The Project Gutenberg EBook of Soil Culture, by J. H. Walden
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Title: Soil Culture
Author: J. H. Walden
Release Date: January 15, 2010 [EBook #30975]
Language: English
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SOIL CULTURE;
CONTAINING
A COMPREHENSIVE VIEW
OF
AGRICULTURE, HORTICULTURE, POMOLOGY,
DOMESTIC ANIMALS, RURAL ECONOMY,
AND AGRICULTURAL LITERATURE.
BY
J. H. WALDEN, A. M.
ILLUSTRATED BY NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS
NEW YORK:
PUBLISHED BY ROBERT SEARS,
181 WILLIAM STREET.
1858.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857,
BY J. H. WALDEN,
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, in
and for the Northern District of Illinois.
SAVAGE & McCREA, STEREOTYPERS, C. A. ALVORD, PRINTER,
13 Chambers Street, N.Y. No. 15 Vandewater Street, N.Y.
* * * * *
TO
THE PRACTICAL CULTIVATORS OF THE SOIL,
The True Lords of the Manor,
THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED,
BY THEIR SINCERE FRIEND,
THE AUTHOR.
* * * * *
PREFATORY NOTE TO THE READER.
If "he who causes two blades of grass to grow where but one grew before,
is a benefactor of his race," he is not less so who imparts to millions
a knowledge of the methods by which it is done.
The last half century has been the era of experiments and writing on the
cultivation of the soil. The result has been the acquisition of more
knowledge on the subjects embraced, than the world had attained in all
its previous history. That knowledge is scattered through many volumes
of numerous periodicals and books, and interspersed with many theories,
and much speculation, that can never be valuable in practice. In the
form in which it is presented, it confuses, rather than aids, the great
mass of cultivators. Hence the prejudice against "_book-farming_."
Provided established facts only are presented, they are none the worse
for being printed.
The object of this volume is to condense, and present in an intelligible
form, all important established facts in the science of soil-culture.
The author claims originality, as to the discovery of facts and
principles, in but few cases. During ten years of preparatory study for
this work, he has sought the rewards of industry, in sifting out the
certain and the useful from the hypothetical and the fanciful, and the
results of judicious discrimination between fallacy and just reasoning,
in support of theories. This volume is designed to be a complete manual
for all but amateur cultivators. While it is believed that he who
follows its directions will be certain of success, it is not intended to
disparage the merits of other works, but to encourage and extend their
perusal. We can not too strongly recommend to young culturists to keep
themselves well posted in this kind of literature, and give to every
discovery and invention in this science a fair trial; not on a large
scale, so as to sink money in fruitless experiments, but sufficient to
afford a sure test of their real value. To no class of men is study more
important than to soil-culturists.
It is believed that the directions here given, if followed, will save
millions of dollars annually to that class of cultivators who can least
afford to waste time and money in experimenting. With beginners it is
important to be successful at first; which is impossible without
availing themselves of the experience of others. While we thus aim to
give our volume this exclusively practical form, and utilitarian
character, we do not undervalue the labors of amateur cultivators. A
meed of praise is due to those who are willing to spend time and money
in experiments, by which great truths are evolved for the benefit of
mankind.
Perfection is not claimed for this volume. But the author hopes nothing
will be found here that is untrue. A fear of inserting errors may have
induced us to omit some things that may yet prove valuable. If anything
seems to be at variance with a cultivator's observation, in a given
locality, he will discover in our general principles on climate, soil,
and location, that it is a natural result.
_Accurate as far as we go_ has been our motto. It is hoped the form is
most convenient. All is arranged under one alphabet, with a complete
index. The author has consulted many intelligent cultivators and
writers, who, without exception, approve his plan. All agree in saying
that it is designed to fill a place not occupied by any other single
volume in the language. It is impossible, without cumbering the volume,
to give suitable credit to the authors and persons consulted. Suffice it
to say, the author has carefully studied all the works mentioned in this
volume, and availed himself of a great variety of verbal suggestions, by
scientific and practical men. If this work shall, in any good degree,
serve the purpose for which it is intended, it will amply reward the
author for an amount of labor, experiment, observation, and study,
appreciable only by few.
J. H. WALDEN.
NEW YORK, _January 1, 1858_.
ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
Apple-Worms 22
Apple-Tree Borer 24
Caterpillar Eggs 25
Canker-Worm Moths 25
Baldwin Apple 34
Bellflower Apple 35
Early Harvest Apple 36
Spitzbergen Apple 37
Rhode Island Greening 38
Fall Pippin 39
Newtown Pippin 40
Rambo Apple 41
Rome Beauty 42
Westfield Seek-no-further 43
Northern Spy 44
Roxbury Russet 45
Swaar Apple 46
Maiden's Blush 47
Barberries 56
Working Bee, Queen and Drone 69
High-Bush Blackberry 83
Budding (Six Illustrations) 91
Cherries (Six Illustrations) 122
_Milking Qualities of Cows Illustrated_
The Flanders Cow 145
The Selvage Cow 147
The Curveline Cow 148
The Bicorn Cow 149
The Demijohn Cow 150
The Square Escutcheon Cow 151
The Lemousine Cow 151
The Horizontal Cut Cow 152
Bastards 152
Cranberries 156
Fig 181
Cleft and Tongue Grafting 210
Isabella Grapes 223
Catawba Grapes 223
Rebecca Grapes 224
Delaware Grapes 225
Hedge-Pruning (4 engravings) 238
Ground Plan of Farm Buildings 252
Ground Plan of Piggery 253
Ground Plan of Country Residence, Farm Buildings, Fruit Garden,
and Grounds 254
Laying out Curves Illustrated 255
Ground Plan of Farm-House 255
Summer-House 256
Laborer's Cottage 257
Ground Plan of Laborer's Cottage 257
Italian Farm-House 258
Ground Plan of Italian Farm-House 258
Neglected Peach-Tree 324
Properly-Trimmed Peach-Tree 324
Plan of a Pear-Orchard 338
Bartlett Pear 340
Beurré Diel Pear 341
White Doyenne Pear 342
Flemish Beauty 343
Seckel 345
Gray Doyenne Pear 346
The Curculio 355
Lawrence's Favorite Plum 356
Imperial Gage 357
Egg-Plum 357
Green Gage 358
Jefferson Plum 358
Washington Plum 359
French Merino Ram 386
Shepherdia, or Buffalo Berry 390
Strawberry Blossoms 397
Fan Training (Four Illustrations) 417, 418
Horizontal Training (Two Illustrations) 419
Conical Training (Four Illustrations) 420
SOIL CULTURE.
ACCLIMATION.
This is the art of successfully changing fruits or plants from one
climate to another. Removal to a colder climate should be effected in
the spring, and to a warmer one in the fall. This may be done by scions
or seeds. By seeds is better, in all cases in which they will produce
the same varieties. Very few imported apple or pear trees are valuable
in this country; while our finest varieties, perfectly adapted to our
climate, were raised from seeds of foreign fruits and their descendants.
The same is true of the extremes of this country. Baldwin apple-trees,
forty or fifty years old, are perfectly hardy in the colder parts of New
England; while the same imported from warmer sections of the Union fail
in severe winters. This fact has given many new localities the
reputation of being poor fruit-regions. When we remove fruit-trees to a
similar climate in a new country, they flourish well, and we call it a
good fruit-country. Remove trees from the same nursery to a different
climate and soil, and they are not hardy and vigorous, and we call it a
poor fruit-country. These two localities may be equally good for fruit,
with suitable care in acclimating the tree and preparing the soil. Thus
the rich prairies of central Illinois are often said not to be adapted
to fruit. Give time to raise fruits from the seed, and to apply the
principles of acclimation, and those rich prairies will be among the
great fruit-growing regions of the world. Two things are essential to
successful fruit-culture, on all the alluvial soils of the Northwest:
raise from seed, and prune closely and head-in short, and thus put back
and strengthen the trees for the first ten years, and no more complaints
will be heard.
The peach has been gradually acclimated, until, transplanted from
perpetual summer, it successfully endures a temperature of thirty-five
degrees below zero. This prince of fruits will yet be successfully grown
even beyond the northern limits of Minnesota. Many vegetables may also
be grown in very different climates, by annually importing the seed from
localities where they naturally flourish. Sweet potatoes are thus grown
abundantly in Massachusetts. We wonder this subject has received so
little attention. We commend these brief hints to the earnest
consideration of all practical cultivators, hoping they may be of great
value in the results to which they may lead.
ALMONDS.
Almonds are natives of several parts of Asia and Africa. They perfectly
resemble the peach in all but the fruit. The peach and almond grow well,
budded into each other. In France, almond-stocks are preferred for the
peach. Their cultivation and propagation are in all respects the same as
the peach.
_Varieties._--1. Long, hard shell. This is the best for cultivation in
western and middle states, and in all cold regions. Very ornamental.
2. Common sweet. Productive in middle states, but not so good as the
first.
3. Ladies' thin shell. Fruit large, long, and sweet; the very best
variety, but not so hardy as the first two. Grows well in warm
locations, with slight protection in winter.
4. The bitter. Large, with very ornamental leaves and blossoms. Fruit
bitter, and yielding that deadly poison, prussic acid.
5. Peach almond. So called from having a pulp equal to a poor peach. Not
hardy in northern climates. Other varieties are named, but are of no
consequence to the practical cultivator.
6. Two varieties of ornamental almonds are very beautiful in spring--the
large, double flowering, and the well-known dwarf flowering. But we
regard peach-blossoms quite as ornamental, and the ripe peaches much
more so, and so prefer to cultivate them.
Almonds are extensively cultivated in the south of Europe, especially in
Portugal, as an article of commerce. They will grow equally well in this
country; but labor is so cheap in Europe, that American cultivators can
not compete with it in the almond market. But every one owning land
should cultivate a few as a family luxury.
APPLES.
The original of all our apples was the wild European crab. We have in
this country several native crabs larger and better than the European;
but they have not yet, as we are aware, been developed into fine apples.
Apple-trees are hardy and long-lived, doing well for one hundred and
fifty years. Highly-cultivated trees, however, are thought to last only
about fifty years. An apple-tree, imported from England, produced fruit
in Connecticut at the age of two hundred and eight years. The apple is
the most valuable of all fruits. The peach, the best pears, the
strawberries, and others, are all delicious in their day; but apples are
adapted to a greater variety of uses, and are in perfection all the
year; the earliest may be used in June, and the latest may be kept until
that time next year. As an article of food, they are very valuable on
account of both their nutritive and medicinal qualities. As a gentle
laxative, they are invaluable for children, who should always be allowed
to eat ripe apples as they please, when they can be afforded. Children
will not long be inclined to eat ripe fruit to their injury.
An almost exclusive diet of baked sweet apples and milk is recorded as
having cured chronic cases of consumption, and other diseases caused by
too rich food. Let dyspeptics vary the mode of preparing and using an
apple diet, until it agrees with them, and many aggravated cases may be
cured without medicine. It is strange how the idea has gained so much
currency that apples, although a pleasant luxury, are not sufficiently
nutritious for a valuable article of diet. There is no other fruit or
vegetable in general use that contains such a proportion of nutriment.
It has been ascertained in Germany, by a long course of experiments,
that men will perform more labor, endure more fatigue, and be more
healthy, on an apple diet, than on that universal indispensable for the
poor, the potato. Apples are more valuable than potatoes for food. They
are equally valuable as food for fowls, swine, sheep, cattle, and
horses. Hogs have been well fattened on apples alone. Cooked with other
vegetables, and mixed with a little ground grain or bran, they are an
economical food for fattening pork or beef. Sweet or slightly-acid
apples, fed to neat stock or horses, will prevent disease, and keep the
animals in fine condition. For human food they may be cooked in a
greater variety of ways than almost any other article. Apple-cider is
valuable for some uses. It makes the best vinegar in general use, and,
when well made and bottled, is better than most of our wines for
invalids. Apple-molasses, or boiled cider, which is sweet-apple cider
boiled down until it will not ferment, is excellent in cookery.
Apple-butter is highly esteemed in many families. Dried apples are an
important article of commerce. Green apples are also exported to most
parts of the world. Notwithstanding the increased attention to their
cultivation during the last half-century, their market value is steadily
increasing, and doubtless will be, for the best varieties, for the next
five hundred years.
It does not cost more than five or six cents per bushel to raise apples;
hence they are one of the most profitable crops a farmer can raise. No
farm, therefore, is complete without a good orchard. The man who owns
but five acres of land should have at least two acres in fruit-trees.
_Soil._--Apples will succeed well on any soil that will produce good
cabbages, potatoes, or Indian corn. Land needs as much manure and care
for apple-trees as for potatoes. Rough hillsides and broken lands,
unsuitable for general cultivation, may be made very valuable in
orchards. It must be enriched, if not originally so, and kept clean
about the trees. On no crop does good culture pay better. Many suppose
that an apple-tree, being a great grower, will take care of itself after
having attained a moderate size. Whoever observes the great and rapid
growth of apple-trees must see, that, when the ground is nearly covered
with them, they must make a great draft on the soil. To secure health
and increased value, the deficiency must be supplied in manure and
cultivation. The quantity and quality of the fruit depend mainly on the
condition of the land. The kinds and proportions of manures best for an
apple-orchard are important practical questions. We give a chemical
analysis of the ashes of the apple-tree, which will indicate, even to
the unlearned, the manure that will probably be needed:--
_Analysis of the ash of the apple-tree._
Sap-wood. Heart-wood. Bark of trunk.
Potash 16.19 6.620 4.930
Soda 3.11 7.935 3.285
Chloride of sodium 0.42 0.210 0.540
Sulphate of lime 0.05 0.526 0.637
Phosphate of peroxyde } 0.80 0.500 0.375
of iron }
Phosphate of lime 17.50 5.210 2.425
Phosphate of magnesia 0.20 0.190
Carbonic acid 29.10 36.275 44.830
Lime 18.63 37.019 51.578
Magnesia 8.40 6.900 0.150
Silicia 0.85 0.400 0.200
Soluble silicia 0.80 0.300 0.400
Organic matter 4.60 2.450 2.100
______ _______ _______
100.65 104.535 111.450
This table will indicate the application of plenty of wood-ashes and
charcoal; lime in hair, bones, horn-shavings, old plaster, common lime,
and a little common salt. Lime and ashes, or dissolved potash, are
indispensable on an old orchard; they will improve the fruit one half,
both in quantity and quality.
_Propagation._--This is done mainly by seeds, budding and grafting. The
best method is by common cleft-grafting on all stocks large enough, and
by whip or tongue grafting on all others. (See under article, Grafting.)
Grafting into the sycamore is recommended by some. The scions are said
to grow profusely, and to bear early and abundantly; but they are apt to
be killed by cold winters. We do not recommend it. Almost everything
does best budded or grafted into vigorous stocks of its own nature.
Root-grafting, as it is termed,--that is, cutting up roots into pieces
three or four inches long, and putting a scion into each--has been a
matter of much discussion and diversity of opinion. It is certainly a
means of most rapidly multiplying a given variety, and is therefore
profitable to the nurseryman. For ourselves, we should prefer trees
grafted just above, or at the ground, using the whole stock for one
tree. We do not, however, undertake to settle this controverted point.
Our minds are fixed against it. Others must do as they please.
Propagation by seed is thought to be entirely uncertain, because, as is
supposed, the seeds will not reproduce their own varieties. We consider
this far from being an established fact.
When grafts are put into large trees, high up from the ground, their
fruit may be somewhat modified by the stock. There is also a slight
tendency in the seeds of all grafts to return to the varieties from
which they descended. But we believe the general rule to be, that the
seeds of grafts, put in at the ground and standing alone, will generally
produce the same varieties of fruit. The most prominent obstacle in the
way of this reproduction is the presence of other varieties, which mix
in the blossom. The planting of seeds from any mixed orchard can never
settle this question, because they are never pure. Propagation by seeds,
then, is an inconvenient method, only to be resorted to for purposes of
acclimation. But it is so seldom we have a good bearing apple-tree so
far removed from others as not to be affected by the blossoms, that we
generally get from seeds a modification of varieties. Raising suitable
stocks for grafting is done by planting seeds in drills thirty inches
apart, and keeping clear of weeds until they are large enough to graft.
The soil should be made very rich, to save time in their growth. Land
where root-crops grew the previous year is the best. If kept clear of
weeds, on rich, deep soil, from one to two thirds of them will be large
enough for whip-grafting after the first year's growth. The pomice from
the cider-mill is often planted. It is better to separate the seeds,
and plant them with a seed-drill. They will then be in straight, narrow
rows, allowing the cultivator and hoe to pass close by them, and thus
save two thirds of the cost of cultivation. The question of keeping
seeds dry or moist until planting is one of some importance. Most seeds
are better for being kept slightly moist until planted; but with the
apple it makes no difference. Keep apple-seeds dry and spread, as they
are apt to heat. Freezing them is not of the slightest importance. If
you plant pomice, put in a little lime or ashes to counteract the acid.
For winter-grafting, pull the seedlings that are of suitable size, cut
off the tops eight inches from the root, and pack in moist sand in a
cellar that will not freeze. After grafting, tie them up in bunches, and
pack in tight boxes of moist sand or sawdust.
_Transplanting._--This is fully treated elsewhere in this work. We give
under each fruit only what is peculiar to that species. In mild climates
transplant in the fall, and in cold in the spring. Spring-planting must
never be done until the soil has become dry enough to be made fine. A
thoroughly-pulverized soil is the great essential of successful
transplanting. Trees for spring-planting should always be taken up
before the commencement of vegetation. But in very wet springs, this
occurs before the ground becomes sufficiently dry; it is then best to
take up the trees and heel them in, and keep them until the soil is
suitable. The place for an apple-tree should be made larger than for any
other tree, because its roots are wide-spreading, like its branches. The
earth should be thrown out to the depth of twenty inches, and four or
five feet square, for an ordinary-sized tree. This, however, will not
do on a heavy clay subsoil, for it would form a basin to hold water and
injure the tree. A ditch, as low as the bottom of the holes, should
extend from tree to tree, and running out of the orchard, constructed in
the usual method of drains, and, whatever be the subsoil, the trees will
flourish. The usual compost to manure the trees in transplanting will be
found elsewhere. In the bottom of these places for apple-trees should be
thrown a plenty of cobblestones, with a few sods, and a little decaying
wood and coarse manure. We know of nothing so good under an apple-tree
as small stones; the tree will always be the larger and thriftier for
it. This is, in a degree, beneficial to other fruits, but peculiarly so
to the apple.
_Size for transplanting._--Small trees usually do best. Large trees are
often transplanted with the hope of having an abundance of fruit
earlier. This usually defeats the object. The large trees will bear a
little fruit earlier than the small ones; but the injury by removal is
so much greater, that the small stocky trees come into full, regular
bearing much the soonest. From five to eight feet high is often most
convenient for field-orchard culture. But, wherever we can take care of
them, it is better to set out smaller trees; they will do better for
years. A suitable drain, extending through the orchard, under each row
of trees, will make a good orchard on low, wet land.
_Trimming at the time of transplanting._--Injured roots should be
removed as in the general directions under Transplanting. But the idea
of cutting off most of the top is a very serious error. When large trees
are transplanted, which must necessarily lose many of their roots in
removal, a corresponding portion of the top must be separated; but in no
other case. The leaves are the lungs of the tree. How shall it have
vitality if most of them are removed? It is like destroying one lung and
half of the other, and then expect a man to be in vigorous health. We
have often seen the most of two years' growth of trees lost by such
reckless pruning. If the roots are tolerably whole and sound, leave the
top so. A peach-tree needs to be trimmed much closer when transplanted,
because it has so many more buds to throw out leaves.
_Mulching._--This is quite as beneficial to apple-trees as to all
transplanted trees. Well done, it preserves a regularity of moisture
that almost insures the life of the tree.
_Pruning._--The tops should be kept open and exposed to the sun, the
cross limbs cut out, and everything removed that shows decided symptoms
of decay. The productiveness of apple-trees depends very much upon
pruning very sparingly and judiciously. There are two ways to keep an
open top: one is, to allow many large limbs to grow, and cut out most of
the small ones, thus leaving a large collection of bare poles without
anything on which the fruit can grow;--the other method is to allow few
limbs to grow large, and keep them well covered with small twigs, which
always bear the fruit. The latter method will produce two or three times
as much fruit as the former.
The head of an apple-tree should be formed at a height that will allow a
team to pass around under its branches.
_Distance apart._--In a full-grown orchard, that is designed to cover
the ground, the trees should be two rods (thirty-three feet) apart.
When it is designed always to cultivate the ground, and land is plenty,
set them fifty or sixty feet apart. You will be likely always to have
fine fruit, and a crop on the land beside. Our recommendation to every
one is to set out all orchards, of whatever fruit, so as to have them
cover the whole ground when in maturity. Among apple-trees, dwarf pears,
peaches, or quinces, may be set, which will be profitable before the
apples need all the ground.
_Bearing years._--A cultivator may have a part of his orchard bear one
year, and the remainder the next, or he may have them all bear every
year. There are two reasons why a tree bears full this year and will not
bear the next. One is, it is allowed to have such a superabundance of
fruit to mature this year, that it has no strength to mature fruit-buds
for the next, and hence a barren year; the other reason is, a want of
proper culture and the specific manures for the apple. Manure highly,
keep off the insects, cultivate well, and do not allow too much to
remain on the trees one season, and you will have a good crop every
year. But if one would let his trees take the natural course, but wishes
to change the bearing year of half of his orchard, he can accomplish it
by removing the blossoms or young fruit from a part of his trees on the
bearing year, and those trees having no fruit to mature will put forth
an abundance of buds for fruit the following season; thus the
fruit-season will be changed without lessening the productiveness. Go
through a fruit-region in what is called the non-bearing seasons, and
you will find some orchards and some trees very full of fruit. Trees of
the same variety in another orchard near by will have very little fruit.
This shows that the bearing season is a matter of mere habit, in all
except what is determined by late frosts. This fact may be turned to
great pecuniary value, by producing an abundance of apples every year.
_Plowing and pasturing._--An apple-orchard should be often plowed, but
not too deep among the roots. When not actually under the plow, it
should be pastured, with fowls, calves, or sheep. Swine are recommended,
as they will eat all the apples that fall prematurely, and with them the
worms that made them fall. But we have often seen hogs, by their rooting
and rubbing, kill the trees. Better to pick up the apples that fall too
early, and give them to the swine. Turkeys and hens in an orchard will
do much to destroy the various insects. They may be removed for a short
time when they begin to peck the ripening fruit.
Orchards pastured by sheep are said not to be infested with
caterpillars. Sheep pastured and salted under apple-trees greatly enrich
the soil, and in those elements peculiarly beneficial.
_Enemies._--There are several of these that are quite destructive, when
not properly guarded against. Two things are necessary, and, united and
thoroughly performed, they afford a remedy or a preventive for most of
the depredations of all insects: 1. Keep the trees well cleared of all
rough, loose bark, which affords so many hiding-places for insects.
2. Wash the trunks and large limbs of the trees, twice between the 25th
of May and the 15th of August, with a ley of wood-ashes or dissolved
potash. Apple-trees will bear it strong enough to kill some of the
finest cherries. We add another very effectual wash. Let cultivators
choose between the two. Into two gallons of water put two quarts of
soft-soap and one fourth pound of sulphur. If you add tobacco-juice, or
any other very offensive article, it will be still better.
_Apple-worm._--The insect that produces this worm lays its egg in the
blossom-end of the young apple. That egg makes a worm that passes down
about the core and ruins the fruit. Apples so affected will fall
prematurely, and should be picked up and fed to swine. This done every
day during their falling, which does not last a great while, will remedy
the evil in two seasons. The worm that crawls from the fallen apple gets
into crevices in rough bark, and spins his cocoon, in which he remains
till the following spring.
Bonfires, for a few evenings in the fore part of June, in an orchard
infested with moths, will destroy vast numbers of them, before they have
deposited their eggs. This can not be too strongly insisted upon.
[Illustration: Apple-Worms.
_a_ The young worm. _b_ The full-grown worm. _c_ The same magnified. _d_
Cocoon. _e_ Chrysalis. _f_ Perfect insect. _g_ The same magnified. _h i_
Passage of the worm in the fruit. _j_ Worm in the fruit. _k_ Place of
egress.]
_Bark-louse._--Dull white, oval scales, one tenth of an inch long, which
sometimes appear on the stems of trees in vast numbers, may be destroyed
by the wash recommended above.
_Woolly aphis_--called in Europe by the misnomer, _American blight_--is
very destructive across the water, but does not exist extensively on
this side. It is supposed to exist, in this country, only where it has
been introduced with imported trees. It appears as a white downy
substance in the small forks of trees. This is composed of a large
number of very minute woolly lice, which increase with wonderful
rapidity. They are easily destroyed by washing with diluted sulphuric
acid--three fourths of an ounce, by measure, from the druggist's--and
seven and a half ounces of water, applied by a rag tied to the end of a
stick. The operator must keep it from his clothes. After the first rain
this is perfectly effectual.
_Apple-tree borer._--This is a fleshy-white grub, found in the trunks of
the trees. It enters at the surface of the ground where the bark is
tender, and either girdles or thoroughly perforates the tree, causing
its death. This is produced by a brown and white striped beetle about
half an inch long. It does not go through its different stages annually,
but remains a grub two or three years. It finally comes out in its
winged state, early in June, flying in the night and laying its eggs. If
the borers are already in the tree, they may be killed by cutting out,
or by a steel wire thrust into their holes. But better prevent them.
This can be done effectually by placing a small mound of ashes or lime
around each tree early in the spring.
On nursery-trees their attacks may be prevented by washing with a
solution of potash--two pounds in eight quarts of water. As this is a
good manure, as well as a great remedy for insects, it had better be
used every season.
[Illustration: Borer. Eggs. Beetle.]
_Caterpillars_ are the product of a miller of a reddish-brown color,
measuring about an inch and a half when flying. They deposit many eggs
about the forks and near the extremities of young branches. These hatch
in spring, in season for the young foliage, on which they feed
voraciously. When neglected for two or three years, they often defoliate
large trees. The habits of the caterpillar are favorable to their
destruction. They weave their webs in forks of trees, and are always at
home in rainy weather, and in the morning till nine o'clock. The remedy
is to kill them. This is most effectually done by a sponge on the end of
a pole, dipped in strong spirits of ammonia. Each one touched by it is
instantly killed, and it is not difficult to reach them all. They may
also be rubbed off with a brush or swab on the end of a pole, and
burned. The principle is to get them off, web and all, and destroy them.
This can always be effectually done, if attended to early in the season,
and early in the morning. If any have been missed, and come out in
insects to deposite more eggs, bonfires are most effectual. These
should be made of shavings, in different parts of the orchard, and about
the middle of June, earlier or later, according to latitude and season.
The ends of twigs on which the eggs are laid in bunches of hundreds (see
figure), may be cut off in the fall and destroyed. As this can be done
with pruning-shears, it may be an economical method of destroying them.
[Illustration: Caterpillar Eggs. Canker-worm Moths, Male and Female.]
_Canker-worm._--The male moth has pale-ash colored wings, with a black
dot, and is about an inch across. The female has no wings, is oval in
form, dark-ash colored above, and gray underneath. These rise from the
ground as early in spring as the frost is out. Some few rise in the
fall. The females travel slowly up the body of the tree, while the
winged males fly about to pair with them. Soon you may discover the eggs
laid, always in rows, in forks of branches and among the young twigs.
Every female lays nearly a hundred, and covers them over carefully with
a transparent, waterproof glue. The eggs hatch from May 1st to June 1st,
according to the latitude and season, and come out an ash-colored worm
with a yellow stripe. They are very voracious, sometimes entirely
stripping an orchard of its foliage. At the end of about four weeks
they descend to the ground, to remain in a chrysalis state, about four
inches below the surface, until the following spring. These worms are
very destructive in some parts of New England, and have been already
very annoying, as far west as Iowa. They will be likely to be
transported all over the country on young trees. Many remedies are
proposed, but to present them all is only to confuse. The best of
anything is sufficient. We present two, for the benefit of two classes
of persons. For all who have care enough to attend to it, the best
remedy is to bind a handful of straw around the tree, two feet from the
ground, tied on with one band, and the ends allowed to stand out from
the tree. The females, who can not fly, but only ascend the trunk by
crawling, will get up under the straw, and may easily be killed, by
striking a covered mallet on the straw, and against the tree below the
band. This should be attended to every day during the short season of
their ascent, and all will be destroyed. Burn the straw about the last
of May. But those who are too indolent or busy to do this often till
their season is past, may melt India-rubber over a hot fire, and smear
bandages of cloth or leather previously put tight around the tree. This
will prevent the female moth from crossing and reaching the limbs. Tar
is used, but India-rubber is better, as weather will not injure it as it
will tar, so as to allow the moth to pass over. Put this on early and
well, and let it remain till the last of May. But the first, the process
of killing them, is far the best.
_Gathering-and preserving._--All fruit, designed to be kept even for a
few weeks, should be picked, and not shaken off, and laid, not dropped
into a basket, and with equal care put into the barrels in which it is
to be kept or transported. The barrel should be slightly shaken and
filled entirely full. Let it stand open two days, to allow the fruit to
sweat and throw off the excessive moisture. Then head up tight, and keep
in a cool open shed until freezing weather; then keep where they can
occasionally have good air, and in as cool a place as possible, without
danger of freezing. Of all the methods of keeping apples on shelves,
buried as potatoes, in various other articles, as chaff, sawdust, &c.,
this is, on the whole, the best and cheapest. Wrapping the apples in
paper before putting them into the barrels, may be an improvement.
Apples gathered just before hard frosts, or as they are beginning to
ripen, but before many have fallen from the trees, and packed as above,
and the barrels laid on their sides in a good dry, dark cellar, where
air can occasionally be admitted, can be kept in perfection from six to
eight weeks, after the ordinary time for their decay. Apples for cider,
or other immediate use, may be shaken off upon mats or blankets spread
under the tree for that purpose. They are not quite so valuable, but it
saves times in gathering.
_Varieties_ are exceedingly numerous and uncertain. Cole estimates that
two millions of varieties have been produced in the single state of
Maine, and that thousands of kinds may there be found superior to those
generally recommended in the fruit-books. The minute description of
fruits is not of the least use to one out of ten thousand cultivators.
The best pomologists differ in the names and descriptions of the various
fruits. Some varieties have as many as twenty-five synonyms. Of what
use, then, is the minute description of the hundred and seventy-seven
varieties of Cole's American fruit-book, or of the vast numbers
described by Downing, Elliott, Barry, and Hooper? The best pear we saw
in Illinois could not be identified in Elliott's fruit-book by a
practical fruit-grower. We had in our orchard in Ohio a single
apple-tree, producing a large yield of one of the very best apples we
ever saw; it was called Natural Beauty. We could not learn from the
fruit-books what it was. We took it to an amateur cultivator of thirty
years' experience, and he could not identify it. This is a fair view of
the condition of the nomenclature of fruits. The London experimental
gardens are doing much to systemize it, and the most scientific growers
are congratulating them on their success. But it never can be any better
than it is now. Varieties will increase more and more rapidly, and
synonyms will be multiplied annually, and the modification of varieties
by stocks, manures, climates, and location, will render it more and more
confused.
We can depend only upon our nurserymen to collect all improved
varieties, and where we do not see the bearing-trees for ourselves,
trust the nurseryman's description of the general qualities of fruit.
Seldom, indeed, will a cultivator buy fruit-trees, and set out his
orchard, and master the descriptions in the fruit-books, and after his
trees come into bearing, minutely try them by all the marks to see
whether he has been cheated, and, if so, take up the trees and put out
others, to go the same round again, perhaps with no better success.
Hence, if possible, let planters get trees from a nursery so near at
hand that they may know the quality of the fruit of the trees from which
the grafts are taken, get the most popular in their vicinity, and
always secure a few scions from any extraordinary apple they may chance
to taste. It is well, also, to deal only with the most honorable
nurserymen. Remember that varieties will not do alike well in all
localities. Many need acclimation. Every extensive cultivator should
keep seedlings growing, with a view to new varieties, or modifications
of old ones, adapted to his locality.
We did think of describing minutely a few of the best varieties, adapted
to the different seasons of the year. But we can see no advantage it
would be to the great mass of cultivators, for whom this book is
designed. Those who wish to acquaint themselves with those descriptions
will purchase some of the best fruit-books. We shall content ourselves
with giving the lists, recommended by the best authority, for different
sections, followed by a general description of the _qualities_ of a few
of the best. Downing's lists are the following:--
APPLES FOR MIDDLE AND SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE EASTERN STATES, RIPENING
IN SUCCESSION.
Early Harvest. Vandevere of New York.
Red Astrachan. Jonathan.
Early Strawberry. Melon.
Summer Rose. Yellow Bellflower.
William's Favorite. Domine.
Primate. American Golden Russet.
American Summer Pearmain. Cogswell.
Garden Royal. Peck's Pleasant.
Jefferis. Wagener.
Porter. Rhode Island Greening.
Jersey Sweet. King of Tompkins County.
Large Yellow Bough. Swaar.
Baldwin.
Gravenstein. Lady Apple.
Maiden's Blush. Ladies' Sweet.
Autumn Sweet Bough. Red Canada.
Fall Pippin. Newtown Pippin.
Mother. Boston Russet.
Smokehouse. Northern Spy.
Rambo. Wine Sap.
Esopus Spitzenburg.
APPLES FOR THE NORTH.
Red Astrachan. Fameuse.
Early Sweet Bough. Pomme Gris.
Saps of Wine or Bell's Canada Reinette.
Early. Yellow Bellflower.
Golden Sweet. Golden Ball.
William's Favorite. St. Lawrence.
Porter. Jewett's Fine Red.
Dutchess of Oldenburgh. Rhode Island Greening.
Keswick Codlin. Baldwin.
Hawthornden. Winthrop Greening.
Gravenstein. Danvers Winter-Sweet.
Mother. Ribston Pippin.
Tolman Sweet. Roxberry Russet.
APPLES FOR THE WESTERN STATES,
Made up from the contributions of twenty different cultivators, from
five Western states.
Early Harvest. Domine.
Carolina Red June. Swaar.
Red Astrachan. Westfield Seek-no-further.
American Summer Pearmain. Broadwell.
Sweet June. Vandevere of New York, or
Newtown Spitzenburg.
Large Sweet Bough. Ortly, or White Bellflower.
Summer Queen. Yellow Bellflower.
Maiden's Blush. White Pippin.
Keswick Codlin. American Golden Russet.
Fall Wine. Herfordshire Pearmain.
Rambo. White Pearmain.
Belmont. Wine Sap.
Fall Pippin. Rawle's Janet.
Fameuse. Red Canada.
Jonathan. Willow Twig.
Tolman Sweet.
APPLES FOR THE SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST.
Early Harvest. Nickajack.
Carolina Juice. Maverack's Sweet.
Red Astrachan. Batchelor or King.
Gravenstein. Buff.
American Summer Pearmain. Shockley.
Julian. Ben Davis.
Mangum. Hall.
Fall Pippin. Mallecarle.
Maiden's Blush. Horse.
Summer Rose. Bonum.
Porter. Large Striped Pearmain.
Rambo. Rawle's Janet.
Large Early Bough. Disharoon.
Fall Queen, or Ladies' Meigs.
Favorite. Cullasaga.
Oconee Greening. Camack's Sweet.
Some varieties are included in all these lists, showing that the best
cultivators regard some of our finest apples as adapted to all parts of
the country. A careful comparison of Hooper's lists, as recommended by
the best Western cultivators, whose names are there mentioned, will show
that they name the same best varieties, with a few additions.
We have carefully examined the varieties recommended by Ernst, by
Kirtland and Elliott, by Barry, and by the national convention of
fruit-growers, and find a general agreement on the main varieties. There
are some differences of opinion, but they are minor. They have left out
some of Downing's list, and added some, as a matter of course. All this
only goes to show the established character of our main varieties. Out
of all these, select a dozen of those named, in most of the lists, and
you will have all that ever need be cultivated for profit. The best six
might be still better. Yet, in your localities, you will find good ones
not named in the books, and new ones will be constantly rising.
Downing adds that "Newtown Pippin does not succeed generally at the
West, yet in some locations they are very fine. Rhode Island Greening
and Baldwin generally fail in many sections, while in others they are
excellent."
Now, it is contrary to all laws of vegetation and climate, that a given
fruit should be good in one county and useless in the next, if they have
an equal chance in each place. A suitable preparation of the soil, in
supplying, in the specific manures, what it may lack, getting scions
from equally healthy trees, and grafting upon healthy apple-seedling
stocks--observing our principles of acclimation--_and not one of our
best apples will fail, in any part of North America_.
On a given parallel of latitude, a man may happen to plant a tree upon a
fine calcareous soil, and it does well. Another chances to plant one
upon a soil of a different character, and it does not succeed. It is
then proclaimed that fruit succeeds well in one locality, and is useless
in another near by and in the same latitude. The truth is, had the
latter supplied calcareous substances to his deficient soil, as he might
easily have done, in bones, plaster, lime, &c., the fruit would have
done equally well in both cases. We should like to see this subject
discussed, as it never has been in any work that has come under our
observation. It would redeem many a section from a bad reputation for
fruit-growing, and add much to the luxuries of thousands of our
citizens. Apples can be successfully and profitably grown on every farm
of arable land in North America. We present, in the following cuts, a
few of our best apples, in their usual size and form. Some are
contracted for the want of room on the page. We shall describe a few
varieties, in our opinion the best of any grown in this country. These
are all that need be cultivated, and may be adapted to all localities.
We lay aside all technical terms in our description, which we give, not
for purposes of identification, but to show their true value for
profitable culture. The quality of fruit, habits of the tree, and time
of maturity, are all that are necessary, for any practical purpose.
NICKAJACK.--_Synonyms_--Wonder, Summerour.
Origin, North Carolina. Tree vigorous, and a constant prolific bearer.
Fruit large, skin yellowish, shaded land striped with crimson, and
sprinkled with lightish dots. Yellowish flesh, fine subacid flavor.
Tender, crisp, and juicy. Season, November to April.
BALDWIN.--_Synonyms_--Late Baldwin, Woodpecker, Pecker, Steele's Red
Winter.
[Illustration]
Stands at the head of all apples, in the Boston market. Fruit large and
handsome. Tree hardy, and an abundant bearer. It is of the family of
Esopus Spitzenburg. Yellowish white flesh, crisp and beautiful flavor,
from a mingling of the acid and saccharine. Season, from November to
March. On some rich western soils, it is disposed to bitter rot, which
may be easily prevented, by application to the soil of lime and potash.
CANADA RED.--_Synonyms_--Old Nonsuch, Richfield Nonsuch, Steele's Red
Winter.
An old fruit in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Tree not a great grower,
but a profuse bearer. Good in Ohio, Michigan, and other Western states.
Retains its fine flavor to the last. January to May.
BELLFLOWER.--_Synonyms_--Yellow Bellflower, Lady Washington, Yellow
Belle-fleur.
[Illustration]
Fruit very large, pale lemon yellow, with a blush in the sun. Subacid,
juicy, crisp flesh. Tree vigorous, regular and excellent bearer. Season,
November to March. Highly valuable.
EARLY HARVEST.--_Synonyms_--Early French Reinette, Prince's Harvest,
July Pippin, Yellow Harvest, Large White Juneating, Tart Bough.
[Illustration]
The best early apple. Bright straw color. Subacid, white, tender, juicy,
and crisp. Equally good for cooking and the dessert. Season, the whole
month of July in central New York; earlier south, and later north, as of
all other varieties.
RED ASTRACHAN.--Brought to England from Sweden in 1816. One of the most
beautiful apples in the whole list. Fruit very large, and very smooth
and fair. Color deep crimson, with a little greenish yellow in the shade
and occasionally a little russet near the stalk. Flesh white and crisp,
rich acid flavor. Gather as soon as nearly ripe, or it will become
mealy. Abundant bearer. July and August.
ESOPUS SPITZENBURG.--_Synonym_--True Spitzenburg.
[Illustration]
Large, fine flavored, lively red fruit. It is everywhere well known, as
one of the very best apples ever cultivated, both for cooking and the
desert. December to February, and often good even into April. A very
great bearer.
KING OF TOMPKINS COUNTY.--_Synonym_--King Apple.
This is an abundant annual bearer. Skin rather yellowish, shaded with
red and striped with crimson. Flesh rather coarse, but juicy and tender,
with a very agreeable vinous aromatic flavor. One of the best. December
and March.
RHODE ISLAND GREENING.--_Synonyms_--Burlington Greening, Jersey
Greening, Hampshire Greening.
[Illustration]
A universal favorite, everywhere known. Acid, lively, aromatic,
excellent alike for the dessert and kitchen. Great bearer. November to
March. It is said to fail on some rich alluvial soils at the West. Avoid
root grafting, and apply the specific manures, and we will warrant it
everywhere.
BONUM.--_Synonym_--Magnum Bonum.
From North Carolina. Fruit large, from light to dark red. Flesh yellow,
subacid, rich, and delicious. Tree hardy, vigorous, and an early and
abundant bearer.
AMERICAN GOLDEN RUSSET.--_Synonyms_--Sheep Nose, Golden Russet,
Bullock's Pippin, Little Pearmain.
The English Golden Russet is a variety cultivated in this country, but
much inferior to the above. The fruit is small, but melting juicy, with
a very pleasant flavor. It is one of the most regular and abundant
bearers known. Tree hardy and thrifty. October to January. We know from
raising and using it at the West, that it is one of the very best.
PIPPIN, FALL.--Confounded with Holland Pippin and several other
varieties.
[Illustration]
A noble fruit, unsurpassed by any other autumn apple. Very large,
equally adapted to table and kitchen. Fine yellow, when fully ripe, with
a few dots. Flesh is white, mellow, and richly aromatic. October and
December. A fair bearer, though not so great as many others.
NEWTOWN PIPPIN.--_Synonyms_--Green Newtown Pippin, Green Winter Pippin,
American Newtown Pippin, Petersburg Pippin.
[Illustration]
This is put down as the first of all apples. It commands the highest
price, in the London market. It keeps long without the least shriveling
or loss of flavor. Fruit medium size, olive green, with small gray
specks. Flesh greenish white, juicy, crisp, and of an exceedingly
delicious flavor. _The best keeping apple_, good for eating from
December to May.
The yellow pippin, is another variety nearly as good.
PORTER.--A Massachusetts fruit, very fair; a very great bearer. Is a
favorite in Boston. Deserves general cultivation. September and into
October.
SMOKEHOUSE.--_Synonyms_--Mill Creek Vandevere, English Vandevere.
An old variety from Pennsylvania, where the original tree grew by a
gentleman's smoke-house; hence its name. Skin yellow, shaded with
crimson, sprinkled with large gray or brown dots. September to February.
One of the very best for cooking.
RAMBO.--_Synonyms_--Romanite, Bread and cheese apple, Seek-no-further.
[Illustration]
This is a great fall apple. Medium size, flat, yellowish white in the
shade, and marbled with pale yellow and red in the sun, and speckled
with large rough dots. Flesh greenish white, rich, subacid. October to
December.
CANADA REINETTE.--This has ten synonyms in Europe, which indicates its
popularity. In this country it is known only under the above name. Fruit
of the very largest size. A good bearer. The quality is in all respects
good. Lively, subacid flavor. December to April, unless allowed to hang
on the tree too long. Pick early in the fall.
ROME BEAUTY.--_Synonyms_--Roman Beauty, Gillett's Seedling.
[Illustration]
Fruit large, yellow, ground shaded, and striped with red, and sprinkled
with little dots. Flesh yellowish, juicy, tender, subacid. Bears every
year a great crop of very large showy apples. It is not superior in
flesh or flavor, but keeps and sells very well. Always must be very
profitable, and hence very popular.
AUTUMN SWEET BOUGH.--_Synonyms_--Late Bough, Fall Bough, Summer Bell
Flower, Philadelphia Sweet.
Tree very vigorous and productive. Fruit medium. Skin smooth, pale
yellow with a few brown dots. Flesh white, tender, sweet vinous flavor.
One of the best dessert sweet apples. August and October.
WESTFIELD SEEK-NO-FURTHER.--_Synonyms_--Seek-no-further, Red Winter
Pearmain, Connecticut Seek-no-further.
[Illustration]
Fruit large, pale dull red, sprinkled with obscure russety yellow dots.
Flesh white, tender and fine-grained. On all accounts good. October to
February according to Downing. Elliott says from December to February.
But the doctors often disagree. So you had better eat your apples when
they are good, whether it be October or December, or according to
Downing, Elliott, or Hooper.
RIBSTON PIPPIN.--_Synonyms_--Glory of York, Travers', Formosa Pippin,
Rock hill's Russet.
This occupies as high a place in England, as any other apple. In this
country, two or three others, as Baldwin and Newtown Pippin, are more
highly esteemed. This is most successfully grown in the colder parts of
the United States and Canada. Fruit medium, deep yellow, firm, crisp;
flavor sharp aromatic. November to April.
NORTHERN SPY.--This is a new American variety, with no synonyms. It
originated near Rochester, N. Y.
[Illustration]
There is not a better dessert apple known. It retains its exceedingly
pleasant juiciness, and excellent flavor from January to June. In
western New York, they have been carried to the harvest field, in July
in excellent condition. A fair bearer of beautiful fruit. Subacid with a
peculiar freshness of flavor. Dark stripes of purplish red in the sun,
but a greenish pale yellow in the shade. High culture and an open top
for admission of the sun, affects the fruit more favorably than any
other.
ROXBURY RUSSET.--_Synonyms_--Boston Russet, Putnam Russet.
[Illustration]
An excellent fruit, and prodigious bearer. Medium size, flesh greenish
white, rather juicy, and subacid. Good in January, and one of the best
in market in June.
There are other russets of larger size, but much inferior. This should
be in every collection. It is not first in richness and flavor, but it
is superior to most in productiveness, and is one of the best keepers.
LARGE YELLOW BOUGH.--_Synonyms_--Early Sweet Bough, Sweet Harvest,
Bough.
No harvest-apple equals this, except the EARLY HARVEST. Excellent for
the dessert, but rather sweet for pies and sauce. Fruit above medium.
Tree a moderate grower, but a profuse bearer. Flesh white and very
tender. Very sweet and sprightly. July and August. Should have a place,
even in a small collection.
SWAAR.--One of the best American fruits. Its name in Dutch, where it
originated on the Hudson River, means heavy.
[Illustration]
Fruit is large, and when fully ripe, of a dead gold color, dotted with
many brown specks. Flesh yellowish, fine grained, and tender. Flavor
aromatic and exceedingly rich. Bears good crops. December to March.
WINESAP.--This is one of the best apples for cider, and good also for
the table and kitchen. Fruit hangs long on the tree without injury. It
is very productive, and does well on a variety of soils. Very fine in
the West. Yellow flesh, very firm, and high flavored. November to May.
Deservedly, a very popular orchard variety.
MAIDEN'S BLUSH.--A comparatively new variety from New Jersey. Remarkably
beautiful. Admired as a dessert fruit, and equally good for the kitchen
and for drying. Clear lemon yellow, with a blush cheek, sometimes a
brilliant red cheek. Rapid growing tree, with a fine spreading head,
bearing most abundantly. August and October.
[Illustration]
LADIES' SWEETING.--The finest sweet apple, for dessert in winter, that
has yet been produced. Skin smooth and nearly covered with red, in the
sun. Flesh is greenish white, very tender, juicy, and crisp. Without any
shriveling or loss of flavor, it keeps till May. So good a winter and
spring sweet apple is a desideratum in any orchard or garden.
The foregoing are all that any practical cultivator will need. Most will
select from our list, perhaps half a dozen, which will be all they wish
to cultivate. From our descriptions, which are not designed to enable
planters to identify the varieties, but to ascertain their qualities,
any one can select such as he prefers. And they are so generally known,
that there will be but little danger of getting varieties, different
from those ordered.
We subjoin, from Hooker's excellent Western Fruit-Book, the following--
LIST OF APPLES FOR THE WESTERN STATES.
"The following list," says Hooker, "contains a catalogue of the most
popular varieties of apples, recommended by various pomological
societies of the United States for the Western states." These varieties
can be obtained of all respectable nurserymen. The list may be of use to
some cultivators in the different states mentioned. The general
qualities of the best of these will be found in our descriptions under
the cuts:--
_Baldwin._--Ohio, Missouri, Illinois.
_Roxbury Russet._--Michigan, Ohio, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois.
_Rhode Island Greening._--Michigan, Iowa, Ohio, Missouri, Illinois.
_Swaar._--Ohio, Illinois, Michigan.
_Esopus Spitzenburg._--Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio.
_Early Harvest._--Virginia, Ohio, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan,
Iowa.
_Sweet Bough._--Illinois, Virginia, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio.
_Summer Rose._--Ohio, Missouri, Illinois.
_Fall Pippin._--Michigan, Virginia, Ohio, Missouri, Illinois.
_Belmont._--Michigan, Ohio.
_Golden Sweet._--Missouri.
_Red Astrachan._--Iowa, Ohio, Missouri, Illinois.
_Jonathan._--Ohio, Missouri.
_Early Strawberry._--Ohio.
_Danvers Winter Sweet._--Ohio.
_American Summer Pearmain._--Illinois.
_Maiden Blush._--Ohio, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois.
_Porter._--Ohio, Missouri.
_Gravenstein._--Ohio.
_Vandevere._--Missouri, Indiana, Illinois.
_Yellow Bellflower._--Michigan, Iowa, Virginia, Ohio, Missouri,
Illinois.
_Fameuse._--Illinois.
_Newtown Pippin._--Michigan, Iowa, Ohio, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois.
_Rambo._--Michigan, Iowa, Ohio, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois.
_Smokehouse._--Virginia, Indiana.
_Fallawalden._--Ohio.
_Golden Russet._--Ohio, Illinois.
_Wine Sap._--Ohio, Illinois.
_White Bellflower._--Missouri, Illinois.
_Holland Pippin._--Michigan, Missouri, Indiana.
_Raule's Janet._--Iowa, Virginia, Illinois.
_Lady Apple._--Ohio, Missouri.
For the value of these varieties, in the states mentioned, you have the
authority of the best pomological societies. The several states are
mentioned so frequently, that it will be seen that most of them are
adapted to all the states. Attend to acclimation and manure, and guard
against insects, and they will all flourish, in all parts of the West
and of the Union.
APRICOT.
This is a fruit about half-way between a peach and a plum. The stone is
like the plum, and the flesh rather more like the peach. It is esteemed,
principally, because it comes earlier in the season than anything else
of the kind.
