . Grain per acre. 792 . 1.225 . 1,100 . 1,160 . Bus per acre. 36 .. 47 .. 50 .. 50 .. 61 .. Weight per .... 22 .... 26 .... 21 .... 22 .... 22i bos. Total straw & grain 2,750 No 2 8,700 No 3 .. . 3,525 No. 4 .. . 3,850 No. 5. .... 3,725 The most striking result is the effect of plaster (gypsum or sulphate of Seo. 53.] THE USE OF SALT AS A FERTILIZER. 901 lime) on the quality of the grain. The oats on all the plots, owing to the late seeding, were very light, but where the plaster was used, they were 4 lbs. per bushel heavier than on the unmanured land. In addition to this, there was an increase of 11 bushels of oats and 950 lbs. of straw per acre from the use of plaster. Mr. Harris has since obtained a similar result by the use of plaster on Chinese cane. 1036. The Use of Salt as a Fertilizer.— Salt has long been used in En- land, with most beneficial results, applied in all quantities, from three to twenty bushels per acre. An article before us, from an English farmer, says he applies it as a top-dressing to all his grain crops by sowing it broadcast in April or May, at the rate of four bushels per acre, taking care to do it after sunset. He lias found tiiis application an excellent remedy for the grub and wire worm. He gets a much heavier crop of wheat from the salted than the nnsalted soil, and finds that he not only obtained a bolder, brighter, and heavier sample, but the crop is entirely free from rust, blight, and smut in tliat portion of his farm where salt has been used, at the rate of from seven to ten bushels per acre, sown broadcast as long before the planting as cir- cumstances will permit, in order that the salt may in tlie diff'erent workings of tlie land get thoroughly incorporated with the soil, and he finds that grubs and wire-worms avoid land treated in this way. A correspondent of the Maine Farmer gives the following experiments in the use of salt. He says he put on six bushels to the acre, and harrowed it in before sowing his grain and grass seed. " That is the very secret why I get so much hay. I have used salt many years on corn, putting it on the hill before hoeing, a.s we do ashes. Upon one piece, I put ashes on one third, on one third, plaster, and on the other third, salt, and the salted portion was decidedly the best. I broke up two thirds of an acre of poor land, and not having any common stable manure to put on it, I sowed, after harrowing over once, eight bushels of salt, and harrowed it in and planted potatoes and peas. They came up as strong and grew as rank as they would have done had there been a heavy coat of dressing plowed in." There is one peculiar feature in the effects of salt when put into the ground — it serves to make the ground very light and mellow. The following are opinions of Prof. S. "W. Johnson, of Yale College, upon tlie use of salt. The constituents of salt are chlorine and sodium, which are ingredients of all cultivated plants. The use of salt has often doubled the amount of a crop. The growtli of sugar plants and tobacco is much in- creased by it, though it is said to injure the quality of tobacco. Asparagus will bear a large dressing of salt. Root crops are also benefited by it. It makes the straw of grain stronger, and is beneficial to all crops in drouth. One of the benefits of salt is to make inert potash and ammonia existing in the soil available to growing plants. In our own practice, we have used salt with decided success upon a loamy soil, in a gneiss rock formation, not many miles inland. It was highly beneficial in restoring vigor to old grass sod, and was apparently very bene- 902 FERTILIZATION. ^ [Cuap. XII. ficial to all farm and garden crops, except the cucurlita family. To that, salt is injurious. 1037. Chandlers' Greaves and Value of Hair for Manure.— Analysis proves tliat chandlers' greaves are valuable manure, as it shows that they contain thirteen per cent, of ammonia, or — what is the same thing practically — nitrogen enough to yield that amount of ammonia to the soil. The best way to employ them would probably be to break fine, soak in cold water, and spread them in a compost heap. Their value may be calculated upon the cost by estimating the ammonia they would yield at 14 cents a pound ; tliat is, 13 per cent. 260 lbs., 14 cents, a lb., 830 40, besides other ingredients. In addition to this value, they may be fed to pigs and poultry, without lessening their Morth for manure, while they are frequently worth all lliey cost for feeding pui-poses. It is proper to observe that the flesh of poultry, and also the eggs, while fed upon greaves, have a rank, uni^leasant flavor. Their great value is for manure, and for this purpose English farmers liavo bought up great quantities in New York. In the autunm of 1802, their orders kept the market quite bare, though, owing to the receipt of 50,000 hogs a week, and 5,000 bullocks and 10,000 sheep, the quantity manufac- tured was larger than ever before. The average price was ^25 a tun, at which they are cheap manure. Of the value of hair for mannre, we can say that we have used a good many loads of the refuse of a glue manufac- tory, composed mostly of hair, and found it a most valuable manure. A farmer inquires : '• What is the best manure for celery ?" We answer, hair ; it surpasses all other fertilizers. The waste of farriers, cloth-dressers, glue- makers, tanners, and all other trades, where hair or wool forms the bulk of the waste, is worth ten times as much as stable manure. The sweepings of New York barber shops have been found very valuable, and in our opin- ion there is no substance saved xipon the farm for manure, that would pay so great a profit upon the labor, as in preserving all the hair combed from live animals, or scraped from dead ones, feathers included. It is worth an average of six to ten cents a pound for manure. 1038. Can Worn-out Lands be Restored ?— We answer, Yes, certainly ; but not by the common prescription of " rest:*' that is, to be thrown out of cul- tivation, as they always are at the South, and as tliey frequently are at the North. By no rest, such as land gets when allowed to grow up in old field pines and sedge grass; or in sumac bushes, mullens, and briers, will it ever bo restored. It may be by continued cultivation, deep plowing, proper manur- ing, and growing clover. That is the way to rest and restore worn-out lands. Some fields arc called worn-out, and are really unproductive, though lacking a single ingredient of fertility. If worn out so that wheat tails, add bone-dust ; if exhausted of potasli, you can not grow plants that contain a large amount of that salt, until you restore potash to the soil bv* an applica- tion of some fertilizer in which it exists. Think, if there is no lime you can not grow the cereals until you give lime to the soil. If your land is deficient in chlorid of sodium, as almcKt all the old fields of New England are, think Sao. 53.] TFTE USE OF WATER AS A FERTILIZEB. 903 liow easy to restore it by a dressing of commou salt. Think, that whatever the condition of the surface, the productiveness of the land depends greatly on the nature of the subsoil. If that is cold, wet, and poor, all efforts to improve the soil will be labor in vain, unless recourse is lirst had to under- draining. And finally, let it be your constant thouglit, that nearly all lands naturally fertile soon lose their fertility by growing successive grain crops on them, unless the organic elements abstracted by the crops are again restored to the soil in the shape of manures. 1039. Water as Mauure— the Worth of Water. — Without water all manure is worthless. "With it in abundance, crops can be grown almost without manure. There is fertility in the water of the clearest stream. Who can calculate the worth of water? Who knows, or even thinks, what a woJl of water is worth? Who can tell the value of a spring? Can any one count in dollars the worth of a tiny brook that trickles down through a farm ? The little brook where the horses, oxen, cows, and sheep go for their daily drink — for water that they can not live without ; wliere the swine go in summer to cool their tat sides ; where the old goose leads her young brood to teach them that water is a necessity of their life ; where the old ducks and the young ones sail up and down, enjoying a listless life of nothing else to do; where even the old dog, as he runs over the fields, stops to quench his thirst and cool his panting tongue. Down at the brook ! Ah, yes ! down at the brook ! What a charm in that word ! and it speaks of the worth of water^a substance that no one can live without ; a thing that if it does not naturally exist convenient to the house, the farm, the farm- }-ard, the field, sliould be made so artificially. Who can tell the worth of water for irrigation ? It can hardly be computed. If no water came from the clouds or the atmosphere, iu rain or dew, what would our crops be worth? Look! how everything is parclied up even iu a little drouth of a few weeks. And oh, how man and beast sufl'er if for a single day deprived of water! Think of it, farmers, and dig wells, build cisterns, make reser- voirs, that all may have an abundance of water. Above all other things, furnish your household with plenty of soft water, and you will have some- thing every wash-day to show the worth of such an abundant thing in nature as water. You will have, what you should always save, tlie soap-suds for manure. I wish you could see, as I do from the desk where I now write, the enormous growth of a grapevine made the present summer (1862) by the use of soap-suds. CHAPTER XIII, IRRIGATION-DRAINING-PLOWING. PLOWS AXD OTHEK FAKIOXG TOOLS. SECTION LIV.-IRRIGATION AND TILE DRAINING. (E hold the following to be ■vvell-demonstrated agricul- tural truths : J^irst : That where land is worth $50 or more per acre, it is cheaper to drain wet land than to pur- chase a greater area. Second : That such land 7nust be drained before it can be cultivated with true economy. Third : Tliat one half, if not three fourths, of the arable land of the Eastern and Middle States would be improved enough to pay for drainage. Irrigation is also a new art in American agricul- ture, but it is one that America can no longer afford to ignore — it should go hand in hand with drain- age ; and American farmers should read what it has already done for other countries, and think what it may do for this. With- out irrigation, portions of Mexico would be almost uninhabitable ; and in California it is of immense value, though the means employed arc very rude. No country on earth, perhaps, was ever so favorably situated for irrigation as the northern portion of the United States. Notwithstanding the gen- erally hilly surfiice, there are thousands of springs and rills that only need to be led by natural descents into artificial channels ; and where streams do not exist, a windmill can be made to pump up water from a lower level to a reservoir on the hill, to be let down when required for the use of growing crops. Yet the matter is scarcely ever thouglit of, and no laws or s^-stem have ever been adopted to promote the improvement. 1040. Irri?a£ioa— its Practice and Value in Italjt— In Lombardy, irriga- tion has been in vogue for seven hundred years, and as may be observed in the spread of particular manufactures wliere once planted, so of irrigation, it has continued to spread over all the land capable of being brought under the system. Whole fields have been graded, as we cut down and fill up the uneven surface of a city plot, to bring the land under the level of the canals and ditches. The title of all running streams in the Lombardo-Vene- tian kingdom has been reserved in the government, so as to prevent any individual monopoly of this necessity in all agricultural pursuits of that Sec. 54.] THE PRACTICE IN ITALY. 905 country. Tiie riglit to use the -water of streams for purposes of irrigation is let out to individuals under certain restrictions, ani the interest of the several parties likely to be affected is adjusted by a highly educated class of hydraulic engineers, no one of whom is allowed to assume tlie duties or practice the profession unless he is a regular graduate of the University of Turin. There is a government corps of engineers, and those who practice tlie profession on private account. It requires the highest degree of skill to construct the interminable system of canals in Lombardy, and to gauge all their capacity so as not to waste a gallon of water, and yet give each tract of land the exact supply stijjulated for. Canals are often formed by landed pro- prietors without any immediate prospect of benefit ; they look to the ultimate advantages, and if they can by that means save their land fiom deteriora- tion without getting back the first cost, they consider the outlay a^profitable one. By the use of water, the capacity of the land to carry an increased number of cattle is almost inconceivable. It is estimated that tlie triangle included between Milan, Lodi, and Pavia, the sides of which are about twenty miles, contains 1<)0,000 horned cattle, and as many swine, and one fourth of that number of horses. By the careful saving of animal ma- nures, and all the tafeu made by a large population, the soil is kept in high condition. The profits of irrigation may be seen by the following statement : Signer Berna made careful measurements ufjon land of an average quality, and found the yield of grass per acre as follows : First cutting in February, 8i cwt. ; second cutting in March and April, 126 cwt. ; third cutting in April and May, 131i cwt. ; fourth cutting in May to July, 73 j cwt. ; fifth cutting from July to September 15, 63 cwt. Total, 477^ cwt., or nearly 2i tuns. In the vicinity of Milan, where it is probable they enjoy the advantage of sewerage water, the raarcite meadows yield fully twice this quantity. The grass is cut for soiling in November, January, March, and April ; and in June, July, and August for hay; while the pasturage in autumn is rich and abundant. The gross average produce of an acre of winter meadow is estimated at $75, when the grass is consumed by dairy stock. Summer meadows are watered with three waterings a month from March to Septem- ber, to the amount of about forty-two inches over the surface. These mead- ows average something over three and a half tons of hay per acre. After the land has been three years in meadow it is planted three years in rice, and averages fifty-one bushels of paddy, or eighteen bushels of cleaned rice per acre. The soil is reduced to mud, and the rice sown from March to May, and kept under water until the plant blooms in July. After that it is irrigated occasionally, and harvested in the latter part of Septeml)e2-. The rice crop is followed by Indian corn two years, and that by wheat one year, and then it goes down to grass again. Indian corn requires the smallest amount of water of any crop. That corresponds with the experience of this country, yet it often happens that a single watering would double the profit. It is usually watered in Lom- 906 IRRIGATION— DRAINING— PLOWING. [CnAr. Xin. bardy once iv inoiitli for six moiitLs, and yields about fifty bnsLels to an acre. The water suflicicnt for Indian corn costs about 75 cents or SO cents an acre, and owing to tlic dry, calcareous soils of Italy, wliicli arc ill calculated to produce grass or Indian corn, and with the Avretched plows that are com- iiion, and the bad system of tillage, the population of the irrigated districts would starve if they were cut oflF from the usual supply of water. 1011. Irrigation in Piedmont. — In Piedmont two thirds of the land before it was ij-rigated was nearly barren. Now it yields fine grain crops. Tlic marcite fields, or M'inter meadows, are highly manured, and then supplied with an enormous quantity of water, the ]iurer the better ; that from springs being preferred. These fields are continually flooded from the 8tli of Sep- tember to the 25th of March with one cubic foot per second, or 390 tuns of water daily, for three acres of mareite. The average cost of Avater for a winter meadow is $5 per acre. Tlie extent of irrigated land in the valley of the Po, Piedmont, and Lombardy is not less than 1,G00,000 acres. The great Volume of the water is applied to the fields "in grass and rice; com, flax, and wheat do not require as luueh. The water comes principally from the melting snow of the Alps, so that it can not be said to contain any special fertilizing qnalit}-. The great source of fertility comes from the in- creased number of domestic animals that can be kept npon the land, and also that the water fits their manure for the immediate use of the plants, so that nothing is lost. "What has been done by irrigation in Italy may be more fully learned by studying a work published in England upon the sub- ject, by 11. Baird Smith, captain Bengal Engineers; and what has been done there may be done here; that is, millions of sterile or very un- profitably cultivated acres may be made to produce most luxuriant crops by simply furnishing the growing plants with a supply of pure water, to say nothing of the advantage of water from some of our rich muddy streams, or from the sewerage of cities, or wasted liquids of stables and farm yards. Piedmont appears to have the oldest system of irrigation, reacliing back to the fourteenth century. Both government and individual enterprise have been brought to bear npon the creation of the system. One canal, that of Caluso, on the Orca Kiver, begun in 1556, and completed in four years, owned by the state, is a work of great magnitude, 20 miles in length, with expensive tunnels, numerous bridges, aqueducts, and expensive woi-ks of masonry, which cost $8,500 per mile, occuj)ies 54 acres of land, and carries 300 cubic feet of water per second, watering 15,000 acres of land. Tlie canal of Dora, 8 miles long, yields 70 cubic iuclies of water jier second, and waters 500 acres of meadow, at a charge to those who use the water of about fifty cents an acre. The canal of Fiano, 10 miles long, gives 48 cubic feet of water per second, and waters 950 acres. Another, 5 miles long, with 12 feet per second, waters 200 acres. Tiie canal of Sori is AA% miles long, and carries 700 cubic feet per second, and waters 30,000 acres, which is at the rate of 42= acres per cubic foot per second, tlie rice lands reipiiring double as much water as other lands. Tlie charge for water is on Sec. 54.] THE PRACTICE IN FRAIfOE, BELGIUM, ETC. 007 tlie average about $1 80 per acre for a cubic foot of water per second. Tlic canal of Cigliano is 20 miles long, with a branch 10 miles long and 15 to 26 feet broad, 4 feet deep, and carries 650 cbic feet of water per second, and waters 32,500 acres, equal to 50 acres per cubic foot. The price is $1 80 ]ior acre for dry land, and double that and over for rice land. This canal is crossed by 50 bridges, and has 13 aqueducts. The Canal del Eotto, begun iu the year 1400, is 8 miles long, and discharges 600 cubic feet per second, and waters 25,000 acres, giving 55 acres for a cubic foot per second. These are only a few of tlie many canals of irrigation in Piedmont and Lombardy, where the system is more perfect than in any other European country, and where the results have long been proved satisfactorily i>rotitable. 1043. Irrigation in Germany. — In Germany, some of the best talent of the country has been devoted to this subject, and irrigation has been adopted witli the most beneficial results. Thaer lays down the position, that irriga- tion is one of the most useful and important of all the operations of tlie farmer, because moisture is essential to all vegetable growth, and from all tlie information that he could gather from practice, observation, and study, he felt bound to urge the practice of irrigation upon his countrymen. E::- periments made in Germany since the time of Tbaer have fully proved tlie value of water, independent of all fertilizing substances it might contain. It has been well proved in Germany, where experiments have been most ciirefully conducted, that irrigation doubles the average crop of hay, takiii'jj a series of years, and that the nutritious vahie of the hay from an irrigainl meadow is quite equal to the hay from the same land before irrigation was adopted ; and wiiere the water has been drawn from fountains rich in vege- table and mineral fertilizers, the irrigated land has required no manure. 1043. Irrigation in France, Belgium, and other Countries. — Mucli atten- tion lias been given to tlie subject of irrigation in France, and several years after it had been practiced to a large extent, a writer calculated tliat there were still more than ten millions of acres of land in the empire, the product of which could be tripled annually by irrigation. If that is true of France, liow much more is it true of America? In Belgium, lands that had long lain arid and worthless, have been made to produce two or three tuns of hay per acre, by means of irrigation, and the value of estates vastly enhanced. In France, land has been increased in value two and a half times, in large tracts subjected to irrigation. In some places expensive canals have been built, for the purpose of letting the water at fixed rents to farmers, just as it is in California to gold miners. Expensive artesian wells have also been bored in France, to obtain irrigating water, and this is also true to some extent in California. In France, Belgium, and Italy, the exact quantity required for each particular kind of soil, at each season of the year, has been carefully ascertained, so that it can be told to a degree of exactness how many acres a canal of given dimensions will irrigate. But none of the European calculations could be relied upon for America, so much depends 908 IRRIGATION— DRAINING-PLOWING. [Chap. XIII. upon the rate of evaporation. Irrigation was common in the Koman empire ; and we know how mucli it was depended upon in Syria and Egypt ; and China has accounts of it at a period anterior to Jewish liistory ; and at tlie present time, tliroughout Persia, Syria, Egypt, and other countries, it is the farmer's main dependence ; and so it was in Peru, long hefore America was discovered by the Europeans, for the Spanish conquerors found a most elabo- rate system of irrigation, under suitable regulations of law and competent engineers; just such a system as we must have here before irrigation can be practiced with general success. lOi-i. Irrigation in An)erica> — Although irrigation is not generally adopted in this country, there have been experiments enougli tried to prove that all drained land, which water would not make cold and sour, would be bene- fited by irrigation. California farmers, and a few on the Atlantic coast, have learned its value. Mr. C. L. Metcalf, of Franklin, Massachusetts, by his own experience, has become an earnest advocate of irrigation. With him the effect has been highly advantageous to both clover and grass— red-top and timothy. His practice is to let on the water two days and shut it off two, through April and May, and if tlic ground is dry, also in June. Hon. A. B. Dickenson, of Hornby, New York, is not only in favor of irrigation, but of using the Avater as a means of conveying manurial sub- stances to the field, and he has derived great advantage from simply making the water muddy, by plowing tlirough a pond, tlie water of which was then spread over grass fields. -He believes that the purest water that runs con- tains some fertility, and it certainly assists the vegetation upon irrigated land, to assimilate matters in the soil which they could not without the aid of its dissolving power. He has also proved that water long exposed to the air and warmed in the sun had a better effect upon vegetation than M-atcr from wells ; partly owing to temperature, and partly to vegetable and min- eral matters held in solution, all of which, except iron, appear to be bene- ficial. Economy in irrigation must be studied. One farmer, who wished to carry water across a valley for irrigating purposes, built a stone fence, of tlie right height, level on the top, and formed it into a trougli, with rubble and cement, thus making one wall answer two purposes. From necessity in California, irrigation has already been inaugurated, thougli witliont a proper economical system, laws, and scientific rules ; but it is probable that necessity will in time produce all these, and then tiie system having become once rooted in American soil, will spread all over tlie land, and tliat some of those who may read what we have said to encourage its adoption, will live long enough to see the system successfully practiced, to the lasting advantage of the great brotherhood of American farmers. One of the American objections lo irrigation is based upon the inter- ference of the conduits witli the mowing macliinc. It is contended that numerous trenches in the face of a field, ten or twelve inches deep and only half that width, and these necessarily crooked, to conform to the level, would seriously inconvenience the mowers. There is some force in this Seo. 54.] WHAT IRRIGATION DOES FOR LAXD. 909 objection, but it is not insuperable. Where a surface is thus intersected by irrigating conduits, plant white stakes in them to indicate every turn, and then follow their course with the machine ; and even though it is a little more trouble to cut the grass, the increased production will furnish compensation. 1045. What Lands are Most Geuefiteroduce damage instead of benefit. Lot it be remembered that irrigation will not make poor land rich, and unless fertil- izing substances are conveyed to the land in the water, it will do that land the most good that is furnished with the most manure. Irrigation should never be attempted upon land that is nearly level, as it will be likely to afford no commensurate advantage, unless it is so situated that a flow can be given to it of water rich in humus, at a time when the grass will not be in- jured by wafer standing upon its roots. Of course there are many farms that can not be irrigated for want of water; and there are others that have water but no land that can be used, because the lowest portion is too level and the higher parts too hilly. So we do not recommend irrigation as a general panacea to all farmers ; but we do urge it upon the attention of many, as the best and most economical way of restoring their land to fer- tility. As to the quantity of water necessary for successful irrigation, that depends upon such a variety of circumstances that no definite rule can be given. In one case in Germany, where the upper stratum was fine sand, and gravelly clay in part, for the lower one, with a gentle slope to the surface, so that the water was used over and over upon sixty acres, it was found by twent}- years' experience that the quantity of water was 200,000 cubic feet for twenty-four hours' irrigation. It was found, also, that the best time to commence watering was about the first of April, keeping on two to four days and then off the same length of time, till the grass is ready to cut. Repeat the operation for aftermath, and then keep the water off, because late watering proved prejudicial. Irrigation has changed arid wastes, inhabited by a sparse, poverty-stricken population, into well-cultivated districts, sup- porting a dense and wealthy population, and the same result would be pro- duced in many places in this country, by the same enlightened system that ])!-evails in Italy, where all kinds of cultivation are benefited far above the cost of the water, and grass lands are made to afford crops that could not otherwise be obtained, and this enables proprietors to keep many more cattle, increases the food crops, and enables the country to support a population that could not possibly exist upon the land if deprived of irrigation. 1046. Quantity of Water Required for Irrigation.— It is estimated that an irrigated meadow will absorb, by soaking in or evaporation, nineteen-tweiiti- 'JIU IRRIGATION— DRAINING— PLOWING. [Chap. XIII. etlis of the water let on, before it would find its way off by natural drain- age, unless the slope was very steep, or surface very hard gravel or clay. A main conductor of water, twelve feet wide on the surface, four feet wide at bottom, and four feet deep, may be made ou a descent of two feet to the mile. Smaller ditches may be constructed on a fall of one inch in twelve feet. The irrigating conduits should be nine to twelve inches deep, and very narrow, with a fall of a fourth of an inch to twelve to twenty feet. Ir- rigation can be conducted upon steep declivities, but the preparation is more expensive, as care must be taken to conduct the water so that the conduits will not overflow and let the water course down the hill uncontrolled. Tlio cost of preparing the surface of a meadow for irrigation, after the water is brought to the border on the highest part, would probably be in this coun- try of high-priced labor from six to twelve dollars an acre. Where water is elevated by any power for irrigating purposes, we recom- mend the construction of a reservoir sufficient to give several days' supply, to obviate the danger of a failure in the elevating power at a time when the crop, having been watered for some time, would be greatly injured by hav- ing the supply cut off. Great care must be used in regulating the quantity of water, which can only be determined by experiment, so as not to flood the land and sour the herbage, or give fitful waterings — a flood to-day and drouth to-morrow. We have untold acres of land so situated that it can be irrigated by the natural descent of the water, but in many instances the owner of one field could not avail himself of the advantage without the con- sent of the owner of an adjoining field, unless we had some general system by whicli tlie right could be obtained, as is the right to flow land for mill- ing ])urposes, or to take it for public roads. There are a great many farms in hilly countries, without running streams in summer for irrigation, which iiave the means of storing up water in reservoirs, cheaply formed, to be let down over the fields and save crops from destruction in times of drouth. Windmills could also be used for irrigation. We see one in almost daily operation at a manufactory, which did not cost over one hundred dollars, which would be sufficient to store up water enough in a cistern upon a neighboring hill to irrigate a hundred acres. See 369. Any field that has a uioderato descent can be irrigated by open ditches and made to pay a greater interest upon the cost tlian any other farni improvement ever made. 1047. Tile-Draiiiiug — its Importance aud Advantages.— Though we have said so much in favor of irrigation, we may say more in favor of under- draining, because it can be practiced where irrigation can not; and when the two systems can be connected, they will mutually benefit each other. In- stead, however, of giving detailed rules about draining, we will simply refer the reader to an American work upon the subject, ))ublished by lion. Ilcin-y F. French, of Exctor, N. II. Tucker's Annual licgister, for 1859, also con- tains much information about draining. No one should expect to succeed in a work that requires so much scientific skill, without previous instruction from an experienced person, or from books and diagrams and sound judg- Sko. 54.] IMPORTANCE OF TILE-DRAINING. Ull ment applied to the work. The point upon ■which iuexjserienced persons are most apt to fail is in the course of drains, which should always be laid up and down the descent, and never less than three feet deep, if the outlet fall will admit. Still better for the land and drains if laid five feet deep. At tliis depth, wooden drains will last, nobody can tell how long, for except near the outlet they are almost indestructible. One of the greatest bene- fits of iinderdraiuing is, it deepens the soil. This has been proved upon the hardest kind of red sand-stone land ; the aeration of the subsoil from the open tile-drains, after the water leached off, had the same effect upon the hard pan that air has upon lime. Heavy lands are always so saturated witli water that the productive soil must be naturally thin, and this is why deep plowing and the use of a subsoil lifter will double the depth of the produc- tiveness of such land, and why luiderdraining will quadruple it. Deep plow- ing and underdraining are the fiirmer's cheapest manure, and the profit of the work is in the time gained in putting in spring crops, which is worth more annually than the interest upon all cost of nnderdraiiiing. jSTo matter what is the character of the soil, it will be benefited by underdraining; but mostly those soils in which water stagnates, or which have no outlets for rains, except by evaporation. But all soils can not be profitably under- drained, because the land must have an intrinsic value mucli above the ordi- nary price of "Western farms, or even some of the interior land of New England, before it will pay to drain it. A great many swamps may be profitably drained, because utterly worthless as they now are. lOiS. \Vhat Land Shoald be Drained.— Eain-water falls on hills, sinks to an impervious stratum, along which it runs until it either finds a porous sec- tion through which it can fall to a lower level, or not finding such, continues on the hard bottom to the side of the hill, where it oozes out in the form of a spring. K this spriug-water is suffered to run down hill, it washes the hill- side more or less, and coming to the lowland, sinks as far as it may into the soil, makes it sodden, and produces bad effects. To drain effectually, then, we nmst cut ott' the supply above, and fewer drains will be necessary below. It is the hill lands then, as a general thing, that first need draining. Enouo-h water falls in one hard rain to cover the land three inches deep, and this sat- urates a clayey soil, and remains often until another rain falls. All such land shoidd be drained. John Johnston, of Geneva, N. Y., the original tile- drainer in this country, does not think there are a hundred acres in any neighborhood that do not need draining, and would not pay well for it. Perhaps this may be thought an extreme assertion, but it is nearer tlie fact than most of us have been aware. His first purchase was one hundred and twelve acres of land, well situated, but said to be the poorest in the county. The soil was a heavy, gravelly clay, with a tenacious clay subsoil, a perfectly tight reservoir for water, cold, hard-baked, and cropped down to about the last gasp. In 1835 tiles were not made in this country, so Mr. Johnston im- ported some as samples, and a quantity of the " horse-shoe" pattern were made in 1838, at "Waterloo, N". T. There was no machine for producing 912 IRRIGATION— DRAINAGE— PLOWING. [Ch4.p. XIII. tliciii, Eo tlic}' were made by hand and molded over a stick, at great cost. Yet he found draining profitable, and now he thinks, at the present cost of tiles, the increase of crops will pay the cost of draining in two years. In 1847 he drained a quagmire, so that it produced eiglity bushels of corn per acre in 1848, and in that case the cost of draining was paid by the incrcvse of one crop. The late John Delatield drained a piece of land that would only yield ten bushels of corn, at a cost of thirty-six dollars an acre, and the yield was increased to over eighty-three bushels per acre on tlie whole field, and ninety-four bushels ujwn the best part. Tlie average cost of under- draining in France has been ascertained to be twenty-seven dollars an acre, and the increased value of annual products nine dollars an acre. Under- draining is advantageous in saving the elements of fertility in land from wasli- ino' away. A French writer says that six thousand cubic yards of the water of the Vaucluse or the Vosges contain all the elements of an ox, and that the Garonne carries out to sea every day more guano than is imported into, France in a year. 1049. How Land Should be Drained.— Upon land that is nearly level, the first step is to have it carefully leveled. Ascertain first where the outlet of all the water must be, and whether you can have one or more main drains, with branches leading in at nearly right a«iigles, or whether you must make all tlie drains from the farther side, each to empty its own water into a natural brook or artificial ditch. If the drain is very long, you must use large tile at the lower end. If the descent of a drain is small, say only one inch in a hundred feet, it will require -tile of twice the diameter of a drain of rapid descent, say one inch in twelve. In many cases Mr. Johnston has used two rows of four-inch, in others six-incli, apd in one, a pipe nine incJics bore. At first he had many to take up and replace with large pipe to secure a complete discharge. Main drains he makes six to eight inches deeper than those emptying into them, which are graded so that the descent may take place gradually, and always with a slight sidewisc direction down stream. Althougli he uses large mains, he recommends fiirmers never to use laterals over two inches in diameter, and often one inch will be quite sufficient. No one can give directions for size of tiles. They must be adoj)ted to circum- stances. Let the rule be small laterals and large mains. It" your land is wet, you will require large pipe, and if flat, the lines must be near together; say 30 feet apart. Both ends of the drain should be open to the air, and, as tile are destructible by frost, make the outlet of stone, brick, or wood, and make an air-vent at the upper end by a pile of loose stone, a box, or a liole tlirougli a log, with such a mark at the surface as will enable the plowman to avoid disturbance. This will not only make the water run more freely, but tlic air will draw through and aerate the soil. Sometimes tile become obstructed, and must be taken up at the point of difficulty, wliich is easily determined by the water coming to the surface. But stoppages are not frequent — not half as frequent as it is to find good, durable streams of water running from the drains, wliich in some cases have proved valuable Sec. 54.] DITCHING AND DITCHERS' TOOLS. 913 BOiu-ces of stock water for the farm, where it was previously very desti- tute. 1030. Laying off the Ground, Ditching, and Laying the Tiie.— A spirit level, mounted upon a tripod, is most convenient, but a rafter level will answer, and can be home-made, with a plumb-bob from the ape.x to indicate degrees of descent upon the cross-bar. To get your scale, make the legs of your triangle exactly twelve feet apart. Set it up on a level (ice is best of all places), and put an inch block under one leg, and mark 1 where the line hangs, and so on, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, as you raise the leg inch by inch, and then when you set the instrument upon land, the plumb will show the number of inches descent in each twelve feet almost as fast as you can walk. In digging a ditch for a tile drain, no more dirt is to be removed than is barely necessary to do the work and afford room for the tile at the bottom. To do this, a few tools not usually found on a farm must be had. That is, a long, narrow, blade-spade to cnt the bottom of the ditch ; a light pick with a long handle to dig where the earth is too hard for the spade ; a long-handled scoop to take out the loose earth. Tiiis is like a narrow hoe with the edges turned up. A spoon shovel, with along handle, is sometimes convenient, particularly in taking out pebbles. If we were ditching a meadow, we would first plow two fur- rows, turning the sod carefully each way. To do this well, the second sod must be cut deeper than the first, or else the plow must have an attachment on the land side, like a knife-blade, projecting down to hold it up to the edge of the turf to be turned. The earth may be loosened two feet by this sod furrow, followed -b'y a- subsoil plow. It is then quickly shoveled out, and where it is to be dug deep, it may be found useful to cut the lower part so much narrower that a slioulder will be formed at this point, upon which the ditcher can stand. Tiles are easily laid at the bottom of a deep ditch by a tile-hook, which is simply a slim piece of iron fixed at right angles to the bottom of a slender handle." As one man lays them down, another throws a little lojDse earth in, which is rammed down to keep them straight and firmly in place. Then cover with straw, weeds, bulrushes, small brush, in- verted turf, or coarse gravel, to prevent the fine earth running into and choking the joints. It is not necessary to fill the ditch with anything but the dirt that came out, to enable rain water to find its way in. It will find its way through hard earth from a point twenty feet distant. lOol. Descent and Depth Necessary in Drains. — It is common to hear the remark, that such a piiece of land can not be drained, because it is too level. As we do not believe in level land, we ask you to try the level before you decide. Again, it is surprising to see liow little fall is necessary to make water run. Two inches fall in 100 feet of well-made drain has been found entirely sufficient. "We know that water in rivers runs wltli a fall of two mches in a mile. "With a descent of six inches per mile, a stream runs a mile per hour. As to the depth of drains, that, too, depends upon circum- stances. "We believe four feet is right. "Where tiles are dear and labor cheap, the less tiles we can use the better. Drains three feet deep, at fortj 914 IRRIGATION— DRAINING— PLOWING. [Chap. XIII. feet apart, r.re not so efl'ective as at five feet deep and fifty feet apart. Tiles in tins country must be laid below frost and subsoil plows, and that should be at least three feet deep. Nobody contends now in England for less than three feet depth of drains, and those who advocate three feet arc called shal- low drainers. As a general rule, it costs as nuieh to dig the fourth foot as it does the other three feet. A four-foot drain is opened in England only one foot wide at the top, and just wide cnougli to lay tlie tile at the bottom. 1052. What Draiuing does for Land.— It not only dries the soil, but it enables it to endure drouth, because the lower strata being aerified and wanned, induces roots to penetrate it, and thus decomposition of organic matter in the soil is hastened, and nutriment formed for the growing plants. The mechanical texture being improved, the soil is thus deepened, and e.\- cess of water quicker removed after a rain. The land is more productive because the season is lengthened. Grass holds in better, and grain is not thrown out by freezing and thawing. The land is sweeter, warmer, mel- lower, richer, and in every way better for all purposes, and healthier. In- deed, one of the great benefits of draining a country is the improvement of health. It is of great advantage upon uplands, and still greater wlien swamps are drained. It is particularly needed in all the cotton-growing States. 1053. The Cost and Durability of Tiles and Tile-Draining.— It has been estimated that the average price of two-inch pipe tile is about $1 67 a rod at the manufactory. Such as was made and used in this country eighteen years ago, by John Johnston, of Geneva, New York, he reports as sound as the day they were put down. Tiles should be about as well burnt as good wall brick. They are then strong enough, and can be cut, and arc not likely to bi-eak in the earth. They should be hard enough not to dissolve, and the clay should be compressed sufliciently to make the tile strong enough, witljput such bard burning as will melt the clay. The following were the advertised prices in 1861-2 : HOKSE-SnOE TILE. At Hartford, CL At Albany, N. Y. At narlforj, Ct. At Albanj, N. T. 7i inch caliber. . $ STo 00 per 1000 I U inch caliber. .818 per 1000. .$18 00 per 1000 (U inch caliber . 55 00 per 1000 3| inch caliber. . 15 per 1000. . 15 00 per 1000 51 inch caliber. . 40 per 1000. . "35 00 per 1000 | 2^ inch caliber. . 12 per 1000. . 10 "5 per 1000 BOLE TILE (EC.a-Sn.\PED C.VLIBER.) 6 inch caliber ..$150 per 1000. .$80 00 per 1000 I 2 inch caliber $12 per 1000 JtlO 75 per 1000 4 inch caliber.. 40 per 1000.. So 00 per 1000 Round tile 1} inch caliber 0 00 per 1000 3 inch caliber. . 18 per 1000. . 10 25 per 1000 | Kound tile 2^ inch caliber 12 00 per 1000 To estimate the number of tile required for an acre, divide 43,560 by the number of feet your drains are to be apart. As that is the number of super- ficial feet in an acre, if your drains arc to be 36 feet apart, then 43,560 divided by 36 gives 1,210 as the quotient. Always calculate one tile for every foot in length, to allow for breakage, and then you can easily ascertain the cost of any given line of draining. Upon one farm in New York, that of R. G. Swan, near Geneva, tliere are over sixty miles of tile-drain, a con- siderable portion of which cost only 28^ cents a rod, complete. Tiic cost of digging and tilling ditches upon Judge French's farm, Exclcr, N. II., whero Sbo. 54.] TUE COST OF TILES AND DRAINING. 915 the earth was so hard it had to be picked up, was for one job of a mile of ditches, four feet deep, a day's work to three rods. Upon another job, with ditches four feet deep, and twenty inches wide at top, and four inches wide at bottom, giving a mean of twelve inches, two men opened 14 rods of such ditcli in a day, and in six days, opened, laid the tiles, and filled 57^ rods ; at a cost of 21 cents a rod for labor, at $1 a day. Tiie total cost was : 8-47 two-incli tile at $13 a thousand, $11 01 ; 100 three-inch tile, $2 50; tan bark on joints, 70 cents, horse work, 50 cents, $1 20 ; labor, 12 days, $12. Total, $26 71. This is 46J cents a rod, besides engineering and super- intendeuce. The soil was sandy. In hard clay soil, it cost 50 cents a rod for tlie labor, which was done by the same hands as the others. Drains three feet deep cost only half as much labor. This is true on the average, and where the land is stony, the last foot will cost more than equal the cost of the first three feet. Where labor is hired by the day at one dollar, it may be calculated that the cost of digging and filling in ditches four feet deep, including placing the tiles, will average 33i cents per rod. If tiles cost one cent a foot, then the total cost will be 50 cents a rod ; and per acre, accord- ing to the distance apart of drains. The following table gives the number of rods in an acre at the several numbers of feet apart, of the drains, to wit : At 15 feet, 17G rods ; at 18 feet, 14C| rods ; at 21 feet, 125^ rods ; at 24 feet, 110 rods; at 27 feet, 97^ rods; at 30 feet, 88 rods; at 33 feet, 80 rods ; at 3C feet, 731 rods ; at 39 feet, 67/? rods ; at 42 feet, 62f rods. Thus, the cost of draining an acre with tiles at one cent a foot, and labor two cents a foot, with drains at 30 feet apart, will be $14; at 42 feet apart, $31 42; at 60 feet, apart, $22. 1054. Wooden Drain Tubes.— S. P. G., of Racine, "Wisconsin, says wooden tubes, with perforations through the sides, loosely jointed, will answer all purposes of tile, will last as long in places where they are constantly wet, and can be laid for half the expense. This may be true if the pipes are placed very deep in the earth, never less than four feet, and it would be bet- ter if five feet. These pipes are made of three-inch scantling, bored very rapidly by machinery, with an inch-and a-half auger ; and we recommend that they should be slit in two after being bored, and the halves mismatched, in every two pipes, so as to be sure that they do not fit together tight enough when laid to prevent the water finding its way inside. 1055. Brush Drains, and Substitutes for Tile. — We have seen common sapling pine poles last long enough to pay the cost four times over ; the drain being formed of three poles — two an inch or two apart at bottom, and one on top. This only answers in land not liable to guUey out in the bottom of the drain. We have seen valuable service done with bush drains. Long, slim bushes are jammed down in a narrow ditch, with buts lapping on the tops, and always pointing up hill. We have heard of such a drain made of cornstalks that lasted six years, and was still good, and had paid its cost every year it was in use. Very durable drains have been made of cedar, both round and split ; and chestnut rails have also been profitably used. 916 IRRIGATION— DRAINING— PLOWING. [Chap. XIII. "Wood will always be found most durable in the wettest drains. "We have heard of a drain laid through quicksand, by placing a board at bottom and on it two pieces of scantling and a flat slab, all of wiiieh were continually wet, whicli will apparently last forever. Wooden drains, however, we can not recommend for any place where stone or tile can be obtained. 105C. Cobble-Stone Drains. — The loose cobble-stone of many farms can be formed into a very good drain by careful labor, placing one each side and a larger one resting on the two, leaving a passage underneath, and tilling in promiscuously to within plow-reaching distance from the top. "With good wall-building stones an excellent drain can be made. But the objection to all stone drains is the extra labor over that with tiles, so that they can only be recommended in places where it is an object to get rid of the stones. Judge French estimates the extra cost of labor to lay stone drains, even where the stones are on the farm, at more than the cost of tiles. 1057. Cement Drain-Tiles. — Good drain-tiles have been made of cement and sand, at tiret porous, and afterward not so, dependence beitig made upon having the water enter the joints. As to the water going tiirough the pores of the tile, ten times as much goes through the joints as througli the pores, so that making them porous is not so very important. Tlie joints will take in all the water in the ground. In some places these cement tiles can be made on the farm clieaper than tcrra-cotta tiles can be obtained. 1058. A Prairie Draining-P!ow. — A machine is in use in Illinois that an- swers a good purpose in draining the ordinary soil. A sti'ong beam, on four rollers, carries a small cutting wheel, which divides the sod; this is followed by a sharp coulter, set at an. angle backward, to tiie bottom end of which a piece of iron, shaped something like a pear, is welded, supported by a flat bar, bolted, like the coulter, fast to the beam. To this "mole"' is attached a second, of similar shape, a little larger, by a link joint. Being set into the ground, it opens a hole, which it molds permanently by side pressure, three feet below the surface, and through this drain the water runs oif as easily and continuously as through tile-drains. Farmers consider it invaluable on our large praii-ics, in the broad, flat sloughs; as they say, that it not only thoroughly drains the land, but that it concentrates the underdraining of the marshes and sloughs to any particular point that it may bo wanted, creating a permanent, never-failing spring of water for stock, on many farms where this convenience was totally lacking, in dry seasons, until the introduction of the ditcher. Many sloughs have been drained by running the mole-plow through them, and down the outlet or lowest spot, until the natural fall will allow the water to come to the surface, and there a durable spring is often formed. 1051), Proper Shape of Drain-Tile.