It is used as a dessert-fruit, for preserving, drying, and various
purposes in cookery. It does well on plum-stock, and best in good deep,
moist loam, manured as the peach and plum. The best varieties produce
their like from the seed. Seedlings are more hardy than any grafted
trees. Grafts on plums are much better than on the peach. The latter
seldom produce good hardy, thrifty trees, although many persist in
trying them. The apricot is a favorite tree for espalier training
against walls and fences, in small yards, where it bears luxuriantly. It
also makes a good handsome standard tree for open cultivation.
It is as much exposed to depredations from curculio as the plum, and
must be treated in the same way. Cultivation same as peach. It produces
its fruit, like the peach, only on wood of the previous year's growth;
hence it must be pruned like the peach. Especially must it be headed in
well, to secure the best crop.
_Varieties_ are quite numerous, a few of which only deserve
cultivation. Any of the nine following varieties are good:--
BROWN'S EARLY.--Yellow, with red cheek. A very productive, great grower.
NEWHALL'S EARLY.--Bright-orange color, with deep-red cheek. A good
cling-stone variety, every way worthy of cultivation.
MOORPARK.--Yellow, with ruddy cheek. An enormous bearer, though of slow
growth. It is a freestone variety of English origin, and needing a
little protection in our colder latitudes.
DUBOIS' EARLY GOLDEN.--Color, pale-orange. Very hardy and productive. In
1846, the original tree at Fishkill, N. Y., bore ninety dollars' worth
of fruit.
LARGE EARLY.--Orange, but red in the sun. An excellent, early,
productive variety.
HEMSKIRKE.--Bright-orange, with red cheek. An English variety, vigorous
tree, and good bearer.
PEACH.--Yellow, with deep-brown on the sun-side. An excellent French
variety.
BREDA.--Deep-orange, with blush spots in the sun. A vigorous,
productive, African variety.
ROMAN.--Pale-yellow, with occasionally red dots. Good for northern
latitudes.
From these, planters may select those that best suit their localities
and fancy. They are a little liable to be frost-bitten in the blossoms,
as they bloom very early. Otherwise they are always very productive.
They are ornamental, both in the leaf and in the blossom. Eaten plain,
before thoroughly ripe, they are not healthy; otherwise, harmless and
delicious. Every garden should have half a dozen.
ARTICHOKE.
There are two plants known by this name. The Jerusalem artichoke, so
called, not from Jerusalem in Palestine, but a corruption of the Italian
name which signifies the tuber-rooted sunflower. The tubers are only
used for pickling. They make a very indigestible pickle, and the plant
is injurious to the garden, so they had better not be raised.
The artichoke proper grows something like a thistle, bearing certain
heads, that, at a particular stage of their growth, are fine for food.
The soil should be prepared as for asparagus, only fifteen inches deep
will do well. The plot of ground should be where the water will not
stand on it at any time in the winter, as it will on most level gardens.
This will kill the roots. When a new bed is made with slips from old
plants, carefully separate vigorous shoots, remove superfluous leaves,
plant five inches deep in rows five feet apart, and two feet apart in
the rows. Keep very clean of weeds. The first year, some pretty good,
though not full-sized heads will be produced. Plant fresh beds each
year, and you will have good heads from July to November. Small heads
will grow out along the stalk like the sunflower. Remove most of these
small ones when they are about the size of hens' eggs, and the others
will grow large. When the scales begin to diverge, but before the
blossoms come out, is the time to cut them for use. Lay brush over them
to prevent suffocation, and cover with straw in winter, to protect from
severest cold. Too much warmth, however, is more injurious than frost.
Spring-dress much like asparagus. Remove from each plant all the stocks
but two or three of the best. Those removed are good for a new bed. A
bed, properly made, will last four or five years.
To save seed, bend down a few good heads, so as to prevent water from
standing in them; tie them to a stake, until the seed is matured. But,
like Early York cabbage, imported seed is better. The usual way of
serving them is, the full heads boiled. In Italy the small heads are cut
up, with oil, salt, and pepper. This vegetable would be a valuable
accession to American kitchen gardens.
ASHES.
Are one of the best applications to the soil, for almost all plants.
Leeched ashes are a valuable manure, but not equal to unleached. Few
articles about a house or farm should be saved with greater care. Be as
choice of them as of your small change. They are worth three times as
much on the land as they can be sold for other purposes. On corn, at
first hoeing, they are nearly equal to plaster. On onions and vines,
they promote the growth and keep off the insects. Sprinkle on dry, when
plants are damp, but not too wet. Do not put wet ashes on plants, or
water while the ashes are on. It will kill them. Mix ashes and plaster
with other manures, and their power will be greatly increased. Mixed in
manure of hot-beds, they accelerate the heat. On sour land they are
equal to lime for correcting the acidity.
ASPARAGUS.
This is a universal favorite in the vegetable garden. By the application
of sand and compost, the soil should be kept loose, to allow the sprouts
to spring easily from the crowns. Propagation is best effected by seed,
transplanting after one year's growth. Older roots divided and
transplanted are of some value, but not equal to young roots, nor will
they last as long.
_Preparation of the soil_ for an asparagus-bed is most important to
success. Dig a trench on one edge of the plat designed for the bed, and
the length of it, eighteen inches wide and two feet deep. Put in the
bottom one foot of good barn-yard manure, and tread down. Then spade
eighteen inches more, by the side of and as deep as the other, throwing
the soil upon the manure in the trench. Fill with manure and proceed as
before, and so until the whole plat has been trenched; then wheel the
earth from the first ditch to the other side and fill into the last
trench, thus making all level. If there is danger that water will stand
in the bottom, drain by a blind ditch. If this is objected to as too
expensive, let it be remembered that such a bed, with a little annual
top-dressing, will be good for twenty years, which is the age at which
asparagus-plants begin to deteriorate; then a new bed should be ready to
take its place.
_Planting._--Mark the plat into beds five feet wide, leaving paths two
feet wide between them. In each bed put four rows lengthwise, which will
be just fifteen inches apart, and set plants fifteen inches apart in the
row. Dig a trench six inches wide and six inches deep for each row; put
an inch of rich mould in the bottom; set the plants on the mould, with
the roots spread naturally, with the ends pointing a little downward. Be
very particular about the position of the roots. Fill the trench, and
round it up a little with well-mixed soil and fine manure. The bed is
then perfect, and will improve for many years.
_After-Culture._--In the fall, after the frost has killed the stalks,
cut them down and burn them on the bed. Cover the bed with fine rotted
manure, to the depth of two inches, and one half-bushel salt to each
square rod. As soon as frost is out in spring, with a fork work the
top-dressing into the soil to the depth of four inches, and stir the
soil to the depth of eight inches between the rows, using care not to
touch the crowns of the roots with the fork.
_Cutting_ should never be performed until the third year. Set out the
plants when one year old, let them grow one year in the bed, and the
next year they will be fit to cut. Cut all the shoots at a suitable age,
up to the last days of June. The shoots should be regularly cut just
below the surface, when they are four or six inches high. If you are
tempted to cut after the 25th of June, leave two or three thrifty shoots
to each root, to grow up for seed, or you will weaken the plants, and
they will die in winter. This is the reason why so many vacancies are
seen in many asparagus beds. This plant may be forced in hotbeds, so as
to yield an abundance of good shoots long before they will start in the
open air, affording an early luxury to those who can afford it.
This vegetable is equal or superior to green peas, and by taking all the
pains recommended above, in the beginning, an abundance can be raised
for twenty years, on the same bed, at a very trifling cost. Early
radishes and other vegetables can be raised, between the rows, without
any harm to the asparagus.
BALM.
This is a medicinal plant, very useful, and easily raised. A strong
infusion of the leaves, drank freely for some time by a nervous,
hypochondriacal person, is, perhaps, better than any other medicine. It
is also good in flatulency and fevers.
Its _propagation_ is by slips or roots. It is perennial, affording a
supply for many years. Gather just as the blossoms are appearing, and
dry quickly in a slow oven, or in the shade. Press and do up in white
papers, and keep in a tight, dry drawer, until needed for use.
BARBERRY.
[Illustration: Barberries.]
A prickly shrub, from five to ten feet high, growing wild in this
country and in Europe, on poor, hard soils, or in moist situations, by
walls, stones, or fences.
Its _propagation_ is by seeds, suckers, or offshoots.
This shrub is used for jellies, tarts, pickles, &c. Preserves made of
equal parts of barberry and sweet apples, or outer-part of fine
water-melons, are very superior. It is also one of the best shrubs for
hedge.
The bark has much of the tannin principle, and with the wood, is used
for coloring yellow. Shrub, blossoms, and fruit, are quite ornamental,
forming a beautiful hedge, but rather inclined to spread. Will do well
on any land and in any situation. The discussion in New England about
its blasting contiguous fields of grain, is about as sensible as the old
witchcraft mania. Every garden should have two or three.
BARLEY.
Does best on land which was hoed the previous year. If properly tilled,
such land is rich, free from weeds, and easily pulverized. Sod, plowed
deep in the fall, rolled early in the spring, well harrowed, the seed
sown and harrowed in, and all rolled level, will produce a good crop.
Two bushels of seed should be sowed on an acre, unless the land be very
rich; in that case, one half-bushel less. Essential to a good crop is
rain about the time of heading and filling. Hence early sowing is always
surest. In many parts of the country it is of little use to sow barley,
unless it be gotten in VERY EARLY. In not more than one season in twelve
can you get a good crop of barley from late sowing in all the middle and
western states. Barley is more favorably affected than any other grain,
by soaking twenty-four hours before sowing, and mixing with dry ashes. A
weak solution of nitre is best for soaking the seed.
_Varieties_ are two, four, and six rowed. The two-rowed grows the
tallest, and is most conveniently harvested. It is controverted whether
the six-rowed variety yields the largest crop to the acre. If the
weather be dry, and the worms attack the young plants, rolling when two
or three inches high, with a heavy roller, will save and increase the
crop. Rolling is a great help to the harvesting, as it levels the
surface.
_Harvesting_ should always be attended to just as it turns, but by all
means before the straw becomes dry. If it stands up, cut with cradle or
reaper, and bind. If lodged, cut with a scythe, and cure in small cocks
like clover. Standing until very ripe, or lying scattered until quite
dry, is very wasteful.
_Products_ are all the way from fifteen to seventy bushels to the acre,
according to season and cultivation. Reasonable care will secure an
average annual crop of forty-five or fifty bushels per acre, which makes
it a profitable crop while the demand continues. It is a good crop for
ground feed for all animals, the beards being a little troublesome when
fed whole. The straw is one of the very best for animals. Barley
requires the use of the land only ninety days, leaving it in good
condition for fall-grain.
_Used_ for malting, and for food for men and beasts. It makes handsome
flour and good bread. Hulled, it is a better article of food than rice.
It succeeds well on land not stiff and tenacious enough for wheat, or
moist and cool enough for oats. If farmers should raise only for malt,
the nation would become drunk and poor on beer, and the market would be
ruined. But raised as food, it is one of the most profitable
agricultural products.
BARNS.
A barn should always front the north. The yard for stock should be on
the south side, with tight fences for protection on the east and west.
As this is designed for winter use, it is a great saving of comfort to
the creatures. The barn-yard should be hollowed out by excavation, until
four or five feet lower in the centre than on the edges. The border
should be nearly level, inclining slightly toward the centre, to allow
the liquid in the yard to run into it for purposes of manure. The front
of a barn should be on the summit of a small rise of ground, to allow
water to run away from the door, to prevent mud. In hilly countries it
is very convenient to build barns by hills, so as to allow hay and grain
to be drawn in near the top, and be thrown down, instead of being
pitched up. These general principles are sufficient for all ordinary
barns. Those who are able to build expensive barns had better build them
circular, eight or sixteen square, and one hundred feet in diameter--the
lower part, to top of stable, of stone. Let the stable extend all around
next to the wall, and a floor over the stable, that teams may be driven
all around to pitch into the bays, and upon the mows and scaffolds, at
every point. Thus teams may go round and out the door at which they
entered. Such a floor will accommodate several teams at the same time.
The cellar should be in the centre, surrounded by the stable. Such a
cellar would never freeze, and would hold roots enough for one hundred
head of cattle, which the stable would easily accommodate. Let the
mangers be around next the cellar, for convenience of feeding. Such a
barn would be more convenient for a dairy of one hundred cows, or for
winter-fattening of cattle, than any other form. It would cost no more
than many barns in western New York that are not half as convenient.
BEANS.
These are divided into two classes--pole and bush beans. They are
subdivided into many varieties. We omit the English, or horse-bean, as
being less valuable, for any purpose, than our well-known beans or peas.
Pole beans are troublesome to raise, and are only grown on account of
excellence of quality, and to have successive gatherings from the same
vines. Pole beans are only used for horticultural purposes.
_Field-Beans._--For general culture there are three varieties of
white--small, medium, and large. Of all known beans, we prefer the
medium white. The China bean, white with a red face, is an early
variety. All ripen nearly at the same time. It cooks almost as soon as a
potato, and is good for the table; but it is less productive, and less
saleable because not wholly white. For planting among corn, as for a
very late crop, this bean is valuable, because it matures in so short a
time. Good beans may be raised among corn, without injury to the
corn-crop. This can only be done when it is designed to cultivate the
corn but one way. Many fail in attempts to grow beans among corn, by
planting them at first hoeing. The corn, having so much the start, will
shade the beans and nearly destroy them. But plant at the same time of
the corn, and they will mature before the corn will shade them much, and
not be in the way even of the ordinary crop of pumpkins. But
double-cropping land in this way, at any time, is of very doubtful
utility. A separate plat of ground for each crop, in nearly all cases,
is the most economical. To raise a good crop of beans, prepare the soil
as thoroughly as for any other crop. Beans will mature on land so poor
and hard as to be almost worthless for other crops. But a rich, mellow
soil is as good for beans as anything else, though not so indispensable.
Drill in with a planter as near together as possible, and allow a
cultivator to pass between them. One bushel to the acre on ordinary
land, and three fourths of a bushel on very rich land, is about the
quantity of seed requisite. Hoe and cultivate them while young. Late
cultivation is useless--more so than on most other crops. Beans should
not be much hilled in hoeing, and should never be worked when wet. All
plants with a rough stalk, like the bean, potato, and vine, are greatly
injured, sometimes ruined, by having the earth stirred around them when
they are wet, or even damp. Beans are usually pulled; this should be
done when the latest pods are full-grown, but not dry. Place them in
small bunches on the ground with the roots up. If the weather be dry,
they need not be moved until time to draw them in. If the weather be
damp, they should be stacked loosely in small stacks around poles, and
covered with straw on the top, to shed rain. Always haul in when very
dry. Avoid stacking if possible, for they are always wasted rapidly by
moving. In drawing in, keep the rack under them covered with blankets to
save those that shell.
In pulling beans, be sure and take hold below the pods, otherwise the
pods will crack; and although no harm appears then to be done, yet, when
they dry, every pod that has been squeezed by pulling, will turn wrong
side out, and the contents be wasted. If your beans are part ripe and
the remainder green, and it is necessary to pull them to save the early
ones, or guard against frost, when the ripe ones are dry, thrash them
lightly. This will shell all the ripe ones, and none of the green ones.
Put the straw upon a scaffold and thrash again in winter. Thus you will
save all, and have beautiful beans. Bean-straw should always be kept dry
for sheep in winter; it is equal to hay.
_Garden-Beans._--There are many varieties, a few of which only should be
cultivated. Having the best, there is no object in raising an inferior
quality.
The best early string-bean is the Early Mohawk; it will stand a pretty
smart spring-frost without injury; comes early, and is good. Early
Yellow, Early Black, and Quaker, or dun-colored, are also early and
good.
Refugee, or Thousand-to-one, are the best string-beans known; have a
round, crisp, full, succulent pod; come as soon as the Mohawks are out
of the way; and are very productive. Planted in August, they are
excellent until frost; the very best for pickling. For an early
shell-bean we recommend the China red-face; the white kidney and
numerous other varieties are less certain and productive.
_Running Beans_ are numerous. The true Lima, very large, greenish, when
ripe and dry, is the richest bean known; is nearly as good in winter,
cooked in the same way, as when shelled green. They are very productive,
continuing in blossom till killed by frost. In warm countries they grow
for years, making a tree, or growing like a large grapevine.
The London Horticultural--called also Speckled Cranberry, and Wild
Goose--is a very rich variety. The only objection is the difficulty of
shelling; one only can be removed at once, because of the tenderness of
the pod. The Carolina or butter bean often passes for the Lima. It has
similar pods, the bean is of similar shape, but always white, instead of
greenish like the Lima, and smaller, earlier, and of inferior quality.
The Scarlet Runner, formerly only grown as an ornament on account of its
great profusion of scarlet blossoms continuing until frost, is a very
productive variety; pods very large and very succulent, making an
excellent string-bean; a rich variety when dry, but objectionable on
account of their dark color. The Red and the White Cranberries, Dutch
Caseknife, and many other varieties, have good qualities, but are
inferior to those mentioned above. Beans may be forwarded in hotbeds, by
planting on sods six inches square, put bottom-up on the hotbed, and
covered with fine mould; plant four beans on each sod; when frost is
gone, remove the sod in the hill beside the pole, previously set, leave
only two pole-beans to grow in a hill; they will always produce more
than a greater number. A shrub six feet high, with the branches on, is
better than a pole for any running bean; nearly twice as many will grow
on a bush as on a pole. Use a crowbar for setting poles, or drive a
stake down first, and set poles very deep, or they will blow down and
destroy the beans.
BEES AND BEEHIVES.
The study of the honey-bee has been pursued with interest from remote
ages. A work on bees, by De Montfort, published at Antwerp in 1649,
estimates the number of treatises on this subject, before his time, at
between five and six hundred. As that was two hundred and eight years
ago, the number has probably increased to two thousand or more. We have
some knowledge of the character of these early works, as far back as
Democritus, four hundred and sixty years before the Christian era. The
great men of antiquity gave particular attention to study and writing on
the honey-bee.--Among them we notice Aristotle, Plato, Columella, Pliny,
and Virgil. At a later period, we have Huber, Swammerdam, Warder,
Wildman, _&c._ In our own day, we have Huish, Miner, Quinby, Weeks,
Richardson, Langstroth, and a host of others. For the first two thousand
years from the date of these works, the bee was treated mainly as a
curious insect, rather than as a source of profit and luxury to man. And
although Palestine was eulogized as a land flowing with milk and honey,
before the Hebrews took possession of it, yet the science of
_bee-culture_ was wholly unknown.
In the earliest attention to bees, they were supposed to originate in
the concentrated aroma of the sweetest and most beautiful flowers.
Virgil, and others of his time, supposed them to come from the carcasses
of dead animals. But the remarkable experiments of Huber, sixty years
ago, developed many facts respecting their origin and economy.
Subsequent observers have added still more to the stock of our knowledge
respecting these wonderful creatures. The different stages of growth,
from the minute egg of the queen to a full grown bee, and the precise
time occupied by each, are well established. The three classes of bees,
in every perfect colony, and the offices of each; their mechanical skill
in constructing the different sized and shaped cells, for honey, for
raising drones, workers, and queens, all differing according to the
purposes for which they are intended; the wars of the queens, and their
sovereignty over their respective colonies; the methods by which
working-bees will raise a young queen, when the old one is destroyed,
out of the larvae of common bees; the peculiar construction and
situation of the queen cells; and, above all, the royal jelly (differing
from everything else in the hive) which they manufacture for the food of
young queens; the manner in which they ventilate their hives by a swift
motion of their wings, causing the buzzing noise they make in a summer
evening; their method of repairing broken comb, and building
fortifications, before their entrances, at certain times, to keep out
the sphinx--all these curious matters are treated fully in many of our
works on bees. But we must forego the pleasure of presenting these at
length, it being our sole object to enable all who follow our
directions, so to manage bees as to render them profitable. In preparing
the brief directions that follow, we have most carefully studied all the
works, American and foreign, to which we could get access. Between this
article and the best of those works there will be found a general
agreement, except as it respects beehives. We present views of hives,
that we are not aware have ever been written. The original idea, or new
principle (which consists in constructing the hive with the entrance
near the top), was suggested to us by Samuel Pierce, Esq., of Troy, N.
Y., who is the great American inventor of cooking-ranges and stoves. We
have carefully considered the principle in its various relations to the
habits of the bee, and believe it correct. To most of our late works on
honey-bees we have one serious objection: it is, that they bear on their
face the evidence of having been written to make money, by promoting the
sale of some patent hive. These works all have a little in common that
is interesting; the remainder seems designed to oppose some former
patent and commend a new one. They thus swell their volumes to a
troublesome and expensive size, with that which is of no use to
practical men. A work made to fight a patent, or to sell one, can not be
reliable. The requisites to successful bee-management are the
following:--
1. Always have large, strong swarms. Such only are able successfully to
contend with their enemies. This is done by uniting weak swarms, or
sending back a young, feeble swarm when it comes out (as herein after
directed).
2. Use medium-sized hives. In too large hives, bees find it difficult to
guard their territories. They also store up more honey than they need,
and yield less to the cultivator. The main box should be one foot square
by fifteen inches high. Make hives of new boards; plane smooth and paint
white on the outside. The usual direction is to leave the inside rough,
to aid in holding up the honey, but to plane the inside edges so as to
make close joints. We counsel to plane the inside of the hive smooth,
and draw a fine saw lightly length wise of the boards, to make the comb
adhere. This will be a great saving of the time of bees, when it is
worth the most in gathering honey. They always carry out all the sawdust
from the inside of their hives. Better save their time by planing it
off.
3. To prevent robberies among bees, when a weak colony is attacked,
close their entrances so that but one bee can pass at once, and they
will then take care of themselves. To prevent a disposition to pillage,
place all your hives in actual contact, on the sides, and make a
communication between them, but not large enough to allow bees to pass.
This will give the same scent to the whole, and make them feel like one
family. Bees distinguish strangers only by the smell: hence, so
connected, they will not quarrel or pillage.
4. Comb is usually regarded better for not being more than two or three
years old. The usual theory is, that cells fill up by repeated use, and,
becoming smaller, render the bees raised in them diminutive. This is not
probable, as a known habit of the bee is to clean out the cells before
reusing them. Huber demonstrated that bees raised in drone-cells (which
are always larger than for workers) grew no larger than in their own
natural cells. And as bees build their cells the right size at first, it
is probable they keep them so. Quinby assures us that bees have been
grown twenty years in the same comb, and that the last were as large as
the first. But for other reasons, it is better to change the comb. In
all ordinary cases, it is better to transfer the swarm to a new hive
every third year. Many think it best to use hives composed of three
sections, seven and a half inches deep each, screwed together with
strips of wood on the sides, and the top screwed on that it may easily
be removed; thick paper or muslin should be pasted around, on the
places of intersection, to guard against enemies; the two lower sections
only allowed to contain bees--the upper one being designed for the
honey-boxes, to be removed. Each spring, after two years old, the lower
section is taken out and a new one put on the top, the cover of the old
one having been first removed. This is the old "pyramidal beehive,"
which is the title of a treatise on bees, by P. Ducouedic, translated
from the French and abridged by Silas Dinsmore in 1829. This has
recently been revived and patented as a new thing. We think with Quinby,
that these hives are too expensive and too complicated, and that the
great mass of cultivators will succeed best with hives of simple
construction.
5. Allowing bees to swarm in their own time and way is better than all
artificial multiplication of colonies. If there are no small trees near
the apiary, place bushes, upon which the bees will usually light, when
they come out. If they seem determined to go away without lighting,
throw sand or dust among them; this produces confusion, and causes them
to settle near. The practice of ringing bells and drumming on tin, &c.,
is usually ridiculed; but we believe it to be useful, and that on
philosophic principles. The object to be secured is to confuse the swarm
and drown the voice of the queen. The bees move only with their queen;
hence, if anything prevents them from hearing her, confusion follows,
and the swarm lights: therefore, any noise among them may answer the
purpose, and save the swarm.
To hive bees, place them on a clean white cloth, and set the hive over
them, raised an inch or two by blocks under the corners. It is said that
a little sweetened water or honey, applied to the inside of the hive,
will incline the bees to remain. The best preparation is to fasten a
piece of new white comb on the top of the inside of the hive. This is
done by dipping the end of a piece of comb in melted beeswax, and
sticking it to the top. Bees should never be allowed to send off more
than two colonies in one season. To restrict them to one is still
better. Excessive swarming is a precursor of destruction, rather than an
evidence (as usually regarded) of prosperity. A given number of bees
will make far less honey in two hives than in one, unless they are so
numerous as greatly to crowd the hive. When a late swarm comes out, take
away the queen, and they will immediately return. Any one may easily
find the queen: she is always in the centre of the bunch into which the
swarm collects on lighting. If they form two or three clusters, it is
because they have that number of queens. Then all the queens should be
destroyed. The following cuts of the three classes of bees will enable
one to distinguish the queen.
[Illustration: Working Bee. Queen. Drone.]
The queen is sometimes, but not always, larger than the common bee; but
her body is always longer, and blackish above and yellowish underneath.
To unite any two swarms together, turn the hive you wish to empty
bottom-up, and place the one into which you would have them go on the
top of the other, with their mouths together; then tie a cloth around,
at the place of intersection, to prevent the egress of the bees. Gently
rap the lower hive on all sides, near the bottom, gradually rising until
you reach the top of the lower hive, and all the bees will go into the
upper one.
In the same way, it is easy to remove a colony into a new hive, whenever
you think they need changing. This should be performed in the dusk of
the evening, and need occupy no more than half an hour. The hive should
then be put in its place. Uniting weak new swarms, may be done whenever
they come out; but changing a swarm from an old hive to a new one should
be performed as early as the middle of June. If moths get in, change
hives at any time when it is warm enough for bees to work, and give them
all the honey in their old hive. If you discover moths too late for the
bees to build comb in a new hive, take the queen from the hive infested
with moths, and place it where the bees will unite with another colony,
and feed them all the honey from the deserted hive. This, or the
destruction of the bees and saving the honey, is always necessary, when
moth-worms are in possession, unless they are so near the bottom, that
all the comb around them may be cut out. Bees are fond of salt. Always
keep some on a board near them.
They also need water. If a rivulet runs near the apiary, it is well. If
not, place water in shallow pans, with pebbles in them, on which the
bees can stand to drink. Change the water daily. It is too late to speak
of the improvidence of killing bees, to get their honey. Use boxes of
any size or construction you choose. In common hives, boxes should be
attached to the sides, and not placed on the top. It is a wasteful tax
upon the time and strength of loaded bees, to make them travel through
the whole length of the hive, into boxes on the top. Place boxes as near
as possible to their entrance or below that entrance. Bees should be
kept out of the boxes until they have pretty well filled the hive, or
they may begin to raise young bees in the boxes.
_Wintering bees_ successfully, is one of the most difficult matters in
bee-culture. Two evils are to be guarded against, dampness and
suffocation. Excessive dampness, sometimes causes frost about the
entrance that fills it up and suffocation ensues. Sometimes snow falls,
or is blown over the entrance, and the bees die in a few hours for the
want of air. Many large colonies, with plenty of honey, are thus
destroyed. Dampness is very injurious to bees on other accounts. In a
good bee-house there is no danger from snow, and little from dampness.
Bees, not having honey enough for winter, should be fed in pleasant fall
weather, after they have nearly completed the labors of the season.
Weighing hives is unnecessary. A moderate degree of judgment will
determine whether a swarm has a sufficient store for winter. If not,
feed them. Never give bees dry sugar. They take up their food, as an
elephant does water in his trunk; it, therefore, should be in a liquid
form. Boil good sugar for ten minutes in ale or beer, leaving it about
as thick as honey. Put it in a feed trough; which should be
flat-bottomed.
Fasten together thin slats, one fourth of an inch apart, so as to fit
the inside of the feed trough and lie on the surface of the liquid, so
as to rise and fall with it. Put this in a box and attach it to the
hive, as for taking box-honey, and the bees will work it all up. Put
out-door, it tempts other bees, and may lead to quarrels, and robbery.
It is not generally known, that a good swarm of bees may be destroyed,
by feeding them plenty of honey, early in the spring. They carry it in
and fill up their empty cells and leave no room for raising young bees;
hence the whole is ruined for want of inhabitants, to take the places of
those that get destroyed, or die of age.
To winter bees well, utterly exclude the light during all the cold
weather, until it becomes so warm, that they will not get so chilled
when out that they can not return. Intense cold is not injurious to
bees, provided they are kept in the hive and are dry. A large swarm,
will not eat two pounds of honey during the whole cold winter, if kept
from the light. When tempted out, every warm day they come into the
sunshine and empty themselves, and return to consume large quantities of
honey. Kept in the dark, they are nearly torpid, eat but a mere trifle,
and winter well. Whatever your hive or house, then, keep your bees
entirely from the light, in cold weather. This is the only reason why
bees keep so well in a dark dry cellar, or buried in the ground, with
something around them, to preserve them from moisture, and a conductor
through the surface, to admit fresh air. It is not because it keeps out
the cold, but because it excludes the light, and renders the bees
inactive. Gilmore's patent bee-house, is a great improvement on this
account.
Of the diseases of bees, such as dysentery, &c., we shall not treat. All
that can profitably be done, to remedy these evils, is secured by salt,
water, and properly-prepared food, as given above.
But the great question in bee-culture is, How to prevent the depredation
of the wax-moth? To this subject, much study has been given, and
respecting it many theories have been advanced. The following
suggestions are, to us, the most satisfactory. The miller, that
deposites the egg, which soon changes to the worm, so destructive in the
beehive, commences to fly about, at dark. In almost every country-house,
they are seen about the lights in the evening. They are still during all
the day. They are remarkably attracted by lights in the evening. Hence
our first rule:--
1. Place a teasaucer of melted lard or oil, with a piece of cotton
flannel for a wick, in or near the apiary at dusk; light it and allow it
to burn till near morning, expiring before daylight. This done every
night during the month of June, will be very effectual.
2. Keep grass and weeds away from the immediate vicinity of your apiary.
Let the ground be kept clean and smooth. This destroys many of the
hiding-places of the miller, and forces him away to spend the day. This
precaution has many other advantages.
3. Keep large strong colonies. They will be able to guard their
territories, and contend with this and all other enemies.
4. Never have any opening in a beehive near the bottom, during the
season of millers (see Beehive). Let the openings be so small, that only
one or two bees can pass at once. To accommodate the bees, increase the
number of openings. Millers will seldom enter among a strong swarm, with
such openings. All around the bottom, it should be so tight, that no
crevice can be found, in which a miller can deposite an egg. Better
plaster around, closely, with some substance, the place of contact
between the hive and the board on which it stands, and keep it entirely
tight during the time in which the millers are active.
5. If, through negligence, worms have got into a hive, examine it at
once; and if they are near the bottom only, within sight and reach, cut
out the comb around them, and remove them from the hive. If this is not
practicable, transfer the swarm to a new hive, or unite it with another,
without delay.
6. The great remedy for the moth is in the right construction of a
BEEHIVE.
Whatever the form of the hive you use, have the entrance within three or
four inches of the top. Millers are afraid of bees; they will not go
among them, unless they are in a weak, dispirited condition. They steal
into the hive when the bees are quiet, up among the comb, or when they
hang out in warm weather, but are still and quiet. If the hive be open
on all sides (as is so often recommended), the miller enters on some
side where the bees are not. Now bees are apt to go to the upper part of
the hive and comb, and leave the lower part and entrance exposed. If the
entrance be at the upper part, the bees will fill it and be all about
it. A bee can easily pass through a cluster of bees, and enter or leave
a hive; but a miller will never undertake it: this, then, will be a
perfect safeguard against the depredations of the moth. This hive is
better on every account. Moisture rises: in a hive open only at the
bottom, it is likely to rise to the top of the hive and injure the bees;
with the opening near the top it easily escapes. The objection that
would be soonest raised to this suggestion is, that bees need a good
circulation of fresh air, and such a hive would not favor it. To this we
reply, a hive open near the top secures the best possible air to the
swarm; any foul air has opportunity freely to escape. That peculiar
humming heard in a hive in hot weather is produced by a certain motion
of the wings of the bees, designed to expel vitiated air, and admit the
pure, by keeping up a current. In the daytime, when the weather is hot,
you will see a few bees near the entrance on the outside, and hear
others within, performing this service, and, when fatigued, others take
their place. This is one of the most wonderful things in all the habits
and instincts of bees. They thus keep a pure atmosphere in a crowded
hive in hot weather. Now, it would require much less fanning to expel
bad air from a hive open at the top, than from one where all that air
had to be forced down, through an opening at the bottom. This theory is
sustained by the natural habits of bees in their wild state. Wild bees,
that select their own abodes, are found in trees and crevices of rocks.
They usually build their combs _downward_ from their entrance, and their
abode is air-tight at the bottom; they have no air only what is admitted
at their entrance, near the top of their dwelling, and with no current
of air only what they choose to produce by fanning. The purest
atmosphere in any room is where it enters and passes out at the top; in
such a room only does the external atmosphere circulate naturally. It is
on the same principle that bees keep better buried than in any other
way, provided only they are kept dry. Yet they are in a place air-tight,
except the small conductor to the atmosphere above them. The old
"pyramidal beehive" of Ducouedic, with three sections, one above the
other, allowing the removal of the lower one each spring, and the
placing of a new one on the top--thus changing the comb, so that none
shall ever be more than two years old, with the opening always within
three or four inches of the top, is the best of the patent hives. We
prefer plain, simple hives. The general adoption of this principle,
whatever hives are used, would be a new era in the science of
bee-culture. No beehive should ever be exposed to the direct rays of the
sun in a beehouse. A hive standing alone, with a free circulation of air
on every side, will not be seriously injured by the sun. But when the
rays are intercepted by walls or boards, in the rear and on the sides,
they are very disastrous. Other hints, such as clearing off
occasionally, in all seasons except in the cold of winter, the bottom
board, &c., are matters upon which we need not dwell. No cultivator
would think of neglecting them. Let no one be alarmed at finding dead
bees on the bottom when clearing out a hive; bees live only from five to
seven months, and their places are then supplied with young ones. The
above suggestions followed, and a little care taken in cultivating the
fruits, grains, and grasses, that yield the best flowers for bees,
_would secure uniform success_ in raising honey. This is one of the
finest luxuries; and, what is a great desideratum, it is within the easy
reach of every poor family, even, in all the rural districts of the
land.
Good honey, good vegetables, and good fruit, like rain and sunshine,
may be the property of all. The design of this volume is to enable the
poor and the unlearned to enjoy these things in abundance, with only
that amount of care and labor necessary to give them a zest.
BEETS.
Of this excellent root there are quite a number of varieties.
Mangel-Wurtzel yields most for field-culture, and is the great beet for
feeding to domestic animals; not generally used for the table. French
Sugar or Amber Beet is good for field-culture, both in quality and
yield; but it is not equal to the Wurtzel. Yellow-Turnip-rooted, Early
Blood-Turnip-rooted, Early Dwarf Blood, Early White Scarcity, and Long
Blood, are among the leading garden varieties. Of all the beets, three
only need be cultivated in this country--the Wurtzel for feeding, and
the Early Blood Turnip-rooted and Long Blood for the table. The Early
Blood is the best through the whole season, comes early, and can be
easily kept so as to be good for the table in the spring. The Long Blood
is later, and very much esteemed. Beets may be easily forwarded in
hotbeds. Sow seed early, and transplant in garden as soon as the soil is
warm enough to promote their growth. When well done, the removal retards
their growth but little.
Young beets are universally esteemed. To have them of excellent quality
during all the winter, it is only necessary to plant on the last days of
July. If the weather be dry, water well, so as to get them up, and they
will attain the size and age at which they are most valued. Keep them in
the cellar for use, as other beets. They will keep as well as old ones.
_Field-Culture._--Make the soil very mellow, fifteen to eighteen inches
deep. Soil having a little sand in its composition is always best. Even
very sandy land is good if it be sufficiently enriched. Choose land on
which water will not stand in a wet season. Beets endure drought better
than extreme wet. Having made the surface perfectly mellow, and free
from clods, weeds, and stones, sow in drills, with a machine for the
purpose, two feet apart. This is wide enough for a small cultivator to
pass between them. After planting, roll the surface smooth and level;
this will greatly facilitate early cultivation. On a rough surface you
can not cultivate small plants without destroying many of them; hence
the necessity of straight rows and thorough rolling. The English books
recommend planting this and other roots on ridges: for their climate it
is good, but for ours it is bad. They have to guard against too much
moisture, and we against drought; hence, they should plant on ridges,
and we on an even surface. To get the largest crop, plow a deep furrow
for each row, put in plenty of good manure, cover it with the plow and
level the surface, and plant over the manure. When well growing, they
should be thinned to six or eight inches in the row. Often stirring the
earth while they are young is of great benefit. The quality and quantity
of a root-crop depend much upon the rapidity of its growth. Slow growth
gives harder roots of worse flavor, as well as a stinted crop.
_Harvesting_ should be done just before severe frosts. They will grow
until frost comes, however early they were planted, or whatever size
they may have attained. They grow as rapidly after light frosts as at
any time in the season; but very severe frosts expose them to rot during
winter.
_Preserving_ for table use is usually done by putting in boxes with
moist sand, or the mould in which they grew. This excludes air, and, if
kept a little moist, will preserve them perfectly. Roots are always
better buried below frost out-door on a dry knoll, where water will not
stand in the pits. But in cold climates it is necessary to have some in
the cellar for winter use. The common method of burying beets, and
turnips, and all other roots out-door, is well understood. The only
requisites are, a dry location secured from frost, straw next the roots,
a covering of earth, not too deep while the weather is yet mild; as it
grows cold, put on another covering of straw, and over it a foot of
earth; as it becomes very cold, put on a load or two of barnyard manure:
this will save them beyond the power of the coldest winter. Vast
quantities of roots buried outdoor are destroyed annually by frost, and
there is no need of ever losing a bushel. You "_thought_ they would not
freeze," is not half as good as spending two hours' time in covering, so
that you _know_ they can not freeze. There is hardly a more provoking
piece of carelessness, in the whole range of domestic economy, than the
needless loss of so many edible roots by frost.
_The table use_ of beets is everywhere known; their value for feeding
animals is not duly appreciated in this country. No one who keeps
domestic animals or fowls should fail to raise a beet-crop; it is one of
the surest crops grown; it is never destroyed by insects, and drought
affects it but very little. On good soil, beets produce an enormous
weight to the acre. The lower leaves may be stripped off twice during
the season, to feed to cows or other stock, without injury to the crop.
Cows will give more milk for fifteen days, fed on this root alone, than
on any other feed; they then begin to get too fat, and decline in milk:
hence, they should be fed beets and hay or other food in about equal
parts, on which they will do better than in any other way. Horses do
better on equal parts of beet and hay than on ordinary hay and grain.
Horses fed thus will fatten, needing only the addition of a little
ground grain, when working hard. Plenty of beets, with a little other
food, makes cows give milk as well as in summer. Raw beets cut fine,
with a little milk, will fatten hogs as fast as boiled potatoes. All
fowls are fond of them, chopped fine and mixed with other food. Sheep,
also, are fond of them. They are very valuable to ewes in the spring
when lambs come, when they especially need succulent food. The free use
of this root by English farmers is an important reason of their great
success in raising fine sheep and lambs. They promote the health of
animals, and none ever tire of them. As it needs no cooking, it is the
cheapest food of the root kind. Beets will keep longer, and in better
condition, than any other root. They never give any disagreeable flavor
to milk. It is considered established, now, that four pounds of beet
equal in nourishment five pounds of carrot. Every large feeder should
have a cellar beyond the reach of frosts, and of large dimensions,
accessible at all times, in which to keep his roots. These beets should
be piled up there as cord-wood, to give a free circulation of the air.
In Germany, the beet-crop takes the place of much of their meadows, at
a great saving of expense, producing remarkably fine horses, and
fattening immense herds of cattle, which they export to France. We
insist upon the importance of a beet-crop to every man who owns an acre
of land and a few domestic animals, or only a cow and a few fowls.
BENE PLANT.
Introduced into the Southern states by negroes from Africa. They boil a
handful of the seed with their allowance of Indian corn. It yields a
larger proportion than any other plant of an excellent oil. It is
extensively cultivated in Egypt as food for horses, and for culinary
purposes. It is remarkable that this native of a southern clime should
flourish well, as it does, in the Northern states. It should be
cultivated throughout the North as a medicinal herb.
A Virginia gentleman gave Thorburn & Son, seed-dealers of New York, the
following account of its virtues: a few green leaves of the plant,
plunged a few times in a tumbler of cold water, made it like a thin
jelly, without taste or color. Children afflicted with summer-complaint
drink it freely, and it is thought to be the best remedy for that
disease ever discovered; it is believed that three thousand children
were saved by it in Baltimore the first summer after its introduction.
Plant in April, in the middle states, about two feet apart. When half
grown, break off the plants, to increase the quantity of leaves. We
recommend to all families to raise it, and try its virtues, under the
advice of their family physicians.
BIRDS.
These are exceedingly useful in destroying insects. So of toads and
bats. No one should ever be wantonly killed. Boys, old or young, should
never be allowed to shoot birds, or disturb their nests, only as they
would domestic fowls, for actual use. A wanton recklessness is exhibited
about our cities and villages, in killing off small birds, that are of
no use after they are dead. Living, they are valuable to every garden
and fruit-orchard. In every state, stringent laws should be made and
enforced against their destruction. Even the crow, without friends as he
is, is a real blessing to the farmer: keep him from the young corn for a
few days, as it is easy to do, and, all the rest of the year, his
destruction of worms and insects is a great blessing. Birds, therefore,
should be baited, fed, and tamed, as much as possible, to encourage them
to feel at home on our premises. Having protected our small fruits, they
claim a share, and they have not always a just view of the rights of
property, nor do they always exhibit good judgment in dividing it. It is
best to buy them off by feeding them with something else. If they still
prefer the fruit, hang little bells in the trees, where they will make a
noise; or hang pieces of tin, old looking-glass, or even shingles, by
strings, so that they will keep in motion, and the birds will keep away.
Images standing still are useless, as the birds often build nests in the
pockets.
BLACKBERRY.
This berry grows wild, in great abundance, in many parts of the country.
It has been so plentiful, especially in the newer parts, that its
cultivation has not been much attended to until recently. Like all other
berries, the cultivated bear the largest and best fruit.
_Uses._--It is one of the finest desert berries; excellent in milk, and
for tarts, pies, &c. Blackberries make the best vinegar for table use,
and a wine that retains the peculiar flavor, and of a beautiful color.
This berry comes in after the raspberries, and ripens long in succession
on the same bush.
[Illustration: High-bush Blackberry.]
_Varieties_ of wild ones, usually found growing in the borders of fields
and woods, are the low-bush and the high-bush. Downing gives the first
place to the low. Our experience is, that the high is the best bearer of
the best fruit. We have often gathered them one and one fourth inches in
length, very black, and of delicious sweetness. The low ones that have
come under our observation have been smaller and nearer round, and not
nearly so sweet.
The best cultivated varieties are--
THE DORCHESTER--Introduced from Massachusetts, and a vigorous, large,
regular bearer.
LAWTON, OR NEW ROCHELLE.--This is the great blackberry of this country,
by the side of which, no other, yet known, need be cultivated. It is a
very hardy, great grower. It is an enormous bearer of such fruit that it
commands thirty cents per quart, when other blackberries sell for ten.
On a rather moist, heavy loam, and especially in the shade, its
productions are truly wonderful. Continues to ripen daily for six weeks.
_Propagation_ is by offshoots from the old roots, or by seeds. When by
seeds, they should be planted in mellow soil, and where the sun will not
shine on them between eight and five o'clock in hot weather. In
transplanting, much care is requisite. The bark of the roots is like
evergreens, very tender and easily broken, or injured by exposure to the
atmosphere; hence, take up carefully, and keep covered from sun and air
until transplanted. This is destined to become one of the
universally-cultivated small fruits--as much so as the strawberry. The
best manures are, wood-ashes, leaves, decayed wood, and all kinds of
coarse litter, with stable manure well incorporated with the soil,
before transplanting. Animal manure should not be very plentifully
applied.
We have seen in Illinois a vigorous bush, and apparently good bearer, of
perfect fruit--a variety called _white blackberry_. The fruit was
greenish and pleasant to the taste.
BLACK RASPBERRY.
The common wild, found by fences, especially in the margin of forests,
in most parts of the United Sates, is very valuable for cultivation in
gardens. Coming in after the red raspberry, and ripening in succession
until the blackberry commences, it is highly esteemed. Cultivated with
little animal manure, but plenty of sawdust, tan-bark, old leaves, wood,
chips, and coarse litter, it improves very much from its wild state.
Fruit is all borne on bushes of the previous year's growth; hence, after
they have done bearing, cut away the old bushes. To secure the greatest
yield on rich land, cut off the tops of the shoots rising for next
year's fruit, when they are four or five feet high. The result will be,
strong shoots from behind all the leaves on the upper part of the stalk,
each of which will bear nearly as much fruit as would the whole have
done without clipping. A dozen of these would occupy but a small place
in a border, or by a wall. Not an American garden should be found
without them.
BONES.
Bones are one of the most valuable manures. They yield the phosphates in
large measure. On all land needing lime, they are very valuable. The
heads, &c., about butchers' shops will bear a transportation of twenty
miles to put upon meadows. Break them with the head of an axe, and pound
them into the sod, even with the surface. They add greatly to the
products of a meadow. Ground, they make one of the best manures of
commerce. A cheap method for the farmer is to deposite a load of
horse-manure, and on that a load of bones, and alternate each, till he
has used up all his bones. Cover the last load of bones deep with
manure. It will make a splendid hotbed, and the fermentation of the
manure will dissolve or pulverize the bones, and the heap will become
one mass of the most valuable manure, especially for roots and vines,
and all vegetables requiring a rich, fine manure.
BORECOLE, OR KALE.
There are some fifteen or twenty kinds cultivated in Europe. Two only,
the green and the brown, are desirable in this country. Cultivate as
cabbage. In portions of the middle states they will stand the frosts of
winter well, without much protection; further north, they need
protection with a little brush and straw during severe frosts. Those
grown on rather hard land are better for winter; being less succulent,
they endure cold better. Cut them off for use whenever you choose. They
do not head like cabbage; they have full bunches of curled leaves. Cut
off so as to include all, not over eight inches long. In winter, after
having been pretty well exposed to the frost, they are very fine. Set
out the stumps early in spring, and they will yield a profusion of
delicious sprouts. This would be a valuable addition to many of our
kitchen gardens.
BROCCOLI.
This may be regarded as a late flowering species of cauliflower. It
should be planted and treated as cabbage, and fine heads will be
formed, in the middle states, in October: at the South much earlier,
according to latitude. Take up in November, and preserve as cabbage, and
good ones may be had in winter. To prevent ravages of insects, mix ashes
in the soil when transplanting, or fresh loam or earth from a new field;
or trench deep, so as to throw up several inches of subsoil, which had
not before been disturbed.
To save seed, transplant some of the best in spring; break off all the
lower sprouts, allowing only a few of the best centre ones to grow. Tie
them to stakes, to prevent destruction by storms. Be sure to have
nothing else of the cabbage kind near your seed broccoli.
BROOM CORN.
Cultivated like other corn, only that this is more generally planted in
drills. Three feet apart, and six inches in the drill, it yields more
weight of better corn to the acre than to have it nearer. The great
fault in raising this crop is getting it too thick. The finest-looking
brush is of corn cut while yet so green that the seed is useless. But
the brush is stronger, and will make better brooms for wear, when the
corn is allowed to stand until the seed is hard, though not till the
brush is dry. The land should be rich. This is a hard, exhausting crop
for the soil. To harvest, bend down, two feet from the ground, two rows,
allowing them so to fall across each other as to expose all the heads.
Cut off the heads, with six or eight inches of the stalk, and place them
on top of the bent rows to dry. In a week, in dry weather, they will be
well cured, and should be then spread thin, under cover, in plenty of
air. There is no worse article to heat and mould. In large crops, they
usually take off the seed before curing; it is much lighter to handle,
and less bulky. It may be done then, or in winter, as you prefer. The
seed is removed on a cylinder eighteen inches long, and two and a half
feet in diameter, having two hundred wrought nails with their points
projecting. It is turned by a crank, like a fanning mill. The corn is
held in a convenient handful, like flax on a hatchel. Where large
quantities are to be cleaned of the seed, power is used to turn the
machine. Ground or boiled, the seed makes good feed for most animals.
Dry, it has too hard a shell. Fowls, with access to plenty of gravel, do
well on it. Broom-corn is not a very profitable crop, except to those
who manufacture their own corn into brooms. There is much labor about
it, and considerable hazard of injuring the crop, by the inexperienced;
hence, young farmers had, generally, better let it alone. There are two
varieties--they may be forms of growth, from peculiar habits of
culture--one, short, with a large, stiff brush running up through the
middle, with short branches to the top, called pine-top: it is of no
value;--the other is a long, fine brush, the middle being no coarser
than the outside. It should be planted with a seed-drill, to make the
rows straight and narrow for the convenience of cultivation. Harrowing
with a span of horses, with a =V= drag, one front tooth out,
as soon as the corn is up, is beneficial to the crop.
BRUSSELS SPROUTS.
This is a species of cabbage. A long stem runs up, on which grow
numerous cabbage-heads in miniature. The centre head is small and of
little use, and the large leaves drop off early. It will grow among
almost anything else, without injury to either. It is raised from seed
like cabbage, and cultivated in all respects the same. Eighteen inches
apart each way is a proper distance, as the plant spreads but little.
Good, either as a cabbage, or when very small, as greens. They are good
even after very hard frosts. By forwarding in hotbed in the spring, and
by planting late ones for winter, they may be had most of the year. If
they are disposed to run to seed too early, it may be prevented by
pulling up, and setting out again in the shade. Save seed as from
cabbage, but use great caution that they are not near enough to receive
the farina from any of the rest of the cabbage-tribe.
BUCKTHORN.
This is the most valuable of the thorn tribe, for hedge, in this
country. It never suffers from those enemies that destroy so much of the
hawthorn. This is also used for dyeing and for medicine.
BUCKWHEAT.
This will grow well on almost any soil; even that too poor for most
other crops will yield very good buckwheat--though rich land is better
for this, as for all other crops. The heat of summer is apt to blast it
when filling; hence, in the middle states, it is not best to sow it
until into July. It fills well in cool, moist weather, and is quite a
sure crop if sowed at the right time. On poor land, one bushel of seed
is required for an acre, while half a bushel is sufficient on rich land,
where stalks grow large.
The blossoms yield to the honey-bee very large quantities of honey, much
inferior to that made of white clover; it may be readily distinguished
in the comb by its dark color and peculiar flavor. Ground, it is good
for most animals, and for fowls unground, mixed with other grain. It
remains long in land; but it is a weed easily killed with the hoe; or a
farmer may set apart a small field for an annual crop, keeping up the
land by the application of three pecks of plaster per acre each year. It
is very popular as human food, and always made into pancakes. The free
use of it is said to promote eruptive diseases. The India buckwheat is
more productive, but of poorer quality. The bran is the best article
known to mix with horse-manure and spade into radish beds, to promote
growth and kill worms.