— The Royal Scottish Society of Arts publish experiments in transporting lead ore from the mines to the stamping mills, by water, running through a trough. At first they tried a square wooden trough, twelve hundred feet long, with a slope of from thirteen to twenty degrees ; but the water had not force enough to move the lumps of Seo. 55.] PLOWS AND PLOWING. 911 ore over the flat bottom of the trough. They then changed the position of • tlie trougli, having it rest on one corner, and tlie ore passed rapidly through without choking. A right-angle form kept itself clear with the least water. According to this theory, the proper shape of drain-tile is not round, but should be shaped with a sharp corner in the lower side of the pipe. 1060. laws Needed fo Regulate Draining.— Every State should regulate the drainage of land by statute, so that those who hold the mouths of natu- ral outlets for water can not deprive others of their use who own land far- ther up stream. Such a law was passed by Maine, in April, 1659, providing that any one in possession of lands that can not be drained, approached, or used without crossing land held by another, may have drains established by commissioners who locate the route and assess the damages ; and then the ditch is placed upon the same footing as to right of way and repairs as pub- lic roads. SECTION LV.-PLOWS AND PLOWING. (hat is the object of plowing? It is either to turn a Bod or flat furrow, or stir and mellow the surface, or break up the sulisoil without bringing it un. Then there is no such thing as a universal plow. The one invented by Governor Holbrook, of Ver- mont, comes the nearest to it, but that in reality combines four plows in one, by shifting mold-boards and land-sides. The best plow to turn flat furrows in sod ground would be the worst one to stir up a stubble field. The plow must be fitted to the object required ; but upon almost all soils you may lay it down as a rule in ^'lowing, that you can not plow too deep nor too much. If you have disinte- grated the soil until it has become so filled with air that the particles are actually held apart so that it is in a condition that you call pufly, it will be useful, and for some crops necessary, to compact the surface together with a roller, or some other mechanical means. A turnip field, after having been pulverized with great labor, is often tramped by sheep. An onion bed is first made mellow, and then compacted quite firmly. A wheat field can not be made too mellow — can not be plowed too many times— can not be harrowed and pulverized too much ; but after all that, it is benefited by a heavy roller. Plowing exposes the lower stratum of soil to the ameliorating action of air, by which it acquires fertility. We can not say how, though all experience proves the statement true. Plowing is there- fore necessary, and the more perfectly it loosens and pulverizes the soil, the 918 IRRIGATION— DRAINING— PLOWING. [Cuap. XIII. more equally will it be peuetrated, and the more numerous will be the roots sent out, until the whole soil is filled with their hair-like fibers. As a rule based upon the truth of science, it may be said that while it is possible to divide the particles of earth — that is, to separate them one from another in the same way that the grains of sand are separated — the manipulation of it will improve its condition. Farmers must continue to look to the "object of plowing," and reacli down a little deeper and deeper, and bring up and separate more of the particles of the earth, so tiiat the growing plants can appropriate them to their use, and the earth will never bccomo barren ; pul- verization and water will make it j)roduce forever, if the elements which crops extract are fairly returned in the sliape of excrements of such crops when consumed. 1001. TIis History of Cast-Iron Plows. — Tiie first cast-iron mold-board was invented by James Small, of Bcrwicksliire, Scotland, about 17-iO. He con- tinued to manufacture them for fifty years, still using the wrought-iron share ; cast iron for that purpose having been first applied by llol>crt Hansom, of Ipswich, England, in 1785. Eigiiteen years afterward, he made a valuahic improvement, still in use among all good plow-makers, that of cliilling tiu; iron in the molds, by using bars of cold iron, upon which the cutting edges of the share are cast, making tliem harder than steel. A Sufiblk farmer added the land-side, making three distinct pieces of casting to each, to whicli wrought or cast-iron beams and handles were afterward added in various parts of England and Scotland. The first cast-iron plow in America was made by Charles Ncwbold, of Burlington, N. J. His first patent bears date June 17, 1797, and is for a plow combining mold-board, share, and land-side all in one casting. Objec- tions being made to the east-iron share, probably because it was not cliill- hardened, he substituted wrought-iron shares. Great as these improvements were upon the old wooden })lows, such was the prejudice against them — some even aftirming that cast iron poisoned the ground and prevented tiie growtli of crops— that after spending, as the inventor alleged, §30,000 in a vain efibrt to get his plows into general use, he gave up the business iu despair, leaving American farmers wedded to their idols, the old wooden plows. In the year 1800, Peter J. Cnrtenas, a merchant of New York city, ad- vertised plows fur sale, made of cast iron. In 18t)7, David Peacock, of New Jersey, taking his idea from Newbold, for which, Iiowever, he i>aid him a thousand dollars, patented a plow, the mold-board and land-side cast separate, to whicli he attaclied a wrought-iroa steel-edged share. Tliomas Jefferson wrote a treatise, in 1798, upon the form of the mold-board, insisting that it should be constructed upon scientific principles. Those principles were probably first applied by Robert Smith, of Buckingliani, Pa., about 1804:-6, as he obtained a palent for a cast-iron mold-board, and wrote upon the subject about that time. In 1814, yeai-s after cast-iron i)lo\vs had been in successful use in England, and jiartially so in this country, Jethro Wood obtained a patent for a cast-iron plow, in three parts, similar to one said to Sec. 55.] THE HISTORY OF CAST-IRON PLOWS. 919 have been in use previous to that time in Virginia. Tiiis was a very differ- ent article from those now in use. We do not believe tliat Wood ever was entitled to any credit as an inventor, though he was tor his persevering efforts to get his plows into general use. In 1817, Edwin A. Stevens, of Hoboken, N. J., took up Newbold's plow, with a view to improve its form, so as to make the draft easier. He took liis patent in 1821, included in which was the process of cold-chilling the cutting edges and parts of the share most likely to wear out. His plan was so perfect that it was highly approved of, but other engagements prevented him from extending what he had so successfully begun. In 1810, Josiah Dntciier, of New York city, commenced a series of im- provements, which are to be found upon nearly all cast-iron plows, and which have been of immense beneiit to the farmers of this country, notwithstand- ing which, we believe, he died poor, and his name is almost forgotten by those whom he has benefited so mucli ; while tliose who have invented death-dealing implements, or stained them with the blood of victims immo- lated upon the shrine of military glory, are lauded more tlian the godfathers of the Industry of All Nations. The first patent plow of which we have any record, was granted in 1720, to Joseph Foljambe, of Rotherham, England, and for many years afterward all similar plows bore the name of that place. It was a great improvement upon those previously in use ; the mold-board and land-side were wood, sheathed with iron plates, the share and coulter wrought iron with steel edges, just such as were in imiversal use in New England early in the pres- ent centur}'', and similar to those now in use in the Southwestern States. This plow was intended to be worked by one man and two horses — much larger than our common horses — and turn over an acre to an acre and a quarter a da}'. The following is tlie measurement of that plow : Length of beam, 6 feet ; fi'om end of handles to point of share, almost in a straight line, 7 feet 4 inches ; from point to heel of land-side, 2 feet lOi inches ; hight from ground to top of beam, 1 foot 8 inches ; weight, 140 lbs. Some twenty 3'ears after this plow was brought out, the center draft-rod or chain was added, just like that now used, and supposed by some to be a very recent invention. Joel Nourse, of Boston, in connection witli his partners, has probably done more toward making the cast-iron plow a perfect implement than any other individual, though many others are entitled to high praise for doing, to the extent of their ability, so much to lessen the labor of tilling the land. The most ancient plow, as represented on old coins and monuments, was a crooked stick, afterward improved by sharpening with iron. The imple- ment now in use in Hindostan is little better than the original, and even in this country some now in use are but slightly in advance of the Hindoo arti- cle, wliich consists of a slight beam, a narrow share, and a corresponding stick with a handle to guide it. The Chinese plow is similar, and the effect is what it would be if a man should hold a sharp-pointed shovel, back up, 920 IRRIGATION— DRAINING— PLOWING. [Colp. XIII. with tlie handle at an angle of forty-live degrees, and it should then be drawn forward with tlic point in the ground. The plows of continental Europe have undergone but little change for centuries. The ancient Roman plow is still in general use in France. It lias a beam, a share, and a handle. The share is a triangular-shaped piece of wood with an iron point, lance-head shaped, and sometimes a coulter, and rarely a mold-board. How much better was the old " Carey Plow," which in youth we followed many a day, with its clumsy wrought-iron share, -wooden land-side and standard, and wooden mold-board, plated over with a piece of tin, sheet iron, or old saw-plate, requiiing the strength of a man to hold it by the two pins in its upright han- dles, and at least double the strength of team now needed to do the same work. Tiien there was the old bar-share plow — a flat bar forming the land- side, with a thick clnnip of iron like the half of a lance-head for the point, in the top of which the coulter was clumsily locked, and of course a wooden mold-board without any pretensions to making a fit with the iron part. There is no longer any occasion nor excuse for a farmer's using a poor plow, nor one not fitted to his particular soil and various kinds of work ; since jjlows of a great variety of patterns are made ; right hand and left ; and witii shifting mold-board ; so that furrows on a hill-side can allbe turned one way ; also with two shares on one beam ; the first turning the sod and second lifting a course of loose earth from the bottom of the first furrow and placing it on top of the furrow-slice of the forward share. 1062. Subsoil Plows— their Shape and Use.— Of all the useful improve- ments in plows we consider the subsoil plow the most important. The use of this plow is to follow the turning plow, entering the bottom of the fur- row and performing one of the most useful operations upon the farm, stirring and loosening up the subsoil. One of the best-shaped subsoil plows for soils free of stone was invented by Prof. Mapes, of New York. The shape of the share is somewhat like a flattened quarter of an orange-peel. Suppose this placed with the convex side up, connected with the beam by a thin, broad standard, with a flat plate at the top to bolt to the beam. The share, stand- ard, and top plate are cast all in one piece, and when one point of the share becomes dull by use, the plate can be unscrewed from the beam and reversed, thus bringing a new point of the share forward. A "Wiscon- sin farmer — Mr. P. North, of Rochester, Racine County — has invented a subsoil attachment to the plow, which is described as readily applied to any plow, adjustable to any required depth from an inch to six or more inches, and which thoroughly pulverizes the subsoil without raising it from its natural jiosition. In other words, by the help of this invention, land may, by one man and one team, be at the same time surface-plowed to the full depth of the former plowing, and subsoilcd to the depth of two or more inches, the ]Milverized subsoil retaining its original place. Wo saw some- thing of this kind, made by a smith in Norfolk, Ya., ten years ago, that was very effective. It was a lance-head on a rod about a foot long, bolted to the heel of the plow, and curved over so that the point stood forward, and cut Sec. 55.] PLOWS AND PLOWING. 9:21 four or five inches below the plow-furrow. This attachment is easily made and applied by any smith, and is a very useful addition to any plow to be used in mellow land. For stony soils, a subsoiler is made of steel, somewhat in the shape of a sharp-toed shoe, bolted to a standard in two parts, one act- ing as a brace when attached to the beam. This is stronger than the cast subsoiler, and better calculated to dig in among stones; and it is similar to an implement called a ditching-plow, except that the standard of the diteh- ing-plow is sometimes four feet high, and may be regulated to suit various depths, as the ditch deepens. 1063. Steel Plows. — Within a few years the mamifacture of steel plows has been very largely extended, the invention, not only of the plows, but machinery for their manufacture, having been brought to great perfection. One of the most extensive establislunents for making steel plows is that of Remington, Markham & Co., at Ilion, N". Y. "We have had this year, 1861, several acres of strong land turned by one of these plows, which is so light that the English plowman was afraid to hitch the oxen to it, he was so sure it was not strong enough. He soon changed his opinion, and declared it not only very strong, but the best plow he ever saw. AVe have also a steel subsoil plow for one horse, which is a very useful implement for mark- ing rows to plant, and working between, to stir and loosen the earth, par- ticulai-ly in drouth. One of the great advantages which steel plows have over all others, is in weight ; for it has been fully proved that the heavier the plow the greater the force necessary to move it along the surface. This is a very important consideration. If a wagon is very heavy, after the inertia of its dead weight is once overcome it rolls forward easily, but the plow is a dead weight all the time. 1064:. Deep Plowiug— its Beiiefits. — " An increase of one inch in the aver- age depth of plowiug tlu-oughout the United States would produce a larger amount of profit, as compared with present i-esults, than all the gold received from California." Wo believe this assertion ; but we do not believe that all soils, without being previously subsoiled, are fit for this immediate increase in depth. Shallow plowing is the greatest error of American farmers. Millions of acres, thougli composed of mellow loam, a foot deep, were never stirred half that depth. Many a man owns a better farm beneath his fur- row slices than the one he cultivates. " Deep plowing saves manuring." It is true that the soil derives no benefit from the plow, or other tool, only 60 far as it opens its particles so that the air can penetrate through the mass, and carry heat, moisture, and fertility to the roots of plants, which can pen- etrate a loose soil, but can not a compact one. A granite rock made pulver- ulent, and then stirred frequently in the air, and moistened, will become a productive soil. It has received tiie benefit of exposure to air, and that has fertilized it. All the plow, or any other tool can do, is to put the soil into the most favorable condition to receive this benefit. The best condition that any soil can be placed in, is that which will enable it to absorb the greatest possible amount of heat and moisture, with the least possible amount of 922 IRRIGATION— DRAINING— PLOWING. [Chap. XIII. surplus water, and loose free air, and that condition is not obtained by skimming over the surface. But remember that deep plowing is not ad- mittable as a first operation upon all land. Tiie soil must be deepened gradually. Tliis is the case with the prairies. Our experience in regard to the time that prairie should be first plowed, and the depth, is when tlic grass is most succulent, and then turn just as thin a sod as possible. An experienced prairie farmer says : " From the time that the grass makes a vigor- ous growth, and while it continues to grow, prairie can be the most cheaply broken up with a good sixteen-inch prairie breaker, but should not be cut more than three inches deep. At other seasons, or when the grass is in a state of rest, use a double Michigan plow ; set the top plow so that it will cut an inch deep, and the bottom plow two or two and a half inches deeper. 1065. Steam Plows and their Tse. — We have faith that steam plows will yet be invented which can be economically used upon the Western prairies, though as yet that desideratum has not been reached in any of the locomo- tive machines tried for that purpose ; and it is yet to be proved whether Fowler's traction engine, an English invention, will effect the oliject. It appears from reports of committees in England, and from some experiments made near Philadelphia in the autumn of 1861, as though it would answer the desired purpose. Tiie steam plow that has attracted most notice in America is the one invented by Mr. Fawkes, of Pennsylvania, and tried without much success on the prairies of Illinois. It was driven by a twcnty- horsc-power steam-engine provided with an upright locomotive boiler, having 151 flues set upon a long frame-work, which rested on a large roller-shaped driving-wheel behind and two guide-wheels in front. A tank and box for wood or coal rested over the driving-wheel. The guide-wheels are in ad- vance of the boiler, and are 18 inches wide and 36 inches high. Tlie con- sumption of wood was one cord per day, and water one and a half barrels per hour ; the weight about seven tons ; cost, $2,500. The plows are on frame-work behind, capable of being lowered and raised by an assistant. The machine drew six plows, cutting twelve-inch furrows, between four and five inches deep. It plowed at the rate of one acre in forty minutes ; on firm, hard ground it could go faster. On very wet ground the driving- wheel tlipped. Mr. Fawkes has remodeled his machine, and several others have also been brought out, but up to the end of 1862, we do not hear of an}' steam plow in practical operation upon any of the great prairie farms. Fowler's steam plowing is done by stationing an engine upon one side of the field, with an arrangement of wheels and j>ulleys, from whicli a rope is carried to the other side of the field, and through other wheels and pulleys and back to the starting-point. A frame on wlieels carries two gangs of plows, one gang tbrward and one behind. This frame being hitched to the endless rope near the engine is drawn by its movement to the other side, when the hind gang of plows is elevated by a lever, and the other dropped, and the machine moved its width on the land to be plowed, and attached to the part of tlic rope that IS moving toward the engine ; and thus it traverses back and forth, ths en- Sko. 55.] IMPROVED FARMIXG TOOI^. 923 gine being moved along tlie headlands as the plowing proceeds. Of course this kind of plowing will not answer in small iiiclosnres. 1066. Substitutes for the Plow — Di^gln^ .'lacliiues.— Much money has l)een spent upon digging machines, witl'.oiU any practical results. Mapes' rotary digger; Evans' rotary digger; Coinstoek's rotary digger, have all given promise of good results, and newspaper reporters have often told the public that the days of the plows were numbered ; and henceforth the soil must be dug instead of being plowed ; but the public are either slow to believe, or else there is some radical defect in the digging machines. Mr. O. Coe, of Port Washington, Wisconsin, invented a sort of digging harrow that is a good substitute for the drag-harrows, and altogether superior to the revolv- ing harrows, and appears to be a tolerably good substitute for a small plow in preparing light land for small grain. It has its teeth upon revolving wheels that dig up the surface as it is drawn forward, leaving it light as well as pulverulent, the eti'ect being entirely different from that of the harrow. The teeth of Mr. Coe's machine, he says, dig the soil six inches deep, and the machine does not pull any harder than an iron-tooth harrow, cutting the same width, and not nearly as deep. To dig the surface nine or ten inches deep, he thinks, will not require half as much power as to plow it the same depth. It works admirably upon Indian corn stubble, tearing the roots out of the ground, and fitting it at once for wheat-sowing. Of course it will not work among roots, or fast stones, and, we suppose, not well upon sod ground. Prof. J. B. Turner, of Jacksonville 111., has invented a machine which is rather a combination of other tools with the plow than a substitute for it It is a frame about six feet wide, fixed upon two broad wheels, which serve as rollers for the soil. This frame is arranged to carry two plows, when re- quired for plowing, and at the same time drop coi-n or other seed. The plowshares can be removed and implements for cultivating corn put in their place, by which the ground is cleaned and the dirt turned to or from the hills. There are knives that precede tiie cultivators and shave oft" all the weeds. There is a guard attached to the frame that covei's the seed corn so that it is never covered too much by the teeth. This machine costs $100, and requires two to four horses to work it. 1067. A Home-made Clod Crusher is thus described by an Illinois farmer: Take two pieces of light timber, eight inches square, ten feet long, and fasten them together, three feet apart. Upon the under side of these timbers, pieces four inches square, eighteen inches long are fastened, eight inches apart, and so arranged that the rear ones are not in line with the forward ones. Tliese teeth are beveled and set so as to pitch downward slightly, and the frame is drawn diagonally over a plowed field, by which lumps are dis- turbed and pulverized. 106S. A Simple Method of Broadcast Sowina; is thus described : The grain, or peas, or plaster to be sown is taken to tlie field in a light wagon, and a bag- ful emptied into a low box in the hind end, near which the sower kneels, 924 IRRIGATION— DRAINING— PLOWING. [Chap. XIII. and 60WS with both hands as fast as the driver goes ahead, the quantity beiii^ reguhited by the speed. By tliis mode sixty bushels of peas were gown ill one day, with less fatigue than six could have been sown on foot. The wa^on traeks are sure guides for the sower, and enables him to sow cveuer as well as faster. 1009. An Improved Garden llo?, invented by II. A. Lathrop, of Sharon, Mass., is made of three triangular pieces of sheet-steel, the middle one being riveted at the upper corner to the other two, and each attached to the three prono-s of a forked socket on the handle, and is a very eflective-looking im- jilcment for all purposes where digging instead of scraping is to be done. We look upon it as a decidedly good implement. Another effective hand- tool is made like a subsoil plowshare, the upper part of the standard having a socket for a hoe handle. 1070. An Improvement in Corn Baskets. — This improvement is jiarticu- larly valuable where "basket stuff" is not found. The body of the basket is made entirely of -upright splints or staves, without braiding in cross strands. These splints are nearly an eighth of an inch in tliickness, and are held firmly in place between two pieces of thin board that form tlie b(Htoiti, and the two lioops that form the top binder or rim, by wrought nails that pass through each splint and clinch on the inside. The two pieces that form the bottom are placed with the grain of each piece running at right angles across the other, so that when the nails are driven and clinched, it prevents their warping or splitting, thus forming a very strong bottom on M-hich the basket may be dragged about without danger of breaking or wearing out. The rim at the top being fastened with wrought nails that clinch, is very strong and does not become loose and let the handles slip out. A flexible wire hoop passes around the center of the basket, which is fastened to each splint separately, confining them firmly in their places at that point. They are made of a form to let inlo each other, like our peach baskets, and gauged to accurate measures, and being manufactured (of course, Yankee fashion) by machinery, arc sold at about the same price of baskets made in the ordinary way, and are said to be more durable. 1071. Ilemj) Harvester. — Among the recent inventions is a machine for harvesting hemp, patented in May, 1858, by C. B. Brown, of Alton, 111. "Wo hope this latest attempt to subslitute machine-work for the heavy hand labor required to cut the hemp of a largo growth will be successful. It is something much needed. 1072. A Willow-Peeling Machine.— A willow peeler, patented by J. M. Wood, is extremely simple, and is composed of a graduated screw which lies across a disk, so that the small ends of the willow being inserted in the small end of the screw, arc rolled over and carried through t<^ the but of the willow, which then has arrived at some of the large threads according to the length of the stick, and in its passage is entirely stripped of its bark. The whole machine can be cai'ried on a man's back. 1073. A Tire-Bending Machine, invented by Mr. Mosher, of Chenango Seo. 55.] IMPROVED FARMING TOOLS. 925 County, is a very simple, cheap, and effective machine, wliich every country blaclvsniith should have. It consists of a plank wheel, sized for largo and small tire, with an inner roller attached to a lever that operates upon the straight bar, and gradually bends it into shape. The whole machine could be made for $5, and although not strictly classed under the head of agricul- tural machines, is one in which all farmers are interested, as they are in whatever cheapens the labor of the sinithery. 1074. The Ox-Shovel, or Road-Scraper. — The ox-shovel is a very valuable farm implement. One called Arnett's patent scraper, or ox-shovel, consists in an arrangement for opcTiing the hind part and letting out the load without upsetting it. Tiiis saves a deal of very hard labor. There is another scraper that for some purposes is an improvement upon the above, as it is suspended under a pair of light wheels, with a horse in the shafts, and is loaded in the usual way, and then the handles are borne upon and the shovel held in a level position by stay chains, until the horse is driven to wliei'e the dirt is needed, when the catch of the chain is easily unloosed, and the shovel emptied behind by bearing upon the handles, or by jumping on and pressing it down by weight. It was the invention, so it is said, of a man with one arm, who could then out-work a man with two hands, who used the old style ox-shovel. 1075. The Uorse-Hoe Road-Scraperi— This tool is so little known, and is yet GO important, that we give it prominence in a separate paragraph. We have seen it much used in the vicinity of Chicago, and oidy in one or two other places. We feel satisfied that it M'ould be adopted by all who see it work, wherever loose earth is to l)e scraped from the sides of a road into the center, in the operation of turnpiking. This machine is simply a horse-hoe, as the other is a horse-shovel. It is made for one or two horses, or oxen, with thills, or a tongue, the hind end of which is attached to standards just high enough to keep the tongue on a level when at work. To the lower end of the standards is attached the hoe, which is made of wood with an iron or steel edge, or the whole lioe is made of iron. If those who have seen a wire- toothed horse-rake will fancy a continuous iron plate in place of the teeth, they will have an idea of this horse-hoe scraper. 1076. Machinery Saves Mauiial Labor • — The following, though not a farm implement, is one that all fixrmers are interested in, because whatever cheapens labor connected with agriculture is to the farmer's advantage. The great lumber mills are often necessarily located in places bo inaccessible to teams, that getting lumber from tliem is very laborious and expensive. At Williamsburgh, Penn., the mill is 1,200 feet from the canal, on the opposite side of the river, which is lower than the canal. Formei-ly the boards were run down to a boat and loaded by hand, and then ferried over and carried up the bank. ]N"ow, the whole work is done by the mill-power, which sends over 10,000 feet of lumber per hour, upon a Inmber-shute sus pended upon wire cables. The contrivance is so ingenious, and cost so little ($2,000), considering its value to the mill-owners, that we advise all who 92G IRRIGATIOX— DRAINING— PLOWING. [Chap. XIII. may have mills in such inconvenient situations, to adopt this valuable im- provement. The tottom of the shute is furnished with a series of rollers, upon which a pile of hoards is placed at the mill, and then a single board being sent through a pair of pressure rollers, pushes the pile its length ahead, when that board being loaded is also pushed forward and drives the load before it, in a continuous stream of lumber. 1077. The Grindstone> — There is no machine used upon a farm that is more important than the grindstone, and no farmer who knows the value of sharp tools, and the loss of time by using dull ones, will try to conduct farm- ing without one "grindstone, and he will often find it good economy to have two or three. There is no surer mark of a shiftless farmer than that of a miserably mounted, rickety, old grindstone. No farmer can aflFord to do without a grindstone mounted upon friction rollers, so that it can be operated by a treadle, with the foot of the person who holds on the tool, as well as with a crank. It will save its cost every year. But above all other things con- nected with the grindstone, be sure never to be seen going to a neighbor's house to grind your scythe or ax. You can not aiford to borrow a grind- stone. 1078. A Variety of Agricultnral Tools Noticed. — We can not give even the names of all other agricultural implements ; much less a description of them, and only intend under this head to call the attention of farmers to some of the most indispensable of those of recent invention. Of course, the jilow leads all other farm implements, and a good farmer will have one suited to all kinds of work, and will not attempt to do all his work with a single size, nor with plows all of the same shape. The s:une rule should hold with harrows and cultivators. If oxen and horses are both worked on the form, it should have a heavy ox-harrow, and one made strong and light, for a pair of horses to walk quickly over the field, for iu the rapiditj' of the movement lies the perfection and economy of the use of a harrow on smooth land. A one-horse harrow will be found a very useful tool, even on a farm where large teams are kept ; and no farmer can afford to do without one, at least, good steel-toothed cultivator, such as those made at Ilion, X. Y. ; or the Knox horse-hoe ; or some similar labor-saving implement. The best universal harrow, in our opinion, is the one invented and given to the world by Hon. Geo. Geddes, of Onondaga County, N. Y. It is a double triangle, one following the other, hinged in the center, so that if drawn along a dead furrow the center would rest on the bottom, while the wings would rake the sides to the top. Chandler's liarrow is a single triangle, folding in the ccner. The Scotch harrow is two square frames hinged together and drawn at an angle. There is a similar one made for one horse. " The expanding harrow" is a square frame, so arranged that its widih is increased or decreased by shifting tiie link of a draft chain. This is a convenient, in- expensive form. The twenty teeth are set in four bars, and each one at the end passes with a round neck through a bar, serving as a hinge or pivot, so that taking hold of two comers the bars draw together, making an elongated Seo. 55.] IMPROVED FARMIJTG TOOLS. 927 diamond-shaped harrow, that would run between two rows of corn. Tlien draw Tipon the other corners and it comes back into a square form, and can be held there, or at any angle, by the chain that is hooked on from corner to corner. Of cultivators there are sizes and forms suited to all purposes, generally with three to five teeth, and these of various forms, in wooden or iron frames, made to expand so as to work wide or narrow rows, and as each tooth is a little plow, a horse makes five small furrows as fast as one with a plow. Some of these implements are especially designed for hoeing corn, and answer most admirably for that purpose. One is designed for hoeing cotton, and also answers well for carrots and similar crops. The operation may be likened to that of a pointed shovel slipping along just under the roots of the weeds, with teeth on the upper end of the shovel, which combs out the weeds, leaving them on the dirt instead of under it. The implement called a " cotton sweep" is made to shave the surface with sharp knives, and rake out the weeds thus cut off, witlx small harrow teeth set in an expanding frame, to suit all widths of rows. This is an excellent implement for all hoed crops on smooth land. There are several forms of hand cultivators and machine hoes which some gardeners think well of, but all are not eco- nomically practical. Small seed sowers and planting machines are numerous, and are truly very useful and economical for planting all small seeds, as rata baga, carrot, etc., and, in a small way, for corn. In large fields, corn should always be planted by a horse machine. And so should all small grain and grass, as there are simple, inexpensive machines arranged to plant wheat in straight rows, eight or nine inches apart, and each grain at an exact distance from its fellow, and all at a uniform depth ; and there are other machines for broadcast sowing; and machines for harvesting grain and hay, which we have spoken highly of in the chapters devoted to grain and grass. A very valuable machine for lifting rocks is noticed in K'o. 982. It is compact, won- derfully strong, has nothing liable to get out of repair or break but a chain, and costs $275. The substitution of machines for hand-labor within the last fifty years has been wonderful, and now almost every species of farm- work may be done by machinery, whether it be plowing, sowing, reaping, gathering, thrashing, winnowing, or grinding. Even the old well-sweep lias given place to the water-ram. It is manifest from the great demand that has sprung up of late years for these new and useful inventions, that tiie light of intelligence is beginning to diffuse itself throughout the country, and that while improved methods of culture are being introduced, private and public interests are becoming more closely united. CHAPTER XIV. STAPLE SOUTHERN CROPS. COTTON, CANE, RICE, TOBACCO, HEMP. SECTION LVI.-THE HISTORY. GROWTH, AND MANUFACTURE OF COTTON. OTTON is king," is the stereotyped phrase of those ^^ ^^^^ki'^'^-) "^^^^^ have so long devoted all their energies to its pro- > I'l^^^S.^-^ duction, traffic, or iiianufacturc, that they know no other cod. With those who know the value of the true grasses, it is not king of all the farm crops, though it has lonf held a mighty influence over the destinies of Amer- ica; and the events that have occurred during the com- pilation of this volume, in the ycare 1861 and 1802, are so intimately connected with cotton, that the author be- lieves a somewhat extended history of it, and the intro- duction of its culture into this country, will be interesting to many readers. Of course, many who read do not and can not grow cotton, because their home is in too rigor- ous a climate; but will that make its history any less interesting? To some who have never grown it, yet owing to tlicir location in temperate portions of the Middle States, may desire to do so, this section will possess interest, for it contains much useful information. Although we have never admitted the regal claim of cotton, we have always aJmit:cd the beauty of cotton- fields; not only because thcj are beautiful, but because with the production of this " vegetable wool'' there is connected a vast utility and improvement of the human race. Though in its production barbarity and cotton have grown upon the same soil, and misery has been interwoven with warp and woof in its manufacture, its use has greatly increased civilization in the great human family, because it has done more than anything else to clothe the naked, and that is the first great step in improvement of savage life. It not only furnishes the cheapest substantial covering for the half clothed, but it furnishes the material for more than half of the ornamental dress of man- kind, and therefore may be called, not king, but one of a good King's best gifts to his subjects ; because clothing next to food is their greatest want. It is unfortunate that a substance for which there is no substitute can only be grown in southern latitudes, for it is true that silk, flax, wool, hair, hemp, and skins are all insufficient. Their production is too limited, and if ) ^ 11 i^^HS. AhKIiOm itiifbdwodier imlH it Ike tne wiiyHiiAw- loairiMiglktA ■iftfikad&iiiln^ 4ari,ilkitBeliii< «f«kidd(Di)(iiid ■•■■((atipeilioiH iMfifMattnt. 1^ Ciikttiii ii llx '« *m i«i ' i « iM ^ n. PLATE XX. (Page 928.) This is a very interesting picture. Interesting, because cotton has so enwrapped itself around politics, and entwined its fibers into the history of the age, that every one is interested in its history. This we have given, though briefly, very succinctly in this chapter, and this plate gives a most perfect representation of its growth and appearance at harvest time. At the upper left-hand corner will be seen a branch, leaf, and flower unopened. Beneath it is the flower expanded in its fullest beauty, as it is in the morning. Under that it is seen as it appears in the evening. It will open again, but with a changed color. It is creamy white the first day — it is I'ed the second ; the third it is rotting upon the ground. To the right the bolls are seen, nearly ripe, quite ripe, and over- ripe, in which con- dition the cotton will blow away, or fall to the ground by the weight of its seeds and wet, leaving the dry, brown husk of the boU, as represented upon the upper right-hand corner. We have spoken of the beauty of the cotton-field when in bloom, ^ 1081, and when the bolls are open, as represented in the center of this picture. We have also fully described the culture and cost of production of this great staple crop. Tlue scene represented in the lower compartment of this plate is such a one as we have very often seen magnified in its grandest proportions. The black dots around the woman in the foreground must not be mistaken for a part of her dress, as it appears more like silk than it does like a coarse sack, as it is, into which the locks of cotton are thrust as fast as gathered. This is emptied into the great baskets, which are carried out of the field upon the negroes' heads. We have seen a hundred baskets carried thus in one gang of pickers, return at dark from the task begun at dawn. Beautiful as this pic- ture is, it gives but a faint view of the reaUty. Sec. 56.] THE HISTORY OF COTTON. 929 all together were used as much as cotton their cost would be beyond the reach of many, while cotton can be produced without limit as to quantity, and at so small a cost that all classes can aiford the use of the cheap fabrics. 1079. The History of CottOHi — ^The genus Gossijplum is divided into Gossy- piiim Ilerbaceum, G. Ilirsutum, G. BariadensCy and G. Arhoreum. There are many hybrids of each. Tlie plant is indigenous to the tropical regions of Asia, Africa, and America, and is easily grown in all semi-tropical regions, and occasionally still farther north. The southern limit of Europe (36^ 33') is too far north for its natural growth, though it has become acclimated in much higher latitudes ; in some of our "Western States up to lat. 40^. The first cotton manufactured in Europe, it is said, was obtained from the Arabs. Being indigenous to India, cotton was early manufactured there, but we judge it was not known in Solomon's time, for neither he nor Homer men- tions it, nor is it ever spoken of in the Bible, though linen is often mentioned. How long cotton cloth has been used in India is unknown, as it was abun- dant when tlie country was first visited by Europeans, though rudely manu- factured, and not much improved now ; it is spun and woven much in the same way it was three thousand years ago. The first mention made of cot- ton in history is by Herodotus, who lived four hundred and forty years before Christ. He says : " Tiiere is a plant in India which produces wool, finer and better than that of sheep, of which the Indians make tlieir clothes." He describes a cuirass eent from Egypt to the king of Sjiarta, embellished with gold and with " fleeces from trees." A century later, Alexander's Grecian army invaded India, and first saw cotton. Nearchus, the admiral, who led the expedition down the Indus, gives an account of the clothing of the people, " finer and whiter than flax, which was made from a substance growing in- pods on a tree, called by the natives Tula ;"' and his oflicers have left a description of the cotton dress and turban which formed the cos- tume of the natives at that remote period. Theophrastus, the disciple of Aristotle, notices the growth of cotton both in India and Arabia, and ob- serves that the cotton plants of India have a leaf like the black mulberry, and are set on the plains in rows, resembling vines in the distance. On the Persian Gulf lie noticed tliat they bore no fruit, but a capsule aboiit the size of a quince, which, when ripe, expanded so as to set free the wool, which was woven into cloth of various kinds, both very cheap and of great value. Strabo, in the first century, spoke of flowered or printed cotton cloths, and beautiful colors of Indian dye ; and that cotton v/as then grown at the head of the Persian Gulf. Pliny, later in tiie same century, says : "There grows a shrub called Gossypium or XyJon, in Upper Egypt, producing a stuff from wliich the white garments worn by the priests are made." This was cotton, which had been but lately introduced from India, tlirough Aral)ia and Persia, and no doubt had to work its way slowly against the interest and prejudice of those who had long grown flax and made fine linen. But they had to give way to the mighty power of cheap production. That cotton was not in the pyramid age of Egypt, has been proved by microscopic 930 STAPLE SOUTHERN CROPS. [Chap. XIV. examination of tlie fibers of mummy cloths. But Arian, in the secoTid cen- tury, speaks of trade between Arabs and Greeks with India, in cotton ckitbs; tlioujjli undoubtedly to a very limited extent, owing to the difficulty of sup- planting linen with a less valuable fabric before nnichinery was brought to its aid, by cheapening the production. The list of merchandise in the Human tariff of those days does not mention cotton cloths, though it does silk, which was also brought from India, thougii mostly from China. It does indeed seem surprising that cotton manufacturing should have been known for thirteen hundred years, upon one side of the Mediterranean, before it crossed over to Greece and Italy. It seems cquall}- strange that Home did not import the exquisitely fine cotton fabrics of India, while she Sought silks from a still more remote region in China. Cotton has orten been found, by European travelers, growing wild in Africa ; and it was found by Columbus in Ilispaniola, and among the presents sent by Cortes to Cliarles V. were cotton mantles, vests, and carpets, of various figures, and in the conquest of Mexico the Indian allies wore armor of quilted cotton, iinpervious to arrows. Cotton garments have always been held in high favor by faithful Moham- medans because their Prophet consecrated the tabric, in their eyes, by wear- ing pure white cotton garments as a sort of holy dress, upon public occa- sions. On the other hand, there was a strong prejudice and ojiposition to the introduction of cotton into China, owing to the fact, probably, that the holy men of that country all wore silk and wool. Marco Polo, a traveler of the thirteenth century, found the manufacture of cotton cloth extensively carried on in Persia and the provinces bordering the Indus. lie onl}' saw it growing in one town in China, while in India it was the universal cloth. It is singular that it should have flourished in the latter country one or two thousand years before it was adopted by its nearest neighbor, China ; and it might have remained uncultivated there still longer, only that after the Tartar conquest it was introduced by force. Tlie worshipers of cotton in this country may wonder how people could be so prejudiced. History tells us that cotton was grown in Brazil in 1519. The Aztecs, however, were prob- ably the largest cultivators and most successful manufacturers of any of the races inhabiting this continent at the time of its discovery by Eurojicans, and it is also probable that the "cotton-tree," now found in Central and South America, is indigenous to that I'Cgion. lusu. History of Cottou Culture in the United States.— It is supposed that cotton was introduced into the territory' of the United States from Barba- does, about lC6i, as we have no proof that the Indians knew anything of iis value. About 177S-9 a gentleman named Burden, living upon John's Island, a few miles south of Charleston, S. C, clothed his negroes with cotton cloth made upon the plantation. At that time the ouly manner of separating the lint from the seed was by the fingers ; for then there were no cotton-gins, not even the rude affair still in use to clean Sea Island cotton {^Gossypimn herlaceum), which was the only kind cultivated — probably Sko. 56.] HISTORY OF COTTON. 