BUDDING.
This is usually given under the article on peaches. But, as it is a
general subject, it should be in a separate article, reserving what is
peculiar to the different fruits to be noticed under their respective
heads.
[Illustration: Budding.]
Budding small trees should usually be performed very near the ground,
and on a smooth place. Any sharp pocket-knife will do; but a regular
budding knife, now for sale in most hardware-stores, is preferable. Cut
through the bark in the form of a horizontal crescent (_a_ in the cut).
Split the bark down from the cut three fourths of an inch, and, with the
ivory-end of the knife, raise the corners and edges of the bark. Select
a vigorous shoot of this year's growth, but having buds well
matured--select a bud that bids fairest to be a leaf-bud, as
blossom-buds will fail--insert the knife half an inch below the bud, and
cut upward in a straight line, severing the bark and a thin piece of the
wood to one half inch above the bud, and let the knife run out: you
then have a bud ready for insertion (_c_ in cut). The English method is
to remove the wood from the bud before inserting it; this is attended
with danger to the vitality of the bud, and is, therefore, less certain
of success, and it is no better when it does succeed. Hence, American
authorities favor inserting the bud with the wood remaining. Insert the
lower end of this slip between the two edges of the bark, passing the
bud down between those edges, until the top of the slip comes below the
horizontal cut, and remaining contiguous to it. If the bud slip be too
long, after it is sufficiently pressed down, cut off the top so as to
make a good fit with the bark above the cut (_b_ in cut). The lower end
of the bud will have raised the split bark a little more to make room
for itself, and thus will set very close to the stalk. Tie the bud in
with a soft ligature; commence at the bottom of the split, and wind
closely until the whole wound is covered, leaving only the bud exposed
(_d_ in cut). It is more convenient to commence at the top, but it is
less certain to confine the slip opposite the bud in close contact with
the stalk: this is indispensable to success. We have often seen buds
adhere well at the bottom, but stand out from the stalk, and thus be
ruined.
_Preparation of Buds._--Take thrifty, vigorous shoots of this year's
growth, with well-matured buds; cut off the leaves one half inch from
the stalks (_e_ in cut); wrap them in moist moss or grass, or put them
in sawdust, or bury them one foot in the ground.
_Bands._--The best yet known is the inside bark of the linden or
American basswood. In June, when the bark slips easily, strip it from
the tree, remove the coarse outside, immerse the inside bark in water
for twenty days; the fibres will then easily separate, and become soft
and pliable as satin ribbon. Cut it into convenient lengths, say one
foot, and lay them away in a dry state, in which they will keep for
years. This will afford good ties for many uses, such as bandages of
vegetables for market, &c. Matting that comes around Russia iron and
furniture does very well for bands; woollen yarn and candle-wicking are
also used; but the bass-bark is best. After ten days the bands should be
loosened and retied; then, if the bud is dried, it is spoiled, and the
tree should be rebudded in another place; at the end of three weeks, if
the bud adheres firmly, remove the band entirely. Better not bud on the
south side; it is liable to injury in winter. In the spring, after the
swelling of buds, but before the appearance of leaves, cut off the top
four inches above the bud; when the bud grows, tie the tender shoot to
the stalk (growing bud in cut, _f_). In July, cut the wood off even with
the base of the bud and slanting up smoothly.
_Causes of Failure._--If you insert a blossom-bud you will get no shoot,
although the bud may adhere well. If scions cut for buds remain two
hours in the sun with the leaves on, in a hot day, they will all be
spoiled. The leaves draw the moisture from the bud, and soon ruin it.
Cut the leaves off at once. If you use buds from a scion not fully
grown, very few of them will live; they must be matured. If the top of
the branch selected be growing and very tender, use no buds near the top
of it. If in raising the bark to make room for the bud, you injure the
soft substance between the bark and the wood, the bud will not adhere.
If the bud be not brought in close contact with the stalk and firmly
confined there, it will not grow. With reasonable caution on these
points, not more than one in fifty need fail.
_Time for Budding._--This varies with the season. In the latitude of
central New York, in a dry season, when everything matures early, bud
peaches from the 15th to the 25th of August--plums, &c., earlier. In wet
and great growing seasons, the first ten days in September are best.
Much budding is lost on account of having been done so late as to allow
no time for the buds to adhere before the tree stops growing for the
season. If budding is performed too early, the stalk grows too much over
the bud, and it gums and dies. It is utterly useless to bud when the
bark is with difficulty loosened; it is always a failure.
BUSHES.
The growth of bushes over pastures, along fences, and in the streets,
shows a great want of thrift, and an unpardonable carelessness in a
farmer. In pastures, so far from being harmless, they take so much from
the soil as to materially injure the quality and quantity of the grass.
The only truly effectual method of destroying noxious shrubs, is by
grubbing them up with a mattock. Frequent cutting of bushes inclining to
spread only increases the difficulty, by giving strength and extension
to the roots. Cutting bushes thoroughly in August, in a wet season, and
applying manure and plaster to promote the growth of grass, will
sometimes quite effectually destroy them. Larger trees, as the sweet
locust, that are troublesome on account of sprouting out from the
roots, when cut down, are effectually killed by girdling two feet from
the ground, and allowing to stand one year. The tree, roots, and all,
are sure to die.
BUTTER.
Raising the cream, churning, working, and preserving, are the points in
successful butter-making. To raise cream, milk may be set in tin, wood,
or cast-iron dishes. The best are iron, tinned over on the inside. Tin
is better than wood, only on account of its being more easily kept
clean. No one can ever make good butter without keeping everything about
the dairy perfectly clean and sweet. Milk should never stand more than
three inches deep in the pans, to raise the best and most cream. It
should be set in an airy room, containing nothing else. Butter and milk
will collect and retain the flavor of any other substance near them,
more readily than anything else; hence, milk set in a cellar containing
onions, or in a room with new cheese, makes butter highly flavored with
those articles.
_Temperature_ is an important matter. It should be regular, at from
fifty to fifty-five degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer. It is sometimes
difficult to be exact in this matter, but come as near it as possible.
This can be well regulated in a good cool cellar, into which air can be
plentifully admitted at pleasure. Those who are so situated that their
milk-house can stand over a spring, with pure water running over its
stone floor, are favored. Those who will take pains to lay ice in their
milk-rooms, in very warm weather, will find it pay largely in the
quality and quantity of their butter. Those who will not follow either
of the above directions, must be content to make less butter, and of
rather inferior quality, out of the same quantity of milk.
_Skimming_ should be attended to when the milk has soured just enough to
have a little of it curdle on the bottom of the pan. If it should nearly
all curdle, it would not be a serious injury, unless it should become
old. If you have not conveniences for keeping milk sufficiently warm in
cold weather, place it over the stove at once, when drawn, and give it a
scalding heat, and the cream will rise in a much shorter space of time,
and more plentifully. Milk should be strained and set as soon as
possible after being drawn from the cow, and with the least possible
agitation. The unpleasant flavor imparted to milk from the food of the
cows, such as turnips or leeks, may be at once removed by adding to the
milk, before straining, one eighth of its quantity of boiling water; or
two ounces of nitre boiled in one quart of water and bottled, and a
small teacupful put in twelve quarts of milk, will answer the same
purpose.
_Milking_ should be performed with great care. Experiments have
demonstrated that the last drawn from a cow yields from six to sixteen
times as large a quantity of better cream than that first drawn.
Careless milking will make the quantity of butter less, and the quality
inferior, while it dries up the cows. There are probably millions of
cows now in the United States that are indifferent milkers from this
very cause. Quick and clean milking, from the time they first came in,
would have made them worth twice as much, for butter and milk, as they
are now. Always milk as quickly as possible, and without stopping, after
you commence, and as nearly as possible at the same hour of the day.
Leaving a teacupful, or even half that quantity, in milking each cow,
will very materially lessen the products of the dairy, and seriously
injure the cows for future use. Great milkers will yield considerable
more by having it drawn three times per day. The quantity of milk given
by a cow will never injure her, provided she be well fed. As it takes
food to make meat, so it does also to make milk; you can never get
something for nothing. The best breeds of swine, cattle, or fowls, can
not be fattened without being well fed: so the best cows will never give
large messes of milk unless they are largely fed.
_Churning._--This is entirely a mechanical process. The agitation of the
cream dashes the oily globules in the cream against each other, and they
remain together and grow larger, until the butter is, what the dairy
woman calls, gathered. The butter in the milk, when drawn from the cow,
is the same as when on the table, only it is in the milk in the form of
very small globes: churning brings them together. The object then to be
secured, by any form of a churn, is agitation, or dashing and beating
together.
_Temperature of the Cream_ should be from sixty to sixty-five
degrees--perhaps sixty-two is best. This had better always be determined
by a thermometer immersed in it.
Many churns have been invented and patented; and every new one is, of
course, the best. A cylinder is usually preferred as the best form for a
churn, and the churning is performed by turning a crank. An oblong
square box is far better than a cylinder. In churning in a cylinder, it
may often occur that the cream moves round in a body with the dasher,
and so is but slightly agitated. But change that cylinder into an oblong
square, and the cream is so dashed against the corners of the box that a
most rapid agitation is the result, and the churning is finished in a
short space of time.
Any person of a little mechanical genius can construct a churn, equal to
any in use, and at a trifling expense. It is well to make a churn
double, leaving an inch between the two, into which cold or warm water
can be poured, to regulate the temperature of the cream. This would be a
great saving of time and patience in churning. Those who use the
old-fashioned churns with dashes can most conveniently warm or cool
their cream, by placing the churn containing it in a tub of cold or
boiling water, as the case may require, until it comes to the
temperature of sixty or seventy degrees.
To make butter of extra quality for the fair, or for a luxury on your
own table, set only one third of the milk, and that the last drawn from
the cow. The Scotch, so celebrated for making butter of more marrowy
richness than any other, first let the calves draw half or two thirds of
the milk, and then take the remainder. This makes the finest butter in
the world.
_Preserving Butter_ depends upon the treatment immediately after
churning. Success depends upon getting the buttermilk all out, and
putting in all the salt you put in at all, immediately--say within ten
minutes after churning. Some accomplish this by washing, and others by
working it, being much opposed to putting in a drop of water. Those who
use water in their butter, and those who do not, are equally confident
of the superiority of their own method. But all good butter-makers
agree, that the less you work butter, and still remove all the milk, the
better it will be; and the more you are obliged to work it, the more
gluey, and therefore the poorer the quality. Very good butter is made by
immediately working all the milk out and salting thoroughly--working the
salt into every part, without the use of water.
_Working over_ butter, the next day after churning, should be nothing
more than nicely forming it into rolls, without any further working or
any more salt. An error, that spoils more butter than any other, is that
of doing very little with butter when it first comes out of the churn,
because it must be gone through with the next day. Many do not know why
their butter has different colors in the same mass--some white, and some
quite yellow, and all shades between. The reason always is, putting in
the salt immediately on churning, but neglecting to incorporate that
salt into every part of the mass equally: thus, where there is most salt
there will be one color, and where less, another. Another evil is, when
the salt is thus put in carelessly, while much buttermilk remains, that
salt dissolves; and when the butter is worked over the next day, the
salt is mostly worked out, with the milk or water left in, the previous
day. The addition of more salt then will not save it. It has received an
injury, by retaining the milk or water for twenty-four hours, from which
no future treatment will enable it to recover. We recommend washing as
preferable; it has the following advantages: it cools butter quickly in
warm weather, bringing it at once into a situation to be properly worked
and salted. The buttermilk is also removed more speedily than in any
other way; this is a great object. It removes the milk with less
working, and consequently with less injury, than the other method. These
three advantages, cooling in hot weather, expelling the milk in the
shortest time, and working the butter the least, lead us to prefer using
water, by one hundred per cent. We have for years used butter that has
been made in this way, and never tasted better. Butter made in this way
in summer will keep well till next summer, to our certain knowledge.
Immediately after churning, pour off all the milk and put in half a
pailful of water, more or less according to quantity; agitate the whole
with the dasher, and pour off the water. Repeat this once or twice until
the water runs off clear, without any coloring from the milk, and nearly
all the buttermilk is out; this can all be done in five minutes after
churning. Press out the very little water that will remain, and put in
all the salt the butter will require, and work it thoroughly into every
part. All this need occupy no more than ten minutes, and the butter is
set away for putting up in rolls, or packing down in jars the next day.
Such butter would keep tied up in a bag, and hung in a good airy place.
Best to put it down in a jar, packed close; put a cloth over top, and
cover with half an inch of fine salt. The only difficulty in keeping
butter grows out of failure to get out all the milk, and thoroughly salt
every particle, within fifteen minutes after churning. Speedy removal of
buttermilk and water, and speedy salting, will make any butter keep.
This subject is so important, as good butter is such a luxury on every
table, that we recapitulate the essentials of good butter making:--
1. Keep everything sweet and clean, and well dried in the sun.
2. Milk the cows, as nearly as possible, at the same hour, and draw the
milk very quickly and very clean.
3. Set the milk, in pans three inches deep, in good air, removed from
anything that might give it an unpleasant flavor, and where it will be
at a temperature of fifty to sixty degrees.
4. Churn the cream at a temperature of sixty-two degrees.
5. Get out the buttermilk, and salt thoroughly within fifteen minutes
after churning, either with water or without, as you prefer. Mix the
salt thoroughly in every particle. Put up in balls, or pack closely in
jars the next day.
6. Remember to work the butter as little as possible in removing the
milk; the more it is worked, the more will it be like salve or oil, and
the poorer the quality: hence, it is better to wash it with cold water,
because you can wash out the buttermilk with much less working of the
butter.
7. To make the best possible quality of butter, use only one third of
the milk of the cows at each milking, and that the last drawn.
8. In the winter, when cream does not get sufficiently sour, put in a
little lemon-juice or calves' rennet. If too white, put in a little of
the juice of carrot to give it a yellow hue.
BUTTERNUT.
This is a rich, pleasant nut, but contains rather too much oil for
health. The oil, obtained by compression, is fine for clocks, &c.
The root, like the branches, are wide-spreading, and hence injurious to
the land about them. Two or three trees on some corner not desired for
cultivation, or in the street, will be sufficient. A rough piece of
ground, not suitable for cultivation, might be occupied by an orchard of
butternut-trees, and be profitable for market and as a family luxury.
The bark is often used as a coloring substance.
CABBAGE.
The best catalogues of seeds enumerate over twenty varieties, beside the
cauliflowers, borecoles, &c. A few are superior, and should, therefore,
be cultivated to the exclusion of the others.
EARLY YORK is best for early use. It is earlier than any other, and with
proper treatment nearly every plant will form a small, compact, solid
head, tender, and of delicious flavor. No garden is complete without it.
EARLY DUTCH, AND EARLY SUGARLOAF, come next in season to the Early York,
producing much larger heads.
LARGE YORK is a good variety, maturing later than the preceding, and
before the late drumheads.
Large Drumhead, Late Drumhead, or Large Flat Dutch, are the best for
winter and spring use. There are many varieties under these names, so
that cultivators often get disappointed in purchasing seeds. It is now
difficult to describe cabbages intelligibly. Every worthless hybrid goes
under some excellent name.
A Dutch cabbage, with a short stem and very small at the ground, is the
best with which we are acquainted. Of this variety (the seed of which
was brought from Germany), we have raised solid heads, larger than a
half bushel, while others called good, standing by their side, did not
grow to more than half that size. This variety may be distinguished by
the purple on the top of the grown head, and by the decided purple of
the young plants, resembling the Red Dutch, though not of quite so deep
a color.
RED DUTCH, having a very hard, small head, deep purple throughout, is
the very best for pickling; every garden should have a few. They are
also good for ordinary purposes.
GREEN CURLED SAVOY, when well grown, is a good variety.
The _Imperial_, the _Russian_, Large Scotch for feeding, and others, are
enumerated and described, but are inferior to the above. It is useless
to endeavor to grow cabbages on any but the best of soil. Plant corn on
poor land, and it will mature and yield a small crop. Plant cabbages on
similar soil, and you will get nothing but a few leaves for cattle.
Therefore, if your land designed for cabbages be not already very rich,
put a load of stable-manure on each square rod. Cabbages are a very
exhausting crop. The soil should be worked fully eighteen inches deep,
and have manure well mixed with the whole. The best preparation we ever
made was by double-plowing--not subsoiling, but plowing twice with
similar plows: put on a good coat of manure, and plow with two teams in
the same furrow, one plow gauged so as to turn a light furrow, and the
other a very deep one, throwing it out of the bottom of the first; when
the first plow comes round, it will throw the light furrow into the
bottom of the deep one. This repeated over the whole plot will stir the
soil sixteen or eighteen inches deep, and put from four to six inches of
the top, manure and all, in the bottom, under the other. We have done
this admirably with one plow, changing the gauge of the clevis every
time round, and going twice in a furrow: this is the best way for those
who use but one team in plowing; it is worth much more than the
additional time required in plowing. Enrich the surface a little with
fine manure, and you have land in the best possible condition for
cabbages. This is a fine preparation for onions and other garden
vegetables, and for all kinds of berries. Subsoiling is good, but
double-plowing is better in all cases, where you can afford to enrich
the surface, after this deep plowing.
The alluvial soils of the West need no enriching after double-plowing.
Land so level, or having so hard a subsoil as to allow water to stand on
it in a wet season, is not good for cabbages. They also suffer more than
most crops from drought. One of the most important offices of plenty of
manure is its control of the moisture. Land well manured does not so
soon feel the effects of drought. One of the best means of preserving
moisture about the roots of cabbages, is to put a little manure in the
bottom of the holes when transplanting; put it six inches below the
surface. Manure from a spent hotbed is excellent for this purpose; it is
in the best condition about the time for transplanting cabbages. It is
then very wet, and has a wonderful power of retaining the moisture.
Manure from the blacksmith-shop, containing hoof-parings, &c., is very
good. If the manure be too dry, pour in water and cover immediately. Set
the plant in the soil, over the manure, the roots extending down into
it, with a little fine mould mixed in it, and it will retain moisture
through a severe drought; no further watering will be necessary, and not
one out of twenty-five of all your plants will fail to make a good head.
In climates subject to drought in summer, cabbages should be set out
earlier; they require more time in dry weather than in wet. Should they
incline to crack open from too rapid growth, raise them a little, and
push them down again; this will break some roots, and so loosen the
remainder that the growth will be checked and the heads saved. Winter
cabbages should be allowed to stand in the ground as long as possible,
without danger of freezing in. The question of transplanting, and of
sowing the seed in the places where they are designed to head, has been
much controverted. We have succeeded well in both ways, but prefer
transplanting; it gives opportunity to stir the ground deep, and keep
down weeds, and thus preserve moisture until summer, when it is time to
transplant; it also makes shorter, smaller, and straighter stems, which
is favorable to a larger growth of heads. Sow seed on poor land; the
plants will be straighter, more hardy, and less affected by insects.
Seed for early spring cabbages should be sown on poor soil in September
or October; if inclined to get too forward, transplant, once or twice;
late in fall, set them close together, lay poles in forks of limbs put
down for the purpose, and cover with straw, as a protection from severe
frost; the poles are to prevent the covering from lying on the plants.
_Preserving_, for winter or spring use, is best done by plowing a furrow
on land where water will not stand, and placing the heads in the furrow
with the roots up. Cover with earth from three to six inches deep,
letting the roots protrude. The large leaves will convey all the water
off from the heads, and they will come out as fresh and good as in the
fall. If you wish some, more easily accessible, for winter use, set them
in the cellar in a small trench, in which a little water should be kept,
and they will not only be preserved fresh, but will grow all winter, if
the cellar be free from frost. They are also well preserved put in
trenches eighteen inches deep, out door, with a little good soil in the
bottom, and protected with poles and straw as directed for winter
plants. Cabbages that have scarcely any heads in the fall, so treated,
will grow all winter, and come out good, tender, fresh heads in spring.
_Transplanting._--This is usually done in wet weather: if it be so wet
as to render the soil muddy by stirring, it injures the plants. This may
be successfully done in dry weather, not excessively hot. Have a basin
of water, in which dip the root and shake it, so as to wash off all the
earth from the seed-bed that adheres to it. Put the plant in its place
at once, and the soil in which it is to grow takes hold of the roots
readily, and nearly every one will live. Transplant with your hand, a
transplanting trowel, a stick, or a dibble made of a spade-handle, one
foot long, sharpened off abruptly, and the eye left on for a handle. Put
the plant in its place, thrust the dibble down at a sharp angle with the
plant, and below it, and move it up to it. The soil will thus be pressed
close around the roots, leaving no open space, and the plant will grow.
Do not leave the roots so long that they will be doubled up in
transplanting--better cut off the ends.
Large cabbages should be three feet apart each way, and in perfectly
straight rows; this saves expense in cultivating, as it can be done with
a horse. The usual objections of farmers to gardening, on account of the
time required to hoe and weed, would be remedied by planting in long,
straight rows, at suitable distances apart, to allow the free use of
horse, cultivator, and plow, in cultivating; thus, beets, carrots,
cabbages, onions, &c., are almost as easily raised as corn. An easy
method of raising good cabbages is on greensward. Put on a good dressing
of manure, plow once and turn over handsomely, roll level, and harrow
very mellow on the top, without disturbing the turf below; make places
for planting seeds at the bottom of the turf; a little stirring of the
surface, and destruction of the few weeds that will grow, will be all
the further care necessary. The roots will extend under the sod in the
manure below it, and will there find plenty of moisture, even when the
surface is quite dry, and will grow profusely.
_Seed._--Nothing is more difficult in cabbage culture than raising pure
seed; nothing hybridizes worse, and in nothing else is the effect worse.
It must not be raised in the same garden with anything else of the
cabbage or turnip kind; they will mix in the blossoms, and the worse
will prevail. Raise seeds only from the best heads, and only one
variety; break off all the lower shoots, allowing only a few of the best
to mature. Seeds raised from stumps, from which the head has been
removed for use, will incline the leaves to grow down, as we often see,
instead of closing up into heads.
CALVES.
The best method of raising calves is of much importance. It controls the
value and beauty of grown cattle. Stint the growth of a calf, and when
he is old he will not recover from it. Much attention has been paid to
the breed of cattle, and some are very highly recommended. It is true
that the breed of stock has much to do with its excellence. It is
equally true that the care taken with calves and young cattle, has quite
as much to do with it. We can take any common breed, and by great care
in raising, have quite as good cattle, for market or use, as can
another, who has the best breed in the world, but keeps them
indifferently. But good breeds and good keeping make splendid animals,
and will constantly improve them. The old adage, "Anything worth doing
at all, is worth doing well" is nowhere more true, than in the care of
calves. We shall not pause to present the various and contradictory
methods of raising calves, that are presented in the numerous books, on
the subject, that have come under our observation. Hay-tea, various
preparations of linseed-meal, oilcake-meal, oatmeal, and every variety
of ground feed, sometimes mixed up with gin, or some kind of cheap
spirits (for the purpose of keeping calves quiet), are recommended. The
discussion of the merits of these, would be of no practical benefit to
our readers.
The following brief directions are sufficient:--
1. Seldom raise late calves. Their place is in the butcher's shop, after
they are five weeks old.
2. Raise only those calves that are well formed. Straight back, small
neck, not very tall, and a good expression of countenance, are the best
marks.
3. Let every calf suck its dam two days. It is for the health of the
calf and the good of the cow.
4. To fatten a calf, let it suck one half the milk for two weeks, three
fourths the third, and the whole the fourth. Continue it another week,
and the veal will be better. But we think it preferable to take calves
off from the cow after two days. Feed them the milk warm from the cow,
and give them some warm food at noon. Feed three times a day, they will
fatten faster. It also gives opportunity to put oatmeal in their food
after the second week, which will improve the veal, and give you a
little milk, if you desire it. Our first method is easier, and our last
better, for fattening calves.
5. To raise calves for stock, take them from the cows after the second
day. Feed them half the milk (if the cow gives a reasonable quantity)
for the first two weeks. Begin then to put in a little oatmeal. After
two weeks more, give one fourth of the milk, and increase the quantity
of meal. When the calf is eight or ten weeks old, feed it only on meal
and such skimmed milk, sour milk, or buttermilk, as you may have to
spare. This is the course when the object is to save milk. If not, let
the calf have the whole, with such addition of meal as you think
desirable. The easiest way to raise calves, when you do not desire the
milk for the family or dairy, is to let them run with the cows and have
all the milk when they please.
Others let them suck a part of the milk, and feed them with meal, &c.,
besides. This is difficult. If you milk your own share first, you will
leave much less for the calf than you suppose. If he gets his portion
first, he will be sure to get a part of yours also. This can only be
well done by allowing the calf to suck all the udders, but not clean.
The remainder, being the last of the milk will make the best of butter.
But it is difficult to regulate it as you please, and more difficult to
feed a calf properly, that sucks, than one that depends wholly upon what
you feed him. Hence it is preferable to feed all your calves, whether
for veal or stock. A little oilcake pulverized is a valuable addition.
Indian-meal and the coarse flour of wheat are good for calves, but not
equal to oatmeal. Good calves have been raised on gruels made of these
meals, without any milk after the first two weeks.
6. In winter, feed chopped roots and meal, mixed with plenty of hay and
pure water, and always from a month old give salt twice a week.
7. If calves are inclined to purge or scour, as the farmers call it, put
a little rennet in their food. If they are costive, put in a little
melted lard, or some kind of inoffensive oil. These will prove effectual
remedies.
There is, however, very little danger of disease, to calves, well,
regularly, and properly fed, as above.
Fat calves are not apt to have lice. But should such a thing occur,
washing in tobacco-water is a speedy and perfect remedy.
8. During cold nights in fall, and all of the first winter, calves
should be shut up in a warm dry place. Keep them curried clean.
The cold and wet of the first winter are very injurious. After they are
a year old they will give very little trouble. The great difficulty with
calves is a want of enough to eat. They should not only be kept
growing, but fat, all the first year. They will then make fine,
healthy, and profitable animals.
Chalk or dry yellow loam, placed within their reach is very useful. They
will eat of it, enough to correct the excessive acidity of their
stomachs. The operation of changing calves into oxen, should be
performed before they are twenty days old. It will then be only slightly
injurious.
CANS.
These are much used for preserving fruits and vegetables. There are a
number of patent articles said to work well. They are, in our opinion,
more expensive, and more likely to fail in inexperienced hands, than
those that an ordinary tinman can readily make. The best invention for
general use is that that is most simple. Cans should be made in
cylindrical form, with an orifice in the top large enough to admit
whatever you wish to preserve, and should contain about two quarts. Fill
the cans and solder on the top, leaving an opening as large as a
pin-head, from which steam may escape. Set the cans in water nearly to
their tops, and gradually increase the heat under them until the water
begins to boil. Take out the cans, drop solder on the opening, and all
will be air-tight. This operation requires at least three hours, as the
heating must be moderate. You may preserve in glass bottles, filling and
putting in a cork very tight, and well tied, and gradually heating as
above; this will require four hours, as glass will be in danger of
bursting by too rapid heating. But for tomatoes, or anything that you
have no objection to boiling and seasoning before preserving, the best
way is to prepare and cook as for the table, putting in only pepper and
salt, and fill cans while the mass is boiling, and, with a sealing-wax
that you can get at any druggist's laid around the orifice, place the
cover upon it; the heat will melt the wax, and when it cools, the cover
will be fastened, and all will be air-tight. This will require no
process of slow boiling. Set the cans or bottles in a cool cellar, and
whatever they contain may be taken out, at the end of a year, as good as
when put in. The last method is the best and most simple of all. The
whole principle of preserving is to make the cans air-tight.
CARROTS.
These are cultivated for the table, and for food for animals. Boiled and
pickled, or eaten with an ordinary boiled dish, they are esteemed. They
are really excellent in soups. As a root for animals, they are very
valuable. They are often preferred to beets;--this is a mistake--four
pounds of beet are equal to five pounds of carrot for feeding to
domestic animals. Work the soil for carrots very deep, make it very rich
with stable manure, with a mixture of lime; harrow fine and mellow, and
roll entirely smooth. Plant with a seed-sower, that the rows may be
straight; rows two feet apart will allow a horse and small cultivator to
pass between them. Planted one foot apart, and cultivated with a horse,
and a cultivator that will take three rows at once, they will yield much
more to the acre, and may be cultivated at a moderate expense,
exceeding but a little that of ordinary field-crops. Sow as early as
convenient, as the longer time they have, the larger will be the
product. They grow until hard frosts, whenever you may sow them. There
are several varieties, but the Long Orange is the only one that it is
ever best to grow; it is richer than the white, and yields as well: the
earlier sorts are no better, as the carrot may be used at any stage of
its growth. They should be kept in the ground as long as it is safe.
They will stand hard frosts, but, if too much frozen, they are inclined
to rot in winter. Dig in fair weather, dry in the sun, and keep dry. It
is the best of all root crops, except the beet. All animals will eat it
freely, while they have to acquire a taste for the beet.
CAULIFLOWER.
The two varieties known in this country are the English and the
French--distinguished, also, as early and late. The French only is
suitable for cultivation here; especially in the colder regions, as it
is earlier. This is cultivated in every way like cabbage. In several
respects it is preferable to cabbage; it has a more pleasant flavor, and
is more easy of digestion. It is excellent for pickling. Seeds may be
raised in the same way, and with the same precautions, as cabbage; but
it is generally imported.
CELERY.
This is one of the finest of our table vegetables, eaten raw with salt,
or in soups. Sow seed, early in spring, in open ground; or sow in
hotbeds, if you wish it very early. When the plants are six inches high,
they should be transplanted in trenches eighteen inches deep, containing
six inches of well-rotted manure or compost. This should be well
watered, and fine mould mixed with it, and the plants placed in it eight
inches apart. The trenches should be from four to six feet apart. If the
weather be warm and sun bright at the time of transplanting, a board
laid lengthwise over the top of the trench will afford perfect
protection. As the plants grow, draw the earth up to them, not allowing
it to separate the leaves; do this two or three times during the season,
and the stalks will be beautifully bleached. Heavy loam is much better
than sand.
_Preserving_ for winter is best done by taking up late in the fall,
cutting the small roots off, and rounding down to a point the large
root, removing the coarse, useless leaves, and placing in a trench at an
angle of forty-five degrees, so that six inches of the upper end of the
leaves will be above the surface. Cover with soil and place poles over,
and cover with straw, and in a very cold climate cover with earth. Keep
out the water. The end can be opened to take it out whenever you please,
and it will be as fresh as in the fall. This is better than the methods
of keeping in the cellar; it is more certain, and keeps the celery in
perfect condition.
CHEESE.
The methods of cheese-making differ materially in different countries,
and in different parts of the same country. It is also so much a matter
of experience and observation, that we recommend to beginners to visit
cheese-dairies, and get instructions from practical makers. But we give
the following more general outlines, leaving our readers to learn all
further details as recommended above.
Rennet, or the calf's stomach, is used, as nature's agent to turn the
milk, or to curdle it without having it sour. There are many fanciful
ways of preparing the rennet, putting in sweet herbs, &c. But the
ordinary plain method is quite sufficient--which is, to steep it in cold
salt water. The milk should be set at once on coming from the cow.
Setting it too hot, or cooling it with cold water, inclines the cheese
to heave. Too much rennet gives it a strong, unpleasant smell and taste.
Break the curd as fine as possible with the hand or dish, or better with
a regular cheese-knife with three blades. This is especially important
in making large cheeses; small ones need less care in this respect. If
the curd be too soft, scald it with very hot whey or water; if it be
hard, use a little more than blood-warm whey: it should stand a few
minutes in this whey and then be separated, and the curd put into the
cheese-hoop, making it heaped full, and pressed hard with the hand.
Spread a cloth over it, and turn it out. Wash the hoop and put back the
cheese, with the cloth between the curd and the hoop, and put it in the
press. After a few hours take it out, wash the cloth and put it again
around the cheese, and return it to the press. After seven or eight
hours more take it out again, pare off the edges if they need it, and
rub salt all over it--as much as it will take in: this is the best way
of salting cheese; the moisture in it at this stage will cause it to
absorb just about as much salt as will be agreeable. Return it to the
press in the hoop without the cloth; let it stand in the press over
night; in the morning turn it in the hoop, and continue it in the press
until the next morning. Place it upon the shelf in the cheese-room, and
turn it every day, or at least every other day. If the weather be hot,
the doors and windows of the cheese-room should be shut; if cool, they
should be open to admit air.
_Color._--The richest is supposed to be about that of beeswax. This is
produced by annotta, or otter, rubbed into the milk at the time of
setting, when warm from the cow--or, if the milk has stood till cold,
after it has been warmed. Cold milk must, before setting, be warmed to
about blood or milk heat. This coloring process has no virtue but in its
influence on the looks of the cheese. Sage cheese is colored by the
juice of pounded sage-leaves put into the fine curd before it is put in
the hoop; this is the reason of its appearing in streaks, as it would
not do if put into the milk, like the annotta. When the cheese is ten
days old, it should be soaked in cold whey until the rind becomes soft,
and then scraped smooth with a case-knife; then rinse, and wipe and dry
it, and return it to the cheese-room, and turn it often until dry enough
for market. Rich cheeses are apt to spread in warm weather; this is
prevented by sewing them in common cheap cotton, exactly fitting.
_Skippers._--Some persons are very fond of skippery cheese. But few,
however, like meat and milk together, especially if the meat be alive:
hence, to remove skippers from cheese into which they have intruded is
quite desirable. The following method is effectual:--wrap up the cheese
in thin paper, through which moisture will readily strike; dig a hole
two feet deep in pure earth, and bury the cheese;--in thirty-six hours
every skipper will be on the outside; brush them off and keep the cheese
from the flies, and you will have no further trouble. A mixture of
Spanish brown and butter, rubbed on the outside of a cheese, frequently
gives that yellow coating so often witnessed, and exerts some influence
in preserving it. The rank and putrid taste sometimes observed in cheese
may be prevented by putting a spoonful of salt in the bottom of each
pan, before straining the milk; it will also preserve the milk in hot
weather, and give more curd.
An English cheese called "Stilton cheese," from the name of the place
most celebrated for making it, is a superior article, made in the
following way: put the cream of the night's milk with the morning's
milk; remove the curd with the least possible disturbance, and without
breaking; drain and gradually dry it in a sieve; compress it gradually
until it becomes firm; put it in a wooden hop on a board, to dry
gradually; it should be often turned between binders, top and bottom, to
be tightened as the cheese grows smaller. This makes the finest cheese
known. As the size makes no difference, it can be made by a person
having but one cow.
To preserve cheese, keep it from flies, and in a place not so damp as to
cause mould. Of cheese-pressers there is a great variety: each maker
will select the one which he considers best or most convenient, within
his reach. In some places, as on the Western Reserve, in Ohio, one
establishment makes all the cheese for the neighborhood, buying the curd
from all the families around. In such places they have their own
methods, which they have understood by all their customers.
CHERRY.
Cherries are among our first luxuries in the line of fruits. We have
cultivated varieties, ripening in succession throughout the cherry
season. There is no necessity for cultivating the common red and very
acid cherry, except in climates too vigorous for the more tender
cultivated varieties. The cherry is an ornamental tree, making a
beautiful shade, besides the luxury of its fruit. It is one of the most
suitable trees we have for the roadside;--it ought to be extensively
planted by the highways throughout all our rural districts, as it is in
some parts of Europe. In northern Germany the highways are avenues,
shaded with cherry-trees for distances of fifty or sixty miles together:
these trees have been planted by direction of the princes, and afford
shade and refreshment to the weary pedestrian, who is always at liberty
to eat as much of the fruit as he pleases; this is eminently worthy of
imitation in our own country.
Extremes of cold and heat are not favorable to the cherry: hence, cool
places must be selected in hot countries, and warm locations in cold
regions. Very much, however, can be done by acclimation; it will,
probably, yet naturalize the cherry throughout the continent. A deep
and moderately rich loam is the best soil for the cherry; very rich soil
causes too rapid growth, which makes the tree tender. It will bear more
moisture than the grape or peach, and requires less than the apple or
pear. It will endure very dry situations tolerably well, while in very
wet ones it will soon perish.
_Propagation_ is generally by budding small trees near the ground. The
best stocks are those raised from the seeds of the common black Mazzard.
It makes a more thrifty tree than any other. The tree grows very large,
and bears an abundance of medium black fruit, smallest at the blossom
end, and having seeds very large in proportion to the size of the fruit.
In White's Gardening for the South, it is stated that the common Morello
of that region does better, by far, for seedling stocks for budding,
than the Mazzard. Use, then, the Mazzard for the North, and the Mahaleb
or common Morello for the South. Pick them when ripe; let them stand two
or three days, till the pulp decays enough to separate easily from the
seed by washing. Immediately plant the seeds in rows where you wish them
to grow; this is better than keeping them over winter in sand, as a
little neglect in spring will spoil them, they are so tender, when they
begin to germinate. Keep them clean of weeds. The next spring, set them
in rows ten inches or a foot apart, placing the different sizes by
themselves, that large ones need not overshadow small ones and prevent
their growth. In the following August, or on the last of July, bud them
near the ground. The stocks are to be headed back the following spring,
and the bud will make five or six feet of growth the same season. The
cherry-tree seldom needs pruning, further than to pinch off any little
shoots that may come out in a wrong place (and they will be very few),
and cut away dead branches. Any removal of large limbs will produce gum,
which is apt to end in decay, and finally in the death of the tree.
Whatever pruning you must do, do it in the hottest summer weather, and
the wounds will dry and prevent the exudation of gum. Trees are
generally trained horizontally. Some, however, are trained as espaliers
against walls, and in fan shape. When once the form is perfected (as
given under Training), nothing is necessary but to cut off--twice in
each season, about six weeks apart, in the most growing time--all other
shoots that come out within four inches of their base. New shoots will
be constantly springing, and the tree will keep its shape and bear
excellent fruit. Trees so trained are usually in warm locations, and
where they can be easily protected in winter; hence, this is adapted to
the finer and more tender varieties. The varieties of cherries are
numerous, and rapidly increasing. They are less distinguishable than
most other fruits. We shall only present a few of the best, and give
only their general qualities, without any effort to enable our readers
to identify varieties. (See our remarks on the nomenclature of apples.)
Downing, in 1846, recommended the following, as choice and hardy,
adapted to the middle states:--
1. Black Tartarean.
2. Black Eagle.
3. Early White Heart.
4. Downton.
5. Downer's Late.
6. Manning's Mottled.
7. Flesh-color'd Bigarreau
8. Elton.
9. Belle de Choisy.
10. May Duke.
11. Kentish.
12. Knight's Early Black.
The National Convention of Fruit-growers recommend the following as the
best for the whole country:--
1. May Duke.
2. Black Tartarean.
3. Black Eagle.
4. Bigarreau.
5. Knight's Early Black.
6. Downer.
7. Elton.
8. Downton.
We recommend the following as all that need be cultivated for profit.
They are adapted alike to the field and the garden. We omit the
synonyms, and give only the predominant color. The figures in the cuts
refer to our numbers in the list:--
Name. Color. Time.
1. Rockport Bigarreau, red. June 1st.
2. Knight's Early Black, black. June 5th.
3. Black Tartarean, purplish. June 15th.
4. Kirtland's Mary, marbled, light-red. June, July.
5. Delicate, amber-yellow. June 25th.
6. Late Bigarreau, deep-yellow. June 30th.
7. Late Duke, dark-red. Aug. 10th.
8. Cleveland Bigarreau, red. June 10th.
9. American Heart, pale. June 1st.
10. Napoleon, purplish-black. July 5th.
The time is that of their greatest perfection, but varies with latitude
and location.
We know none better than the foregoing. In the long lists of the
fruit-books, there are others of great excellence, some of which are
hardly distinguishable from our list. We recommend to all cultivators to
procure the best in their localities, under the advice of the best
pomologists in their vicinity. Such men as Barry will be consulted for
the latitude of Western New York; Elliott and Kirtland for Cleveland,
Ohio; Cole and others for New England and Canada; Hooker and other
great fruit-growers of Southern Ohio, &c., &c. These gentlemen, like all
scientific men, are happy to communicate their knowledge for the benefit
of others.
[Illustration: Cherries--Natural Size and Shape. (See page 121.)]
We see no reason for cultivating more than ten or twelve varieties; and,
as the above are productive and excellent, including all desirable
colors and qualities, and ripening through the whole cherry season, we
know not what more would be profitable to the cultivator. If you wish
more for the sake of variety, your nurseryman will name them, and show
the quality of each, that renders it "_the best_ that ever was," until
you will become tired of hearing, and more weary of paying for them.
Decayed wood, spent tanbark, and forest-leaves, are good for the cherry.
In removing and transplanting, be careful not to injure the roots, or
expose them to sun and air, as they are so tender, that a degree of
exposure that would be little felt by the apple or peach tree will
destroy the cherry. If you are going to keep a cherry-tree out of the
ground half an hour, throw a damp mat, or damp straw, over the roots,
and you will save disappointment. The rich alluvial soils of the West
are regarded unfavorable to the cherry. We know from observation and
experience that the common red cherry does exceedingly well there, while
the best cultivated are apt to suffer much from the winters. One reason
is, the common cherry is a slow-going, hardy tree, while the cultivated
is more thrifty, and therefore more tender. We give the following as a
_sure method_ of raising the cultivated cherries in great perfection on
all the rich prairies of the West. It is all included in dry locations,
root-pruning, and slight heading-in:--
1. Dry locations. It is known that the rich alluvial soils of the West
are remarkable for retaining water in winter. On level, and even high
prairie land, water will stand in winter, and thoroughly saturate the
soil and freeze up. This is very destructive to the tender, porous root
of the cherry-tree. How shall such locations be made dry, and these
evils prevented? By carting on gravel and sand. Put two or three loads
of sand or gravel, or both, in the shape of a slight mound, for each
cherry-tree. There should first be a slight excavation, that the sand
and gravel may be about half below the level of the surrounding soil,
and half above it: this will so elevate the tree that no water can stand
around it, and none can stand in the gravel and sand below it. The
freezing of such soil will not be injurious to the roots of the tree.
2. Root-pruning is to prevent too rapid growth. Such growth is always
more tender and susceptible of injury from sudden and severe freezing.
(See Root-pruning.)
3. Heading-in puts back the growth and throws the sap into the lateral
twigs, thus maturing the wood already grown, instead of producing new
wood, so young and tender that it will die in winter and spread decay
through the whole tree. Heading-in, with the cherry, must only be done
with small twigs. Cultivators will see at a glance that this method will
certainly succeed in all the West and Southwest.
It is considered difficult to raise cherries at the South; the hot sun
destroys the trees. Plant in the coolest situations, where there is a
little shade from other trees, though not too near, or from buildings;
cut them back, so as to cause shoots near the ground, and then head-in
as the peach, so as to keep the whole covered with leaves, to shade the
trunk and large limbs, and perfect success will crown your efforts. But
in all cutting-back and heading-in of cherry-trees, remove the limbs
when very small.
CHARCOAL.
There are but few who realize the value of charcoal applied to the soil.
Whoever will observe fields where coal has been burned, will see that
grass or grain about the bed of the former pits, will be earlier and
much more luxuriant than in any other portion of the field. This
difference is discernible for twenty years. It is the best known agent
for absorbing any noxious matter in the soil or in the moisture about
the roots of the trees. No peach-tree should be planted without a few
quarts of pulverized charcoal in the soil. This would also prove highly
beneficial to cherry-trees on land where they might be exposed to too
much moisture. Its color also renders it an excellent application to the
surface of hills of vines. It is quite effectual against the ravages of
insects, and so absorbs the rays of the sun as to promote a rapid growth
of the plants.
CHESTNUTS
Are among our best nuts, if not allowed to get too dry. When dried hard
they are rather indigestible. The tree grows well in most parts of the
United States, provided the soil be light sand or dry gravel. If the
soil be not suitable, every man may have a half-dozen chestnut-trees, at
a trifling expense. Haul ten or fifteen loads of sand upon a square rod,
and plant a tree in it, and it will flourish well. Five or six trees
would afford the children in a family a great luxury, annually. The
blossoms appear so very late, that they are seldom cut off by the frost.
The second growth chestnut-tree is also decidedly ornamental.
CIDER.
The usual careless way of making cider, in which is used all kinds of
apples, even frozen and decayed ones, and without any reference to their
ripeness; without straining, and neglecting all means of regulating the
fermentation, is too well known. This is the more general practice
throughout the country; but it makes cider only fit for vinegar,
although it is used for general purposes. We give the most approved
method of making and keeping cider, that is better for invalids than any
of our adulterated wines (and this is the character of nearly all our
imported wines). Our domestic wines, and bottled cider, should take the
place of all others.
Select apples best suited for cider, and gather them at the commencement
of hard frosts. Let them lie a few days, until they become ripe and
soft. Then throw out all decayed and immature fruit. Grind fine and
uniform. Let the pulp remain in the vat two days. It will increase the
saccharine principle and improve the color. Put into the press in dry
straw, and strain the juice into clean casks. Place the casks in an open
shed or cellar, if it be cold weather, give plenty of air and leave the
bung out. As the froth works out of the bung, fill up every day or two,
with some of the same pressing kept for the purpose. In three weeks or
less this rising will cease, and the bung should be put in loose, and
after three days driven in tight. Leave a small vent-hole near the bung.
In a cool cellar the fermentation will cease in two days. This is known
by the clearness of the liquor, the thick scum that rises, and the
cessation of the escape of air.
Draw off the clear cider into a clean cask. If it remains quiet it may
stand till spring. A gill of fine charcoal added to a barrel will secure
this end, and prevent fermentation from going too far. But if a scum
collects on the surface, and the fermentation continues, rack it off
again at once. Then drive the vent-spile tight. Rack it off again in
early spring. If not perfectly clear, dissolve three quarters of an
ounce of isinglass in cider, and put it in the barrel, and it will soon
be perfectly fine. Bottle between this and the last of May. Fill the
bottles within an inch of the bottom of the cork, and allow them to
stand an hour, then drive the cork. Lay them in dry sand, in boxes in a
cool cellar, and the cider will improve by age, and is better for the
sick than imported wines.
CITRONS
Are only used for preserving. Their appearance and growth resemble in
all respects the watermelon. Planted near the latter, they utterly ruin
them, making them more citron than melon. They are injurious to most
other contiguous vines. They are to be planted and cultivated like the
watermelon. Are very fine preserved; but we think the outside (removing
the rind) of a watermelon better, and should not regret to know, that
not another citron was ever to be raised.
CLOVER.
The only varieties successfully cultivated in this country, are the red
and the white. Red clovers are divided into large, medium, and small.
The white is all alike. The long-rooted clover of Hungary is an
excellent productive variety, enduring successfully almost any degree of
drought. But in all the colder parts of this country it winter-kills so
badly as to render it unprofitable. Clover makes good pastures, being
nutritious, and early and rapid growing. Red-clover makes fair hay,
though inferior to timothy or red-top. White clover is unsuitable for
hay; it shrinks so much in drying, that it is very unproductive. It is
the best of all grasses for sheep pasture, and its blossoms afford in
abundance the best of honey. Red clover plowed in, even when full-grown,
is an excellent fertilizer. It begins to be regarded, in western New
York, as productive of the weevil, so destructive to wheat. Further
observation is necessary to settle this question.
Red-clover hay is too dusty for horses, and too wasteful for cattle. The
stalks are so large a proportion, and so slightly nutritious, that it is
unprofitable even as cut-feed. It is best to cultivate clover mainly for
pastures and as a fertilizer. Sowing clover and timothy together for hay
is much practised. The first year it will be nearly all clover, and the
second year mostly timothy. But sown together, they are not good for
hay, because they do not mature within ten or fifteen days of the same
time. But, for those who are determined to make hay out of red clover,
the following directions for curing may be valuable: mow when dry,
spread at once, and let it wilt thoroughly; then put up into small
cocks, not rolled, but one fork full _laid_ upon another until high
enough;--it will then shed water; but when rolled up, water will run
down through. Let it stand till thoroughly dried, and then draw into the
barn; it will be bright and sweet. Another method is to cut when free
from dew or rain, spread even, and allow it to wilt, and the leaves and
smaller parts to dry; then draw into the barn, putting alternate loads
of clover and dry straw into the mow, salting the clover very lightly.
The clover is sometimes put in when quite green, and salted sufficiently
to preserve it. It is injurious to cattle, by compelling them to eat
more salt than they need. Cattle will eat but little salt in winter,
when it stands within their reach; too much salt in hay compels them to
eat more, which engenders disease. Clover cured as above makes the best
possible clover-hay, if great care be used to prevent excessive salting.
Saving clover-seed is a matter of considerable importance. The large red
clover is too late a variety to produce seed on a second crop the same
season, as do the medium and small. The first growth must be allowed to
ripen. Cut when the heads are generally dead, but before it has begun to
shell. The medium and small red clovers will produce a good crop of seed
from second growth, if it be not too dry, immediately after mowing. Cut
when the heads generally are dry, rake into small winrows at once, and
soon put it in small bunches and let it stand until very dry, and then
draw in. Raking and stirring after it becomes dry will waste one half of
it.
COFFEE BEAN.
This grows in a pod somewhat resembling the pea; easily raised, as other
beans; and is very productive. Browned and ground, it is used as a
substitute for coffee. By many persons it is much esteemed. If this and
the orange carrot were adopted extensively, instead of coffee, it would
afford a great relief to the health, as well as the pockets, of the
American people.
CORN.
This is the most valuable of all American products of the soil, not
excepting wheat or cotton. It is used for human food all over the world.
And there is no domestic animal or fowl, whose habits require grain,
whether whole or ground, that is not fond of it. It is easily raised,
and is a sure and abundant crop, in all latitudes south of forty-six
degrees north. The varieties are few, and principally local. The soil
can not be made too rich for corn. It should be planted in rows each
way, to allow cultivating both ways with a horse. The distance of rows
apart has been a subject of some differences of opinion; there is a
disposition to crowd it too near together. In western New York, where
much attention has been given to it, the usual distance is three and one
half feet each way; others plant four feet apart. On all land we have
ever seen, we believe four feet apart each way, with four or five stalks
in a hill, will produce the largest yield. It lets in the sun
sufficiently around every hill, and the proportion of ears to the stalks
will be larger than in any other distance. Planting with a span of
horses, and a planter on which a man can ride and plant two rows at
once, is the easiest and most expeditious. We can not too strongly
recommend harrowing corn as soon as it comes out of the ground. It
increases the crop, and saves much expense in cultivating. All planters
should know that Indian corn is one of those plants which will come to
maturity at a certain age, whether it be large or small; hence, anything
that will increase the growth while young will add to the product. Corn
neglected when small receives, thereby, an injury from which it will
never recover; after-hoeing may help it, but never can fully restore it.
If there are small weeds, the harrowing will destroy them, and give all
the strength of the soil to the young corn; if there are no weeds, the
effect of the harrowing will be to give the young plants twice as large
a growth in the first two weeks as they would make without it. Harrow
with a =V= drag, with the front tooth out, that the remaining
teeth may go each side of the row. Use two horses, allowing the row to
stand between them; let the harrow-teeth run as near the corn as
possible. Never plant corn until the soil has become warm enough to make
it come up quickly and grow rapidly. If you feed corn to cattle whole,
feed it with the husks on, as it will compel them to chew it better,
and will thus be a great saving. Crib corn only when very dry, and avoid
the Western and Southern method of leaving cribs uncovered; the corn
thus becomes less valuable for any use. A little plaster or wood-ashes
applied to corn on first coming up, and again when six inches high, will
abundantly repay cost and labor;--it will pay even on the prairie-lands
of the West, and is quite essential on the poorer soils of the East and
North. It had better never be neglected. The crop will weigh more to the
acre, by allowing it to stand as it grew, until thoroughly dry. The next
larger crop is when the stalks are cut off above the ear (called
topping) after it has become glazed. Still a little less will be the
product when it is cut up at the ground, while the leaves are yet quite
green. The two latter methods are adapted for the purpose of saving
fodder in good condition for cattle. Intelligent farmers regard the
fodder of much more value than the decrease in the weight of the grain.
Corn thus cut up, and fed without husking, is the best possible way for
winter-fattening cattle on a large scale, and where corn is abundant. To
save the whole, swine should follow the cattle, changing yards once a
week.
Seed-corn should be gathered from the first ripe large ears before
frost, and while the general crop is yet green. Select ears above the
average size, that are well filled out to the end, and your corn will
improve from year to year. Take your seed indiscriminately from the crib
at planting-time, and your corn will deteriorate. The largest and best
ears ripen neither first nor last; hence, select the largest ears before
all is ripe, and reject the small earliest ears. Soaking seed
twenty-four hours, and then rolling in plaster before planting, is
recommended; it is conveniently practised only where you plant by hand.
Soaking without rolling in plaster is good, if you plant in a wet time;
but if in a dry time, it is absolutely injurious. Once in a while there
occurs quite a general failure of seed-corn to come up. Farmers say that
their corn looks as fair as ever, but does not vegetate well. When this
is general, there is a remedy that every farmer can successfully apply.
The difficulty is not (as we have often heard asserted) from the intense
cold of the winter: it is sometimes the result of cold, wet weather
after planting. But we do not believe that such would be the effect,
with good seed, on properly-prepared land. The difficulty is, the fall
was very wet, and the seed was allowed to stand out and get thoroughly
soaked; when it was gathered it was damp, and the intense cold of winter
destroyed its vitality, without injuring its appearance. There is no
degree of cold, in a latitude where corn will grow, that will injure the
seed, if it be gathered dry and kept so. Our rules for saving seed,
given above, will always remedy this evil. This is, perhaps, the most
profitable of all green crops for soiling cattle. Sown on clean, mellow
land, it will produce an enormous weight of good green fodder, suitable
for summer and early fall feeding of cows, just at a time when dry
weather has nearly destroyed their pastures. Corn-fodder, well cured, is
better for milch-cows than the best of hay. Cut fine and mixed with
ground feed, it is excellent for cattle and horses. It is best preserved
in small stacks or large shocks, that will perfectly dry through. The
tops and leaves, removed while green, are very fine.
COTTON.
No product of the soil is more useful than this. To this country alone
we give the highest value to Indian corn. But, in usefulness to the
whole world, corn must yield the palm to cotton. It employs more hands
and capital in manufacturing, and enters more largely into the clothing
of mankind, than any other article. The history of cotton and the
cotton-gin, and of the manufacture of cotton goods, is exceedingly
interesting. The eminence of Great Britain as the first commercial
nation of the world is due, in no small degree, to her cotton
manufactures. And the influence of this great staple American product
upon all the interests of this country, social and political, civil and
religious, is universally felt and acknowledged. The cotton-fields of
the South, at certain stages of growth, and especially when in bloom,
present scenes of beauty unsurpassed by any other growing crop. It does
not come within our design in this work to give a very extended view of
cotton culture. This business in the United States is confined
principally to a particular class of men, known as planters. They
cultivate it on a large scale, having the control of large means. Such
men seek knowledge of those of their own class, and would hardly
condescend to listen to an essay on their peculiar business, written by
a Northern man, not experienced in planting. And yet an article, not
covering more than ten pages of this volume, might be written,
condensing in a clear manner all that is established in this branch of
American industry, as found in the publications of the South. Such an
article, well written, by a man who would be regarded good authority,
would be of vast pecuniary value to the South. Whoever carefully reads
Southern agricultural papers, and "TURNER'S COTTON-PLANTER'S MANUAL,"
will see a great conflict of opinions on the subject, and yet a
presentation of many facts, that one thoroughly conversant with soil
culture in general would see to be true and important. The embodiment of
these facts and principles in a brief, plain article that would be
received and practised, would add value to the annual cotton crop, that
would be counted by millions. What better service can some Southern
gentleman do for his own chosen and favorite region than to write such
an article? We give the following brief view of the whole subject, not
presuming to teach cotton-planters what they are supposed to understand
much better than we do, but to throw out some thoughts that may be
suggestive of improvements that others may mature and carry out, and to
lead young men, just commencing the business of planting, to look about
and see if they may not make some improvements upon what they behold
around them. This will not fail of being interesting to Northern men,
most of whom know nothing of the cotton-plant, or the modes of its
cultivation. It is interesting, too, that some of the most essential
points are in perfect accordance with the great principles of soil
culture throughout the world.
There are three species of cotton: tree-cotton, shrub-cotton, and
herbaceous cotton. The tree-cotton is cultivated to considerable extent
in northern Africa, and produces a fair staple of cotton for commerce;
being produced on trees from ten to twenty-five feet high, it is not so
easily gathered. The shrub-cotton is cultivated in various parts of the
world, particularly in Asia and South America. Growing in the form of
small bushes, it is convenient, and the staple is fair. But these are
both inferior to the herbaceous cotton. This is an herb growing
annually, like corn, a number of feet in height, more or less according
to soil and season, and producing the best known cotton. Under these
species there are many varieties: we need speak only of the varieties of
herbaceous cotton. Writers vary in their estimates of varieties; some
say there are eight, and others put them as high as one hundred. This is
a question of no practical moment. The sea-island cotton, called also
"long staple" on account of its very long silky fibres, is the finest
cotton known. Its name arose from the fact of its production in greatest
perfection on the low, sandy islands near the coasts of some of the
Southern states. It does well on low land near the seashore. The
saltness and humidity of such locations seem peculiarly favorable to its
greatest perfection. It yields about half as much as the "short staple"
called Mexican and Petit gulf cotton, and known in commerce as upland
cotton. But the sea-island, or long staple, sells for three or four
times as much per pound, and, hence, is most profitable to the planter,
in all regions where it will flourish well. The Mexican is very
productive on most soils, and is easily gathered and prepared for
market. There are quite a number of other varieties; as, banana, Vick's
hundred-seed, Pitt's prolific, multibolus, mammoth, sugar-loaf, &c., &c.
The sugar-loaf is highly commended, as are some of the others named.
They have had quite a run among seed-sellers. Most of these varieties
are the improved Mexican. It is well to get seed frequently from a
distance; but any extravagant prices are unwise. Improvement of
cotton-seed is an important part of its most profitable culture. While
much said about it by interested parties is doubtless mere humbug, yet
there is great importance to be attached to improvement of seed. This is
true of all agricultural products, and no less so of cotton than of
others. Two things only are essential to constant improvement in
cotton-seed--_selection_ and _care_. Select from the best quality,
producing the largest yield, and maturing early; pick it before much
rain has fallen on it after ripening; dry it thoroughly before ginning,
and dry it very thoroughly after it is clear of the fibre, before
putting it in bulk. Cotton-seed, without extra care in drying, has
moisture enough to make it heat in bulk, by which its germinating power
is greatly impaired. It is this, and the effects of fall rains, that
causes seed to trouble planters so seriously by not coming up: this
makes it difficult to obtain good even stands, and causes much loss by
diminished crops. Care in these respects would add many pounds to the
acre in most cotton-fields of the land.
_Preparing the Soil for Planting._--On all land not having a porous
subsoil, plow very deep; it gives opportunity for the long tap-root of
the plant to penetrate deep, and guard against excessive drought. The
usual custom is to lay the ground into beds, elevated a little in the
middle, and a depression between them, in which excessive moisture may
run off; also to increase the action of the sun and air. The surface of
the soil to be planted should be made very fine and smooth. This is true
of everything planted--it should be in finely-pulverized soil; it comes
up more readily and evenly. Soil left in coarse lumps or particles gives
the air too much action on the germinating seeds and young plants, and
retards and stints their growth. Deep plowing guards alike against too
much or too little moisture. Too much water has room to sink away from
the surface and allow it to dry speedily. It also forms a sort of
reservoir to hold water for use in a drought. The seed should be planted
in as straight a line as possible, from three and a half to five and a
half feet apart one way, and from fourteen to twenty-five inches the
other, according to the quality of the land, and the growth of the
variety planted. Rich lands will not bear the plants so close as the
poor. Many are great losers by not securing plants enough on the ground.
Straight lines greatly facilitate culture, as it can mostly be done with
the plow or cultivator. Turning land over deep, just before planting, is
the best known remedy for the cut-worm; it is said to put them back
until the plants grow beyond their reach. The best planters generally
cover with a piece of plank drawn over the furrow in which the seed is
dropped. It would be far better to roll it, as some few planters do; the
effect on the early vegetation of the seed and rapid growth of the young
plant would be very great, on the general principles given on "Rolling."
The object of cultivation is to keep down the grass, which is the great
enemy of the cotton. Plowing the last thing before planting aids this,
by giving the cotton quite as early a start as the weeds or grass.
Cultivate early, and the grass will be easily covered and killed. Always
plant when it will come up speedily and grow rapidly; this is better
than very early planting, and certainly much better than very late. Thin
out to one in a place, as early as the plants are out of danger of
dying. Gathering should commence as soon as bolls enough are in right
condition to allow a hand to gather forty pounds per day. It is better
and cheaper than to risk the injury from rains after the crop is ripe.
MANURES.--Perhaps this is, at the present time, the greatest question
for cotton-planters. The application of all the most approved principles
and agents of fertilization would do more for the interests of the
cotton crop than anything else. Cotton-plantations are sometimes said to
run down so as to render it necessary to abandon portions of the land,
and select new. Instead of this, land may not only be kept up with
proper manuring, but made to yield larger crops from year to year. The
following analysis of the ash of the cotton-plant will indicate the
wants of the soil in which it grows:--
1. Potash 29.58
2. Lime 24.34
3. Magnesia 3.73
4. Chloride 0.65
5. Phosphoric acid 34.92
6. Sulphuric acid 3.54
7. Silica 3.24
----
100.00
This analysis shows that the soil for cotton needs much lime, bones or
bone-dust, and wood-ashes, besides the ordinary barn-yard and compost
manures. All the preparations and applications of manures specified in
this work, under the head of "Manures," are applicable to cotton. The
usual recommendations of rotation in crops is, perhaps, more important
in cotton culture than anywhere else. Judicious fallowing, on principles
adapted to a Southern climate, is another great means of keeping up and
improving the land. This is also the only effectual means of guarding
against the numerous enemies and diseases of the cotton-plant. The
health of the plants is secured, and they are made to outstrip their
enemies only by the fertility and fine tilth of the soil in which they
grow. This is confirmed on every hand by the correspondence of the most
intelligent planters of the South. Let cotton-growers go into a thorough
system of fertilization of their soils, and attend personally to the
improvement of their cotton-seed, by selection, as recommended above,
and the result will be an addition of one eighth, or one fourth, to the
products of cotton in the United States, without adding another acre to
the area under cultivation. When this comes to be understood, men of
small means will cultivate a little cotton by their own individual
labor, as the poorer men do corn and other agricultural products, and
thus improve their condition. The above suggestions are the conclusions
to which we come, from a thorough examination of what has been published
to the world on this subject. We recommend the careful perusal of "The
Cotton-Planter's Manual," by Turner (published by Saxton and Co., New
York), and increased attention to the subject, by the intelligent,
educated, and practical men with whom the cotton-growing regions abound.
COWS.
The cow occupies the first place among domestic animals, in value to the
American people, not excepting even the horse. From the original stock,
still kept as a curiosity on the grounds of some English noblemen,
cattle have been greatly improved by care in breeding and feeding. Those
wild animals are still beautiful, but only about one third of the weight
of the ordinary improved cattle, and not more than one fourth that of
the _most improved_. Improving the breed of cattle is a subject by
itself, demanding a separate treatise. It is not to be expected that we
should go into it at length in a work like this. But so much depends
upon the cow, that we can hardly write an article on her without giving
those general principles that lie at the foundation of all improvement
in cattle. The few suggestions that follow, if heeded, would be worth
many times the value of this book to any farmer not already familiar
with the facts. The cow affects all other stock in two ways; first, the
form of calves, and consequently of grown cattle, is affected as much by
the cow as by the bull. The quality and quantity of her milk, also, has
a great influence upon the early growth of all neat stock. Cattle are
usually named from their horns, as "short horns," &c. It is a means of
distinction, like a name, but not expressive of quality. The leading
marks of a good cow are, medium height for her weight, small neck,
straight and wide back, wide breast--giving room for healthy action of
the lungs--heavy hind-quarters, and soft skin with fine hair, skin
yellowish, with much dandruff above the bag behind. A smart countenance
is also expressive of good qualities; there is as much difference in the
eyes and expression of cattle as of men. Select only such cows to raise
stock from, and allow them to go to no bull that has not good marks, and
is not of a superior form. Another important matter is to avoid
breeding in and in. This is injurious in all domestic animals and
fowls. Always have the cow and the bull from different regions:
attention to this would constantly improve any breed we have, and by
improving the size of cattle, and milking qualities of cows, would add
vast amounts to the wealth of farmers, without the necessity of
purchasing, at a great price, any of the high-bred cattle. We have
observed, in our article on calves, that abundant feeding during the
first year has much to do with the excellence of stock. Unite with these
regularity in feeding, watering, and salting, keeping dry and warm in
stormy, cold weather, and well curried and clean, and a farmer's stock
will be much more profitable to him. But this brief mention of the
general principles must suffice, while we give all the further space we
can occupy with this article to--
THE INFALLIBLE MARKS OF THE MILKING QUALITIES OF COWS.--M. Francis
Guenon, of France, has published a treatise, in which he shows, by
external marks alone, the quality and quantity of milk of any cow, and
the length of time she will continue to give milk. These marks are so
plain, that they are applicable to calves but a few weeks old, as well
as to cows. Whoever will take a little pains to understand this, can
know, when he proposes to buy a cow, how much milk she will give, with
proper feed and treatment, the quality of her milk, and the length of
time she will give milk after having been gotten with calf. If the
farmer has heifer-calves, some of which he proposes to send to the
butcher and others to raise, he may know which will make poor milkers,
and which good ones, and raise the good and kill the poor. Thus, he may
see a calf that his neighbor is going to slaughter, and, from these
external marks, he may discover that it would make one of the best
milking cows of the neighborhood; it would then pay to buy and raise it,
though he might have to kill and throw away his own, which he could see
would make a poor cow if raised. Thus, all extraordinary milkers would
be raised, and all poor ones be slaughtered: this alone would improve
the whole stock of the country twenty-five per cent. in as many years.
Attention has been called to this, in the most emphatic manner, by _The
New York Tribune_--a paper that always takes a deep interest in whatever
will advance the great industrial interests of the whole people--and
yet, this announcement will be new to a vast number of farmers into
whose hands this volume will fall. To many it will be utterly
incredible, especially when we inform them that the indications are,
mainly, the growth of the hair, on the cow behind, from the roots of the
teats upward. "Impossible!" many a practical, common-sense man will say.
But that same man will acknowledge that a bull has a different color,
different neck, and different horns, left in his natural state, from
those he would exhibit if altered to an ox. Why is it not equally
credible that the growth of the hair, &c., should be affected by the
secretion and flow of the milk on that part of the system where those
operations are principally carried on? But, aside from all reasonings on
the subject, the fact is certain, and whoever may read this article may
test its correctness, as applied to his own cows or those of his
neighbor. The great agriculturists of France (and it is no mean
agricultural country) have tested it, under the direction of the
agricultural societies, and pronounced it entirely certain. This was
followed by an award, by the French government, of a pension of three
thousand francs per annum to Guenon, as a benefactor of the people by
the discovery he had made. The same has been amply tested in this
country, with the same certain results. It now only remains for every
farmer to test it for himself, and avail himself of the profits that
will arise from it. Guenon divides cows into eight classes, and has
eight orders under each class, making sixty-four cows, of which he has
cuts in his work. He also adds what he calls a bastard-cow in each
class, making seventy-two in all. Now, to master all these nice
distinctions in his classes and orders would be tedious, and nearly
useless. Efforts at this would tend to confusion. We desire to give the
indications in a brief manner, with a very few cuts; and yet, we would
hope to be much better understood by the masses than we believe Guenon
to be. We claim no credit; Guenon is the discoverer, and we only
promulgate his discovery in the plainest language we can command; and if
we can reach the ear of the American farmers, and call their attention
to this, we shall not have labored in vain.
The appearance of the hind-part of the cow, from a point near the
gambrel-joint up to the tail, Guenon calls the escutcheon. The following
cuts show the marks of all of Guenon's eight classes, the first and the
last in each class. The intermediate ones are in regular gradation from
the first to the eighth order. Each class is divided into high, medium,
and low, yielding milk somewhat in proportion to their size. We give the
quantity of milk which the large cows will yield. This also supposes
cows to be well fed on suitable food. Smaller cows of the same class and
order, or those that are poorly cared for and fed, will, of course, give
less.
The names of all these eight classes are entirely arbitrary--they mean
nothing. M. Guenon adopted them on account of the shape of the
escutcheon, or from the name of the place from which the cows came. But
cows with these peculiar marks are found among all breeds, in all
countries, and of all colors, sizes, and ages. These marks are certain,
except the variations that are caused by extra care or neglect.
[Illustration: Fig. 1. FIRST CLASS. Fig. 2.
_Order_ 1. FLANDERS COW. _Order_ 8.]
This class of cows has a delicate bag, covered with fine downy hair,
growing upward from between the teats, and, above the bag behind, it
blends itself with a growth of hair pointing upward, and covering the
region marked in figure 1. This upward growth of hair begins on the legs
just above the gambrel-joint, covers the inside of the thighs, and
extends up to the tail, as in figure first. Above the hind teats they
generally have two oval spots, two inches wide by three long, formed by
hair growing downward, and of paler color than the hair that surrounds
them (E, E, in fig. 1). The skin covered by the whole of this escutcheon
is yellowish, with a few black spots, and a kind of bran, or dandruff,
detaches from it. Cows of this class and order, when well kept, give
about twenty-two quarts of milk per day, when in full flow, and before
getting with calf again; after this a little less, but still a large
quantity. They will continue to give milk till eight months gone with
calf, or till they calve again, if you continue to milk them. This,
however, should never be done; it exposes the health of cows at the time
of calving, and injures the young. From this there is a gradual
diminution in the quantity of milk through the orders, down to the
eighth.
Cows of this order (fig. 2), or with the marks you see in the drawing,
will never yield more than about five quarts per day in their best
state, and they will only continue to give milk until two months with
calf: hence, these are only fit for the butcher. The intervening six in
Gruenon's classification are gradually poorer than the first, and better
than the last, in our cuts. The marks are but very slightly different
from the above, except in size; the difference is so trifling, that any
one can at once see that they belong to this class;--and the comparative
size of this mark will show, infallibly, their value compared with the
above. In the intermediate grades, the spots (E, E, fig. 1) are smaller,
and as the orders descend, these spots are wanting, and some slight
changes in the form of the whole mark are observed, yet the general
outline remains the same. Now, as the decrease in the eight orders in
each class is about from two and a half to three or three and a half
quarts, no man with eyes need be deceived in buying a cow, or raising a
calf, in the quantity of milk she may be made to give. Any man can tell,
within one or two quarts, the yield of any cow or heifer. The only
chance for mistake is in the case of bastard-cows, which rapidly dry up
on getting with calf.
[Illustration: Fig. 3. SECOND CLASS. Fig. 4.
_Order_ 1. SELVAGE COW. _Order_ 8.]
In this class, the shape of the escutcheon is entirely distinct, so that
no one will confound it with the first. The gradations are the same as
in the preceding, only this class, all through, is inferior to the
other. The first (fig. 3) will give only twenty or twenty-one quarts,
and the poorest only four quarts. This escutcheon is formed by ascending
hair, but with a very different outline from the first class; it has the
same spots above the hind teats as the first, formed by descending
hair. In the lower orders these disappear--first one, then one small
one, and then none at all--and as they descend, similar spots appear,
formed in the same way, on one or both sides of the vulva (F, fig. 3).
The skin of the inside surface of the thigh is yellowish. The time of
giving milk--viz., eight months gone with calf, or as long as you
continue to milk them--is the same as in the first class. The last order
(fig. 4) of this class give very little milk after getting with calf.
[Illustration: Fig. 5. THIRD CLASS. Fig. 6.
_Order_ 1. CURVELINE COW. _Order_ 8.]
This escutcheon is easily distinguished from the others, by its outline
figure. The spots on the bag above the hind teats are formed as in the
preceding, and as gradually disappear in the lower orders. In those
orders there is a slight difference in the outline, but its general form
is the same. The first of this class (fig. 5) yields twenty or
twenty-one quarts a day, and gives milk till within a month of calving.
The last order of the class (fig. 6) gives only three and a half quarts,
and goes dry on getting with calf. The intermediate gradations between
the first and eighth orders are the same as in the preceding classes.
[Illustration: Fig. 7. FOURTH CLASS. Fig. 8.
_Order_ 1. BICORN COW. _Order_ 8.]
These escutcheons are unmistakably diverse from either of the others;
gradations, from first to eighth orders, the same. The first order in
this class (fig. 7) will give eighteen quarts a day, and give milk until
eight months with calf. The dandruff which detaches from the skin within
the escutcheon of the first order is yellowish or copperish color. The
two marks on the sides of the vulva are narrow streaks of ascending
hair, not in the general mark. The last order of the class (fig. 8)
gives three and a half quarts only a day, and goes dry when with calf.
[Illustration: Fig. 9. FIFTH CLASS. Fig. 10.
_Order_ 1. DEMIJOHN COW. _Order_ 8.]
Here is another general mark, easily distinguishable from all the others
by its outline. The first order (fig. 9) will give eighteen quarts a
day, and give milk eight months, or within a month of calving. Yellowish
skin; delicate bag, covered with fine downy hair, as in the higher
orders of all the preceding classes. The eighth order of this class
(fig. 10) will give only two and a half quarts per day, and none after
conceiving anew. The gradation from first to eighth order is regular, as
in the others.
SIXTH CLASS.
Yield of first order (fig. 11) eighteen quarts per day; time, eight
months. Skin within the escutcheon same color, bag equally delicate, and
hair fine, as in all the first orders. Eighth order (fig. 12) yields
about two quarts per day, and dries up on getting with calf.
[Illustration: Fig. 11. Fig. 12.
_Order_ 1. SQUARE ESCUTCHEON COW. _Order_ 8.]
[Illustration: Fig. 13. SEVENTH CLASS. Fig. 14.
_Order_ 1. LIMOUSINE COW. _Order_ 8.]
First order in this class (fig. 13) gives fifteen quarts; time, eight
months. The skin, bag, and hair, same as in the higher orders in all the
classes. The eighth order (fig. 14) will yield two and a half quarts per
day, and dry up when with calf.
EIGHTH CLASS.
First order (fig. 15) will give fifteen quarts per day; time, eight
months. Skin in escutcheon reddish-yellow and silky, hair fine, teats
far apart. The eighth order (fig. 16) yields two and a half quarts a
day, and dries up on getting with calf.
[Illustration: Fig. 15. Fig. 16.
_Order_ 1. HORIZONTAL CUT COW. _Order_ 8.]
Each class of cows has a kind called bastards, among those whose
escutcheons would otherwise indicate the first order of their class:
these often deceive the most practised eye. The only remedy is to become
familiar with the infallible marks given by Guenon by which bastards may
be known. This defect will account for the irregularity of many cows,
and their suddenly going dry on becoming with calf, and often for the
bad quality of their milk. They are distinguished by the lines of
ascending and descending hair in their escutcheon.
[Illustration: Fig. 17. Fig. 18. Fig. 19.]
In the FLANDERS COW (fig. 17) there are two bastards; one distinguished
by the fact that the hair forming the line of the escutcheon bristles
up, like beards on a head of grain, instead of lying smooth, as in the
genuine cow; they project over the intersection of the ascending and
descending hair in a very bristling manner. The other bastard of the
FLANDERS COW is known by having an oval patch of downward growing hair,
about eight inches below the vulva, and in a line with it; in the large
cows it is four inches long, and two and a half wide, and the hair
within it always of a lighter color than that surrounding it. Cows of
this mark are always imperfect. In the bastards, the skin on the
escutcheon is usually reddish; it is smooth to the touch, and yields no
dandruff.
Bastards of the SELVAGE COW are known by two oval patches of ascending
hair, one on each side of the vulva, four or five inches long, by an
inch and a half wide (fig. 18). The larger the spot, and the coarser the
hair, the more defective they prove, and vice versa.
Bastards of the CURVELINE COW are known by the size of spots of hair on
each side of the vulva (fig. 18). When they are of four or five inches
by one and a half, and pointed or rounded at the ends, they indicate
bastards. If they be small, the cow will not lose her milk very rapidly
on getting with calf.
Bastards of the BICORN COW are indicated precisely as in the
preceding--by _the size_ of the spots of ascending hair, above the
escutcheon and by the sides of the vulva (F, F, fig. 18).
Bastards of the DEMIJOHN COW are distinguished precisely as the two
preceding--_size of the streaks_ (fig. 18).
The SQUARE ESCUTCHEON COW indicates bastards, by a streak of hair at the
right of the vulva (fig. 19). When that ascending hair is coarse and
bristly, it is a sure evidence that the animal is a bastard.
LIMOUSINE COWS show their bastards precisely as do the CURVELINE and
BICORN, by the size of the ascending streaks of hair, on the right and
left of the vulva. (Fig. 19.)
Bastards of the HORIZONTAL CUT COWS have no escutcheon whatever. By this
they are always known.
Some bastards are good milkers until they get with calf, and then very
soon dry up. Others are poor milkers. Those with coarse hair and but
little of it, in the escutcheon, give poor, watery milk. Those of fine,
thick hair will give good milk.
BULLS have escutcheons of the same shape as the cows, but on a smaller
scale. Whenever there are streaks of descending hair bristling up among
the ascending hair of the escutcheon, rendering it quite irregular and
rough in its appearance, the animal is regarded as a bastard. Never put
a cow to any bull that has not a regular, well-defined, and smooth
escutcheon. This is as fully as we have room to go into M. Guenon's
details. We fear this will fall into the hands of many who will not take
the pains to master even these distinctions. To those who will, we trust
they will be found plain, and certain in their results. From all this,
one thing is certain, and that is of immense value to the farmer: it is,
that on general principles, without remembering the exact figure of one
of the indications above given, or one of the arbitrary terms it has
been necessary to use, any man can tell the quality and quantity of milk
a cow will give, and the time she will give milk, with sufficient
accuracy to buy no cow and raise no heifer that will not be a
profitable dairy cow, if that is what he desires. The rules by which
these things may be known are the following:
No cow, of any class, is ever a good milker, that has not a large
surface of hair growing upward from the teats and covering the inner
surface of the thighs, and extending up toward or to the tail.
No cow that is destitute of this mark, or only has a very small one, is
ever a good milker. Every cow having a scanty growth of coarse hair in
the above mark will only give poor, watery milk; and every cow having a
thick growth of fine hair on the escutcheon, or surface where it
ascends, and considerable dandruff, will always give good rich milk, and
be good for butter and cheese.
Every cow on which this mark is small will give but little milk, and dry
up soon after getting with calf, and is not fit to be kept.
Observe these brief rules, and milk your cows _at certain hours every
day_--milk _very quickly_, without stopping, and _very clean_, not
leaving a drop--and you never will have a poor cow on your farm, and at
least twenty-five per cent. will be added to the value of the ordinary
dairy, that is made up of cows purchased or raised in the usual,
hap-hazard way.
If your cows' udders swell after calving, wash them in aconite made weak
with water; it is very good for taking out inflammation. Other common
remedies are known. If your cow or other creature gets choked, pour into
the throat half a pint, at least, of oil; and by rubbing the neck, the
obstruction will probably move up or down. Curry your cows as thoroughly
as you do your horses; and if they ever chance to get lousy, wash them
in a decoction of tobacco.
CRANBERRY.
[Illustration]
This is native in the northern parts of both hemispheres. In England and
on the continents of Europe and Asia, native cranberries are inferior,
in size and quality, to the American. Our own have also been greatly
improved by cultivation. They have become an important article of
commerce, and find a ready sale, at high prices, in all the leading
markets of the country. Their successful cultivation, therefore,
deserves attention, as really as that of other fruits. Mr. B. Eastwood
has written a volume on the subject, which probably contains all the
facts already established, together with many opinions of scientific and
practical cultivators. The work is valuable, but much less so than it
would have been, had the author put into a few pages the important
facts, and left out all speculations and diversities of opinion. The
objection to most of this kind of literature is the intermixture of
facts and valuable suggestions with so much that is not only useless,
but absolutely pernicious, by the confusion it creates. We think the
following directions for the cultivation of the cranberry are complete,
according to our present knowledge:--
_Soil._--It is universally agreed that _beach sand_ is the best. Not
from the beach of the ocean barely, but of lakes, ponds, or rivers.
There is no evidence that any saline quality that may be in sand from
the beach of the sea, is particularly useful. It is the cleanness of the
sand, on which account it is less calculated to promote a growth of
weeds, and allows a free passage of moisture toward the surface. Hence
white sand is preferable, and the cleaner the better. Whoever has a
moist meadow in the soil of which there is considerable sand has a good
place for a cranberry bed. If you have not a sand meadow, select a plat
of ground as moist as any you have, upon which water will not stand
unless you confine it there, and draw on sand to the depth of four or
six inches, having first removed any grass or break-turf, that may be in
danger of coming up as weeds to choke the vines. If you make the ground
mellow below and then put on the sand, you will have a bed that will
give you but little further trouble. Peat soils will do, if you take off
the top and expose to the weather, frosts and rains, one year before
planting. The first year, peat will dry and crack, so as to destroy
young cranberry vines. But after one winter's frost, it becomes
pulverized and will not again bake. Hence it is next to sand for a
cranberry bed.
_Situation._--The shore of a body of water, or of a small pond is best,
if it be not too much exposed to violent action of wind and waves. Land
that retains much moisture within a foot of the surface, but which does
not become stagnant, is very valuable. The bottoms of small ponds that
can be drained off are very good. Any land that can be flowed with water
at pleasure is good. By flooding, the blossoms are kept back till late
spring frosts are gone. Any upland can be prepared as above. But if it
be a very dry soil it must have a liberal supply of water during dry
weather, or success may not be expected.
_Planting._--There are several methods. Sod planting consists in
preparing the land and then cutting out square sods containing vines,
and setting them at the distances apart, you desire. This was the
general method; but it is objectionable, on account of the weeds that
will grow out of the sod and choke the vines. This method is improved by
tearing away the sod, leaving the roots naked, and then planting.
Another method is to cut off a vigorous shoot, and plant the middle of
it, with each end protruding from the soil two or three inches apart.
Roots will come out by all the leaves that are buried, and promote the
springing of many new vines, and thus the early matting of the bed which
is very desirable.
Others take short slips and thrust four or five of them together down
into the soil as they do slips of currant bushes, thus making a hill of
as many plants. And yet another method is, to cut up the vines into
pieces of two or three inches in length, and broad cast them on mellow
soil, and harrow them in as wheat--Others bury the short pieces in
drills. In either case they will soon mat the whole ground, if the land
be not weedy. The best plan for small beds is probably the middle
planting.
Distances apart depend upon your design in cultivating. If your soil is
such that so many weeds will grow as to require cultivating with a
horse, or much hoeing, four feet one way and two the other is the best.
Better have land so well covered with clean sand, that very few weeds
will grow and no cultivation be needed. Then set vines one foot apart
and very soon the whole ground will be perfectly matted and will need
very little care for years. For two or three years pull out the weeds by
hand, and the ground will be covered and need nothing more.
_Varieties._--There are three principal ones of the lowland species. The
bell, the bugle, and the cherry cranberries. These are named from their
shape. Probably the cherry is the best, being the size, shape, and color
of the cultivated red cherries. There has recently been discovered an
upland variety, on the shores of Lake Superior, that bids fair to be as
hardy and productive as the common currant. On all poor, hard, and even
very dry uplands, it does remarkably well. It grows extensively in the
northern part of the British provinces. The fruit is smaller than the
other varieties but is delicious, beautiful in color, and very abundant.
It will probably be one of our great and universal luxuries.
_Healthy and Unhealthy Plants._--By this cultivators denote those that
bear well and those that do not. And yet the unhealthy, or those that
bear the least, are the larger, greener-leaved, and rapid-growing
varieties. It is difficult to describe them so that an unpractised eye
would know them from each other. The best way to be sure of getting the
right kind is to purchase of a man you can trust, or visit the beds when
the fruit is in perfection and witness where the crop is abundant, mark
it, and let it remain until you are ready to plant. This is always best
done in the spring, or from May 15th to June 15th.
_Gathering_--is performed by hand, or with a cranberry-rake.
Hand-picking is best for the vines, but is more expensive. If a rake be
used, it will draw out some small runners and retard the growth of young
vines. But it is such a saving of expense, it had better be used, and
always drawn the same way. The fruit should be cleared of leaves and
decayed berries; and if intended for a near market, be packed dry in
barrels. If to be transported far, put them in small casks, say
half-barrels, with good water. They may thus be carried around the globe
in good condition. To keep well they should not be exposed to fall
frosts, and should not be picked before ripe. A little practice, and at
first on a small scale, may enable American cultivators of the soil,
generally, to have good cranberry beds. Much of the practical part of
this can only be learned by experience. The above suggestions will save
much loss and discouragement.
_Enemies_--are worms that attack the leaves, and another species that
attack the berries. There are only two remedies proposed, viz., fire and
water. If you can flood your beds you will destroy them. If not, take a
time not very dry so as to endanger burning the roots, and burn over
your cranberry-beds, so as to consume all the vines. Next season new
vines will grow up free from worms.
CUCUMBERS.
There are quite a number of varieties. But a few only deserve attention.
The best, for all uses, is the Early Cluster, a great bearer of firm,
tender, brittle fruit. Early Frame, Long White, Turkey, and Long Green
Turkey, are rather beautiful, but not prolific varieties. Long Prickly,
is very good for pickles, and fills a cask rapidly, but is by no means
so pleasant as the Early Cluster. The Short Prickly and White Spined are
considerably used. The West India or small Gherkin is used only for
pickling, and is considered fine. But we regard all these inferior to
the Early Cluster.
_Soil_ should be made very rich with compost and vegetable mould, with a
liberal application of sand. All vines do better in a sandy soil. Plant
in the open air only after the weather has become quite warm. An effort
to get early cucumbers by early out-door planting is usually a failure;
seeds decay, or having come up, after a long while, they grow slowly,
and vines and fruit are apt to be imperfect. Six feet apart, each way,
is the best distance; and after the plants get out of the way of
insects, and become well established, two vines in each hill is better
than more: the fruit will be better and more abundant, and they will
bear much longer than when vines are left to grow very thick. They need
water in dry weather (see Watering). The first week in July is the best
time to plant for pickling. In a warm, dry climate, cucumbers do better
a little shaded, but not too much. Planted among young fruit-trees, or
in alternate rows with corn, they do well. If allowed to run up bushes
like peas, they produce more and better fruit. Forcing for an early crop
is often done, by digging a hole in the ground, two feet deep and two
feet square, and filling with hot manure, stamped down well, and covered
with six inches of fine mould. Put around a frame and cover with glass,
at an angle of thirty-five degrees to the sun. Plant one hundred seeds
on the two feet square; when they come up, put two plants in a pot, set
in a regular hotbed, and keep well watered and aired until the weather
be warm enough to transplant in the open air; then remove from the pots
without breaking the ball of earth, and plant six feet apart. Four
plants left in the original hill will bear earlier than those that have
been removed. To get a large quantity of very early ones, plant a
corresponding number of hills, with the two feet of manure, as above;
whenever the weather becomes hot, they will need to be well watered, or
they will dry up. All cucumber-plants forced should have the main runner
cut off, after the second rough leaf appears; this brings fruit earlier
and twice as abundant. On transplanting cucumbers, or any other vines,
cover them wholly from the sun for three days, or, if the weather be
dry, for a whole week. We once thought melons and cucumbers very
difficult to transplant successfully; but we ascertained the only
difficulty to be, the want of sufficient water and shade. When roots and
soil were so dry that the dirt all fell off, we have transplanted with
perfect success; but for a week the plants appeared to be ruined. We
kept them covered and well watered, and they revived and made a great
crop, much earlier than seeds planted at the same time. Protection of
plants from insects has been a subject of much study and many
experiments. Ashes and lime, and various decoctions and offensive
mixtures, have been recommended. We discard them all, as both
troublesome and ineffectual. Our experience is, most decidedly, in favor
of fencing each hill, of all vines, to keep off insects. A box a foot
square and fifteen inches high, the lower edge set in the soil, will
usually prove effectual. Put over a pane of glass, and it will be more
sure, and increase the warmth and consequently the growth of the plants.
Put millinet over the boxes, instead of glass, and not a hill will be
lost. If a cutworm chances to be fenced in, he will show himself by
cutting off a plant. Search him out and kill him, and all will be safe.
Such boxes, well taken care of, will last for ten years. This, then, is
a cheap as well as effectual method.
Cucumbers are a cooling, healthy article of diet, used in reasonable
quantities. They should be sliced into cold water, taken out, and put in
sharp vinegar with pepper and salt. Ripe cucumbers make one of the best
of pickles: for directions in making, we refer to the cook-books. If you
have room near your back door for one large hill of cucumbers, you may
obtain a remarkable growth. Dig down deep enough to set in an old
barrel, with head and bottom out, leaving the top even with the surface.
Fill with manure from the stable, well trod down. In fine rich mould,
around on the outside of the barrel, plant twenty or thirty
cucumber-seeds. Put a pail of water in the barrel every day. The water
comes up through the soil to the roots of the plants, bringing with it
the stimulus of the manure, and the effect is wonderful. A large barrel
has been filled with pickles from one such hill. If bushes be put up to
support the vines, it is still better. Neglect to pour in water, and
they will dry up; but continue to water them, and they will bear till
frost in autumn.
CURRANTS.
These are among the very best of all the small fruits; immensely
productive in all locations, and adapted to a great variety of uses, and
hang long on the bushes after ripening.
There is quite a number of varieties, some of which are probably the
mere result of cultivation of others well known. The common red is too
well known to need description--very acid, and always remarkably
productive, in all soils and situations. The size and quality of the
fruit are affected by location and culture. The native currants, as
found in the north of Europe, are small and inferior; but all excellent
modern varieties have sprung from them by cultivation. In working these
important changes, the Dutch and French gardeners have been the chief
agents: hence our names, Red and White Dutch currants.
The common red and the common white are still cultivated in the great
majority of American gardens; and yet, they are not worthy to be named
with the White Dutch and the Red Dutch, which may easily be obtained by
every cultivator. These two varieties are all that ever need be
cultivated. Long lists of currants are described in many of the
fruit-books; the result, as in all such cases, is confusion and loss to
the mass of growers. We will not even give the list. The common red and
the white currants are greatly improved by cultivation. But the Dutch
have longer bunches, of larger fruit, the lower ones in the stem holding
their size much better than common currants; the stems are usually full
and perfect, and the fruit less acid and more pleasant.
A new, strong-growing variety, called the "cherry currant" on account of
its large size, is now considerably grown. A few bushes for variety, and
for their beautiful appearance, may be well enough; but it is not a very
good bearer, and therefore is not so profitable as the Dutch.
The Attractor is a new French variety, said to be valuable. Knight's
Early Red has the single virtue of ripening a few days earlier than the
others. The Victoria is perhaps the latest of all currants, hanging on
the bushes fully two weeks longer than others. The White Grape, the Red
Grape, and the Transparent, are all good and beautiful. The utilitarian
will cultivate the Red Dutch and the White Dutch as his main crop, with
two or three of the others for a variety. The amateur will get all the
varieties, and amuse himself by comparing their qualities, and trying
his skill at modifying them. As these efforts have resulted, in past
time, in the production of our best varieties, so they may, in future,
in something far better than we yet have. There is no probability that
any of our fruits have reached the acme of perfection.
The common black, or English black currant has long been cultivated. A
jam made of it is valuable for sore throat. The highest medical
authority pronounces black currant wine the best, in many cases of
sickness, of any wine known. The Black Naples possesses the same
virtues, and being a much larger fruit, and more productive, should take
the place of the English black, and exclude it from all gardens.
_Cultivation._--Currant-bushes should be set four feet apart each way,
and the whole ground thoroughly mulched; it keeps down all weeds and
grass, saving all further labor in cultivation, and greatly increases
the size and quantity of the fruit. On nothing does mulching pay better.
(See article Mulching.)
Any good garden-soil is suitable for currants. On the north side of a
wall or building, or in the shade of trees, they will be considerably
later. The same effect may be produced by covering bushes a part of the
time with blankets or mats. Some are retarded by this means, so as to be
in perfection after others are gone: thus, the currant that naturally
comes to perfection about midsummer is preserved on the bushes until
October.
Many cultivate currants in the tree form; allowing no sprouts from the
roots, and no branches within a foot or two of the ground. This object
is secured by cutting from the slip you are to plant, from which to
raise a bush, all the lower buds to within two or three of the top, and
then pinching off at once all shoots that may start out of the stem
below; this makes beautiful little shrubs, but the top is apt to be
broken off by the wind, and they must be replaced by new ones every four
or five years. Downing strongly recommends it, but we can not do so. Let
bushes grow in the natural way, removing all old, decaying branches, and
all suckers that rise too far from the parent-bush, and keep the
clusters of bushes and leaves thin enough to allow the sun free access,
and prevent continued moisture in wet weather, which will rot the
fruit, and you will find it the cheapest and best. We have seen quite as
large and as fine fruit grow on such bushes, that we knew to be more
than twenty years old, as we ever saw of the same variety when
cultivated in the tree form.
DAIRY.
For cheese, the dairy should contain three rooms: one for setting the
milk, with suitable boilers, &c.; next, a press-room, in which the
cheese should be salted, as given under article _Cheese_; the third, a
store-room. In all climates a cheese-house should be made as tight as
possible;--thick stone walls are best; windows should be on two sides,
north and west, but not on opposite sides, so as to create a draught:
this is no better for cheese or butter, and is always dangerous to the
operator. Let all persons who would enjoy good health avoid a draught of
air as they would an arrow. If your cheese-house can be shaded on the
east, south, and west, by trees, and have only a northern exposure, it
will aid you much in guarding against extremes of heat and cold. Windows
should be fitted closely, and covered with wire-cloth on the outside, so
as to exclude all flies.
A dairy for butter needs but two rooms, and a cool, dry cellar, with
windows in north and west. The first room should be for setting and
skimming the milk, and the other for churning and working the butter,
and scalding and cleaning the utensils. If your milk-room can be a
spring-house with stone-floor, and a little water passing over it, you
will find it a great benefit. The shade, situation of windows, avoiding
a current, &c., should be the same as in the cheese-dairy.
To prevent the taste of turnips or other food of cows in milk and
butter, put one quart of hot water into eight quarts of the milk just
drawn from the cow, and strain it at once. It has been recently
declared, by intelligent farmers, that if you feed the turnips to cows
immediately after milking, the next milking, twelve hours after feeding
the roots, will be free from their taste or odor. The easiest remedy is
the boiling water.
DECLENSION OF FRUITS.
That there are instances of decided decline in the quality of fruits is
certain. But on the causes of those changes pomologists do not agree.
One theory is, that fruits, like animals and vegetables of former ages,
may decline and finally become extinct. Should this theory be
established, the declension would be so gradual that a century would
make no perceptible change. But we do not credit the theory, even as
applied to former geological periods in the history of our globe. The
changes of past ages, as revealed in geology, have been brought about,
not gradually, but by great convulsions of nature, such as volcanoes, or
the deluge, that resulted in the destruction of the old order of things,
and in a new creation.
The true theory of this declension of varieties of fruits, is, that it
is the result of repeated budding upon unhealthy stocks, and of neglect
and improper cultivation. Apply the specific manures--that is, those
particularly demanded by a given fruit--prune properly, mulch well, and
bud or graft only on healthy seedling stocks of the same kind, and,
instead of declension, we may expect our best fruits to improve
constantly, in quality and quantity.
DILL.
An herb, native in the south of Europe, and on the Cape of Good Hope. It
is grown, particularly at the South, as a medicinal herb. The leaves are
sometimes used for culinary purposes; but it is principally cultivated
for its sharp aromatic seed, used for flatulence and colic in infants,
and put into pickled cucumbers to heighten the flavor. The seeds may be
sown early in the spring, or at the time of ripening. A light soil is
best. Clear of weeds, and thin in the rows, are the conditions of
success.
DRAINS.
Drains are of two kinds--under-drains and surface-drains. The latter are
simply open ditches to carry off surface-water, that might otherwise
stand long enough to destroy the prospective crop. These are frequently
useful along at the foot of hills, when they should be proportioned to
the extent of the surface above them. They are also very useful on low,
level meadow-lands. Properly constructed, they will reclaim low swamps,
and make them excellent land. Millions of acres of land in the United
States, as good as any we have, are lying useless, and spreading
pestilence around, that by this simple method of ditching might be
turned to most profitable account. The direction of these drains should
be determined by the shape of the land to be drained by them--straight
whenever they will answer the purpose, but crooked when they will do
better. On low and very level land, they should be not more than five
rods apart; they should be three times as wide at the top as they are at
the bottom, and as deep as the width at the top; made so slanting, the
sides will not fall in;--they should be so shaped as to allow only a
very gentle flow of the water: if it flows too rapidly, it will wash
down the sides, and obstruct the ditch, and waste the land. Excavations
for under-draining are made in the same way, only the top need not be so
much wider than the bottom; it would be a waste of labor in excavating a
useless quantity of earth. There are four methods of filling up the
ditch, viz., with brush; with small stones thrown in promiscuously; with
a throat laid in the bottom and filled with small stones; and with a
throat made of tile from the pottery. In all cases, that with which the
ditch is filled must not come so near the surface as to be reached by
the plow. Brush, put in green and covered with straw or leaves, will
answer a good purpose for several years, and may be used where small
stones can not easily be obtained. The tile is more expensive than
either of the others, and not so good as the stones; it is so tight that
the water does not enter it so readily; and if by any chance dirt gets
into the throat, it obstructs it, and there is no other channel through
which the water can pass off. Small stones thrown in promiscuously
serve a good purpose for a long time, if they be covered with straw or
cornstalks before the earth is put in. But the best method is to make a
throat, six inches square, in the bottom of the drain, laying the large
stones over the top of it, and filling in the small stones above, and
covering with straw;--the water will find its way into the throat
through the numerous openings; and if the throat should ever be filled,
the water could still pass off between the small stones above. Such
drains will last many years, and add one half to the products of all wet
springy land. The earth over the new drain should be six inches higher
than the surface of the field, that, when well settled, it may be level.
Leave no places open for surface-water to run in; that would soon fill
up and ruin a drain. Drains made to carry off spring-water are often
useless by being in a wrong location. Springs come out near the foot of
rising ground. Just where they come out should be the location of the
drain, which would then carry off the water and prevent it from
saturating and chilling the soil in the field below. Many persons locate
their ditch down in the centre of the wet level below the rise of
ground; this is of no use to the surface above, to the point where the
water springs. Locate the drain just at the point where the land begins
to be unduly wet. On very wet, level land, a small drain may also be
needed below the first and main one. The cost of a covered drain as
described above will be from fifty to seventy-five cents per rod, and an
uncovered one will cost from twenty to thirty cents. When you have low
swamps to drain, you can realize more than the cost of draining, by
carting the excavations upon other land, or into the barnyard as
material for compost. Perhaps no expenditure, on land needing it, pays
so well as thorough draining. It is important, for all fruit-orchards on
low land, to put a drain through under each row of trees: it is
indispensable to cherries, and highly favorable to all other fruits.
DUCKS.
There are a number of varieties, the wild Black Spanish, the
Canvass-Back, and the ordinary little duck of the farmyard, are all
good. The common duck is the only one we recommend for the American
poultry-yard. A close pasture, including a rivulet, or a small stream of
water, affords facilities for raising ducks at a cheap rate. From one
hundred to one thousand ducks may be raised in such an enclosure of an
acre or two, quite profitably. If there is plenty of grass, they will
still need a little grain. In the winter the cheapest feed is beets or
potatoes cut fine, with a very little grain. Each duck, well kept, will
lay from fifty to one hundred eggs, larger than hen's eggs, and about as
good for cooking purposes. They may be picked as geese, for live
feathers, though not quite so frequently. The feathers will nearly pay
for keeping, leaving the eggs and increase as profit.
DWARFING.
This has some advantages in its application to fruit-trees. It will
enable the cultivator to raise more fruit on a small plat of ground, to
get fruit much earlier than from standard trees, and sometimes, with
high cultivation, the fruit will be larger. Dwarfing is done by grafting
into small slow-growing stocks. Almost all fruits have such kinds.
Grafting into other stocks, as the pear into the foreign quince, is a
very effectual method. The Paradise stock for the apple, the Canada and
other slow-growing stocks for the plum, the dwarf wild cherry of Europe
and the Mahaleb for cherries. Dwarfs produced by grafting upon other
stocks are short-lived, compared with standards of the same varieties.
They should only be used to economize room, to test varieties, and
produce fruit while standards are coming into bearing.
Better and much longer-lived dwarfs may be produced by frequent
transplanting, thorough trimming of the roots, and repeated heading-in.
The fruit on such dwarfs must be well thinned out when young, or it will
be smaller than is natural. The effect of heading in is to cause the sap
to mature an abundance of fruit-buds. This will tax the tree too much,
unless they be well thinned out. Root-pruning is an effectual method of
dwarfing (see Pruning). Dwarfing by root-pruning, repeated
transplanting, and thorough heading-in, will not render the trees very
short-lived, and in many situations it is profitable. The same is true
of the dwarf pear on the quince. All other dwarfing is more for the
amateur than the utilitarian.