931 because the lint does not adhere to the seed as it docs to tlie green seed, or upland variety. About lSi9 or '50 wc spent some days upon the Burden plantation, and learned much of the early histoiy of cotton from a son of the Mr. Burden first spoken of, who said that when it was first grown, the constant evening work for all tlie family — men, women, children, and servants — was picking cotton ; and that simple and inefllcient as the roller- ghi is compared with the saw-gin of the present day, it was hailed with joyous acclamations v/hcn it was found that it would do the work previ- ously accomplished by the vejy toilsome labor of the hands. Mr. Burden thought the first cotton ever shipped from this country was a bag sent from Charleston about the year 1740. Upward of fifty years elapsed between that and the next shipment. During the Kevolutionary war, cotton was generally grown for family use in eighth and quarter-acre patches. In 1793, cotton was planted for a crop by a Mr. King, and in 1795 a million of pounds were exported from Charleston. In 180-1, Mr. Burden raised the first crop of fine, long staple cotton in the State. This was produced from carefully selected seed, from stalks growing among that planted for family use, which seemed to possess the quality of a long, fine, silky fiber in an eminent degree. He continued his experiments of improving the seed more than twenty years. In 1826 he put up sixty bags of a superfine quality, v/hicli sold for $1 10 a pound. In 1828 he sold the same quality at $1 25 ; ordinary Sea Island sold the same years from 24 to 40 cents. His first crops were grown on a small island called Burden's Island. The first crop on John's Island was grown by Mr. Legare, in '96. A good average yield of Sea Island cotton is 200 pounds to the acre. AVhere one planter makes that, one hundred do not, probably, make half that. Mr. Burden made an aver- age of 300 pounds to the acre, and 400 have been produced. He recollects the current price of cotton, about 1794, was 25 cents a pound, and that there was only one buyer in the city of Charleston. About the year 1785, the seed of upland, or short staple cotton {Gosxypium /lirsiitum), was introduced into Georgia from the West India Islands. The difiTerence between the two varieties may be easily known, if readers will recollect that the seed of upland cotton is of a greenish color and hairy — • that is, the lint adheres to the seed, while the lint of the long staple sepa- rates freely, leaving a smooth, black cotton seed, much resembling that of the common sunflower. The cultivation of upland cotton for export now extends from the Ohio Biver to our utmost Southern limits, though not a certain crop north of latitude 36°. The neighborhood of Nashville, Tenn., and Raleigh, JST. C, may be considered the northern limit of its successful cultivation, or rather as far north as it can be grown to compete with the more favorable localities south of that line, though we have no doubt that improvements in the mode of culture and use of proper fertilizei-s will enable farmers to grow it with considerable success much farther north. It is certain that the cultivation of land without manure, and with very shallow plowing, with such an exhausting crop as cotton, as generally practiced upon 932 STAPLE SOUTHERN CROPS. [Chap. XIV. Southern cotton plantations, evinces about as much of tlie spirit of tlic darker ages, as did the Chinese when they stubbornly refused to grow cot- ton because their fathers had always been successful in growing sheep and feeding silkworms; or as the policy of tlio " Confederate .Government'' of tlio rebel States, in ordering all cotton burned, rather than allow it to reach any civilized country, to be manufactured for the general benefit of linnianity. lOSl. Beauty of the Cotton-Fields. — As a flowering ]>laTit, cotton might be cultivated for its beauty alone. The leaves arc a deep, glossy green, grow profusely upon brandies forming a handsome cone, wiiicli is covered with a continued succession of white, straw color, or pink flowers, according to their age ; and then with its curious-shaped fruit, tirst small and green ; then forming squares, and changing brown ; then cracking open, and show- ing glimpses of its snowy white interior; then fully expanding into a hand- ful of fleecy white wool ; then gradually falling and hanging in pendants or dropping a snowy fleece upon the earth ; and so, from the opening of the first blooms, the scene is ever-changing, ever-beautiful, beyond the power of artist's pencil to portray. And the beauty of the scene is no^, as wiih grain, marred by the harvesters; for in a cotton-field we see the pickers, like black ducks upon the white-capped waves of some wind-tossed sea. Even in mid-winter, when all else is black and drear, an unpicked cotton-field looks like a plantation of white roses or snow-ball flowers. The black shade of the picture is not the color of those who labor in the cotton field, but it is " man's inhumanity to man." 1082. The History of Cotton Mannfaclures. — By the Mohammedan power the use of cotton was introduced into Spain, and with tliat power it declined. From the fourteenth to the sixteenth century, cotton was manufactured to some extent in Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands, and it was carried, earlier than it otherwise would have been, to England, by the religious per- secutions of manufacturers on the Continent. That was the starting-point of the "cotton-power of England," which has promoted, fostered, and upheld the " slave-power" of America. The earliest record of cotton manufacturing in England is in the " Treasure of Traflic," published in 1G4I. The author, Lewis Roberts, says: '-The people of Manchester buy yarn of the Irish to weave, and they also buy cotton-wool in London, which comes from Cyprus and Smyrna, which they work into fustians, dimities, and other such stuffs for sale ; it is sometimes sent into foreign parts." Sometimes sent into foreign parts for sale! And that was only 200 years ago. The cotton manufactures of the present day arc also sometimes sent abroad from England, and perhaps cotton-wool from Cyprus and Smyrna is sold in London ; but we doubt whether in quantity suflicient to supply one single cotton factory. Two hundred years ago that same town of Manchester spun the said cotton-wool by liand upon a single spindle wheel, not much superior to its prototype, in India, where it has been used, without improvement, for three thousand years. At first, in Manchester, the cotton yarn was generally used for filling upon linen warp, Sec. 56.] TUE IIISTOUY OF COTrO>T. 933 and was woven upon a hand-loom also like that used in India for the same purpose. As this kind of fabric became better known, tiie demand increased, and then a new custom or system of manufacture was introduced. About tlic year 1760, the practice of Manchester merchants was to send agents into the country roundabout, with linen yarn and cotton-wool, who engaged the work of carding, spinning, and weaving to be done in families. Sometimes a weaver by trade took the job and sub-let the spinning. Sixty years later, it was a common practice for New England merchants to send cotton yarn around among their customers to be woven. The auliior has carried many a wagon-load of yarn to farmers' families, and afterward gathered the webs into the store, to be measured, folded, and packed by hand for the wholesale market. Of course these were coarse goods — and so were those first made at Manchester — but the demand for them was great, and induced invention for their improvement. In 1768 the sijinning-jeuny was invented by James Ilargreaves, an ingenious English carpenter, and rude as it was, it was found that upon this machine one person could spin as much as eight upon the common wheel. But still it only produced the same quality of yarn, which was not suitable for warp. The necessity of more warp than the flax-spin- ners of Ireland could furnish, and the desire to produce fabrics entirely of cotton, again stirred the inventive genius of the age, and Arkwright's machine was given to work a world-wide revolution, not only in the manu- facture of cotton, but in the habiliments of mankind, and in almost all the economies of life. Then came Crompton's mule-jenny, Cartwright's power- loom, and Watts' steam-engine, and cotton and its fabrics were sought after by all the nations of the earth. The demand in England for the raw mate- rial exceeded all human calculations. In 1780, and for four years previous, 6,766,613 lbs. per annum were imported. In 1790 the imports had increased to 31,447,605 lbs. In 1800 they had increased to upward of 56,000,000 lbs., and in 1850 to upward of 758,000,000. Of the immense trade in cotton between this country and England, from 1850 to 1860, we need not speak — it is of the current history of the age, and has been the cause of much of its sorrow. In 1790, Alexander Hamilton called the attention of the Amer- ican people to the importance of the cotton crop, not as an article of export, but on account of the vast extent which the home manufacture of cotton fabrics had assumed in the households of the people. He alludes to the then remarkable fact that muslins, bed-ticks, checks, stripes, hose, fustians, coverlids, and various mixtures of cotton and wool, or flax, are made to a greater extent than required for family use by the manufacturers, and even hints at exportation. Both he and Mr. Madison spoke of the probability of extending the cultivation of cotton from tTie garden to the field, and of sending the products abroad for sale. "With all their sagacity and far-seeing power, they had no conception the product would reach 4,600,000 bales within seventy years. A bale of 400 lbs. per acre (1,200 lbs. hi the seed) is a good crop. The largest yield known was 6,300 lbs. of seed co'ton, grown by Dr. Cloud, of Alabama, upon one acre. 93i ST^VPLE SOUTHERN CROPS. [Chap. XVI. Of the manufacturo of cotton in other countries, wo liavc already said tliat it was most ancient in India. Cortes, when lie invaded Mexico, found tlie manufacture of cotton cloth in a considerable state of perfection. Ilnmboldt mentions tlie use of cotton in the manufacture of paper. Some of the clotlis made by the Mexicans were curiously ligurcd by interweaving colors of scarlet and blue, made from their native productions of indigo and cociiine:;!. Columbus carried home specimens of cotton to prove that he had found tlie Indies. Time proved tliein to be the West instead of tlie East Indies ; and time will probably prove that there are other fibrous plants which can l)e grown where cotton can not, which will serve as a substitute for it in clotli- ing mankind. 1083. The History of the Cotton-Gin.— Tiie world is indebted to the in- ventive genius of New England for the vast quantity of cotton it has used within the present century. Witliout Whitney's gin it could never have been prepared for market and manufacturing. It is duo to his memory in connection with a great industrial interest, that we should give a brief his- tory of the inventor and invention, for without it a portion of mankind would be but scantily clad. Tlie inventor of tlie saw-gin, Eli AVhitney, was born in Westborough, Massachusetts, Dec. 8, 17C5. In the winter of 1791-2 he was a private tutor or guest in the family of Mrs, Greene (widow of General Greene, of Kevolutionary memory, afterward Mrs. Miller), who first called his attention to the dithculty of separating the lint from the cotton seed, and afterward aided hiin by suggesting the use of a brush to clean the saw-teeth of the first model that lie built. Crude as that model was, and unlike the highly-finished machines of the present day, the principle remains unchanged. That principle is for a revolving cylinder, armed with teelh, like a circular saw (hence the name of £aw-gin), to seize the lint and pnll it through narrow slits between bars of iron, leaving the seed behind, and that lint is cleared from the teeth by revolving brushes, and generally blown away into a lint-room. An invention by Emory Brothei'.-?, of Albany, N. Y., is a great improvement upon the blowing process, for it compacts the lir.t into bats ready for baling, and saves labor, I'oom, and improves the cotton. It was in June, 1792, that Whitney profentcd his petition for a patent t.> Thomas Jefferson, and exhibited to him the model of his machine, M-hicli has in the seventy years since then worked such M-onders in the agriculture of the Southern States. That model was destroyed when the United Stales Patent Office was burned, but a copy of it was exhibited in the New York . Crystal Palace, where we examined and compared it with gins now in use. Whitney's first gins were worked by hand, and one with a cylinder of 2| feet long was capable of cleaning fifty pounds of cotton a day. This was fifty times as fast as it could be cleaned by liand. With the best gins of tlio jiresent time, driven by the power of four or six mules, running a cylindor twelve inches diameter and five feet long, 250 revolutions a niinnte, 150 Ib.s. of cotton cau bo cleaned in an hour, and a regular day's woik is about three bales. Sec. uC] THE HISTORY OF THE COTTON-GIN. 935 The introduction of the cotton-gin raised the market value of tlie cotton hinds of the South from 50 to 1000 per cent., and generally people grew wild witli excitement, and unprincipled men thought to rob the poor in- ventor of his just riglits, and excite popular prejudice against this " Yankee invention," or, rather, against his legal right to claim a fair compensation from those who were enjoying such great benefits from his ingenuity. As usual, they talked about the " oppression to the South" of such a patent monopoly, and souglit to '' compromise" the matter by asking Congress to pay "Whitney for his patent and throw it open to the benefit of all tlie cotton-growing States. For once Congress refused what it never has been known, I be- lieve, since to refuse, that is, to grant all that Cotton had the modesty to ask. For ten or twelve yeai-s poor Whitney contended against the cotton interest, which seemed determined to use his invention without paying for his patent. The greatest wrong was done him in Georgia. The courts would not give him a verdict upon the clearest testimony. One judge decided against him upon the ground that cotton could not be profitably grown without the gin, and that a patent right upon it was too great a Tuonopoly for any one man to possess. South Carolina first agreed to pay $50,000 for the patent, and after Whitney had received $20,000 of the amount, tlie Legislature repealed the law and sued him for the money. The law, however, was restored aftei- several years. North Carolina and Tennessee also bought the right at so niuch per saw for all made in the State. Georgia fought to the last, l)ut Whitney finally obtained several verdicts in his favor; yet not till the patent had nearly expired. Since the time of Whitney, improvements in the cotton-gin have been a constant source of revenue to the Patent Ofiice, and its manufacture furnished employment to thousands of mechanics until the slave power rebelled against the United States Government and stopped the cotton cultivation, and the manufacture of cotton-gins ceased as a natu- ral consequence. lOS-i. Sea Island Cotton. — ^This variety of cotton received its name because it was first grown upon the islands near Charleston, S. C. Wp liave already stated liow it difters from the upland variety. It is more valuable, because the fiber is long and silky, and suitable for spinning the finest thread. Its value is also enhanced by the way it is ginned. Tiiis process we will de- scribe as we have seen it performed upon many plantations. ' 1085. Mow Sea Island Cotton is Cinsicd. — The gin is an exceedingly simple machine. It is merely two wooden rollers, about eight or ten inches in length, and less than one incli in diameter, made of some soft wood, usually common long-leaf pine. One of these rollers is inserted in the socket of an iron balance-wheel of about fifteen pounds' weight, which is mounted upon a beneli and operated by a treadle. These rollers are held together by a light spring, and put in motion by the operator's foot, while he holds tlie cotton witii his fingers to tlie roller. These seize the lint and carry it through while tlie seeds fall back into a box below. Great care has to be taken that a seed is never allowed to pass through the rollers, as the mash- 936 STAPLE SOUTHERN CROPS. [Chap. XIV. iiig of seeds stains and injures the cotton. Tlie rollers Lave to be renewed every day, and sometimes ottener, if the wood is not exactly suitable, which can only be ascertained by trial. If too hard, the wood polishes and will not take hold of the lint ; and if too soft, it becomes rougli directly, and winds the lint around so as to stop operations. Experience has shown that the rollers made of green pine, and not very smoothly made, are the best ; but even these should be renewed daily. Experience has proved, too, tliat the gin must be driven by the ginner's own power, so that he can feel when a seed is caught between the rollers. A Sea Island cotton-gin may be com- ])arcd, in its size and operalions by the foot, to a sewing-machine. The bench is about 3^ feet high, 1| feet wide, and 3 feet long, the balance- wheel having an opening at the left hand, so that the center is just above the table. It has a bearing on one side, and a short crank and a socket on the other, into which the lower roller is driven, and forms a bearing for that side. As the seeds are hard, they communicate, if caught in the roller, a Jittle jar to the foot. The usual task of a stoi't man is to gin 25 lbs a day. When the weather is very favorable, that is, in a clear, dry atmosphere, 40 lbs. are sometimes ginned by an experienced workman. As the cotton falls from the gin it is gathered up and taken to a well-lighted table, where every mote, speck, and stain is carefully removed. If a mashed seed is found, the ginner is required to leave liis machine and come to the " moter's" table and pick it out. This is done to teach him to be careful, and if the offense is often repeated, he will be likely to receive something more than words as a reminder of his carelessness. The ginning is always done by the most experienced men, and the " moting" by the most careful women on the plantation. The work of the " meters" is all overlooked by an inspector, who is held responsible for the perfect cleanliness of the cotton. After the cotton is ginned, it is injured by exposure to the atmosphere. The ginning can be done to advantage only in perfectly dry weather, and the ]iacking in damp weather ; it is therefore taken from the " moter's" table and closely packed in a dark room until ready for bagging. This process is very tedious. The empty sack is suspended through a hole in the floor; a ])ortion of the cotton is then thrown in, and the packer gets in with a wooden rammer and continues to drive down successive layers until the bag is fiiled. The Sea Island bale is made from four yards of cloth, and holds 300 lbs. ; and a packer's task is to linish one bale a day. If pressed by machinery in square bales, like the upland cotton, the quality is said to be injured, and it will not sell for as much money in market as it does in the regular round bales. 10S6. How Sea Island f oUou is Grown. — Ujion a majority of the plantations visitedby the author in ISoO, nearly the entire work was done by hoes; the use of plows was almost unknown. The average yield of cotton is less than 150 lbs. per acre, and it requires four pounds of seed cotton to make one pound of lint. The plants arc set in drills five feet apart, the stalks from eight to twenty-four inches apart, and one good field-liaud can plant and Seo. 5a.] HOW UPLAND COTTOK IS GROWN. 937 tend about three and a half acres. The manner of planting is to scrape all the manure and trash into the hollows between the old rows, then dig wltli hoes and haul one half of the old beds from each side upon tlie row of trasli to form a bed for the next crop. The seed is put in the last of March or fiist part of April. When ready to gather, it is picked witii great care, ai.d at the same time assorted in the lield ; then assorted again on the drying scnftold ; afterward stowed away in the packing-house, and tiicn taken to the trasher, wliich is Eometliing like a fanning-mill ; then it is picked over by hand and spread in the sun ; lastlj^ taken to the ginner. 1087. Slow Upland Cotton is Growa.— Tiiis is the Gossypuim hirsuhim, the lint adhering to green seed, and it is killed by frost as easily as tomatoes. In its growth it somewhat resembles buckwheat, though as far south as Mississippi it becomes a woody shrub, tall and firm enough for walking- canes. In Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, where cotton is sparsely grown, the shrub seldom exceeds tliree feet in height, and is not so woody as to make the work of plowing under the dry stalks very difficult; thoiigli it is quite so farther south, where they are either cut oil" and burned, or beaten down with clubs and plowed under as well as practicable, with the small plows in common use. As the cotton pilant has a tap-root, the soil should be deep ; and instead of deepening it by plowing, the common practice is to throw up the land in bcds- It would be better to underdrain, subsoil, and make all the soil mellow, and then plant nearly on a level ; raising the beds only just enough to protect the young plants from injury by heavy rains. Owing to the extreme delicacy of cotton plants during the first stages of germination and growth, it is imperatively necessary to pulverize the beds tiioroughl}^, by plowing and harrowing or hand hoeing. In the extreme northern limits of the cotton-growing region it will be found profilable to plow in autumn, and let the frost aid in the process of pulverization. The beds are made about as far apart as corn rows — -farther at the South ; say, five to nine feet. A slight farrow is opened in the top, and the seed drilled pretty thickly by hand, so as to allow for a great many to tail ; and if too many grow, as they generally do, they are " thinned to a stand ;" which upon the rich canebrake lands of Alabama would be two feet between stalks in rows four and a half feet apart. Upon such land we have seen twenty bushels of seed to the acre used, to provide against the destruclion of the plants by the crawfish. If most of the seed should grow, a peck per acre would be sufficient. In the vicinity of Montgomery, Ala., whicli we take as the average isothermal line in the cotton region, the seed requires nine days' exposure in the soil to vegetate and get above the surface; and the most approved planting season is the first of April, and the average yield is altout 150 lbs. of ginned cotton per acre. In extending cotton cultivation nortliward, seed should be obtained as near the locality as possible, and soaked before planting. Afterward, select in your own field from early, five-lobed balls, and thus, like sweet potatoes, it may be gradually acclimated. At the South, very little care is exercised 938 STAPLE SODTUERN CROPS. [Chap. XIV. in selecting seed. In planting, it is covered by lioes, or b)^ barrows, or a wooden drag, drawn by a liorse, and not over an inch and a half deep. The greatest trouble is during the first growtli, when, if the ground is not kept clean, the crop will get a back-set that will put it in danger of autumn frosts. The best iinplenicnts arc such as successful carrot-growers use, which scrape the surface close to the plants. " Thinning to a stand" is the work of the hoe, striking across the beds, and cutting out the surplus plants. The thinning should not be done all at once — not at the first or even second hoeing ; for allowance must be made for cut-worms and other depredators. The last work done is with a turning-plow, to throw up the earth to the beds, so as to leave deep water furrows between. The first dressing or cul- tivating commences soon after the plant puts out the second or third leaf, aud the hoeing or cultivating should be repeated as often as the weeds, or the condition of the soil render it necessary, nntil the plant is in bloom and begins to show balls. Manure for cotton is just as valuable as for any other crop, and guano, superphosphate of lime, carbonate of lime, sulphate of lime, have all been proved good ; and salt is undoubtedly beneficial — for Sea Island cotton indispensable. It is best to add the salt to a compost, where muck forms the principal ingredient. There are three pickings of the crop : first, M'hen the earliest balls open ; second, the principal picking ; last, the gleaning after frost kills the stalks. The sooner the cotton is gathered after it opens the better, as the sun driea up the oil that pervades the fiber. It requires practice to be an expert cot- ton-picker, and great care to be a good one; because the value is mudi injured by allowing any trash to get mixed with the lint. In picking, the lock is seized so as to bring it all away at once, and is thrust into a bag, tho mouth of which must be kept nearly closed, to prevent leaves from getting in, and when full is emptied into largo baskets which are generally carried on negroes' heads to the drying scafl:'old, where the cotton is sunned one day before it is stored. The picking season is a laborious one. The slaves arc all tasked, aud have to work every minute of daylight, and often long after dark in getting the cotton home, and no one is exempt who is capable of doing the work. loss. The Cost of Growing Uplauil fottou.— To show the cost of production we give the following detailed account, taken by the author in 1849, from the books of one of the best conducted plantations in the State of South Carolina, that of Col. Williams, of Society Hill, whoso plantation is on tho Great Pedee River. He then worked 140 field hands, and planted 15 acres of corn and cotton per hand. The cotton averaged, the )>revious year, upon 1,130 acres, 1,000 pounds in the seed per acre ; and the corn, on 980 acres, 25 bushels per acre. The cotton crop averaged six bales per hand. Cotton is planted in beds 4i feet apart, and left to stand 12 to IS inches apart in the i-ows. Corn is planted 4^ by 5 feet, two stalks in a hill. The following was the cost of making 331,136 pounds of cotton, packed in 796 bales, averaging 416 pounds each : Sec. OCT THE COST OF GROWING UPLAND COTTON. 939 3,980 yanla of Dundee bagging (5 yards ] 400 gallons of molasses $100 00 to a bale) at IGc §630 80 I 3 kegs of tobacco GO 00 3,181 lbs. of rope at 6c. (4 lbs. to a bale) 191 04 2 barrels of flour 10 OJ Taxes on 254 jilantation negroes at 76 c. 193 04 I Froigbt and commission, J c. per lb. on Taxes on 4,200 acres of land, valued at $15 an acre 70 00 Wages of three overseers "JOO 00 Doctor's bill and medicine, on contract, at $1 2-5 a head 317 50 Iron for blacksmith's shop 100 00 Cloth from his own factory 810 00 200 paiis of shoes from his own factory, at 87 J c ' . 175 00 100 oil-cloth capotes 125 00 20 woolen blankets, given one at each birth 25 00 Calico dress and handkerchief, cue to give to each woman 82 00 Christmas presents, given in lieu of allow- ing slaves to grow a crop 175 00 Annual average outlay for iron and wood work of carts and wagons 100 00 50 sacks of salt 80 00 1 tun of plaster ". 7 00 100 barrels of lime 187 00 Annual average expense of repairs of gins and belts 80 00 cotton., 2,009 CO $6,791 48 per cent. Making To this add interest at ' on valuation : $63,000 for land 84,410 00 88,900 for slaves 6,'228 00 3,720 for mules, etc 260 00 2,000 for cattle 140 00 1,000 for hogs 70 00 Total 817,894 48 Sales of produce of the plantation : 331,136 lbs. cotton at 7 c $23,179 52 13,500 lbs. bacon at 5 c. Beef and butter 100 bushels of corn 1 ,000 bushels of corn meal . 80 cords of tan bark at ^ Blacksmith work Mutton and wool 675 00 500 00 50 00 500 00 480 01) 100 00 125 00 Total 825,509 52 This gives a profit of S7,615 04. Col. "Williams owns 10,000 acres of land, but only estimates in the above calcnlation wliat belongs to tlie cotton plantation. The following are the estimated values : 4,200 acres of land at §15 $63,000 00 [ 254 slaves at $350 88,900 00 | UO mules and mares, and 1 jack I and 1 stallion, at $60 3,720 00 I 200 cattle 2,000 00 500 hogs _. 1,000 00 23 carts and six v^agons 520 00 Plows — 60 bull-tongue, 60 shaving, 25 turning, 15 drill-plows, and 15 A bed comforter biennially $0 63 1 blanket 1 25 1 wool bat 50 Total $7 78 ANNUAL BILL OF COST FOK FEEDING SLAVES (whei-C full fed, as upon the plantation of Col. Wil- liams, and other first-class planters.) I 3J lbs. of bacon a week is 182 lbs., at 5 c. harrows. ' 262 00 1 'peril' 59 10 All other tools 1,000 00 ' 1 peck of meal per week is 13 bushels, at ! 50c 0 50 Molasses, about 1 6-10 gallons 40 Tobacco and salt 28 Potatoes, and all other vegetables, es- timated 9 72 Total $161,402 00 ANNUAL BILL OF CLOTUINQ PER HEAD. 12 yards cotton cloth at G\ cents, for 3 sliirta and 1 pair of pants $0 75 6 yards winter cloth at 40 c 2 40 1 pair shoes and repairing 1 00 1 oil-clotb capota 1 25 Upon most plantalions the last three items would not be estimated, as the slave would have to provide his own tobacco, salt, molasses, potatoes, and other vegetables, out of his own crop, which he is allowed to cultivate Sun- days and moonshiny nights, or from the sale of eggs, chickens, brooms, mats, coon-skins, and other merchandise. In all the estimates of number of jionnds of cotton per acre, where the calculation is made upon the croj) in the seed, it is generally estimated that 1,000 lbs. of seed cotton will give 290 or 300 lbs. of ginned cotton, and about 30 bushels of seed. A neighbor of Col. Williams cultivated 21 acres of cotton and nine acres of corn per hand, and made 2,500 lbs. of clean cotton per hand. The average yield per acre in that district was calculated at 800 lbs. of seed cotton. The average 040 STAPLE SOUTIIEUX CROPS. [Chap. XIV. time of planting is abont the middle of April, as severe frosty nights occur as la'e as that, and once we saw snow fall April 15, all day. 10S9. Ginning: Cotton. — Tlic cotton as it is gathered from the field is dried in the snn and packed away in the gin-houso, Avhich is generally a vciy rough bnilding, corresponding with barns upon new farms, and the gin is usually driven by horses or nuilcs, working around an upright shaft, wliich drives a horizontal one, and often by exceedingly rough gearing, re- volving a drum for the band of the gin, which must run at a very higli speed. The lint, which is estimated at 30 per cent, of the weight in the seed, 13 blown into a lint-room, and the seed thrown out of a window, just r.s some farmers throw out stable manure, where it frequently lies till half its value as a fertilizer is wasted. It is sometimes used as cattle food, but io i;ot valuable unless ground. By those who value cotton seed for the oil, or the oil-cake for feeding, the waste around the gin-houses would be depre- cated. Many small fai'mers do not own gins, but got cotton ginned by those who work, as millers do, for toll. Tiie bale (400 lbs.), as usually put up on the plantation, requires five yards of sacking and four pounds of rope, aiul occupies nearly twice as much space as a compressed bale, wliich is about four and a half feet long, and one and a half to two feet square. Tliis compression is done in powerful steam presses at the cities where cotton is shipped oceanward, to save room in stowage. It is then often hooped with iron. 1090. fotton Seed as Manure. — There is no doubt that cotton seed is a good manure for that or any other crop, but there is a doubt about its being an economical one, because the seed can be ajiplied to other purposes with greater profit. If it is used for manure, it never slu^uld be, as it often is upon Southern plantations, applied in its natural condition, for then one half its value is lost. If cotton seed is used as a fcrmcnter of compost, all its own fertilizing value will be saved, and the value of the compost greatly im- proved. Thirty bushels of seed mixed with 500 bushels of muck, or road scrapings, or woods-mold, with an equal quantity of stable manure, will make an exceedingly rich compost. Those v.dio have experimented with fertilizers for cotton, think that the greater the number of ingredients in a compost the better, and that such manure is the best fertilizer that can be used for the crop. A good many cotton growers arc just beginning to realize t'.iat they can not grow cotton continually upon the same soil without manure. Upon such hard-v>-orked land it is very diflicult to get " a stand ;" that is, to get the ypung plants to live long enough to begin to grow. Upon the principle that the ashes of any plant is good manure for the same class of plants, there is no doubt that cotton seed will fertilize the next crop. 1091. Will Cotton Culture and rrodurtion Increase ! — In the aggregate it may, but it is likely to be more difl'used, both in this country and in British possessions, and that the produce of slave labor will decrease, as old planta- tions arc constantly wearing out by the exhaustive system of culture pur- sued in all the cotton States. It is doubtful whether the American crop of Seo. 56.] EXTENSION OF COTTON CULTURE NORTHWARD. 941 1859-GO will ever be exceeded. If we could be sure the consumption would increase as rapidly ki the next fifty years as in the past, it v\-ould be worth while for all Northern farmers within the limit of its possible culture, to get into tiie business of cotton growing. We do not think the demand for American cotton will increase, because there is an immense area in other countries just as capable of its production as this. There is a belt around the eai-th's surface of at least sixty degrees in width, adapted in great part to the culture of cotton. Great Britain now commands capital, while China and India overflow with labor. Let Great Britain divert a few millions of this capital and but half a million of coolies to any fertile area of 5,000 square miles within this belt, and she can in a few years double her supply of cotton, and command the residue of her importation at reasonable prices. Among these spots none is more promising than Central America, where the cotton plant is perennial, and a single acre, as we are assured by Mr. Squier, yields semi-annually a bale of superior cotton. American ])]anters are at work in India, and Africa is constantly increasing the production. The high price of 1862 has given a wonderful stimulus to production in every country but America. It has also given a stinmlus to the production of fiber from other plants, as a substitute for cotton. 1092. Exteusiou of €ottou Culture Sorthwardi — Independent of all political considerations, wo think that the cultivation of cotton should be extended as far northward as the plant can be acclimated, to obviate failure in the supply from one locality, from any cause whatever. Many who can grow it, never thought of doing so till after the Confederated cotton States made war upon the Northern States. The cotton ])lantere had so long and loudly declared that cotton could only be produced by slave labor, that many in the free States believed the statement true. But the truth is, that by slave labor the planters have been able to furnish cotton cheaper than any other country ; it is not because it can not be grown in other places. But liere, with cheap land and cheap labor, the supjily has been kept up at low prices. Unfortunately, the planters are wearing out the cotton lands with as great rapidity as the tobacco ])lantcrs wore out their soil. Many plantations that once produced cotton are now barren ; and if the world was really de- pendent upon the cotton States, the supi)ly would certainly fail. It should, therefore, be extended northward. The growth of cotton in Illinois and adjoining States is not a question of experiment, but one of economy. The " cotton interest" liave fixed upon lat. 36^, but incorrectly, as the northern limit of growth. In Europe and Asia it is grown as far north as lat. 41° upon low lands, in warm situations. Undoubtedly the cotton plant requires deep and thorough cultivation and a long season of fine growing weather, exempt from frost, and such situations can be found in the United States as far north as lat. 40^, and perhaps liiglier. A rich, warm alluvial soil is best, and there is nothing in tlie cnliivaiion essentially diflferent from corn. Tiie average yield per acre in some of ihc best cotton counties in Georgia was given the author by many planters at 942 STAPLE SOUTHERN CROPS. [Chap. XIV. 400 lbs. in the seed, and wc liave no doubt but that can he exceeded in southern Illinois. It is contended by those who profess to know, that cotton does not ex- haust the soil more than flax. We do not know how it would be under the niauagement of Northern farmers, but we do know that as cotton is now- grown it is the most exhausting crop in America, and has ruined more land than all other crops together. Millions of acres of land, once produc- tive in cotton, are now lying barren wastes, all over the Soulhern States. One of the principal reasons for this is, because there is no general system of rotation. The forest is cleared oiF, and land planted in cotton and kept in cotton till it will no longer produce a paying crop. The only shift is from cotton to corn, upon a portion of the land. It is no wonder that it wears out. In a few instances the following system of rotation has been successfully adopted. The rows of cotton are planted only one half as close as they would be upon strong land, the Avide space between the rows is plowed several times during the summer, and next year the cotton is planted in (hat space, and the old row " left to rest." Ey this simple mode the yield per acre has been increased, and the field continued to produce with- out diminution. If cotton is ever cultivated as a crop in regions not occu- pied by slaves, some system of rotation will be adopted, to prevent the general deterioration of soil that takes place everywhere that cotton has been cultivated in this country. It is certain that cotton is an exhausting crop, as all white crops always are, particularly one that ripens such a large product of oily seed ; and it is certain that many farmei-s have given up the cultivation of cotton in regions where it will grow, because it exhausts the soil, and because it requires so much labor at the very time when corn must be attended to ; and that, we believe, will be the great objection to cotton growing in the free States. 1093. Cotton from Fla\ Fiber. — A good many attempts have been made to reduce the fiber of flax to such a condition that it would be a pretty good substitute for cotton ; but none of the processes have been carried to such a practical result as to produce any eff"ect upon the market, though some fabrics have been manufactured, and much good anticipated. One of the plans that promises the greatest results is breaking the texture of flax-straw by the ex- pansive force of steam, by which the woody substance that makes the shives of the flax-dresser is loosened from the fiber, and that is left in a condition very much resembling coiton. This is cfl'ected by filling a large gun with flax and saturating it with steam, gradually raising the pressure to ICO lbs. per inch, when the gun is discliaigcd, and the contents blown across a large room, in a great, fleecy cloud of cottony lint. The same ])rocess produces lint from many substances that if not a substitute for cotton in all its uses will be for many things for which cotton is now used. For instance, the common reed-cane of the Southern States will blow into a lint that is exceed- ingly well adapted to the manufacture of paper. v^^ ^^^^•i>^^: ■ftaaiiiigiTaDptlie lia^aifkiconDiiiii PLATE XXT. (Page 942.) This, like Plates XVI. and XVII., is one for careful study. The insects that often nearly destroy whole crops in the cotton-growing States, both cotton and corn, are here placed before the reader in such a Tperfect fac-shnile of life, that any one may learn to distinguish them ; and from seeing them as here pictured, he will naturally be- gin to study their character and devise ways to counteract their work of destruction. Some boy or girl may be incited, by looking at this picture, to enter upon the study of Entomology. In one case, at least, a man has grown from just such a small beginning as the study of this plate to be an eminent writer upon the science, and has done much to instruct others in the history of insects inju- rious and beneficial to agriculture. We hope this may have a like eSect upon some of the readers of this book. Sec. o7.] SDGAR-CANE CULTIVATION. •Jii SECTION LVII.-SUGAR-CANE CULTIVATION. ?E shall give in this section some interesting facts, gathered from personal observation about the year 18i9-50, showing the magnitude of the sugar-making business in Louisiana, and the profits of well-con- ducted plantations. The cultivation of the true sugar-cane, Aruiido saccha7'ifera, is confined to a very small portion of the Gulf States (though it will perfect itself as far north as latitude 32i°), and we shall therefore only mention a few facts connected with its growth and manufacture. We have already spoken of the Northern sugar-cane, Sorghum sac- clmraium, which bids fair to render the farmers of the Middle States quite independent of the Southern sugar producers. I09i. Sugar Production in Louisiana.— The census of 1840 gives the total production of sugar in the United States (nearly all in Louisiana) at 119,995,104 pounds ; and in 1849, by census of 1850, at 247,577,000 pounds. That year we visited many sugar plantations along b!» -l' 1^ -v'j ^ ,, • tenu bii ■')!' lbs. caci .110 "l-a- SECTION LIX.-T'.' njorr ')F PRODUi I yo4 STAPLE SOUTHERN CROPS. [Chap. XIV. Nicolin, t!io dcaclly principle to wliich all tlic ill effects of tol):icco are due, is, as every one knows, a deadly poison. Besides this, the plant contains a number of acids, resins, and volatile oils. The name of Nicotin, wliicli is applied to this j^lant, comes from John Nicot, embassador from France to Portugal, in 15G0, who introduced the abominable •weed into Europe. So says Torrey. Its original name in St. Domingo appears to have been chfhxla, or choha, and also givia. The name tohaceo is snj)posed to be derived from the name of a place in Yucatan, called Tabaco. Others say it comes from ToBASco, in the Gulf of Florida. Others say it was from Tobago, one of the C:iribbecs. It is not important what place gave it the name, since it has no historical nor botanical meaning. It is historical that it is an American pn> duction, used by savages, from the earliest period of our knowledge of them, as a means of producing intoxication. Columbus found the inhabitancs of Cuba using tobacco in 1402. It is spoken of four years later as used in St. Domingo. It was found in use in Virginia in 15S5, the natives smoking it in clay pipes, just as white men do in 1862. It was carried to England by Sir Walter Raleigh, and people became so fascinated by its use that a great demand was created, which induced the early settlers to cultivate it to an alarming extent, and its use increased in spite of all the " Counterblas:*'' of James I. against the " damning, wicked practice ;" and so, we suppose, it will, in spite of all the blasts that we can fulminate. The jirice was a great inducement to the settlers upon James River to in- crease the cultivation. In 1617 it is given at 37 to 75 cents a pound. Still that was not sufficient to produce all that the managcre of the colony de- sired; for we find, in 1621, that each colonist was reciuired to cultivate a thousand plants, averaging eight leaves to the pound, which would make 100 lbs. of the cured leaf. In 1622 the quantity made is given at 60,000 lbs. In 1639 the production had got ahead of the demand, so tliat the price was likely to fall so low as to stop tobacco-growing. To obviate this, the strong arm of law was made to intervene and stop the excess of jiroduction, so that the entire crop should not exceed 120,000 pounds. All excess of that was ordered burned, in equal proportions among the planters, and creditors were ordered to accept 40 pounds for every 100 pounds due. Rather "com- pulsory legislation" that would be considered in our day. But neither that nor all the edicts of those in power have had any effect to stop the consump- tion of tobacco, and therefore it will continue to be produced. Tlie quantity consumed in England in 1829 was 15,000,000 pounds. In 18-iO it was 40,000,000 pounds. 1106. Exports and fonsumptiou of Tobacco.— The value of "tobacco ex- ported from the United States in 1848 is given at $7,551,122. The value of exportations has been largely increased with the last ten years, mostly to European states, where the use of tobacco is made a source of revenue ; and as it is an article not at all neccssar)- for the comfort of any human being, it is a very proper subject for taxation. The following is a statement of the consumption and tax per capita in different countries: "The average con- Sec. 59.] EXPORTS AND COXSUMPTIOX OF TOBACCO. 055 sumption in Austria was G.75 lbs. ; tax, 26 cents per head. France, 5.50 lbs. ; tax, 43 cents per Lead. Ilussia, 2.50 lbs. ; tax, 2i cents per head. Portugal, 3.50 lbs. ; tax, 46 cents jier head. Spain, 4.75 lbs. ; tax, 43 cents per head. Papal States, 2 lbs. ; tax, 50 cents per head. England, -!.10lbs. ; tax, 73 cents per head. Belgium, 9 lbs. ; tax, 3} cents per head. Sardinia, 2.75 lbs. ; t;ix, 27 cents per head. Holland, 8.25 lbs. ; tax, 1 cent per head." It has been estimated that the average annual consumption of tobacco in the United States is 7/o lbs. per head for each male inhabitant over eighteen years of age. At an average cost of only forty cents a pound, it makes an expense of over three dollars a head. It would not be unfair to malce these con- sumers pay a war tax of ten per cent, on the cost. Yv'^hen it is considered that tobacco is a narcotic poison, and that its use is universally baneful to health, it is surprising that its consumption should increase in an age that is declared to be rising in- the scale of intelligence and refinement. Tliere is no disputing this fact, that the use of tobacco not only belongs to an uncivil- ized race, but that its use has a debasing effect upon civilization. The enor- mous cost of its consumption is perfectly startling to the political economist. The Dean of Carlisle gave the consumption of England, in 1856, at thirty- three millions of pounds, costing £8,000,000, besides what was smuggled, which ho supposed a very large quantity. Statistics show there, as every- where else, a steady increase far outstripping the proportional increase of population. In 1821, the average consumption per head per annum was 11.70 oz. In 1851 it had risen to 16.36, and in 1853 to 19 oz., or at the rate of one fourth increase in ten years. There are 12 city brokers in London whose business is exclusively tlie sale of tobacco, 90 manufacturers, with 7,380 workmen engaged in the different branches of the business. In the whole United Kingdom there arc no less than 252,068 tobacco shops. The Dean estimated the increased consumption in other portions of Europe greater than in England, notwithstanding the great cost. In France this is enormous — equal to one thousand per cent, upon the American price, and is an imperial monopoly, which, it is said, yields $20,000,000 annually, peing a government monopoly, the quantity consumed is easily ascertained. Thus, the Genie Industricl, a French paper, says: "In 1830 the value of tobacco consumed was $13,000,000; in 1840 the" value was $19,000,000; in 1850 it was $24,000,000; in 1857 it was $35,000,000. Taking the average at only $24,000,000 a year, it gives a total for the 27 years of $675,000,000. We give the account as we find it, but it seems almost incredible that such a sum of money could be by any one nation puffed away in smoke, or consumed in the still viler practice of tobacco-ciiewitig. Hamburg, a German city of 150,000 inhabitants, consumes 40,000 cigars a day, and employs 10,000 per- sons in the manufacture of 150,000,000 of cigars a year, requiring a capital of $20,000,000. The consumption of other European states is estimated upon the same grand scale. In Denmark, 70 ounces annually for each per- son ; in Belgium, 3^ lbs. each ; while in America the consumption is esti- mated by some writers as greater than in any portion of Europe, and the 95G STAPLE SOUTHERN CROPS. [CniP. XIV. cnlire iinimal consuinption of the world at 4,480,000,000 pounds, or as much in weight as all the grain consuuicd by 10,nOO,000 of Englishmen, and equal in value to all bread material consumed in Great Britain. Five millions and a half of acres are occupied in its growth, the product of which, at but the moderate sum of twopence per pound, would amount to the vast sum of £•37,000,000 sterling, or nearly $l85,00u,000." HOT. Exhausting A'ature of a Tobacco Crop.— The strengtli of tobacco is de-ci-mined by the quantity of nicuiiu ; the flavor, by the oils and re-iiif. The ash is of all the most important to the farmer, for this is made up from his available plant food— in orlier words, from his farm capital. The oils, resin?, and acids come from the air. and hence cost us nothing. Take a given quantity of tobacco and burn it to ashes, and we find that the propor- tion is enormous. The roots give 2 to 14 per cent, of ash, the stems dried, IG, and the leaves 17 to 24 per cent. As the leaves arc the great bulk of the crop, the robbery of the soil is correspondingly great. One thousand pounds of tobacco take an average of 200 pounds of ash ; and 2,000 pounds, which may be regarded as a large crop, 400 pounds of ash. Now, a crop of wiicat of 30 bushels to the acre takes but 36 pounds of ash from our farm. In other words, it would require devvn crojjs of wheat to do as much injury as a single crop of tobacco. The composition of the ash is variable, in some districts one of the leading ingredients being replaced by some other. In an average of samples tested by Prof. Brewer, potash salts formed a third part of their weight, and 75 to 80 per cent, of the soluble portion. Soda exists ill but a small qnantitj-. Sometimes the potash is replaced by lime. Tlius in France, along the river Garonne, the tobacco has this peculiarity, aiul is noted for its mildness. In American tobacco, the potash salts pre- doiiiinate, and most in the stronger kinds, which grow on new soil. A study of tiie census will show lis that in any tobacco district, the production start- ing at nothing, mounts rapidly to a maximum, turns the corner, and never rci^ains its higher figures. The reason is, that land can only bear maximum crojjs of tobacco for a short time, and when once the decline comes on, no pov>er on earth can restore its fruitfulncss. By high manuring, we can, with other crops, actually improve the fertility of our farms, or, at any rate, guard against impoverishment, but with tobacco, we can not. New crops have coarse quality of structure and rankness of flavor; while, per contra, the tobacco of the finer brands is gotten from lands long cultivated. A thin leaf, wirh smallj pliant veins, is most esteemed, and of this character is the tobacco of Holland and Connecticut. The season of growth is ordinarily crowded into 30 days, and the larger portion of the soluble salts must be at this headlong speed supplied to the sjjongioles. The crop is so tender that of all those we cultivate, it is tiie most sulijcct to destruction by hail. In Gerniany there arc " Hail Insurance" companies on the mutual plan. It is a notorious fact that hailstorms extend over very limited areas at a time, and hence the farmers of a wliole country uniting in small annual payments toward a mutual fund, it will be seen that even the most disastrous hail- Seo. 59.] DIRECTIONS FOR TOBACCO-GROWING. 957 ravages could easily be recompensed, without fear of extinguishing the grand capital. In considering the advantages and disadvantages of tobacco culture, Prof. Brewer thus stated the case. The sole advantage is that an iiidividnal may grow rich from raising it. On the other hand, a nation never will ; for the one man's gain is obtained at the cost of his son and son's son ; in getting his fortune Jie has taken from his children the means of future gain, like the owner of the goose that laid the golden eggs. The crop terribly exhaus^s the soil ; it is very precarious because of weather and insect enemies ; tlie laborers that cultlval:c it suffer in health ; and the land, which must always bo of the best quality, could bo employed in raising breadstuffs to more general profit. IIOS. Tobacco-Giowiag ia Conuecticut. — A letter from the small town of Cromwell, Middlesex Co., Conn., says tliat 50 acres of tobacco were cul- tivated in that town last season, the value of which is $15,000, and more than three fourths of the crop was grown within a half-mile radius, upon the loamy soil overlying the sandstone formation. The writer says : "To this adaptation of soil in this and a few other localities in the State is attributable much of the world-wide repute of its unequaled growth of tobacco for cigar wrappers, which brings such high prices, as compared with the coarser sorts. But few persons will produce the best tobacco, and but few soils will succeed. Farmers of the old school can hardly conceive of the prodigal outlay of lime, money, and labor deemed advisable by our most successful growers. Two, and often three plowings of the land, vrith applications of as much fresh stable manure as can well be turned in — not nn- frequently ten to fourteen cords per acre — together with three to six hundred jionnds of guano, and two to four bushels of salt. Its cultivation requires care- ful and constant attention, and judicious and liberal management, to secure a remunerative price. I wish to deter no one from entering the business, but; I would have them so enter as to prove successful. The better the article raised the larger the profit. The rule among our growers for manure is, to ajiply all ' you can get,' which is nearer the truth than many imagine. One of our best crops was faised (as an experiment) with guano, api)lied at the rate of 1,400 lbs. per acre, but it only affected the one crop, which was very fine, and yielded one fun, perfect leaf, to tiio acre, for which 35 cents per lb. was oflered and refused. Any one can figure up and see if it pays to do the business thoroughly. The gentleman raising this crop devoted his entire time to this one acre. In conclusion, I would say to any one thinking of commencing tobacco-growing, count the cost before you begin, and bo con- tent to raise a little good tobacco \intil you have experience sufficient to raise only the best." The best animal manure for tobacco is that of slicep, and the best way to apply it is to feed off a previous crop, say, turnips, t>ii the ground, or yard and feed sheep where the tobacco is to be grown. 