EARLY FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
Are often considered a great luxury, and always command a high price.
Early vegetables are secured by hotbeds and the various methods of
forcing, as given under the different species. Early fruits are obtained
by dwarfing, as given on that subject. Location, soil, and mode of
cultivation, also, have much to do with it. Warm location,
finely-pulverized soil, often stirred and kept moist, will materially
shorten the time of the maturity of fruits and vegetables. Seeds
imported from the North, where seasons are shorter, will mature earlier.
Another means of hastening maturity is to plant successively, from year
to year, the very first that ripens; this tends to dwarf in proportion
as the time of maturity is hastened. In this way such dwarfs as the
little Canada corn, that will mature at the South in six weeks, have
been produced. Various early plants, as tomatoes, cabbages, peppers, and
egg-plants, may be started in boxes or flower-pots in the house. Planted
in February here, or in January in the South, they will grow as well as
house-plants, and acquire considerable size before it is time to place
them in the open ground. This is convenient for those who have no
hotbeds. They must be kept from frost, and occasionally set out in a
warm day to harden, and they will do well.
EGG PLANT.
The white is merely ornamental. The large purple is one of the greatest
luxuries of the vegetable garden. Plant seeds in hotbed at the time of
planting tomatoes or peppers. Set out in land made very rich with
stable-manure and decayed forest-leaves, two feet and a half apart each
way. Kept clean, and earthed up a little, and the bugs kept off while
the plants are small, they will produce an abundance of fruit. There are
two varieties of the purple--_large prickly-stem purple_, growing
sometimes eight inches in diameter; and the _long purple_, bearing
smaller, long fruit, but a large quantity, and considerably earlier than
the large. Many do not like them at first; but after tasting a few
times, almost all persons become very fond of them. If not properly
cooked, they are not at all palatable. Although it belongs to the
cook-book, yet, to save this excellent plant from condemnation, we give
a recipe for cooking it. It is fit for use from one third grown, until
the seeds begin to turn. Without paring, cut the fruit into slices one
third of an inch thick; put it in a little water with plenty of salt,
and let it stand over night, or six hours at least; take it out, and fry
very soft and brown in butter or fresh lard--if not fried soft and
brown, it is disagreeable. Salt, ashes, and bonedust, or superphosphate
of lime, are the best manures, as more than two thirds of the fruit is
made up of potash, soda, and phosphates, as shown by chemical analysis.
EGGS.
Of the quality of eggs you can always judge correctly by looking at them
toward the light: if they are translucent they are good; if they look
dark they are old--or you may get a chicken, when you only paid for an
egg.
Many methods for preserving eggs are recommended. Packed away in fine
salt they will keep, but, like salt meat, have not the same flavor as
fresh. Set them on their small ends in a tight cask, and fill it with
pure lime-water, and they will keep, but it changes their flavor. This,
however, is a very common method. The best way known to us, is to pack
fresh eggs down in Indian meal, allowing no two to touch each other.
Keep very dry in a cool cellar, and they will remain for months
unchanged.
ELDERBERRY.
This is a healthy berry, dried and used for making pies, especially
mixed with some other fruit. The blossoms are much used as medicine for
small children. The common sweet elder is the only kind cultivated. The
earlier red are offensive and poisonous. They are easily grown on rough
waste land, or in any situation you prefer. Of this berry is made a
wine, superior in flavor and effect to any port wine now to be obtained
in market; it has had the preference among the best judges in the
country;--it is fast coming into notice and cultivation. The wine is so
entirely superior to the poisonous substances of that name in commerce,
that it would be well for every neighborhood to make enough for their
sick. The process is sure and easily intelligible to all. (See article
Wine.)
ENDIVE.
This is a well-known winter-lettuce. Sow from July to September,
according to latitude. It should come into maturity at the time of the
first smart frosts. To get beautiful, white, tender bunches, they should
be tied up when the leaves are about six inches long. When frost comes,
protect by covering. In very cold climates, place it in the cellar, with
the roots in moist earth, and it will keep for a long time. It will not
be extensively used in this country for soups and stews, as it is in
Europe; and but few of the American people care much about
winter-lettuce. This is the best variety of lettuce, except for those
who have hot-houses and attend to winter-gardening. They will prefer the
other finer varieties. There are two varieties of endive cultivated in
this country: _green curled_, which is the most common, and used
principally as a salad; the _broad-leaved_, or Batavian, has thicker
leaves and large heads, and is principally used in stews and soups.
Still another variety, called _succory_, which is used to some extent in
Europe as a winter-salad, but is cultivated mainly for the root. It is
dried and ground to mix with coffee: some consider it quite as good.
This is more cultivated at the South than at the North--their winters
are much better adapted to it. The medicinal virtues of this plant are
nearly equal to those of the dandelion. When it is bleached, by tying or
earthing up, the bitterness is removed, and the taste is pleasant; this
must be done when the plants are dry, or they will rot. Plant them in a
sunny place and in a light soil.
FEEDING ANIMALS.
Feed as nearly as possible at the same hours. All creatures do much
better for being so fed. Do not feed domestic animals too much: animals
will be more healthy, grow faster, and fatten better, by being fed
almost, but not quite as much as they will eat. Giving food to lie by
them is poor economy; always let them eat it all up, and desire a little
more;--at the same time, let it be remembered that creatures kept very
poorly for a considerable time, especially while young, will never fully
recover from it. This is often done under the idea of keeping them
cheap, but it is dear keeping. They never can make as fine animals
afterward.
All grains and vegetables, except beets and turnips, are better for
being boiled or steamed. The increased value is much more than the cost
of cooking, provided persons are not so careless as to allow food to be
injured by standing after cooking. Cooking is supposed to add one fourth
to the value of food. Grinding dry grains adds nearly as much to their
value, as feed for animals, as cooking. If you neither grind nor boil
hard grain for feed, it will pay well to soak it somewhat soft before
feeding. Variety of food is as pleasant and healthy for animals as for
men.
FENCES.
These are matters of great importance to the farmers of the whole
country, but especially to those on the prairies of the west.
In all localities where stone can be obtained from the fields or quarry,
the best and cheapest fence is a stone wall. If the stones are flat,
make the wall two feet thick at bottom, and one at top, five feet high.
If the stones are very irregular the wall should be thicker. Stone walls
should have transverse rows of shingles, boards, or split sticks, about
half an inch thick, laid in the wall at suitable distances. If stones
are quite flat three rows are desirable, one two, the next three, and
the other four feet from the ground. If the wall is made of rough stones
it will require one more course of sticks, leaving them only a foot
apart. The sticks should be of such lengths as to come out just even
with the wall, on each side. The lower courses will be longer than the
upper ones. These sticks are to keep the wall from falling down. Dig a
ditch one foot deep, two feet from the wall, and throw the earth
excavated up against the wall, and the water will run off and prevent
heaving by frost, and such a wall will need the merest trifle of
attention during a generation, and will last for centuries. A cord of
stones will make one rod. We can not too strongly recommend this kind of
fence, in all places where stones can be obtained reasonably. The pieces
of wood laid in a wall, will keep well for thirty years, when they will
need replacing. Next to stone is a good board fence. Well made and of
good materials, it is durable and always in its place. Hence it is a
cheap fence.
Of the various styles of picket, and other fancy fences for front yards,
&c., it is more the province of the architect or the mechanic to treat.
Styles vary and are constantly increasing in number. The great point to
be secured in all such, to render them most durable, is to have the
smallest possible points of contact. A picket fence with horizontal base
should never have the pickets standing on the base board. They should be
separated, from one quarter to one half an inch. A good style for
villages, is a cap, water tight, and wide enough to cover the ends of
the posts and pickets with a neat little cornice. It looks well and is
very durable.
In all localities where timber is not too valuable, a cheap and
substantial fence is made of split rails. The crooked rail-fence, with
stakes and riders, is well known. Also that with upright stakes and
caps, which is decidedly preferable. It will stand much longer, and the
stakes are out of the way. No farmer should ever risk his crop with a
rail-fence without stakes. But the best of all rail-fences, is that made
of posts and rails. The rails are put in as bars, but so firmly that the
fence can not be taken down, without commencing at the end. Where cedar
or locust posts, and oak or cedar rails can be obtained, a fence may be
made that will not get out of repair for twenty-five years. No creature
can tear it down, for human hands can not take it down without tools, or
without commencing at the end. This is considered expensive. But as the
farmer may prepare his posts and rails in winter, and it will require no
attention to keep it up, and is very durable and perfectly effectual
against cattle, it is an economical fence. For hedges, see that
article.
FENNEL.
This is a hardy perennial plant of Southern Europe, and belongs to both
the culinary and the medicinal departments. It grows well on almost any
soil, and is propagated by seeds, offshoots, or by parting the roots. It
is much inclined to spread. A few roots, kept within reasonable bounds,
are enough for a family. It is much used in Europe for soups, salads,
and garnishes. The Italians treat it as celery. In this country it is
mostly used medicinally. It is stimulant and carminative. Very
beneficial to children in cases of flatulency and colic.
FIGS.
[Illustration]
This fruit is native in the warmer parts of Asia: hence, the cold
winters of the Middle, Northern, and Western states, and of Canada,
would destroy the trees in the open air without protection. But as the
trees are low-growing shrubs, they may easily be protected either in
cellars, greenhouses, or the open air, and uncovered or planted out in
the beginning of warm weather. Frequent removals and transplantings
injure the fig less than any other fruit, and our summers are long
enough to produce large crops of excellent figs. In New England they are
raised in tubs, set out of the cellar in spring, and produce largely.
South of Virginia, the fig is hardy, and may be cultivated with profit
in the open air. The best method of raising all kinds of fruit, in
climates where the winters are too cold for them, is to build a wall
twelve feet high on one side, and six feet on the other, with the ends
closed, and cover it with glass facing the south. This should only be
kept warm enough to prevent freezing, which would require only a small
outlay. Men of moderate means might thus have oranges, lemons, figs,
&c., of their own raising. In all except our coldest latitudes, such
fruits might be raised at a profit.
_Soil._--The best is a deep, rich loam, with a dry subsoil.
_Propagation_ is by layers and cuttings. The latter should be taken off
in the spring, be of last year's growth, with half an inch of the
previous year's growth: they take root better.
_Varieties_ are numerous, and names uncertain. White, in his Gardening
for the South, says, some of the best varieties are not in the books, or
so imperfectly described that they can not be recognised. This is true
of all the fruits, and hence our decision, in this work, not to attempt
to describe fruits with a view to their identification. As this fruit is
more for the South than the North, we give the whole of White's list, as
being adapted to those regions:--
1, Brunswick; 2, Brown Turkey; 3, Brown Ischia; 4, Small Brown Ischia;
5, Black Genoa; 6, Celestial; 7, Common Blue; 8, Round White, Common
White, Lemon Fig; 9, White Genoa, White Italian; 10, Nerii; 11,
Pregussatta; 12, Allicant; 13, Black Ischia; 14, White Ischia. These,
with a few others, are those described in most of our fruit-books. The
catalogue of the London Horticultural Society enumerates forty-two
varieties. Only a few of them have been introduced into this country.
Any of these varieties are good at the South. The five following are the
most hardy, and, being in all respects good, are all we need in our more
northern latitudes:--
1. _Brunswick._--Very hardy, productive, and excellent.
2. _Brown Turkey._--The very hardiest, and one of the most regular and
abundant bearers.
3. _Black Ischia._--Bears an abundance of medium-sized, excellent fruit,
very dark-colored.
4. _Nerii._--Said to be the richest fig in Britain: from an acid mixture
in its flavor, it is exceedingly delicious.
5. _Celestial._--This may be the "Malta" of Downing. Under whatever
name, though small, it is one of the very best figs grown in this
country.
For forcing under glass, the best are the Allicant and Marseilles. With
care, the first three of the above list may be raised in the Middle
states, without removal in winter. Any variety may be protected by
bending and tying down the branches, and covering with four inches of
soil. Below Philadelphia, a little straw will be a sufficient
protection.
Dried figs are an important article of import into this country; yet
they might be raised as plentifully and profitably in the Southern
states. Prune only to keep the tree low and regular. The fig-tree is a
great and regular bearer, only when the wood makes too strong a growth,
as it is somewhat apt to do. The remedy is _root-pruning_. Cut off, on
the first of November, the roots to half the length of the branches from
the tree, and occasionally shorten the branches a little, and the fruit
will be abundant, and not fall off. The ripening of the fruit may be
hastened and perfected by putting a drop of oil in the blossom-end of
each fig. This is done by dipping the end of a straw in oil, and then
putting it into the end of the fruit. This is extensively practised in
France. Compost, containing a pretty liberal proportion of lime, is the
best manure for the fig.
FISH.
The cultivation of fish is attracting much attention in this country and
in Europe. The study and experiments of scientific and practical men
have established important facts upon this subject. Fish may be
successfully cultivated wherever water can be conveniently obtained. The
creeks, ponds, and small rivers of our land may be well stocked with
fish. Fish may be raised as a source of profit and luxury, with as much
ease and certainty, and at a much less expense than fowls. This is so
important to the whole people, that it demands the earnest attention of
our state authorities, as it has engaged that of the government of
France. The species of fish best adapted to artificial culture, in
particular climates and in different kinds of water, have been
ascertained. A man may know what fish to put in his waters, as well as
what crops to put on his land, or what stocks on his farm.
The following brief synopsis of the best methods of cultivation will be
sufficient to insure success. The first requisite is suitable water for
hatching eggs that have been artificially fecundated, and for the
occupancy of fish of different ages, and for different species of fish.
Fish of different ages are much inclined to destroy each other for food;
and hence, in order to multiply them most rapidly, they should be kept
in separate ponds until considerably grown, when they will take care of
themselves. A spring sending forth a rivulet of clear water, and not
subject to overflow in freshets, is the best location. Clear, cool water
is essential to the trout, while some other fish will do well in warm
and even roily water. The rivulet running from the spring should be made
to form a succession of ponds, three or four in number. These ponds
should be connected with flumes made of plank. If the space they must
occupy be small, make the flumes zigzag, to increase their length. Put
across those flumes, once in four or five feet, a piece of plank half as
high as the sides of the flume, with a notch cut in the centre of the
top, that the fish may easily pass over: this will afford a succession
of little falls, in which the trout very much delights. These different
ponds are for the occupancy of fish of different ages, one age only
inhabiting one pond. The flumes should have four inches of fine and
coarse gravel in the bottom, making the most perfect spawning-ground.
Although you would not wish the female-trout to deposite her eggs in the
natural way, but will extrude them by the hand (as hereinafter
directed), yet they must have these natural conveniences, or they will
not incline to spawn at all. At the upper end of each of these flumes
separating the ponds, there should be a gate of wire-cloth, to prevent
the passage of the fish from one pond to the other; also one at the
outlet of the lower pond, to prevent egress of the fish. These must all
be so arranged that freshets will not connect them all together. When
trout are about to spawn in their natural waters, they select a gravelly
margin, and remove, from a circle of about one foot or two feet in
diameter, all the sediment, leaving only clean gravel, among which they
deposite their eggs, where they are hatched. They want running water of
three or four inches in depth for this purpose. A male and female occupy
each nest. If left to themselves, they will gradually increase; but so
many of their eggs fail of being fecundated, and so many are destroyed
before they hatch, by enemies, and by the collection of sediment in the
nest, that the number of young fish is small compared with the whole
number of eggs deposited. Artificial spawning, fecundation, and
hatching, are far more productive. The process is simple and easy: when
the female-fish first begins to deposite her eggs, catch her with a
small net. It can not be done with bait, for fish will bite nothing at
the time of spawning. We recollect, often when a boy, of trying to catch
trout out of the brooks in October, where we could see large, beautiful
fish, lying lazily in the places from which we had caught many in the
summer, and put our bait carefully on every side of them, and they would
not bite. Then we knew not the cause: since studying the habits of fish,
we have learned that they never will bite while spawning; with trout,
this is done from the 1st to the 15th of October, some few spawning till
the last of November. Having caught two fish, male and female, take the
female in one hand, and press her abdomen gently with the other hand,
gradually moving it downward, and the eggs will be easily extruded, and
should fall into an earthen vessel of pure water. Then take the
male-fish, and go through the same process, which will press out the
spermatic fluid, which should be allowed to fall into the same vessel
with the eggs; stir up the whole together, and, after it has stood
fifteen minutes, pour off the water, put in more and stir it up, and let
it stand as before. This having been done three times, the eggs will be
thoroughly fecundated, and are ready to be deposited in the nests for
hatching. If the fish are caught before the time of beginning to spawn,
the eggs and the spermatic fluid will not be mature, and will be only
extruded by hard pressing, and failing to be fecundated, the eggs will
perish. The fluid from one male will fecundate the eggs of half a dozen
females. These eggs may be hatched in the flumes described above, though
hatching-boxes are preferable. The old fish can be returned to the
water, and may live many years and produce thousands of fish. These
fish, carefully treated and fed, will become so tame as to eat out of
your hand, like the "Naiad Queen" of Professors Ackley and Garlick, of
Cleveland, Ohio. Among all the hatching apparatus we have seen
described, we regard that of the above professors at Cleveland the best.
To these gentlemen the country is much indebted for the knowledge
derived from their zeal and success in fish culture. At the head of a
spring they built a house eight by twelve feet; in the end of the house
toward the spring they made a tank four feet wide, eight feet long, and
two feet deep; this was made of plank. Water enters the tank through a
hole near the top, and escapes through a similar one at the other end,
and is received into a series of ten successive boxes, each one a little
lower than the preceding one. These boxes were eighteen inches long,
eight inches wide, and six inches deep. These were filled to the depth
of two inches with clean sand and gravel. The impregnated eggs were
scattered among the gravel, care being exercised not to have them in
piles or masses. Clean water is necessary, as the sediment deposited by
impure water is very destructive to the eggs. If it be seen to be
collecting, it should be removed by agitating the water with a
goose-quill or soft brush, and allowing it to run off; continue this
till it runs clear. But there is a method of preventing impurities in
spring-water, that will be always effectual: just around on the upper
side of the spring make a tight fence two feet high, and it will turn
aside, and cause to run around the spring, all the water that may flow
down the rise above in time of rains. The house being near the head,
there will not water enough get into the spring, in any storm, to roil
the water. On the side of the boxes where the water escapes should be
wire-cloth, so fine as not to allow the eggs to pass through. Such an
apparatus will be perfect. This great care is only necessary for trout.
All other fish worthy of cultivation, will only need spawning-beds on
the margin of their pond. A convenient hatching apparatus is a number of
wicker-baskets, fine enough not to allow the eggs to pass through, set
in a flume of clear running water.
The method of Gehen and Remy, the great fish-cultivators of France,
whose efforts and discoveries have contributed more to this science than
those of any, if not of all other men, was to place the eggs in
zinc-boxes of about one foot in diameter, having a lid over them--the
top and sides of the boxes pierced with small holes, smooth on the
inside; these boxes were partly filled with clean sand and gravel, and
set in clear running water. M. Costa's method, at the college of France,
is to arrange boxes in the form of steps, the top one being supplied
with water by a fountain, and that passing from one to the other through
all the series, and the eggs placed on willow-hurdles instead of gravel.
Another very simple method may be arranged in the house. It is a
reservoir--a barrel or cask--set perhaps two and a half feet from the
floor, and a little hatching trough a few inches lower, into which water
gradually runs through a faucet, from the reservoir. This water running
through the hatching-box, escapes into a tub a little below. Whatever
plan be adopted, great care is necessary in preventing sediment from
depositing. Cleanliness is a principal condition of success. The eggs of
the trout thus fecundated and deposited in October or November will
hatch in the spring. Young trout need no feeding for a month after
leaving the egg. There is a small bladder or vesicle under the fore part
of the body, when they first come out, from which they derive their
sustenance. After this disappears, or at the end of about a month, they
should be fed, in very small quantities. Too much will leave a portion
to decay on the bottom and injure the water. The best possible food
(except the angle-worm) is lean flesh of animals, boiled and hashed fine
for the young fish. The flesh of other kinds of fish, when they are
plenty and not very valuable, would be very good. These young fish
should be kept in the first pond until a year old. Then let them into
the second pond, closing the gate after them, to make room for another
brood in the first pond. The next year let them into the third, and
those into the second that are now in the first, and so on till the
fourth. In the last pond, those of different ages will all be large
enough to take care of themselves. But sometimes a trout two years old
is said to swallow one a year old. But when they get to be three or four
years old, this sort of cannibalism ceases. These principles can be
carried out in small streams, by constructing gates to keep sections
separate, and by forming banks and waste ways for water, with wire gates
so high, that the water will not overflow in freshets, and carry the
fish away. In taking trout use angle-worms or the fly. A fine
light-colored small line is best. They are very shy. The following is a
list of other fish, beside the trout, that are well worthy of
cultivation:--
_Black Bass._--When full grown, this fish is from twelve to eighteen
inches in length. One of the better fish for the table, and profitable
to raise in a pond covering not less than half an acre. Chub, being a
very prolific little fish, may be kept in the same pond as food for the
black bass and other large fish. They are very fond of them. Minnows are
the best bait for these fish, though they will bite a trolling hook of
any ordinary kind. You may raise them as given for the trout above, or
allow them to deposite their eggs in spawn beds of their own selection
in their pond. They will do well in water less pure than is demanded for
the trout.
_White Bass._--Not so large as the black bass. Seldom weighs more than
two pounds. One of the best for food. Thrives well in small ponds.
Requires the same treatment as the preceding. Spawns in May and hatches
soon. Easily caught, as he is a great biter, at almost any bait.
_Grass Bass or Roach._--One of the most beautiful of the bass kind, and
as a panfish highly esteemed. It prefers sluggish water, and hence is
well adapted to small artificial ponds. Spawns in May. May be treated as
the preceding. Bites the angle-worm well, and several other kinds of
bait.
_Rock Bass._--A small fish seldom reaching a pound in weight, but is
fine and very easily raised in small ponds of any kind of water. Spawns
in May and may be treated in all respects as the rest of the bass
family, only it will flourish well in quite small ponds.
_Pickerel._--Is one of the best of fish, weighs from three to fifteen
pounds. Suitable only for large ponds. Spawns early in the spring in the
marshy edges of sluggish water. The eggs may be procured and treated as
the trout, only cold running water is not necessary. Best caught by
trolling. It is not a good fish to raise with others, as it is apt to
eat them up.
_Yellow Perch._--Is everywhere well known as a beautiful little
fresh-water fish, and good for the table, at all seasons when the water
is cool. Perfectly hardy and adapted to sluggish waters, it is one of
the best for artificial ponds. Treat like all the preceding; or allowed
to take its own course in the pond, it will increase rapidly.
_Sun-Fish._--Rarely weighs more than half a pound, but is a good
pan-fish. This and the grass bass and yellow perch may be put together
in the same pond.
_Eels._--May be cultivated with great success in almost any water. But
we are so prejudiced against them, never consenting to taste one, that
we can not speak in their favor. Of the methods of introducing fish into
our rivers and creeks, from which they have nearly all been taken by the
fishermen, it is not our design to treat. That subject may be found
fully presented in treatises on fish culture, and should command the
immediate attention of the authorities in all the states.
We have here given all that is necessary to success among the masses all
over the land. There is hardly a township in the United States or
British provinces, where good fish-ponds might not be constructed so as
to be a source of profit and luxury to the inhabitants.
Fish are so certainly and easily raised, that the practice of
cultivating them should be universally adopted.
Transporting fish alive is somewhat hazardous, especially if they be of
considerable size. The difficulty is greatly lessened by keeping ice in
the water with the fish. Change water twice a day and keep ice in it,
and you may safely transport fish around the globe. Eggs of fish are
best transported in boxes six inches square, filled with alternate
layers of sand and eggs scattered over. When full, make quite wet, and
fasten on the cover. Other methods are adopted which will be easily
learned of those engaged in the trade.
FLAX.
Change the seed every season. This will greatly increase the quantity,
and improve the quality. In nothing else is it more important. In
Ireland, the great flax-growing country of the world, they always sow
foreign seed when it can be procured. American seed is preferred, and
brings the highest price. Experiments with different seeds, on varieties
of soils, are much needed. Changing from all the soils and latitudes of
our country would be useful. The general rule, however, as with all
seeds, is to change from colder to warmer regions.
_Soils._--The best are strong alluvial soils. Any soil good for a garden
is good for flax. As much clay as will allow soil soon to become dry and
easily to be made mellow, is desirable; black loam, with hard, poor
clay-subsoil, is also good. Mellow, friable soils are not more important
to any other crop than to flax. Land must not be worked when too wet.
The land should be rich from a previous year's manuring. Salt, lime,
ashes, and plaster, are good applications to flax after it has come up.
On light soil with bad tillage, when the flax was so poor that the
cultivator was about to plow it up, the application of three bushels of
plaster, in the morning when the dew was on, produced a larger yield of
better flax from an acre than adjoining growers got from two acres of
their best land.
FLOWERS.
Floriculture is an employment appropriate to all classes, ages, and
conditions. No yard connected with a dwelling is complete without a
flower-bed. The cultivation of flowers is eminently promotive of health,
refinement of manners, and good taste. Constant familiarity with the
most exquisite beauties of nature must refine the feelings and produce
gentleness of spirit. Association with flowers should be a part of every
child's education. Their cultivation is suitable for children and young
ladies in all the walks of life.
House-plants, and bouquets in sick-rooms, are injurious; their influence
on the atmosphere of the rooms is unhealthy. But the cultivation of
flowers in the garden or yard is in every way beneficial. We earnestly
recommend increased attention to flowers by the whole American people.
The necessary limits of our article will allow us to do but little more
than to call attention to the subject. Those who become interested will
seek information from some of the numerous works devoted exclusively to
ornamental flowers.
Flowers should be planted on rather level land, that the rains may not
wash off the seeds and fine mould. Choose a southern or eastern exposure
whenever practicable. Avoid, as much as possible, planting in the shade.
_Soil_--Should be a deep, rich mould, neither too wet nor too dry, and
should be enriched with a little compost, every year.
_Sowing the Seeds_ is a most important matter in cultivating flowers.
Many fail to come up, solely on account of improper planting. The seeds
of most flowers are very fine and delicate. Planted in coarse earth,
they will not vegetate; planted near the surface in a dry time, they
usually perish. It is best to cover all small flower-seeds, by sifting
fine mould upon them; and if the weather does not do it, use artificial
means to keep the soil suitably moist until the seeds are fairly up.
Stir the soil gently often, and keep out all weeds. It is always best to
plant the seeds in rows or hills, with small stakes to indicate their
location; you can then stir the ground freely without destroying them.
Flowers usually need more watering than most other plants. The usual
application of water to the leaves by using a sprinkler is injurious; it
may be better than no watering at all, but is the worst way to apply
water. Make a basin in the soil near the plants, and fill it with water.
The selection of suitable varieties for a small flower-garden is quite
important. We shall only mention a brief list. Those who would make this
more of a study, are recommended to study "_Breck's Book of Flowers_,"
which is quite as complete for American cultivators as anything we have.
The principal divisions are, bulbous flowering roots, flowering shrubs,
and flowering herbs--annual, biennial, and perennial--the first
blossoming and dying the year they are sown; the second blossoming and
dying the second year, without having blossomed the first; the last
blossoming, and the top dying down and coming up the next spring, for a
series of years.
_Bulbous Flowering Roots._--These need considerable sand in their soil.
They should be taken up after the foliage is all dead, and if they are
hardy, put the soil in good condition, and dry the bulbs and reset them,
and let them remain through the winter. They may need slight protection,
by spreading coarse straw, manure, or forest-leaves over them late in
the fall; but all the more tender bulbs do better kept in sand until
early spring. The best list with which we are acquainted, for a small
garden, is the following: the well-known lilies, the tulips, gladiolas,
hyacinths, Feraria tigrida, crocus, narcissus, and jonquils.
_Flowering Shrubs._--The following is a select small list: Roses, as
large a variety as you please, out of the hundreds known; flowering
almond, Indigo shrub, wahoo or fire-shrub, the mountain-ash, althea,
snowball, lilac, fringe-tree, snow-drop, double-flowering peach,
Siberian crab, the smoke-tree, or French tree, or Venitian sumach,
honeysuckle, double-flowering cherry.
The list of beautiful herbaceous flowers is very lengthy. We give only a
few of those most easily raised, and most showy; the list is designed
only to aid the inquiries of those who are unacquainted with them:
superb amaranth, tri-colored amaranth, China and German astors--the
latter are very beautiful--Canterbury bell, carnation pinks (great
variety), chrysanthemum (many varieties and splendid until very late in
autumn), morning glory or convolvulus, japonicas, Cupid's car, dahlias,
dwarf bush, morning bride or fading beauty, fox-glove, golden coreopsis
(we have raised a variety that proved biennial, which was superb all the
season), ice-plant, larkspur, passion-flower, peony, sweet pea, pinks,
sweet-williams, annual China pink, polyanthus (a great beauty), hyacinth
bean, scarlet-runner bean, poppy, portalucca, nasturtium, marigolds
(especially the large double French, and the velvet variegated),
martineau, cypress vine.
FOWLS.
We are glad to believe that _the hen mania_, that has prevailed so
extensively during the last fifteen or twenty years, has considerably
abated. After all the extravagant notions about the profits of hens
shall have passed away, the truth will be seen to be about the
following: Every farmer who has considerable waste grain about, and
plenty more to supply the deficiency when the fowls shall have gathered
up all the scatterings, had better keep a hundred hens. If he has sand
and gravel, and wheat-bran and lime for shells, within their reach, and
plenty of fresh water, they will do well, without much further care, in
mild weather. In cold weather in winter, keep not more than forty hens
together, in a tight, warm place, well ventilated; give them their usual
food, with burnt bones pounded fine and mixed with mush, given warm,
with occasionally a little animal food and boiled vegetables, and they
will lay more than in summer. They will lay all winter without being
inclined to set. Every family, who will treat them as above, may
profitably keep one or two dozen through the winter. Most persons who
undertake, with a few acres of land, to keep fowls as a business, will
lose by it. A few only of the most experienced and careful can make
money by it. It may be cheapest for some persons to raise a few chickens
for their own use, although they cost them more than the market-price,
though it would not be best to raise chickens in that way to sell. "But
some one raised the chickens in market for the market-price, and why not
I?" Because, they raised a few that got fat on waste grain, and you must
buy grain for yours, and give more for it than you can get for your
chickens. Whoever would make money by raising fowls on a large scale,
must first serve some kind of an apprenticeship at it, as in all other
business. Get this experience, and learn by experiment the cheapest and
most profitable food, and keep from five hundred to a thousand fowls,
and a reasonable though not large profit may be realized. For
store-fowls, boiled vegetables and beets cut very fine, with a little
meal mixed in, are a good and cheap feed. When keeping fowls out-door in
warm weather, keep no more than fifty together, and them on not less
than one fourth of an acre of land. The expensive hen-houses and
artificial nests are mostly humbugs. Have many places of concealment
about, where they can make their nests as they please. When a hen begins
to set, remove her, nest and all, to a yard to which layers have no
access, and you need have no difficulty with her. Set a hen near the
ground, in a dry place, on fifteen fresh eggs, all put under her at
once, and they will hatch about the same time at the end of twenty days.
Old hens, of the common kind, are best to set. Let them have their own
way in everything but running in the wet with their young chickens--and
that they will not be much inclined to do if they are well fed. Much is
said about the diseases of fowls and their remedies. We have very little
confidence in any of it. Sick chickens will die _unless they get well_.
Time spent in doctoring them does not generally pay. Wormwood and tansy,
growing, or gathered and scattered, or steeped and sprinkled about the
premises occupied by hens, will protect them from small vermin. Never
give them anything salt or sour, unless it be sour milk. The eggs of
ducks, turkeys, or geese, may be hatched under hens. Time, thirty days.
Hence, if put under with hens' eggs, they must be set ten days earlier,
that they may all hatch at once. Fattening chickens may be well done in
six days, by feeding rice, boiled rather soft in sweet skimmed milk, fed
plentifully three times a day. Feed these in pans, well cleaned before
each meal, and give only what they will eat up at once, and desire a
very little more. Put a little pounded charcoal within their reach, and
a little rice-water, milk, or clear water. This makes the most beautiful
meal at a low price. Never feed a chicken for sixteen or twenty-four
hours before killing it.
_Varieties or Breeds._--This has been matter of much speculation. The
result has been (what was probably a main object) the sale of many fowls
and eggs at exorbitant prices. When chickens have sold at fifty dollars
per pair, and eggs at six dollars a dozen, some persons must have made
money, while others lost it. Yet, there is some choice in the breed of
hens. The kind makes less difference, as far as flesh is concerned, than
is usually imagined. It requires about a given quantity of grain to make
a certain amount of flesh. Large fowls give us much larger weight of
flesh than small ones, but they also eat a much larger quantity of
grain. Large fowls are certainly large eaters. The three best layers are
the black Polands, the Malayas, and the Shanghaes. Half-bloods, by
crossing with the common fowl, are better for this country than either
of the above, pure. Fowls are generally improved by frequent crossing.
The best we have ever had, for their flesh, we produced by putting a
black Poland rooster with common hens; they grew larger than either, and
their flesh was very fine. Shanghaes and half-blood Shanghaes have
proved permanently the best layers we have ever had. Early pullets make
great fall and winter layers, and late chickens are great layers in the
spring, when older ones wish to set.
Ducks we have considered in a separate article. We shall do the same
with turkeys. Killing, dressing, and preparing all fowls for market,
will be treated under the head of "Poultry." Geese will also be
considered in another place. We should give drawings of aviaries, but we
consider these generally worse than useless, as they are usually
constructed. An airy place for summer, and a warm room for winter, poles
with _rough bark_ on for roosts, and plenty of feed and water, sand,
gravel, and lime, will give abundant success.
FRUIT.
The value of fruit is not fully appreciated in this country. As an
article of diet nothing is more natural and healthy. The Creator gave
this to man for food, when human nature, physically, was in its normal
condition. And why meats have since been allowed, I know not, unless it
be the reason why Moses allowed divorce in certain cases, although it
was not so in the beginning, viz., the hardness of their hearts. Why the
stomach, upon the healthy condition of which all physical, mental, and
moral functions so materially depend, should be made the receptacle of
dead animals, and especially those so long dead, as much of the meat
offered in market, it would puzzle a philosopher to tell.
But we will not write an elaborate article on the healthfulness of a
diet composed mainly of milk, fruits, and vegetables. Suffice it to say
that experience and observation, as well as analysis and physiology,
unite in demonstrating that ripe fruits contain virtues, that go far
toward preventing the ordinary diseases of men. They are good, plain or
cooked, and for sick or well persons, except in extreme cases. They
regulate the bowels and control the secretions, better than any other
article of food. They are so highly nutritious, that they sustain nature
under arduous toil, better than either meat, fine bread, or the Irish
potato. With proper care the fruits are cheaper than any other article
of food. They can be raised cheaper than corn or potatoes. They may be
enjoyed all the year, are profitable for market, and for food for
animals.
FRUITFULNESS.
_Inducing it in Fruit-Trees._--Fruit-trees often grow luxuriantly, but
bear no fruit, or very little. In nearly all cases the evil may be
remedied. One remedy is shortening in. This is done by cutting off half
the present year's growth in July. This checks the tendency of the sap
to promote so large a growth, and forces it to mature blossom-buds for
the next season. Another effectual means is to bend down all the
principal branches and tie them down. This has a great influence in
checking excessive growth and forming fruit-buds. Frequent transplanting
has a tendency also to induce fruitfulness. Root pruning is one of _the
best means_ of securing this object. Lay bare the upper roots and cut
off all the larger ones two feet from the tree. This will check
excessive formation of wood and foliage, render the wood firm, and the
organic matter of the sap will form abundance of fruit-buds. These
methods will produce fruit in abundance on nineteen twentieths of barren
or poor-bearing fruit-trees.
GARDEN.
The garden has been the most delightful abode of man ever since his
creation, before and since the fall. One of the most pleasant pastimes,
for ladies and children, is gardening. The flower, vegetable, and fruit
departments are all pleasant and healthful.
_Situation_ of a garden is important. This varies with climates. In a
cold country the warmest exposures are best, and in a hot climate select
the coolest. A garden combining both is the best possible. The warmest
exposure is good for early vegetables, and the cooler and more shady for
the main crop. Much can be done to regulate this by fences and
buildings. They will be warm and early on one side, and cool and late on
the other.
_Soil._--A rich loam is always best. To convert stiff clay, or light
sand and gravel, into a good loam, is an easy matter on so small a plat
as is usually devoted to a garden. Draw an abundance of sand on
clay-ground, plow deep and mix well, and one winter's frost will so
pulverize the whole that it will be in excellent condition. In warm
climates, the incorporation of the sand with the clay is effected by
frequent plowing and rains. On sand and gravel draw plenty of clay and
loam, if it can be easily procured; thus it is easy to form a good
friable, retentive loam, adapted to every variety of soil-culture.
Decayed wood and forest-leaves are excellent for garden-soils. Manure
well; but remember that it is possible to overfeed the soil of a garden,
so as to render it unproductive. Deep plowing or spading is very
important; it is the best possible remedy for excessive drought or
unusual rains. The water will not stand on the surface when it first
falls, and will be retained long in the soil for the use of the plants.
The soil should be very mellow. Plowing or spading too early, in hope of
getting earlier vegetables, is often a failure. The earlier the better,
if you can pulverize the soil; otherwise not. Plowing when covered with
a heavy dew, or when it rains gently, is equal to a good coat of manure.
A garden should be on level land well drained; if much inclined, rains
will wash off the best of the soil, and destroy many seeds and plants.
No weeds should be allowed to grow to any considerable size in a garden.
Early and frequent hoeings are important to success. Directions for the
cultivation of each garden vegetable and fruit are given under each of
those articles respectively. Methods of gardening at the South and the
North vary but little in the main articles. At the North we have to
guard against too much cool weather, and at the South against too much
heat. Some vegetables that need planting on ridges in the North, to
obtain more sun and heat, should be planted on level land at the South,
to guard against too much heat and drought. Besides this, the main
difference is in the time of planting, which varies more or less with
every degree of latitude, or every five hundred feet of elevation. Have
no fruit-trees in your vegetable or fruit garden, unless it may be a few
dwarf-pears on the quince-stock, and these had better be by themselves.
The plan of a garden is a matter of taste, and depends much upon its
size and necessary situation. We prefer ornamental shrubs in front of
the house, the flowers adjoining it and passing the windows of those
rooms that are constantly occupied, and the fruit-department in the
rear of the flowers, while the vegetable-garden should be at the right
or left of the fruit, and in the rear of the kitchen. On the other side
of the house should be the larger fruit-trees, extending back as far as
the fruit and vegetable garden, and in the rear of it, the
carriage-house and other out-buildings. The best fence is of good
wrought iron, sharp and strong enough to exclude all intruders. When
this can not be afforded, a good hedge, made of the plants best adapted
to hedges in your latitude, is preferred; next to this a good tight
board-fence.
All fruit-gardens should have alleys, eight or ten feet wide, within
four rods of each other, to afford space for carting on manures, &c. A
vegetable-garden of one acre should have such an alley through the
centre each way, with a place in the end, opposite the entrance, to turn
around a summer-house, arbor, or tool-house. One rod from the fence, on
all sides, should be an alley four or five feet wide; other small alleys
as convenience or taste may require. The usual way is to sink the alleys
three or four inches below the level of the beds, and cover with gravel,
tanbark, shells, &c. We strongly recommend raising the alleys in their
middle, at least four inches above the surface of the beds. The paths
are always neater, and the moisture is retained for the use of the
plants. Excessive rains can be allowed to pass off. This making alleys
low sluice-ways for water is a great mistake in yards and gardens.
GARLIC.
This is a hardy perennial plant, from the south of Europe, and has been
in cultivation, as a garden vegetable, for hundreds of years. It is
cultivated as the onion, and needs much ashes, bonedust, and lime, in
the soil. It is much esteemed in some countries, in soups. It is but
little used in the United States: it is used at the South as a medicinal
herb. We know of no important use of garlic for which onions will not
answer as well, and therefore do not recommend garlic as an American
garden vegetable. Those who wish to cultivate it will pursue the same
course as in raising onions from sets. This will always be successful.
GATHERING FRUITS.
This is almost as important as proper cultivation. This is especially
true of the pear. Many cultivators raise inferior pears from trees of
the very best varieties, for want of a correct knowledge of the best
methods of gathering, preserving, and ripening the fruit. Complete
directions will be found under each fruit.
GEESE.
Farmers usually are opposed to keeping geese, believing them to destroy
more than they are worth. If you have a suitable place to keep them,
they may be profitable. They should have a pasture with a fence they can
not pass, enclosing a spring, pond, or stream. They do better to have a
little grain the year round. This, with plenty of grass in summer and
cut roots in winter, will keep them in fine condition. The feathers will
pay the cost of keeping, leaving the increase and feathers of the young
as profit. On an acre or two, one hundred geese may be kept, and if the
proportion of males and females be right, they will yield a profit of
two dollars each.
GOOSEBERRY.
This is a native of the north of Europe and Asia, from which all our
fine varieties have been produced by cultivation. Our own native
varieties are not known to have produced any very desirable ones.
Probably the zeal of the Lancashire weavers, in England, will surpass
all that Americans will do for the next century in gooseberry culture.
They publish a small book annually, giving an account of new varieties.
The last catalogue of the London Horticultural Society mentions one
hundred and forty-nine varieties, as worthy of cultivation. A few only
should receive attention among us. Gooseberries delight in cool and
rather moist situations. They do not flourish so naturally south of
Philadelphia; though they grow well in all the mountainous regions, and
may produce fair fruit in many cool, moist situations. Deep mulching is
very beneficial; it preserves the moisture, and protects from excessive
heat. The land must be trenched and manured deep. In November, cut out
one half of the top, both old and new wood, and a good crop of fine
fruit may be expected each year, for five or six years, when new bushes
should take the place of old ones. Propagate by cuttings of the last
growth. Cut out all the eyes, below the surface, when planted. Plant six
inches deep in loam, in the shade. Press the soil close around them. To
prevent mildew, it is recommended to sprinkle lime or flour of sulphur
over the foliage and flowers, or young fruit. The fruit-books recommend
the best varieties, and very open tops, as not exposed to mildew. We
recommend spreading dry straw, or fine charcoal, on the surface under
the bushes, as a perfect remedy, if the top be not left too thick. There
is no necessity for mildew on gooseberries. The fall is much the best
season for trimming, though early spring will do. Varieties are divided
into red, green, white, and yellow. These are subdivided into hundreds
of others, with names entirely arbitrary. The following are the best
varieties, generally cultivated in this country:--
1. _Houghton's Seedling._--Flavor, superior; skin, thin and tender;
color, reddish-brown. Prodigious grower and bearer--none better known.
Free from mildew. Native of Massachusetts.
2. _Red Warrington._--Later and larger than the preceding; hangs long on
the bush without cracking, and improves in flavor.
3. _Woodward's Whitesmith_--is one of the best of the white varieties.
4. _Cleworth's White Lion._--Large and late; excellent.
5. _Collier's Jolly Angler_--is a good green gooseberry; fruit large,
excellent, and late.
6. _Early Green Hairy._--Very early; rather small; prolific.
7. _Buerdsill's Duckwing_--is a good, late, yellow gooseberry; large
fruit, and a fine-growing bush.
8. _Prophets Rockwood._--Very large fruit of excellent quality, ripening
quite early.
The foregoing list, giving two of each of the four colors, and early and
late, are all, we think, that need be cultivated. Many more varieties,
nearly equalling the above, may be selected; but we are not aware that
any improvement would be made. Downing gives the following list for a
garden:--
_Red._--Red Warrington, Companion, Crown Bob, London, Houghton's
Seedling.
_Yellow._--Leader, Yellow Ball, Catharine, Gunner.
_White._--Woodward's Whitesmith, Freedom, Taylor's Bright Venus, Tally
Ho, Sheba Queen.
_Green._--Pitmaston Green Gage, Thumper, Jolly Angler, Massey's Heart of
oak, Parkinson's Laurel.
Thus you have Downing's authority; his list includes most of those we
have recommended above. The varieties are less important than in most
fruits, provided only you get the large varieties of English gooseberry.
Proper cultivation will insure success. Whoever cultivates, only
tolerably well, the Houghton Seedling, will be sure to raise good
berries, free from mildew.
GRAFTING.
This is one of the leading methods of obtaining such fruits as we wish,
on stocks of such habits of growth and degrees of hardiness, as we may
desire. The stock will control, in some degree, the growth of the scion,
but leave the fruit mainly to its habits on its original tree. The
advantages of grafting are principally the following:--
Good varieties may be propagated very rapidly. A single tree may produce
a thousand annually, for a series of years. Large trees of worthless
fruit may be changed into any variety we please, and in a very short
time bear abundantly. Fruits not easily multiplied in any other way, can
be rapidly increased by grafting. Early bearing of seedlings can be
secured by grafting on bearing trees.
Tender and exotic varieties may be acclimated by grafting into
indigenous stocks. Fruit can be raised on an uncongenial soil, by
grafting into stocks adapted to that soil. Several varieties may be
produced on the same tree, for ornament or economy of room. Dwarfs of
any variety may be produced by grafting on dwarf stocks, and we may thus
grow many trees on a small space. A slow-growing variety may be made to
form a large top, by grafting into large vigorous-growing stocks. We are
enabled to carry varieties to any part of the world, at a cheap rate, as
the scions, properly done up, may safely be carried around the globe.
_Time of Grafting._--Grafts may be made to live, put in in any month of
the year, but the beginning of the opening of the buds in spring, is the
preferable season. Stone fruits should be budded; and all fruits may be
made to do well budded. Budding is usually only practised on small
trees, while grafting may be performed on trees of any size.
_Cutting and preserving Scions._--Mature shoots of the previous year's
growth are best. Those of the year before will also do. They may be cut
at any time from November to time of setting. Perhaps the month of
February is best. They may be well preserved in moist sawdust in tight
boxes. The more there are together the better they will keep. They keep
better by being cut a little below the beginning of the last year's
growth, but it is more injurious to the tree. They may be kept well in
fine sand, moist and cool. Too much moisture is always injurious. Put
the lower ends in shallow water, and they will look very fine, but not
one of them will live. Scions cut in the fall and buried six inches deep
in yellow loam or fine sand, will keep well till next spring. There are
several methods of grafting only two of which deserve particular
attention. These are cleft-grafting and tongue or splice grafting, see
figures.
[Illustration: Cleft-Grafting.]
[Illustration: Tongue-Grafting.]
_Cleft-Grafting_ is performed in most cases, when scions are grafted
upon stocks much larger than themselves. It is too well known to need
particular description. Tools should be sharp, and it should be
performed before the bark slips so easily as to be started by splitting
the stock. It endangers the growth of the scions. The requisite to
success in all grafting, is to have some point of actual contact,
between the inside barks of both the scion and the stock. This is more
certainly secured by causing the scion to stand at a slight angle with
the stock.
_Tongue-Grafting_ is generally used in grafting on small
stocks--seedlings or roots. With a sharp knife, cut off the scion
slanting down, and the stock slanting up, split each in the centre, and
push one in to the other until the barks meet, and wind with thick paper
or thin muslin, with grafting wax on one side. This is generally used in
root-grafting. The question of root-grafting has excited considerable
discussion recently. Many suppose it to produce unhealthy trees, and
that retaining the variety is less certain than by other modes.
Root-grafting is a cheap and rapid means of multiplying trees, and hence
is greatly prized by nursery men. Practical cultivators of Illinois have
assured us, that it is impossible to produce good Rhode Island greenings
in that state, by root-grafting--that they will not produce the same
variety. We see no principle upon which they should fail, but will not
undertake to settle this important question. For ourselves we prefer to
use one whole stock for each tree, cutting it off at the ground and
grafting there.
_Grafting Composition or Wax._--One part beef's tallow, two parts
beeswax, and four parts rosin, make the best. Harder or softer, it is
liable to be injured by the weather. Warm weather will melt it, and cold
will crack it. Melt these together and pour them into cold water, and
pull and work as shoemaker's wax. When using, it is to be kept in cool
or warm water, as the weather may demand. In its application, it is to
be pressed closely over all the wound made by sawing and splitting the
limb, and close around the scions, so as to exclude air and water. Clay
is often used for grafting, but is not equal to wax. You can use
grafting tools, invented especially for the purpose, or a common saw,
mallet, knife, and wedge.
GRAPES.
Those cultivated so extensively in Europe were natives of
Persia--showing that they may be acclimated far from their native home.
Foreign grapes are not suitable for out-door culture in this country,
except a very few varieties, which do well in the Southern states. The
native grapes of this country have produced some excellent varieties,
which are now in general cultivation. Others are beginning to attract
notice, and seedlings will probably multiply rapidly, and great
improvements in our native grapes may be expected. The subject of
grape-culture deserves greatly-increased attention. To all palates the
grape is delicious; it is not only one of the most palatable articles of
diet, but is more highly medicinal than any other fruit. It is the
natural source of pure wine. Pure wine made of grapes is only to be
procured, in this country, by domestic manufacture. Probably not one out
of a thousand gallons of imported wines, sold as pure, contains a drop
of the juice of the grape;--they are manufactured of poisonous drugs and
ardent spirits--generally common whiskey. A French chemist discovered a
method of imitating fermented liquor without fermentation, and distilled
spirits without distillation. His process has been published in this
country in book form, and by subscription; and while those books are
unknown in the bookstores, they are generally possessed by prominent
liquor dealers;--and the practice of those secret arts is terribly
dangerous to the community. Antecedent to this chemical manufacture of
poisonous liquors, such a disease as _delirium tremens_ was unknown.
Thus the Frenchman's discovery filled the liquor-sellers' pockets with
cash, and the land with mourning, over frequent deaths by a disease, the
horror of which is equalled only by hydrophobia. In self-defence, all
should give up the use of everything purporting to be imported wines or
liquors. Wine should not be used as a common beverage by the healthy.
The best medical authority in the world has pronounced it absolutely
injurious. But in many cases of sickness, especially in convalescence
from fevers, it is one of the very best articles that can be used;
hence, a pure article, of domestic manufacture, should be accessible to
all the sick. (See our article on "Wine.") The luxury of good grapes can
be enjoyed by every family in the land who have a yard twenty feet
square. In the cities, almost every house may have a grapevine or two
where nothing else would grow. Allow a vine to run up trellis-work in
the rear of the house, and over the roof of a wing, or rear-part, raised
two feet above the roof, supported by a rack. In such situations they
will bear better than elsewhere, will be out of the way, and decidedly
ornamental. In such small yards, from five to twenty-five bushels have
often grown in a season. Some climates and soils are much better suited
to grape-culture than others. But we have varieties that will flourish
wherever Indian corn will mature.
_Location._--For vineyards, the sides of hills are usually chosen,
sometimes for the purpose of a warm exposure, but generally to secure
the most perfect drainage. A northern exposure is preferable for all
varieties adapted to the climate. To mature late varieties, choose a
southern or eastern exposure.
_Soil._--Gravelly, with a little sand, on a dry subsoil, is preferable,
though good grapes may be grown upon any land upon which water will not
stand. Grapes always need much lime. If the vineyard is not located on
calcareous soil, lime must be liberally supplied, especially for
wine-making. A dry subsoil, or thorough draining, is indispensable to
successful grape-culture. We prefer level land, wherever thorough
draining is practicable.
_Propagation._--Choice grapes are propagated by grafts, layers, or
cuttings. New ones are produced from seeds. The more kinds that are
cultivated together, the greater will be the varieties raised from their
seeds, by cross-fertilization in the blossoms. A small grape crossed
with a large one, or an early with a late one, or two of different
flavors, will produce mediums between them. Seeds should be cleaned, and
planted in the fall, or kept in sand till spring. In the fall, cover up
the young vines. The second or third year, the young vines should be set
in the places where they are designed to remain. By efforts to get new
varieties, we may adapt them to every latitude, from the gulf of Mexico
to Pembina.
_Layers._--These produce large vines and abundance of fruit earlier than
any other method of propagation. Put down old wood in May or early June,
and new wood a month later; fasten down with pegs having a hook to hold
the vine, and cover up with earth; they will take root freely at the
joints, and may be removed in autumn or spring. If you put down wood too
late, or do not keep it covered with moist earth, it will fail;
otherwise it is always sure.
_Cuttings_--may be from any wood you have to spare, and should be about
a foot long, having two buds. Plant at an angle of forty-five degrees,
one bud and two thirds of the cutting under the soil. A little shade and
moisture will cause nearly all to grow. A little grafting-wax on the top
will aid the growth, by preventing evaporation. The cutting, so buried
as to have the top bud half an inch under fine mould, is said to be
surer. Cuttings should be made late in fall, or early in winter, and
preserved as scions for grafting. Cuttings made in the spring are less
sure to grow, and their removal is much more injurious to the vine.
Vines raised from cuttings may be transplanted when one or two years
old.
_Grafting_--should be performed after the leaves are well developed in
the spring. The sap becomes thick, which aids the process. Remove the
earth, and saw off the vine two or three inches below the surface. Graft
with scions of the previous year's growth, but well matured, and apply
cement, to keep the sap from coming out. Cover all but the top bud. In
stocks an inch in diameter put two scions. Very few need fail.
_Budding_--maybe done as in other cases, but always after the leaves are
well developed, to avoid bleeding. These modes of propagation stand in
the following order in point of preference, the best being named first:
layers, cuttings, grafting, budding.
_Culture and Manure._--Land prepared by deep subsoil plowing, highly
manured and cultivated the previous season in a root-crop, is the best
for a vineyard. The trenches for the rows should be spaded twenty
inches deep, and a part of the surface-soil put in the bottom. After
planting the vines, stir the ground often and keep clear of weeds. At
first, stir the soil deep; but, as the roots extend, avoid working among
them, and never disturb the roots with a plow. Mulching preserves the
soil in a moist, loose condition, and is a good preventive of mildew. In
many instances it is said to have doubled the crop. Common
animal-manures are good for young vines, and in preparing the soil, but
are rather too stimulating for bearing vines, often injuring the fruit.
Ashes and cinders from the smith's forge, wood-ashes, charcoal,
soapsuds, bones and bonedust, lime, and forest and grape leaves and
trimmings, carefully dug into the soil around the vines, are all very
good. A liberal supply of suitable manures will keep the vines in a
healthy condition, and preserve the fruit from disease and decay. This,
with judicious pruning, will render the grape-crop regular and sure.
_Vineyards_--should be in rows five feet apart, with vines four feet
apart in the row. Layers of one, and cuttings of two years' growth, will
bear the second year, and very plentifully the third year. A good
vineyard in the latitude of Cincinnati yields about one hundred and
fifty bushels of grapes per acre, making four hundred gallons of wine.
The average yield of wine per acre, throughout the country, is estimated
at two hundred gallons.
_Training under Glass._--By this means the fine foreign varieties may be
brought to perfection in our high latitudes. With most of the best
kinds, this can be done by solar heat alone. A house covered with glass
at an angle of forty-five degrees, facing the south, will answer the
purpose. With a slight artificial heat, the finest varieties may be
perfected, and others forwarded, so as to have fine grapes at most
seasons of the year. The vines are planted on the outside of the
grapehouse, and allowed to pass in through an aperture two feet from the
ground, and are trained up near the glass on the inside. Protect the
roots in winter by a covering of coarse straw manure. Wind the vines on
the inside with straw, lay them down on the ground in the grape-house,
and keep it closed during the winter. A house one hundred feet long and
twenty-five feet wide, filled mainly with Black Hamburg, with a few
other choice varieties, would afford a great luxury, and prove a
profitable investment. From one such house, near a large city, a careful
cultivator may realize a thousand dollars per annum. Native and even
hardy varieties are often greatly improved by cultivation under glass,
or by a little protection in winter.
The Isabella grape is hardy and productive in western New York. In 1856,
we noticed a vine that had been laid down in a dry place and covered
slightly with earth, in autumn; the fruit was more abundant, and one
fourth larger, than that on a similar vine by its side that had remained
on the trellis during winter: this shows the value of protection even to
hardy vines.
_Training._--There are many methods, and the question of preference
depends upon the location of the vines, the space they may occupy, and
the taste of the cultivator. There are four principal systems--the cane
or renewal system, spur system, fan-training, and spiral or hoop
training.
The renewal system we prefer for trellises. Put posts firmly in the
ground eight feet apart, allowing them to be seven feet above ground
after they are set; put slats of wood or wire across these, a foot
apart, commencing a foot above the ground. Set vines eight feet apart;
let the vines be composed of two branches, coming out near the ground:
these can be formed by cutting off a young vine near the ground, and
training two of the shoots that will spring from the bottom. These two
vines should be bent down in opposite directions, and tied horizontally
to the lower slat of the trellis; cut these off, so as to have them meet
similar vines from the next root; upright shoots from these will extend
to the top of the trellis, and it is then covered, and the work is
complete. After these upright canes have borne, cut off every alternate
one, two or three inches from its base, and train up the strongest shoot
for a bearer next year: thus cut off and train new alternate ones every
year, and the vine will be constantly renewing, and be in the most
productive state; keep the vines clipped at the top of the trellis, and
the sap will mature strong buds for next year's fruit. We regard this
the most effectual of all training. The principle of renewal can be
applied to any form of vine, and eminently promotes fruitfulness. Many
complain that their vines, though liberally pruned, do not bear well.
The difficulty may be that the new wood is principally removed, while
the old is left to throw out strong-growing shoots, bearing abundance of
foliage and little fruit. More of the old wood removed, and more of the
young saved, would have produced less vines and much more fruit.
_Pruning_--is the most important part of successful grape-culture.
Mistakes on this subject are very injurious. Let vines grow in their own
way, and you will have much wood and foliage, and very little, poor
fruit. Some cut off the shoots in summer just above the fruit, and
remove most of the leaves around it to expose the fruit to the sun. This
often proves to be a ruinous mistake; the sap ascends to the leaves, and
there amalgamates with what they absorb from the atmosphere, and thus
forms food for the vine and fruit. It is the leaves, and not the fruit,
which need the sun: the leaves are the lungs, upon the action of which
the life and health of the fruit depend. Blight of the leaves destroys
the fruit, and a frequent repetition of it destroys the vine.
Grape-vines should not be pruned at all until three years old, as it
retards the growth of the roots, and thus weakens the vines. Older vines
should be freely pruned in November or December; pruned in winter they
_may_ bleed in the spring, and pruned in the spring they _certainly_
will bleed. Tender vines, not protected, may have an excess of wood left
in the fall to allow for what may perish in winter; in this case, cut
away the dead and surplus wood in spring, but never until the leaves are
well developed, so as to prevent bleeding. Necessary summer-pruning is
of much importance. Remove no leaves, except the ends of branches, that
have already made as much wood as they can mature. In the Middle states
this should be done about the last of July, and at the South a month
earlier. Weak lateral branches, that bear no fruit, may be removed, but
not all of them, for it is on the wood of this year's growth that the
fruit will be found the following season. Old wood does not send out
wood in spring that will bear fruit the same season; that wood will bear
fruit next season if allowed to remain. Whoever observes will notice
that grapes grow on young shoots of the same season; but they are
shoots from wood of the previous year's growth, and not from old wood.
Many suppose if they trim their vines very closely, as the old vines
send forth abundance of new wood, and it is new wood on which the fruit
grows, of course they will have abundance of grapes; and they are
disappointed by a failure. The explanation of the whole is, fruit grows
on new wood, from wood of previous year's growth, and not from old
vines; hence, in lessening a vine, remove old wood. This is the renewal
system, whatever the form of the vine, and is the whole secret of
successful pruning. This accounts for the great success of the Germans
in producing such quantities of grapes on low vines. In their best
vineyards, they do not allow their vines to grow more than six or seven
feet high, and yet they produce abundantly for many years. They so prune
as to have plenty of last year's wood for the production of fruit the
current season; after this has borne fruit, they remove it to make room
for the young wood that will produce the next season. This principle is
applicable to vines of any shape or size you may choose to form. The
removal, in summer, of excessive growth, and shortening the ends of
those you design to retain, throws the strength of the vine into the
fruit, and to perfect the wood already formed. Liberal fall-pruning is
necessary to induce the formation of new wood the next season, for
bearing the following year. Parts that grow late do not mature
sufficiently to bear fruit the next season; hence, cut off the ends in
summer, and let what remains have the benefit of all the sap.
_Reduction of Fruit._--The grape is disposed to excessive bearing, which
weakens the vine, and injures the quality of the fruit. Liberal pruning
in autumn does much to remedy this evil, by not leaving room for an
excessive amount of fruit: hence, when you have a plenty of
fruit-bearing wood, cut off the ends, so as to leave spurs with two
buds, or at the most only four; when too much fruit sets, remove it very
early, before the juices of the vine have been wasted upon it. A vine
cut or wounded in spring will bleed profusely. Sheet India-rubber, or
two or three thicknesses of a bladder, wet and bound closely around, may
prevent the bleeding.
_Mildew_--is very destructive in confined locations, without a good
circulation of air. Sulphur and quicklime, separate or combined, dug
into the soil around the vines, is a preventive. Straw or litter of any
kind, spread thick under the vines, is, perhaps, the best remedy--the
action of it is in every way beneficial.
_Insects._--The rosebug, spanworm, great greenworm, and many other
insects, infest grapevines, and do much injury. The large worms are most
easily destroyed by hand; the small insects by flour-of-sulphur, or by
snuff, sprinkled over profusely when the vines are wet. The various
applications recommended in this work for the destruction of insects,
are useful on the grapevine. The principle is to apply something
offensive to the insects, without being injurious to the vines.
_Preserving Grapes._--Packed in sawdust or wheat-bran, always thoroughly
dried by heat, they will keep well until spring. Another method is
packing them in cotton-batting or wadding (the latter is best); or put
them in baskets holding no more than four or five quarts, cover tight
with cotton, and hang up in a cool, airy place, and they will long
remain in good condition. In shallow boxes, six inches deep, put a sheet
of wadding, and on it a layer of bunches of grapes, not allowed to
touch each other; on the top of the grapes put another sheet of cotton,
and then another layer of grapes, and so the third, covering the last
with cotton, and put the cover on tight, and keep in a cool place. This
is the most successful method.
A new method is to suspend hoops by three cords, like a baby-jumper, and
hang the bunches of grapes all around it, as near as possible without
touching, on little wire hooks, passing through the lower ends of the
clusters, allowing the stem end to be suspended, and the grapes hang
away from each other, and if the place be not damp enough to mould them,
and not dry enough to cause them to shrivel, they keep exceedingly well.
It requires more care and judgment, than the other methods. A very cool
situation, without freezing, is essential in all cases. It is also
necessary to remove all broken or immature grapes, from the clusters you
would preserve.
_Varieties_ are very numerous, and their nomenclature is confused, as
that of other fruits. It is utterly useless to cultivate foreign grapes
in the open air in this country. They succeed very imperfectly, even in
the Southern states. But for cultivation under glass, they are
preferable to any of our own. The following foreign grapes are preferred
in this country:--
Black Prince, White Muscat, White Constantia, White Muscadine, White
Sweet-water, Early White Muscat, Black Cluster, Black Hamburg. The
latter is the best of all foreign grapes for cultivation under glass. It
is very delicious, a great bearer, of very large clusters. It requires
only solar heat to bring it to perfection.
_Native Grapes._--Of these we now have a large number, many of which are
valuable. We call attention only to a very few of the best. The
_Isabella_ as a table luxury is hardly surpassed. In the Eastern,
Middle, and Western states, it is generally hardy and prolific. In
northern Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, it does not ripen well. The
seasons are too short. It also feels somewhat the severity of the
weather, on the western prairies. It is also apt to decay at the South.
For all other parts it is one of the very best. It is an enormous
bearer, one vine having been known to produce more than ten bushels, in
a single year.
[Illustration: The Isabella Grape.]
[Illustration: The Catawba Grape.]
Next is the _Catawba_, better for wine, more vinous but not so sweet as
the Isabella, ripens two or three weeks later, and hence not so good in
high latitudes.
_The Rebecca Grape._--This is a comparatively new variety, of great
promise. White like the Sweet-water, flavor very fine, vine hardy and
productive.
_The Diana_ is a small delicious grape, excellent flavor for the
dessert, and ripens two weeks earlier than the Isabella. Hence good for
northern latitudes.
_The Concord._--Large, showy, of good but not the best flavor, and
ripens with the Diana. Should be cultivated at the North.
_The York Madeira_ is similar to the Isabella, smaller and a few days
earlier.
[Illustration: The Rebecca Grape.]
[Illustration: The Delaware Grape.]
_The Delaware_ is a small brown grape, excellent and hardy. Ripens quite
as early as the Isabella. Best outdoor grape, in many localities.
_The Canadian Chief._--One of the very best grapes for Canada.
_Canby's August._--Very fine; considered better for the table than the
Isabella, ripens ten days earlier, and as it is a good bearer, it should
be generally cultivated.
_The Ohio Grape_ is a good variety, beginning to attract much notice.
_The Scuppernong_ is the best of all grapes, for general cultivation at
the South. It is never affected by the rot. Not easily raised from
cuttings. Layers are better. It does best trained on an arbor.
The soil and climate of the South are well adapted to the grape, even
the finer varieties that do not flourish well at the North. They are,
however, seriously affected by the rot, an evil incident to the heat and
humidity of the climate. It being very warm, the dews and rains incline
the fruit to decay. We think the evil may be prevented by two very
simple means: Keep the vines very open, that they may dry very soon
after rain; and train them to trellises, from six to ten feet high, and
over the top put a coping of boards, in the shape of a roof, extending
eighteen inches on each side of the trellis. It will prevent the rain
and heavy dews from falling on the grapes, and is said to preserve them
perfectly. This arrangement is about equal, in a warm climate, to cold
graperies at the north. We recommend increased attention to this great
luxury, in all parts of the country. Seedlings will arise, adapted to
every locality on the continent.
GRASSES.
There is a great number of varieties, adapted to cultivation in some
countries and climates, but not suitable for American culture. On the
comparative value of different grasses there is a diversity of opinions.
The best course for the practical farmer is, having the best and surest,
therewith to be content. Sir John Sinclair says there are two hundred
and fifteen grasses cultivated in Great Britain. We shall notice a very
few of them, with a view to their comparative value:--
1. _Sweet-scented Vernal Grass._--Small growth; yield of hay light. For
pastures it is very early, and grows quickly after being cropped, and is
excellent for milch-cows; grows well on almost any soil, but most
naturally on high, well-drained meadows. It grows in great abundance in
Massachusetts.
2. _Meadow Foxtail._--Early like the preceding, but more productive and
more nutritious. It is one of the five or six kinds usually sown
together in English pastures; best for sheep and horses.
3. _Rough Cocksfoot._--_Orchard-grass_ of the United States; cows are
fond of it. In England it is taking the place of clovers and rye-grass.
About Philadelphia it is supplanting timothy. It is earlier, and
therefore better to mix with clover for hay, as they mature at the same
time; grows well in the shade, and on both loams and sands; springs
rapidly after being cropped. Colonel Powell, one of the best American
farmers, says it produces more pasture than any other grass he has seen
in this country. Two bushels of seed are sown on an acre.
4. _Tall Oat-Grass._--A valuable grass, deserving increased attention.
It will produce three crops in a season; grows four or five feet high,
and should be cut for hay when in blossom. Of all grasses, it is the
earliest and best for green fodder.
5. _Tall Fescue._--Cut in blossom, it contains more nutriment than any
other known grass. Grows well by the sides of ditches, and is well
adapted to wet bogs, as, by its rapid growth, it keeps down coarse,
noxious grass and weeds.
6. _Rye Grass._--This is extensively cultivated in Scotland and in the
north of England. It is mixed with clover. Respecting its comparative
value there is a diversity of opinion. Some do not speak well of it.
7. _Red Clover and White Clover._--See article "Clover."
8. _Lucern._--This yields much more green feed at a single crop than any
other grass. For soiling cattle it is one of the best, and may be cut
twice as often as red clover. This makes a good crop, soon after time
for planting corn. Common corn or pop-corn, and later, Stowell's
evergreen sweet corn, are the best for soiling cattle; but for early
soiling, use lucern, or some other quick-growing, large grass. Lucern
needs clean land, or cultivation at first, as young plants are tender.
The tap-root runs down very deep; hence, hard clay or wet soils are not
favorable. It stands the cold, in latitudes forty to forty-five degrees
in this country, better than red clover.
9. _Long-rooted Clover._--This is a Hungarian variety--biennial, but
resows itself several years in succession, on good, clean land. Its
yield of hay and seed is abundant. Needs a deep, dry soil, and stands a
drought better than any other grass. To plow in as a fertilizer, or for
soiling cattle, it is valuable, wherever it will flourish.
10. _Sain-Foin._--Adapted to calcareous or chalky soils; considered one
of the best plants ever introduced into England; but in New England it
proves almost a failure--it requires more cool moisture and less frost.
11. _Timothy._--In England, _Meadow Cats'-tail_, and in New England,
_Herd's-grass_. This is the most valuable of all the grasses, and
wherever it will thrive well, should never be superseded by anything
else for hay. It should be cut when the seed has begun to harden, but
before it begins to shell, and never in the blossom. Let every farmer
remember that timothy, cut in the seed, contains twice as much nutriment
as when cut in the blossom; hence, it is not worth more than half as
much for hay, sown among clover, as when sown by itself, as it must be
cut too early, to avoid losing the clover.
12. _Red Top._--We can not find this described in agricultural books;
but we have been familiar with it for thirty-five years, and can not
find a New York or New England farmer who does not know it well and
prize it highly. For low, moist, rich meadows, the red top is the best
for hay of any known grass. It yields abundantly, and may be cut at any
time, from July to last of September. The hay is better for cattle than
timothy. Many intelligent gentlemen insist that it is the most healthy
hay for horses.
After all that has been written on the various grasses, we regard it
best for farmers throughout the continent to cultivate only the
following:--
For early pastures, _vernal grass_ and _meadow foxtail_; pastures
through the season, _white clover_, _cocks-foot_, _meadow foxtail_, _red
clover_, and _timothy_; for lowland pastures, _red top_ and _tall
fescue_; for hay, _timothy_, _red top_, _orchard grass_, and _tall
fescue_; for the shade of fruit-trees, _orchard grass_; to be plowed in
as fertilizers, _red clover_ and _white clover_, for soiling cattle,
_tall oat-grass_ and _lucern_.
Time of sowing grass-seed is important. Some prefer the fall, and others
the spring. Fall sowing should be very early or very late. Early sowing
will give the young plants strength to endure the frosts of winter,
which would kill late sown; but sow so late that it will not vegetate
until spring, and it will come up early and get out of the way of the
droughts of summer. Grass-seed sown late in the spring will always fail,
except when followed by a very wet season. Sow timothy with fall grain,
or late in the fall, or on a light snow toward the close of winter. Do
not sow clover in the fall, as the young plants will generally fail in
the cold winter;--sow it on the last light snow of winter, and it will
always succeed. Roll the land in spring on which you have sown
grass-seed in the last of winter; it will benefit the grain, and cause
the grass-seed to catch well, and get an earlier and more rapid growth.
Let all who would not lose their seed and labor, remember that
grass-seed not sown so as to form good roots, before the frosts of
winter or the drought of summer, will be lost; the plants will be
killed. Timothy-seed sown in the fall, one peck to the acre, will
produce a good crop the next season.
GREENHOUSE.
Greenhouses vary as much in style and cost as dwellings. The simplest is
any tight enclosure, covered with a glass roof at an angle of forty-five
degrees, facing the south, and kept warm by artificial heat. The
temperature is not allowed to be lower than forty nor higher than
seventy degrees of Fahrenheit; this will keep plants growing and make
them blossom, and affords a good place for starting plants to be
transplanted to out-door hotbeds, and finally to the vegetable garden,
after frosts are over. There is but one main danger in greenhouse
culture, and that is obviated by a little care: it is, allowing the air
to become too much heated for the health of the plants; they require but
little heat, but need it regularly. Some greenhouses are warmed by
stoves, and serve a good purpose; others have a stove set in a flue
which is built in the wall, gradually rising until it has passed around
two or three sides of the building. Place three or four sheet-iron pans
over this flue, at different points, and keep them filled with water;
the fire in the flue will heat the water, and impart both warmth and
humidity to the atmosphere, which is very favorable to the health and
growth of plants. Such a house is favorable to the growth of tender
exotic fruits and plants. A similar house without any artificial heat
affords an excellent place for the cultivation of the finest varieties
of foreign grapes.
GYPSUM, OR PLASTER OF PARIS.
The fertilizing properties of this article were discovered by a German
laborer in a quarry, who observed the increased luxuriance of the grass
by his path, when the dust fell from his shoes and clothes. This led to
experiments which demonstrated its fertilizing power. With the
protracted controversies on gypsum we have nothing to do; certain
important facts are established which are valuable to agriculturists.
Gypsum is valuable as an application to the soil, at from three fourths
to one and a quarter bushels to the acre. On poor land, for a flax crop
three bushels per acre, applied after the plants were up, and when wet,
produced a great crop. It should be applied only once in two years, or
in very small quantities every year. Applied as a top-dressing, it will
do no good until a considerable quantity of rain has fallen upon it. If
it be applied in the spring, and the summer prove a dry one, its
greatest effect will be felt the next season. Its most marked effects
are on poor soils; on land already rich it seems to produce but little
effect; on dry, sandy or gravelly soils, it will increase a clover crop
from one fourth to two thirds; sowed among clover and immediately plowed
in, it acts powerfully. Plants of large leaves feel its influence much
more than those with small ones, hence its excellence on clover,
potatoes, and vines. Some soils contain enough plaster already: the
farmer must determine by analysis or experiment. On the compost heap it
is valuable in small quantities; it is also useful on all long, coarse,
or fresh manures of the previous winter. Seeds rolled in it before
planting vegetate sooner and stronger. Mixed with an equal quantity of
ashes and a little lime, and applied to any crop immediately after
hoeing, or when just coming up, it adds materially to its growth. It is
better to apply it twice--on first coming up, and immediately after
first hoeing; small quantities are best;--it will ten times repay the
cost and labor. Upland pastures and meadows, except clay soils, are
greatly benefited by it. A time-saving method of sowing plaster on
fields of grass or grain, is to sow out of a wagon driven slowly through
the field, the driver being guided by his former tracks, while two men
sow out of the wagon. It is customary to put plaster and ashes, mixed,
around the hills of corn, or throw it upon the plants. Sown on the field
of hoed or hill crops, its effects are much greater than when only put
on the hill. It should be sown equally over the whole ground.
HARROWING.
The very liberal use of the harrow is one of the principal requisites of
successful farming. No other single tool does so much to pulverize the
soil, as the harrow. A full crop can only be raised on a fine mellow
soil. Seeds planted in soil left coarse and uneven, will vegetate
unevenly, grow unequally, ripen at different times, and produce unequal
quantities. Many farmers insist that it is a mere notion, without
reason, to harrow land four or five times, and roll it once or twice.
Not one in five hundred believes in the full utility of such a thorough
working of the soil. Coarse lumpy soils expose the seeds and roots of
young plants to drought, and to too strong action of the atmosphere.
(See article on _Rolling_.)
Harrow sandy and sod land whenever you please. If you work any other
soil when very wet, it will not recover from the effects of it during
the whole season. Harrow land the first time the same way it was plowed.
The form of a harrow is of no importance, except avoiding the butterfly
drag, that seldom works well. The square harrow with thirty teeth is
usually preferred. Every farmer should have a =V= drag also.
Corn, potatoes, peas, and other crops that are planted in straight rows,
should be harrowed just after coming up, with a =V= drag, drawn by two
horses. The front teeth should be taken out that the row may pass
between the teeth, as well as between the horses.
Such a cultivation will do more good than any other single subsequent
one. It stirs the whole surface, pulverizing the soil, keeps it mellow
and moist, and destroys the weeds, and all at the best possible time,
for the benefit of the crop. No other form of cultivation is so good for
a young crop. Try two acres, one in the usual way, and the other by
harrowing, as we recommend, when it first comes up, and you will never
after neglect harrowing all your hoed crops.
HAY.
Farmers differ in their modes of making and preserving hay. The
following directions for timothy and clover, are applicable to all
grasses suitable for hay, as they are all divided into two classes,
broad-leaved, and the fine-leaved, or grasses proper. The principles
involved in these directions may be considered comparatively well
settled, and they are sufficient for all purposes. Cut clover when half
the blossoms are dried, and the other half in full bloom. Cut later, the
stalks are so dried, that they are of much less value. Cut earlier, it
is so immature, as to be of small value for hay. In case of great growth
and lodging down, clover may be cut earlier, as it is better to save hay
of less value, than to lose the whole. To cure clover for hay, spread it
evenly, immediately after the scythe, let it thoroughly wilt, but not
dry. Rake it up, before any of the leaves are dry so as to break, and
put it in small cocks, such as a man can pitch upon a cart at once or
twice with a fork. This should be _laid_ on and not _rolled_ up from a
winrow. In the former case it will shed nearly all the water, and the
latter method suffers the rain to run down through the whole.
Unless the weather be very wet, clover will cure in this way, without
opening until time to haul it in, and will retain its beautiful green
color, almost equal to that of England and Germany, cured in the shade,
which, at two or three years old, appears almost as bright as though not
cured at all. If the weather be quite wet, cut clover when free from dew
or rain, wilt it at once, and draw it in, put as much as possible in
thin layers on scaffolds, and under cover, to cure in the shade. Put the
remainder in alternate layers with equal quantities of dry straw, with
one peck of salt to a ton. A ton may bear half a bushel of salt, less is
better, and more is injurious to stock, by compelling them to eat too
much salt. The most beautiful and palatable clover hay is that cured in
the shade, on scaffolds and afterward mowed away.
Timothy should never be cut, until the seed is far enough advanced to
grow. Careful experiments have shown that cut in the blossom, the hay
will contain only about one half as much nutriment, as when cut in the
full-grown seed, but before it commences shelling. Cure as clover, but
in twice as large cocks, and never salt, unless compelled to draw in
when damp or too green.
HEDGE.
The question of fencing in this country, so much of which is prairie,
and in other parts of which there is such a wanton waste of timber,
gives great importance to successful hedging. The same plants are not
equally good for hedge in all parts of the country. There are but few
plants suitable for hedges in our climate.
_The Osage Orange_--is the best, in all latitudes where it will
flourish. It has no diseases or enemies by which it will be destroyed,
except too cold winters. Of Southern origin, yet it flourishes in many
places at the North. In cold localities, where there is but little snow,
it suffers much until three or four years old. It is being extensively
introduced into central and northern Illinois, where unusually cold
winters destroy vast quantities of young plants, and kill the tops of
much old hedge. It is still insisted that it will succeed; but we
consider it too uncertain, and consequently too expensive, for general
fencing in such climates. The roots and lower parts of the plants may be
preserved, however, by setting them out for a hedge on level ground,
instead of ridges as usual, and plowing a furrow three feet from each
side of the row, to drain off surplus water. Mulch thoroughly in the
fall, and thus protect from frost until they have been set in the hedge
for three years, and they may succeed and make a good live fence. To
raise the plants, soak the seeds thoroughly, and, at the usual time of
corn-planting, plant in straight rows, and keep clean of weeds. Set out
in hedge the following spring. The soil of the hedge-row should be deep,
mellow, and moderately, not excessively rich. Too rich soil makes a
larger growth, of spongy and more tender wood. Plants should have a
portion of the tap-root cut off, and be planted a foot apart in the row.
_The Hawthorn_--will never be extensively cultivated for live fence in
this country, being subject to borers, as destructive as in fruit-trees.
_The Virginia Thorn_--is equally uncertain.
_The Buck Thorn_--after fifteen years' trial, in New England, bids fair
to answer every purpose for American live fence: it is easily
propagated, of rapid growth, very hardy, thickens up well at the bottom,
and is exempt from the depredations of insects. It may yet prove the
great American hedge-shrub.
_The Newcastle Thorn_--cultivated in New England, is much more
beautiful, and promises to rival the buck thorn, but has not been
sufficiently tested to settle its claims. Much is anticipated from it.
[Illustration: Shearing down young hedges.]
[Illustration: Properly-trimmed hedge (end view).]
[Illustration: Badly-trimmed hedge (end view).]
[Illustration: Neglected hedge (side view).]
There are plants well adapted to hedge at the South, which are too
tender for the North. In White's Gardening for the South, we have the
following given as hedge-shrubs, adapted to that region: Osage Orange,
Pyracanth, Cherokee, and single White Macartney roses. The Macartney,
being an evergreen thorn, and said to make as close a hedge as the Osage
Orange and much more beautiful, is quite a favorite at the South. They
usually train the rose-shrubs for hedge on some kind of paling or wire
fence. They render some of them impenetrable even by rabbits or
sparrows; this is done by layers, and trimming twice a year, commencing
after the first three months' growth. Pruning is the most important
matter in the whole business of hedging. A hedge set out ever so well,
and composed of the best variety of plants, if left in the weeds,
without proper care in trimming, will be nearly useless. A well-trimmed
hedge around a fruit-orchard will keep out all fruit-thieves. The great
difficulty is the _unwillingness_ of cultivators to cut off, so short
and so frequently, _the fine growth_.
Shear off the first year's growth (_a_) within three inches of the
ground (_b_). Cut the vigorous shoots that will rise from this shearing,
four inches higher, about the middle of July, and similar and successive
cuttings, each a little longer, in the two following years; these will
bring the hedge to a proper height. The form of trimming shown in end
view of properly-trimmed hedge, protects the bottom from shade by too
much foliage on the top: the effects of that shade are seen in neglected
hedge in the cut.
HEMP.
This is one of the staple articles of American agriculture. It is much
cultivated in Kentucky and other contiguous states. Its market value is
so fluctuating that many farmers are giving up its cultivation. The
substance of these directions is taken from an elaborate article from
the pen of the honorable Henry Clay. Had not the length of that article
rendered it inconsistent with the plan of this volume, we should have
given it to the American people as it came from the hand of their
greatest statesman, who was so eminently American in all his sentiments
and labors.
_Preparation of the Soil_--should be as thorough as for flax;--this can
not be too strongly insisted on. Much is lost by neglect, under the
mistaken notion that hemp will do about as well on coarse, hard land.
Plants for seeds should be sown in drills four feet apart, and separate
from that designed only for the lint. The stalks should be allowed to
stand about eight inches apart in the rows. Plants are male and female,
distinguished in the blossoms. When the farina from the blossoms on the
male plants (the female plants do not blossom) has generally fallen,
pull up the male plants, leaving only the females to mature. Cut the
seed-plants after the first hard frost, and carry in wet, so as to avoid
loss by shelling. Seed is easily separated by a common flail. After the
seeds are thrashed out, they should be spread thin, and thoroughly
dried, or their vegetative power will be destroyed by heat or decay.
They should be spread to be kept for the next spring's planting, and not
be kept in large bulk. Their vegetation is very uncertain after they are
a year old. Sow hemp for lint broadcast, when the weather has become
warm enough for corn-planting. Opinions vary as to the quantity of seed,
from one bushel to two and a half bushels per acre. Probably a bushel
and a peck is best. Plowing in the seed is good on old land; rolling is
also useful. If it gets up six inches high, so that the leaves cover the
ground well, few crops are less effected by the vicissitudes of the
weather. Some sow a part of their hemp at different times, that it may
not all ripen at once and crowd them in their labor. Cutting it ten days
before it is ripe, or allowing it to stand two weeks after, will not
materially injure it. Hemp is pulled or cut. Cutting, as near the ground
as possible, is the better method. The plants are spread even on the
ground and cured; bound up in convenient handfuls and shocked up, and
bound around the top as corn. It is an improvement to shake off the
leaves well before shocking up. If stacked after a while, and allowed to
remain for a year, the improvement in the lint is worth more than the
loss of time. There are two methods of rotting--dew-rotting,
=and= water-rotting--one by spreading out on grass-land, and the other by
immersing in water; the latter is much the preferable mode. The question
of sufficient rotting is determined by trial. Hemp is broken and cleaned
like flax. The stalks need to be well aired and dried in the sun to
facilitate the operation. Extremes in price have been from three to
eight dollars per hundred pounds: five dollars renders it a very
profitable crop. Thorough rotting, good cleaning, and neat order, are
the conditions of obtaining the first market price. An acre produces
from six hundred to one thousand pounds of lint--an average of about one
hundred pounds to each foot of height of the stalks. Hemp exhausts the
soil but a mere trifle, if at all; the seventeenth successive crop on
the same land having proved the best. Nothing leaves the land in better
condition for other crops; it kills all the weeds, and leaves the
surface smooth and even.
HOEING.
Much depends upon the proper and timely use of the hoe. Never let weeds
press you; hoe at proper times, and you never will have any large weeds.
As soon as vegetables are up, so that you can do it safely, hoe them.
The more frequent the hoeing while plants are young, the larger will be
the crop. Premium crops are always hoed very frequently. Hoeing
cabbages, corn, and similar smooth plants, when it rains slightly, is
nearly equal to a coat of manure. But beans, potatoes, and vines, and
whatever has a rough stalk, are much injured by stirring the ground
about them while they are wet, or even much damp. We have known
promising crops of vines nearly destroyed by hoeing when wet. Hoeing
near the roots of vines after they have formed runners one or two feet
long, will also nearly ruin them;--the same is true of onions: hoe near
them, cutting off the lateral roots, and you will lessen the crop one
half. In hoeing, make no high hills except for sweet potatoes. High
hilling up originated in England, where their cool, humid, cloudy
atmosphere demands it, to secure more warmth. In this country we have to
guard more against drought and heat.
HOPS.
These are native in this country, being found, growing spontaneously, by
many of our rivers. There are four or five varieties, but no preference
has been given to any particular one. Moist, sandy loam is the best
soil, though good hops may be grown in abundance on any land suitable
for corn or potatoes. Plow the land quite deep in autumn; in the spring,
harrow the same way it was plowed. Spread evenly over the surface
sixteen cords of manure to the acre, if your soil be of ordinary
richness; cross-plow as deep as the first plowing; furrow out as for
potatoes, four feet apart each way. Plant hops in every other hill of
every other row, making them eight feet apart each way. Plant all the
remaining hills with potatoes. Four cuttings of running roots of hops
should be planted in each hill. Many hop-yards are unproductive on
account of being too thick;--less than eight feet each way deprives the
vines of suitable air and sun, and prevents plowing them with ease. The
first year, they only need to be kept clean of weeds by hoeing them with
the potatoes. In the fall of the first year, to prevent injury from hard
frosts, put a large shovelful of good manure on the top of each hill.
Each spring, before the hops are opened, spread on each acre eight cords
of manure; coarse straw manure is preferable. Plow both ways at first
hoeing. They require three hoeings, the last when in full bloom in the
beginning of August. Open the hops every spring by the middle of May; at
the South, by the last of April. This is done by making four furrows
between the rows, turning them from the hills; the earth is then removed
from the roots with a hoe, and all the running roots cut in with a sharp
knife within two inches of the main roots. The tops of the main roots
must also be cut in, and covered with earth two inches deep. Set the
poles on the first springing of the vines; never have more than two
poles in a hill, or more than two vines on a pole, and no pole more than
sixteen feet high. Neglect this root-pruning, and multiply poles and
crowd them with vines, and you will get very few hops. Select the most
thrifty vines for the poles, and destroy all the others. Watch them
during the summer, that they do not blow down from the poles. They must
be picked as soon as they are ripe, and before frosts. The best
picking-box is a wooden bin made of light boards, nine feet long, three
feet wide, and two and a half feet deep; the poles are laid across this,
and the hops picked into it by hand. In gathering hops, cut the vines
two feet from the ground, that bleeding may not injure the roots.
_Curing_ is the most important matter in hop-growing. Hops would all be
of one quality, and bring the first price, if equally well cured. The
following description (with slight abbreviation) of the process of
curing, by William Blanchard, Esq., is, perhaps, as complete as anything
that can be obtained. Much depends upon having a well-constructed kiln.
For the convenience of putting the hops on the kiln, a side hill is
generally chosen for its situation; it should be a dry situation. It
should be dug out the same bigness at the bottom as at the top; the side
walls laid up perpendicularly, and filled in solid with stone to give it
a tunnel form: twelve feet square at the top, two feet square at the
bottom, and at least eight feet deep, is deemed a convenient size. On
the top of the walls sills are laid, having joists let into them, as for
laying a floor, on which laths, about one and a half inches wide, are
nailed, leaving open spaces between them three fourths of an inch, over
which a thin linen cloth is spread and nailed at the edges to the sills.
A board about twelve inches wide is set up on each side of the kiln, on
the inner edge of the sill, to form a bin to receive the hops. Fifty
pounds, after they are dry, is all such a kiln will hold at once. The
larger the stones made use of in the construction of the kiln the
better, as it will give a more steady and dense heat. The inside of the
kiln should be well plastered with mortar to make it air-tight. Charcoal
is the best fuel. Heat the kiln well before putting on the hops; keep a
steady and regular heat while drying. Hops must not remain in bulk long
after being picked, as they will heat and spoil. Do not stir them while
drying. After they are thoroughly dry, remove them into a dry room, and
lay in heaps, and not stir unless they are gathering dampness that will
change their color; then spread them. This will only occur when they
have not been properly dried. They are bagged by laying cloth into a
box, so made that it can be removed, and give opportunity to sew up the
bag while in the press. The hops are pressed in by a screw. In bulk they
will sweat a little, which will begin to subside in about eight days, at
which time they should be bagged. If they sweat much and begin to change
their color, they must be dried before bagging. The best size for bags
is about two hundred and fifty pounds' weight, in a bag about five feet
long. Common tow-cloth or Russia-hemp bags are best. Extensive
hop-growers build houses over the kiln, that they may be able to use
them in wet weather. In this case, keep the doors open as much as
possible without letting in the rain. Dried without sufficient air,
their color is changed, and their quality and market-value injured.
These houses are made much larger than the kiln, in many instances, for
the convenience of storing and bagging the hops when dry; in this case,
tight partitions should separate the storerooms from the kiln, to avoid
dampness from the drying hops.
The form of manuring recommended is contrary to the old practice of
putting a little manure only in the hill: that practice exposed vines to
decay and destruction by worms, and this does not; our system also
produces hops equal to new land.
HORSE.
This noble animal is in general use, and everywhere highly prized. By
the last census, we see that there are two thirds as many horses as cows
in the United States--4,335,358 horses, and over six millions of cows.
But, valuable as is the horse, he suffers much ill treatment and neglect
from his master. To give a history of the horse, the various breeds of
different countries, and the efforts to improve them, would be
interesting, did it fall within the limits of our design. The patronage
of the kings and nobility of England has done much to elevate the horse
to his present standard of excellence. It has now become the custom for
intelligent gentlemen in rural districts, in all enlightened countries,
to give much attention to the improvement of horses. Unfortunately, some
of that enthusiasm is perverted to the channel of horse-racing, a
practice alike injurious to horses and the morals of men. A few brief
hints are all we have space for, where a volume would be interesting and
useful. The farmer should exercise constant care to improve the breed of
his horses: it pays best to raise good horses. This depends upon the
qualities of the dam and sire, and upon proper feed and care. This is a
subject that farmers should carefully study from books and from their
own observation. The most important matter in raising horses, is care in
working and feeding. Nineteen out of twenty of all sick horses are made
so by bad treatment. The prevention of disease is better than cure.
Steady, and even hard work, will not injure a horse that is well and
regularly fed. But a few moments of crowding a horse's speed, or of an
unnatural strain on his strength, may ruin him. Let it always be
remembered that it is speed, and not heavy loads, that most injures a
horse. A mile an hour too fast will soon run down your horse. A horse
fed with grain, or watered, when warm, is liable to be foundered; and if
not so fed as actually to be foundered, he will gradually grow stiff.
Horses are liable to take cold by any unreasonable exposure to the
weather, in the same circumstances as men, and the effects on health and
comfort are very similar. A horse having become warm by driving, should
never stand a minute without a blanket. When a man goes from a heated
room, or in a perspiration, into inclement weather, he takes cold the
moment the cold or storm strikes him: in a few moments the effects on
the pores of the body are such that there is no particular exposure. It
is so with a horse. He takes cold when you are only going to allow him
to "stand but a minute," and during that time you leave him uncovered.
If you are under the necessity of doing an unusual day's work with a
horse, do not feed him heavily on that day. Unusual feed the day before
and the day after will do him good; but on the day of excessive work it
injures him. Never feed horses too much; they will often eat one third
more than is good for their health. Keep the bottom of the trough in
which you feed your horses grain, plastered over with a mixture of equal
parts of salt and ashes, that they may eat a little of it when they
please. When the water of your horse becomes thick and yellowish, or
whitish, give him a piece of rosin as large as a walnut, pulverized and
put in his grain. If a horse has the heaves, give him no hay or oats;
corn, ground or soaked, should be his only grain, and green corn-fodder
in summer, and cornstalks, cut fine, with a little warm water on them,
mixed with meal, should constitute his only food. All except a few of
the most confirmed and long-standing cases of heaves are _entirely
relieved_ by this course of feeding, and that relief is permanent as
long as the feed is continued, and it frequently effects a cure so
radical that the disease will not return on a change of food. To bring
up horses that have had hard usage and poor feed, and to secure growth
in colts, feed them milk. The milk of a butter-dairy is not more
profitably used in any other way, than fed to horses and colts. Give
them no water for two or three days, and they will readily learn to
drink all the sour, thick milk you will give them. Colts will grow
faster on milk than on any other food.
Horses should be often rubbed down and kept clean, and when put in the
stable wet, they should be rubbed dry. It is very essential to the
health of a horse that he have pure air. Stables in this country are
usually airy enough. But if the stable be tight, it should be well
ventilated. The gases from a wet stable floor are injurious.
Disinfecting agents are good remedies; a little plaster-of-Paris spread
over a stable-floor is very useful. These brief directions, followed,
will prevent most of the diseases to which horses are subject; or in
case a horse be attacked, he will have the disease lightly, as temperate
men do epidemics.
HORSERADISH.
This is regarded a healthy condiment, especially in the spring of the
year. Grated, with a little vinegar, it may be eaten with any food you
choose. Small shavings of the root are esteemed in mangoes. When steeped
in vinegar for two weeks, it is said effectually to remove freckles from
the face. Any pieces of the roots will grow in any good garden-soil.
Larger and better roots may be produced, by trenching the bed two feet
deep, and putting in the bottom, ten inches of good manure, and planting
selected roots, about six inches deep.
HOTBEDS.
These are designed to force an early growth of plants. It is done by the
use of solar heat, and that arising from fermenting manures, combined.
The following directions for constructing and managing hotbeds will
enable every one to be successful. Nail boards on pieces of scantling
placed in the inside corners, in the form of a box, sixteen feet long
and six feet wide; make it three and a half feet high on the back-side,
and two feet high in front, facing the sun; nail a piece of board across
the middle, let in at the top, to prevent the box from spreading when
filled. Fill that with good, fresh horse-manure, with but little straw;
tread it down firmly. Put over the whole, sashes made with cross-pieces
but one way, and filled with glass, lapped half an inch, like shingles
on a roof, to carry off the rain; putty in the glass lightly, or it may
adhere to fresh-painted frames; let the frames be halved on their edges,
so as to lap and be tight; put these over the filled hotbed, perfectly
fitted all around, and enough of them to cover the whole bed; in two or
three days the manure will become pretty warm, when it should be
covered, four inches deep, with rich mould, sheltered for the purpose
the previous fall, and the seeds planted. When the plants come up, see
that they are kept sufficiently moist, and not have the hot sun pour
upon them intensely, and they will grow rapidly; when too warm, they
should be partly covered with mats, and the frames raised to let in air.
Put small wedges between the sash and the boards, which will let in
sufficient air. Keep it closed when the air is cold, and covered with
mats when the sun is too hot. Plants are often destroyed by
over-heating. When in danger of freezing, cover closely with mats or
straw, or both. We have had plants growing in such a bed when the
thermometer stood eight degrees below zero. If the heat of the manure
subsides too early, pack fresh horse-manure all around the outside of
the box, and as it heats it will communicate warmth to the inside of the
bed. As plants grow up, transplant a part to a fresh bed, so as to give
all a chance to grow stocky and strong. Almost everything that grows in
the garden may be forwarded greatly in the hotbed. Vines, beets,
tomatoes, cabbages, peppers, egg-plants, celery, beans, corn, and
potatoes, may be obtained much earlier by this means. Those that are
injured most by transplanting should be planted in the hotbed, on
inverted sods, or grass turfs, six inches square, which can be removed
with the growing plants on them, without seriously disturbing the
roots. Plenty of shade and moisture on transplanting will save the most
tender plants, and they will speedily recover. Make a hotbed of any size
you may desire on the same principle. The boards and frames will last
many years, with proper care, and occasional supply of a broken light of
glass. Into such sash, broken glass of any size can be put, by cutting
it to a proper width in one direction, no matter how far the points lap.
HOUSES.
It is not our design to give an extended view of rural architecture. But
this work can not be complete without a brief notice of farm-buildings,
and a few plans for such buildings, adapted to the wants of those
possessing limited means. We hope these directions and plans will prove
important aids in getting up cheap, yet convenient and beautiful,
country residences, especially in all the newer parts of the country.
Our reading on rural architecture, and an extensive observation in many
states of the Union, have made us acquainted with nothing, combining
beauty, cheapness, and utility, better than the following.
The scale at the bottom will enable any mechanic to determine the size
of each of these buildings, and their relation to each other. They can,
on the same general plan, be made of any dimensions, to suit the wishes
of the proprietor.
The wagon-house in the range is forty feet long, affording ample shelter
for all kinds of vehicles, connected by a covered way with the
horse-stables and barn-floor.
[Illustration: Range of Farm-Buildings.]
A lean-to is built on the north side of the wagon-house, in which is a
tool-house opening into it, and a stable for eight milch-cows, that will
thus be convenient for winter-milking; these cows are fed from the loft
over the wagon-house. The barn is thirty by forty feet, with floor in
the middle and bay on each side: this can be driven into on one side and
out on the other. From the floor is a covered way to cattle and horse
stables, and into the wagon and tool house, without going outdoor.
_The Piggery._--Large and small swine do not do so well together; hence,
the larger ones are to occupy the feeding-pen and bed on the right (in
the cut), those of medium size on the left, and the smaller ones in the
rear. The dimensions and relative size of apartments can be determined
from the plan.
The other buildings sufficiently explain themselves in the cut.
[Illustration: Ground-plan of Piggery.]
With this range of buildings, let a farmer do his own thrashing, with a
small horse-power, and thrash a part at a time during the winter,
keeping the straw in an apartment in the bay, dry for litter, and for
cut feed for cattle and horses, and it will be the best and most
economical method of thrashing and keeping stock. Every farmer should do
at least a part of his thrashing in this way, during the winter, for the
benefit of fresh straw, &c.
_Country Residence._--This includes the range of buildings given
opposite, their distance from the house, and all the parts of a complete
residence, with all the comforts and conveniences that can be crowded
into such a space, and at a very reasonable expense. Three fourths of an
acre are devoted to the ornamental grounds; except the walks and small
flower-beds, it is all green turf. Plowed very deep and thoroughly
enriched, the trees are set out, and all then made very level, and one
and a half bushels grass-seed sown on it and brushed in very smooth.
This soon makes a very thick green turf, to be cut every ten days during
the most growing season, and less frequently as the season advances. The
trees, for a few years, need careful working around and mulching. The
gravel carriage-road is twelve feet wide, and winding around shrubbery,
it leads to the carriage-house in the range of buildings. The foot-walks
are five feet wide. The curves in the walks may be accurately laid out
in the following manner. Determine the general position by a few points
measured off. Lay a pole upon the ground, in the direction of the walk;
stick a peg in the ground at the first end and at its middle; move the
pole round a little, leaving the middle the same,--then stick a peg at
its end, and move it forward--moving it forward and round equally, each
time, by measurement. A longer or shorter curve is made by a greater or
less side-movement of the pole. In a regular curve, the movements are
the same; but in going from a shorter to a longer, or from a longer to a
shorter curve, the side-measurement must increase or diminish regularly.
[Illustration: Country Residence, Farm Buildings, Grounds, and
Fruit-Gardens.]
[Illustration: Laying out Curves.]
[Illustration: First floor.]
[Illustration: Chambers.]
The following cuts show the plan of the house: three principal rooms and
a bed-room below, and four rooms above. The hall extends through the
house, affording good ventilation in summer, and entrance to each room,
without passing through another. The chimney in the centre economizes
heat. This small and cheap house affords more conveniences than most
large ones. One of the finest things about such a house is a good
cellar. For a farm-house, the cellar should be under the whole; make it
eight feet deep, gravel and water lime made smooth on the bottom,
flagging under the bottom of the wall extending out a foot, the wall
above ground built double, the inside four inches thick, with brick,
with a space of two inches, and outside stone wall a foot thick. The
windows should be double and well fitted, the inside one hung on hinges;
the outside one to be removed in spring, and its place supplied with a
well-fitted frame, covered with wire-cloth to admit air and exclude
intruders during summer. This will not freeze, and never need banking.