1109. Tobacco-Grow'iag ia New Torki — From an article prepared by Hon. Geo. Geddes, of Onondaga County, N. Y., we extract some interesting facts in relation to the cultivation of tobacco in tliat county. He says : 958 STAPLE SOUTHERN CROPS. [Cdap. XIV. "The cultivation of tobacco, as a crop, was cominenccil in tliis county in 1815, by Chester Moses and Nahuin Grimes, both of the town of Marcelhis. Th-y joined in hiring a man from Connecticut, wlio was skilled in the cul- tiii-e. In 1846, Col. Mars Nearing, then of the town of Salina, grew ten acres ; and very soon others engaged, in a small way, in growing tliis crop. By the census of 1855, it appears that in the preceding year there were grown in the whole county 471^ acres, yielding 554,987 lbs. ; which gives as ilic average yield, 1,178 lbs. to the acre. Mr. Benjamin Clark, of Marcellus, wlio is perhaps better acquainted with the facts in regard to the culture of tobacco than any other man here, estimates the production of 1859 at $150,000." He says : " Tobacco must have a warm, rich, well-drained, and mellow soil, and then twenty-five loads of rotten barn-yard mannrc should be put on an acre. The land being in liigh condition, this amount of manure will l)e consumed by a crop. The j^lants should be set about the first of June, three feet lour inches by two feet to two feet six inohes'apart. To grow the plants, pulverize the bed fine in autumn, and mix with the soil hog manure or some otlier that has no foul seeds in it. Sow seeds on the well-raked bed, as soon as the ground can be propeVly prepared in the spring, about one ounce to a square rod, equally distributed all over the bed. KoU hard with a Land roller, but do not cover the seed. Glass should be kept over the bed until the plants appear, which will be in two or three weeks ; after they are up and started, the glass will be required only at night and in cold days. Tiie bed should be kept moist and free from weeds. When the plants are three inches high th^ are large enough to set. To prepare the land, the manure should be applied as early as the ground is dry enough to plow. Tiie last of May plow and harrow again, so as to mix the manure well with the soil. Mark the land one way for rows, three feet four inches. Make hills by hauling up a few hoefuls of dirt and press it well with the hoe. In taking the plants from the bed, take care to keep the roots wet. Unless the ground is quite damp, put a pint of water on each hill half an hour before setting. Make a hole, put in the root, and press the dirt close to it, all the way to the lower end. If any jilant does not live, take care fo set another. Unless the earth is wet, or at least moist, water the i:)lants as soon after setting as may be necessary. In about one week cultivate and hoe. In ten or four- teen days repeat the operation, and continue to cultivate so as to keep the weeds down. The tobacco worms may appear about the second hoeing ; kill tliem as fast as they sliow themselves. When the blossoms apjiear, break off tlie stalk, leaving about fifteen leaves, taking off about seven leaves. After topping, break off all the suckers. In about another week ^ over again, breaking off suckers and killing worms. In anotlier week repeat the operation. By this time the crop is ready to begin the harvest. This may be known by the suckers which start at every leaf, and when they have all a]>peared down to the lower leaf, the plant is ready to cut, every sucker having been removed as it appeared. Tlie stalks are cut at tiie root. In a warm day cut in the morning and evening. In the middle of a hot day Sec. 59.] DIRECTIOJfS FOR TOBACCO-GROWIXG. 959 the leaves will burn before they are wilted. The best way is to cut in the afternoon and lay on the ground to wilt. This wilting forwards the process of curing, and so toughens tlie plant as to make it practicable to hang it without much loss in breaking leaves. After wilting draw to the house, wliich should be twenty-four feet wide, fifteen feet high, so as to have three tiers, one above the other. A building of this width and hight, thirty-five feet long, will store an acre, or one ton of tobacco. The girts on the side of the building should be five feet apart ; a row of posts through the middle is uecessary to put girts in, to hold the poles that the plants are tied to. The best poles are made of basswood sawed one and one-half by four inches, and twelve feet long. The plants are handed to a man who, standing on a movable platform made by a light plank, receives them, and beginning at the top tier, he winds a piece of prepared twine around a stalk, fastening the first i^lant to the pole ; the second plant is placed on the other side of the pole, and a single turn is made around the stalk ; then again the third stalk is put on the same side of the first, the twine passed around, and the next on the other side, and so on to the end of the pole, where the twine is made fast. About thirty or thirty-six are liung on a pole, one half on each side. If this twine gives way it is manifest that they will all be let loose. The poles are put ou the girts about fourteen inches apart ; in this way the whole building is filled. Skill is now demanded to regulate the ventilation until t!ie crop is cured, which is determined by examining the stem in the leaf, which should be hard up to the main stalk. Then in damp weather the tobacco can be taken down and laid in piles, with the tips together to keep it from drying, and to secure this, cover over with boards. Tlie next thing is the removal of the leaves from the stalks, taking this time to separate the broken leaves from the unbroken ones. They are then made into parcels of of 16 to 18, called 'hands,' and are fastened by winding a leaf around them. Pile these hands tips on tips, the square ends out. This preserves the moisture. The pile should be kept covered with boards, and the sides also covered, leaving the wound ends of the hands exposed to the air. If everything up to this point has been skillfully done, in four or five days the tobacco will be fit to pack in cases, and take to market. The cases should be of pine, two feet six inches square by three feet eight inches, and of inch lumber. Place the hands tips on tips, and the wound ends against the ends of the box ; jDress with a lever or screw imtil 4'i0 pounds are in, then fasten on the top. The tobacco now goes through the sweating process, and will lose about ten per cent, in weight before fit for use. This tobacco is known in the market as ' seed leaf,' and is principally used for wrappers for cigars ; the refuse is exported. A crop handled in the manner described, and with skill, will sell in jSTew York city at from twelve to fifteen cents a pound ; but from want of proper care and skill, the crop of this county does not bring an average price of over eight cents." 1110. €ost and Profit of Tobacco-Growiug.— Mr. Geddes gives the follow- ing estimates. Cost of producing a tobacco crop in Onondaga County, per 960 STAPLE SOUTHERN CROPS. [Chap. XIY. acre : The plants, $2 ; manure, 10 cords, $20 ; preparing ground $4 50 ; set- ting plants, $0 ; cultivation, $3 50 ; topping, worming, and suckcring, §7 ; liarvesting and housing, $0; twine, $1; stripping, $10; packing, $1 50; live packing-boxes, $5. Tlic crop is calculated at a ton per acre; and tliat, at tlie average price of former years, ISA cents, is $270 ; from which deduct cost of production, $GG, and shrinkage, transportation, and commission, §52, it loaves $152 profit. Tiiis varies, of course, in different localities, and witli high and low prices. 1111. Rules of a Florida Tobacco-Grower. — "Be sure to grow plenty of plants in your seed beds. That is the first step to success. An acre requires 5,000 plants ; and as one half may fail, 7,000 should bo j^rovided. Make your seed-beds on a slope, near water. Spread brush evenly, so as to give tlic surface a good burn, and no ])art too much, as will be tiic case if brush arc piled in a round heap on the center of the plot. Hake off" trash, and pul- verize the soil thoroughly. Then make the ground into beds three feet wide, with narrow walks, running from the water, for the convenience of arlificial watering in drouth. The narrow beds can be reached across from the paths, wlien necessary to tliin out, or take up plants for use, as well as watch and kill the worms. If there is no rain soon after the seed is sown, tlic beds must be wot with a fine rose-nozzle watering-pot, and also by pouring watjr along the walks to soak into the beds. As soon as the plants are up, watch carefully for insects. Go over the beds every morning and kill worms. Soap-suds or weak lye will help you with the worms. Sow your first bed about March 15 [later, of course, at the north], and another ten days later, and so on, till you are sure you have enough. The seed is only one fiftji the size of cabbage seed. The quantity to sow on a given space may bo judged by tliat. 1112. Directions for Trausplauting. — " The proper size of tlic plants to trans- plant, when they are most certain to live, is wlicn tiie largcit leaves are about half the size of your hand. Be careful, in drawing plan's from the beds, not to crush nor bruise a leaf. Thrust the tlmmb and finger down so as to take hold of the root, and lay tlie plants upright in a basket, tray, or some convenient shallow vessel, to carry to the field. Do not crowd tho plants, nor pack them so they can not 1)0 taken out by the roots, and j)]aced gently in the left hand, with tlie leaves folded over the bud. Make a hole in the prepared hill with the right haiul, and insert the jilant about as deep as the bud, pressing the dirt well down upon the roots, so as to leave (he plant with the leaves folded over the bud, standing in the center of a shallow basin. The hills should be wet before setting the plants, and directly after pour a pint of water very carefully on the hill, so as not to disturb the plant. Except in rainy days, always transjilant at evening, and cover each plant next moining before the sun is liot, and uncover and water at evening, until the i)lant begins to grow. Expose the plants gradually, more and more, morning and evening. The best and cheapest covering is long moss. AVatch and replant whenever one dies, or appears too feeble to grow, as it is very Seo. 59.] CULTIVATION OF TOBACCO IN FLORIDA. 961 iinportant to get a good stand. "Watch for worms careful! j every day iind-'r the moss. 1113. Direclioas for Selecting and Preparin,:? Tobacco Ground.— " Tlie Ijest soil is that known in Florida as 'hommock land,' which is rather sandy, bnt rich. In black, stiff honimock land the leaf does not hold the spots well until it is ripe, and where they rot out tiie leaf is apt to split. To prepare for a crop, cut the timber in autumn, while in full leaf, trim off liniLs and cut bushes, and spread all over the surface, to insure a good, even burn all over the field. Burn off in April ; roll the logs in small heaps, and burn, and pick up all trash, and commence at once to mark off, with bull-tongue or scooter-plow, as much ground as you have plants ready for, running rows north and south. Then take the hoe, and make the hills every t%venty inches to two feet, digging up the ground well about one foot around, and taking out all the i-oots from the hill. Make alwaj's a slight depression in each hill, as it is made, to govern the transplanting, and to collect and retain the water used in transplanting, as well as the dews and rains. 1114. fuUivation Of Tobacco— IVorming—Toppiusf—Primin?. — " Just as soon as the plants have recovered from their transplanting, commence the work of cultivation by fiat-weeding, with horso and hand hoes, and with the hand smooth the dirt up to the stalk, filling up entirely' the little sink made in transplanting. Remember to do this to each division of your patch or field as it comes on. Be careful, in all stages of the plant, to keep worms off of the leaf and out of the bud ; first, the cut-worm around the root, then the bud-worm. In taking this worm out of the bud, be very tender, or you will do as much harm as the worm. Every two days at least, and if the worms are very bad, every day, if it can be done, each plant should be carefully wormed. Often, at an early age of the plant, the horn-worm makes his ap- pearance. • Begin soon to turn up the leaves and examine for the egg, which is senii-transparent, of a light greenish cast, and about the size of a mustard- seed. This should be mashed. Never let one of the worms live, for one horn-worm can ruin half a dozen stalks. It is not necessary to till the land as in other crops ; only be sure to keep down the weeds and bushes ; and when the hoe is used, care should be taken not to break, bruise, or split the leaves. " Topping is the next process, which is to be accomplished as soon as the button or bud has fully appeared. Tliis is done by taking the thumb and finger of the left hand and gently pressing back the leaves wliicli inclose the button, and with the thumb of the right hand rolling out the button and taking off the next leaf, which would otherwise turn over the topped stalk, with its back to the sun. " Priming is the term used to signify stripping off the leaves as they ripen, before the stalk is ready to cut. This is the most difiicult part of tobacco- growing to new beginners. They are at a loss to tell at what stage to pull the leaves. The under leaves often ripen before the topping comes off; sometimes not until the bud comes out. To know when to prime, you must 963 STAPLE SOUTHERN CROPS. [Chap. XIV. at firet institute a very ciilical examination. Some prime as soon as the tip and edges near the stalk turn a little yellow. Bottom leaves show this ap- ])earance without hcing fully ripe. The most certain criterion is to find large spots about over the leaf, growing smooth underneath, and semi-trans- parent upon holding it to the liglit. When tiiis appearance begins to come together, making nearly the whole leaf in this condition, it is fully ripe, and may be primed off. The priming must not be carried on while the dew is OH tlie leaf in great quantities, nor immediately after a heavy rain, or it will be deficient in gum and aroma. In pulling off the ripe leaves, care must be taken not to bruise or tear the leaf, or to injure the remaining leaves. Lay the leaves in small piles along the row, under the shade of the stalk. Tiiey must be carefully carried out to the barn in trays, hand-barrows, or carts. If bruised before curing, the bruised part cures up green and worthless. 1115. Curing the Tobacco. — '■'• Spliltinrj the Leaf. — When the leaves are brought to the barn they should be laid on large fables, and not in XQiy large piles, and immediately split and strung on slicks, and hmig in the stalls as they are strung. To split a leaf, lay it on a smooth board for the purpose, or on the table ; lake a sharp-pointed knife between the thumb and fore-finger of your right hand, putting forward just enough of the blade to reach through the stem ; commence about half an inch from the end, and split in the middle of the stem down toward the point, about one fourth of tiie length of the leaf, and lay them off in three or four different piles, ac- cording to their length, whicii will save much trouble in hanging and bo.xing. '• Stringing. — In putting the leaves on the sticks, fasten one end in a crack, or hole bored on purpose ; then take two leaves, turn the backs together, and run them on the sticks. Serve the next two the same way, leaving a s|iaee on the stick between each pair of leaves of about two inches. String the same sized leaves only upon the sticks. The smaller leaves may be placed something closer. '• Hanging and Handling. — The sticks should be hung so as just to touch ; and when the leaves are partially cured, close up to save house-room. Let tlie stalls be filled up, stall by stTall, from bottom to top, and not altogether over the bottom tiers of the barn, and then carried up as it cures. ' Barn- burnt' is created by having the tobacco too close and the barn too tight, causing it to fill with the evaporating juices, which settle upon the curing tobacco, for the want of means of escape, and for the want of an influx of fresh air, causing the tobacco to sweat and lose all its gum or aroma. The barn must be watched, and properly ventilated. In wet spells the doors should be kept closed ; and if one should continue too long, fires should be made outside, of bark and sound wood, and burned to coals, and the coals j)laced in iron vessels about under the tobacco, which will soon dry out the house. In dry, open weather the house may be kept open or shut, to suit the condition of the mass of the curing crop. "The more of yo\ir crop you can save by priming the better; but when pushed, the last two or three leaves, ripening pretty much together, may bo Sec. 59] CULTIVATION OF TOBACCO IN FLORIDA. 963 cut, and hung on the largest sticks with strips of Ijcar-grass, which is very plentiful, taking care to give the stalks good room at first. This will be longer curing than the primed leaves, and will be thicker, heavier, and likely deeper colored. When the stem dries as in the primed leaf, take down, strip off from the stalk, and hand as in the other case, but keep and box it separate. " W/ten to Take Doxcn. — As soon as.the middle stem is fairly dry ; when in case, that is, when it will not rattle nor break from handling, take that down which you find thus cured and in case, and make it into hands,' assorting it as to quality, and tying it up with the same quality leaf, from fifteen to twenty leaves, according to size, in a hand, being careful to have the tie come out flush with the end of the stems. As you hand it, cither lay it in windrows or in boxes, not packing it, however. Examine every day, to see it is not heating. If it heats it must be taken out and changed into other boxes or other windrows, and so on until it ceases to heat. If it goes through no heat in two or three days, it is ready for boxing. To pack well, the boxes should be made of well-dressed plank, three feet long, two and a half feet wide, and about two and a half feet deep. " Packing. — In packing, invariably place the buts of the hands next to the box. Fill the box full, and place on the top smooth planks, that will just fit inside the box; then pack down with an ordinary lever. Manage to put ahout 300 lbs. in this size box ; and in order to ascertain how hard to pack, weigh the empty box ; then, after packing it as full as you can conveniently, weigh, and see how much you have put in. If you have in only 175 lbs., j'ou may know you have not packed hard enough ; and if you find in your box 350 to 400 lbs., you may calculate your tobacco was in too high case, and you have got in too much. In this way you may learn exactly the pressure to use. After nailing on the cover, nail on two hoops all around to every box. Cleats should always be nailed at every corner of the box when making. Be careful that the top is of seasoned timber, and thoroughly dry when put on, and do not nail it so as to make any nails enter the mass of tobacco. After all, in shipping, be careful that it does not get wet, and is not stowed in the damp holds of vessels. 11 16. Tobacco Curing House or Barn— its Proper Size.—" The proper size of a tobacco barn is an important matter for tyros in the business of tobacco- growing. In Florida, it is estimated that a barn twenty feet square on the ground and sixteen feet high is as small as will do to save an acre of good tobacco ; and to do this the tobacco must be taken down and packed as it cures. Upon this ratio, house-room must be provided for your whole crop. If your barn is a frame building, divide it into stalls four feet wide, by posts and cross-bars — the bars about two feet apart. If built of logs, arrange cross bars of round poles as the building goes up. You must have a good roof and plenty of windows with tight shutters in the wa.ls, and If rour buildinjr is of los;s it must bo tightly ceiled with boards on the inside. The sticks to lay on the poles or bars to hang the leaves upon, may be split out of good pine, or any other straight rifted timber, board fashion, three fourths 964 STAPLE SOUTHERN CROPS. [Chap. XIV. of an iiicli thick, and then split to a square, foiii- and a lialf feet long, and the splinters and corners drawn off, and one end a little sharpened. About 2,500 or 3,000 sticks should be provided to the acre. In some sections, sticks made of reeds are used. 1117. Where Tobacco may be Grown. — The isothermal lines, within which tobacco may be grown, correspond with Indian corn, ranging from the equa- tor to lat. 50° N., but the production at the extremes is not equal to the tem- perate zone, say lat. 24° to 40°. It is now grown in all the States, but most largely as a staple crop in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia. The lands of the latter State have been extremely exhausted by tobacco, and so they have in Maryland, and until lately it has been supposed that all tobacco grown in a climate as cold as that north of lat. 41° was of a coarse, rank quality, but this has been proved to be a mistake by some of the tobacco growers of Connecticut and New York. True, there is a peculiar sort of sweet-scented tobacco grown in Florida, known as Cuba tobacco, that can not be profitably grown as far north as some coareer variety will grow. In Europe, tobacco is grown as far north as central Knssia, and it will succeed anywhere in suitable soil, where the mean temperature of July is 0.5°, and some writers say 2° less. It is also said that all tiie varieties grown in warm regions may be transferred northward and acclimated. We believe, how- ever, that all the good qualities will not continue to attach to the plant grown at tlic North. 1118. Tobacco Soil. — The best soil for tobacco is that which contains the most potasli. Hence it succeeds best upon newly cleared forest land, and some of the fine sort grown in Florida is not worth much more than half as much in market from the third crop, as the first upon the same land. In Viiginia there are many thousands of acres that give tlieir owners rich returns when first cleared, that would not now produce tobacco enough to pay for a single plowing. Tliere appears to be no grade of soil, from sand to black muck, that tobacco will not grow in, if the proper plant food is added ; and there is no better manure than wood ashes. So fit are ashes to fertilize tobacco, that a plant bed is generally prepared by burning brush, and sowing the seed in the earth lightly, inixed with the fresli-burnt ashes. For the finest quality of tobacco we would select, in old land, a light loam, and manure it by the Connecticut rule, " with all we could get." It will grow well, as a general rule, upon all soil that is really good for Indian corn, by following the preceding rules given in this article. In Connecticut, the plants are set June 5 to 15, and good crops have been made when they were set as late as July 5. Some cultivators set their plants on a ridge, instead of in a basin, as recommended in the article about Florida. This is for the purpose of using a horse-hoo in the first cultivation. The plants when set on a ridge arc less liable to be covered up. The soil of the seed-beds must bo not only rich, but very carefully worked. Sko. 60.] INTRODUCTOJi OF HEMP CULTIVATION IN AMERICA. 965 SECTION LX.-FIBROUS PLANTS-HEMP AND FLAX-HISTORY AND CUL- TIVATION OF HEMP-COST AND PROFIT OF FLAX CULTURE. JE are aware tliat neither hemp nor flax should rank as Southern crops ; but they seem naturally con- nected, and are therefore treated of in tlie same section. Hemp ranks in America as a Southern crop because almost exclusively grown in slave States — that is, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri ; though in Europe it is cultivated largely in higher latitudes than our most Northern States. There ap- pears to be a prevalent opinion that hemp really belongs in the South, because none of the Northern States grow it as a staple crop ; yet the States where it is grown are not southern, nor is the crop a Southern one, any more than Indian corn. His- tory gives the native place of hemp {Cannabis sativa) in India ; but if that is so, it has been acclimated much farther north ; and the fact is interesting to all farmers that it can be successfully grown wherever the soil is suitable, as far north as the great lakes ; indeed, as far north as they successfully cultivate flax {Linuni tisitatissimiim), which has been grown in all parts of America since its first settlement, and its cultivation only ceased because it could not com- pete with cotton, for the want of proper machinery to cheaply reduce the fiber to practical purposes. That want is now about overcome. 1119. Introduction of Hemp CuUivation iu America.- The first settlers of New England, New York, and Virginia introduced the cultivation of hemp, and hopes were entertained by the " mother countries" — England and Hol- land— that their American colonies would furnish the much-needed supply for their great navies. It was grown on Manhattan Island in 162G, and in Massachusetts in 1630. In Virginia, hempen cloth was manufactured in 16i8. In 1730 Pennsylvania offered bounties to encourage hemp-growing. It was never extensively grown as a farm crop until after Kentucky was settled ; there it became a staple crop at an early day, and up to the present time it has been grown in tliat State more extensively than in any other, though large plantations have been established in Tennessee and Missouri, but all have never been able to give enough for the wants of the country. The consumption of hemp for bagging and rope for cotton bales is enormous, and must always afford a good market for the crop and make its cultivation profitable. The consumption for maritime purposes is almost beyond the power of imagination. It is estimated that a war ship of the first class re- quires 180,000 lbs. of hemp to fit her for sea. So great has been the con- sumption that the price has increased to such an extent that various sub- 966 STAPLE SOUTUERN CROPS. [Chap. XIV- stances have been sought for as substitutes ; for instance, Manilla heni)), flax, and cotton for cordage and duck, and iron for cables, and to somio extent for standing rigging, and also for cordage of cotton and otiier bale.-. Farmers who feel a disposition to engage in hemp-growing may rest iissnred that they will always have a sure market, and from what wc have stated they will see that it can be grown in any of the Xorthern States. 1120. A New Variety of Uemp> — ^Vithin a few years past a new varieiy of hemp has been introduced into the "Western States, under the name of Chinese hemp. The editor of the Yalley Fanner, speaking of it, says: " We know of no new variety of vegetable production that presents such marked superiority over kinds before known to us. "We visited tlio first extensive field of it grown by Mr. Vance, before it was generally made known to the public. In our statement of it we were particularly guarded, lest the public should place an undue estimate upon it, and suffer final dis- appointment as to its value, which is so frequently the case with the infrrv- duction of new things of the kind. But in this instance, so striking was the contrast between the Chinese hemp growing upon land so washed and worn that it would no longer produce the common hemp, it required only to be Been to convince the most skeptical as to its value."' A writer in the Ifcwx, of Slielby Co., Ky., says: "From the information we have of this new variety, we are fully satisfied that it must eventually supersede all varieties hitherto introduced. Having, during the present month, manufactured and examined closely samples of this hemp, we find — compared with other hemp — the lint to be more hai-sh, coarse, yet heavy and lengthy, giving good gloss, after being manufactured, also producing less tow, both at hackle and break ; and for rope purposes we consider it equal to other varieties. For bagging and twine purposes, where a soft, silken article is preferable, it may not answer so well. The greatest benefit to the grower is in tlie largely increased yield per acre — double and even treble the amount of the old variety— making it a more. profitable crop than 'King Cotton' itself "We have reports from a number of farmere who have experimented with it the past season. Their reports of product per acre vary from 900 to 1.400 pounds; and in ono instance 1,700 pounds were weighed from less than one acre, the correctness of which can not be doubted. Tlie next greatest benefit to be derived from its adoption is the greater certainty of good crops. Tlie long time — five months — during which it is maturing, gives it the advantage of both spring and summer rains ; nor does a dry spring preclude the hoi>c of a good yield ; whereas, with the old variety, you must have spring showers or no crop, as it matures in about three months. Sown in March, it ripens in September, after the heat of sunburning days is past, thereby doing away with the necessity of stacking and spreading, which is a heavy item in hemp culture. There is more wood in the stalks, making it harder to break ; but when once broken or cracked, it is more easily cleaned than the old variety, the hards falling out freely in long pieces. The seed is somewhat smaller than the old variety, requiring less per acre. In eultiva'- Sec. CO.] SOWING AND HARVESTING HEMP. 967 iiig for seed the yield is not so large by one third as the old kind ; and ripening very late, it is liable to be caught by early antumn frosts. 11-21. Cost and ProGt of Ilemp-Crowingi — We estimate a hemp crop, upon good fair soil, at an average of 700 lbs. of merchantable lint per acre ; and probably a fair average price on the plantation, if near water or raihvay transportation, is five cents a pound, making $35 an acre ; and we can not count over half of this for cost of production and preparation. Some plant- ations, we know, average 1,000 lbs. per acre for a series of years, for all the land in hemp; and the cost of production, including a fair rent of land, would not exceed $10 an acre. This makes it an exceedingly profitable branch of agriculture. Upon some of the inexhaustibly rich bottom lands of Missouri, 1,400 lbs. per acre have often been made ; and successive crops have been taken from the same land, without manure, ever since it was de- nuded of forest. 1122. Sowins; and IlarTCStlng lleiep. — The proper mode of preparing flie soil is to filow it as early in the spring as possible, and tlie deeper the better. No doubt the subsoil plow would be extremely beneficial, as the plant has a long tap-root. As fast as it is plowed, the land should be nicely harrowed, to break up all the clods and render the surface as smooth as possible, as that is a very imjjortant part of the whole art of hemp growing. Where it is most grown in Kentucky and Missouri, the seed is generally sown in the latter part of April, the ground being re-plowed, with a lighter plow than at first, and one and a quarter bushels per acre of seed sown on the fresh soil, which sliould then be heavily harrowed, and afterward smoothed with a light harrow or brush-drag, so as to leave the surface quite smooth. It is important that you should know that your seed is good, for much depends upon the evenness of growth and proper thickness of plants to produce a heavy coat- ing of fiber of fine quality, '\7here hemp stands too thin, the stalks send out so many side-branciies that the crop is injured. If grown for seed, instead of lint,- it would be advantageous to grow the stalks full of branches — that is, the female portion, as there arc always male and female plants in this family, and it is the latter that incline most to branches. Hemp should not be cut until the stalks turn yellow and leaves begin to fall, as the lint does not acqxiire its full weight; and strengtii until such time. Cutting hemp is hard, slow work. A strong, skillful hand can cut an acre a day with a hemp-cradle, which is like a grain-cradle, but stronger, raid Ecytiie sjiorter. Many planters prefer the hemp-hook, which does not cut half as fast as the cradle, but saves more hemp ; and some who grow hemp contend for the hook, because a hand can harvest with it all that he C3;i dress during winter, which is the only season that hemp dressing can be done to advantage. Ilcmp is generally ready to commence harvesting, south of lat. 40°, the first of August: and it is set np in shocks, to 'stand until October, when the process of rotting is begun, by spreading it upon the field where it grew, or in some grass lot, unless the planter has conveniences for water-rotting, wliicli 968 STAPLE SOUTDERN CROPS. [Chap. XIV. is generally preferred, though the rotting upon the field adds much to ite fertility, and some say is sufficient to keep the laud always productive. Some planters remove the hemp from the field as soon as harvested, and stack it, and plow the land directly afterward ; while others contend that this practice is injurious to the soil, and that it will surely fail sooner than it would if the stubble were left untouched until the time of spring plowing. It is true that plowing exposes the soil to the drying influence of a hot sun, like a naked fallow, to which we are opposed. Those who advocate plowing hemp stubble contend that, without it, such a grass sod would grow that, when plowed in the spring, it conld not be harrowed smooth, and tliat much of the grass would grow, and injure the hemp crop. If it is necessary to plow hemp land after harvest, we recommend sowing a green crop, s.ay corn, oats, rj'e, or buckwheat, to shade the surface and enrich the soil. It can be fed down in autumn, or ])lowed under, or dragged down to decay. Rotation would be advantageous, for a hemp stubble will produce good wheat, or corn, or clover, and thus extirpate the troublesome weeds and grass. It is contended by many hemp growers that rotation is not necessary on account of any exhaustion of the soil, and that the leaves of one crop pro- duce sufficient fertilization for another crop. We have before us the notes of a Missouri hemp grower, who averaged 800 lbs. per acre eleven years ia succession. The mode of estimating the yield per acre while the crop is growing is to calculate 100 lbs. of lint for every foot in hight. That is, a field that averages eight feet in hight will yield 800 lbs. per acre. 1123. Rotting and Dressing liemp. — The process of water-rotting hemp in ponds or streams is much objected to in thickly-settled districts, on account of its influence upon health. It certainly is objectionable on account of the odor it dift'uses ; and it is not a very pleasant job for those who do the work of handling the rotted hemp, and carrying it to the field where it is spread to dry. It is resorted to because it takes a shorter time, and produces better lint. Spread upon the field like flax, it takes from two to three months to rot sufficiently. The breaking usually commences about Xew Year's, and requires hard labor from the stoutest hands. It is not dressed like flax, but broke, and the shives shaken out, and fibers straightened, and tied up in bales of about a hundred j^ounds each. Tlie earliest rotted hemp is darkest and toughest, and .more difficult to break than that which lies until cold weather. If not well rotted, the task of breaking is very severe. If too much rotted, the value of the fiber is greatly injured. The best grown hemp — that is, that grown with stalks close together, and of even size and length — afi"ords the most fiber, and is the easiest dressed, because the wood is weak, and becomes very brittle by the ])rocess of rotting, before the fiber is injured. 1124. Cutting Hrmp by Machines. — Some experiments have been made to cut hemp with mowing machines. "Wlicrever they have failed, it has been because the strength of the m:ic!iiue was not adapted to the work, which is much harder than the stoutest grass or grain. Since machines have been adapted to cutting Indian corn, we have faith that they will be to cutting Sec. CO.] CULTIVATION OF FLAX. 969 hemp as well as to breaking it, so that the limit of production will not. be confined to the quantity that can be dressed in winter by the liands tliat grow the crop in summer. 1125. Historical Facts about Flax. — Tlic most interesting fact for fanners about to engage in llax-growing is, that it is a rapid exhauster of tiie soil. Second, that it requires a moist soil and wet season ; consequently it is a good crop for bottom lands that can be irrigated. The country of its origin is unknown, but it grows well upon irrigated land in tropical climates, and through all gradations of climate and soil to a high northern lalitudo. In Egypt, flax is sown in December and January and harvested in April or May, and in northern Russia it is sown in Slay and harvested in August ; and so it is in the northern parts of the United States. Flax cloth has au antiquity much greater than Moses' account of it, for the oldest muinuiy wrappings in Egypt have been proved by microscopic examinations to be made of linen, instead of cotton or any other fiber. Flax was one of the necessities of cultivation by our Pilgrim fiithers and other immigrants into Xorth America, and by all the new settlers in the wilds of the country, for the lint with which their families have been clothed. Up to a period within our active participation in farm-labor, almost every thriving New England farmer cultivated a small piece of land in flax every summer, and dressed it out by hand in the barn in the dry, cold days of winter, and the family manufactured it into a variety of ai'ticles of domestic use. Indeed, a good many old-style farmers did not think they could get along without their tow frock and trowsers, nor that anything was so tit for meal-bags as home-made tow-linen. We fully believe that a great many who have abandoned flax culture because " cotton is so cheap," may safely, in an economical point of view, return, in some degree, to the ways of our fathers. We offer a few hints to this end. 1126. Flax-Growiag— Soil and Preparaiioa.— There is no material diff'erence in the soil nor in its preparation for a flax crop from that already described for hemp. Both need a rich, mellow loam, made juSt as pulverulent as pos- siljle Avith ordinary farming tools, and for flax the surface must be free of lumps, clods, and stones, or there will be a great loss of seed. The crop always does best upon soil that suffers least from drouth. And although not strictly a Southern crop, it seems to come in its proper place after hemp, and thcrctbi-e we give some brief facts in this connection. 1137. Quantity of Seed per Acre, and Time of Sowing.— The seeding of flax land varies from half a bushel to six bushels per acre, according to what the crop is designed for. Where it is sown for the seed alone, as it is in many places in the Western States, where no use is to be made of the lint, half a bushel of seed an acre is considered sufficient, and better than more ; and if the ground were as carefully prepared as we have recommended for a lint crop, a peck of seed would be ample, as it would be no object to have the stalks grow as thickly as possible. Fifteen bushels of seed per acre is a good yield, and above the average, though we have heard of twenty-five bushels 970 STAPLE SOUTOERN CROPS. [CnAP. XIV. an acre, and so \vc liave of many crops of less than ten bnsbcls. The time of sowing in the latitude of central New York is as early in April as the land could be properly prepared ; and if the intention is to grow the crop for both lint and seed, as the crop is most generally grown in the Eastern States, we would recommend two jjushels of seed per acre. If the crop is desired more for lint than seed, the seeding must be thicker and thicker as the fineness of the lint is required. For the very finest linen threads, wo arc assured that seven bushels of seed per acre has been sown in Europe, and the flax pulled while in blossom. 1128. Cost and Proflt of a Flax Crop.— The following estimate of the cost and product of an acre of flax in the Middle or Eastern States may be taken as a pretty fair basis : Plowing and sulisoiling tlioroiighly, and cross-plowing wiih one horse lightly Si 25 Harrowing once with ox-harrow, and once with light harrow 1 00 Sowing and brushing, 50 cts., and two bushels of seed, $2 00 3 50 Cutting crop by mowing machine, binding and setting up 75 Carting, tlirashing, spreading, handling, ami storing 4 50 Dressing by liaud at 0 cts., or machine at 2 cts., 400 lbs 8 00 — making a total of $20, or $3G if dressed by hand, and SiG counting manure and rent. Tlie crop we would estimate at S bushels of seed, average $1 a bushel, $8 00; and 400 lbs. of lint, average 12i lbs., making $58, and the protit of a flax crop $12 per acre. Where a larger quantity of seed per acre is used, the result will not be diflferent; for though the cost of seed is more, and yield of seed less, the value of the lint will make it up about the same. Of late years, flax has been a good deal sown for seed, and the rough straw sold by the tun at an average of about five dollars, which pays better than burning it, as has been the practice, though at that'price it can not be trans- ported far upon common roads. 1129. Other Fibrous Plants.— It has been stated, from some small experi- ments, that cotton would produce as valuable a crop as hemp from the liber of the stalks, if the seed was sown broadcast so that the stalks would grow as closely together as those in a hemp-field. Instead of ttsing the cotton plant for this purpose, which is only practicable soutli of lat. 40^ to advantage, we recommend the oki"a plant, which makes a similar growtii to cotton, and has a more fibrous stalk, and grows well as far north as New York. Tiie whole nettle family might be cultivated for its fiber, but after all, it is doubtful whether anj' other jilant can be profitably substituted in any of the Northern States for flax, wiiich we know can be grown with profit to the grower, for its fiber alone, whenever ho can be assured the average price of hemp, and that we think he will be assured, as soon as some of the recent inventions for separating the lint and wood have been put into general operation. CHAPTER XV. THE GLEANINGS OF THE FIELD. SECTION LXI.-MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE TO FAUxMERS. ^ -N gathering the harvest that we liave garnered up in ' this store-house for tlie use of American farmers, and arranging each subject under its appropriate liead, we have necessarily scattered, as the reaper does, some good grain, to be afterward gleaned. These gleanings we at- tach to our work under the head of Miscellaneous, with strong hope that the reader will find among them enough good seed to pay for the trouble of winnowing. 1130. Time Required for Seeds fo Gtrmiuate. — Wheat, one day; spinach, beans, mustard, three days; lettuce, four; melon, cucumber, cress, five ; radish, five ; beets, five ; bar- ley, seven; purslane, nine; cabbage, ten; parsley, forty; almond, chestnut, peach, one year; rose, hawthorn, filbert, two years. This is according to Loudon, but is subject to many variations, as the germination will be affected by the degree of heat, moisture, and general condition of the soil. 1131. Temperature at wliicb Several Plauts Flourish.— Wheat, 74° to 75^ ; barley, 69^ to 74^ ; potatoes, 54^ to 75' ; melons, &(^^ to 67° ; apples, 59° to 72^ ; tobacco, 06° to 82° ; corn, 59° to 80° ; sugar-cane, 71° to S2° ; grapes, 70° to 80°. Whenever the temperature of the proper season for perfecting the fruit materially varies from the above, a decreased production may be expected, unless the crop is affected by artificial means. Winter gi-ain, vines and trees, all suspend growth, and rest in winter, in all of our Northern States. Wheat requires 120 to 140 days from the time of sowing to harvest in a mean temperature of si.\ty-one degrees. 1132. Storiag Grain in Cemented Caves. — It has been recommended as an excellent way to store grain, to make cavities in the earth, plastered per- fectly water-tight with hydraulic cement, and of a form like a jug, which, being filled with grain, could have a cover cemented on, and thus preserve the grain for an indefinite length of time. We should like to have tiie air pumped out, and then seal it up, and we believe such grain-cisterns would be excellent preservatories. Farmers who are troubled with rats would find such granaries highly valuable, and tliey can be cheaply constructed. See article on Cisterns. 972 TDE GLEANINGS OF THE FIELD. [Chap. XV. 1133. A New Grain Mill has lately been invented, that operates upon an entirely different principle from any of its predecessors. Tliere are no nib- bing, nor grinding, nor cutting surfaces which come in contact witii the grain. It is reduced to powder by blows struck upon it wliile siispendod in air. A shaft, armed with beaters, inclosed in an iron case, is made to revolve witli great velocity, and the grain, being fed into the case near the shafr, is carried out by centrifugal force, where the arms strike tljcir rapid blows upon it, and shatter it to atoms, as a blow of a heavy iron bar, it may be supposed, would shatter a piece of glass, if hit while flying through the air; it is then blown out of the case through an orifice made for the purpose, and tlie bran is separated from the flour by the force of gravity ; the flour, being the Iicariest, is carried farthest from the machine. It is said tliat all sorts of grain can be reduced by this means, even corn and cobs, if any one desires it ; we do not, because we do not believe that cobs will ever pay for grinding, no matter how cheap the power. But Indian corn ground in this way will, un- doubtedly, be better for human food tlian wlien ground by any of the rub- bing processes, which breaks the oil-cells, and makes the meal liable to ran- cidity from long keeping. lloi. Xulriaent in Food Substances for Man. — Tlie following table gives a comparative view of the value of different substances for human food, so far as their nutritious qualities arc concerned. TVith peas and beans, some of the coarser and less nutritious substances should be taken, upon the same principle that hay or straw is fed with grain to stock. Of 100 pounds of each of the following substances, it may be assumed that the figures show the number of pounds of matter that go to sustain life or support the strength of the consumer. Tlius, if 100 pounds of corn meal cost the same a 100 pounds of turnips, which is often the case in city markets, the meal will re- ally be worth twenty-two times as much as the turnips for food. The per cent, taking 100 as the unit, of the different articles is as follows, according to chemical analysis : Per Cent Ix-ntils 84 rcAS 83 Beans 02 Coin (Maize) 89 Wlic.1t 85 Rirley 83 liice 88 Kyc 79 Per Cent. Oats 74 Meats, average 35 Potatoes 25 Beets 14 CilTOtS 10 Cabl>agc 7 Greens 6 Turnips 4 1135. How to Calculate the Value of a Load of Hay.— The following is an easy way of calculating the value, in dollars and cents, of a load of hay : If the price agreed upon is $1S a tun, ascertain the number of pounds in the load, and multiply that by the unit 9, which is the half of the sum agreed ujion, or else whatever may be half of that sum, and you will have the jiricc of the load in mills ; per example, a load contains 3,300 lbs. ; multiply by i«, and it gives 29,700 mills, which is $29 70, the amount of the load of hay at $18 a tun. If the price is $15 a tun, and the weight of the load 1,950 lbs., multiply by 7j, and you have 14,625 mills, or $14 62^, as the price of the Sbc. 61.] USEFUL KNOWLEDGE FOR FARMERS. 9T3 load. So any load, of auy weigiit or price, may be quickly ascertained by this rule. 113C. Row to f a'sculate the Xutaber of Plants npon an Acre.— This is a very importaiu matter, and is all Avoiked out iu No. 5(3S. Look at that whenever you are about planting an oi-chard, or when you wish to estimate the n\uii- ber of forest trees upon an acre. Suppose you are selling the timber. One man offei-s a price per acre ; another one offers a price per tree. If you know liow many an acre contains at given distances apart, you can tell which offer is best. At 30 feet apart, you have 50 trees; at 25 feet, 70; and so on. 1137. Limit of Vitality of SecdSi — There is no limit to the vegetative life of cereal grains kept perfectly dry in an unchangeable temperature, and most of the garden seeds will grow after two years, and those of the cucumis family after many years. Some persons prefer melon seeds two or tliroe years old. Onion seed loses vitality of about half tlie seeds the second j'car, and old parsnep seed is not as good as new. All garden seeds should be kept in air-tight vessels, and none but the best should be saved. Their vital- ity may then be counted upon as follows : Parsneps and riiubarb, two years ; beans and peas, two to three years; carrot, nasturtions, Miusturd, parsley, and lettuce, three to four years ; pepper, cabbage, spinach, tomato, turnip, sal- sify, radish, and egg-plaut, four to five years; asparagus, celery, okra, broc- coli, and cauliflower, five to six years ; beets, cucumber, gourd, n)clon, squash, pumpkins, corn and other grains, six to ten years, and longer. Tiic great secret of keeping seeds is to have them well matured, and kept cool ami dry. It is impossible to say how long seeds may be made to preserve vitality, wit'a proper care ; but it is certain that any sort may be spoiled in any year by damp and heat. 1138. What Ohio Produces. — Besides its great crops, it produces men ; and here is the sort its soil furnislies. E. D. Mansfield, State Commissioner of Statistics in Ohio, has submitted to the Legislature of the State his annual report for 1S61. It contains some curious items. For instance, the average bight of Ohio men is given as four inches above that of the Belgian.^, two and a half above tiiat of the English recruits, and one and a half inches above that of the Highlanders. The average bight per man is a fraction under five feet ten and a half inches. Iligliland County showed the tallest and lieaviest men. Twenty-one who were weiglied averaged one hundred and eighty-two pounds. Fair complexions predominate in Ohio. There are few of olive brunette, or dark complexion. The great majority are light or san- guine. The eyes are light in the proportion of three to two, incUuling blue and gray in the liglit class, black and hazel in the dark. Tlie hair is tlie only feature among Americans, and especially in Ohio, whicli approaclie; the characteristics of the dark nations. Even in this, the majority liave wliar may be fairly called light hair, including most of the sliades of brown hair. 1139. Thorou-?haess— What it Produces.— It produces great and good re- sults in all the operations of the farm. He who hurries through cverytliing generally so slights his work as to do notliing well. But wc would not have 97i THE GLEANINGS OF THE FIELD. [Chap. XV. .111J larincr thoroughly attached to routine, such as appears to govern some I'ariners, and never leads tlieni upward. Farming, as well as all ancient art-;, has been run down by routine. Iloutinc is the enemy of all improve- Hieiit in farming. Routine plows three inches deep, and will not go deeper. Rouliiic jdants without manure, and runs down and wears out the most fertile soil. Thoroughness, in all undertaken improvements, avoids routine, and strikes out boldly to produce a result. With some farmers, everything is done thoroughly; with others, nothing. One lives as though he hoped to live long and enjoy his labor; the other only lives for to-day. lie literally " lakes no thought of the morrow." lUO. Legal Weights of a Bushel of Grain and Other Things.— The following table, published a few years since in the JiocJuster Union, is said to give the legal weights of the substances named, so far as fixed in the following States: ARTICLES. N. T. oil. Pa. Ind. Wis. Iowa. Ul. Mich. Ct. Mass. U. I. Kv. N. J. VL Mo. Ca. Wheat, lb GO. .UO ..(iO. .00 ..tiO. .00. (iO. .00. OU .00 . — . .00. .00. tJO. .GO. (iO llye 5C. .56. .50. .50. .50.. SG.. 54. .56. .50.. GO. . — . .60. .66.. 60. .50 .60 Com 50. 56. .56. 50.. 56.. 56.. 66.. 56.. 56.. 50.. — ..66.. 50.. 56.. 52. 50 Uats IJarlcy 3::. ......48. .6-1. .48. .47. .48. .48. .48. .44 .48. 46. ' ' .48 .48. .46. .m. .m .o4 .48 Buckwheat 48. — .48 .50. .42 .52 .40 .42. .45 .46. . — .52. 60. .40 .m .48 Clovur seed CO. .54. . — .CO. .00 .50 . — .00 . — . — . . — .60. .64. . — . .m .00 Timothy seed 45 .42. . — .45 . — .45. , — .in. . — .m . — .45 — — .m .48 FliLxscod 56. .50. . — . .56. . — . .50. . — . .m . . — . .m . . — . .66. .65. . — . .m. .56 Hcmpaecd 44. .^. . — . .44. . — . .44. . — . . — . . — . . — . .— . . — . . — . . — . . — . . — Blue };rass seed 15. . — . . — . .14. . — .. .14. . — . . — . . — . . — . . — . . — . . — . . — . . — . . — Dried applet 22. .25. . — . .30. .28. .24. . — . .28. . — . . — . . — . .