No rat can enter, for they always work close to the wall, and coming to
the projecting flat stone at the bottom, they give it up. On one side of
the cellar, under the kitchen, make a large rain-water cistern, with a
pump in the kitchen and a faucet in the cellar, and the whole
arrangement is perfect. If the farm be large, you will need some of the
good, but cheap houses described in the following part of this article,
where your men will live and board themselves, which is always the best
and cheapest way. An open view from the house in the country residence
extends to the summer-house (_b_) on the right. This is one of the
neatest cheap summer-houses that can be made. The following directions
for making it may be useful. Set eight cedar posts, six inches in
diameter, in the ground, in a circle; saw them off even at the top, and
connect them by plank nailed on their tops. Make an eight-sided roof of
boards; nail lath from post to post, forming lattice-work, leaving a
space between two posts for a door. Put a seat around on the inside.
Leave all the materials except the seat unplaned, and cover with a white
or brown wash, and it need not cost more than five or six dollars, and,
covered with vines of some kind, it will be ornamental.
[Illustration: Summer-house.]
[Illustration: Laborer's Cottage.]
[Illustration: Plan of Laborer's Cottage.]
This form of a cheap house is convenient and pleasant. Built of
four-inch scantling, the plates and sills being connected only by the
upright plank, and the wings thoroughly bracing the upright posts; when
lumber is cheap, it may be built for one hundred and fifty or two
hundred dollars, with cellar, well, and cistern. Occasional whitewash is
as good as paint. With cellar under the whole, filled in with brick, and
having blinds, it may cost three hundred and fifty dollars. The plan of
the house sufficiently explains itself.
The next cut illustrates a neat country-house, for a family who think
more of neatness, comfort, and intellectual pursuits, than of mere
ornament, and may serve the purpose of a farmhouse, or the residence of
a retired or professional gentleman. It has the unconstrained air of
the Italian style, without a rigid adherence to any rules, and may
therefore be altered or added to without destroying its effect.
[Illustration: Italian Farmhouse.]
[Illustration: Plan of Italian Farm House.]
The plan is intelligible without explanation. Built in a plain way, the
four large rooms not larger than fifteen by seventeen, and ten feet
high, plain in its finish, it would cost about sixteen hundred dollars
complete. It may go up from that, according to size and height of rooms,
and style of finish, to three thousand dollars. It then makes as good a
house as any person ever need to occupy, out of great cities.
HYBRIDS.
Although this subject has received far too little attention, yet our
limits will only allow us to mention a few facts, of the most practical
moment.
Plants hybridize only through their blossoms. This can only occur in
plants of similarity, in nature and habits. Squashes and pumpkins
planted near each other mix badly, and the poorer will prevail.
Varieties of corn mix at considerable distances, by the falling of
pollen from the tassel upon the silk of another variety. Watermelons are
always ruined by being planted near citrons. The seeds from melons so
grown will not produce one good melon. How far watermelons and
muskmelons, or squashes with melons, will hybridize, is uncertain. By
planting nutmeg muskmelons with the common roughskinned variety, we have
produced a kind about half way between them, that was of great
excellence. Two kinds of cabbage or turnip seed should never be raised
in the same garden. Cabbage and turnip seed raised near together is
valueless. In strawberries, different plants are essential to each
other, the quality of the fruit being determined by the plant
fertilized, and not by the fertilizer. This subject is further treated
under articles on different plants.
INARCHING.
This is a method of effecting a union of trees or branches, while both
retain their hold in the ground. Shave off a little wood from each, and
put them together, fitting closely, so that the barks will meet, as in
grafting; tie firmly, and cover with wax. When they have got well to
growing, cut off the top of the old one, and after a while cut the new
one from the ground. When you have a tree that it is difficult to
propagate in the usual way, you may transplant it to a thrifty stock.
Vigorous branches may by this means be transferred to old, poor-bearing,
or slow-growing trees. So also may a tree be prolonged beyond its
ordinary age, as the pear on the quince, by inarching young shoots. We
can only recommend this to the curious experimenter, who has little else
to do.
INSECTS.
These are the natural enemies of fruits and plants; and to prevent their
depredations requires much care. There is no universal remedy. Birds and
young fowls--especially ducks and chickens--are useful in a garden. The
ducks must not be kept there too long. They will appropriate a little to
their own use, but will save much more for the proprietor. Insects have
their peculiar tastes for particular fruits and plants, of which we have
treated, under those heads, respectively. Success in many branches of
horticulture and pomology, depends upon attention to the habits of
insects. The most general remedy is to wash trees or plants with a
strong decoction of some offensive herb, or with whale-oil soapsuds.
Tobacco is very useful for this purpose.
IRON FILINGS.
It has been ascertained by analysis, that iron enters largely into the
composition of the pear. Iron filings spread under them, or worked into
the soil, increases the growth of pear-trees, and improves the quality
of the fruit.
IRRIGATION.
This is one of the most important matters, that can engage the attention
of agriculturists of the present day. A stream of water that may be
caused to flow gently over a field, or different parts of a farm, at
pleasure, is a mine of wealth. Plants receive their food from the air
and water. We shall discuss this more fully when treating of manures. A
poor, porous, sandy, or gravelly soil usually produces a fine crop, in a
wet season. That is an addition to the soil of nothing but water. Hence
all springs and streams can be turned to great account, on a farm or
garden. Watering gardens by hand or with a garden-pump, will often pay
better than any other expenditure on the land. Employing a man, in a dry
season, to spend his whole time in watering five acres of garden, of
berries and vegetables, as cabbages, vines, onions, and potatoes, will
pay a very large profit. Strawberries will bear twice as much and twice
as long, for daily watering, after they begin to bud for blossoms, until
the fruit is gone. It is a necessary caution not to water irregularly,
and only occasionally, in a dry season. Better not commence than to
leave off, or neglect it in a dry time, before a rain. Read further in
our article on "Watering."
LABELS.
It is important, on many accounts, to have fruit-trees and shrubs well
labelled. Many labels have been invented. We prefer Cole's, as given in
his Fruit Book, to any other. Take a piece of sound pine or other soft
wood, whittle two sides smooth, leaving one wider than the other, with a
sharp corner between them. For one, cut one notch in the edge, and so up
to four, four notches for four. For five, cut across the narrow side.
For ten cut across the wide side, and a notch for every ten up to forty.
For fifty, cut obliquely across the narrow side, and for one hundred cut
obliquely across the wide side. Keep the names in a book, with numbers
corresponding with the notches or numbers on the labels.
Fasten these to trees, loosely, by a small copper or brass wire.
Transported to any distance, exposed to any weather, or buried in the
ground, they will not be obliterated. Pieces of sheet lead, tin, or
zinc, cut wide at one end, and written on with a sharp awl, and narrow
at the other end, to be bent around a limb, will answer a pretty good
purpose. Any soft wood, made smooth, and a little white paint applied,
and written on with a good pencil, will preserve the mark for a long
time. Fasten with small wire. There are many labels, but we know none
preferable to the above. By all means make labels accurate and
permanent. Otherwise great losses may occur by budding or grafting from
wrong varieties.
LANDSCAPE GARDENS.
These deserve much more attention than they receive in this country. On
most farms land enough is lying waste, to make a picturesque landscape,
at a small expense. Trees planted, weeds destroyed, grass cultivated,
and paths made, according to the most approved rules of carelessness,
would secure this object. With a wealthy man, the omission of such a
park about his dwelling is hardly pardonable. Landscape gardening is an
extensive subject. We can only give a few of the most general simple
rules, that may be practised, without the possession of very large
means.
1. Place the house some distance from the main street.
2. Make the carriage-way leading to the house, at least twelve feet
wide, and do not allow it to extend in a straight line, but in gentle
curves, around clusters of trees and plats of grass, apparently
rendering the curves necessary.
3. Have no large trees directly in front of the house.
4. Plant trees of the thickest and greenest foliage near the house, and
those of more open tops at a greater distance. Standard pear, and
handsome cherry trees, do well planted among the forest trees. Clusters
of them, at suitable distances, are not only beautiful, but they bear
exceedingly well. They are well protected by the forest trees, and
standing alone are injured less by insects.
5. Never set trees in a landscape garden, in straight rows, nor trees
of similar size and form together. Nature never does so.
6. Let none of the walks be straight lines, but curves, meandering among
trees and grass. If there be any water in the vicinity, let there be an
open space, giving a fair view of it from the house. If you have a
stream, make rustic bridges over it, the plainer the better. Here and
there have rustic arbors. Attached to all this should be three other
gardens, one of flowers, another of vegetables, and the third of fruits.
These three should never grow together. Fruit-trees ruin vegetables and
injure flowers. And flowers in a vegetable garden are mere weeds. A
separate plat for each is the correct rule, both for beauty and profit.
All this need require but little time and expense. All landholders can,
at a moderate cost, live amid scenes of perpetual beauty, while the rich
may spend as much money in this way as they choose.
LAYERING.
This is a method of propagation, by bending down a branch, and fastening
it under the soil, leaving the upper end projecting, until it takes
root. Cut half way through the branch so as to raise the top, and fasten
it at the point where it is cut, in a trench, with a stick thrust into
the ground over it nearly horizontally, or with a stick having a hook
made by cutting off a limb. Cover well with soil, and mulch it, and
water when dry. This done in the spring, in August the branch will be
well rooted, and may be cut away from the parent stalk. This is
important in any tree or shrub (like the snowball), difficult to
propagate by slips or grafting.
LAYING IN TREES.
Dig a trench where water will not stand, and lay the trees in at an
angle of forty-five degrees, and cover the roots and lower part, very
closely, with earth. In this way they may be well preserved through the
winter, if buried so deep that the tap-root will not freeze, which is
always injurious to trees that have been removed from their original
soil. Such freezing is always destructive to trees out of the ground.
Small trees and seedlings may be covered entirely, to be kept through
the winter. Put coarse straw manure on the earth, over trees large
enough for setting, that are to be preserved heeled in during winter;
and straw or corn-fodder over the tops, during the coldest weather, and
they will come out perfect in the spring.
If not ready to set out your trees at once, you may preserve them in
perfect condition to very late in spring, in this way, by raising them
once, to check vegetation, and putting them back, and shading their
stems and mulching the roots, after the commencement of warm weather.
Trees may thus be preserved in better condition for transplanting than
those left in the nursery, and they will make a larger growth the first
season.
LEEKS.
These are said to be natives of Switzerland. We think this doubtful, as
they are an article of daily food in Egypt, and were so highly esteemed
there, centuries ago, as to become an object of worship. They are used
as a pot-herb, to give a flavor to soups and stews. They are not
bulbous, like onions, but have a long stem, which is principally used.
They are transplanted very deep, so as to obtain a long white neck. The
ends of the roots are to be cut off when transplanted, and they should
be set in rows a foot apart, and from four to six inches in the row.
There are several varieties, distinguished mainly by the width of the
leaves,--the _Flanders_ (or _narrow-leafed_), the _Scotch_, and the
_Broad London_.
We know no use of leeks for which onions would not be equally good, and,
hence, do not recommend their cultivation.
LEMON.
This is the finest acid fruit grown, and belongs to warm climates; but
by getting good budded trees from the South, and setting in
glass-houses, protected from severe frosts, we may grow lemons in
abundance at the North.
By a system of acclimation and protection, we anticipate seeing oranges
and other Southern fruits grown at the North as a domestic luxury, and
perhaps at a profit for market. The houses necessary for protection may
be worth more for other purposes than their cost and care, without
interfering with their use for orange and lemon culture.
LETTUCE.
The varieties are numerous, and most of them do well on very rich land,
well hoed. Only two kinds of summer-lettuce need be cultivated--the
_ice-head lettuce_, and the _brown_. The ice-head has a very thick and
tender leaf, continuing to be excellent up to midsummer, from one
sowing; and if not allowed to stand nearer together than six inches, it
will produce fine heads. The brown lettuce is very large and very good.
There are other, earlier kinds, and many others that form large heads.
But we can get the above kinds early, by sowing in a hotbed and
transplanting; or by sowing so as to have plants get of considerable
size in the fall, and protect by covering in winter. These will be
suitable for the table early in the spring. Lettuce does better for
transplanting; it forms larger heads than in the original bed, and is a
little later. Make the soil very rich with stable-manure. Lettuce is
more affected by the quality of the soil than most other vegetables.
This is a pleasant and healthy article of food, in spring and early
summer.
LICORICE.
This is a hardy plant from Southern Europe. The root in substance, or
the extracted dried juice, is much used. Needs a deep, rich soil. It is
propagated by cuttings of roots set out in deeply-trenched land, in rows
three feet apart, and one foot in the row. Small vegetables may be grown
among the plants the first year; afterward keep clear of weeds, and
manure every autumn. At the end of the third year, after the leaves are
dead, take up the roots and dry them thoroughly. This does well at the
South. A few roots are sufficient for a family, and the demand will not
be sufficient to require its culture very extensively as an article of
commerce. The low price of labor in Southern Europe enables them to
supply the demand cheaper than can be afforded in this country.
LIME.
This is a valuable application to the soil. For wheat it is very
important, except on soil containing a large proportion of calcareous
matter. Usually air-slaked, and applied as a top-dressing, or plowed or
harrowed in, its effects are important. On moist, sour land, producing
wild grass, it corrects the acidity, introduces other grass, and
prepares the soil for cultivation. On hard, stiff lands, it has a
tendency to make them friable, and keep them in a mellow condition, thus
saving more than its cost, in the labor of cultivation. Very valuable
in a compost heap. So much may be applied as to burn the soil and prove
injurious. It will not do as a substitute for everything else. See
further on "Manures."
LIME.
A fruit resembling the lemon, growing in the same climate, but of
smaller size. It is used for the same purposes as the lemon, but is not
so valuable. Preserved green, it is highly esteemed. It is cultivated as
the orange and lemon, needing the same protection in cold climates. To
preserve all these from destruction by insects, wash them in a strong
decoction of bitter or offensive herbs, or with whale-oil soap-suds;
tobacco is very effectual. These remedies are useful on all fruit-trees.
LOCATION.
This is important to everything we cultivate. But, as everything can not
have the best location, we should study it with reference to those
things most affected by it, especially fruits. Fruits escape late frosts
when growing near rills or small brooks. Orchards near the shores of
bodies of water--as on Lake Erie about Cleveland, Ohio--bear luxuriantly
when all fruit a few miles back is cut off by late frosts. On the
summits of hills, fruits escape late frosts, when they are all cut off
in the valleys below. On the Ohio river above Cincinnati, peaches are
very liable to destruction by late frosts. We have seen them all frozen
through in one night, and turned black the next day, in the month of
May, after they had grown to the size of marrowfat-peas. One season,
when there were no peaches in any other locality within a hundred miles,
we knew an orchard, on a Kentucky hill, so high and steep, that it took
miles of winding around the hill, to ascend it with a team. Those trees
were perfectly loaded with peaches, that sold on the tree at four
dollars per bushel, and in Cincinnati market at seven to eight dollars.
In Ohio, Kentucky, and Virginia, there are such hills, that may be
turned to more valuable account than any of the rest of their land, that
are not now considered good for anything--even for sheep-pastures. The
same is true in the hilly parts of all the states. Good fruit of some
kind will grow on them all, every year.
LOCUST-TREES.
It will soon be a great object with American farmers to cultivate
locust-trees, in all locations to which they are adapted. Even in this
new world, we shall soon be dependent on cultivated timber for
fence-posts, railroad-ties, and building purposes. Our native forests
are rapidly disappearing, while demand for timber is as rapidly
increasing. Probably no other tree is so profitable for cultivation in
this country as the locust. It is of rapid growth, and hard and durable,
and adapted to many uses. The second-growth locust is not so durable as
the native forest-tree, as found in parts of Ohio; but, cut at a
suitable age and at the right season of the year, it is as durable as
white cedar, and much more valuable. The profits of the culture would be
great. An acre of locust-trees fifteen or twenty years old would be
worth fifteen hundred or two thousand dollars. The expense of growing
it, aside from the use of the land, would be trifling. The grove would
afford a good place for fowls, while the blossoms would be nearly equal
to white clover for honey. The limbs would make excellent wood, and the
ground would need no planting for a second growth. Fortunate will be the
men on the prairies of the West, and along the railroads and rivers of
the land, who shall early plant fields of locust. The profits of it will
greatly exceed the increase in the value of the land.
MANURES.
Soils, manures, and preparing the soil--plowing, harrowing, &c.--are the
three great subjects in any good agricultural work. We shall treat this
subject under the following divisions:--
1. The substances of which manures are composed.
2. Preparation and saving of manures.
3. Time and modes of application.
4. The principles of their action upon plants.
Manures are of two classes--called putrescent and fossil. The putrescent
are composed of decayed, or decaying, vegetable and animal substances.
The fossil are those dug from the earth, as lime, marl, and gypsum. All
vegetable substances not useful for other purposes are valuable for
manure. Rotten wood, leaves, straw, and all the vegetable parts of
stable manure, and any spoiled vegetables or grain, are all valuable. At
the South, their immense quantities of cotton-seed are a mine of wealth,
if properly prepared and applied as manure. Animal manures consist of
the animal parts of stable manure, dry and liquid, parts of bones,
brine, spoiled meat, kitchen slops, soapsuds, and all dead animals. In
decaying, these substances all pass through a process of fermentation.
Left exposed without suitable care, they become unhealthy and offensive.
It is probable that a large share of the diseases suffered in the rural
districts are caused by these impurities; and the impossibility of
keeping large cities free from these substances is the cause of their
increased mortality. In the country, a little timely caution and labor,
in removing these substances and regulating their fermentation, would
save much sickness; while the labor would pay a larger per-cent. profit
than any other performed on the soil. No manures should be allowed to
ferment, or decay, without being mixed or covered with enough common
earth, sand, peat, or muck, to retain all the gases and exhalations of
such putrescence. The smallest quantity that will answer is one load of
earth to two of the decaying substances. The proportions reversed would
be better: put one bushel of lime to two loads, two quarts of ground
plaster, and half a bushel of ashes, and you have the very best compost
heap. The following are brief general rules for the preparation of
manures. It is always most economical to feed cattle in the stable or
under cover, and never have manure exposed to the weather. But if cattle
must be fed outdoor, let them be fed in a yard, lowest in the centre,
that the liquids and washings may run into the centre, and be absorbed
by straw and litter. Put manure on the land, or into heaps for compost,
before very warm weather. Always feed sheep under cover, and keep their
manure from rain; heap it together with earth in the spring, or apply it
to the soil at once. Manure thrown out of a stable should be kept under
cover, out of the rain, and not allowed to heat in winter; its best
qualities are evaporated by fermentation in the yard. Manures often
rained on in winter, or left in large piles without intermixture of
earth, lime, plaster, and ashes, will ferment and waste. Construct your
stables so that the liquid manure will run into a vat filled with earth;
muck is best. Experiments have shown that the liquid manures are at
least one sixth better than the solid. A gentleman dug a pit, thirty-six
feet square and four feet deep, and walled it in on all sides. He filled
his vat from a cultivated field, and so constructed his sewers from the
stables adjoining that the urine saturated the whole. He kept fourteen
head of cattle there for five months, allowing none but the liquid part
of the manure to pass into the vat. He spread forty loads of this on an
acre. For ten years he tried equal quantities of this and well rotted
and prepared stable-manure, side by side, in the same field, and
obtained great crops; but in no stage of their growth could he see that
crops on the land manured from the stable were any better than those
that had received only the soil from the vat. The latter were quite as
good as the former. The contents of his vat manured seven acres, or half
an acre to each creature stabled. The result is proof that one cow
discharges urine sufficient in five months to manure abundantly half an
acre of land. Save the solid manure equally well, and a cow will make
manure enough, in five or six months, to increase a crop sufficiently to
pay for herself. It is certainly safe to say, that a careful man can
make the manure of a cow pay for her body every year. Is not this an
important branch of farming operations? Few pay sufficient attention to
it. Fowls should roost where their droppings may be mixed with common
garden soil or loam. The manure from each fowl, carefully saved and
judiciously applied, will pay for its body twice a year. The hogstye may
be very productive of manure, one fourth better than that from the
stable. Connected with your hogpen, have a yard fifteen feet square for
every five hogs; let that yard have no floor. Throw the straw out of
their sleeping-room frequently to make room for new; throw into the
yard, also, all sorts of weeds, refuse vegetables, corn-husks, peapods,
&c.; also the dirt that will naturally accumulate in the backyard of a
dwelling, including sawdust, fine chips, cleanings of cellars, scrapings
of ditches, and occasionally a load of loam, muck, or clay--and six
loads of manure to each hog may be made, that will prove far better than
any stable manure; it has been known to produce fifty bushels of corn to
the acre, when stable-manure produced but forty bushels. Old wood,
brush, and chips, should never be allowed to remain on uncultivated,
useless land. Wood throws out the same amount of heat in decaying as it
does when consumed as fuel. The action of that heat on the soil is
highly beneficial, retaining it long in a mellow state: hence, all wood,
too old to be of value for any other purpose, should be put in heaps,
covered up till decomposed, and then applied to the soil, as other
manures. For potatoes or vines, but especially melons, it is preferable
to any other manure. Nothing is so good for muskmelons as old chips
from the woodyard. Leaves of fruit and forest trees are also very good;
blood and offal of animals, hair, hoofs, bones, horns, refuse feathers,
woollen rags, mud from sewers, rivers, roads, swamps, or ponds, turf,
ashes, old brine, soapsuds, all kinds of fish, oyster and clam
shells--all are valuable, and no part of them should ever be thrown away
or wasted; they are all good in compost heaps, or applied directly to
the soil. Bones are best ground, but may be used whole, pounded, or
chemically dissolved, or mixed with alternate layers of fresh
horse-manure, they will be decomposed by the fermentation of the manure
(see "Bones"). Perhaps there is as much imprudence in wasting manures as
in any part of American domestic economy. One who leaves his stock
without care, and so exposed to the weather as to lose half of them and
injure the others, is not fit to be a farmer; yet, many waste manure
that would produce plants for man and beast, of far more value than the
loss of stock complained of, and yet no one notices it--it is a matter
of course, exciting no surprise. Wastefulness in a family, if it be of
bread, flour, or meat, is considered wicked and impoverishing; while ten
times that amount may be wasted in manures, that would enrich the soil,
and excite little or no disapprobation. We hope the agricultural
periodicals will keep this subject before the people, until these mines
of wealth will no longer be neglected or wasted.
_Application of Manures_ is a subject that has been much discussed, and
respecting which, intelligent agriculturists differ materially. Some
apply them extensively as a top-dressing for grass lands. This does much
good, but probably one half of their virtues is lost by washing rains,
and by evaporation. A better way is not to keep land down in grass long
at a time, and, when under the plow, manure thoroughly. We knew a piece
of light land that annually produced half a ton of hay per acre. The
owner plowed it up, raised a crop, put a moderate quantity of
stable-manure, and ten loads of leached ashes to the acre. We saw it in
haying time, the third season after it had been manured and subsoiled
and seeded down, and they were then taking fully three tons of timothy
hay from an acre, which was the quantity it had yielded three years in
succession, without any top-dressing. If a top-dressing of manure is to
be applied, harrow the land quite thoroughly, and always apply the
manure in the fall--it is worth twice as much as when applied in the
spring. The rains and snows of winter cause it to sink into the soil,
while the heat of spring and summer evaporate it. A mixture of plaster,
lime, ashes, and a very little salt, sowed on meadows, immediately after
haying, secures a good growth of feed, much sooner than it will come on
other meadows. It also increases, quite considerably, the hay crop of
the following season. It is a universal rule not to allow manure to lie
long on the surface to which it is applied, before plowing in. Place
manure in heaps, as large as will be convenient for spreading, and
spread it just before the plow. Never spread manure one day to be plowed
in the next. When manuring in the hill, have the planters follow the
manure-cart. In manuring potatoes in the hill, drop the potatoes, and
put the manure on them and cover at once. In a dry season, the yield
will be double that of those planted in the usual way. For fall grains,
plow in the manure, just before sowing the seed. This is better than
plowing it in under the sod. If the land be not sod land, and you can
plow the manure in only deep enough to cover it, and then, just before
sowing the seed, plow again very deep, the effect is excellent. Apply
manure to land in the fall, or just after harvest, and plow it in, let
the land remain till spring, and then plow deep, and you get the best
possible effect. On an onion crop, manure does the most good on the
surface. On those raised from sets, or on any onions, after they get
large enough to give room, put fine manure enough to keep down all
weeds, and it will double the crop.
Gypsum is better sowed than in any other way. Mixed with a little lime
and salt, or wood-ashes and salt, the effect on corn is better than from
either alone. To hoed crops apply these articles twice, and always by
sowing, and not by putting it around or upon the hills; the effect is
much greater sowed, besides the labor that is saved. In applying guano,
do not allow it to come in contact with the plants, as it is apt to
destroy them.
It only remains to consider the principles on which manure acts upon
soils, and produces growth in plants. The action of manure on the soil,
by which it is enabled to retain and appropriate moisture, constitutes
its main, if not its whole benefit. It may afford a stimulus to the
roots of plants. Even the specific manures, that are supposed to supply
organic matter to particular plants, may impart their benefits by their
action upon the air and water. Facts are certainly at hand to show that
the great and leading benefits of manures are in their control of
moisture, and where that control is not needed, plants get a great
growth on what we call poor soil. No manures, either fossil or
putrescent, afford any considerable food for plants. Vegetation
receives its growth mainly from water and from the atmosphere. Facts in
support of this theory are abundant.
A trial was made to ascertain whence comes the matter of which a tree is
composed. A quantity of kiln-dried earth was weighed and then put into a
tight vessel. A willow shrub was also weighed and planted in that earth,
and the vessel covered with perforated tin to keep out the dust; for a
year and a half it was supplied only with pure water. The tree was then
taken out, and found, by weight, to have gained one hundred and sixty
pounds. The earth was then kiln-dried, as before, and weighed, and its
weight was found to be only two ounces less than it was a year and a
half before, when it was deposited there. The tree, then, must have
received its growth, not from the soil, but from the water or the
atmosphere, or both.
Another fact: take a load of manure, dry it thoroughly, and weigh it.
Then moisten it and apply it to the soil, and it will increase the
weight of vegetation from ten to thirty or forty times its own weight
when dry, and yet most of that manure may still be found in the soil.
Hence it can only feed plants in a very limited degree. Its action must
be on air and water, or the control it gives the soil over those
elements.
It is also matter of common observation that soil well manured, will
continue moist for a long time after similar land by its side, but which
has not been manured, is dried up. Hard coarse soils dry up very
quickly, while soft, mellow, and friable ones will endure a long
drought. The gases and moisture generated by the decomposition of
manures produce this mellow state. Hence the necessity of having that
decomposition take place under the soil, or of plowing in the manure.
Another important fact bearing on this question is, that what are
regarded very poor soils, such as light sandy or gravelly land, will
produce good crops in a season remarkable for the frequency of showers.
On such soils crops are from twice to four times as large, in a wet
season as in a dry, and yet there is an addition of nothing but
moisture, and in such a manner, as not to have it stand and become
stagnant among the roots of the plants.
Yet another evidence is in the strength of clay soils. A hard clay is
very unproductive. But so disintegrated that plants can grow in it, it
produces a great crop. This is because clay is of so close a texture,
that when mixed with manure, turf, sand, or muck, although friable, it
retains more moisture, than sand or ordinary loam. This is the reason of
the superior fertility of land annually overflowed with water, as Egypt
in the vicinity of the Nile. It is not that the Nile brings down
deposites from the mountains of the Moon, so rich above all that is in
the valleys below. The entire weight of all that a river deposites on
ten acres would not equal in weight the increased vegetation of a single
acre. The cause of the increased fertility is the fact that the deposite
is so fine that it prevents rapid evaporation, and thus causes the soil
to retain moisture for the large growth, and maturity of the plants.
One more evidence is found on our sandy pine plains. Our common
forest-trees, as beech, maple, elm, or linden, will not flourish there.
Such land will produce comparatively no corn, oats, or wheat. But rye
that stands drought better than any other grain, grows tolerably well.
But such plains always produce an enormous growth of pine timber, hardly
equalled in the number of cords to the acre, by the heaviest-timbered
land of the river bottoms. Why is this? Does a maple need so much more
food than a pine, or is it in the habits of the trees? It is not in the
richness or poverty of the soil, but in the adaptation of the trees to
reach and appropriate moisture. The roots of the maple and beech, spread
out near the surface of the ground. And it being a light, porous, sandy
soil, it does not retain moisture enough to promote their growth. But
whoever notices a pine-tree that has been turned up from the roots by
the wind, will see that the roots run down almost perpendicularly ten or
fifteen feet into the sand. There they find plenty of moisture and hence
their great growth. This principle explains the comparative
productiveness of all soils.
A soil composed of light muck, or a kind of peet-soil, will dry up soon.
There is nothing to prevent rapid evaporation; hence it is always
unproductive, for want of suitable moisture. Mix with it clay, to render
its texture more firm, and it will retain the moisture, and be very
productive. Clay alone is too solid to retain moisture; it runs off, as
from a brick. Mix sand with it, and it becomes mellow, and retains
moisture, and produces great growth. Sand allows so free and rapid an
evaporation that it is unproductive. We say it leaches and is hungry,
and so it is, because it has little power to retain water. Our manures
do it good, only as they are calculated to aid it in controlling
moisture. If we apply a light manure as we would to clay, it is
comparatively useless; it adds no firmness to the texture of the soil,
and hence does not increase its capacity for controlling water. On such
land, the only good that manure does, is while decomposition is taking
place in the soil, it renders it more moist, and hence more productive.
Apply clay to such a soil, and it will increase its firmness and
consequent capacity of retaining and appropriating moisture, and thus
render it highly valuable. Dry straw manure is sometimes said to dry up
land, and ruin crops. So of turf in a dry season. In a wet season they
greatly increase the growth of crops. Now they contain just as much food
for plants in one season as another. Hence a soil too easily impervious
to the atmosphere, will be a poor soil, that is, will produce poorly,
simply because it has no power to retain the necessary moisture.
We suppose these facts and reasons to establish our theory, that the
principal benefit of manures, and of mixing different soils, is in the
control they give over the moisture and the atmosphere. Hence the
greatly increased crop of clover from the application of three quarters
of a bushel of plaster to an acre. The increased weight of clover on
five square rods, would outweigh the plaster applied, and still that
plaster remains, in almost its full weight, on the soil. This principle
explains the benefit of mulching trees, plants, or vegetables. This is
the best means of preserving trees, the first year after transplanting,
and of securing a great growth, of any kind of shrubs or plants. This
may be done with common straw or leaves. Now wherein is their utility?
Not in the nourishment they afford the plants, but in the fact that
mulching so covers the surface as to prevent rapid evaporation. In such
cases, it is the more abundant moisture that secures the greater
growth.
Hence the first study of a soil culturist should be to ascertain how he
shall so mix and manage the materials at his command, as to cause them
to retain moisture for the longest time, without leaving water to stand
about the roots of his plants. On this depends the whole importance of
deep plowing and ditching. On this theory we may also account for the
fact that certain plants prefer a certain kind of manure to all others.
It is that those plants act in a certain manner on the soil requiring a
specific action of manure to enable it to appropriate moisture and tax
the atmosphere for their growth. This theory explains why too much
manure is bad. Not because we give too much food to plants, but because
excess of manure dries up the land. But whatever theory we adopt, we all
agree in the utility of fertilizers. And the experience of practical
farmers is of more value in aiding us to reach right conclusions, than
all chemical essays on the subject that have ever been written.
MARL.
This is one of the best distributed and most universal fertilizers. Marl
proper contains nearly equal proportions of clay and lime. Sand-marl is
spoken of, in which sand and lime are the main ingredients. Clay-marls
are to be applied to sandy and gravelly soils, and sand-marls to clayey
soils. Shell-marls are very valuable, and seldom contain clay. Marls may
easily be known, even by those not at all acquainted with chemistry.
Apply any mineral acid, or even very strong vinegar, and if it be a
marl, an effervescence will at once be observed: this effect is
produced by acid upon lime.
MARJORUM.
There are two varieties in cultivation--the _sweet_, an annual herb; and
the _winter_, a hardy perennial. They are grown and used as summer
savory--used green, or dried for winter. They give a sweet, aromatic
flavor to soups, stews, and dressings. The cultivation is, in all
respects, like other garden-herbs of the kind, whether for medicinal or
culinary purposes.
MELONS.
There are two species--musk and water melons--which are subdivided into
many varieties of each. These are among the most delicious of all the
products of the garden. A little use makes all persons very fond of
them. The climate of the Middle and Southern states is well adapted to
raising melons; much better than the same latitudes in Europe. The
following brief directions will insure success in their cultivation. A
light, rich soil is always desirable. There should always be a little
sand in the composition of soil for melons. If not there naturally,
supply it; it will always pay. The warm sands of Long Island and New
Jersey are the best possible for melons, especially for water-melons. It
may be well to trench deep for the hills, and mix in a little
well-rotted manure, and cover it with fine mould. A quantity of manure,
left in bulk under the hills, will dry them up at the worst possible
time. When you plant only a few in a garden, mulch your musk-melons with
chips or sawdust from the wood-yard, or leaves and decayed wood from
the forest, and you will get a great growth. They will grow luxuriantly
in a pile of chips, with a little soil, in a door-yard, where hardly any
other plant would flourish. The water-melon does best in almost pure
sand, if it be enriched with liquid or some other of the finer manures.
Plant musk-melons six feet apart, and water-melons nine feet each way.
When the plants become established, never leave more than two or three
in a hill. The product will be greatly increased in number and size, by
picking off the end bud of the first runners when they show their
blossom-buds; this causes them to throw out many strong lateral vines,
which will produce abundantly. The attacks of striped bugs, so well
known as the enemies of vines, and also of the black fleas, or hoppers
(very minute, but quite destructive to tender vines when first up), may
be prevented (says Downing) by sprinkling near the plants a little
guano. As but a small portion of cultivators will have it, or can obtain
it, we recommend to put many seeds in a hill, to provide for the
depredations of the bugs, and sprinkle offensive articles around them.
These will not always be effectual. We have recommended elsewhere to
fence each hill, as the most effectual method. A box, with gauze or a
pane of glass over the top, is a certain remedy in every case; it also
greatly promotes the growth of the young vines. This is equally
effectual against the cutworm and all other insects; and, as the boxes
will last a dozen years or so, we should use them if we had ten acres of
melons. But by early and late planting, and watchfulness, and
replanting, you will succeed without protection. An excessive quantity
of stable-manure does not increase the growth, especially of
water-melons. Plaster, bonedust, and ashes, are good applications;
hog-manure is the best of all. The seeds should be soaked two days, and
planted an inch deep on broad hills, raised in the centre four inches
above the level of the bed, that water may not stand around them;
planted low, they sometimes perish in a few hours in a hot sun, after a
rain. Hoe them often, but never when they are wet, and never hoe near
them after they have commenced running; the roots spread, about as much
as the vines, and hoeing deep near them cuts off the roots, and
materially injures them. Many a promising plat of melons has been ruined
by stirring the soil when they were wet, and hoeing around them after
they had begun to run. In walking among melons, great harm is done by
stepping on the ends of vines. No one should be allowed among melons but
the one who hoes or picks them. Many are lost by drought, after great
care. We have often used an effectual remedy; it consists in turning up
the vines, if they have begun to run before the drought, and putting
around each hill from a peck to half a bushel of wet, well rotted
manure; that from a spent hotbed is excellent for this purpose; and hoe
from a distance between the hills, and cover the manure an inch or two
deep with fine mould, lay down the vines, and saturate the hill with
water, and they will hardly get dry again during the season. A little
judicious watering will give you a great crop in the most severe
drought.
_Varieties of the Musk-melon._--These are numerous, and the nomenclature
uncertain. The London Horticultural Society's catalogue enumerates
seventy. Most of them are of no use to any one. Two or three of the best
are sufficient. There are three general classes of musk-melons--the
_green-fleshed_, as the citron and nutmeg; _yellow-fleshed_, as the
cantelope, or long yellow; and _Persian melon_. The last is the finest
of all, but is too tender for general cultivation with us, requiring
much care and very warm seasons. The yellow-fleshed are very large, but
much inferior in quality to either of the others. The green-fleshed are
_the_ musk-melons for this whole country. The nutmeg has long been
celebrated; but, it being much smaller than the citron, and in no way
superior in quality, we think the latter the best for all American
gardens.
The following are enumerated in "White's Gardening for the South," as
adapted to the latitude of the Southern states: _Christiana_,
_Beechwood_, _Hoosainee_, _Sweet Ispahan_, _Pineapple_, _Cassabar_,
_Netted Citron_, and _Rock_. These are doubtless all fine, and would do
well at the North, with suitable care and protection. Downing's
catalogue is nearly the same, with a very few additions.
_Varieties of Water-melons_--are also numerous, and names uncertain. The
best varieties, however, are well known. The most choice are the
following: _Imperial_, _Carolina_, _Black Spanish_, _Mountain-Sprout_,
_Mountain-Sweet_, _Apple-seeded_, and _Ice-cream_. The following
excellent water-melons all originated in South Carolina: _Souter_;
_Clarendon_, or _dark-speckled_; _Bradford_, very dark-green, with
stripes mottled and streaked with green; _Ravenscroft_, and _Odell's
large white_. There is a fine little melon, called the orange-melon,
because the flesh and skin separate like an orange. These varieties will
all do well with care. To preserve any one of them, it must be grown at
some distance from other varieties. All water-melons should be far
removed from citrons, which resemble them, raised only for preserving.
They always ruin the next generation of water-melons. Different
varieties of musk-melons planted together produce hybrids, partaking of
the qualities of both, and are often very fine. We raised a cross
between the yellow-fleshed cantelope and the nutmeg, which was
excellent.
Seeds of most vines are better for being two or three years old, as they
produce less vines, but more fruit. Melons are a luxury that should grow
in every garden, and the state should enact severe laws against stealing
them, making the punishment no less than fine and imprisonment.
MILLET.
This is a species of grain, partaking much of the nature of a large
grass. Sowed thin, it produces a good yield. The seed is excellent for
fowls. Ground, it is good for keeping or fattening all domestic animals.
It is about equal to Indian corn for bread. Cut while green, but when
nearly ripe, it is a good substitute for hay, producing a much larger
quantity per acre. All animals prefer millet, cut in the milk, to hay.
It is a less profitable crop for grain, on account of the irregularity
of its ripening, and its extreme liability to shell, when dry. It must
be cut as soon as the seed begins to harden. It also attracts swarms of
birds, which are exceedingly fond of the seed. About three tons per acre
is an average crop on tolerably good land. From one to three pecks of
seed to the acre are sown broadcast. When sown in drills and cultivated,
it grows very large, and requires only four quarts of seed per acre. It
will make good fodder sown at any time from April to July. Its more
extensive cultivation for fodder is recommended.
MINT.
This genus of plants comprises twenty-four species. Those usually
cultivated in gardens are three, _Peppermint_, _Spearmint_, and
_Pennyroyal mint_. All mints are propagated by the same methods. Parting
the roots, offset young plants, and cuttings from the stalks. Spearmint
and peppermint like a moist and even wet soil. Pennyroyal does better in
a rich loam. Plants come into use the same season they are set. Set the
plants eight inches apart, and on beds four feet wide, leaving a path
two feet between them. In field culture, for the oils and essences,
place them two feet apart, for the convenience of going between the rows
with a horse. Thus cultivation becomes easy. They should be cut in full
blossom, and dried in small bunches in the shade, but better by
artificial heat, like hops. They should be cut when dry. For domestic
uses, dry quickly, and pulverize, and put away in tight glass bottles.
They will retain all their strength, keep free from dust, and always be
ready for use. The same is true of all the herbs for domestic use. As a
field crop, mints are profitable.
MULBERRY.
There are three varieties cultivated in this country. We place them in
the order of their qualities:--
1. _The Johnson._--A new variety, thus described by Kirtland: "Fruit
very large; oblong cylindric; blackish, subacid, and of mild and
agreeable flavor. Growth of wood strong."
2. _The Black Mulberry._--An Asiatic variety, rather tender for the
North, though it succeeds tolerably well in some parts of New England.
Fruit large and delicious; tree low and spreading. Easily cultivated on
almost any soil. Propagated by seeds, layers, cuttings, or roots.
3. _The Red Mulberry._--A native of this country. Fruit small and
pleasant, but inferior to the two preceding.
MULCHING.
This is placing around plants or trees, coarse manure or litter of any
kind, to keep down weeds, and prevent too rapid evaporation of moisture.
All straw, corn stalks, old weeds or stubble, forest leaves, seaweeds,
old wood, sawdust, old tanbark, chips, &c., are good for mulching. Any
tree taken up and planted with reasonable care, and well mulched and
watered, will live. One of fifty need not die. Cover the loose earth
deep enough to prevent the springing of weeds. Put a little earth on the
outer edge of the manure, leaving it dishing about the tree. Fill that
occasionally with water, and you will get a good growth, even in a dry
season.
Plant gooseberries or currants, and mulch the whole ground between the
bushes, and give them no other cultivation, and the berries will grow
nearly twice as large as the same varieties standing neglected, to grow
up to weeds, in the usual way. Mulching with clean, dry straw, or with
charcoal, is a preventive of mildew. It is the easiest method of taking
care of strawberries after they are in blossom; the vines will bear much
more and finer fruit, and it will be clean and neat. Mulching vines is a
great means of insuring a crop. Every crop that can be mulched will be
greatly benefited by it; hence, all the straw and litter that can be
saved is money in the pocket; for mulching alone, it is worth five times
as much as it can be sold for. Burning or in any way destroying cobs,
cornstalks, stubble, old straw, or decaying wood, is extravagant
wastefulness.
MUSHROOMS
Are vegetables growing up in old pastures, or on land mulched and the
straw partly covered with soil. They are also cultivated in beds for the
purpose. Picked at the right stage, they are a fine article of diet,
almost equalling oysters. The use of the wild ones, however, is attended
with some danger, for the want of knowledge of the varieties, or of the
difference between the genuine mushroom, and the toadstools that so much
resemble them.
Persons have been poisoned unto death by eating toadstools instead of
mushrooms. When of middle size, mushrooms are distinguished by the fine
pink or flesh color of their gills, and by their pleasant smell. In a
more advanced stage, the gills become of a chocolate color; they are
then apt to be confounded with injurious kinds. The toadstool that most
resembles the true mushroom is slimy to the touch, and rather
disagreeable to the smell. The noxious kind grows in the borders of
woods, while the mushroom only grows in the open field. It is better,
however, not to eat them unless gathered by a practised hand, so as to
be sure of no mistake. With the help of one accustomed to gathering
them, you will learn in a few moments, so as to be accurate and safe.
_Mushroom Beds._--Prepare a bed in the corner of the hothouse, or, in
the absence of that, in a warm, dry cellar. The first of October is the
best time. Make the bed four feet wide, and as long as you require. It
should be one foot high perpendicularly at the edges, and sloping toward
the middle; it should be of horse-manure, well forked, and put in
compact and even, so as to settle all alike. Cover it with long straw,
to preserve heat and the exhalations that would rise. At the end of ten
days, the heat will be such as to allow you to remove the straw, and put
an inch of good mould over the top of the bed. On this put the spawn or
seed of the mushroom, in rows of six inches apart. The spawn are white
fibres, found in old pastures, where mushrooms grow, or in old spent
hotbeds, and sometimes under old stable floors. The warmth of the bed
will produce mushrooms plentifully for a considerable time. If the
production diminishes and nearly ceases, it may be renewed by removing
the mould, and putting on good horse-manure to the depth of twelve
inches, and covering and planting as before, and the production will be
plentiful for a number of weeks.
MUSTARD.
There are two kinds cultivated, the black and the white, annuals, and
natives of Great Britain. The white mustard is cultivated in this
country principally for greens, and sometimes for a small salad like the
cress. It may be sown at any time from opening of spring to the
beginning of autumn. But sown in hot weather, the bed must be shaded.
The Spaniards prefer the white mustard for grinding for table use,
because of its mildness and its whiter flour. White mustard-seed, being
much larger than the black, is preferred for mangoes, and all pickling
purposes.
Black mustard is cultivated principally in the field, for the mills. It
is there ground, and makes the well known condiment found on most
tables.
Sow in March or April, broadcast on land tolerably free from weeds, and
if you get it too thick, hoe up a part. In July or August, you may get a
good crop. Cradle it as wheat, before ripe enough to shell.
Mustard used in various ways is medicinal. It is one of the safest and
most speedy emetics. Stir up a table-spoonful of the flour and drink it.
Follow it with repeated draughts of warm water, and in half an hour, you
will have gone through all the stages of a thorough emetic, without
having been weakened by it.
NASTURTIUM.
This annual plant, found in most gardens, is too well known to need
description. Were it not so common, its flowers, that appear in great
profusion, from early summer till destroyed by frost, would be regarded
very beautiful. Its main use is for pickles. Its green berries are
nearly equal to capers for that purpose. It grows well on any good
garden soil; bears more berries on less vines, planted on land not too
rich. Single vines four feet apart, on rich land, do best.
NECTARINE.
This is only a fine variety of the peach, having a smooth skin. Downing
gives instances of its return to the peach, and others of the production
of nectarines and peaches on the same limb. The appearance of the tree
is hardly distinguishable from the peach. It is one of the most
beautiful of dessert fruits: it has no down on the skin, being entirely
smooth and beautiful, like waxwork. Its smooth skin exposes it to the
ravages of the curculio. It is longer-lived on plum-stocks, but is more
generally budded on the peach. It is usually productive wherever peaches
flourish, if not destroyed by the curculio. It is even more important
than in the peach to head-in the trees often, to produce good large
fruit.
_Varieties_--are divided into freestone and clingstone, with quite a
number in each class. We give only a few of those most esteemed.
_Boston._--Freestone, American seedling; hardy and productive; color
deep-yellow, with a bright-red cheek. Time, September 1st.
_Due du Telliers._--Freestone, pale-green, with a marbled reddish cheek;
flesh whitish, inclining to green; very fine; a great bearer of rather
large fruit. Time, last of August.
_Hunt's Tawny._--Very fine and early; a great bearer; tree hardy; color,
pale-orange, with a dark-red cheek, with many russety specks. Time,
forepart of August.
_Pitmaston Orange._--A fine yellow nectarine, maturing the last of
August.
_The Early Violet_--is an old French variety, everywhere esteemed; it
has sixteen synonyms; fruit high-flavored. Time, last of August.
_Newington._--A good clingstone; an English variety that has long been
cultivated; it has many synonyms; the color dark-red when exposed. Time,
10th of September.
_Newington Early_--Is one of the best, earlier, larger, and better, than
the preceding; ripens first of September. The same varieties are
excellent for the South, where they ripen considerably earlier. The
following selection of choice, hardy nectarines for a small garden, is
from Downing:--
Early Violet, Elruge, Hardwicke Seedling, Hunt's Tawny, Boston, Roman,
and New White.
NEW FRUITS.
That these are constantly appearing, is a matter of common observation;
but the manner of their production has given rise to much diversity of
opinion. The theory that they are the results of replanting, from the
seeds of successive generations of the same tree, is called the Van
Mons' theory, after Dr. Van Mons, of Belgium, who devoted many years of
close study and application to the improvement of fruit, especially of
pears, by this method. His directions may be briefly summed up as
follows. Plant seeds from any good variety of fruit; let those seedlings
stand without grafting, until they bear. Take the first fruit from the
best of those seedlings, and plant it and produce other seedlings, and
so on. The peach and plum are said to reach a high state of excellence
in the third generation, while the pear requires the fifth. Seeds from
old trees are said to have a great tendency to return to their wild
origin, while those of young, improving trees will more generally
produce a better fruit. The seeds from a graft from a young tree does
not produce a better than itself. The succession must be of seedlings.
This theory requires long practice, and is exposed to interruptions by
the crosses that will necessarily occur between different trees in
blossom. And we have in so many cases had a fruit of great perfection
arise from a single planting of seed from some known variety, that we
must conclude the improvement to be produced by some other principle
than that of the Van Mons' theory. The evidence is in favor of the
opinion that new varieties of fruit arise from cross-fertilization in
the blossoms of different kinds, and that the improvement of the
qualities of any given variety is the result of cultivation. Some of the
best plums we have are known to have been the product of fertilizing the
blossoms of one tree from the pollen of another; this is constantly
taking place with our fruits, and is consequent upon our mixed orchards.
Let this be attended to artificially, by covering branches with gauze,
to prevent the fertilization by bees and winds, and make the cross
between any two varieties you choose, and the results may prove highly
beneficial. The amateur cultivator may render essential service to
pomology by this practice. We know that all our choice fruits have come
from those not fit for use. It is not improved cultivation of the old,
barely, but the production of new varieties. The subject of further
improvement, therefore, demands careful study and practice. The seeds of
established varieties, planted at once without drying, will often
reproduce the same. We are not certain but they generally would, if not
affected by blossoms of contiguous trees.
NURSERY.
Of this subject we can only give the general outlines. This department
of soil-culture is so distinct, that the few who engage in it as a
business are expected to make it an especial study. In a work like this,
it is only desirable to give those general principles that will enable
the cultivator of the soil to raise such trees as he may desire on his
own premises. These directions may be considered reliable, and, as far
as they go, are applicable to all nurseries.
_Location._--This is the first point demanding attention. If a piece of
land containing a variety of soils can be selected, it will prove
beneficial, as different trees require different soils for their
greatest perfection. A situation through which a rivulet may run, or in
which a pond may be constructed, fed by a spring or hydrant, is of great
value for watering. The situation of the nursery, as it respects shade
or exposure, is also important. Trees should generally be as much
exposed to the elements, in the nursery, as they will be when
transplanted in the orchard. Trees removed from shaded situations to the
open field will be stinted in growth for some time, and may be
permanently injured. Never allow your nursery to be shaded by large
trees. Bearing trees, designed to show the quality of your fruit, should
occupy a place by themselves.
_Soil._--A theory that has had many adherents is that trees raised on
poorer and harder land than that they will occupy in the orchard, will
grow more vigorously, and do better, than those transplanted from better
to worse soil. Thus, trees have often been preferred from high, hard
hills, to transplant in good loam or alluvium. On the same principle, a
calf or colt should be more healthy, and make a better creature, for
having been nearly starved for the first year or two. Neither of these
is true. Give fruit-trees as great a growth as possible while young,
without producing too tender and spongy wood for cold winters. It is
only desirable to check the early growth of fruit-trees on the rich
prairies of the West, and that should be done, not by the poverty of the
soil, but by root-pruning or heading-in; this prevents a spongy, tender
growth, that is apt to be injured by their trying winds. Trees that are
brought from a colder to a warmer region, always do better.