— . . — . . — . . — . •)0 Uiied peaches 32. .33. . — . . — . .28. .35. . — . .28. . — . . — . . — . . — . . — . . — . . — . .22 Dried plums — . — — .24. . — . ,— . — . . — . . — . — .. — . — . — . . — , . — — Coarse salt 56. .50. .85. .50. . — . CO . — . — . . — . .70. . — . .50. . — . . — . .56. ,56 Fine salt 56. .50. .02. .50. . — . .50 . — . . — . . — .70. — .60. . — . — .50. .60 Potatoes 00. . — . . — . .00. . — . .00 — . — . CO. .00. .60 . — . . — . .60 . — . — , Peas CO. . — . . — . — . — . — . . . — . . — . .60. . — . — . — . . — . — .60 Beans 60. .56. . — , .00. . — . .00 — . — . . — . .60. . — . .CO. — — — 60 Castor l)cans 40. . — . — . .46. — 40. — — — . — — . — . . — . — — — Onions 57. . — . . — . .57. . — . .57. . — . . — . . — . .50. .65. . — . . — . . — . . — . .— Corn meal — . . — . , — , 50 . — . . — . — — . — . . — . 65. , — . . — . — — — Mineral coal — . . — . .— .70. .— .— . .— . . — . .— . .— . . — . .— . . — . . — . . — . .— Corn on the cob weighs 70 lbs. ; bran, 20 lbs. 1141. Capacity of Boxes< — Any farmer can make, or have made, accurate measures. Boxes made of the following capacities will contain the quantity of grain or other article of dry measure sold by the barrel, bushel, or quart. For instance, a box, measured inside, 21: inches long, 16 inciies wide, 28 inches deep, gives 10,752 cubic inches, and will contain a barrel. A box 24xlG, and 14 deep, 5,376 inches, half a barrel. A bo.v 10x16.8, and 8 deep, 2,150.4, holds a bushel; and one 12x11.2, and 8 deep, 1,075.2, half a bushel ; and 8 x 8.4, and 8 deep, 537.6, a peck ; 8 x S, and 4.2 deep, a gallon. The same size, half the de])th, or 7x4, and 4.8 dcej), 134.4, half a galluii. One 4x4, and 4.2 deep, 67.2, a quart ; and half the depth, a pint. 1142. How to Measure an Acre— Square— Triangle— fircle,— For a circle, use a rojie for a radius, 7 rods 3f links long. For a fourth-acre, 3 rods 14 links. For an eighth, 2 rods 13 links. An acre in the form of an equilat- eral triangle is 19 rods 5i links upon each side. A triangle eighth of an aci'e is 6 rods 20 links. A rod is IGi feet, and a link 7.92 inchc.-?. A square Sec. 61.] MAXIMS FOR YOUKG FARMERS. 975 acre is 160 rods, 43,560 superficial feet, and is 12 rods and 10.7 feet upon eacli side. To lay out an oval plot, measure off an exact ti-iangle upon the spot, and set a stake at each point, and stretcli a rope around tight; then pull up one stake, and press it liard against the rope, and mark upon the earth as you go around. If you wish to form an oval, say 20 x 100 feet, draw a perpendicular and a liorizontal line through the center of the plot where you desire to form j'our oval, and set stakes 100 feet apart upon the long line, and a stake ten feet out from the center on the other lino. Now draw a cord tight around these three stakes, and fasten it. Then take up tlio stake on the short line, and press it against the line, and with the point scratch a mark all the way around, and you will have an oval of the de- sired size. 1113. Axioms, Proverbs, and Maxims. — "We liave always loved the little sentences that we have found floating upon the sea of printer's ink, whicli come under the class of axioms, self evident truths, or proverbs — truths often repeated, in wise, pithy sayings — or maxims of established principles, and propositions generally received as true ; and as we have always found man- kind ready to learn truth from these little scraps, we liave gathered a few that appear worth preserving. Although we address them, by their titles, to different members of the farmer's family, we hope rone of them will be passed over by other members; for however trite some of the sayings may appear to the elder class, let us not forget that we Avere once young, when many an old saying was fresh to our minds, as some of these will be to others. Let us remember that tlie soundest grains of wheat are found mixed with chaff, which the skillful farmer winnows out and garners in his store-house. So let each winnow and save such grains as lie may find in those pages. 111-1. Maxims for Yoang Farmers. — A tyro in farming should not select an impoverished farm to begin with, lest lie fail and become discouraged through no fault of his own. To preserve fertility, as much must be restored to a field, in some shape, as the crop carried off extracted fiom the soil. This can be done by turning under a green crop, or applying animal or mineral manure. Never try to cultivate more acres tlian you can dii thorouglily. Sow none but good seed, and be sure always to sow it at the right season. Never attempt to carry "coals to Newcastle" in any of your farming op- erations. That is, do not try to grow tilings for sale for which you iiave no market. Grow such things as your soil, situation, and climate are adapted to, and such as facilities of transportation will warrant. Do not try to grov/ apples nor potatoes at the tropics, nor oranges and yams at the poles. Practice mixed husbandry. As a general tiling, no small farmer, such as most of us are in the Northern States, can confine his operations to a single article of produce. The risk is too great. If that fails, all income for the year fails. Be sure never to fail to plant a garden of the most useful vegetables for family use, and cultivate it well. No part of the farm will bo more profit- 976 THE GLEANINGS OF TDE FIELD. [Chap. XV. able. Plant fruits of all nseful sorts, and let no tree cumber the ground that does not produce good quality. Weeds are a pest. Do not ])lant the seed. Do not cart the weeds into your barn-yard, and cart tlie manure out in its raw, nnfertnented state, with every weed seed in a perfect condition to grow. If you would not be pes- tered with weeds, compost your manure, and kill the vitality of all seeds. Make it a law of the farm that every one shall stop and pull up every nox- ious weed, such as dock, thistle, Spanish needles, etc., and in a very few years your greatest pest will be gone. Walk about your farm for recreation or inspection with a staff having a hook at one end and a chisel at the other, and keei> ^" account of the number of your enemies you slay in tlio course of the year, at little expense of ammunition. Turnips will winter better in jiiles than in pits, and pine brush is better than straw for covering, laid bnt-cnds np, with a few inches of dirt over. Apples will keep if buried, but the earth is apt to extract the aroma, and thus injure the quality of fruit. Upon land seeded to grass, volunteer oats should not bo allowed to gi'(j\v. If you can not feed them off, mow them. Spend leisure hours in autumn among the raspberry plants. Cut away all old canes, and shorten new ones. Tender plants may be covered witli evergreen boughs. Trenching is simply spading and mellowing up the soil some two feet deep. It is done by digging a scries of ditches parallel to each other, ami throwing the dirt of one into the other. The great secret of growth of garden vegetables is not in the greater supply of manure, but in the fine i)ulveriza- tion of the soil. Subsoiling is of the same nature as trenching, and, as far as it goes, equally profitable. Boulders may sometimes be got rid of by digging a hole alongside, and burying them, much better than any other way. A man will sometimes bury a stone in one day that could not be blasted and hauled out for five dollars. Save and eow the largest seed, and by these means you ■will get i)cas, or anything else, of a bulk of which we have at present no conception. Radishes planted in the hill M'ith melon or cucumber seed will often save the vines from bugs, which, liking the radish plants better than the vines, will oat them first ; in the mean time the vine plants grow to such a size that the bugs will not molest them. Fumes of rosin have been found equally eflacacious and much cheaper than fumes of tobacco for destroying aphides upon plants. Tlic maggots of the asjiaragus beetle proved destructive upon Long Island in 18C2, and the best remedy discovered was fowls. Several persons who kejjt chicken-coops near their asparagus beds found them an excellent protection. As the eggs of the magg(rts are deposited upon the seedlings, it is best to destroy them. Peas are an excellent cro]) to i)repare land for wheat or any other grain, and may be profitably grown as a manure crop. They may be grown for seed after the 10th of June, free from the pea-bug ; and a bushel is worth a Skc. 61.] MAXIMS ABOUT STOCK. 977 bushel of corn for fattening purposes, and it does not cost half so mucli to produce it. Teazles have been grown profitably in this country. They are used by all woolen clotli dressers. 1145. Slaxims abont Stocki — A morbid appetite for animal food causes sows to eat their pigs. Feed them flesh before they drop their pigs, as a preventive remedy, and give them saw-dust instead of straw for bedding. It is good for any stable bedding. Feed oil-cake to heifers. It enlarges the milk-vessels. Say two pounds a day, for two or three months before calving. Give all animals plenty of water. Pumpkin seeds are good for all stock when cooked, but injurious raw. Ducks are often killed by eating them. All food is better for all animals if cooked, but it will not always pay to cook it. Dogs indicate the character of a neighborhood. If they are an ugly, brawling set, look out for their owners ; they are very likely to be ditto ; for the gentleness of all animals is generally in keeping with their masters. If one is ugly, he is only a brute ; the other is brutish. Neglect of yoimg stock in November is one of the sins of which almost all American farmers are guilty. It may save hay, but it will be at the ex- pense of value in flesh, and perhaps of life. Sheep and calves should be yarded together. Sick calves often pick up and devour with avidity the hay and straw from among the sheep-dung. It is medicinal, and no article has more immediate and salutary effect in re- storing diseased calves to health. "Where all fodder is dear, and labor cheap, it is good economy to cut up all the coarse materials, and coax the stock to eat them by mixing in a little meal. "We do not believe that it will pay to cut up everything, and in some localities it will not pay to cut anything. It all depends upon the cost of labor and the value of fodder. Roots are better if cut, or pulped, and mixed with dry feed, for stock, but that would not always pay. Ticks on sheep can be got rid of by keeping the flock always in good order. Hold up your whip in driving oxen. The best ox-drivers rarely use the whip. It is a wand of ofiice, not an instrument of torture. A driver of an ox-team should walk directly opposite to the yoke, walk straight, and carry his whip as upright as a soldier would his gun. Use a whip-stock with a short lash, and touch the cattle only with the lash, and never strike them on the nose or over the eyes. "The merciful man is merciful to his beast." Coal ashes are good for pigs. So they are for fowls to wallow in during winter. Castrate your lambs and pigs just at dusk, or by candle-light in the even- ing. The mothers then lie down, and the young animals have a night of rest. Housing cattle will pay a greater interest upon its cost than any other outlay in farming. 978 THE GLEANINGS OF TILE FIELD. [Chap. XV. Boiling corn on the cob is economical for swine feeding. It will save one fourth the quantity. Of "condiments for cattle" beware, and of all who deal in them, as you would of any other hutnbug. A good horse should have fifteen good properties and conditions, viz. : Three of a man, flircc of a woman, three of a fox, three of a hare, and three of an ass. Of a man, bold, proud, and liardy ; of a woman, fair-broasted, quick hearing, and easy to move ; of a fox, a fair tail, short ears, and a good trot ; of a hare, a clear eye, a dry head, and a well-formed body ; of an ass, a big chin, a flat leg, and a good hoof. A cow is like a mill ; if you put but little in the hopper, you will have but little grist. In regard to milk, manure, or beef, you can get nothing out of a cow that you do not put into her. Every farm in America, upon which ten head of cattle are kept, would make money by expending enough to provide water in the yard both for winter and summer use. Pumps can be easily made so as to raise water whenever the cattle come to the trough ior a drink. Where wells can not be had, cisterns can. l^Iedium-sized slieep are tlic most profitable ; say such as will dress 50 jiounds, and have a fleece of medium wool that grows thick and firm. A farm will carry three such sheep per acre ; that is, a farm of 100 acres, that grows, perhaps, ten acres of corn and family vegetables, with pasture and mowing proportioned to the stock, will carry 300 head of sheep, with the family cow and necessary team. Young lambs can be taught to feed in the following way : With the three lower fingers of the right hand, clasp the right fore leg near the foot, and do the same with the left hand and left foot; then raise it np, and, holding the head of the lamb a few inches below your mouth, insert a thumb and fore finger into each side of its mouth, open- ing and holding it so as to let a small stream of cow's milk flow from your own mouth into the lamb's. It may strangle and struggle some, but there need be no fears of injuring it. One or two mouthfuls are usually sufli- cient, and these maybe given in as many minutes. Be sure to give enough to make his ribs bulge some when you stand him on his feet. After a few feedings the lanibs will huddle about your feet, sticking np their noses in a most amusing manner, begging to be taken up and fed." Such feeding and saving of lives will do much to multiply sheep, and thus cheapen food and clothing, two of the essential wants of life. One of tile best things in the Avorld to make cattle handy is to treat them well in winter. Farmers should discard the word breaking from their vocab- ulary, and substitute that of handi/ing. Never strike or frighten a steer, heifer, or colt. Handle and handy them. Gentleness will accomi^lish more than harsh words and hard blows. You must begin with the idea that they do not know wiiat you want, but are willing to learn. You should give them time, patience, and good usage, and they will gladly become your faithful servants. The true secret of managing young cattle to advantage Skc. 61.] M2VXIMS FOR ALL FARifERS. 979 is gentleness, kindness. One little nubbin of soft corn is worth a dozen whips and sticks to make them obey. Bo patient; do not hurry them. Let tlioiu have a little time to reflect, and they will prefer marching to being whipped. Animals arc made vicious by bad treatment — by abuse. The same effort to be kind will secure docility and kindness in the animal. Ap- propriate a dish for the purpose, and always carry something — salt or grain — and feed your horses when you go to catch them. Every farmer should adopt a few unvarying rules in relation to stock. One of these is, never to kick a poor animal ; and another, never kick an an- in)al poorly. Another is, seek to improve poor animals by crossing with good ones. Avoid breeding from blood relations. 1146. Maxims for All Farmers. — "Waste not, want not" Waste no min- utes, much more hours. Yet you should have hours of recreation. But such hours ai'c not wasted. Never fatigue the body to such a degree that 3'ou have no desire to acquire mental food. Work so as to make leisure hours, and devote them to acquiring things useful to the profession of a farmer. Study the habits of insects. Learn which are hurtful and which are not. Learn to use the microscope, and examine plants and insects. Keep good fences, and you will keep good neighbors. The worst fence is a dog-fence. Gates arc more economical than bars. Every farmer should send his son to a school where he will learn the rudi- ments, at least, of botany, mineralog}', geology, chemistry, surveying, book- keeping, besides the ordinary brandies of a common school education. Let him also be taught the use of carpenter's tools ; and also how to bud, graft, and transplant trees ; how to castrate and spay, and how to manage sick animals. Take agricultural journals ; buy agricultural books. What if they are not perfect? What if they publish errors? They also publish much valuable information. Attend meetings of farmers' clubs and agricultural shows, and take your family with you, and try to learn something about impi-oved stock and im- ])roved tools. Farmers' sons should learn to be good farmers; and farmers' daughters should, Ijoth at home and in school, learn to be farmers' wives. Liculcate economy, as one of the leading virtues of a farmer's life. Econ- omy is not parsimony. Teach j'our children wisdom, virtue, affection, in- dustry, and they will be truthful, and your home will be attractive. Never incur debt, except to improve your farm, and only in a way that will be sure to return a profit upon cost. Many a farmer has lost his farm through debts to a merchant ; and many others have built themselves out of a home by borrowing money to build a fine house. Teach your children not to be ashamed of their calling by making it re- 6peetal)le, dignified, and honorable as it is useful. Teach them how to help themselves, and they will not then depend upon others. Eemember that tlie mind of a child is white, and liable to be stained by impurities. Teach them that wisdom maketh men humble, and ignorance and pride the reverse. 980 THE GLEANINGS OF TUE FIELD. [Chap. XV. Convince your children by your acts, as well as words, of your love, and tliey will love, lionor, and respect you. Do not contradict things that yon do not understand, nor dispute propo- sitions whicli may prove true. A snappish dog is often bit. Apply this to yourself. Trouble comes as the fruit of a first false step. It is a brave man who does good where he has no expectation of reward. Provide good tools and a place to keep them. Have a good tool-house, and everything in its proper place. Wiien you lay by tools in winter quar- ters, have them cleaned, and the bright iron oiled. Use leisure days in win- ter to repaint and varnish wood-work of tools. Carefulness is economy. Preserving tools saves much expense. Providing them half accomplishes the work, and causes many jobs to be done that would not be if there were no suitable tools at hand. Dreading a job often consumes more time than doing it. An impulsive man is better than a drone ; for, though he may make mis- takes, he will accomplish many useful things — a drone, nothing. Will is the n)other of invention ; for will makes the necessity. Men with a will to do always do. Do not bo over-eager nor over-cautious. The first rushes ahead inconsid- erately; tlie last often loses advantages. If you are wealthy, be benevolent. If you are poor, be more so ; for be- nevolence bringeth blessings, and witli blessings cometh wealth. A miser misses many blessings. A sensualist throws many away. The birds rise early, for then the worms fall an easy prey. Man may learn lessons from birds. Husking in the field wastes winter fodder. If saved early, husks are worth as much as hay, and more to the farmer than will be paid by the mattress-maker. Save corn and weigh corn. Learn which sort is heaviest. Weight makes value. The average weight per bushel of ears, of the eight or twelve-rowed sort of Northern flint-corn, is given at 4:6j lbs.; the grain 37j lbs., and cobs 9 lbs. A bushel of such corn, 54 lbs. Paint and preserve should be the farmer's motto. A good coating for rough work is made of fisli-oil and wator-liine. Remember that June, in this latitude, is not only, as a general thing, the most busy, most important niontli of the year — for upon the start given this month to all spring crops depends their success — but it is one of the most healthy aTid pleasant in all the year. It is the great month of flowers and early fruit ; the trees are arrayed in their richest robes of green ; the grass is most luxuriant and beautiful ; and in the after part of the month we liave that most delicious aroTua that comes from the hay-field. It is a month of life and hope, and it should be a season of enjoyment ; for every farmer, busy as the season requires him to be, siiould so arrange his work, and so proportion it to the hands employed, that all could have a day now and then Seo. 61.] MAXIMS OF HEALTH. 981 for recreation, by relaxation from labor and devotion to innocent ainnsement appropriate to tliis lovely month, to invigorate them for the toil of the har- vest-field, when it is expected that every member of a farmer's family must put forth extra exertions till that happy time, too much neglected as a holi- day, the harvest-home festival. Kemember, too, how much that depends upon the sunshine and showers of June. Remember that eggs are abundant in June. If properly preserved, they will be abundant in January. A barrel of eggs, packed in oats for market, contains sixty to eighty dozen. 1147. Maxims of Health. — Constant delving is not wisdom. Men lose elas- ticity by over-exertion. He tiiat works most hours does not always accom- plish most work. A change of occupation is as necessary for health as change of food. When the weather is hot, the hoursof labor should be reduced, or else lighter M'ork substituted during some of the hottest hours. Change from mowing to raking, or from raking to pitching, loading, stacking, enables men to do more work, while they are less fatigued. Attempt less — accomplish more. Many a man has broken down with fatigue of mind, because he attempted more than he could perform. The mind should be kept as elastic as the body. Promptness and energy save time. One man always drags his work, and never has leisure. Another, by ])romptness and energy, pushes everything ahead. Ten hours' hard work, six hours of rest, and leisure for study or recreation, and eight for sleep, will accomplish more in a lifetime than six- teen hours of toil, M'ithout rest, and eight of sleep. Be not ambitious to be the richest, but the healthiest, happiest farmer in your neighborhood, and in possession of the best, not the largest farm. Aim for the most comfortable, not the most showy house. Great farms — great care. Great income — great outgo. Spend less, and j'ou will not need to earn so much. A reasoning man uses reason with his teams. A dumb animal can not en- dure constant fatigue. Attend to the mute appeals of such faithful servants. Neglect of physiological laws produces premature infirmity. To be long useful to yourself and others, " learn to know thyself" A short and easy law of health is, to keep the head cool, the body warm, and feet dry. Bathe for cleanliness, but never to chill the overheated body. No man who practices eating or drinking without reason and regard to health can expect it. Be regular in your meals, and never eat inordinately. Eating in a hurry will hurry you through life. Swallowing without mas- ticating will destroy the strongest digestive organs. Never eat while the mind is agitated nor body exhausted. Digestion requires health of body and mind. Late suppers, early graves. Tea and coffee in childhood — tobacco in youth — intoxicating liquor in manhood — nothing in old age. There is no old age for those who abuse God's good gifts. Marry in haste — repent at leisure. An uncongenial companion is worse 982 TEE GLEANINGS OF THE FIELD. [Chap. XV. than none. There is but one tliinjr in conjugal life worse than a jealous wife. The wife can tell wliat tliat is. It is worry, more than worlc, that kills. Fits of anger bring fits of disease. Surfeits are the physician's agents. So are all irregularities. Among these include all high-seasoned food ; all tempting the appetite with bitters, acids, and spices ; all forcing of food into the stomach when nature says, No ; all practices that savor of " up till midnight, in bed till noon." Ice-water promotes health, because a smaller quantity than from well or spring cools the body and quenches Iho thirst. When very much heated, first cool the hands and f;\co, and hold a lump of ice in the mouth. The iarmer's food should be plain, substantial, hearty. It should bo taken with a view to the labor to be undertaken, to the rest required, and to the needs of the body. It should consist more of fresh meat than is usual. Salt fish is a healthful and economical change from salt meat. Eat more fruit and less meat— more plain bread, and less pie and cake — -more soup-maiyre, and less rich gravy. To bo healthy, you must eat simple food. Dainties make beggars. Kise early, and you M'ill digest easily. Live in the light. Health and dark rooms are incompatible, both for man and beast. Light is as necessary as air. A nut-brown face is more beauti- ful, with health, than a pale one with pain and lassitude. Look at the flow- ers in a dark room, and learn a lesson. Mental and moral depression arc dead weights in the scale of health. A man's health may be measurably controlled by a strong will. Judgment and discretion are better than doctors and physic. When a physician or nurse says to a patient, "You will not die; you shall recover," it aids all their efforts. Simples are better than compounds. This is often true in remedies for family diseases. It is true in relation to the common puff-ball. There is no better styptic. Bleeding at the nose has been stopped by a few puffs of this dry fungus. A paper published by the London Medical Society says that the puff-ball is a valuable anesthetic. It is owing to this pro2)erty that bee-keepers use it to stupefy bees. The effect is precisely the same as that produced by chloroform, if, while burning, the fumes are inhaled. A valuable disinfectant for fetid sores has been discovered in Paris — ;'. jnixture of one to five parts of coal-tar, by trituration, with one hundred parts gypsum, in fine powder. This powder is used dry, or made into an ointment, and its eficct is such as to render the discharge of a gangrened sore inoffensive. The organ needing most care in the human body is the cuticle. E.xercise, water, and friction are its best preservatives. The cflccts of old age are ex- hibited in tlie skin earlier than anywhere else. It loses its bloom ; it wrinkles ; it grows hard, and loses its fine sensibility, and, upon the most exposed parts, becomes dry and horny. It is then more like a sort of armor than soft, vel- vety skin, and it seems to cut off" communication between the body and sur- rounding atmosphere. The great preventive of this is perfect cleanliness in Sec. 61.] MAXIMS OF HEALTH. 983 youth. Plunging into the water is not necessary, but frequent ablutions of tiso wliole body are. For the cure of hard, horny hands there is no better remedy than urine. For health, comfort, and longevity, soap and water arc worth more than materia medica to a farmer. Ice is one of the most valuable remedies for some diseases. For nausea, accompanied with burning in the stomach and thirst, swallow lumps of ice as large as peas, one after another, every five seconds. Tiiis has checked severe attacks of diarrhea. Ice in a bag, or wrapped in a towel, upon the liead in brain fever, is an invaluable application. Ice bound to the throat, in case of inflammation, is very valuable. Put ice upon the back of the neck to arrest bleeding at the nose. Dyspeptics should not drink ice-water at meals. Mirth is a medicine. It is not taken half often enough. It restores mind and body. It is one of the causes of elasticity of children. They have not yet leai'ned to restrain their mirth. Many of the great and good men of the world have been mirthful men. We doulit the correctness of all tenets that deny mirthfulncss to all human beings. It is their birthright. " God made man a laughing animal." Allow your children to be mirthful, and join them in their sports. It is the cheapest way to save doctors' bills. Care drives nails in the coffin ; mirth draws them out. The cook is the cause of much sickness. " Bad blood" comes of bad food. Hciiralgia, one of the most common of all maladies in the present age, is caused by the condition of the blood, under the general term had. It gets bad for lack of suitable food, lack of proper exercise, and unwholesome air, all of which produce indigestion, dyspepsia, thin, pale faces, neuralgia, and its train of almost unbearable pains. There is no medical advice that can be given to those subject to neuralgia better than this : Eat to live, not live to eat. Eat suitable food, and in such quantities as digest most easily. Ee- member, " what is one man's meat is another man's poison." Take much exercise in the air out of the house. Keep the bowels free by using fruit, and such farinaceous food as will not produce constipation. If that occurs, use enemas of tepid water, with a trifle of s.alt and molasses, instead of pills and purgatives. Keep the whole surface of the body absolutely clean. The skin, kept clean by judicious v.-ashings and frictions, helps, by its open pores, to unload the system of its surplus ; the bowels, kept free by fruits, berries, coarse breads and cold water, are another source of deliverance of excess. While these articles of food supply but a moderate amount of nourishment, in addition, active exercise still more rapidly worlcs oft' the surplusage of the system, and the man is well ; not as soon as by bleeding, but by a process more effective, more certain, more enduring, without harm or danger. There is no form of mere neuralgia which is not safely and perinauenily cured, in a reasonable time, by strict personal cleanliness, by cooling, loos- ening food, as named, and by breathing a pure air in resting in our chamber at night, and in moderate labor out of doors during the hours of daylight. Those who prefer uncertain physic or stimulants to these more natural rem- edies are unwise, and ought to have neuralgia— a little. Chloric ether. 981 THE GLEANINGS OF THE FIELD. [Chap. XV- which is made by nii.xing one part of chloroform with six parts of rectified alcoholic sjjirits, is excellent for outward application in neuralgia and tooth- ache; but the best external application for neuralgic pains, and also for rheumatism, is made of the following compound, and is a real " pain-killer:" Oil rosemary; oil cloves; oil origanum; oil turpentine; spirits ammonia; tincture cantharides; high-proof alcohol ; one ounce of each, specific meas- ure. Mix, and apply with the hand, rubbing freely. Shake the bottle be- fore using. The following is recommended as an internal remedy: Half a drachm of sal ammonia in an ounce of camphor-water, in doses of a tea- spoonful every five minutes. Diptheria, another dangerous disease, has often been cured by the following treatment : Make two small bags, that will reach from ear to ear, and fill them with hard-wood ashes and salt; dip them in hot Avater, and wring them out so they will not drip, and apply them to the throat; cover up the whole with a flannel cloth, and change them as often as they become cool, until the throat becomes irritated, near blistering. Then take a piece of flannel, well covered with a stiff lather of castile soap, dip in hot water, and apply to the throat as hot as it can be borne ; have another ready when this becomes cool, changing frequently. At the same time, use a gargle made of one teaspoonful of cayenne pepper, one of salt, one of molasses, in a teacupful of hot water, and when cool add one fourth as much cider vinegar. To be taken every fifteen minutes, until the patient requires sleep. A gargle of castile soap may be used part of the time. 1148. maxims for Farmers' Wivts. — Happiness and health are handmaids. Whatever tends to promote one promotes the other. The art of love is the art of good housewifery. Tidiness wins, negligence loses husbands. Home is made happy by woman's constant care. Smiles and neatness are sauce for homely meals. An orderly house with poverty, is better than confusion with wealth. A fretful woman is eVery man's horror. A woe-begone look has given many a heart-ache. A ha})py house always wears a cheerful look. To take a social meal in such a house needs no second invitation. A hus- band is blind to a wife's faults who always strives to please. Do not give vinegar to your husband's friends. Honey is sweet, and its taste lies long upon the tongue. Policy sometimes requires sacrifice. A friend may seem an ill-bii-d to-day, who, in after-years, will think it no hardship to lend you his wings. With those, you or your children may soar out of despondency. Children and responsibility are born together. Gentleness and firmness should be born at the same time. Laugh at young cunning, and you may cry at older impudence. Teach your servants always to say "young lady," and you will teach young lady to call her mother "old woman." Teach your children to obey a look, and they will look to obey. If tl'.cy obey and respect parents, they will respect all superiors and be loved by all equals. Never command but to be obeyed. To speak to others of a child's foibles in its presence will harden its mind to the faults you deprecate. Teach yourself what yourself should know in relation to your own children or those under your care. Seo. 61.] MAXIMS FOB FARMERS' WIVES. 985 Cliiklren of civilization should not be clad like those in savage life. It is a cruel fashion that exposes their naked limbs to all the vicissitudes of our ever-changing climate. Where such pride dwells, death finds victims. Do not say Providence called the child away, when it dies from neglect of the nnother. Furs upon the shoulders, and nothing upon tho limbs, is not the dress to preserve health. Make your children sensible of a mother's love, and they will love you. Teach them to love home. Let them learn, and often sing, this little song: ' Although our home's a lowly cot, It is the one that God provides — Where first I heard my mother's voice ; It is a home I love so well, Because 'tis there that love abides. Where, day by day, with tearful care. In gratitude for home and love. She taught me how to lisp a prayer. And tune to truth my infant tongue, And lift my heart to God above." Never fear spoiling children by making them too happy. Happiness is the atmosphere in which all good affections grow — the wholesome warmth necessary to make the heart-blood circulate healthy and freely. Unhappi- ness is the chilling pressure which produces here an inflammation, thei'e an excrescence, and, worst of all, " the mind's green and yellow sickness, ill- temper." Anger and reproof should never go in the same boat. One upsets the other. A loud voice and correction are incompatible. She who governs well lias a still, soft voice. Inspire love, not dread — respect, not fear. Seed- plants to-day may produce fruit in eternity. Cordial and quiet — paregoric and policy — have bred many a depraved ap- petite. Cakes and candy for present quiet — doctors' bills and other ills in after-years. Time cures more sick children than mercury and tartar emetic. Order in after-years is the fruit of seed sown in childhood. Teach them to put things in place, and do not make them helpless by always helping them. Teach them to be useful. Little griefs are often large to little children. Do not forget you were once a child. It is better to bear anger patiently than to excite more anger than a little heart can bear. The beauty of sunset, children often admire. Teach them that there is an- other period of day still more beautiful. It is sunrise. It is a scene that never tires. If seen all through a long life, from the same window, over the same tree-tops, it presents a new view, a different combination of colors, and new joys every time it is seen. It is a truth to be remembered, that looking at sunrise every day is not tiresome nor unprofitable ; it prolongs life. Soft words and soft water should be in every household. One turneth away wrath ; the want of the other often produces it. Philosophy and fire-making are intimately connected, though seldom taught together. Every child should be taught how to kindle the kitchen fire. It is an art which many an adult does not understand. The kindlings, or live coals, should be so placed that the current of air should pass directly through the fire into the wood to be ignited. Kindlings and comfort go to- 986 THE GLEANINGS OF TUE FIELD. [Chap. XV. getlier. Teach children and servants to save all suitable substances for kind- lings, and have a stock in hand over-night. Stalks of coai-se plants, sncli as sunflower, hollyhock, broom-corn, large weeds, and dry twigs, where shav- ings are not convenient, should be stored for kindlings. Corn-cobs are worth more for fuel than for any other purpose. Live and learn, and learn every day we live, should be a law of every household. "The poor traveler, seateu to rest upon a bank of snow, dined upon a crust and an onion." Why? This you may learn. Although oifensive to many, the onion is a valuable article of food. It is nutritive and stimulant. It satisiies hunger and warms the body. " Cheese fought with famine, and conquered." Tiiis is also something to learn, that hunger is satisfied and strength sustained upon a small quantity of bread and cheese, better than with the same bulk of almost any other food. Therefore, never fear that your husband or child will suifer for a lost meal, if your forethought has put a little bread and cheese in his pocket. You may learn that the common dandelion {Lcontodon taraxacum) is used as a salad plant in France, and in Germany its roots are dried, and used in- stead of coffee ; and the value of the plant for medicinal nurposes is widely known. " A simple herb cured sore disease.'' This proverb should induce an housewives to preserve herbs for winter. Cut them while in flower, and dry in the shade. Botany and beauty are twins. Teach the first to your children, and they will acquire the second ; if not in face, in mind. Show them how to pre- serve specimens. Plants to be dried, to preserve their form and color as far as possible, in stalk and flower, should be laid between folds of old news- paper, and pressed. The paper absorbs the moisture of the green plants, and becomes quite damp in a few hours. Then open the pile, and place each paper, with the plant within its folds, on shelves or over the floor, for two or three hours, longer or shorter, according to the dryness of the weather, until the papers are dry, but not imtil the plants curl up. Then place them under the stone again for a day, and repeat the drying process. Increase the weight as they approach thorough dryness. Only one plant (unless quite small) should be placed between the folds of a single paper. "When perfecily dry, take them out, and several may be placed in a fold, for keeping or send- ing to a distance. Mark the time they flower on a slip of paper attached to each, whether growing in wet or dry ground, on rocks or in swamps, woods or open ground, wild or cultivated. Flowers should be cultivated by every mother, and she should make it a rule of her life to teach the love of flowers to her children. Show them that the world is full of flowers — in the woods, on the wild prairies of the "Wesf, " waving like a sea of flowers"' — in the meadow — on the old hills of the pas- ture— creeping along the stone wall — climbing the rocks — living on trees, are the wild flowers, abounding everywhere — everywhere sending forth their Sec. 61] ilAXIMS FOE FARMEES' GIELS. 087 fragrance free as the morning air. Bottled odors are not sold by Nature— tliey are free. In civilized countries, wherever a high degree of cultivaJed taste prevails, flowers arc planted in garJeiu, parterres, front yards, and back yards, all around the house, to gladden the eye and please the olfactory nerves. Then, again, v.diat tliousands of dollars are expended upon hot-hou.^c conservatories, forcing Nature to produce flowers out of place and out of season, that we may be gratified with their sight at all times of the year — on our mantlepiecc, in our window, everywiiere, in-doors or out, wlierever we can find a spot to set a little pot, with its little stem and single bud. But that bud will bring a flower — tliat flower will bring a smile, a joy, a holy, happy feeling, and perhaps a prayer of thanksgiving to Him who opened that bud and spread its beauty and fragrance abroad, for the great, good, glorious gift of flowers. Kight across the street from where wo write this pai-agraph there is ii whole row of flower-pots in a window — seven of them — we know the iiumljcr well, for wc have counted them over and over many a time; and thev p.ro tended by a fair hand, guided — we have no doubt of that — by a good heart, who snatches a moment from her daily toil— she is a bookbinder's girl — lo tend her favorite flowers. Well, we only hope they gladden her heart as much as they please our eyes. They are blooming now, right opposite our window. We have often watched a dedicate hand as it comes out to pour a little water into the pots or take one of them into the room to set on her table where she works; but we have never seen her face; that remained concealed behind the painted, opaque glass ; yet we fancy how it looks — that it is sweet, like her flowers. 11J:9. Maxims for Farmevs' Girls. — The art of being loved should be the first thought of a girl approaching womanhood ; for with that will come all the arts of housewifery. No young woman need to expect to win and keep the love of a man worth loving, without exercising this art. The secret of this art is all embodied in the " small, sweet courtesies of life." The art of preserving includes more than pickles and peaches. A hus- band's love must be preserved as well as won. To preserve beauty, you must preserve health. That is preserved by mod- erate labor, cheerfully performed ; by generous diet, quiet sleep, and prop'er dress. Health is woman's richest jewel. Its casket is the heart. Its location is within a chest that should never be rudely exposed to injury. Keep that well covered, though all the limbs should be exposed. You need never fe:ir cold if properly clothed. See that sitting-room and sleeping-rooms are vvx-U ventilated. Do not neglect exercise nor recreation. " Laugh and grow fat." It is an old proverb, and a true one. Boister- ousness is not mirth. The meaning of the maxim is. Always be cheerful, and thankful for health, and more health will follow. Hugging the stove will never gain health. That comes from air and ex- ercise. A flower fades in a hot-air room. Beauty does the same. Health, 988 THE GLEANINGS OF THE FIELD. [Chap. XV. conteiitinent, happiness, and matrimony should dwell together. When you arc reasonably sure that they will in your case, you may contract mar- riage. Love may bring care ; the want of it may bring sorrow. No one has a right to ask to be exempt from a share of the cares of life ; but, before you make this contract to leave your mother, be sure that you have learned every household duty that she can teach. One of the most important things for }-ou to learn about household duties is, not to depend upon borrowing. Tiiere is nothing that will render you nnwelcome to a new neighborhood quicker than this. However kindly disposed and pleasant your neighbors may be, they will soon grow cold if they find that you are an habitual bor- rower— sending for a little tea or sugar to-day, a little soap or salt to-mor- row, and bread or bntter next day. In sickness, yon may send to a neighbor for medicine and assistance, and they will be freely given. In health, avoid borrowing as you would a pestilence. Indolence is the parent of languor. That, as a'general thing, is true, al- tliough there are cases where languor comes of ill health or fatigue. But, un- happily, listlessness is a state that city ladies, and sometimes farmers' girls, fall into. To prevent this, exercise freely in the open air. Do not be afraid of walking. It is one of the most healthy kinds of exercise that girls can take. Wear strong shoes, and take long walks. You will never die on horseback. This is an old and very true proverb. We can not give better advice to farmers' girls than this: learn how to ride well, and ride much. Walking, sometimes, is fatiguing, while a canter, upon an easy-going horse, invigorates body and mind. 3Iany a poor, dis- eased liver has been restored to health on horseback. Hoses will bloom upon pale cheeks, rushing through the air before sunrise. A Xew Hampshire farmer was congratulated upon the healthy appear- ance of his girls, and asked to explain the cause. He said, '• It is because their diet has always been wholesome, plain, and simple, yet abundant. Tliey drink water or milk, never having used tea or cofiee. They have exercised every day in the open air, assisting me in tending my fruit trees, and in such other occupations as are appropriate for women ; and their dress has never been such as to hinder free respiration of our pure mountain air, which is a better panacea than druggists' remedies." A burnt child dreads the fire. This is another old and true proverb. A better one would be one that taught the child to dread a dress that would burn. Many a life might have been saved by rendering a gauzy dress in- combustible. This can be done by dipping it in water in which crystallized sulphate of ammonia has been dissolved, to the extent of about seven per cent, of its weight. Alum, in pretty strong solution, and also phosphate of soda, or borax, are said to produce the same result ; tliat is, to render all light fabrics that are dipped in the solution so incombustible that they may sweep over the blaze of a lamp or fire without igniting. If you love life, remember this. 1150. Maxims for Farmers' Boys. — To be useful, be industrious. To be re- Sec. 61.] MAXIMS FOR FARMERS' BOYS. 989 Bpected, be willing to do your duty in all situations. To be loved, love others. To be rich, be frugal. Save pence, and shillings will follow. Learn that a stick that will not make a rail may answer well for a stake. If you can not make a pot of a small board, you can make a pot lid. Everything is worth saving, and everything is useful for something. Perseverance built a house. All difficulties are overcome by diligence and assiduity. Your business will be attended to if j'ou attend to it yourself. If you trust to your neighbor to watch your pot, the fat will be in the fire. Do not try to catch mice with mittens on until you see the cat do it. If yon would save toll, you must do your own grinding. If yoii would grow corn to grind, you must fii-st plant it. If you would have it grow while jow sleep, you must not plow with a pig for a team. Do not look for wealth without labor. Do not look for courtesy from those who never see it in you. Good manners save money- Good conduct, and not good looks, wins friends. If you wait for the shoes of a dead man, you will go long barefooted. If you race for a shadow, be sure to start before sunrise. Never despair ; that is distrusting God. Be observing, and you will learn much that will be useful in after-years. Con- stantly study into the nature of things of every-day use. Nothing is of " no importance," or unworthy of your attention. Seek all the means in your power for mental improvement if you wish to be respected. But few per- sons ever reflect on the means by which they may improve their general ability for increased thought, while all agree that the human mind is sus- ceptible of such improvement; by no class of citizens is this subject more neglected than by farmers. The fiirmer, beyond all others, should have clear powers of observation, so as readily to observe and apply nature's laws. His vocation is the root of all prosperity, and until the farmers of a nation are progressed to the highest power of observation, the country can not rise to the highest rank. By observation alone you may learn much. You may learn what you will find that many old farmers do not know. Among these, that cows and sheep have no upper teeth : that cold water will dissolve more salt or lime than hot water ; that a gallon of water will dissolve more plaster of Paris than it will of slaked lime which has been long enough exposed to the atmosphere to become carbonate of lime. How many know that water is at its mean of size when at 40° of heat — that if cooled below that tem- perature it swells, until it becomes ice at 32^, and if heated above 40° it also swells, until it eventually becomes steam, thus occupying more tlian 1,700 times its original space ? Still, all these are facts, and to minds generally observant, they arc well known to be true. By observation you may learn why rain or pond water is better for plants than well or pure spring water — that it is because it contains more carbonic acid. Do not say you have no opportunity to learn facts that are oidy re- corded in books. Let any farmer's boy devote the evenings of a single win- ter to the reading of geology, entomology, chemistry, natural philosophy, and natural history, and apply his acquired knowledge as an amusement, while pursuing his vocation during the following summer, and he will find 990 THE GLEANINGS OF THE FIELD. [Chap. XV. himself able to observe and comprehend llioiisauds of incidents connected with natural law which before would have passed by unobserved. He will then sec and understand that the soil is but a debris of the rocks ; that in its original formation this occurred from the combined inflnence of sun and air, and changes of temperature by freezing and thawing, in rendering these rocks a soil. He will see how the convulsions of nature have mixed the soils of diflerent localities; he will see, also, that the earliest vegetable growths were necessarily grosser sorts than those now produced ; and that they, by receiving carbon from the atmosphere — f()r the carbon originally must have existed there in immense quantities in the form of carbonic acid — by their decaj' deposited it in the soil, thus improving its quality and rendering it fit for the development of a more advanced class of vegetation. lie will also tee where and from what causes animal life progressed, and can trace its progress. He will clearly understand that such vegetable niattei-s as were consumed by animals merely change the arrangement of their particles by .-iich process, and that no one particle was put out of existence, but that by tiie decay of these animals and the change of the arrangement of the nlti- nirtte particles, both of themselves and their food, that they re-enter nature's great storehouse — the atmosphere and the soil — in a progressed condition ; that thus both plants and animals have progressed to their present state. He will next be able to observe why deeply dismtegrated soils can never fiiffer from drouth, because he will know that when water is absent from the s/>il it is present in the atmosphere, and will be deposited on the surface of colder particles, at greater depths than can be reached by atmosphere when attempting to percolate shallow plowed land. He can trace the action of this moisture and its office in the soil; he can know what amendments are required to replace those which he may find to be deficient ; and, indeed, he can render himself doubly happy and a better servant of his Creator, and his vocation ameliorating to his fellow-men. All this must occur if he knows 60 much of nature's laws as will give his mind the first ability for closer ob- sci-vance, and his progression as an individual will be the natural conse- qi;enc-c of its exercise. And this does not call for the tedious exertions of thought as practiced by the mathematician and the merchant, but merely for the culture of the power of observation to see truths as they exist, and apply them rightly ; and this, and nothing else, I13 will find to constitute the science of agriculture. Kemember that plowing deep is the easiest way to enrich your farm. A farmer who was unable to own or hire a strong team, adopted the i>lan of running tlic same plow twice in one place, and is sure that the extra work was much more than paid for by an increase of crops. Bv this jilan he ])lowed a stiflf sward 12 or 14 inches deep, and got a good tilth on top of the reverted sod which had remained undisturbed through several years of previous cultivation, and crops were more free from the effects of drouth than ever before. Boys should not neglect their country school, notwithstanding their fathers Seo. 61.] MAXIMS FOPw FARMERS' BOYS. 991 allow it to remain the most neglected building of all tliat are called public • ones, and frequently most uncomfortable and uninviting to cultivated minds, and hence those of the least cultivation are employed as teachers. And wliat is learned there? Just what the books teach — nothing more. The cliild learns A, B, C. Tlie larger one finds the letters transposed, and spells cab. The next advance is to learn the mechanical operation of forming a resemblance to these letters with pen or pencil. Then the child reads that one class of words are called nouns, another verbs, and a third adjectives. And so on and on tln-ough books and daily tiresome lessons, the child plodi up to maturity, and if particularly bright may be called " well educated." Yet wliat of the surroundings of every-day life has that child ever learned in school ? iN^ow, let a farmer go into the district school and ask of teaclier and pupils these few simple questions — questions that involve things that might be learned in school, but are they ? The answers to his questions will show him whether tliey are or not : "What kinds of forest-trees grow indigenously in this neighborhood ? Can you give their names, common and botanical? "Which are the most useful, and what are their uses ? What useful and what noxious plants are most common ? "What plants are cultivated, and what for? How many of these are indigenous ; where are those from that are not? What is the staple product of the neighborhood ? What is the nature of the soil? Name its principal constituents. Wliat kind of rocks abound here, and are they in place ; and if not, where did they come from ? IIow many kinds of birds abound in the neighborhood, and are they useful or injurious? Give their common and scientific names. Do the same of quadrupeds, reptiles, and insects. These ai-e some of the things that might be learned in school, but rarely are. Tlie subject is one worth a thought, and might be a good deal ampli- fied and thought of, and not alone by farmers' boys. The farmer himself maj' well think of these facts. Every country school should have as one of its standard books a "Manual of Agriculture," an excellent new work just published under the sanction of the State Board of Agriculture of Massachusetts, edited by George B. Emerson and Charles L. Flint ; for it is full of practical information for the school, the farm, and the fireside. It contains many things desirable for all farmers' children to learn in school, and is admirably arranged for that purpose. "The Iland-Book of Household Science" is another valuable school-book which should be in extensive use. Both of the books named are of conve- nient size for Schools, and both contain many things of great value not only to pupils, but their teachers, who might learn many things that should bo taught and learned in all schools. Among other things that boys and girls should learn at school are the 992 THE GLEANINGS OF THE FIELD. [Cdap. XV. names of the d^ys, or, rather, whj they arc so called. They are all derived from the old deities of the Saxons, each one of whom has a stattie intended to personify tlio idea of the being. For instance, the idol of the sun, which gives name to Sunday, is represented with his face like the sun, holding a burning wheel, with both hands on his breast, signifying his course round the world. The idol of tlie moon, from which comes Monday, is habited in a short coat like a man, but holding the moon in his hands. Tnisco pre- sided over strife, litigation, combats ; so Tuesday, which derives its name from Tuisco, was originally set apart for the commencement of combats, assizes, and litigations. Ilis statue is clothed in skin garments, such as wore worn by the old Scandinavians. Odin or "Wodin, from which the name of Wednesday is derived, was a valiant and mnch-loved Saxon prince, whose name was revered as " universal father," and whose image was invoked in prayers for victory in battle. Thor — god of thunder — was the son of Odin, and gives name to Thursday. His image is represented in a bed, holding a scepter in his hand, with twelve stars over his head. Friga, from whence we have Frida}', was the wife of Odin, the goddess of hope, peace, fertility, and riches, tliough represented with a drawn sword in the right hand and a bow in the left. Saturday is said by some authorities to be derived from Saturn, and by others from tiie Saxon deity Stetor. His image has a wretched appearance, with thin visage, long hair and beard, with a pail of water and fruits and flowers in his right hand. The names of the months come from the Homans. The first was so called from Janus, an ancient king of Italy, who was dei- fied after his death, and derived from the Latin word tTaiiiKirius. February is derived from the Latin word Fehruo, to purify, hence I^thru- ar'ms ; m this month the ancient Romans offered up exoiatory sacrifices for the purifying of the people. March was anciently the first month. The name is derived from the word Mars, the god of war. April is so called from the Latin Ajyriltis, i. c, opening — because in this month the vegetable world opens and buds forth. May is derived from the Latin word Majon's, so called by Romulus in respect toward the Senators; hence Mains or May. Juno, from the Latin wor^l Jtuiiit-';, or the youngest of jieople. July is derived from the Latin word Julius, and so named in honor of Julius Cffisar. August was called in honor of Augustus by a decree of the Roman senate. September, from the Latin word Septc?n, or seven, being the seventh from March. October, from the Latin word Octo, the eiglith. November, from the Latin word Noveni, nine. December comes from tiie Latin Decern, ten, numbered so from the Roman first month, March. Boys should learn the nature of minerals ; that salt is one as much as marble, and like it is quarried from deep mines. " Liverpool salt" is rock salt refined. In its mineral state it is not white, but has a pinkish hue. Sko. 01.] THINGS TO BE THOUGHT ABOUT. 993 Until refined it is not good for the dairy ; that is true, however, of all man- ufactured salt. In Cracow, Poland, there are great salt mines, wonderful as a curious work of human industry. Boys, do you know the size of a square acre? You can only learn to estimate the area of a field by comparing its size with a well-known plot, Select a level spot, clear of trees and fences, and measure a square 208 feet 9 inches upon each side, and set up stakes at the corners, and exactly half way between. Tiiat gives you the size of an acre and quarter acre. A half acre is 147i feet square ; fourth of an acre, lOij feet square ; an eighth of an acre, 732 feet square. 1151. Things to be Thought About.— There are a great many useful little things wliich need to be stored up for farmers' use. For instance: What is the difl'erence between the gross and net weight of a hog ? We have told you, in No. 17, that in dressing, hogs lose one fifth. That is the general rule ; but it varies with quality and condition. Some smooth, small-boned, well- fatted liogs lose only 13 or 14 per cent. Some calculate shrinkage at 20 per cent, on the first cwt., 17 per cent, on the second, and 12 per cent, upon all above that. One calculation, for a hog of 260 lbs., live weight, is 7 lbs. of blood, 32 lbs. offal, leaving 220 lbs. net weight. If a hog of 275 lbs. net weight is cut up, the several parts will weigh as follows : Head, 24 lbs. ; shoulders, 29 lbs.; hams, 42 lbs.; sides, 90 lbs.; lard, 17 lbs.; lean meat, scraps, and bones, 73 lbs. — 275. The proportion is thus seen to be, head, nearly one eleventh ; hams and shoulders, a little over one fourth ; sides, or clear pork, nearly one third ; bones, etc., over one fourth. The hog, at 6 cents a pound, would amount to $16 50, and make the value of the several parts as follows : head, at 3 cents, 72 cents ; shoulders, at 6 cents, $1 74 ; hams, at 7 cents, $2 94 ; sides, at 9 cents, $8 10 ; lard, at 9 cents, $1 53 ; lean meat, etc., at 2 cents, $1 46— $16 49. There are a few simple rules in the philosophy of fertilization that farmers should think of, talk about, experiment upon, and act accordingly. One is, that all non- volatile substances, such as lime, plaster, salt, bone-dust, nitrates and phosphate, should always be applied upon the surface, because their natural tendency is to descend by the laws of gravity. Volatile ma- nures only require to be covered to prevent evaporation. Lime sinks lower than roots. Lime, ashes, or clay are, each or all, beneficial to sandy soil. Clay to sand is better than sand to clay. Limestone land retains heat, and is therefore best for crops that require continued warmth during a short season. "There was frost upon the bottom lands, but none on the hills." Why? This is a subject for thought, and, as it is a natural effect, it sliould govern the planting of tender crops. The reason is, that the bottom land is usually of darker color than hill land, and it is generally supposed that it radiates heat more rapidly than lighter-colored soil. Dry peat, or muck, will absorb four times its own weight of water. It requires four pounds of clover to make one pound of mold ; and a tun yyi THE gleanings of the field. [Chap. xv. of dry forest leaves will make 500 lbs. of mold ; and that mold will produce a tun of forage jdants. Thospliorus is found in all plants, and is a necessity of the growth of many of those most useful to man. Commercially, phosphorus is valued at four or five thousand dollars a tun. Of course, it can not be used in that form for agriculture. It can in the cheap form of phosphate of lime. Soft water is preferred by most animals. A beast will often show a pref- erence to a pond of foul water that is soft, rather than to a cool Bi)ring that is hard. Some stable-men, who have none hut hard water, always keep it cxj)osed to the air, in a tub or trough, some time before it is used. A kettle is not a necessity in heating water. It may be heated nearly boiling hot in any wooden vessel, by hot stones, or a lump of cast iron. This plan is very useful in scalding hogs. An iron weight of twenty-five pounds, with a ring for handling, is a good form, and with it a given quan- tity of water can bo heated quicker than with an open kettle. A machine belt of Icatlicr should never he put on with the flesh side to (ho pulley, bcca\ise it will wear longer the other way. What is the strength of a man? Or what is it compared with a horse? Farmer, do you know ? Have you ever thought of it? It is very important for you to know how much labor j'ou can perform, or iiow much you have a right to expect of hirelings. The result of many experiments by scientific men is that, on the average, an active, healthy man, of about 150 lbs. weight, can walk 264 feet per minute, working ten hours daily, and make 30 miles a day, upon level roads. If he mounts stairs, he walks only one tenth as fast, and is unable to continue the labor more than eight hours a day. If ho carries 90 lbs. upon his hack, he can move only 133 feet a minute, or one and a half miles an hour, and continue seven hours a day. If he climbs a stair with 150 lbs. on his back, at the rate of seven feet per minute, he can work only six hours a day. If a man works M'ith a wheel-barrow, carrying loads a distance, and returning empty for a new load, he may carry 130 lbs., at the rate of 90 feet a minute, ten hours daily. The absolute force of trac- tion which a man can continue ten hours a day, by a I'ope passing over liia shoulder, at the rate of two miles an hour, is given at 75 to 133 lbs. The greatest velocity at which a man can walk varies from 4i to 6J miles ]>er hour. The })roportion of strength exerted hy a man at different employments is as follows: Working a pump, 100; working a winch, 1G7 ; ringing a bell, 228 ; rowing a boat, 248. This shows the importance of arranging all machin- ery to be operated by manual labor so that the operator can exert his strength to the greatest advantage. If a pump was rigged so it could be worked ex- actly upon the same principle as the row-bout, the man would be worth nearly two and a half times as much as at the handle of one in the ordinary wav. The average strength of men varies in dift'ercnt countries. In England it is given at 71.4; France, 09. 2 ; Van Dieman's Land, 51.8 ; New Holland, 50.6. Strength and activity must not be confounded ; nor activity and weight. If two men of equal strength and weight contend, one may pull Sec. 61.] THINGS TO BE THOUGHT ABOUT. 995 the other oft' his feet. Let one take a third man under liis arm, of eqnal ■weight to himself, -which woukl appear to be a sutiicient load, yet he will not only carry it, but pull his antagonist easily after him across the room. The strength of a horse is variously estimated as compared with num. That is, one horse is estimated as equal to from five to fourteen men. In the estimates of the power of a horse, compared with the power of a stcain- ongine, Watt fixes tiie horse-power at his ability to raise 33,000 lbs. jier minute, the weight being attached to a rope over a pulley. An engine that can do the same is rated as one-horse power. Its real power is greater, be- cause the engine has the greatest power of endurance. Men and animals acquire, by practice, great powers of muscle and endur- ance. A brawny London porter walks three miles an hour, with two or three hundred pounds upon his shoulders. Doctor Windship, of Roxbury, Mass., lifts a tun attached to a strap across his shoulders, an'd he is not a brawny man. A horse will endure more labor, though necessarily working harder, traveling in a hilly country than upon a plain. The power of a horse harnessed in a wagon is calculated at 770 lbs., drawn at the rate of 433 feet per minute, 4-J hours per day, day after day, without exhausting his power. This is about 22 ' miles per day. For carrying loads on a plane, a man is rated 1 ; a horse, 4.8 to 6.1. For transportation in wheel-carriagee, a man is rated 1 ; a horse, in four-wheel carriage, 17.5 ; in two-wheel cart, 24.3. A mule, with cart, 23.3 ; an ox, with cart, 12.2. Another authority gives the following as the \inits of man and horse power : An active man, in the prime of life, can raise 100 lbs. one foot per second, working ten hours per day ; a horse can raise 550 lbs. in the same space of time. These " things to be thought about" should be thought of more than they are by all farmers. So should " "What food will produce the most strength ?" Race-horse men say that broken grains of hulled Indian corn, Mith corn- leaves, are the best food. "Workers of horses think that they will do the most work, where action of muscle is required, if fed on oats. It is also said that five pounds of corn will make a pound of beef; and that three and a half pounds of corn-meal will make a pound of pork. Yet who knows? "We know that all should inquire. 1152. How to Dress Fur-Skins,.or Sheep-Skins with the Wool on.— T<^e equal parts of salt and alum, pulverized, and sift about four ounces upon the flesh side of the skin, while fresh from the body — or, if dry, after being moistened — and then fold it up carefully, and keep it in a damp place about four days; then open it, and lay it on a table, and scrape it with a dull knife, to get all the adhering flesh off", and then rub it with a blunt wooden instrument, until it is dry and soft. Tiien thoroughly wash it in warm soap- suds, let it dry moderately, and just before it is fully dry, rub it soft with your hands. After rubbing, it is soft and pliable as a kid glove, and will continue so. Another plan is, to nail the skin tightly and smoothly against 996 THE GLEANINGS OF THE FIELD. [Chap. XV. a door, keeping the fle?h side. out. Next proceed, M-itli a broad-bladcd, blunt knife, to scrape away all loose pieces of flesh and fat; then ml) in as much chalk as pos.sible, and be not sparing of labor; when tlie chalk begins to powder and fall otl', take the skin down, fill it with linely-ground alum, wrap it closely together, and keep it in a dry place for two or three days ; at the end of that time unfold it, shake out the alum, and the work is over. 1153. How to Dress Skius Soft, like Buckskin.— Take the skin fresh from the animal, and stretch it tightly upon a board, and scrape oft" all the flcsli that will come off" easily. Then warm two quarts of milk, and mix in a tea- cupful of salt and half an ounce of oil of vitriol. In this mixture soak the skin about forty minutes, stirring it and keeping it Avarm. Then take it out, and stretch and rub it over the smooth edge of a board, working it till dry. The Indians dress all their deer-skins by soaking flicm in a ])aste jnade of brains, and, after rubbing them, drying them in smoke. 1151:. How to Prepare Fur-Sklus for Market. — In the first place, carefully avoid getting lilood or dirt upon the fur before skinning. If that is ima- voidable, carefully clean and dry it before you take off the pelt, which, of all small animal*, such as mink, fox, weasel, cats — wild or tame, muskrat, fisher, otter, rabbits, squirrels, should be taken oft" without ripping down the bell}', and no bones should be left in legs or tail, and no flesh left adhering to the pelt. This must be carefully scraped or picked off, before or after the pelt is stretched, which is best done upon a thin, smooth board or shingle, cut a little tapering, upon which the skin should be turned inside out as soon as it is stripped from the body, and drawn smooth and tight, and tacked fast, and then hung up to dry in the air or in the smoke, with but little lieat from the fire. If you are in the woods, or where yon can not get boards or shingles to make your stretchers, you must adopt the Indian's mode, and stretch your pelts tipon a bow made of a hickory sprout, or other tough wood, which, after trimming perfectly smooth, you will slightly notch in the middle of the length, and bend toward the notcli. Then, half way from the nose end, cut two notches and insert a bi'acc, which will be held in place by tying a string around the ends, so as to bring them just near enough together to suit the size of your pelt. It is sometimes neccssaiy to put in two or more braces, to hold the sides of the bow firm, and wide enough apart to stretch the skin into a good shape and to the utmost tension, which ad^s to its value. It is not necessary to stretch skins fur side out to show the quality. A good judge can tell a good pelt as soon as he sees the flesh side. Well-handled skins will always sell for 10 to 25 per cent., and some- times 50 per cent., more than similar skins badly liandled. What wo mean by the technical term "well-handled" is, the preparation of the skin, which is a very simple matter to those xoho know how. If you wish to dress the skins for home use, follow the directioTis of 1153. using less materials and more labor, in proportion to size of pelts. 1155. Farmers Should I sc Rawhide. — A skin of an animal, whether cow, calf, colt, or horse, that dies on the farm, is worth more at homo than at tlie Sec. 61.] PROTECTION FOR HORSES AND DRIVERS. 997 tanner's. Cut tlieni into narrow strips, and shave ofl' the hair with a sliai-p knife, before tlie kitclien fire or in your work-sliop, stormy days and even- ings. You may make them soft by rubbing. A rawhide halter-strap an inch wide will hold a horse stronger and last longer than an inch rope. It is stronger than hoop-iron, and more durable, and may be used to hoop dry casks and boxes, and for hinges. Try it upon a broken thill, or any other wood-work that is splintered. Put it on wet, and nail fast. Thin skins make the best bag-strings in the world. A rawhide rope is a good substitute for a chain. It is valuable to mend a broken link in a trace-chain. For some purposes it is best to use it in its natural state. For other purposes it may be dressed soft. 1156. Oiling Harness and Boots.— Oils should not bo applied to dry leather, as they would invariably injure it. If you wish to oil a harness, wet it over- night, cover it with a blanket, and in the morning it will be dry and supple ; then apply neat's foot oil in small quantities, and with so much elbow-grease as will insure its penetrating throughout the leather. A soft, pliant harness is easy to handle, and lasts longer than a neglected one. One authority says : " N'ever use vegetable oils on leather ; and among animal oils, ncat's-foot is the best." Another says: "The very best oil for all applications to leather is the common castor-oil. One of the reasons of its value is, that it has less tendency to harden or thicken the leather, as neat's-foot and other animal oils do. Leather that has been frequently saturated with any kind of animal fat and exj^osed to water, as boots and harness are, instead of remaining pli- able, becomes hard and dry, losing its elasticity, and finally becoming brittle and worthless ; but that which is oiled with the extract of the Palma Christi bean, and in a less degree with flax-seed oil, appears to retain its fibrous toughness a great deal longer. The oil is naturally viscid, and, containing some glutinous matter, serves a better purpose than animal oil to exclude water, which, when absorbed by the leather, is the real cause of its inelas- ticity. Castor-oil, if bought by the gallon, is not expensive. It was manu- factured a few years ago in Illinois, and sold at fifty cents a gallon ; and the beans were grown as a field crop, at fifty cents a bushel. It is well worth while for farmers to give castor-oil a trial as a lubricator of leather." 1157. Lubricating Axles.— Take three jiounds of tallow, one of lard, and one of fine black lead, and two ounces of India-rubber, cut in shreds; beat them together nntil they are completely mixed, when it makes a most excel- lent anti-friction grease for the axles of wagons. And when you can i*ot get these materials, make a paste of wheat flour in oil, and it will answer, nearly as well. Powdered soap-stone and oil are excellent. 1158. Protection for Horses and Drivers.— At the South they have " buggy umbrellas." They are made just like the common umbrella, with a staff four or five feet high. In the bottom of the wagon is a socket, which holds the end of the staflf when in use. At other times it is laid down, or carried into the house, like any other umbrella. Every carman might have just such a one, without interfering at all with his load. Every stage-driver 998 THE GLEANINGS OF TUB FIELD. [Cuxp. XV. should have one, to protect him both from sun and rain. They arc real life- preservers, iiealth-promoters, and preventives of excessive drinking. Every- body who rides in open wagons, in city or country, should liave a wagon- uniljroUa. It is much better than a toi>-wagon, because lighter. It would also be good economy for every farmer to have a water-proof covering for each wagon-horse, to protect him from sudden showers when heated, and at .ill times from cold, drenching rains. 1159. How to Fix Chain Pumps. — Chain pumps frequently get out of order, in consequence of too great length of chain. If a chain should be of the correct length when it is new, after it has been in use for a year or more, the reel, the links, and the roller in tlie bottom of the well become worn, so that the chain will be several inches too long, and in consequence of which the chain will often become entangled at the bottom of the well, and will j stop the motion of the pump very often and very suddenly. In such a case, open links of the chain, and take out enough to make the chain as tight as it was originally, and the pump will work as well as ever. IIGO. How to Mend an Aqueduct Pipe. — How to solder a lead pipe with a head of water on is a secret worth knowing. We have known instances where the knowledge imparted in this item would be worth much more tlian the cost of this volume. Eepairing pipes, whether lead or other material, under a pressure of fifty feet of water, that can not be shut off, is a serious under- taking ; but see how easy ! A lead pipe was accidentally cut apart by a spade. Xo one knew how the water could be shut off without going a long distance, and then it would stop the supply of many persons connected with the same lino of pipes. An ingenious plumber was sent for. He first stopped the flow by a wooden plug. Then he called for broken ice and salt. " He is going to freeze ice-cream," said a little boy, who knew the philosophy of that operation. No, he is going to place the ice and salt around tlie pipe, and freeze the water solid. It was done in a few minutes. In the mean time he had added a short piece of pipe to the empty part, and as soon as the ice-plug was perfect, he withdrew the wooden one, and in one minute had made a soldered joint. In five minutes more the ice-plug melted, and on to its destination flowed the living current. 1161. Do Fogs {a January Indicate Frosts in May? — Such is the pojjular belief with many ])eoplo. To show tliat it is not well founded, we give the statement of a writer in the Couniri/ Gentleman, who says: "On looking over a record for the past seventeen years, I can not find anything on which to base such an assertion. It is true, as a general thing, we have fogs in January, and also true, as a general thing, we have frosts iu May ; but we have had many a Januaiy with neither fog, rain, or mist, while in the May that l'u:h:)\ved we have had frosts and hard freezes. "We will take the past five years, which will prove as much as the seventeen, and see what relation the frosis of May have to the fogs of January. In the year 1S57, we had no days that could be called foggy, rainy, or niisfy, in the month of January, but in M;;y we liad cold weather. There were frosts on the mornings of the Sec. CI.] WEATHER PROGNOSTICS. W^O Sth, lOth, 12th, 13th, 16th, ITth, and 18th. Snow fell on the 10th and 17th, and ice one eighth of an inch in thickness was fonnd in vessels containini.;- but little water on the morning of the 10th, and one fourth of an inch on the mornings of the lltli, 17th, and ISth. We had also a heavy frost in June, killing almost every green thing. In the year 1858, on the 11th of January, we had fog, and on the mornings of the 3d, 11th, 13th, 16th, 22d, and 23d of May we had frosts, more or less. In 1859 we had fog on the 7th of Jan- uary, and on the 23d of May we had a slight frost. In 1860 there was fog on the 7th and 11th of January, but in the month of May we had no frost, and it was the warmest month of May that we have had in the seven- teen years I have recorded. In 1861 we had no fog, and not a day that could be called rainy or misty, in January ; but in May we had frost on the 2d, 3d, 2!}th, and 30th." 1162. Heather Proguostics. — Every farmer should have some settled rules upon which he could safely calculate the prospects of the weather. It would be highly economical to a farmer if he would carefully study all the prog- nostics of the seasons, and such as indicate changes in the weather day by day. The use of the barometer is of doubtful utilitj' to the farmer, but there arc mauy homely barometrical signs that should not be neglected. The changes of the M'ind ; the course of the clouds ; the smoke beating to the ground ; the circle around the moon ; the flight of birds, both wild and do- mestic; the hun-ying liome of bees when a sudden shower approaches; the actions of domestic animals, swine in particular ; the acute pains felt by rheu- matic persons at the approach of storms ; the absence or excess of moisture in the atmosphere, as indicated by the rapid evaporation of boiling water when the air is dry, or ready condensation upon the cold-water pitcher when it is moist ; the peculiar sighing of the wind ; the turning up of tlie leaves of the forest before a storm, and many more indications of change, should all be studied, better understood," and used to the fiirmer's benefit. Every chim- ney is as good an indicator of the changes of weather as any cheap barometer. If smoke is heavier than the atmosphere, it will, of course, fall to the ground as soon as it is disengaged from the heat which forces it through the chinmey. When the fire is made in the morning, if the smoke is seen on the ground near the house, we may conclude foul weather will soon follow. The follov,-- ing sensible thoughts and words are from F. K. Phenix, of Bloomington, 111. : " IIo^7 curious and humiliating that, after living in the world, as men have, for thousands of years, and learning about almost everything else, we should yet be in total darkness as to the character of the forthcoming seasons. Governed as they are by immutable laws, with historic records and scientific observations at command, what walking clods we are as to the impending weather ! What immortality is there yet in store for some Storm-King, who shall unlock this mighty weather-vault, and hand over the key to his de- lighted fellows ! if there be one well-ascertained fact in regard to the weath- er, why not make that a basis for other scientific calculations and deductions ? For instance, it has been stated that there is every year about the same an- 1000 THE GLEANINGS OF THE FIELD. [Chap. XV. mial mean of temperature. Now, if tliis be the fact, how easy to foretell the general temperature of the last three or six months in each year from that of the preceding months ! AVill not the savans please figure up, and tell us what we may expect in future ? It is also said that one extreme fol- lows another. How natural, then, to infer that, after such a series of dry seasons as we had in Illinois in the five years preceding 185S, that we should that year get terrible rains ; after whicii, drouths again, against both of which extremes farmers should provide, by thorough draining and deep culture. Here at the "West, the weather doubtless has, in the matter of wet and dry, its cycles or periods — a very wet season occurring every six or seven years. Then might not this wet season have been anticipated ? If naviga- tors may know the tides of ocean, Avhy may not we poor, water-logged lands- men know something of the great air-tides that give us fair or foul weather ?" Much, too, may be learned by careful observations of the thermometer. Look at this table of average in New York for ten years : Aggregate arerages 718... Average of fifteen days ... 48. . . 775 . 51|. 1851. .78G . . 62 J. .1858. 1854. 1S55. 1S56. 1S5T. 1S5S. .708. .754 . .73'J . .708.. . J52.. .810 . 51. . 50i. . 49i. . 47.. ..50.. .. 54 This shows an average of temperature for the last period 3^° above the av- erage. A careful observer would at once conclude, " This will be a good year for fruit ;" and so it proved. 1163. Gestation, Periods of, and Proper Time of Reproduction.— The follow- ing table is compiled from good authority, and may be useful to young farm- ers. No exact period can be stated, however ; for M. Tessier, of Paris, kept a record of 582 mares that copulated but once, and found the period of foaling varied from 287 to 419 days, making a difference of 132 days, and in tlie lowest number falling short of the usual time of eleven months by 47 days, and in the longest, overrunning the allotted time by S5 days ; so you need not despair of your mare, cow, or other animal, if it does not bring forth at exactly the time fixed upon. TABLE OF PERIODS FOR SiEVER.VI, Aj:iMAI.=. Axi! Proper age for EcproduclioD. Jlarc 4 years. . Stallion 5 " Cow 3 " Bull 3 " Ewe 2 " Tup 2 «' Sow 1 " Boar.'. 1 " She-Goat 2 " He-Goat 2 " She- Ass 4 " He- Ass 6 " She-Bufifalo Bitch 2 " Dog 2 " She-Cat 1 " He-Cat 1 " Doe-Rabbit 6 months. Buck-Ilabbit 6 " Power of Kcproduction Years. . . 10 to 12 . . 12 to 15 .. 10 5 6 7 6 6 6 5 .. 10 to 12 . . 12 to 15 . ." 8 to 9 .. 8 to9 .. 6 to6 .. 9 to 10 .. 5 toG . . 6 to 6 Number of The most Females favorable season — Period of Gcs'ntion.— -. to one Mate, for Copulation. Shortest. Mean. Longest, liajs. Dajs. Days. 20 to 30 . 30 to 40 ' 40 to 50 6 to 10 . .May. '.July. .Nov. 240 . . 283 . . 321 14G .' .' 154 ." . 101 .March 109 . . 115 143 . . 150 . . 15G .May. 305 . . 380 . . 391 281 55 308 60 335 03 Sec. G1.| WHITE BEANS. 1001 11(34. The Cultivation of White Beans as a Field €rop.— It is often said of a man, '• lie don't know beans." If it was said he don't know liow to grow them, the assertion would be often true. We do not know that we do, but we do know how to cure them. Here it is. 1165. How to Cure White Beans- — There is no crop that gives more trouble to the farmer in curing than beans, M'hich from being late planted because grown among corn and from the shade, are often as green as ever at the time they must be harvested. "With a good deal of trouble in hanging the vines on the corn, they will cure if the weather is propitious. Then they must be handled again and the whi^le carried by hand out one side of the field. Sometimes they are carried out in the first place and spread on fences, head lands, or green sward, to get them out of the way of cutting up the corn. This is hard work, and often proves labor lost, for if the season proves wet, the green vines will not cure, and the dry buds are often molded and beans blackened by the attempt to dry the vines. ]^ow, if planted alone, there need be l)ut one handling after pulling, and that will be to put them on the wagon, cuix'd in the most perfect manner. "We affirm that there is no crop grown that can be cured easier than white beans, no matter how green the vines when pulled. To do this, take some stakes about five feet long — old garden bean-poles will do — and go through the field and set as close together as your present experience will tell you is necessary. Place any old trash, such as coarse weeds, sticks, sods, or stones around the bottom of the poles to form a raised bed as you would for a hay-stack bottom, and then pull your beans and stack them in a single course around the stake, the roots inward, and dryest vines at the bottom and a tangled bunch at the top to hold the stack to its pole, and your beans will cure and look clean and bright, and the leaves and pods will be eaten with great avidity by the sheep. There is no other inexpensive way to cure field beans. 1166. Suitable Soil for White Beansi — There is no crop that will produce so well as white beans upon a thin gravelly knoll. We have seen twenty bushels of beans per acre upon land that would not ^^roduce twenty bushels of corn, if stalks and all were measured. They do not produce well upon rich soil, running too much to vines. 1167. Growing Beans among CorUi — We are opposed to planting beans with corn, except solely to fill up vacant spots, because we do not think there is anything gained by planting the two crops together. The practice orig- inated in early times, when cleared land was scarce, and when the soil was rich, and when it was an oliject to get as much food oflP one acre as possi- ble, because the owner had no other ground that he could use ; and so the practice has come down to the present day, each generation following it be- cause " father did so," M-ithout even incpiiring why. In our opinion the most advantageous course to pursue for a profitable bean crop, is to plant the seed upon land that it would not be profitable to use for Indian corn, making the rows in drills about twenty inches apart, and manuring them with fine compost to give them an early start and vigor while young, rather 1002 THE GLEANINGS OF THE FIELD. [Chap. XV. than a large growth of vines, which they get among corn. Eeans nnist never he worked while wet M-ith rain or clew, and that is a good reason for keeping them away from corn, for that may be worked to good advantage when dripping wet. The only advantage, besides the two crops upon one Burt'acc, that we ever heard contended for by planters of beans among corn, is the convenience of curing the vines npon the cornstalks. IIGS. Hop Culture. — The hop is a hardy perennial, of easy cultivation, and will grow in any part of the Union. It requires a deep, rich, mellow soil, with a dry, porous, or rocky sub-soil. The exposure in a northern climate should be toward the south, as on the slope of a hill, or in any well-sheltered valley. It may be propagated by seeds or by divisions of the roots ; but it is more usual to plant the young shoots M'hicli rise from the bottoms of the stems of old plants. These are laid down in the earth till they strike, when they arc cut ofl' and planted in a nursery -bed. Care must be taken to have only one sort of hops in one plot, that they may all ripen at the same time. The ground having been prepared for planting, it is divided by parallel lines six feet apart, and short sticks arc inserted into the ground, along the lines, seven feet distant from each other, and so as to alternate in the rows, as is frequently done with fruit-trees and other plants, in what is called the quin- cunx form. By this method, every plant will be seven feet from each of its neighbors, although the rows will be only six feet apart, and thus one eighth of ground will be saved. Fresh dung should never be applied to hops. A Avatering with liquid manure will greatly assist their taking root. During their growth the ground should be well hoed, and some of the fine mold thrown up around the roots. Any good corn ground will produce hops. The roots are usually planted in corn land and grow with the corn the first year. They produce the second year $300 to $400 per acre at 35 cents per pound. Liberal applications of manure are needed, and they do not afl'eet the quality of product, as is the case with tobacco. Besides farm-yard dung, wool, hair, bones, plaster, lime, and ashes are all useful fertilizers. In England, the Kent and Sussex hop-growers calculate upon spending about $50 per acre for special manures, in addition to what of the ordinary kind they make on the farm. With such care, they have hop plantations 300 years old. The ground must bo trenched and worked deeply. About 1,200 hills is the proper number per acre, and for each 200 hills there should be one hill of male plants. When picked, the hops should be at once dried, and this is better done by passing a current of hot air over them tlian in placing them in a rootn where they get only the radiated heat from a stove. lieO. What Constitutes the Value ofllOjfSi— The yellow jiowder of the flow- ers contains all the value of hops. It is not in the loaves ; they are good for nothing. If the powder, liqmlin, was separated from hops and put up in soldered cans, there would be no need of transporting the bulky material of hop bales. Licbig recommends exposing hops to the fumes of sulphur, as thus the lupulin, or active principle, may bo preserved from one season to another. Tiie practice is opposed by some, but adopted by many of the Sko. 61.] TEASELS AS A CPwOP. 1003 Lest Munich brewers. Tlie hop crop varies from year to year to siach an extent tliat the price is very fluctuating, and even in a single season or a month may make a difference of 100 per cent. 1170. Growing Hops wiUJOUt Po!fS. — The great expense in preparing a hop- yard is a good set of poles. To avoid this, posts have been set and wires drawn across the 3'ard, and vines trained up on strings fastened to a stake at the hill, and to the wire at top. In France, a hop-grower has discovered that he can train Jiis hop vines horizontal to a low trellis. The French Acad- emy recommend this plan because it enables the grower to investigate the plant while growing, and cleanse it from the numerous insects which injure it lo so vast an extent; then it is protected from the sun, which always desti'oys the upper shoots ; it obviates the great destruction of hops in stormy weather, when the wind lays low whole hop-grounds from the hight of the poles ; and most of all, it enables the gathering of the cones to take place without uprooting the plant, besides permitting the selection of the ripest ones at first, and preventing the great loss which arises from the necessity of tearing down the whole plant to get at the ripest blossoms. 1171. Teasels as a Crop. — It is worth while for fiirmers to consider whether teasels as a crop are not worthy of more attention. We have seen it stated that a fair average crop is 200,000 burs per acre, and we think a fair average price is $1 50 a thousand. Their cultivation is not a new thing in this country, though but little attended to. i^or is it difficult. A Mr. "\Yei!:- (N. L., we think), of East Windsor, Conn., has grown thorn many years, ai:d found them profitable. The most suitable soil is a rich clayey loam, of rather a moist nature, such as would produce two tuns of hay per acre. The best prejiaration is to grow potatoes upon the turned sod without manure ; the next spring manure heavily, plow eight inches deep, pulverize the soil thor- oughly with a cultivator, and then level smooth with a bush-drag. The seed, after soaking one night, is rolled in plaster, and dropped by hand in shallow drill marks, thirty inches apart. It should be sowed very thick, sometimes half a bushel per acre, as it vegetates badly. Like cotton or broom-corn, if too thick it is " thinned to a stand." The time of planting is" when the ground is in good order, about the first of June. Do not cover the seed more than half an inch deep with fine earth, but press it hard Avith "a spatter," made of a plank, with a convenient handle. In about two Aveeks the rows can be seen, when a hand or horse hoe must be put to work. At the second hoeing the plants may be thinned out, leaving them four or five inches apart. The after-culture is to keep the ground absolutely clean till about the middle of November, when the plants are covered with straw, lield in place by dirt, to remain till first of May, or till freezing nights arc past, when the plants are uncovered and weeds kept down till the plants grow, as they soon do, to cover the ground closely. Soon after the flowers drop, the burs must be cut with stems about four inches long, and carried to the drying-house, where they are spread upon open-work shelves of slats, poles, or small rails in tiers one above another, so as to give a free circulation of lOOi THE GLEAKINGS OF THE FIELD. [Chap. XV. air. Tliey may be placed a foot thick upon shelves of this sort. A good hand can cut 15,000 or 20,000 a day, but the harvest should comnienca by the time lialf the flowers in a field are oif. The top burs drop their flowers first ; these arc called " King," but are not quite as good as the burs next below, which are called " Queens." A stalk has from four to six No. 1 teasels, and twenty to thirty, and sometimes fifty which are merchantable. The most common metliod of disposing of tlie teasel stalks is by mowing, dr3Mng, and burning on the ground. Two crops in succession generally do well, but more than that is not recommended. 1172. Prices in Counccticut a Hundred Years ajro. — From a curious and in- teresting document fully published in the Tlie Homestead, at Hartford, Conn., we have extracted the prices of farm produce and slaves, as sworn to in the inventory of tlie estate of Captain Thomas Wiieelcr, of Stonington, Dec. 11, 1755 — a little over one hundred years ago. Captain Wheeler was one of the largest landed proprietors in that town, and the ajipraisement of his estate amounts to £12,0G9'9s. 5d., Connecticut currency, ^\hic]l, at six shillings to the dollar and twenty shillings to the pound, gives $42,231 55, which in those days constituted him a pretty ricli man. The home farm is appraised at £7,000, and the prices of the following articles are given in pounds, shillings, and pence, which we have reduced to dollars and cents — • whicli, by way of comparison with present prices, will be interesting ; as well as the fact that only a hundred years ago Caesar, Scipio, and Hagar were part and parcel of a dead man's estate ; and also the prices at which these " chattels" were valued at that time in Connecticut. Perhaps, how- ever, the inventor}^ of a South Carolina planter dying in 1855 will be read with just as much curiosity and wonder, as regards both the price and exist- ence of slaves, a hundred years hence, as this is of a time a hundred years l)ast. The quotations from Col. Wlieelcr's inventory are as follows : Three hundred and ninety-eight bushels of Indian corn, £4:0 5s. 2d. — 33^c. per busliel. Eiglit bushels wheat, 30s. — G2ic. per bushel : fifteen bushels rye, 37s. 6d. — ^llfc. per bushel. Five bushels beans, ICs. 8d. — 55|c. per bushel ; fifty bushels salt, £G 5s. — 41 |c. per bushel. One and a half busliels malt, 4s. 4d. — 47c. per Inishcl ; twenty-seven pounds tallow, 9s. — 5ie. per pound. Twenty-five hundred seventy-four pounds cheese, 3d. per pound — 4^c. per pound. One hundred eighty-seven pounds flax, in ye swingle, Gd. per pound — SjC. per pound. One liundrcd twenty-five tuns hay, 25s. a tun — $4 17 per tun. Half bushel flax seed, Is. 3d. — 42c. per bushel. Three liundred fifty feet })ine boards, 17s. 3d. — $2 871 ; eighty squares glass, IGs. 8d. — 3~c. per square. His riding horse, saddle, and bridle, £16 13s. 4:d. — $55 65. One old sorrel horse, £7 18s. 4d.— $26 38. One black horse, £16 13s. 4d.— $55 55. Sec. 01.] PRICES IX C0N2IIECTICUT A nUJTDRED YEARS AGO. 1005 One sorrel horse, swift nose, £11 5s. — $37 50. One sorrel horse, bald fece, £12 5s. — §iO 85. One pied horse, £10— $33 3i. One small horse, swift nose, £6 13s. 4d.— $22 21. One sorrel stone horse, two years old, £9 lis. 3d. — $31 96. One sorrel year-old horse, $4 lis. Sd. ; one do., £4 lis. 8d. — $15 2S— ^15 28. One old sorrel mare and mare colt, £2 IBs. 4d. — $9 71. One old bay mare and horse colt, £3 Gs. 8d.— $11 11. One old black mare and horse colt, £8 6s. 9d.^$27 80. One black mai-e and white face mare colt, £8 63. 8d. — $27 78. One largo sorrel mare, white face horse colt, £14 3s. 4d. — $47 22. One old bav mare, £2 ISs. 4d. ; one sorrel two-year-old mare colt — oin bay, $9 71 ; colt, $12 21. One sorrel mare, swift nose, £10 8s. 4d. — $34 71. One black mare, swift nose, £10 lOs. 8d. — $36 11. One brown mare, £5 16s. Sd.— $19 42. One fat ox, £5 Ss. 4d. ; two speckled lean do.. £11 13s. 4d. — one fat ox, $18 06— one pair, $38 90. T-wo brown pied oxen, £10 8s. 4d.— $34 72. Two brown pied oxen, £10 16s. Sd. ; two red pied do., £13— $36 11, $43 34. Two white pied oxen, £8 15s. — -$29 17. One brown fat co\v, £4 3s. 4d ; one speckled cow, £3 3s. 4d. — $16 90, $10 55. Twenty-three fat cattle, at £2 18s. 4d. per head— $9 72. One biill, £2 ISs. 4d. ; thirty-two cows, £86 Ss. 4d.— $223 61. Twenty-tive two-year-old cattle, £41 13s. 4d.— per head, $5 51— $138 90. Twenty -six one-year-old cattle, £30 6s. Sd.— per head, $3 89— $101 11. Twenty-five calves, £15 12s. 6d. — $2 OS per head ; total, $52. One hundred and seventy-nine store sheep, £26 2s. Id. — 48c. per head — $S7. Five sheep rams, £1 5s. — 83c. per h .ad. — $4 17. Fifty-six fat swine, £65— $3 86 per head— $216 67. Sixty-five store swine, £14 15s. — 7oc. per head — $49 17. One negro man named Quash, £2 10s. — $8 34. One old negro woman named Juno, 16s. Sd. — $2 76. One negro man named Cab, £41 14s. 4d.— $139 06. One negro man named Csesar, £38 lOs.— $128 34. One negro man named Cipeo, £45 16s. Sd.— $152 78. One negro woman named Ilagar, £37 10s. — $125. One negro woman named Flora, £31 13s. — $105 50. One negro woman named Sarah, £40 — $133 34. One negro woman named Jane, £37 10s. — $125. One negro woman named Cloe, £37 10s. — $125. One negro boy named Pliaraoh, £8 8s. — $28. One negro girl named Phillis, £15— $50. One servant mulatto boy Harry, £8 6s. 8d.— $27 78. One servant mulatto girl Elizabeth, £5— $16 67. One servant Indian woman Mary, £1 13s. 4d. — $5 55. Corn is appraised at 33Jc. ; rye, at 41|c. a bushel. The price of horses, 1006 THE GLEANINGS OF TIIE FIELD. [Chap. XV. beeves, store cattle, elieep, and swine will strike every one acquainted with present prices of bucIi stock as quite remarkable, but not more so than the variation between the price of slaves in Connecticut in 1755 and the price of slaves in Virginia in 1S55. Old Juno is valued at $2 76, which seems to be the minimum value of one of the human family, while the maximum is only $152 78 — a valuation that lacks a cipher at the right hand to make it equal to the current rates usual south of that noted line of Mason and Dixon. The " mulatto girl Elizabeth" must have been very young or very ugly, or the appraisers were actuated by different motives from those which influence the "friends of the peculiar institution" at the South, or she would have been valued at a much higher figure than £5 — $1G 67 — even in those days of cheap chattels. One servant Indian woman " Mary," rated at $5 ."i5, shows not only that the aborigines were enslaved, but that they were esti- mated at a low price. As an cvidetice of the little care for literature which prevailed a century ago, we notice that all the books of this rich man's estate were valued at only 50 shillings — $9 33. That is not so singular, for even in our day slaves and libraries are not always found in abundance upon the same inventory. 1173. Winter Employment of Farm LaborerSi — As a rule, our farmers arc not employing a fourth part of the labor they might make profitable. Labor well bestowed would double the grass crop of any State in loss than five years. It is one of the greatest difficulties in the way of American farming, this six months on and six months off of laborers. There is a constant complaint about the trouble of getting good farm laborers, and this trouble is con- stantly augmenting — growing worse and worse at every annual return of the hiring season. And why ? Because our laborers are mainly made up of foreigners unaccustomed to our modes of farming, unused to the climate, and unfitted for farm labor without jirevious training ; and all that one of them gains in this line in one season is generally lost to the one who gave it, because lie only employs his farm hands for the summer, instead of the whole year. We have never conversed with a farmer who did not dej)lorc this sfatc of things, and acknowledge that it would be much better, that is, move profitable to keep the same laborers on from year to year after they had learned " the ways of the farm." " Then why not do it ?" " Oh, dear, bless your soul, I would if I could, but I have nothing, or next to nothing, to do in the winter." Now is this 60? Have farmers nothing to do? Look about your farm and sec. Have you no ditches to dig, no swamps to drain, no muck to dig for manure — no stone, timber, fuel, or manure to haul — no holes, large, decji, and wide to dig for setting fruit-trees in the ppring^ — ^no land on your farm that needs and will pay forunderdraining? For all of this woi'k can be done durir.g the many good out-door working days of winter, and, as a general thing, will not be done at any other season. Sec. CI.] WINTER EMPLOYMENT OF FARM LABORERS. 1007 A good farmer can alwa3's provide work for stormy weather under shel- ter. Tiiere is fuel to be cut and split in the wood-house. There are gates, and bars, and fence-posts to be made in the workshop. There is manure to be piled in the yard — that should be done every day — and there should be manure to be forked over in the barn cellar. Tiiere are straw and stalks to be cut, and this may be done in quantity if the cut stuff is packed in bo.xcs or barrels, so as not to dry up before it is wanted to feed out. Tiiere is corn to shell in the granary, and t.his is good work for dry, cold days, when it would be pretty severe to work out of doors. We have long advocated thrashing to be done more with flails and less witii machines, because it costs no more to thrash with flails, and the straw is better for stock, and it gives employment to farm laborers in winter, which is more important than all other considerations ; for if they are not em- ployed, it frequently happens that actual sufieriiig ensues, and at the same time their former employer will lose their services another year, and in the end will actually pay as much or more for what he gets out of a raw hand each summer than he would have jiaid, the winter included, for one good hand. If, as all well know, it is bad policy to part with a good hand, it is bad policy not to furnish employment for the winter. It is not only bad policy, but it is a wrong to the class who make up the farm laborers. Tiiink of this in the first winter storm, when you think of your brute creatures, Avhat may be the suffering condition of your laborers that you have discharged because you thought you had nothing to do. In this you are mistaken. You can find eniYdoyment, and can make it profitable. But if not, you can not con- scientiously discharge your poor dependent lal^orers, many of them strangers not only within your gates, but upon our side of the great Atlantic. Tell them, at least, that the roof which has sheltered them in summer shall not bo denied them in winter. If you really can not find full employment for them, tell them fairly what you can do — that you will feed them in all weather and employ them in all days when they can work to advantage. More tlian one half of the new emigrants that have found work upon farms during the summer within reach of this city will come directly here to spend their earnings wliile looking for city employment, and they will go back to their farm-work in the spring as ill fitted for it as half-starved oxen are to drag the plow, and cart the manure, and draw the fencing, and much other work that they could have done to better advantage in warm days in winter. Let every fixrmcr who is about to discharge a farm laborer, put his hand upon his heart to mark its pulsations, while he asks it this question : " Am I doing as I would that others should do to me ?" Tlie assertion that you have nothing or can have nothing to do is an erroneous one. Tiiere arc but few, if any, farms that require three summer laborers that could not find profitable employment for at least two of them all the winter. It is e.x tremely bad economy to discharge hands that have worked faithfully, and 1008 THE GLEANINGS OF THE FIELD. [Cuap. XV. liave just got used to the •ways of tlie farm, and "wonld be valuaWe help another year, and leave them to shift for themselves, more nncared for than your cattle, because you have nothing to do in Avinter. If you do so you must expect to meet with the same trouble in liiring liclp every coming spring that you have in every past one. There is a great influx to tlio cities every winter of persons willing to work, but who have been discharged wliere there M-as work to do, and have gone there as the most likely place to find shelter for tlie winter, but there they can find nothing to do ; the city labor market is overstocked. Farmers, we appeal to you for your own interest ; we appeal to you upon the "golden rule ;" we appeal to you for the sake of all who are willing to work for their bread ; we appeal to yon for those who, ignorant but not vicious, need your guardiansliip, tliat you do not send or leave one uncm- jiloyed to come back to this city, M'here he will not only bo idle, but as- suredly acquire vicious habits tiiat will make him a less valuable servant next year than this. This common practice of discliarging laborers in autumn is one liiat will in a short period quite destroy the efficiency of farm laborers. Tiieir dispo- sition to come to the city to spend the winter, farmers should check, not en- courage. A man who has spent the winter in idleness in the city is not wortii half as much in summer as one that remains continuously on the farm ; and the same thing is true of in-door servants. "What can I do in winter*" is the usual reply in argument against keep- ing laltorers through the year. One thing that a farmer can do late in au- tumn, and often in many winter days, is to prepare for setting out a few more fruit-trees in the spring. "We contend that not one farmer in a hundred has a sufficient supply of trees yielding fruit in their season. An orchard that gives good, marketable apples is always profitable to its owner if within reach of any large towns, for these apples are always salable and always at paying ]nices, if of good eating or cooking sorts, of summer or winter fruit, if carefully hand-picked and packed in neat barrels. Land for an orchard of any kind of fruit-trees will amply pay for draining with tiles or good stone undcrdrains ; these must be set deep — not less than five feet. Tlie land must be plowed deep and subsoiled, if its character will admit of it ; and if not, the holes for the trees should be dug out three feet deep and eight feet across. Leave these open all winter; in the spring put back tlie sods a!id surface earth at the bottom, and haul some rich earth, compost, chip manure, or leaf mold, to set the roots in. Getting this ready, is work for the last earth-working days in autumn. Time will produce $10 for every day thus occupied, when your trees yield their fruit. Every iota of fuel to be used in summer should be prepared ready for the fireplace, whether on hearth, or stove, or oven, during winter. Many a farmer could economically employ a man all winter to thrash grain with a flail and cut the straw for stock. Mueli work at ditching, fencing, stone-digging, rock-blasting, ma- nure hauling, and in some winters plowing, can be done to good advantage Sac. Cl.J FARM ACCOUNTS AND FARM ECONOMY. 1009 in t!io latitude of New York city. And if nothing can be done, it is better for both employer and hireling that farm hands should be idle on the farm than in tlie city. If farmers have a surplus of leisure in winter, we advise them to organize farmers' clubs, and meet every week, and have all the farm laborers attend. Something M'ill be learned. 1174. Kulcs for a Fanners' Club. — E. C. Paekhurst, of York, Pcnn., says: '• A good many farmers would organize farmers' clubs, if they knew how. Will you give us a copy of tlie Constitution and Kules of your Kew York Farmers' Club, if you have them printed?" There is a set of printed rules, but tliey are never referred to nor ever needed for any club. The members should agree to meet once a week or once a month, at a given hour and place. Select a chairman, to preserve order in debate, and open the meeting with any miscellaneous matter that any one chooses to bring up, and allow one hour for such discussion. Then devote another hour to some question agreed upon at the previous meeting, and adjourn punctually at the time. Make the whole discussion to consist of brief facts, but never dispute. Get some one to prepare a paper to be read at each meeting, if possible. We advise every farming neighborhood tliat can muster ten intelligent men, who will attend a farmers' club, at ouce to form one. But do not make any formal constitution and by-laws, or con- ventional rules, but make your meetings social and conversational. Let your organization be of the simplest form possible, and avoid all formality in your meeting, except just enough to preserve order. Let one man act as secretary, to keep a few simple minutes, and advertise meetings ; and let them be open to everybody, Mithout fee or membership ; and if money is needed, ask anybody and everybody to contribute. If they won't do it, but leave all the burden of the expense and business of the club to rest on the shoulders of three or four persons, give it up. The time has not come for a farmers' club in that neighborhood. It is a good plan, in the country, to meet at each other's houses ; but, to succeed, you must get your wives and daughters interested. A farmers' club is a barren wilderness, unless smile'd upon by woman. One excellent subject for discussion would be about im- proved farm stock. Another, farm implements. More than one half of the benefit which might be derived from the various labor-saving improvements in agriculture, which have flooded our country for the last ten years, is lost by our general ignorance of their construction and the proper method of working them. How to use manure, and how to make land more produc- tive, and consequently more profitable, are questions that can not be dis- cussed too much. 1175. Farm Accounts and Faria Ecoaomy. — No man can be a good fixrmer and a successful one who does not keep accurate accounts. Be able to tell, at the end of the year, every dollar that came to hand, and what for, and every one that goes out, and why it went ; and balance your cash account at least once a month — once a week is better. Keep accounts with everybody, debit and credit, and in some degree, with everythmg. Number your fields, and 1010 THE GLEANINGS OF THE FIELD. [Ciiap. XV. charge each with inaiiurc, seed, and labor, and credit the crops, and you will soon find which is tiie most jprofitable. Open an account with your stable, 3'our pig-pen, your pasture, and with your general stock, and willi different classes and branches of it, if you Avould learn with accuracy which is the most profitable. To be successful, you must be accurate ; to be accu- rate, you must keep account-books. True economy does not consist in mere saving and stinting ; it requires far-reaching views and a generous spirit to decide practical questions upon that just basis which secures the greatest measure of success. "We must look further than the first cost. In farm stock, for instance, when once obtained, it costs little more to raise, to any given age, a good animal than a bad one, while one may be far more remunerative than the other. And finally, as the very concentrated essence of farm economy, every American farmer, who is worthy of the name, will obtain this volume, and study it from title-page to I? : ri 2 3 , Li"brary K. C, State College INDEX. fTho number of parasrapb on tho lefi-hanU side ; that of the page on risht-hand side.] 1142. Acres, how tomoasuro 974 9o-j. Adaptation of trees to locations 845 1023. Adulterations of superphosphates . . . 897 1 1370Age of seeds, v/hen good 973 9 to. Age of trees 852 1078. Agricultural tools noticed 920 459. Air, impurity of, in rooms 412 380. Albumea of meat, how extracted . . . SCO 945. Alder, where from 854 47. Aldemey cow 44 818. Alfalfa, its use 758 398. Alkalies in bread 077 2S7. Alum water for bugs 243 713. Allen's hybrid grape 631 737. American wine-maker's rules 661 101. Analysis of various cattle food 75 382. Analysis of food for men SCO 98. Animal bones, use of 73 19. " species 31 20. " structure 31 1. Animals, domestic 13 1159. " gesta tion and reproduction. lOoO 80. " unruly, how^ made so 62 562. Anise 494 942. Antediluvian Reeds of trees 852 457. Ants, how kept away 409 209. " in the house, hove got rid of . . 243 254. " whisky cure for 230 37. Sec. Apple and poach trees, manage- ment of 579 489. Apple custard 434 712. " paring machines 629 662. Apple trees, form of various 585 663. " " dwarf 586 634. " " how to winter young .. . 506 482. Apples, how kept for winter 429 659. " in Georgia, list of Indian . . . 582 659. " Newtown pippin, history of . 582 489. " raw, and cooked as food 433 659. " select list of, descriptions 580 CGO. " use of, good for cattle 584 691. Apricots, history and cultivation of . 615 341. Aqueduct pipes, durability of 317 333. Aqueducts, economy of 309 1 149. Art of being loved 987 503, 875. Artichokes, Jerusalem, growing, and use 495, 810 538. Asparagus, cultivation, soil, and ma- nure 478 1023. Atmospheric fertilization, theory of. . 890 733. Austrian vineyards 654 57. Ayrshire bull 50 34, 43. " cows described 37, 42 1143. Axioms, proverbs, and maxims 975 440. Bacon, dry-salting 404 447. " English mode of curing 404 445. " facts about 404 348. " how smoked 323 918. Baggasse of sorgo injures stock 834 392. Bakers' yeast, ferment, sponge 37 1 19. Sec. Balloon frames described 325 350. Balloon frames, how to build 32(j 562. Balm 494 775. Barley cultivation "704 753. " seeds in a bushel 678 324. Barn boarded tight or open 303 322. " foundations SO J 320. " of Shakers at Canterbury 3U1 321. " " circular 302 323. " practical opinions about 303 325. " ventilation of hay-mows 305 319. Barns, use, value, location 299 987. Barnum using nitrates, sulphates, mu- riates 878 456. Ban-els, hov/ cleaned 40J 562. Basil, sweet 49J 294. Bats are insect eaters 203 1167. Beans among corn 1001 440. " how to cook 401 1165. " how to cure vines of 1001 1166. " soil suitable for 1001 634. " sorts of, for garden 470 1164. " white, as field crop IfOl 267. Bed-bugs, infallible remedy for 212 465. Bed-comforters, how to make 41-J 308. Bed-rooms fit to lire in 28:! 463. Bods and bedding 411 453. Beef, corned, how to cure and cook. . 40:i 468. " gall, its use 410 454, 455. Beef, pressed, how made — scraps, how saved 407 220. Bees, fourteen sorts in Honduras .... 174 222. " hives, new way to make, of straw 171 222. " hives should be ventilated .... 170 223. " how to keep from stinging 172 223. " how to take honey from 172 212. " history of their introduction. . . 157 227. " Italian, their introduction 174 224. " moths, how to protect, from .. 173 220. " pasture and feeding 165 215. " patent hives, bee houses, fcee palaces 161 213. " proper form of hives 100 228. V reasons for keeping 175 212. " reasoning powers of 159 220. " stingless, not desirable 174 214. " straw hives Kil 219. " swarm, proper weight of 105 217. " swarming, how to manage, do- mesticate 162 218. " swarms, what they consist of . . 164 212, 225. Bees, their introduction into Cal- ifornia 159, 173 212. Bees, v,-here they flourish best 159 210. " where to keep hives :... 162 529. Beets, varieties of 474 4. Sec. Beeves, gross and net weight. . . 51 662. Bene plant 494 11. 11. 2.51. 2:?li. 2:39. 239. 11. 240. •193. r,20. GIG. G19. G21. GIV. 022. G14. G18. 47G. 13G. ICO. lo9. 92.5. C. 92. 998. 98. 997. 1150. 588. 114H. 472. 1141. 304. 402. 39.'!. 101. 391. 403. 398. 099. 40.3. 395. 391. 39,!, 23, Sec. Big bullocks 51-5G Billets of wood, building with 331 tiic. Birds and children 177 Birds consume weed seeds 200 iSec. Birds, country desolate without. 177 Birds destroy worms and bugs 190 " eating bees 191 ' ' protected by laws 1 9G " quails, their value on the farm . 19G Sec. Birds, reason and religion in lircserving 17G Birds, robins are worm-eaters, the quantity consumed 18G " skylarks and imported birds. . 194 " swallows, Bwifts, and martins described 102 Sec. Birds, the farmer's best friends . 176 Birds, the food of 184 " the sap-suckers do not destroy trees 191 " to protect fruit-trees against. . 183 " wildpigeons, sending to market 201 Bites and stings, remedies for 439 Blackberries, cut-leaf 551 " Dorchester 550 " Lawton, or New Ko- chello 548 " parsley-leafed 050 " running or trailing. .. . 551 " thornless 550 " value for wine 551 " variety and cultivation 547 " wliite 550 Blackberry coi-dial 42(i Black-hawk Morgans 101 Blindness in horses, ho w to detect .. . Ill Blind staggers in horses, cure for ... . 110 Boilers and boiling maple sap 838 Boiling weeds for pigs 25 Bone in different food 08 Bones, how to dissolve 883 " of hogs in cholera 73 " their value 883 Books useful for farmers' boys 991 Botauical names of trees 520 Botany and beauty 98G Bottles and corks for wine 421 Boxes, capacity of, to hold barrels, bushels, gallons 974 Bread, bake thoroughly 374 " baking, heat of oven 384 " bakers', how made 371 " Boston brown 37 1 " chemicals in, Youmans' 883 " good housewife's rules for making 367 " kncailing, effect of 385 " made with saleratus rising . . . 376 " " " soda and unfer- mentcd '. 378 " mi.^ed with lime water 374 " mi.xed with potatoes .... 370, 373 " of corn meal 387 " of spriiuted wheat 374 ' ' potatoes in 307 " rye and Indian 372 Sec. Bread, varieties and quality, how made 800 Bread, various rules for making 378 404. Bread, various substances, prciMira- tion of 38G 412. " Virginii corn G92 393. " wheat and Indian 372 391. " whcaten, how to make SGG 394. " when stile, how to use 374 393. " Yankee brown 872 390. Breakfast, early, effect on health 065 378. ■' lunch, and dinner of a gour- mand 353 168. Breeding horses and mules 117 2. Breeds of pigs, Berkshire, Essex, Suf- folk, Chester 19 108. Brine, poison to cattle a^ 78 10G8. Broadcast sowing machine T. 923 520. Broccoli, cultivation of 474 810. Broom-corn, how to grow, value .... 74'> 520. Brasbica family, what it is 470 4-56. Brushes and knives, how cleaned . . . 409 770. Buckwheat cultivation 706 753. " seeds in a bushel 678 657. Budding, bass matting for 678 650. ' ' bow performed 677 254. Bug powder 228 263. Bugs infesting potatoes 240 262, 457. Bugs, remedies far 239, 409 64. Bullock, the largest known 52 67. Bulls, Ayrshire, Jersey, Durham, Dutch, llereford, Devon 50 995. Burnt e.irth, value of ' 883 1141. Bushel measure, cubic inches in .... 974 1140. Bushels of grain, etc., weights of . , , 974 501. Butter affected by food 447 502. " affected by packages 448 509. " colored lo order 452 499. " good, how jud.iied 443 512. " how to cool without ice 454 437. " bow to keep 400 608. " how to m.aUc in winter 452 498. " making, first requisities for . . 441 504. " of Alderncy cows 448 511. " packing and preserving 463 500. " quarts of milk for a pound . . . 444 610. " rules for salting 453 500. " time of churning 44ii 499. " washing and coloring ....... . 442 391. Biscuit, how to make good 308 42 i. Buy good articles 390 624. Cabbage cultivation 472 524. " how to head in winter 472 524. " varieties of 473 530. California beans 477 732. " vineyards and wine cellars 653 738. " wine making CG2 82. Calomel for cows 36 6. Sec. Calves, selecting and rearing ... GO 78. Calves should be sheltered 61 295. Camels, introduction cf, into U. S. . . 264 420. Candles and oil, C(>st compared 396 428. " how to improve 397 255. Canker worms, preventives 1;'32 11 11. Capacity of boxes 974 187. Capons, how to make 134 662. Carraway 494 527. Carrots and other roots require deep soil 474 884. " and rye on same ground ... . 818 879. " as a field crop 815 882. " cultivation of 817 1013 883. Carrots, harvesting, storing, and value of crop 817 880. " soil and preparation 8IG 881. " sowing the seed 816 523. " varieties of 474 467. Carpets and carpet sweepers 416 845. Carting hay to market 780 1061. Cast-iron plows, history of 918 713, 725. Catawba giapes 630, G39 6. Sec. Cattle, care and feeding GO 74. Cattle aars and transportation 58 104. " diseases of 76 100. " diseases, the horn-ail, its cure. 77 87. " fattening on hay, value of ... . 64 80. • " fed oil-cake 66 83. " feeding straw 63 101. " food analyzed 75, 76 88. " how to feed roots 65 84. •' how to winter 03 76. ■' improvement of breed and weight - 60 5. Sec. Cattle market statistics 56 75. Cattle, meisurement of 59 958. '• on the highways 865 108. " poisoned, with brine, with cherry leaves 78 103. " soiling, treated upon 76 1. " transportation, on Mississippi steamboat 15 107. " with lice, cured with onions . . 78 1145. Castrating, when to perform 977 284. Cats killing chickens, to prevent .... 2^5 525. Cauliflower, cultivation of 473 539. Celery, how to grow and keep in winter 479 15. Sec. Cellars, chimne3'S, and ice-houses 288 310. (Cellars, how to make 288 350. Cement roofs 327 1132. Cemented caves for storing grain ... . 971 100. Chaffing or cutting food for stock ... 74 177. Chandlers' greaves for hens 12'j 1037. '■ " value as manure . 902 987. Charring fence posts 869 517. Cheese, Knglish style 459 437. " how to keep 400 516. " how to make it 457 518. " making in manufactories 459 400. Chemicals in bread 381 401, 45. Sec. Chemistry and com 3S3, 711 677. Cherries, history, cultivation, use ... 599 673. " varieties of, described 594 676. Cherry trees, grafting and budding. . 598 674. " " ornamental 597 13. Chester County hogs 23 540. Chiccory, how to grow, prepare, and use 481 183. Chicken coops, how to build 132 183. " houses wanned by stoves ... 133 1 148. Children, how to treat 985 311. Chimneys, how to build 289 832. Chinese sugar-cane growing 822 892. " " —see Sorgo 823 809. " yam, cultivation of 806 564. " " description of 495 431. Chocolate 397 499. Chums and churning 442 480. Cider, ccrifying, effect of 428 479. '• filtering, how done 428 477. " how to keep sweet 427 487 478, 710. 1142 334. 758 129, 347. 1007, 813 817, 814 815. 753, 955, 1020. 992. 51. 267. 179. 431. 4-36. 432. 599. 658. 151. 960. 960. 101. 713. 352. 346. 5. 385. 384. 3-3. 386. 1147. 800. 3. 804. 1070. 405. 413. 807. 343. 342. 779, 100. 799. 794, 795. 801. 408. 794. 796. 805. 800. 418. 406,7 795. 793. , Cider jelly, how made 433 " oiling, to keep 427 " without pressing 628 Circular acre, how to measure 974 Cisterns, value, size, contents, how to buUd, cost, how to calculate ca- pacity 310 Cleaning grain for market 684 Cleansing wool 96 Cloacina's temple 321 Clod crushers 923 Clothing a man consumes in a life- time 357 Clover growing 754 " hay, when to cut 758 " how much seed per aero 750 ' ' seed growing and harvesting . 757 " seeds in a bushel 678 Coal and wood, economy of, compared 859 " :uhes for manure 895 " " value of 882 Sec. Coal vs. wood for fuel 845 Cockroaches, remedy for 242 Cocks, choice of 1 27 Cocoa, how to buy good 397 Codfish, how to keep 400 Coffee, best sorts, how to prepare. . . . 398 Cold frames for plants 528 Collodion, how made, and use of. 579 Colts, treatment of 108 Commons should be cultivated 863 " unfenced 806" Composition of various food for stock 7J Concord grape C3_l Concrete walls, bow made 330 Cooking arrangement for a piggery. . 321 '• food for swine 25 " how affected by bax-d wat^r . 3G3 " reasons for improving 36:; " vegetables, changes produced 06 1 " vessels, improvement wanted 363 Cooks cause sickness 98 J Com and crows 743 ■' and pork, how much will a bushel make 19 " and pumpkins together 742 " baskets improved 924 ' ' bread 387 " bread, receipt for 392 ' ' cost and profit of crop 743 " cribs of rails 318 " cribs, how built SIS 797. Corn cultivation. Sec Indian corn 709, 7S8 Corn fodder for stock 74 " fodder, value of, for cows 739 ' ' harvesting 735 " harvesting machines 73i; " how to measure in bulk 7-10 ' ' hulled, good food 39i • ' ' husking 735 " husking in the field 737 " hybridizing 742 " in drills or hills 740 " popped, its use as food 393 " ro.isting ears, sweet corn 3!'9 " shock-cart described 737 " shocks, how to bind 73-i " shrinkage in drying 74 i 797. Corn sown broadcast for fodder 738 794. " stalks, cutting 736 803. " yield of starch 741 0G2. Coriander 494 470 Cordial of blackberries 420 472. Corking \vine bottles 424 52. S^c. Cost of fences of highways 862 351. Cost of the author's balloon-frame house and barn 329 94. Cotton cake, its quality and value described 69 1092. " culture, extension north ... . 941 1091. " " will it increase 940 1081. " fields, beauty of, in blossom. 932 1093. " from flax fiber 942 1083. " gin, history of invention. . . . 934 1080. " ginning, per cent, of lint and seed 940 56. Sec. Cotton, history, growth, and manufacture 928 1079. Cotton, history of 929 1080. " " of culture in America 930 4B8. " in woolen, how to detect. . . . 418 10S2. " manufacture, history of 932 1083. " Sea Island, how ginned 933 1080. " " " grown 936 1084. " " name of 935 1090. " seed used as manure 940 1088. " upland, cost of growing in detail 938 1087 " upland, how grown 937 47. Cows, Alderney or Jersey 44 44,40. " Ayrshirebreed, yield of milk. 43,44 40. " badly wintered unprofitable. . . 40 32. " cured with ailomel 30 53. " Devon described 40 01. " directions for spaying 35 51 . " Dutch or Holland breed 45 20. " exercise and shelter. .. , 33 38. " fed roots 39 37. " fed sugar-cane 39 25. " food consumed by 33 29, " hay required for 35 28. " health of, affects milk 34 52. " Hereford breed 40 27. " how fed for butter 34 24. " how many per aci-e 33 23. " how to increase value of 32 33. " how to keep gentle 37 41, 55. " how to select a good one ... 41, 49 39. " how to winter 40 48. " Jersey, origin and description . 44 42. " of different breeds 42 50. " of Durham breed 45 35. " iioor for butter, how improved 37 30. " remedy for kicking 35 40. " tons of hay for, needed 41 3. Sec. Cows, what is a good one, the standard 31 30. Cows, winter feed of, in Orange County 38 22. " with garget, cure of 32 45. " yield of milk of breeds com- pared 43 1150. Countrv schools, what they should teach 991 700. Cranberries as a field crop, how grown 621 702. " how to cook 626 567. " in gardens 408 701. Cranberries, varieties of, planting .. . 623 592. Creepers, native 522 964. Creosote for kyanizing 868 654. Cress, garden ... 488 555. " water 489 342. Cribs for corn 318 230. Crows, discussion about usefulness of. 180 806. " how to prevent mischief 743 70. Crystal Palace show cattle 54 846. Cubic feet in a tun of hay 780 544. Cucumbers, varieties of 483 409. Currant wine, how made 420 GOO. Currants, black, how grown and use. 530 602. " descriptive list of 632 605. " expense of growing 635 603. " how to prune and glow .. . 534 487. " jelly, how made 432 C04. " productiveness of cherry. . . 535 601. " Yarieties and cultivation . . 530 250. Curculio remedies 210 100. Chaffing food for stock 74 258. Cut- worms described 2.35 28. Sec. Dairy, butter and cheese making 44 1 507. Dairy room, necessity of a 451 1150. Days of the week and month, names of 992 1064. Deep plowing, its benefits 921 713. Delaware grapes, historj' of 631 936. Descriptive list of hardy trees 840 62. Devon bull 61 63. " cows described 46 53. " " value for dairy 47 713. Diana and Anna grapes 632 1060. Digging machines 92S 502. Dill 494 869. Dioscorca batatas, cultivation of ... . 800 504. " " growth and use .. . 495 104-6. Diseases of cattle, horn-ail, scours, poi.son 76, 77 459. Disinfectants, how made and used. . . 411 998. Dissolving bones 883 959. Division fences, laws relating to 865 287. Dog laws to protect sheep 257 288. " traps, how made 258 285. Dogs generally a nuisance 255 289. " sermon about, keep them in dogs' places 258 286. " Shepherd, Scotch colley, En- glish, Irish 250 286. " the Shepherd breed 25G 1 . Domestic animals 13 20. Sec. Domestic wines, cider, preserves. Rules for wine making, etc 419 739. Domestic wine-making rules 603 409. " wines, how made 420 171. Double and single trees, size of 121 798. Doura corn for fodder 739 1033. Drain tile, cost of sizes 914 1059. " " proper shape of 910 1047. Draining (sec Tile draining) 910 1052. " what it does for land 91 1 1038. " with .1, mole plow .910 1055. " " brush and other substi- tutes for tile 915 1067. " " cement pipes 910 1060. " " cobblestones 910 1064. " " wooden tubes 915 1051 . Drains, descent and depth of 913 1143. Driving oxen 977 INDEX. 1015 1147, 191. 59. 50. CO. 51. 542. r,30. 389. 38-t. 299. 550. 210. 203. 207. 211. 208. 209. 20G. 204. 205. 048. 470. 556. 945. 591. 690. 941. 941. 74-5. 1175. 971. 364. 310. 311. 303. 307. 302. 301. 309. 306. 304. 309. 304. 303. 305. 308. . 306. 1150. 1150. 309. 1174. 1148. 309. 1150. 1155. 1148. Diptheria, cure for 984 Ducks of various sorts 139 Durham bull 50 ' ' cow 45 Dutch bull 50 ' ' cow 45 Early garden potatoes 482 Earthen stable floors 307 Eating, how it affects health 3G4 Economy in cooking 362 Eel-streams and eel-fishing 272 Egg plants 487 " trade in this country 155 Eggs, how produced in winter 152 " " to preserve 1.53 " packing for market 155 " quantity consumed in England 153 " " " in Franco.. 154 " should be sold by weight 153 " the sex of, how to tell : 152 " the vitality of, atfected on rail- roads 152 Elder as an ornamental shrub 856 Elderberry wine, how made 423 Endive for salad 489 Sec. English sheep 81 Errors in feeding roots 65 Evergreen seeds, planting of 853 Evergreens, foreign, names of C22 " indigenous, names of. . T. 521 " transplanting in summer 851 " yews, junipers, arbutus, laurestines 861 Sec. E.xcerpta of useful knowledge . . 396 Experiments in feeding pigs 19 Fallowing land for wheat 67 1 Farm accounts and farm economy. . .1009 ' ' gates and bars 870 " " various kinds described . . 338 " houses, cellars, how to make. . 288 " " chimneys, how to build 2S9 " " dark, are unhealthy. . . 277 " " how to build convenient 281 " " inducements to beautify 275 " " influence the character of occupants 275 " " kitchen in olden time . 284 " " necessarj' rooms in. . . . 280 not build on high hill. 279 of Farmer Slack 287 " " proper location for 278 " " should be light 277 " " size and form 279 " " ventilation of 283 " " what constitutes con- venient 280 " laborers' employment in winter 1006 Sec. Farm stock, care of 60 Farmers' boys, maxims for 988 " " what they should learn in school 991 " children in olden time 285 " clubs, how to organize 1009 " maxims for 979 " meals in olden time 285 " school books recommended 991 " should use raw-hide — value of 993 ' ' wives, maxims for 984 1150. Farmers, young, maxims for 988 90. Fat in diflerent food CO 87. Fatting cattle on hay 64 12. " swine, begin early 28 12. " " on standing corn 28 329. Feed-trough, cheap and good 300 496 Felon remedy 440 969. Fence on soft ground 870 968. •' portable picket 869 963. " posts kyanized 867 967. " " preserved by charring .. . 869 965. " " " by salt •. 868 066. " " top end down 869 62. Sec. Fence system, evils of 863 52. Sec. Fences, cost of, calculated 861 959. Fences, division, laws relating to. . . . 865 931. " how dispensed with 867 962. " waste land ^. . . 867 958. Fencing highways, laws relating to . 864 662. Fennel 0 494 989. Fertility, primitive sources of 881 984. " promoted by clover 877 985. " " by color and moisture 878 983. " " by fineness of soil 877 986. " " by incrusting seeds 878 53. Sec. Fertilization, the art of 877 60. Sec. Fibrous plants, hemp and flax. . 905 699. Figs, where and how they grow 620 497. Finger ring, tight, how to get off. . . . 440 1148. Fire making, art of 985 1 149. " proof dresses, how to make 988 357. '■ " wash for roofs S36 368. " protection from 348 300. Fish-breeding, ancient, account of. . . 273 297. " " for domestic use 206 1028. " guano, American 898 1027. " " Norwegian, how made . . 897 298. " trout streams, cause of disap- pearance 270 156. Fistula in horses cured 109 973. Flat bar iron fence 871 462. " irons, smooth, to make 414 1 128. Flax crop, cost and profit of 970 1126. " growing, soil and preparation . . 969 1125. " historical facts about 969 1127. " seed, quantity and time of sowing 960 91. Flesh in different food 67 267. Flies, how to drive out 242 387. Flour, how to select good 364 570. Flower beds, how to make 502 571. " cultivation of hardy 503 31. Sec. Flower culture, moral influence. 500 569. Flower garden, soil suitable for 500 572. " list of choice annuals 503 537. Flowering beans 477 574. ' ' bulbous plants 507 673. " herbaceous plants, list of . 506 576. " list of, hollyhocks 509 578. Flowers gi'own as a farm crop 511 579. " soil for, protection of -513 832. Fodder, amount necessary 771 101. " analyzed 75 1161. Fogs in January — Frosts in May 998 378. Food a man consumes in a lifetime . . 357 377. " adaptation to circumstances . . . 356 388. " adulterations of 364 382. " analysis of 360 25. * ' consumed by a cow 33 8(). Food for catllc, variety of G3 490. " for Bick, kinds and preparation. 435 27. Sec. Food for tlic sick, remedies for poisons and bites 435 381. Food, Frencli experiments with SCO 371. " how much for a hard-working man 351 370. " how it affects the system 355 379. " how it is changed by cooking. . 358 90-92. " properties for fat, flesh, bone. 66-08 375. " quality of, suitable for farmers. 354 372. " rations of slaves 352 373. " rations of soldiers 353 382. " relative value of substances 300 1134. " substances, nutriment in 972 22. Sec. Food, the question considered of quantity, quality, adaptation . 351 374. Food, time between meals 354 374. " variety of, necessary 353 38.3^ " vegetables, changes in cooking 301 831. Forage, how to produce and use .... 770 1016. Forest leaves for manure 891 976. " tree hedges 872 51. Sec. Forests unprofitable on valuable soil 845 181. Fowls, Chinese breeds 128 178. " fed on putrid meat arc im- who^e.^ome 1 26 197. " mode of killing 145 182. " ornamental varieties of — Ma- lay, Guelderland, Dorkings, Spanish, Game, Java, Jer- sey Blue, Poland, Hamburg, Bolton Gray, Silky, Frizzled, Cuckoo, Blue Dun Crested, Bantam, Dominique, Forked Tail, Sonerat's Wild Cock.. 128 713. Fox grapes 031 736. French wine-maker's rules 659 1 1 51 . Frost, why more on bottoms than hills 993 098. Fruit ba.skets and boxes 618 35. Sec. Fruit books mentioned 555 349. Fruit drying houses 323 601. " how to grow large 585 698. " how to pack and transport 618 484. " In air-tight cans 430 703. " tree protectors 626 670. " trees, manuring, use of hogs for 589 035. " " on the prairies 068 031. " " rules about planting 561 630. " " spring or autumn planting 558 029, " " when and how to plant. . 558 482. Friiits, how preserved 429 097. " small, for field culture 017 34. Sec. Fruits, small, of the garden 030 450. I'urnitnre renovated 407 1 152. Fur-skins, how to dress 995 1154. " how to prepare for market 996 457. Fui-s, how packed and kept 409 950. Fuel, how it should be seasoned .... 800 51. Sec. Fuel, wood or coal 845 3. Gain of pigs in feeding 22 101. Gulls in horses, remedy for Ill 202. Game, preparing for market 151 511 . Garden corn 431 1009. " hoe, improved 924 519. " vegetables, origin, iite, culti- vation 405 29. Sec. Garden vegetables, their history, 22. 991. 304. 971. 192. 198. 1130. 1103. 987. 01. 1015. 408. 290. 023. 192. 543. 36. 652. 653. 645. 651. 644. 643. 654. 055. 778. 1133. 1132. 754- 733. 732. 730. 714. 710. 720. 715. 717. 742. 730. 723. 718. 730. 731. 254. 254. 40. 841. 825. 820. when and how to plant, pleasures and profits of a garden 461 Garden Acgetable^, origin, use, cul- tivation 465 Gaiget in cows, hov/ to cure 32 Gas lime, value of 882 Gates, how made, cost of 338 " vs. bars 870 Geese, how and where kept, breeds and value 140 " value of corn fed to 145 Gcrmin.ation of seeds, lime of 971 Gestation, periods of 1000 Glauber salts for manure 880 Sec. Gleanings of the field 971 Glue-maker's waste for manure 893 " to keep sweet 418 Goats, Cashmere, introduction into the United States 205 Gooseberries, varieties of 552 Gophei-s described, beneficial to fai-mers 201 Goslings, how managed 141 Gourds 483 Sec. Grafting, budding, pruning. .. . 570 Grafting, antiquity of 576 " clay and wax, how made.. 576 " cleft, splice, tongue, root, saddle 574 " new method, nat\ual 575 " on old orchards, 674 " proper time of 073 Grafts, how to preserve 070 " influence of stocks upon 077 Grain farms and stock farms 708 " mill, new one, described 972 " stored in cemented caves 971 ' ' when it should be cut 079 Grape c'jjturc in Austria 054 " " California 053 " " Missouri 045 " by Dr. Grant 633 " cuttings, caiition about 036 " " how to grow 041 ' ' grafting 035 " growing, profit of 030 " seedling, prize for 660 " soil, what is best 645 " trellis 638 " vine gigantic 030 Grapes, diseases of, remedy for 643 " how to keep 430 " order of excellence of five. . . 642 ' ' under glass 638 " varieties of 630 , Grapevines, care of, planting and pruning 044 " hr.riUuc-is of sorts Oil " object of pruning, rule:; for 043 " summer pruning 047 " what are merchantable. . 652 " worms 220 Grasshoppers, habits of 232 Sec. Grass and its use and cultivation 748 Gra.s.^, how much, land can produce. . 773 " plats, howseeded with sods. . . 700 " seed, how much per acre 702 " sowing in autumn 705 INDEX. 1017 753. Grass, sweet vernal, seeds in a bushel C78 839. " when to cut .' 777 811. Grasses, cultivated varieties of, de- scribed 748 812. " varieties recommended 752 468. Grease in silk, how to remove 417 468. " spots, how removed 418 403. Greon corn as food 389 1030. " crops and lime for manure 898 1023. " Bind marl, its value 897 1077. Grindstone, its value on a farm 926 1151. Gross and net weijjht of swine 993 1009. Guano, economy of using 891 1010. " how to apply.. T 891 1010. " in solution for gardens 891 1008. " its history 890 1028. " manufactured of fish 898 990. " phosphatic, value of 882 916. Guinea com, sorghum vidgare 833 190. " fowls 139 981. Ha-ha walls 875 1037. Hair, value of, as manure 902 1141. Half- bushel measure, how to make. . . 974 443. Hams, good pickle for 405 450. " how to cook 405 445. " how to cure 404 449. " how to keep 405 1145. nandyin.5; steers .... 978 93u. Hardy trees, ash, maple walnut, Pau- lonia, s;!S3afras, locust, poplar, fir, hemkck, chestnut, linden 84C 7in. Hirtford prolific grape 632 945. Hawthorn, varieties of 854 71. Haxtun steer, weight of the 54 838. Hay-caps, value of, how made 776 47. Sec. Haying and haying machines. . . 772 842. Haj', how much must we provide. . . . 778 1135. " load of, how to calculate value. 972 846. " measurement, cubic feet in a ton 780 325. " mow, ventilation of 305 29. " required for cows 35 844. " rigging of carts and wagons. .. . 770 837. " ventilation of 776 117. " weight necessary for sheep 85 950. Haz.'l grown for fruit 857 491. Health, cautions about 437 390. •' is affected by early break- fasts 365 ."89. " is affected by mode of eating 364 1147. " maxims of 981 1138. Heavy men in Ohio 973 975. Hedges and hedge plants 872 976. " of forest trees 872 978. " ornamental more than useful 873 977. " Osage orange 873 1 1 20. Hemp, a new variety 966 1121. •" cost and profit of growing. . . 967 1124. " cutting by machines 968 1071. " harvester 924 1119. " history of introduction into America 965 1123. " rotting and dressing 968 1122. " sowing and harvesting 967 174. Hens, number to keep and time to sell 124 184. " proper time to set 1.33 173. " shod to prevent scratching. .. . 124 332. Hen-roosts, how built, and manure of 308 195. " how constructed 143 1148. Herbs preserved 986 61. Hereford bull ; _ _ _ ^\ 52. " cows described 40 248 Hessian fly described 213 945. Hickory seeds, planting 853 958. Highway fences, laws relating to. . . . 804 562. Hoarhound 493 456. Hodge-podge, how made 4O8 7. Hog pastures 26 17. Hogs, gross and net weight 30 16. •' large 30 13. " of Chester County breed 29 51 . Holland cow 45 576. Hollyhocks, list of 509 409. Hominy, economy of, for food 391 410. " how to cook, hominy cakes, pudding . 391 411. " how it is made 392 1168. Hops, culture of, and suitable soil 1002 1170. " growing without poles 1003 1169. " value of the lupulin 1002 105. Horn-ail, how to cure, false notions of 77 531. Hoi'seradjsh 47.5 150. Horse breeding for longevity 108 834. " rakes 774 109. " gearing, English and American 119 162. " shoeing l]2 144. " stables should be light 105 8. Sec. Horses and mules, history of. . . 148. Horses, diseases of, capped hock, con- tracted hoofs, corns, cough, trembling, wheezing, crib- biting....* 106 152. " diseases of , and remedies ... . 109 131. " English hunters 99 132-4 " English roadsters, coach and dray 99 142. " forthe saddle 105 140. " for walking 104 138. " how to drive 103 146. " how to remove from buildings on fire 106 154. " heaves, cure of 109 135. " Morgan breed 99 157. " old sores of, cured with white lead 110 171. " plowing with four, how to hitch 122 149. " profits of Boiling system. .., . 107 147. " proportion of, to men lOG 145. " sand for bedding of 100 153. " scratches, how cured 109 139. " size of roadsters 103 130. " thoroughbred 98 141. " torturing with bit and harness 104 148. " unsoundness, what consti- tutes 106 170. " working" three abreast 120 155. Horse's collar chafing 109 143. " color indicative of temper. . . 105 163. " feet, contraction of, and rem- edy 114 565, 595-598. Hot beds, how made, and use of 497, 524 1150. Household science, book of 991 1031 Housed and unhoused manure exper- iments 899 267. House flies, how got rid of 242 408. Hulled corn, how prepared 390 819. Hungarian grass 760 970. 495. 340. 5G2. 31G. 317. 31.5. 314. S13. 312. 701. in. 111. 781. 185. 787. 78G. 790. 782. 791. 791. 791. 790. 779. 784. 781. 791. 790. 417. 416. 414. 41.5. 589. n49. 12. 270. 254. 254. 243. 2GG. 242. 249. 7G7. 254, 2G7, 253, 244 Hurdle fence 870 Hydiophobia, remedy for 439 Hydniulic rams, how made, and use. 31G Hyssop 494 Ice, how to carry it to the field 298 " how to keep it in the house. . . . 298 " how to store it 297 Ice-houses, how to build 292 " reasons in favor of 291 " their advantage 290 Illinois wheat growing, cost of 090 Imported stock deteriorates 80 " vs. native stock 79 Improved King Philip corn 719 Incubation of eggs, time of various . . 1 34 Indian corn land, seeding to grass. . . 7C4 " " autumn plowing for 724 " " crops North and South. . 714 " " cultivation in hills or drills 720 " " depth and distance of planting 725 " " experiments in growing. . 728 " " fertilizing seed 722 " " great crops in Conn 732 " " " " Kentucky. 731 " " " " Ohio 733 " " manures used upon 728 " " premium crops, cost of . . 716 " " preparing ground for ... . 723 " " selecting, saving, prepar- %ig seed 7J8 " " shrinkage in drying 730 " " soaking seed 730 " " transplanting, it can bo done 727 " " two ears on a stalk, shall one grow 722 " " when to plant 717 - '' " where profitably grown . . 715 " " yield per acre 730 " " 200 bushels per acre 733 Sec. Indian corn, a national staple . . . 709 " " " its history 709 " " " its use and value as food 712 " " " product in Ohio... 713 " " " " in slave and free states 712 Indian meal baked pudding 393 " cakes 393 " " mush 393 " " mush, how cooked 393 Indigenous trees 521 Indolence the parent of langu. r. . . . 9f8 Kec. Insects, what are 203 Insects beneficial to farmers 244 '• convcr.^ations upon 2^6 " coal-tar to kill 229 " destructive to corn and wheat 205 " how preserved for reference . . 242 " infesting the cotton plant . . . 204 " injurious to fruits 215 " in wheat, how killed G98 " kerosene oil, to kill 229 " of the house, remedies for. . . 242 " remedies, caustic soda, liquid sulphur, oil troughs 224 " the rice weevil 207 996. 972. 54. 1044. 1043. 1042. 1040. 1041. 104G. 1045. 753.' 58. 48, 49 875. 247. G9G. 86. 725. 427. 254. 30. 81. 43G. 309. 403. 4.5G. 523. 963. 636. 1145. 945. 429. 562. 32. 583! 581. 584. 585. 580. 58G. 587. 959. 958. G15. 1150. 551.' 107. 425. 424. 427. 428. 426. 365. 3G5. 366. 535. 518, 992. 671. 993. 93. Introduction to facts. 13 Iron as a fertilizer 883 Iron fences 870 See. Irrigation, practice and value of 904 Irrigation in America 908 " France, Belgium, etc.. . 907 " Germany 907 Italy 904 " Piedmont 906 Irrigation, quantity of water required 909 " what lands are benefited. 909 Isabella grapes 639 Japan wheat a cheat C79 Jersey bull 50 " cow, properties of 44 Jerusalem artichoke, how to grow and use 810 Joint worms that destroy wheat 212 Jujube fruit C17 Keeping stock warm and variety of food 63 Kelly's Island vineyard 041 Kerosene oil for farm-house lights. . . 897 " to kill insects 229 Kicking cows cured 35 Kindness to cattle 62 Kitchen knowledge and rules 399 " old style, described 284 Kneading bread, effect of 885 Knives and brushes, how cleaned. . . . 409 Kohl-rabi, its character and use 472 Kyanizing fence posts 867 Labels for fruit tree? 669 Lambs, how to feed young 978 Larch, white, seed of 8.54 Lard, how to keep sweet 397 Lavender 494 Sec. Lawn, how to make 515 Lawn, cause of gra.ss dying upon 516 " clipping, watering, manuring, 516 ' ' grass, new sort 517 " how to ornament 518 " how to set in grass 515 " made by a woman 518 " trees, what sorts suitable 519 Laws relating to division fences 865 " relating to highway fences ... . 864 Lawton blackberries, how to grow . . 548 Learning comes by observing 989 Lenoir gnape C31 Lettuce, varieties of, and how to grow 487 Lice on cattle, how cured 78 Lights, cost of various 396 ■ ' farm-house 390 " kerosene oil best 5^97 " of candles, how Improved. . . 897 " oils and candles compared .. . 396 Lightning conductors considered, at- traction of, insulation, size of points, con trmtion.hhadc trees conductcrf 342 Lightning rods, area of attraction. . . 347 " " opinions of use 844 " " materials of 347 Lima beans, how to grow 477 744. Lime and salt mixture 461, Cfi8 Lime ashes, value of 882 " for trees 590 " how to apply 882 Linseed-cake for food 68 INDEX. lOlD 1004. 887 827. Meadows and pastures, plants injuri ous to 1147. 49S. Live in the li.ijht Lockjaw remedy 982 440 827. 767 769 Meadows, plants that injure 945. Locust Beeds, planting, how to vege- 374. Meals, what intervals between . 354 tate 853 (0. Measurement of cattle compared . . 59 2-4. Locusts, are they injurious ? 230 1142. Measure of acres, square, triangle 8 53. Lotus, American, substitute for pota- toes 806 801. 974 740 Measuring corn in bulk 914. Lovering's experiments with sorgo. . 831 380. Meats, boiling extracts albumen of. 300 8H. 818. Lucern Lupine 758 758 879. 384. 359 Meat and vegetable food compared . 362 Uol. Machine belts, how to use 994 456. Meat and fowls, how made tender ant 8-i'i. ' ' to stack hay 776 cooked 408 107(5. Machinery, savin? labor 925 562. Medicinal herbs 493 1022. Magnesia as a fertilizer 896 548. Melons, apple-pie 485 695. 617 545 ' ' how to grow " "to start early 484 53. Sec. ilanures and manuring 877 547. 485 985. Manure, color and moisture of 878 279. Mice, Osage orange, destroyed by . . . 252 lll'Jl- " experience of farmers using. 88:; «77 " and their mischief 251 1)03. 887 278. " remedies for eating trees 252 ]0:)6. " gained by soiling stock 888 V61. Michigan wheat growing, cost of . . . . 091 1002 " German experiments 886 777. Millet, soil, cultivation, use 707 KlJl. lU.JU. " how much profitably used. . '• how to apply when, where. . •* " preserve 898 886 885 489. 29. 515. 434 35 456 " farms, profits of 1031. 505. ' * heating new 450 rags, hair, oil-cake, ammo- 600. " how much for a pound of butter 444 | nia 899 614. " "to make cows give down . . 455 1004. " liquid 887 54. ' ' mirror described 48 I0;i7. 889 506. " pans and covers 450 1035. " table of values of, on oats. . 900 603. " when to tkim 448 1034. 899 613. Milking machines 454 999. " " " of substances 884 Vtil. Minnesota wheat growing, cost of . . . 092 1005. " tan bark, use of 888 662. Mint, spear and pepper 493 1031. " value depends on fineness . . 899 1147. Mirth is a medicine 983 1033. " value of, used in England. . 899 741. Missouri, German vine growers in. . . 665 1030. Manuring with green crops 898 740. " wine making in 664 936. Maple, Norway, described 846 1144. Mixed husbandry best 975 931. " sap, ratio of, to sugar 8-43 435. Molasses, how to buy 399 60. Sec. Maple sugar-making 835 927. ' ' of maple sap 839 925. Maple sugar, boiler and boiling 838 276. Moles, American, opinions about. . . . 251 929. " " details of expense 842 275. " English, opinions about 251 923. " " furnace and setting pans 839 13. Sec. Moles, their character considered 248 | 930. *' " how much will trees pro- 958. Moral of pasturing highways 865 duce 843 137. Morgan horses, faults of 102 928. " " made in a small way .. . 840 135. " " history of 99 920. " " preparation for making 836 369. Mortar, made weather proof ^36 932. " " preparing for market .. . 843 268. Moth, protectors from 243 927. " " process of making, and 467. ' ' remedies 409 929. 839 842 833. 846. Mowing machines Mows and stacks, how to measure 772 " " profits of making 923. " " sap buckets 837 tuns in 780 922. " " sap spouts, how to make 1012. Muck, analysis of 892 and use 836 1013. " mixing with night soil 893 924. " " storing sap 838 1011. ' ■ use and value of 891 921. " " tapping trees for making 836 167. Mules, horses, oxen, on the farm. . . . 116 930. " trees, how much they produce 843 164. history, first importation 115 933. " " why we should plant . . 844 165. " longevity of 116 168. Mares, size of, for breeding 117 166. ' ' the largest in the world 116 464. Mattresses, how to make 415 693. Mulberry fruit 616 703. Mature trees, best apples for keep- 443. Mushrooms, use and production 402 1145. ing from 628 977 979 988 645. 552. 120. 123 484 488 90 ' ' for all farmers " " fanners' boys 115;). " " ' at the West profitable . 91 1149. " " " girls 987 123. " " breeds most profitable 91 1148. " " " wives 984 358. Nails made weather proof 335 1144. 1147. " " young farmers Maxims of health 976 981 488 11.: Native vs. imported stock 79 1 1020 INDEX 272. Natural insect destroyers 2i6 303. Night air not as unhealthy as closed rooms 277 1013. Niglit soil, how prepared for use .... 893 987. Nitrates, muriates, sulphates, what arc they 878 092. Nectarines, history and sorts of CIG 1147. Neuralgia, cure for 983 930. Norway maple 84G 431. Nutmegs, how to buy 397 1134. Nutriment in food substances 972 101. Nutritive value of various food for stoclt 75 945. Oak tree seeds, planting 8o3 774. Oats, cause of rust 703 770. " cultivation 700 771. " how much seeil per acre 700 763. " seeds in a bushel 078 773. " how to make a good crop 701 772. " when to sow 701 1 150. Observe and learn 989 450. Odors, bad, how prevented 408 713. Offen grape 630 1138. Oliio, what it produces 973 701. " wheat production G92 1145. Oil-cako, about feeding 977 95. " composition of 71 89. " feed for cattle 66 9'. " stale and moldy, injurious. . 70 425. Oils for light compared 390 558. Okra, use and cultivation 48.) 994. Old mortar plastering, value of 883 G72. Old orchards, how to renovate 591 880. Onions, as a field crop 819 887. " best fertilizers for 820 890. " California, wild 821 257. " maggots, salt for 235 889. " profit of culture 821 888. " remedy for worms 820 532. " varieties and cultivation 475 35. Sec. Orchards, aspect of, how to plant 550 711. Orchard house described G29 978. Ornamental hedges 873 974. " iron fence 872 279. Osage orange, eaten by mice 252 977. " " hedges 873 114^. Oval plats, how to lay off 975 402. Ovens, heat of, for baking 384 110. Overstocking the farm luiprofitable . . 78 66. Oxen, largest of olden time 52 08. " large ones in Pennsylvania ... 53 07. O.t, Leopard, his size 62 1074. " shovel, road-scraper 925 65. " Washington, his weight 62 631. Oyster plant, cultivation of 476 360. I'uints, cheap, for farm buildings . . . 330 1146. " and preserve tools 980 273 I'urasite of wheat midge 247 502. Parsley 4y.l 885. I'arsneps, as a field crop 819 630. '■ when to sow, value of ... . 475 24. Pasture, how to improve, for cows. . , 33 830. " improved by sheep "70 829. " mi.\ing stock in 770 828. " remedy for short 769 1003. " renovated by top dressing . . 887 958. Pastiiring highways 865 713. Pauline grape 631 694. Pawpaws described 010 252. 707. 065. 668. 669. 604. 607. 188. 843. 265. 085. 082. 083. 080. 087. 079. 084. 078. 080. 086. 081. 633. 1141. 701. 562. 578. 250. 900. 1024. 908. 937. 488. 370. 561. 15. 9. II. 12. 8. 7. 4. 2. 345" 8. 18. 934. 937. 1136. 827. 271. 000. 988. 65. loot. 1001. 1065. 1003. 1002. 1006. 089. Peaches, sugar-drying C28 Peach tree borers, hot water cure 210 " " worms, tobacco for 628 " " " soda wash for, cut- ting out 587 " trees, budding of 688 " " grown for fuel 589 " " how to plant and treat. . 686 " " winter killeil 687 Pea-fowls described, and u.^e 13-3 " vine, hay 770 " weevil, how destroyed 241 Pears, are they a profitable crop COS " and poultry do well together . 005 blight of 600 " dwarf, culture of 009 " list of good ones described. ... 010 " rules for culture 002 " seedlings COO " select list, cultivation, pruning 001 " size and improvement 003 " weight of different sorts 610 " when to gather, and how to ripen 604 Peas, kinds and cultivation in garden 475 " prepare land for wheat 970 Pennsylvania wheat growing 693 Peppers, kinds and quality 491 Perfumery, manufacture of (lowers .. 511 Pests of gardens and fields 234 Phosphatic guano, value of 882 Phosphorus as a manure 890 Picket, portable, fence 869 Pine tree planting 848 Pickling, the art of 433 Pie-eating, an Americanism 356 Pie-plant, how to grow 492 Pig-breeding, the sow should be largest SO Pig-feeding, cost and profit 20 " and pork- making 19 Pigs fed cinders, and coal a^hes, and burnt clay 27 " " hay seed 27 " " parched corn and honey. .. . 27 " " standing corn 28 Pigs, as land workers 26 " grazing, how many per aero ... 20 " iiow to pen them to fatten 24 ' ' what is the best breed 19 Piggeries, how arranged 320 Pig pen, its value fur manure 20 Pork, salting while warm 30 Plantation of trees 845 Planting forest trees 848 Plants, how many per acre 973 " injurious to meadows 769 Plant-lice destroyers 245 Plant-protectors, how made and use of 528 Plaster of Paris, gypsum 881 Sec. Plows and plowing, object of 917 Plows, ca.st-iron, history of . . 918 " inventors of 918 " steam, use of 922 " steel, manufacture and value of 921 " subsoil, shape and use 920 " substitute for 923 Plums, choice varieties described. . . . G14 090. CSS. 492. 783. 419. 420. 4o2. 3. 18. 903. 1019. 203. 391. 850. 837. 857. 853. 885. 850. 849. 851. 806. 542. 849. 852. 854. 383. 863. 394. 855. 861. 860. 859 8-58. 855. 855. 802. 867. 438. 847. 175. 177. 200. 201. 170. 190. 194. 9 194. 201 19a 195. 186. 824. Plums, grafting wild stocks G15 " soil, climate, cultivation 612 Poisons, antidotes for ^38 Pop-corn as a crop 727 " pudding and calces 394 " " " how made 394 Porii and bacon, value compared 400 " and corn, lbs. per bushel 19 ' ' salting while warm 30 Portable picket fence 809 Potash for manure 895 Potato bugs 240 " rolls and bread 370 " rules of culture 792 ' ' seed cut or whole, experiments 795 " " large orsmall, " 797 " " weight of, and yield .... 798 Potatoes, ashes for 794 " Bergen, John G., experi- ments of 803 " best soil for, and aspect of field 792 " character of several sorts described 786 " cost of producing crops de- tailed 801 " crop, importance of 791 " culture by plow alone 793 ' ' disease of 804 " early varieties 482 " estimated quantity used by each persoa 791 " growing under straw 793 " hoeing when wet 794 " how baked, boiled, roasted, or fried ' .'. . 301 " how to keep from sprouting 801 " In bread making 373 " in hills or drills 794 " Michigan or Eoberts' the- ory of seed 790 " planted in autumn 799 " " with sets 798 " " without plowing. . 798 " practical opinions about seed 794 " proper depth to plant 794 ' ' storing for winter 800 " substitutes for 806 ' ' sweet, how to keep 400 " the history of 785 Poultry, feeding meat to 124 " food of 125 " great consumption of 146 " how to kill, and dress, and pack 148 " liow to treat in confinement 124 " how to water 145 " keeping, management of. . . 142 Sec. Poultry, maxims for keepers of, how to keep healthy, shelter, vermin, water, feed regular, yard, to fatten 123 Poultry, pleasures of r.-killing dogs 258 83 901. 909. " profits of making 8:;i> " sirup, and cost, by Col. Morris 82f< 114. Sheep, merinos, first importation of . 126. " numbering and ages of 94 900. " " how to clarify 82i 118. " pasture should be chiinged. . . 86 919. '■ " vinegar, how made 83 i 125. " producing twins 93 892. " soil and situation for 82:! 1 13. " sexes, how produced 82 890. " stripping and topping 824 95 897. " time of cutting 824 INDEX. 1023 903, 908. Sorgo, yield per acre 826, 828 1147. Surfeits are physicians' agents ... . 982 14. Sows, to prevent killing pigs 2'J 193. Swans, black and white, young swans 31. Spaying, directions for 35 for the table • I4i 1007. Special manures 889 158. Sweeney in horses, cure for. ... HO 684. Spergula described 517 431. Spices, how to buy and keep 397 808. Sweet corn, early, value of 744 407. " " how to dry and cook . . . 389 375. " their use in food 354 747. Spring wheat, when to sow 672 947. " gum, a valuable tree 855 562. '< marjoram 494 557. Sprouts, how prown for salad 489 438. " potatoes 400 649. Squashes, summer and winter 480 870. " " best varieties 807 291. Squirrels and their mischief 261 874. " " harvesting and storing 810 330. Stable floors of earth ... . 307 565. " " how to grow 490 872. " " how to set the plants 808 331. " yards, how arranged S07 326. Stables, how to build 305 871. " " making seed beds and 327. " build them high, reasons for 305 growing plants .... 808 756. Stacking grain 681 873. " " soil and preparation 835. " hay 774 suitable 809 468. Stains, removing 41G 873. " " tillage for 809 870. " " where they can be grown 806 803. Starch, yield from corn, use of 741 344. Stathels for stack bottoms 319 5. Sec. Statistics of New York cattle 3-15. Swine-feeding e.\periments 20-30 market 5G 6. " weeds 25 1063. Steel plows 921 1140. Table of weights of bushels 974 1145. Steers, how to break 978 508. Tables of plants and rows per acre 499 700. Stirring soil among trees 627 1015. Tanners' and glue makers' waste for 1. Sec. Stock growing, short pasture in autumn 14 99. Stock, how to obtain %vater for 74 manure 893 921. Tapping maple- trees 836 713. Taylor, or Bullit grape 631 1. Sec Stock, introduction to facts about 13 434. Tea, how to prepare black 399 1145. " niaxim.s about 977 1171. Teazles as a crop, how to grow 1003 1 . Sec. Stock the foundation of farm im- 1131. Temperature at which plants flourish 971 provement 13 986. Theory of fertilizing seeds 878 979. Stone wall fences 873 1151. Things to be thought about 993 980. " how to build 874 1139. Thoroughness, what it produces .... 973 982. " builders' tools 876 757. Thrashing grain, machines fs. flails. . 682 U44. Stones, how to get rid cf large 970 705. Thumb pruning trees and plants 627 1132. Storing grain in cemented caves 971 83. St!-aiv for cattle 63 662. Thyme 494 COS. strawberries, best sorts of, described . 637 should be 904 607. " healthy and proatable . 537 1053. Tile draining, cost and durability of 612. " preparation of soil and tiles 914 cultivation 544 1051. " " descent and depth nec- 610. " product per acre 643 essary 913 611. " staminate, pistillate, 1049. " " how it should be done 912 hermaphrodite 643 1047. " " its importance and va- 609. " the Tribune prize seed- lue 910 lings 642 1060. " '■■ laws needed to regulate 917 1161. Strength of men and horses compared 994 1050. " " laying oflf ground, 363. Stucco whitewash 337 ditching, and laying 1062. Subsoil plows, shape and use 920 tile 913 24. Sec. Substitutes for bread 389 1059 " " proper shape of 916 1060. Substitutes for the plow 923 1052. " " what it does for land . 914 1. Sec. Success in farming based on stock 13 1048. " " what land should be 57. Sec. Sugar-cane cultivation 943 drained 91 1 920-32. Sugar-making from maple-trees. 836-43 1055. " " with brush, poles, etc. 915 1095. Sugar plantations, Bishop Polk's 944 1057. " " with cement tiles 910 1094. " production in Louisiana 943 1054. " " with wooden tubes .. . 915 435. " refined, economical 399 1098. " refined on plantations 947 820. Timothy seed, harvesting 766 840. " when to cut, for seed 778 1095. " statistics of plantations 943 1073. Tire-bending machine 924 1030. " yield per acre, and cost of pro- 294. Toads are insect eaters 263 ducing 947 59. Sec. Tobacco cultivation 953 988. Sulphate of lime, plaster, gj-psum. . . 881 1116. Tobacco barn or curing house de- 949. Sumac as an ornamental shrub 850 scribed 963 1025. Superphosphates, adulterations of, to 1110. Tobacco, cost and profit of growing . 959 detect 897 1100. " exports and consumption . . 954 1 1114. Ulfe 1107. 1108. 1109. 1105. 1111. 1112. 1113. 1118. 1117. 713. 441. 441. 550. 744. 79, 724. 102. 947. G33. 935. 943. 568. 61. 942. 93G. 941. 9.51. 954. 945. G32. 939. 937. 85. 940. 944. 704. 034. 957. 938. 940. 1144. 298. 84li. 1017. 189. 189. 189. 204. 870. 870. 521. 1144. 522. top- Tobacco, cultivation, wormin: ping, priming " curing, epiitting leaf, string- ing, hanging, handling, taking down, p.icking . . . exhausting nature of the crop growing in Connecticut. . . . ' ' in New York history of rules of a Florida grower . . rules of transplanting selecting and preparing ground Boil, when to plant where it may be grown .... worms described, and rem- edy To-Kalon grape Tomatoes, to preserve and use ' ' catsup and sauce " varieties and cultivation. . Top-dressing wheat land lYaining steers Traminer grapes compared with Del- aware Treatise on feeding 'lYee, a rare ornamental and medicinal Tree-planting, preparation for Trees, adaptation of kinds to locations " age of ' ' and plants upon an acre Sec. Trees and tree planting Trees, antediluvian ' ' descriptive list of liardy " evergreens, transplant in sum- mer " forked, to prevent from splitting " for sandy wastes ' ' growing from seeds " how to move large ones " how to plant them " planting forest, what has autl Ciiu he done Sec. Trees, propagation and cultiva- tion Trees, seeds of, how diffused " value of, in cities " watering newly transplanted. . " what kind to plant " what to plant for fuel " when and why to plant " where to plant them Trenching, what it is Trout and trout streams Tun of hay, cubic feet in Turf nshes for manure— the old sod fence Turkeys, improving the breed " profits of raising " wild and domesticated, liow to feed Turnip-fly preventive Turnii)S as a field crop, how and when to sow " best manure for " cultivation " how to winter " protection from insects Turnips, rata baga.s, how to grow .. . 814 877. '■ storing and winter feeding. 813 713. Union Village grapes 631 80. Unruly animals, how made so 62 1088. Upland cotton, cost of growing 038 1092. •' " in Illinois 941 1087. " or short-staple cotton 937 944. Value of trees in cities 853 1134. " of various food substances ... . 972 308. Ventilation of houses, rooms, cars. . . 283 577. Verbenas, list of 610 457. Vermin remedies 409 481. Vinegar, how to make 429 919. " of sorgo, how made 835 719. Vines on city lots 637 720. " on walls 637 721. " ringing or girdling 637 713. Vineyards, how to plant and cultivate 630 732. " in California 653 1137. Vitality of seeds, limit of 973 352. Walls of concrete 330 461. Washing machines 413 402. ' ' soft water necessary 414 902. Waste land around fences 807 52. Sec. Waste land in the State of N. Y. 862 1140. Waste not, want not 979 1039. Water as a fertilizer, value of OO.T 80. " for stock in winter 04 17. Sec. Water for the farmery 308 1151. Water heated in wooden vessels 901 546. " melons, how to grow 484 385. " suitable for cooking SO'! 753. Weeding wheat 679 1 144. Weeds, how not to grow 970 245. Weevil in grain, how to destroy .... 208 1140. Weights, bushels of grain, and other things 974 339. Wills, bucket, self-emptying 315 338. " causes of impure water 314 336. " horizontal, how made 313 338. " how to look into 315 335. " how to dig 813 337. " on hills 814 123. Western mutton 91 760. A\'hcat, ability of America to produce 080 391. " bread , how to make good .. . 306 750 " drilling, advantage of 076 744 " experiments and details of growing 669 343. " exposed to rain 319 744. " fertilization of 668 701. " growing in different States. . 689 708. " heaving out, how to jircvent. 098 749. " how much seed is reiiuired. . 673 704. " how stored and handled 095 705. " how to preserve in bins 006 422. " hulled, boiled, wheat groats. 895 767. " insects, how destroyed 098 240. " insect fs. weevil 209 744. " lodging, to prevent 070 240. " midge described 211 273 " " ■ parasite of the 247 745 " naked fallows for 671 749. " numberof grains per foot and acre 074 744. " plaster, salt, and top-dressing 070 743. " preparation of soil for 667 763. " price 60 years ago 694 759. " product per acre 685 762. 751. 752. 753.- 753. lob 760. 740. 753 754. 747. 362. 361. 1. 109. 1072. 370. 309. 469. 470. 735. 473. 43. ^Vhcat, re J and white " seed, bow to select and prepare " " pickling of " " what becomes of it " seeds in a bushel " Ehocking in field " smut considered " spring wlieaf, growini; " weeding " when it should be cut " when to sow Whitewash of zinc and lime ' ' permanent Sec. Wild cattle, fun in liandling . . . Wild cherry leaves |X)ison cattle Willow-peeling machine Windmills, self-rcgulating " their use Wiue, domestic, currants and other fruit Wine, elderberry ■' froia various grapes " grape Sjc. Wine makers' rules, grapes for wine Wine making and mne vaults lu California Wine making, domestic rules of " " in California " " rules " mashing and pressing grapes, fermentation, racking, bot- tling 694 676 677 678 078 681 i 697 ! 671 I 679 079 672 ! 337 336 I 18 I 78 j 924 j 350 1 349 I 420 423 058 j 424 475. Wine of tomatoes 426 471. " rhubarb 423 734. " what grapes make good C57 675. Winter cherries 598 7-18. " wheat, when to sow 673 39. Wintering cows 40 972. Wire fence, detail of cost 870 259. " worms, remedy for 237 761. Wisconsin wheat growing, cost of . . . 691 9.55. Wood and coal, economy of, compared 859 1018. " ashes for manure 895 1019. " " substitute for 895 341. Wooden pipes, durability of 317 955. " value of kinds compared 859 129. Wool, how to cleanse 96 4. Working pigs 24 2C0. Wonu killers 238 261. Worms infesting tobacco 238 2.54. " protection from " measuiing" worms 228 251. " that infest apple and peach trees 220 562. Wormwood 494 10-58. Worn-out lands, how restored 902 231. Wreas. their value and beauty 182 461. Wringing machines, value of 413 397. Yeast cakes, how made 376 23. Sec. Yeast, how made and how to use 366 398. Yeast, how to make it 375 391. " how to make of hops 369 391. " of potatoes, how made 367 400. " substitutes for 381 1144. Young farmers, maxims for. ........ 975 INDEX OF NAMES OF PERSONS Eeferred to as authority, or quoted from, in the compihition of tliis work, inrlependent of cdito:-s of agricultural journals. Most of those mentioned are practical farmers, now living ; and, so far as possible, the residence of each is given, to enable others to consult them if desired. The list shows that the work is made np of opinions und practices of the present nilhcr than of the past, and that its character is American. PaJTo Adams, J. C, Seymour, N. Y 107 Aikin, Ex-Governor, South Carolina 94'.) Aldrich, William, Pennsylvania C41 Allen, J. Fiske, Salem, Mass 631 " Lewis F., Black Rock, N. y 88 547, 006, 886 " Mr., Burlington, N. J 623 Alton, J. E., Quinsigamond, Mass 137 Anderson, Dr. , Scotland 880 Andrews, S. N., Herkimer Co., N. Y.-T 4-59 Arkwright, Sir Richard, England 933 Armstrong, James, Knoxville, Tenn 731 Avery, R. H., Wampsville, Madison Co., N. Y 138 Ball, Mrs. Lynda, Clevit, Eaton Co., Mich.. 309 Bamford, R. B., England 793 Barber, IL, Juneau, Wis 697 Barker, George F., Charlcsto\vn, Mass 892 Barnard, Lyman, Stcul)en Co., N. Y 74 Barnum, P. T., New York city 146, 879 Barry, P., Rochester, N. Y 606 Bartlett, Levi, Warner, N. H 777 Mr., Dutchess Co., N. Y SSf, Beach, Lucius, Port Huron, Mich 298 Beatson, Gen., formerly commanding at St. Helena 79.3 Beatty , Dr. , Terrebonne, La 94 J " Messrs., Aurora, Cayuga Countv, N. Y 147, 60.5 Beckner, Isaac, Goshen, Elkhart Co., Ind. . 794 Beckwitli, Dr., Connecticut 790 Belding, W. H. and David L., Dutchess Co., N. Y 881 Bell, Thomas, Monmouth Co., N. J 86 Benjamin, J. P., New Orleans, La 947 Bennett, Dr., Boston, Mass 491 " Mrs. M., Auburn, Mass 137 Berckmans, Louis E , Augusta, Ga 611 Bergen, Adrian G., Long Island 345, 592 J. G., Brooklyn, L. 1 227, 790, 803 Biddle, Nicholas, Philadelphia, late of 801 Kigelow, Mr., Flushing, L. 1 175 Bill, James A., Lyme, Ct 717 Birrl, Jonathan, Belleville, N. J 449 Birney, William, Springfield, Mass 771 Blanchard, Mr., Boston, I\Iiiss 75 Bliss, Benjamin IC, Springfield, Mass 500 Blodgett, Judge, Lewis Co., N. Y 850 Blunt, Hun. Joseph, New York city, lato of 801 Bovie, C, Gullprajrie, Mich 30 Bowen, Mr., Orleans Co., N. Y 88 P«go Brackett, Chas. , Rochester, Fulton Co. , Ind.676-8 Brewster, E. M. , Griswold, Ct 24 Urigham, Otis, Westborough, Mass 35 Brocltsbank, Mr., Hudson, N. Y 632 Brodie, W., England 195 Brooks, C Edward, Orange Co., NY 88 " John, Massachusetts 04 Brown, Alpha, Eaton. N. Y IFO " C. B., Alton, HI 924 " J. L., Indianapolis, Ind 333 " Lewis B., Westchester Co., N. Y. . . 108 " Mr., North Stonington, Ct 797 " Rufus, Chelsea, Orange Co., Vt.l45, 794 Brj-ant, Mr., Jessamine Co., Ky 731 Bryson, Miss Ann, Macon Co.,"N. 0 582 Buchanan, Micajah, South Carolina 853 Buck, Wm., Herkimer Co., N. Y 459 Buckholder, John, Adams Co., Pcnn 581 Buckingham, James, Illinois 28 " Lerov, Cadiz, Cattaraugus Co., N.Y 19 Buckman, Professor, England 767 Buckminster, Wm. , Framingham, Mass. . . 444 Buist, Robert, PhUadclphia 510 Bulkley, H. G., Kalamazoo, Mich ^. . 830 Burden, Mr., South Carolina 930 Burgwin, Messrs., Halifax, N. C 714 Burnett, Judge, Cincinnati, Ohio, late of . . 852 Burnham, Asahel, Arkwright, Cattaraugus Co., N.Y 784 Butler, Charles, Wliite Plains, N. Y 638 Butterfield, Col., Utica, N. Y 74 Capron, Col., Marvland 870 Carpenter, C. W., Mount Gilead, Ohio 093 Jesse, Elmira, N. Y 87, 443 L., Rutland, Vt 843 " Wm. S., New York city 222, 294, 572 Carson, Col., South Carolina, late of 950 Carter, J. J., Hornville, Chester Co., Penn. 21 " Mr., Pittsfield, Mass 780 Cartwriicht. Mr., England 933 Cattell, J. D., Salem. Columbiana Co., Ohio 252 Cavenach, Tliomas. Brooklyn, L. I. . . . 525, 504 Chamberlain. Dr., Chicago.' Ill 722 Chcnery, W. W., Watertown. M:vss 50 Chesnut, Col. James. South Carolina 940 Chctwood, Mr., Burlington, N. J 023 Chow, S. H., F.ayelte, Ky 731 Chinn, Judge, Baton Rouge, La 947 Clark, Benjamin, UarccUus, N. Y 058 INDEX. 1027 Pago Clark, E. C, New Haven, Ct 547 Clay, Samuel H., Bourbon Co., Ky 19, 2o Clayton, Hon. John A., New .Castle, Del., late of 224, 590 Cliffoid, Benjamin, Norwich, Vt 820 Cloud, Dr., Alabama 933 Coats, S. N., Philadelphia GOO Cockrill, R. , Nashville, Tenn 117 Coe, 0., Port Wa-hington, Wis 923 Coit, Mr., Norwich, Ct 445 Colburn, Mr., Union, Ct 791 Cole, J. M., Saratoga Springs, N. Y 54 Colvin, Richard, Bidlimore, Md 175 Comstock & Gliddon, Milwaukee, Wis 923 Conger, A. B., Rockland Co., N. Y.. . . 875, 886 Conrad, F. D., Raton Rouge, La 947 Coon, A., Russia, N. Y 459 Cox, Horatio J., Zanesville, Ohio 240 Crawford, Rev. Jolin, Gallatin Co., Ill 73 Cressinger, J. W., Sullivan, Ashland Co., 0. 782 Crocker, Hon. David, Tompkins Co., N. Y. U75 Crompton, Mi., England 933 Cumiugs, 0. S., Trenton Falls, N. Y 459 Curtenas, Peter J , New York, late of 918 Curtis, Mr., Tompkins Co., N. Y 880 Cushm,an, S. D., South Bend, Ind 343 Dadd, Dr. Geo. H. (V. S.), Chicago. 111.. .35, 77 Dana, Dr., Boston, JIass 888 Darnall, M. D., Bainbridge, Ind 803 Davis, Geo. D., La Fourche, La 946 " James B., Charleston, S. C, late of. . 265 " William, Marengo, Morrow Co., Ohio 230 Pittsfield, Vt 843 Dawson, George, Albany. N. Y 271 Day, Mr., Genesee Co., N. Y 886 Delafield, J., Geneva, N. Y 752, 912 Denton, Baily, England 768 Dickenson, A. B., Hornby, Steuben Co., N. Y 74, 89, 227, 345, 441. 672, 908 Dickinson, V,''. D., Victor, Ontario Co., N. Y. 94 Dikeman, Mr., Oneida Co., N. Y 787 Dimond, J. M., Eaton Co., Mich 240 Dixie, R., Painesville, Ohio 227 Dodge, Hon. W. C, Minnesota 692 •■ Mr., Long Island 231 Doniol, Mons., France 811 Doolittle, H. H., Oak's Corners, Ontario Co. , N. Y 547 Downing, Charles, Newburg, N. Y 595, 873 Drew, Dr. O. W., Waterbury, Vt 820 Dubreuil, Mons. , France 883 Dunglison, Dr., Scothind 492 Dutcher, Josiah, New York city, late of . . . 919 Dzierzon, Mr , Munich, Germany 165 Eastman & SneU, Mainertlle, Warren Co., Ohio 807 Eldridge, Mrs. Lydia, Andover, Mass 136 Ellman, John, England 81 Ellsworth, Henry L., Lafayette, Ind., late of 19, 7>6, 736 Elmer, Dr. Wm., Bridgeton, N. J 53 Emerson, Ed., Hollis, Mass 333 Geo. B., Boston, Mass 991 Emory Brothers, Albany, N. Y 934 Engle, Manlius, West Almond, Alleghany Co.. NY ■ 842 Erhard, Cliarles F., Ravenswood, N. Y. 534, 606 Evans, Joseph, Warren Co., Ohio 807 P»ge Everett, Horace, Council Bluffe, Iowa 57 6 Eyre, Preston, .Darlington, Penn 827 Fairbrothers, C. W., Saxton's River, Vt 781 Fairchild, J. W., Hudson, N. Y 808 Faraday, Professor, England 347 Farnum, J., Uxbridge, Mass 783 Fawkes, Mr. , Lancaster, Penn 922 Fay, Mr., Lynn, Mass 770 Feeks, Mr., Ovster Bay, L. I 478 Field, T. W., "Brooklyn, L. 1 603, 886 Fish, A. L., Herkimer Co., N. Y 886 Fisher, John, Carroll Co., Md 760 Fitch, Dr. Asa, Entomologist of the State of New York 185, 805 Fitzgerald, Elisha, New York city S81 Flagg, Wilson, Massachusetts 856 Flint. Cha^. L., Boston, Mass. . 42, 75, 760, 991 Foljambe, Joseph, Rotherham, England. .. 919 Fourze, Dr. Victor, Sonoma, Cal 653 Fowler, Mr , England (steam plow) 922 Frantz, Andrew M., Lancaster, Peim 53 Freeman, I. G. . Iowa 834 French, Joseph, Selden, L. 1 551 " Judge, Exeter, N. H 871,910 " Nathan R., New York city 786 Froehliug & Kohler, California 662 Frost, Charles, Wayne Co., Ind 116 Fuller, Andrew S., Brooklyn, L. I. 223, 532, 558 Fulton. John. Richland Co., Ohio 675 Garlick. Dr., Cleveland, Ohio 274 Gates, W. P., Windham, Ct Geddes. Hon. Geo., Fairmount, Onondaga Co., N. Y 683, 760, 754, 886, 926, 957 Gilberts, A. Hamilton (letter from Austria) 654 Glasgow, William, near St. Louis, Mo 665 Glover, Towaend, Washington, D. C £04, 210, 215 Gold. T. S., Cornwall, Ct 83 Golding, Mr., Orange Co.. N. Y 886 Goldsborough, M. f ., Ellenboro', Md 685 Goldsmith, Mr., Orange Co., N. Y 886 Goodrich, Rev. Chauncey E., Utica, N. Y. . 780 Goodwin, P. M., Kingston, Luzerne Co., Pa. 223 Gorgas, John, Wilmington, Del 195 Gould, J. Stanton, Hudson, N. Y 748 Gowdy, G., Buriington, N. J 623 Grant, Dr. C. W., lona, near Peekskill, N. Y 555, 632, 041 Grayson, Mr., near London, England 408 Greeley, Hon. Horace, New York city. .331, 804 Green, H. Carl, Warren Co., Penn 530 Gregory, J. J. H., Marblehead, Mass 473 Philo, Chester, Orange Co., N. Y. 38, 76 Grimes, Nahum, Marcellus. N. Y 958 Hall, Dr. (JuUmal of Health), New York city 242, 365 Hall, A S., Maiden, Mass 235 Halliday, Daniel, Ellington. Tolland Co., Ct. 350 Hambleton, Wm., East Hamburg, Erie Co., N. Y ^^0 Harastzby, Col., Sonoma, Cal *>53 Harbison, Messrs., Pennsylvania, and Sacra- mento, Cal JJ5J Hargreaves, Mr., England "o" Harmon, General, Wheatland, Monroe Co., jj Y. ! 88, 608 Harris, Dr., Cambridge, Mass., late of . 209, ) 1028 INDEX. Harris, Hiram, Ohio Pago T6i Jones, John, Middleton, Del 42 Tiigo 444 " Joseph, Rochester, N. Y 728 yoo Kanouse, John C, Wisconsin 015 Harrison, Is:uic, Burlington Co., N. J 30 Keeley, J. T., Alleghany Co., N. Y 782 Harrouu, C. H., Patterson's Mills, Iowa Co. Kellogg, E. C, Hartford, Ct 274 Mich 784 Kelly, William, Rhincbeck, N. Y 762 Hart (Jr.), Nathan, West Cornwall, Ct 716 Kendall, G. W., New Braunfcls, Texas .... 92 Hartshorn, C. W., Burlington Co., N. J au Kenny, K. K., Lorain Co., Ohio 797 Hartsteiii, Dr., Poppelsdorf, Prussia 0(6 Kent, E. N., U. S. Assay Oflice, Philadelphia 390 Hatch, Thomas E., Keene, N. H 77 Kerns, Andrew, Grundy Co., 111. 567 Haxtun, K, Beekmvn Township, Dutchea Ketchum, Mr., Buffalo, N. Y 773 Co., N. Y 51 Kidd, Mr., England 018 H lyden. El ward, E^vst Hartford, Ct «9 King, Rev. David, Vcraon, Trumbull Co. Hayes, Mr., Newark, N. J 601 Ohio 843 Head, Harvey. Paris Hill, N. Y 783 Kingsbury, H. C, Medina Co., Ohio 675 Hedges, A. , Bourbon, Ky (31 Kinnard, Lord, England 899 Heirstern, Samuel, Chester Co., Penn HendricUson. Geo., Rose Township, Ram 676 Kirk, B. P., Chester Co., Penn 21 540 Knox, Rev. Mr., Pittsburg, Penn say Co., Minn 692 " Mr., Worcester, Ma.ss 926 411 Ladd, Wm. H., Jefferson Co., Ohio 00 283 Lampadius, Professor, Germany Lampher, Egbert, West Lowell, Lewis Co. 398 " J., Lyudeborough, N. H 810 Hestou, Lewis E.. Genesee Co., N. Y Heusted, Mr., Ulster Co., N. Y 66'J 880 N. Y. 799 63 Landis, Abram, Manheim, Pcnn. ■ Heutchcraft, J. , Bourbon, Ky 7-n Langstroth, Rev. L. L., Philadelphia 175 Hickcy, Col., Baton Rouge, La 016 Langworthy, B. F., Alfred Centre, N. Y.. . 138 " Daniel, West Baton Rouge, La 046 Lapice, Mous. .(sugar planter), Louisiana. . . 947 Hickman, Wellington, Chester Co., Pcnn. . . 6ii3 Lathrop, Paoli, South Hiulley, Mas.s 64 Hilderbraudt, Sijuire, Stark Co., Ohio 676 Lawrence, Wm. B., Newport, R. I C29 Hill, Noble, Caton, Steuben Co., N. Y 621 Lawton, Wm, New Rochelle, N. Y. . . . 218 223 Hite, Geo. H., Morrisania, Westchester Co., Le Couteur, Col., Isle of Jereey, Eng 45 N. Y 227,420 46^ Lo Due, Wm. G., Hastings, Westchester Co. Hoag, Tliomas, Somhanock, N. Y Hocaday, Mr., Clarke Co., Ky 22 731 N. y 229 "85 Lee, Major William, Western Pennsylvania. Holbrook, PI.v-Governor, Burlington, Vt. . . . 017 Leeds, Mr. (architect), Philadelphia 289 Hood, Thomas, Ocean Co., N. J 30 Legare, Mr., Charleston, S. C 931 Hooker, H. E., Rochester, N. Y 541 Lcgnitz, Professor. Elden, Holland 886 Horsford, Professor E. N., Cambridge (Uni- Leland, Major \VilIi.am, Texas 92 versity), Ma.-is 381 427 Lester, C. Edwards, Newark, N. J 490 House, G. C, Lowville, N. Y 282 Lieber, Oscar M., State Geologist of South Hovey, C. M., Boston, Mivss Howard, C, England 185 680 752 437 Liebig, Professor, German v. . . 72, 360, 374 Hoyt, Freeman, Sumterville, S. C 268 Lincoln, Charles, North Bridgewatcr, Mass. 22« Hubbard, Isaac, Claremont, N. H 55 " Wm. S., Worcester, Mass 445 Hume, Profe.-isor Wm., Charleston, S. C 661 Lindley & Loudon, England 650 Hunt, L G., Kalamazoo Co., Mich 691 Lindsley, Hon. Wm. D., Sandusky City, 0. 211 " Otis, Eaton Village, N. Y 32 Livingston, Chancellor, Columbia Co., N.Y., Hussey, Obed, Baltimore, late of 045 late of 758 724 Hustman, Geo. , Missouri 640 Locke, Dr. G. J., Danliy, Rutlantl Co., Vt.. Ilutchins, Warren, Bethel. Vt 738 Longworth, Nicholas, Cincinnati, Ohio, Hutchinson & Wickersham, New York city. Hyde, James F. C, Newton Centre, Mass. . fngerson, C. W., New Bremen, Lewis Co., 871 788 060 924 Lounsberry, Wm., Com'y. 20th Regiment N. Y 782 N. Y. V 380 Jackson, J., Butternut Ridge, Ohio 669 Lovering. Joseph S., Philadelphia 831-2 " Prof. Samuel, Penn. University. . . 381 Ixjvet, Cai)t., Beverly, Ma&i 550 Jai)ues, Col., Charlestown, Mass., late of.42 441 Lowman, H. E., Elmir*, N. Y 443 J.irvis, Hon. Wm., Weathersfield, Vt 83 Lyman, H., Johnstown, Wis 297 Jjr/, John, Bedford, Westchester Co. , N. Y. 851 Ly nde, Mrs. Ruth H. , New Bedford, Mass. 516 ,591 Jelferis, Capt. James, Chester Co., Penn . . . 29 Macondray, Capt., California 174 J-'nlcs, Profess' n-, Bo.ston 185 Maty, Josiah, Westchester Co., N. Y 307 Jennings, R (V. S), Philadelphia, Penn... 114 Madison, James, late Piesident of the U. S. 93f Jcwett, Solomon W., Middleburv, Vt 101 Mahan, P. J., Philadelphia 175 Johnson, (!ol. B. P., Albany, N. Y 752 .Maillard. Dr., France 537 " J;usper, Genesee Co., N. \ 339 Manning, (\il. (sugar planter), Ijouisiana. . . 945 " L., Washington, Mass 843 M.msti.'M. E. I)., State Statistics, Ohio .... 973 ■' Professor S. W., Yale College, Mapes, Prof., Now York city . 73,57(;, 068, 920, 923 New Haven, Ct 81. 8'J2, 901 Maiks, Mr,, Onond.igi I'o., N. Y 886 Johnston, John, Geneva, N. Y 070, 'J1I-I2 Martin, Gen., Bayou Lix Fourchc, la 945 1 INDEX. 1029 }.Urtin, Wm., Dahlonega, Ga Jhiscm, S. P., Walnut Creek, N. Y rage 582 C8o Peirce, M. E., New York Page 311 ,582 Pell, Robert L., Ulster Co., N. Y. . 249, 269 MathiT, Job. H., Goshen, N. Y " W., Cuyahoga Co., Ohio JIatson, J., Bourbon Co., Ky Matthews, Mr., Durham, N. H 217 822 731 102 Percy, Dr., England 351 235 20 381 Perry, A. G. , Newark, Oiiio " James, New York city Mattoon. Arannah, Washington, Mass 843 " P. H., Collins Centre, N. Y 218 McCall, Henrr, Bayou La Fourche, La 046 Peters, Hon. Richard, Atlanta, Ga 205 ,581 John E., Austin, Texas 2()r> " Hon. T. C, Darien, Genesee Co. McCollum, A., Bayou La Fourche, Li. ... JTcKunn, John, Gravesend. L. I 801 N. Y 74 862 ,886 89 Pettibone, Mr., Manchester, Vt Jlead, Peter B., New York city 227 Peyton, General, Richmond, Va 714 Mcai-s, Thomas D., Wilmington, N. C 951 Phelps, Charles B., Colebrook, Ct 498 Meehi. J. J., England 27, 8(5 887 Philippar, Mons., Versailles 697 Metcalf, C. L., Franklin, Mass 908 Pitclier, Edwin, Martinsburg, N. Y 457 Middaugh, Mr., Red Wing, Minn 692 Plumb, Mr., Onondaga Co , N. Y 75 116 112 Poiteau, Mons., France Polk, Gen. Leonidas, B lyou La Fourche. . 697 943 Miles, William, England Miller, George, Canada West 672 " William, near New Orleans, La 945 Mr., La Porte, Ind 832 Policy, John C, De Witt, Clmton Co., Iowa 789 •' Samuel, Lebanon, Penn ' ' William F., Lancaster, Penn 633 53 946 347 Poulet, Mons , France Mills, Hiram, Lewis Co., N. Y 705 Pratt, General, Rocky Hill, Ct 791 Miner, T. B., Oneida Co., N. Y 164 " E. (Jr.), Freeport, Me 182 781 Molan, Mr., Wayne Co., OMo 076 Priestlcv, Dr. Jos., England 347 Moody, Mr., Neiv Jersey 249 Piince, Wm. R. , Flushing, L. I 230 Morely, Mr. , Onondaga Co., N. Y 880 Proctor, J. W., South Dauvers, Mass 819 Morgan, John, Lima, N. Y lOU Provost, Mr., Williamsburgh, L. I 636 " Justin, Stockbridge, Vt 100 Purvis, Robert, Byberry, Penn 79 Morrill, P., Maine 765 Putnam, Wm. H., Brooklyn, Ct 716 Morris, Col. A. T , Indianapolis, Ind 828 Pugh, Thomas, Louisiana 944 " L., Windsor, Ashtabula Co., Ohio . 477 (luinby, M., Amsterdam, N. Y. . . 165, 171 173 " Miss, Germantown, Penn 231 Quincy, Josiah (Jr.), Boston, Mass. .76, 867 888 Moses, Chester, Marcellus, N. Y 924 Quinn, Mr., Newark, N. J 297 524 Motley, Mr., Massachusetts 452 Riifineaiue, Professor, France 491 Mottier, John L , Cincinnati, Ohio 658 Rand, E. S. (Jr ), Boston, Mass 185 Moxley, J. T., Sheboygan Co., Wis 858 Randall, Capt., New Bedford, Mass 37 Murray, 0. S., Warren Co., Ohio 722 807 Ransom, Robert, Ipswich, England 918 Myrick, A. S., Jefferson Valley, N. Y 784 Remington, Markham &Co., Ilion, N.\. 921 ,926 Napp, Christian, Wayne Co., Ohio 675 lienick, Wm., Circleville, Ohio 22 Nash, Professor, New York city 183 411 Renwick, Professor, New York, late of 346 Nearing, Col. Mars 958 Reynal, Mons., Ayort, France 78 Newberry, E. F , Montgomery Co., lU 823 Rhoads, B. M., Baltimore, Md 882 Ncwbold, Charles, Burlington, N. J 918 Rice, L. B., Middlebury, Vt 232 Newman, Jonas, Ulster Co., N. Y 550 Richard, Robert (sugar planter), Louisiana. 946 Nightmgale, Florence, England North, R , Rochester, Kacine Co , Wis 277 799 920 Robic, H., Georgetown, N. Y 781 Norris, L., Windsor, Ashtabula Co., 0. .477 485 Robinson, J. G., Hancock, Vt 843 Norton, John T., Farmington, Ct 441 448 " Dr. D. A., Union Springs. N. Y. . 340 " Capt, Thomas A., Yarmouth, Mass. 152 Roe, «eeley C, Chester, Orange Co., N. Y. 38, 78 | | Nourse, Joel, Bo.5ton, Mass 77-3 919 Rotch, Francis. Butternuts, Otsego Co.,N.Y. 260 Nye, D. C, Lexington, Mass 21 Ruffin, Edmund, Richmond, Va 714 Olney, C, Pittsford, Monroe Co., N. Y 588 Ryan, Mr., Sonoma, Cal 653 Ostensacken, Baron, Sec. Russian Legation Sainsvaiu Brothers, Los Angeles, Cal 062 United States 185 Sanborn, Dr. E., Audover, Mass 216 Otis, Amos, Yarmouth. Muss 848 Sanderson, John, Bcrnardston, Mass 52 Overshire, John F., Athens, Bradford Co., Savory, Mr., De Kalb Co., Ill 450 Penn 738 Sehueicke, Fredericit, Cincinnati, Ohio 659 Pardee, R. U., New York 217, 224 538 Scribner, J. L., Montpelier, Vt 171 Parker, Dr. J. W , Columbia, S. C 733 Searls, Wm., Eaton Co., Mich 843 Parsons, L. M., Wakau, Wis 5fifi Secof, Mr., New Eochelle, N. Y 548 S. B., Flushing, L. I 175 Seymotir, George, Norwalk, Ct 548 Peabody, Charles A., Columbus Gi 541 Shea^ Mr., Dutchess Co., N. Y Peacock, David, New Jersey, late of 918 Sheltm, Mr., California, late of Peake, Mrs. E. M., Hudson, N. Y 632 Shepard, Mr., Saratoga Co.. N. Y 788 Pean, Peter, Clarke. Kv 731 Sheppard, Wm., Ann Arundel Co., Md Pease, Wm., Oswego, N. Y 781 Sliook, J., Wayne Co., N. Y Peck, Mr., Chaplin, Ct 791 Sickman, John, Wayne Co., N. Y 676 1 Pago t^iilill, James, Beiwitksliiie, Scotland HIH Smitli, Iri. I'oDiia. Ill 040 J. M. . Bjiver Co., Pemi 794 " Ml-., Colchester. Ct 222 " Uobert, Buckiugliam, Penn 918 " K. Biiiil, Irrigation Engineer, En- glan i 906 Smoker, Isvio, Ashland Co., Ohio 675 Sne'lly, Joel, Fulton, Lmcister Co., Penn. 693 S.ielliu,'. G. G., South Thomistm, Me 78.J So;t !, .Mr., Barks Co., Penn 64 Soyer, Ale.^is, France 357 Speer, Alfre 1, Passiio, N. J 42.3 Spencr, Tlo:nis. Cipj Girarde.vii, Mo 718 Sp.-rry, Mc, Bjthi'iy, Ct 790 " Mr., Cheshire, Ct 797 Spren^'el. Profesior, Garmxny 888 Squier, E G , New York city 941 Starr & GiylorJ, Like City, Min.i 602 Stearus, Gharle.i, Springfield, il.us! 317 Steele, Henry, New Jersey 218 Steveui, Am)roie, Genesee Co , N. V 672 " Edwin A., Hoboken, N. J 919 " JohnO., South Amboy, N.J., late of 310 " Par.m, Boston, Miss 65 Stewirt, .Times. Linanter, Penn 53 Ml-., Erie Co., N. Y 888 3t)ie. Dr. (su^ir pUnter), Louisiana 940 StoughtoQ, T. M., Greenfiel 1, M is.s 44'J Strawa. Jacob, Siai<,imo;i Co., Ill 74 Sturtevint. E T., Cleveland, Ohio 170 Summjr, Ool. A, G., Pomarii, S. C 238 Satter, Mrs., Ciliforni.i 174 Swan, R. J . G rnva, N. Y 914 Sylvester. M . \V,iyne Co., NY 880 Tanner, J. N., Terrebonne, Bayou La Fourche, Li 946 Taylor, Jimji, St. Catherine's, C. W 217 " J )Ua, C ir oline Co., Va 872 Ju U'j, Jericho. Ky 631 Williun. Oeeiii Co., N. J 30 " Win. \V., S:)uth D.u-tiuouth, Mass. 620 Teabrook, J. W., Rjckville, In 1 496 Thatelier, Richard. Uarby, Penn 22 Thompson, Gen. Waddy, South Carolina . . 130 " J. R. (sugar pknter), Louisiana 940 Thomson, Mr., D.Iaware, Ohio 631 Tliorne, S.iniuel, Washington, Dutchess Co., N. Y 87 Tobey, Nathaniel M., Tompkins Co., N. Y. . 191 Toguo, Dr., AVilmington, N. C 6:!5 Townsend, Mr., EdLsto Island, S. C 715 Tread well, Profestior, Cambridge, Mass 187 Treat & Son, Eastport, Me 274 PORO Trimble, Dr., Newark, N. J 2l7, 219, 2-.i0, 225, 231 Tucker, James, Buyou La Fourche, La 946 " J. W., Bayou La Fourche, La 946 Luther, Albany, N. Y 340, 910 Turner, Proros.sor J. B., Jucksonvillc, 111... 923 Tuttle, Dr J. T.. Rye, WcstcheBterCo.,N.Y. 732 Underbill, Dr., Croton Point, N. Y. 217, 641, 651 Ure. Dr., England ;:96 Vallcjo, General, Sonoma, Cal 053 Vanmeter, A., Fnyettc, Ky . 731 Vilmorin, Mens., Paris, Fiance 769 Voclcker, Dr. Augustus, Cirencester, En- gland 06, 827, 899 Treeder, J. P., New York city 297 Vulkan, Dr. Franz, Eppan, 'lie T^rol &13 Wade, Mr., Canada West 87 Wagoner, Samuel, York, Peun 175 Wakeman, James, Du I'age Co., Ill 668 Wales, Thcron, Windham, Portugc Co., 0.. K<1 Walworth, Jlr., St. Lawrence Co., N. Y. . . 671 Ward, Dr , Newark, N. J 638 Warner, D. W., Sharon Springs, N. Y 194 Waterbury, Dr., New York city 73 Watts. James H., Rochester, N. Y 031 Way, Professor, England 750 " Thomas (sugar planter), Louii-iana . . 945 Webb, Jonns, England 81 Webster, Bullock, England G48 Weishampel, Rev. J.S. (Scn.),Paltimoie,Md. 221 Wells, William V., New York city 174 West, J. D., Pump Maker, Broadway, New- York city 814 Wetmore, Lansing, Warren, P(.nn 721 Whcelor, Mr., Wayne Co., N. Y 625 White, Mr., Chautauqne Co., N. Y 147 " Mr., Manchester, Ct 797 Whitlock, D. S., Rochester, N. Y 787 J. S. &G. S.,MoimH.utl.Co..N.J. 787 Whitney, Eli, born in Wcstbiiriiuph. M.^ss. . 934 Wilkinson, Win., New Biaunftis, Texas. . . 93 Wilhu-d, John H., Wilton, Franklin Co.. Me. 731 Williams, Col., Society Hill, K. C 938 S., Seneca Co., N. Y P60 Wing, Benjamin, Rochester. N. Y 780 Wood, Isaac N., Hampden Co., Mass 78 J " Jethro, New Jereey 918 " J. M., New York 924 Woodward, Geo. E., New Yoik city 325 Wii.ght, E. C., Gallatin Co , III 73 " Mr., Poughkecpsie, N. Y 620 " Joseph A., Indiana 85 Youm.ans, Edward L., New York city. 359, 383 Young, Mr. , Jessamine Co., Ky 731 Library C, State CoUege CREDIT. " Give honor to whom honor is thie." I have not given credit in tlio body of the work tft all the soui-cea from which I have gathered facts. I freely acknowledge myself indebted to the whole agricultnral press. I give a list of these papers as they were when I commenced compiling the work in 1861, though we are aware that quite a number of them, particularly in Southern States, have been discontinued. AGRICULTURAL PAPERS IN THE UNITED STATES. The Maine Farmer. Tliis is a large-sized folio, clearly printed on good white pajier; one page is devoted to well-selected agricultural matter. Iloraau & Manley, Augusta, Me., pro- prietors. Dr. E. Holmes, editor; weekly, $2 a year. Eastern Farmer^ published at Ellsworth, Me., a weekly folio, at $1 a year, by Wasson & Moore, is about one third agricultural. The New Hampshire Journal of Agrieulfnre, folio, is published at Manchester, N. H.. by Wm. II. Gilmore, at $1 50 a year; Z. Breed & M. A. Cortland, editors. It is about half agricultural. Boston makes a good show of agricultural papers in the four next following: The New England Farmer is the continuation of one of the oldest of farmers' papers. Many will remember I'he New England Farmer and Fessenden, of auld lang syne. It is no^- published weekly by Nourse, Eaton & Talman, with Gov. Simon Brown as editor, and is really one of the best on the list. It is a large, handsomely-printed folio, published .it $2 a year, and always has one page or more of valuable matter for the farmer. There is or was a monthly, at $1 a year, made np of the agricultural matter of the weekly. The Massachusetts Ploughman is another of similar character, not quite so much devoted to farming as T/ie N. E. Farmer, bnt is a good family paper. Weekly, |2 a year. W. &. W. 3. Bnckminster, editors and proprietors. Boston Cultivator; a large quarto, now in its twenty-second volume, published weekly, at $3 a year, by O. Brewer & Son ; is about one foui-th agricultural. James Pedder, formerly editor of 77iei^arm«»''« Cahinet, Philadelphia, was, many years before his death, connected with The Cultivator, and so was — perhaps is — Sanford Howard. Magazine of Horticulture ; a monthly octavo of 48 pages, published by Ilovey & Co. at ^2; is now in its twenty-sixth volume. It is devoted entirely to horticultural matters, fruits, fl.owers, etc., and is the journal of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and is patronized by all the leading horticulturists in the country. It is not so well .adapted to the w.ints of formers' families generally, as it is to suburban residents who have an abundance of money to spend in beautifying their places. It is alwfiys faultless in its typography. The Homestead, a weekly octavo of 32 pages, formerly a quarto of 16 pages, is published at Hartford, Conn., by Mason C. Weld, at $3 a year, and now in its sixth volume. It is devoted to agriculture, and particularly to Connecticut farming; often showing np the bad as well as the good. It is a good paper for farmers. Rev. Wm. Clift, Henry A. Dyer, Secretary of Connecticut State Agricultural Society, and T. S. Gold, are its editors. The American Agriculturist, a large, beautifully printed monthly quarto of 32 pages, filled with matter designed to advance the science of agriculture and horticulture, and improve- ment of all that pertains to niral life. Orange Judd, editor and proprietor ; $1 a year ; New 1032 CREDIT TO AGRICULTURAL PAPERS. York city. This paper is now in ita nineteenth year, and probably has the largest circulation of any a^rri cultural paper in America, and is published in au office with a rent of $3,000 a year. Tliis indicates success in a purely agricultural journal. Tlie Americanischer Agriculturuit is a German translation of the above, of the same form, size, and price, and is, we believe, the first German agricultural paper published in this country. The HortieuUurist ; originally established by Luther Tucker at Albany, and edited by A. J. Downing ; is now publis-hed in New York by 0. M. Saxton, Barker & Co., and edited by Peter B. Jlead. It is a large octavo, 48 pages, monthly, $2 a year (with colored plates $5). It is mainly devoted to the higher branches of horticulture, where the outlay is necessarily large, rather than to the wants of the many, and its circulation is therefore limited to a class not yet very large in this country. It is generally to bo found in all first-class rur.il residences, and in those of " fancy farmers," aa they are called, and of all gardeners and nurserymen of good standing. The Working Farmer ; a monthly qu.irto of 2-1 pages, beautifully printed, edited by Pro- fessor Mapes, and published in Now York city by his son, C. V. Mapes, at $1 a year. It is now in its twelfth volume, and is always filled with valuable matter. It copies from the best foreign agricultural journals, and is richly deserving of a much larger circulation. American Stock Journal ; a monthly octavo of 32 pages ; D. 0. Linsley, editor and proprie- tor, New York, $1 a year ; mainly devoted to matters connected with the business of raising farm-stock, though it contains much useful information upon agriculture in general. The Country Gentleman ; a weekly paper, whose title indicates its purpose ; is published at Albany, by Luther Tucker & Son, and is one of the neatest specimens of typography exhib- ited in any weekly paper, and is always readable, the m.atter being nearly all agricnllural. It is edited by the proprietors and J. J. Thomas, a veteran editor, and its readers get from it a mass of valuable information for $2 a year in its IG handsome quarto pages. The Cultivator is a monthly, made up from the above, 2-t handsome, large octavo pages, at«CO cents a year. It is now in its twenty-second volume. The Rural American is a weekly quarto, with just agriculture enough to ciU it an agricnl- tur.al journal, published at Clinton, N. Y., at $1 50 a year; T. B. Minor, editor and proprietor. It has been published some five years, having started, we believe, at 25 cents a year. Tlie Saratoga Farmer. This is a new enterprise, by G. A. Corey, Saratoga Springs; 16 pages octavo, monthly, at $1 a year. The Dairy Farmer, Little Falls, N. Y., monthly, 32 pages octavo; A. AV. Eaton, publi-shcr, at 50 cents a year. This is also a new work, devoted chiefly to dairy farming. The Genesee Farmer. This is a continuation of the oldest farming paper in the State. It is a well-printed octavo, 32 pages, of valuable matter for all farmers, published at 50 cents a year monthly, at Rochester, N. Y., by Joseph Harris, editor and iiroprietor. Moored Rural Neto Yorker, Rochester; large quarto, weekly, $2 a year. It is divided equally between agricultural aft'airs and miscellaneous matters. It is deservedly a very pop- ular family pajier. D. D. T. Moore, proprietor and editor, assisted by " an able corps of assistants." This makes up a round dozen of agricultural papers in the State of New York. Besides these, several of the political papers, of late years, have devoted much space to giving prac- tical information to farmers. Of this class, the Tribune is one, and is welcomed into many a family on account of such inform.ition. The New Jersey Farmer ; now in its fifth volume; is published in Trenton, by D. Naar, editor and proprietor, at $1 a year ; 32 pages octavo; agriculture and horticulture. The Gurdcner^a Monthly ; octavo, 48 pages ; a popular journal, chiefly devoted to horticul- ture ; is now in its second volume. "We hope for it a long life of usefulness. Edited by Thomas Median, Philadelphia; $1 a year. Fanner and Gardener, Philadelphia; octavo, 32 pages, agricultural and horticultural; $i a year. A. M. Spangler, editor and proprietor ; is in its second volume. CREDIT TO AGRICULTURAL PAPERS.. 1033 The Germantoinn (Penii.) Telegraph is an old eslablislied miscellaneous paiicr with .in agricultui-al department ; a weekly quarto, $3 a year. P. R. Freas, editor and proprietor. National Agriculturist, Pittsburg, Pcnn., in its tliird volume, is an 8 page quarto, pub- lished moutlih', at |1 a year, by J. T. F. Wright, editor and proprietor ; devoted principally to agriculture, but in part to general miscellany. Ohio Farmer, Cleveland ; weekly, $2 a year ; a handsome quarto, filled with miscellaneous and agricultur.al matter suited to an enlightened farmer's family. Col. S. I). Ilarris, editor and proprietor. The House and Garden is published monthly, at Cleveland, at 50 cents a ye.ir, by Thomas Brown, editor and proprietor. It is a IC page pamphlet, devoted to agricultural and house- hold affairs. The Wool-Groioer is a monthly quarto, devoted to the interests of wool-growers, stock matters, and miscellany. It purports to be printed at Cleveland, Ohio, at 50 cents a year, without editor or publisher being named. Ohio Cultivator, Columbus; semi-montlily ; in its sixteenth volume, at $1 a year, is a large octavo, IG pages, devoted to agriculture, horticulture, and stock. Col. S. D. Harris, editor and proprietor. Ohio Valley Farmer, Cincinnati ; a monthly quarto, 16 pages, now volume five, $1 a year; agricultural and horticultural. Publisliod b}- B. F. Sanford. The Cincinnatus, Cincinnati, Ohio ; a monthly octavo, 48 pages; a neatly got-up pamphlet, published in covers at $2 a year, edited by F. G. Car}', proprietor, is now ia its fiftli volume. It is agricultural and horticultural, and prints the proceedings of the Cincinnati Horticul- tural Society. The Fariner''s Home is the name of another Cincinnati agricultural paper, published monthly, by E. M. Spencer & Co., at 50 cents a year. Indiana Farmer, J. N. Ray, editor and proprietor, Indianapolis; semi-monthly, 10 pages quarto, $1 a year, is now in its ninth volume ; and though called the Indiana Farmer, is filled witli matter equally well adapted to farming in the adjoining States. Michigan Farmer, Detroit; an old established weekly quarto, 8 pages, $2 a year; R. F. Johnson, editor and publisher ; is mainly devoted to agriculture and kindred subjects. Wisconsin Farmer, Madison ; D. -I. Powers & Co., publishers ; 32 pages octavo, $1 a year ; agricultural and horticultural ; adapted to the wants of the Northwest. Frairie Farmer, Chicago, Illinois; Emery & Co., publishers; a well-printed quarto of 10 jjages, weekly, at $2 a year; making agriculture its leading feature, with horticulture and family miscellany. This paper dates back over twenty years. It was established by John S. Wright, and has always been conducted with such ability as to make it particularly valuable to all Western farmers. Farmers' Advocate, Chicago ; J. Bonham, editor and proprietor ; a weekly quarto, 10 pages, $1 50 a year; an ofishoot of the Prairie Partner of some three years' standing. Illinois Farmer, Springfield; Bailhache & Baker, publishers; monthly quarto, IG pages, $1 a year, in its fifth volume ; is mainly agricultural, and especially devoted to the interests of the Illinois farmer. Iowa Farmer. There was — perhaps is — an Iowa Farmer, edited by Win. Duano Wilson. Nelraslca Farmer, Brovrnsville ; volume one, monthly octavo, 16 pages, agricultural and horticultural, $1 a year; R. N. Farnas, publisher. Valley Farmer. Norman J. Coleman, editor and publisher, St. Louis; A. Gunter, pub- lisher, Louisville; H. P. Byram, traveling editor; octavo, 32 pages, $1 a year; a montldy agricultural journal, designed to benefit the planter, farmer, gardener, fruit-groH-er, and stock-raiser. It is a covered pamphlet, handsomely printed, and in matter well worthy of the patronage of those it is intended to benefit. Oregon Farmer, Portland; A. G. Walling, editor; semi-monthly quarto, 8 pages, $2 50 a year ; now in its third volume of agricultural, horticultural, and miscellaneous matter suited to that State. 1034 CREDIT TO AGRICULTURAL PAPERS. The Minnesota Farmer and Gardener ; jxiblislicJ at St. Paul, niontbly, in octavo form, 32 pages L. M. Ford & Co., publishers. Vol. I. looks well. Price, $1 per annum. California Farmer, San Francisco; 8 well-printed pages quarto, weekly, at $5 a year. An agricultural and miscellaneous journal, largely patronized by advertisers. Edited and published by Col. Warren. It is uow in its fourteentli volume, and is doubtless found valua- ble to the agricultural community in the gold-digging State. California CuUuriat, San Francisco; Wadsworth & Flint, editors and proprietors; a monthly octavo of -18 pages, at $4 a year; devoted to agriculture and horticulture; in its third volume. The American Farmer ; first published over forty years ago at Baltimore ; is a monthly octavo of 32 pages, at$l a year; by Worthingtou & Lewis, successors to Samuel Sands, who succeeded John S. Skinner. This has always been a well-conducted, popular paper, the con- tents never belying its name, though somewhat more devoted to Southern than Northern farming. The Rural licgister, Baltimore, Md. ; quarto, 16 pages, in three columns, exclusive of ad- vertisements; by Samuel Sands, who was publisher of The American Farmer for a long time, and S. Sands Mills. This paper is now in its second volume, and well filled with matter as v.'cll suited to Noi'thern farmers as Southern planters. Monthly, $1 a year. Southern Planter; a small sized octavo, C-l pages; published monthly nt Richmond, Va., by Augustus Williams, at |2 a year; maintains a popularity established twenty years ago. Korlh Carolina Planter ; published monthly, at Raleigh, by A. W. Gorman, at $2 a year; octavo, 32 pages. This, as its name indicates, is local in its character, and as such entitled to patronage. It is now in its third volume. The Edgccomlye Farm Journal is published at Tai-horo', N. C, in one of the most enter- priuing, improving sections of that State. It is now in its first volume ; is a well-printed quarto, 8 pages, monthly ; 50 cents a year ; William B. Smith & Co., editors and pro- prietors, who certainly give their subscribers (we hope they are numerous) the value of their money. Farmer and Planter, Columbia, S. C. ; R. M. Stokes, proprietor, Col. Sumner, editor; octavo, 32 pages, covered ; monthly, $1 a year. Particularly adapted to Southern agriculture, and valuable for all planters. It has been published eleven years, but has never received the patronage it merits. The Southern Cultivator ; a large octavo of 32 pages; is published monthly, by W. S. Jones, at Augu.sta, Georgia, at $1 a year; was formerly edited by Dr. Lee, and now by the pub- lisher and Mr. Redmond. It is Southern in its character, and Justly popular there. Southern Field and Fireside ; published weekly, at Augusta, by J. Gardner, at $2 a year; is partly agricultural and partly miscellaneous ; a quarto, now in its second volume. American Cotton Planter, Montgomery, Alabama; a monthly octavo of 48 pages. A Southern journal of agriculture, at $1 a year, by Dr. Cloud, editor and proprietor. Southern Eural Centleman, Grenada, Miss. ; a quarto- weekly, $2 50 a year ; J. L. Davis, pro])rietor; is now in its third volume, and is made up of agricultural and miscellaneous matter suited to that region. Canadian Agriculturist, Toronto; appears to be published by the Board of Agriculture, and contains its transactions and other agricultural matter, principally Canadian. It is issued semi-monthly, 32 octavo pages, at 50 cents a year. Possibly I have missed some, particnl.arly those that print much agricultural matter, like the Weekly and Semi- Weekly Tribune, and I also add two new ones: The Sorgo Journal, published monthly, by Wm. II. Clark, Cincinnati. Ohio. $1. Land- Maries, a quarto monthly, at $1. by Dr. C. W. Grant, the great grape propagator and fruit culturist, lona, near Pcekskill, N. Y. /\