_Preparation of the Soil._--It should be made quite rich with
stable-manure, lime, and wood-ashes, and cultivated in a root-crop the
previous year--any roots except potatoes. Those left in the ground will
come up so early and vigorous in the spring, that you can not eradicate
them without destroying many of your young seedlings. The land should be
worked very deep by subsoiling, or better with double-plowing, by which
the manure and top-soil are put in the bottom. As manure always works
up, the effect will be excellent. Buckwheat is good to precede a
nursery; it shades the ground so densely as to protect it from the
scorching sun, and effectually destroy all weeds. Trees planted on land
prepared by double-plowing (see our article on "Plowing") will make one
third greater growth, in a given time, than those on land prepared in
the ordinary way. In double-plowing, if the subsoil be very poor, it
will be necessary to give a top-dressing of well-rotted manure, worked
in with a cultivator. Thorough draining is also very essential to a
nursery.
_Time of Planting._--The general practice is to plant in the fall, at
any time before the ground freezes. The better way is to keep seeds in
moist sand, or dry and spread thin, until spring, and plant as early as
the ground will allow. Freezing apple-seeds is of no use. Hard-shelled
seeds had better be frozen, to open the stones and give them an
opportunity to germinate. The advantage of spring-planting is, the
ground can be put in much better condition, and the seeds will start
quite as early as the weeds, and much labor may be saved in tending.
_Method of Planting._--Plant with a drill that will run about an inch
deep, putting the seeds in straight rows, not more than an inch wide,
and two and a half feet apart; this will allow the use of a small horse
and cultivator, which will destroy nearly all the weeds. Use a
potato-fork or hoe, across the rows, among the seedlings, and very
little weeding will be necessary. It is not more than one fourth of the
ordinary work to keep a nursery clean in this way. Two thirds of those
thus planted and cultivated will be large enough for root-grafting the
first season, and for cleft-grafting the second. When your seedlings are
six inches high, if you thoroughly mulch them with fine straw or manure,
you will be troubled with no more weeds, and your trees will get a
strong growth.
For root-grafting, pull up those of suitable size very late in the fall,
cut off the tops eight inches from the root, and pack in boxes, in moist
sand, and keep in a cellar that does not freeze; graft in winter, and
repack them in the boxes with moist sand, sawdust, or moss, and keep
them until time to transplant in spring. They should not be wet, but
only slightly moist. In the spring, plant them in rows three feet apart,
and ten inches in the row. The second year, if they are not wanted in
market, they should be taken up and reset, in rows four feet apart, and
two feet in the row. Cut off the ends of large roots, to encourage the
growth of numerous fibrous roots. Large nursery-trees, that have not
been transplanted, are of little value for the orchard, being nearly
destitute of fibrous roots. But large trees, even of bearing size, when
transplanted in the orchard, do quite as well as small ones, provided
they have been several times transplanted in the nursery. This produces
many fibrous roots, upon which the health and life of the tree depend.
In many regions, great care must be taken to prevent destruction of
young trees by snow-drifts. This is done by selecting locations, and by
constructing or removing fences, to allow the snow to blow off; treading
it down as it falls is also very useful, both in protecting the trees
from breaking down by the settling of drifts in a thaw, and from the
depredations of mice under the snow.
Trees should be taken up from the nursery with the least possible injury
to the roots. Do not leave them exposed to the air for an hour, not even
in a cloudy day. It is an easy matter to cover the roots with mats,
straw, or earth. Protect also from frosts; many trees are ruined by
exposure to air and frost, of which the nurseryman is very careful in
all other respects. For transportation, they should be closely packed in
moist straw, and wound in straw or mats, firmly tied and kept moist.
Trees, cared for and packed in this way, may be transported thousands of
miles, and kept for two months, without injury.
NUTS.
More attention to the cultivation of nuts, would add materially to our
domestic luxuries. There are so many nuts in market, that are the
spontaneous productions of other countries, or raised where labor is
cheap, that we can not afford to raise them as an article of commerce.
But a few trees of the various kinds, would be a great addition to every
country residence. We could always be certain that our nuts were fresh
and good. A small piece of ground devoted to nuts, and occupied by
fowls, would be pleasant and profitable. English walnuts do well here.
We have varieties of hickory nuts, native in this country, which, to our
taste, are not surpassed by any other. Chestnuts are easily grown here
(see our directions elsewhere in this volume). Butternuts, filberts,
peanuts (growing in the ground like potatoes), and even our little
forest beechnuts, are easily raised.
The dwarf chestnut of the Middle and Southern states is decidedly
ornamental in a fruit garden. Its qualities are in all respects like the
common chestnut, only the fruit is but half the size, and the tree grows
from five to ten feet high. In all our landscape gardens, and in all
places where we retain forest trees for ornamental purposes, it is
better to cultivate trees that will bear good nuts. The varieties of
nut-bearing trees, interspersed with evergreens, make a beautiful
appearance.
OAKS.
Raising oak-timber, on a large scale, will soon be demanded in this
country. In some sections we have immense quantities of native oaks; but
they are fast disappearing, and the present expense of transporting the
timber, to places where it is needed, is much greater than would be the
cost of raising it. A million of acres of oaks ought to be planted
within the next five years. A crop of white oak, of only twenty-five
years' growth, would be very valuable; and twenty-five or fifty acres,
of forty years' growth, would be worth a handsome fortune, especially in
the West. On all the bluffs in the West they grow well, and on the
prairies they will do even better, after they have been cultivated a few
years. The application of a little common salt on rich alluvial soils,
is a great advantage in growing timber.
Preserve acorns in moist sand during winter, and plant in the spring, in
rows six feet apart, to give opportunity for other crops among them for
a year or two, to encourage good cultivation. Plant a foot apart in the
row, that, in thinning out, good straight trees may be left; at three or
four years old, thin to four feet in the rows; afterward, only remove as
appears absolutely necessary. Trim straight and smooth. The question of
transplanting is important. Shall we plant thick, as in a nursery, and
then transplant, or shall we plant where they are to grow? In
fruit-trees, the object is to get a low, full, and spreading top, of
horizontal branches, that will bear much fruit. This is eminently
promoted by transplanting, root-pruning, and heading-in. But in raising
timber, the object is to get trees of long, straight bodies, with the
fewest possible low branches. Such are the native trees of the forest.
This is best promoted by planting thick, never transplanting, and
keeping all the lower limbs well trimmed off. These directions are for
raising timber on good tillable land. Such groves may be good for
pastures, and for poultry-yards, for a long time. Beside this, we have
large areas of rough land, that will not soon be brought into
cultivation for other purposes. Fine timber may be grown on such land,
with no care but trimming.
OATS.
This is one of the great staple agricultural products of all regions,
sufficiently moist and cool for their successful growth. Oatmeal makes
the most wholesome bread ever eaten by man. For all horses, except those
having the heaves, oats are the best grain; to such horses they should
never be fed--corn, soaked or ground, is best. They are valuable for all
domestic animals and fowls.
_Varieties._--These are numerous. Those called side-oats yield the
largest crops: but of these there are several varieties. The genuine
_Siberian_ oats are tall, heavy, dark-colored side-oats, the most
productive of any known. _Swedish_ oats, and other new varieties, are
coming into notice; most of these are the Siberian, under other names,
and perhaps slightly modified by location and culture. The barley-oats,
Scotch oats, and those usually cultivated, will yield only about two
thirds as much per acre as the true Siberian; the same difference is
apparent in the growth of straw. Oats will produce something on poor
land, with bad tillage, but repay thorough fertilization and tillage as
well as most other crops. Enrich the land, work it deep and thoroughly,
and roll after harrowing. Moist, cool situations are much preferable for
oats: hence, success in warm climates depends upon very early sowing.
Oats sowed as late as the first of July, in latitude forty-two and
further north, will mature; yet, all late oats, even with large straw
and handsome heads, will be found to be only from one half to two thirds
filled in proportion to the lateness of sowing. The entire _profits_ of
an oat-crop depend upon _early sowing_.
Harvest as soon as the grain begins to harden, and the straw to turn
yellow. Allowed to get quite ripe, they shell badly, and the straw
becomes useless, except for manure. Cut with reaper or cradle, and bind:
all grain so cut is more easily handled, thrashed, and fed. Mow no grain
that is not so lodged down that a cradle or reaper can not be used. The
straw of oats cut quite green is nearly as good as hay.
OKRA.
A valuable garden plant, easily propagated by seeds. It is excellent in
cookery, as a sauce. Its ripe seeds, used as coffee, very much resemble
the genuine article. The green pods are much used in the West Indies, in
soups and pickles. Plant at the usual time of corn-planting, in rows
four feet apart, two or three seeds in a place, eight inches apart in
the row; leave but one in a place after they get a few inches high, and
hoe as peas, and the crop will be abundant.
OLIVES.
These are natives of Asia, but have, beyond date, been extensively
cultivated in Southern Europe. Olive-oil is an important article of
commerce in most countries. Its use in all kinds of cookery, in
countries where it flourishes, renders olives as important, to the mass
of the people, as cows are in New England. It should be a staple product
of the Southern states, to which it is eminently adapted. It is hardy
further north than the orange. With protection, it may be cultivated,
with the orange and lemon, all over the country. Olive-trees attain a
greater age than any other fruit-tree. An Italian olive-plantation, near
Terni, is believed to have stood since the days of Pliny. Once set out,
the trees require very little attention, and they flourish well on the
most rocky lands, that are utterly useless for any other purpose.
Calcareous soils are most favorable to their growth. They are propagated
by suckers, seeds, or by little eggs that grow on the main stalk, and
are easily detached by a knife, and planted as potatoes or corn. Olives
will bear at four or five years from the seed; they bear with great
regularity, and yield fifteen or twenty pounds of oil per annum to each
tree. There are several varieties. Plantations now growing at the South
are very promising.
ONIONS.
Of this well-known garden vegetable there are quite a number of
varieties.
1. _The Large Red._--One of the most valuable.
2. _The Yellow._--Large and profitable, keeping better than any other.
3. _The Silver-skin._--The handsomest variety, excellent for pickling,
brings the highest price of all, but is not quite so good a keeper as
the red or yellow, and does not yield as well.
4. _The White Portugal._--A larger white onion, often taken for the true
silver-skin. It is a good variety. The preceding are all raised from the
black seed, growing on the top.
5. _The Egg Onion._--So called from its size and shape. On good rich
soil, the average size may be that of a goose-egg, which it resembles in
form. It is of a pale-red color, and more mild in flavor than any other.
They are usually raised by sowing the black seed, very thick, to form
sets for next year. Those sets, put out early, will form large onions
for early market, that will sell more readily than any other offered.
6. _The Top Onion._--So called because the seed consists of small
onions, growing on the top of the stalks, in place of the black seed of
other onions. These are good for early use, grow large, but are poor
keepers.
7. _The Hill or Potato Onion_.--Of these there are several kinds, most
of which are unworthy of cultivation. The _Large English_ is the only
valuable variety. The small onions, for sets, grow in the ground from
the same roots, by the side of the main onion. Some of these grow large
enough for cooking. The main onion is the earliest known, grows large,
and has a mild, pleasant flavor;--they will mature at a certain season,
whatever time you plant them; hence, they must be planted very early to
produce a good crop. We have planted them on good ground so late as to
get little more than the seed. They are fine for summer and fall use,
but keep poorly. The foregoing are all that are necessary. They can all
be brought forward by early planting of sets raised the previous season,
by sowing the black seed so thick that they can not grow larger than
peas, or small cherries.
Good sandy loam and black muck are the best soils for onions. Any good
garden soil may be made to produce large crops; good, well rotted
stable-manure and leached ashes are the best. The theory of shallow
plowing, and treading down onion-beds is incorrect. The roots of onions
are numerous and long. The land should be well-manured, double-plowed,
and thoroughly pulverized. The only objection to a very mellow onion-bed
is the difficulty of getting the seed up: this is obviated by rolling
after sowing, which packs the mould around the seed, so as to retain
moisture and insure vegetation. Fine manure, mixed in the surface of the
soil for onions, is highly beneficial; on no other crop does manure on
the surface do so much good. Mulching the whole bed, as soon as the
plants are large enough, is in the highest degree beneficial, both in
promoting growth, and keeping down weeds. An onion-bed must be made very
smooth and level, to favor very early hoeing, without destroying the
small plants. All root-crops that come up small, are tended with less
than half the expense, if the surface be made very smooth and level.
Never divide your onion-ground into small beds, but sow the longest way,
in straight narrow rows, eighteen inches apart, for convenience of
weeding and hoeing. Cultivate while very young, and work the soil toward
the rows, so as to hill up the plants; this should be removed after they
begin to form large bulbs. Breaking down the tops to induce them to
bottom, is a fallacy: it will lessen the crop. Rich soil, deep plowing,
thorough pulverizing, early sowing, and frequent hoeings, will insure
success. Our system of double-plowing is the best for this crop. They
will do equally well, some say improve, for twenty years on the same
bed. Work the tops into the soil where the plants grow. Let the rows be
very narrow and very straight, and you will save half the ordinary
expense of cultivation.
_To gather and preserve well_, you should house them when very dry. A
day's exposure to a warm autumn sun is very beneficial. Keep them in an
open barn or shed until there is danger of frost. A warm, damp cellar
always ruins them; keep them through winter in the coolest dry place
possible, without severe freezing. Once freezing is not injurious, but
frequent freezing and thawing ruins them. They are very finely preserved
braided into strings and hung in a cool, dry room.
ORANGES.
This name covers a variety of species of the same general habits. It
flourishes well on the coast of Florida, and all along the gulf of
Mexico. It will stand considerable freezing, if protected from sudden
thawing. In southern Europe, they are grown abundantly by being
protected by a shed of boards. They may become perfectly hardy, as far
north as Philadelphia. And by a thorough system of acclimation, and a
little winter protection, they may be grown abundantly, in every state
of the Union. The great enemy of the orange-tree is the scaled insect.
It has been very destructive in Florida. A certain remedy is said to
have been discovered in the _camomile_. Cultivate the plant under
orange-trees, and it will prevent their attacks. The herb hung up in
the trees, or the tree and foliage syringed with a decoction of it, will
effectually destroy these insects. The orange is long-lived. A tree
called "The Grand Bourbon" at Versailles was planted in 1421, and now,
being 437 years old, is "one of the largest and finest trees in France."
There are several varieties mentioned in the fruit books. The common
Sweet Orange, the Maltese, the Blood Red--very fine with red flesh. The
Mandarin Orange, an excellent little fruit from China. The St. Michael's
is described as the finest of all oranges, and the tree the best bearer.
Oranges are propagated by budding, and cultivated much in the same way
as the peach.
ORCHARDS.
An orchard is a plat of ground, large or small, occupied by trees for
the purpose of bearing fruit. The main directions for orchard culture,
are given under the respective fruits. Any soil good for vegetables or
grains, is suitable for orchards. Any land where excessive moisture will
not stand, to the injury of the trees, may be adapted to any of the
fruits. Set pears on the heaviest land, peaches on the lightest, and the
other fruits on the intermediate qualities. Although peaches will do
quite well on light soil, yet they do better on a rich deep loam, or
alluvium. When it is desirable to set out an orchard on land originally
too wet, a blind ditch must pass under each row, extending out of the
orchard, and the place where each tree is to stand, should be raised a
foot above the level around it.
_The aspect_ is also important. A southern or eastern exposure is
preferable, in all latitudes where the transitions from summer to
winter, and from winter to summer are so sudden as to allow but little
alternate thawing and freezing. This would therefore be the rule in high
latitudes. In climates of long changeable springs, a northern or western
exposure is better. Trees may be made to start and blossom later in the
spring by snow and ice about them, well pressed down in winter, and
covered with straw. This will prevent the first warm weather from
starting the leaves and blossoms, and cause them to be a little later,
but surer and better.
_Subsoiling_ ground for an orchard, is of great importance. Plant two
orchards, one on land that has been subsoiled very deep, and the other
upon that plowed in the ordinary way, and for ten years the difference
will be discernable, as far as you can distinguish the trees in the two
orchards.
_Manures_ of all kinds, are good for orchards, except coarse stable
manure, which should be composted. A bushel of fine charcoal, thoroughly
mixed in the soil in which you set a fruit-tree, will exert a very
beneficial influence, for a dozen years.
Orchards should be cultivated every alternate three successive years,
and the rest of the time be kept in grass. Just about the trees, the
ground should be kept loose, and free from weeds and grass. This may be
done by spading and hoeing, but better by thorough mulching.
_Distances apart._--Apples thirty-three feet. Pears twenty feet. Peaches
and plums, sixteen feet. Pruning, destroying insects, and all other
matters bearing on successful fruit growing, are treated under the
several fruits.
OXEN.
Every farmer who can afford to keep two teams, should have a pair of
oxen. For many uses on a farm, they are preferable to horses; especially
for clearing up new land. Oxen to be most valuable, should be large,
well matched, ruly, and not very fat. They should be kept in good heart,
by the quality of their food. Fast walking is one of the best qualities
in both horses and oxen, for all working purposes, provided they are
judiciously used and not overloaded. Well built, strong animals are best
for work. Working oxen should be turned out for beef, at eight or nine
years old.
_To break oxen well_, commence when they are very young. Put calves into
yokes frequently, until they will readily yield to your wishes. Yoke
them often, and tie their tails together to prevent them from turning
the yoke and injuring themselves. If left without training, until they
are three or four years old, they will improve every opportunity to run
away, to the danger and damage of proprietor and driver. It is quite an
art to learn oxen to back a load. Place them before a vehicle, in a
locality descending in the rear. As it rolls down hill, they will easily
learn to follow, backward. Then try them on level ground. Then accustom
them to back up hill, and finally to back a load, almost as heavy as
they can draw.
Breaking vicious animals is always best done by gentleness. We have
known vicious horses whipped severely, and in every way treated harshly,
and finally given up as useless. We have seen those same horses, in
other hands, brought to be regular, gentle, and safe, as could be
desired, by mild means, without a blow or harsh word. Oxen should be
driven in a low tone of voice, and without much use of the goad. The
usual manner of driving, by whipping and bawling, to the annoyance of
the whole neighborhood, and until the driver becomes hoarse with his
perpetual screams, is one of the most pernicious habits on a farm. Oxen
will grow lazy and insensible under threat, or scream, or goad. Driven
in a low tone of voice, without confusion by rapid commands, and no whoa
put in, unless you wish them to stand still, oxen may be made more
useful on a farm than horses. Their gears are cheap and never in the
way. They can draw more and in worse places than horses, and it costs
less to keep them. The various methods of drawing with head or horns, in
vogue in other countries, need not be discussed here, as the American
people will not probably change their yoke and bows for any other
method.
Feed oxen, as other animals, regularly, both in time and quantity. Curry
them often and thoroughly. It improves their looks, health, and temper,
and attaches them to their owner.
PARSLEY.
This is a hardy biennial, highly prized as a garnish, and as a pot-herb
for flavoring soups and boiled dishes. The large-rooted variety is used
for the table, as carrots or parsnips. The principal varieties are--the
_double-curled_, the _dwarf-curled_, the _Siberian_ (single, very hardy,
and fine-flavored), the _Hamburgh_ (large-rooted, used as an edible
root). The double-curled is well known, easily obtained, and suitable
for all purposes. Those who desire the roots instead of parsnips, &c.,
should cultivate the Hamburgh or large-rooted. It needs the same
treatment as beets. Seed should always be of the previous year's growth,
or it may not vegetate. It is four or five weeks in coming up, unless it
be soaked twelve hours in a little sulphur-water, when it will vegetate
in two weeks. By cutting the leaves close, even, and regular, a
succession of fine leaves may be had for a whole year from the same
plants, when they will go to seed, and new ones should take their place.
In cold climates they should be covered in winter with straw or litter.
The Siberian is cultivated in the field, sown with grass or the small
grains. It is said to prevent the disease called "_the rot_" in sheep,
and is good for surfeited horses. The large-rooted should not be sowed
in an excessively rich soil, as it produces an undue proportion of tops.
PARSNIPS.
English authors speak of but one variety of this root in cultivation in
England. The French have three--the _Coquaine_, the _Lisbonaise_, and
the _Siam_. The first runs down, in rich mellow soil, to the depth of
four feet, and grows from six to sixteen inches in circumference; the
Lisbonaise is shorter and larger round; the Siam is smaller than the
others, of a yellowish color, and of excellent quality. We are not aware
that our little hollow-crown carrot, so early and good, is included in
the French varieties. We cultivate only the hollow-crown, and a common
large variety; both are good for the table, and as food for animals.
They need a light, deep, rich soil. A sandy loam is best, as for all
roots. Seed kept over one season seldom vegetates. Should be soaked a
day or two, and sown in straight rows, covered an inch deep, and the
rows slightly rolled. It is much better, with this and the carrot, to
sow radish-seed in the same rows. They come up so soon that they protect
the parsnips and carrots from too hot a sun while tender, and also serve
to mark the rows, so that they may be hoed early, without danger of
destroying the young plants. Parsnips may be grown many years on the
same bed without deterioration, provided a little decomposed manure or
compost be annually added. Fresh manure is good if it be buried a foot
deep. The yield will be greater if thinned to eight inches apart. Rows
two feet apart, and the plants six inches in the row, are most suitable
in field-culture. They will grow till frost comes, and are better for
the table, when allowed to stand in the ground through the winter. They
may be dug and preserved as other roots. Parsnips contain more sugar
than any other edible root, and are therefore worth more per bushel for
food. All domestic animals and fowls fatten on them very rapidly, and
their flesh is peculiarly pleasant. Fed to cows, they increase the
quantity of milk, and impart a beautiful color and agreeable flavor to
the butter. It is superior to the beet, that we have so highly
recommended elsewhere, in all respects except one--it is less easily
tended and harvested. Still, they should be cultivated on every farm
where cattle, hogs, or fowls, are kept.
PASTURES.
These are very important to all who keep domestic animals. The following
brief directions for successful pasturing are essential. It is very poor
economy to have all your pasture-lands in one field, or to put all your
animals together. Pasture fields in rotation, two weeks each, allowing
rest and growth for six weeks: first horned cattle, next horses, then
sheep. Horses feed closer than cattle, and sheep closer than horses;
each also eats something that the others do not relish. Pasturing land
with sheep thickens the grass on the ground. For the kinds of grass
preferable for pastures, see our article on _Grasses_. Plaster sown on
pastures containing clover, materially increases their growth. A little
lime, plaster, and common salt, sown on any pasture, will prove very
beneficial. Streams or springs in pastures double their value. The idea
that creatures need no water when feeding on green grass is a mistake.
Every pasture without a spring or stream should have a well. Cattle in a
pasture in warm weather need shade. It is usual to advise the growth of
trees in the borders, or scattered over the whole field. Sheds are much
better. Trees absorb the moisture, stint the growth of the grass, and
injure its quality. A pasture containing many trees is not worth more
than half price; it will keep about half as much stock, and keep them
poorly. Bushes, which so often occupy pastures, should be grubbed up,
and by all means destroyed; so should all thistles, briers, and large
weeds. Hogs and geese should be kept in no pastures but their own. Never
turn into pastures when the ground is very soft and wet, in the spring;
the tread of the creatures will destroy much of the turf. Creatures in
pasture should be salted twice a week. The age of grass, to make the
best feed for animals, is often mistaken: most suppose that young and
tender grass is preferable; this is far from correct. Grass that is
headed out, and in which the seed has begun to mature, is far more
nutritious, as every farmer can ascertain by easy experiments. Tall
grass, approaching maturity, will fatten cattle much faster than the
most tender young growth. Pasturing land enriches it. It is well to mow
pastures and pasture meadows occasionally, though few meadows and
pastures should lie long without plowing. Top-dressings of manure, on
all grass-lands, are valuable; better applied in the fall than in the
spring; evaporation is less, and it has opportunity to soak into the
soil.
PEAS.
These are sown in the field and garden. As a field-crop, peas and oats
are sown together, and make good ground or soaked feed for horses, or
for fattening animals. Early peas and large marrowfats are frequently
sown broadcast on rich, clean land, near large cities, to produce green
peas for market. It does not pay as well as to sow in rows three feet
apart, and cultivate with a horse. All peas, for picking while green,
are more convenient when bushed. They may produce nearly as well when
allowed to grow in the natural way, but can not be picked as easily, and
the second crop is less, and inferior, from the injury to the vines by
the first picking. Early Kent peas (the best early variety) mature so
nearly at the same time that the vines may be pulled up at once. All
other peas had better be bushed, that they may be easily picked, and
that the later ones may mature. Bushes need not be set so close as
usual. A good bush, put firmly in the ground, to enable it to resist the
wind, once in two and a half feet, is quite sufficient. Those clinging
to the bushes will hold up the others. To bush peas in this way is but
little work, and pays well. It is often said that stable-manure does no
good on pea-ground---that peas are neither better nor more abundant for
its use. We think this utterly a mistake. We have often raised twice the
quantity on a row well manured, that grew on another row by its side,
where no manure had been applied. If peas be sowed thick on
thoroughly-manured land, the crop will be small: it is from this fact
that the idea has gained currency. They are generally planted too thick
on rich land. Peas planted six inches deep will produce nearly twice as
much as those covered but an inch. Plowing in peas and leveling the
surface is one of the best methods of planting. To get an early crop in
a cold climate, they may be forced in hotbeds, or planted in a warm
exposure, very early, and protected by covering, when the weather is
cold. At the South, it is best to plant so as to secure a considerable
growth in the fall, and protect by covering with straw during cold
weather.
The only known remedy for the bugs that are so common in peas, is late
sowing. In latitude forty-two, peas sown as late as the 10th of June
will have no bugs. Bugs in seed-peas may be killed by putting the peas
into hot water for a quarter of a minute; plant immediately, and they
will come up sooner and do well. Seed imported from the more northern
parts of Canada have no bugs; it is probably owing to the lateness of
the season of their growth. But late peas are often much injured by
mildew; this is supposed to be caused by too little moisture in the
ground, and too much and too cool in the atmosphere, in dew or rain.
Liberal watering then would prevent it.
_Varieties_--are numerous. Two are quite sufficient. _Early Kent_ the
earliest we have ever been able to obtain, ripen nearly all at once;
moderate bearers, but of the very best quality. This variety of pea is
the only garden vegetable with which we are acquainted that produces
more and better fruit for being sowed quite thick. The other variety
that we recommend is the _large Marrowfat_. These should not stand
nearer together, on rich land, than three or four inches, and always be
bushed. There are many other varieties of both late and early peas, but
we regard them inferior to these. White's "Gardening for the South"
mentions Landreth's Extra Early, Prince Albert, Cedo-Nulli, Fairbank's
Champion, Knight's tall Marrow, and New Mammoth. Whoever wishes a
greater variety can get any of these under new names. The large blue
Imperial is a rich pea, like many of the dwarfs, both of the large and
small, but is very unproductive. We advise all to select the best they
can find, and plant but two kinds, late and early.
Plant at intervals to get a succession of crops. But very late peas, in
our dry climate, amount to but little, without almost daily watering.
PEACH.
This native of Persia is one of the most healthy and
universally-favorite fruits. In its native state, it was hardly suitable
for eating, resembling an almond more than our present fine peaches.
Perhaps no other fruit exhibits so wide a difference in the products of
seeds from the same tree. All the fine varieties are what we call chance
products of seeds, not one out of a thousand of which deserved further
cultivation. The prevailing opinion is, that planting the seeds is not a
certain method of propagating a given variety; hence the general
practice of budding (which see). Others assert that there are permanent
varieties, that usually produce the same from the seed, when not allowed
to mix in the blossoms. Some prefer to raise the trees for their
peach-orchards from seed, thinking them longer-lived and more healthy.
Whole peaches planted when taken from the tree, or the pits planted
before having become dry, are said to be much more certain to produce
the same fruit. We know an instance in which the fruit of an early
Crawford peach, thus planted, could not be distinguished from those that
grew on a budded tree in the same orchard. One of the difficulties in
reproducing the same from seed, is the great difficulty in getting the
seed of any variety pure. We everywhere have so many varieties of
fruit-trees in the same orchard, that the seeds of no one can be pure;
they mix in the blossoms. On this account, the surest method of
perpetuating a variety is by budding. This tree is of rapid growth,
often bearing the third year from the seed, and producing abundantly the
fifth. The peach-tree is often called thrifty when its growth is very
luxuriant, but tender and unhealthy, perishing in the following winter.
A moderate, steady, hardy growth is most profitable. The following
directions, though brief, are complete:--
_Raising Seedlings._--Dry the pits in the shade; put them away till the
last of winter; then soak them two days in water, and spread them on
some place in the garden where water will not stand, and cover them an
inch deep with wet sand, and leave them to freeze. When about time to
plant them (which is early corn-planting time), take them up and select
all those that are opened by the frost, and that are beginning to
germinate, and plant in rows four feet apart and one foot in the row.
These will grow and be ready for budding considerably earlier than those
not opened by frost. Crack the others on a wooden block, by striking
their side-edge with a hammer; you thus avoid injury to the germ that is
endangered by striking the end. Plant these in rows like the others, but
only six inches apart in the row, as they will not all germinate. Plant
them on rich soil covering an inch or two deep. Keep them clear of
weeds, and they will be ready for budding from August 15th to September
10th, according to latitude or season. In a dry season, when everything
matures early, budding must not be deferred as long as in a wet season.
For full directions for budding, see our article on that subject.
_Transplanting._--Perhaps no other fruit-tree suffers so much from
transplanting when too large. This should always be done, after one
year's growth, from the bud. The best time for transplanting is the
spring in northern latitudes subject to hard frosts, and in autumn in
warmer climates.
_Soil and Location._--All intelligent fruit-growers are aware that these
exert a great influence upon the size, quality, and quantity, of all
varieties of fruits. An accurate description of a variety in one climate
will not always identify it in another. Some few varieties are nearly
permanent and universal, but most are adapted to particular localities,
and need a process of acclimation to adapt them to other soils and
situations. Light sandy soils are usually regarded best for the peach:
it is only so because nineteen out of twenty cultivators will not take
pains to suitably prepare other soils. Some of the best peaches we have
ever seen grew on the richest Illinois prairie, and others on the
limestone bluffs of the Ohio river. Thorough drainage is indispensable
for the peach, on all but very light, porous soils: with such drainage,
peaches will do best on soil best adapted to growing corn and potatoes.
Bones, bonedust, lime, ashes, stable-manure, and charcoal, are the best
applications to the soil of a peach-orchard. Whoever grows peaches
should put at least half a bushel of fine charcoal in the earth in which
he sets each tree. Mix it well with the soil, and the tree will grow
better, and the fruit be larger and finer, for a dozen years. Any good
soil, well drained and manured with these articles, will produce great
crops of peaches. For the location of peach-orchards, see our general
remarks on "Location of Fruit-trees." But we would repeat here the
direction to choose a northern exposure, in climates subject to late
frosts. Elevations are always favorable, as are also the shores of all
bodies of water. In our remarks on location, we have shown by facts the
great value of hills, so high as to be useless for any other purpose.
Between Pittsburgh and the mouth of the Ohio river, there are enough
high elevations, now useless, to supply all the cities within fifty
miles of the rivers, down to New Orleans, with the best of peaches every
year. In no year will they ever be cut off by frost on those hills. Warm
exposures, with a little winter protection, will secure good peaches in
climates not adapted to them. In some parts of France, they grow large
quantities for market by training them against walls, where they do not
flourish in the open field. By this practice, and by enclosures and
acclimation, the growth of this excellent fruit may be extended to the
coldest parts of the United States.
_Transplanting_--should be performed with care, as in the case of all
other fruit-trees. Every injured root should be cut off smooth from the
under side, slanting out from the tree. Leave the roots, as nearly as
possible, in the position in which they were before. Set the tree an
inch lower than it stood in the nursery; it saves the danger of the
roots getting uncovered, and of too strong action of the atmosphere on
the roots, in a soil so loose. The opposite is often recommended, viz.,
to allow the tree in its new location to stand an inch or two higher
than before; but we are sure, from repeated trials, that it is wrong.
Shake the fine earth as closely around the roots as possible, mulch
well, and pour on a pailful of tepid water, if it be rather a dry time,
and the tree will be sure to live and make a good growth the first year.
When a peach-tree is transplanted, after one year's growth from the bud,
it should have the top cut off within eighteen inches or two feet of the
ground, and all the limbs cut off at half their length. This will
induce the formation of a full, large head. A low, full-branching head
is always best on a peach-tree.
_Pruning_ is perhaps the most important matter in successful peach
culture. The fruit is borne wholly on wood of the previous year's
growth. Hence a tree that has the most of that growth, in a mature
state, and properly situated, will bear the most and the finest fruit. A
tree left to its natural state, with no pruning but of a few of the
lower limbs from the main trunk, will soon exhibit a collection of long
naked limbs, without foliage, except near their extremities (see the cut
overleaf). In this case fruit will be too thick on what little bearing
wood there is, and it should be thinned. But very few cultivators even
attend to that. The fruit is consequently small, and it weakens the
growth of the young wood above, for next year's fruiting, and thus tree
and fruit are perpetually deteriorating.
Observe a shoot of young peachwood, you will see near its base,
leaf-buds. On the middle there are many blossom-buds, and on the top,
leaf-buds again. The tendency of sap is to the extremity. Hence the
upper leaf-buds will put out at once. And for their growth, and the
maturity of the excessive fruit on the middle, the power of the sap is
so far exhausted, that the leaf-buds at the base do not grow. Hence when
the fruit is removed, nothing is left below the terminal shoots, but a
bare pole. This is the condition in which we find most peach-trees.
For this there is a certain preventive. It consists in shortening in, by
cutting off in the month of September, from a third to a half of the
current season's growth. If the top be large, cut off one half the
length of the new wood. If it be less vigorous and rank, and you fear
you will not have room for a fair crop of peaches, cut off but one
third. This heading-in is sometimes recommended to be done in the
spring. For forming a head in a young tree the spring is better. But to
mature the wood, and increase the quantity, and improve the quality of
the fruit, September is much the best.
Such shortening in early in September, directs the sap to maturing the
wood, already formed and developing fruit-buds, instead of promoting the
growth of an undue quantity of young and tender wood, to be destroyed by
the winter, or to hinder the growth of the fruit of the next season.
This heading-in process, with these young shoots, is most easily
performed with pruning shears, with wooden handles, of a length suited
to the height of the tree.
[Illustration: Neglected Peach-Tree.]
[Illustration: Properly-trimmed Peach-Tree.]
But a work to precede this annual shortening-in, is the original
formation of a head to a peach-tree. Take a tree a year old from the
bud, and cut it down to within two and a half feet from the ground.
Below that numerous strong shoots will come out. Select three vigorous
ones and let them grow as they please, carefully pinching off all the
rest. In the fall you will have a tree of three good strong branches. In
the next spring cut off these three branches, one half. Below these
cuts, branches will start freely. Select one vigorous shoot to continue
the limb, and another to form a new branch. Check the growth of the
shoots below, by cutting off their ends, but do not rub them off, as
they will form fruit branches. At the close of the season you will have
a tree with six main branches, and some small ones for fruit, on the
older wood. Repeat this process the third year, and you have a tree with
twelve main branches, and plenty smaller ones for fruit. All these small
branches on the old wood, should be shortened in half their length, to
cause the leaf-buds near their base to start, so as to produce large
numbers of young shoots. Continue this as long as you please, and make
just as large a head and just such a form as you may wish, being careful
only to control the shape of the top so as to let the sun and air freely
into every part.
Trees thus trained may be planted thick enough to allow four hundred to
stand on an acre, and will bear an abundance of the finest fruit, and
all low enough to be easily picked. This method of training is much
better than allowing the tree to shoot out on all sides from the ground:
in that case, the branches are apt to split down and perish. This system
of heading-in freely every year, preserves the life and health of the
tree remarkably. Many of the finest peach-trees in France are from
thirty to sixty years old, and some a hundred. We may, in this country,
have peach-trees live fifty years, in the most healthy bearing
condition. By trimming in this way, and carrying out fully this system,
some have thrifty-looking peach-trees, more than a foot in diameter,
bearing the very best of fruit. It is sheer neglect that causes our
peach-orchards to perish after having borne from three to six years. Let
every man who plants a peach-tree remember, that this system of
training will make his tree live long, be healthy, grow vigorously, and
bear abundantly.
_Diseases_ of peach-trees have been a matter of much speculation. The
result is, that the hope of the peach-grower is mainly in preventives.
_The Yellows_ is usually regarded as a disease. Imagination has invented
many causes of this evil. Some suppose it to be produced by small
insects; others that it is in the seed. Again, it is ascribed to the
atmosphere. It has been supposed to be propagated in many ways--by
trimming a healthy tree with a knife that had been used on a diseased
one; by contagion in the atmostphere, as the measles or small-pox; by
impregnation from the pollen, through the agency of winds or bees; by
the migration of small insects; or by planting diseased seeds, or
budding from diseased trees. This great diversity of opinion leaves room
to doubt whether the yellows in peach-trees be a disease at all, or only
a symptom of general decay. The symptoms, as given in all the
fruit-books, are only such as would be natural from decay and death of
the tree, from any cause whatever. This may result from neglect to
supply the soil with suitable manures, and to trim trees properly, and
especially from over-bearing. This view of the case is more probable,
from the fact that none pretend to have found a remedy. All advise to
remove the tree thus affected at once, root and branch. We have seen the
following treatment of such trees tried with marked success. Cut off a
large share of the top, as when you would renew an old, neglected tree;
lay the large roots bare, making a sort of basin around the body of the
tree, and pour in three pailfuls of _boiling_ water: the tree will
start anew and do well. This is an excellent application to an old,
failing peach-tree. The sure preventive of the yellows is, planting
seeds of healthy trees, budding from the most vigorous, heading-in well,
supplying appropriate manures, and general good cultivation.
_Curled Leaves_ is another evil among peach-trees, occurring before the
leaves are fully grown, and causing them to fall off after two or three
weeks. Other leaves will put out, but the fruit is destroyed, and the
general health of the tree injured. Elliott says the curl of the leaf is
produced by the punctures of small insects. One kind of curled leaf is,
but not this. But we have no doubt that Barry's theory is the correct
one, viz., that it is the effect of sudden changes of the weather. We
have noticed the curled leaf in orchards where the trees were so close
together as to guard each other. On the side where the cold wind struck
them, we noticed they were badly affected; while on the warm side, and
in the centre where they were protected by the others, they exhibited
very few signs of the curl. In western New York, unusual cold east winds
always produce the curled leaves, on trees much exposed: hence, the only
remedy is the best protection you can give, by location, &c.
_Mildew_ is a minute fungus growing on the ends of tender shoots of
certain varieties, checking their growth, and producing other bad
effects. Syringe the trees with a weak solution of nitre, one ounce in a
gallon of water, which will destroy the fungus and invigorate the tree.
_The Borer_ has been the great enemy of the peach-tree, since about the
close of the last century. The female insect, that produces the worms,
deposites her eggs under rough bark, near the surface of the ground.
This is done mostly in July, but occasionally from June to October. The
eggs are laid in small punctures, and covered with a greenish glue; in a
few days they come out, a small white worm, and eat through the bark
where it is tender, just at, or a little below, the surface of the
ground; they eat under the bark, between that and the wood, and,
consuming a little of each, they frequently girdle the tree; as they
grow larger, they perforate the solid wood; when about a year old, they
make a cocoon just below the surface of the ground, change into a
chrysalis state, and shortly come out a winged insect, to deposite fresh
eggs. But the practical part of all this is the _remedy_: keep the
ground clean around the trees, and rub off frequently all the rough
bark; place around each tree half a peck of air-slaked lime, and the
borer will not attack it. This should be placed there on the first of
May, and be spread over the ground on the first of October; refuse
tobacco-stems, from the cigar-makers, or any other offensive substance,
as hen-manure, salt and ashes, &c., will answer the same purpose. We
should recommend the annual cultivation of a small piece of ground in
tobacco, for use around peach-trees. We have found it very successful
against the borer, and it is an excellent manure; applied two or three
times during the season, it proves a perfect remedy, and is in no way
injurious, as an excessive quantity of lime might be.
_Leaf Insects._--There are several varieties, which cause the leaves to
curl and prematurely fall. This kind of curled leaf differs from the one
described as the result of sudden changes and cold wind; that appears
general wherever the cold wind strikes the tree, while this only affects
a few leaves occasionally, and those surrounded by healthy leaves. The
remedy is to syringe them with offensive mixtures, as tobacco-juice, or
sprinkle them when wet with fine, air-slaked lime.
_Varieties._--Their name is legion, and they are rapidly increasing, and
their synonyms multiplying. A singular fact, in most of our fruit-books,
is a minute description of useless kinds, and such descriptions of those
that they call good, as not one in ten thousand cultivators will ever
try to master--they are worse than useless, except to an occasional
amateur cultivator.
Elliott, in his fruit-book, divides peaches into three classes: the
first is for general cultivation; under this class he describes
thirty-one varieties, with ninety-eight synonyms. His second class is
for amateur cultivators, and includes sixty-nine varieties, with
eighty-four synonyms. His third class, which he says are unworthy of
further cultivation, describes fifty-four varieties, with seventy-seven
synonyms. Cole gives sixty-five varieties, minutely described, and many
of them pronounced worthless. In Hooker's Western Fruit-Book, we have
some eighty varieties, only a few of which are regarded worthy of
cultivation. Downing gives us one hundred and thirty-three varieties,
with about four hundred synonyms. In all these works the descriptions
are minute. The varieties of serrated leaves, the glandless, and some
having globose glands on the leaves, and others with reniform glands.
Then we have the color of the fruit in the shade and in the sun, which
will, of course, vary with every degree of sun or shade. We submit the
opinion that those books would have possessed much more value, had they
only described the best mode of cultivating peaches, without having
mentioned a single variety, thus leaving each cultivator to select the
best he could find. Had they given a plain description of ten, or
certainly of not more than fifteen varieties, those books would have
been far more valuable _for the people_. We give a small list, including
all we think it best to cultivate. Perhaps confining our selection to
half a dozen varieties would be a further improvement:--
1. The first of all peaches is _Crawford's Early_. This is an early,
sure, and great bearer, of the most beautiful, large fruit;--a
good-flavored, juicy peach, though not the very richest. It is, on the
whole, the very best peach in all parts of the country. Time, from July
15th to September 1st. Freestone.
2. _Crawford's Late_ is very large and handsome; uniformly productive,
though not nearly so good a bearer as Crawford's Early. Ripens last of
September and in October. Fair quality, and always handsome; freestone;
excellent for market.
3. _Columbia._--Origin, New Jersey. It is a thoroughly-tested variety,
raised and described by Mr. Cox, who wrote one of the earliest and best
American fruit-books. Fine specimens were exhibited in 1856, grown in
Covington, Ky. Excellent in all parts of the United States. Freestone.
4. _George the Fourth._--A large, delicious, freestone peach, an
American seedling from Mr. Gill, Broad street, New York. The National
Pomological Society have decided the tree to be so healthy and
productive as to adapt it to all localities in this country. It has
twenty-five synonyms.
5. _Early York._--Freestone; the best, and first really good, early
peach. Time July at Cincinnati, and August at Cleveland. Time of
ripening of all varieties varies with latitude, location, and season.
6. _Grass Mignonne._--A foreign variety, a great favorite in France, in
the time of Louis XIV. Very rich freestone, flourishing in all climates
from Boston south. The high repute in which it has long been held is
seen in its thirty synonyms. One of the best, when you can obtain the
genuine. Time, August.
7. _Honest John._--A large, beautiful, delicious, freestone variety.
Highly prized as a late peach, maturing from the middle to the last of
October. Indispensable in even a small selection.
8. _Malacatune._--A very popular American freestone peach, derived from
a Spanish, and is the parent of the Crawford peaches, both early and
late.
9. _Morris White._--Everywhere well known; a good bearer; best for
preserving at the North; a good dessert peach South.
10. _Morris Red Rare-ripe._--A favorite, freestone, July peach. The tree
is healthy and a great bearer.
11. _Old Mixon._--Should be found in all gardens and orchards; it is of
excellent quality and ripens at a time when few good peaches are to be
had; it endures spring-frosts better than any other variety; profitable.
12. _Old Mixon Cling._--One of the most delicious early clingstones.
Deserves a place in all gardens.
13. _Monstrous Cling._--Not the best quality, but profitable for market
on account of its great size.
14. _Heath Cling._--Very good South and West. Wrapped in paper and laid
in a cool room, it will keep longer than any other variety. Tree hardy
and often produces when others fail. Excellent for preserving, and when
quite ripe, is superior as a dessert fruit.
15. _Blood Cling._--A well-known peach, excellent for pickling and
preserving. It sometimes measures twelve inches in circumference. The
old French Blood Cling is smaller. Many of these varieties will be found
under other names. You will have to depend upon your nursery-man to give
you the best he has, and be careful to bud from any choice variety you
may happen to taste. Difficulties and disappointments will always attend
efforts to get desired varieties.
PEAR.
The pear is a native of Europe and Asia, and, in its natural state, is
quite as unfit for the table as the crab-apple. Cultivation has given it
a degree of excellence that places it in the first rank among
dessert-fruits. No other American fruit commands so high a price. New
varieties are obtained by seedlings, and are propagated by grafting and
budding: the latter is generally preferred. Root-grafting of pears is to
be avoided; the trees will be less vigorous and healthy. The difficulty
of raising pear-seedlings has induced an extensive use of suckers, to
the great injury of pear-culture. Fruit-growers are nearly unanimous in
discarding suckers as stocks for grafting. The difficulty in raising
seedling pear-trees is the failure of the seeds to vegetate. A remedy
for this is, never to allow the seeds to become dry, after being taken
from the fruit, until they are planted. Keep them in moist sand until
time to plant them in the spring, or plant as soon as taken from the
fruit. The spring is the best time for planting, as the ground can be
put in better condition, rendering after-culture much more easy. The
pear will succeed well on any good soil, well supplied with suitable
fertilizers. The best manures for the pear are, lime in small
quantities, wood-ashes, bones, potash dissolved, and applied in rotten
wood, leaves, and muck, with a little stable-manure and
iron-filings--iron is very essential in the soil for the pear-tree. In
all soils moderately supplied with these articles, all pear-trees
grafted on seedling-stocks, and those that flourish on the foreign
quince, will do well. A good yellow loam is most natural; light sandy or
gravelly land is unfavorable. It is better to cart two or three loads of
suitable soil for each tree on such land. The practice of budding or
grafting on apple-stocks, on crab-apples, and on the mountain-ash,
should be utterly discarded. For producing early fruit, quince-stocks
and root-pruning are recommended.
Setting out pear-trees properly is of very great importance. The
requisites are, to have the ground in good condition, from manure on the
crop of the last season, and thoroughly subsoiled and drained.
Pear-trees delight in rather heavy land, if it be well drained; but
water, standing in the soil about them, is utterly ruinous. Pear-trees,
well transplanted on moderately rich land, well subsoiled and well
drained, will almost always succeed. By observing the following brief
directions, any cultivator may have just such shaped tops on his
pear-trees as he desires. Cut short any shoots that are too vigorous,
that those around them may get their share of the sap, and thus be
enabled to make a proportionate growth. After trees have come into
bearing, symmetry in the form of their heads may be promoted by
pinching off all the fruit on the weak branches, and allowing all on the
strong ones to mature.
Those two simple methods, removing the fruit from too vigorous shoots,
and cutting in others, half or two-thirds their length, will enable one
to form just such heads as he pleases, and will prove the best
preventives of diseases.
_Diseases._--There are many insects that infest pear-orchards, in the
same manner as they do apples, and are to be destroyed in the same way.
The slugs on the leaves are often quite annoying. These are worms,
nearly half an inch long, olive-colored, and tapering from head to tail,
like a tadpole. Ashes or quicklime, sprinkled over the leaves when they
are wet with dew or rain, is an effectual remedy.
_Insect-Blight._--This has been confounded with the frozen-sap blight,
though they are very different. In early summer, when the shoots are in
most vigorous growth, you will notice that the leaves on the ends of
branches turn brown, and very soon die and become black. This is caused
by a worm from an egg, deposited just behind or below a bud, by an
insect. The egg hatches, and the worm perforates the bark into the wood,
and commits his depredations there, preventing the healthy flow of the
sap, which kills the twig above. Soon after the shoot dies, the worm
comes out in the form of a winged insect, and seeks a location to
deposite its eggs, preparatory to new depredations. The remedy is to cut
off the shoots affected at once, and burn them. The insect-blight does
not affect the tree far below the location of the worm. Watch your trees
closely, and cut off all affected parts as soon as they appear, and burn
them immediately, and you will soon destroy all the insects. But very
soon after the appearance of the blight they leave the limb; hence a
little delay will render your efforts useless. These insects often
commit the same depredations on apple and quince-trees. We had an
orchard in Ohio seriously affected by them. We know no remedy but
destruction as above.
_The Frozen-Sap Blight_ is a much more serious difficulty. Its nature
and origin are now pretty well settled. In every tree there are two
currents of sap: one passes up through the outer wood, to be digested by
the leaves; the other passing down in the inner bark, deposites new
wood, to increase the size of the tree. Now, in a late growth of this
kind of wood, the process is rapidly going on, at the approach of cold
weather, and the descending sap is suddenly frozen, in this tender bark
and growing wood. This sudden freezing poisons the sap, and renders the
tree diseased. The blight will show itself, in its worst form, in the
most rapid growing season of early summer, though the disease commenced
with the severe frosts of the previous autumn. Its presence may be known
by a thick, clammy sap, that will exude in winter or spring pruning, and
in the discoloration of the inner bark and peth of the branches. On
limbs badly affected on one side, the bark will turn black and shrivel
up. But its effects in the death of the branches only occur when the
growth of the tree demands the rapid descent of the sap: then the
poisoned sap which was arrested the previous fall, in its downward
passage, is diluted and sent through the tree; and when it is abundant,
the whole tree is poisoned and destroyed in a few days; in others more
slightly affected, it only destroys a limb or a small portion of the
top. Another effect of this fall-freezing of sap and growing wood, is
to rupture the sap-vessels, and thus prevent the inner bark from
performing its functions. This theory is so well established, that an
intelligent observer can predict, in the fall, a blight-season the
following summer. If the summer be cool, and the fall warm and damp,
closed by sudden cold, the blight will be troublesome the next season,
because the plentiful downward flow of sap, and rapid growth of wood,
were arrested by sudden freezing. If the summer is favorable, and the
wood matures well before cold weather, the blight will not appear. This
is of the utmost practical moment to the pear-culturist. Anything in
soil, situation, or pruning, that favors early maturity of wood, will
serve as a preventive of blight; hence, cool, moist situations are not
favorable in climates subject to sudden and severe cold weather in
autumn. Root-pruning and heading-in, which always induce early maturity
of wood, are of vast importance; they will, almost always, prevent
frozen-sap blight. If, in spite of you, your pear-trees will make a late
luxuriant growth, cut off one half of the most vigorous shoots before
hard freezing, and you will check the flow of sap, by removing the
leaves and shoots that control it, and save your trees. If blight makes
its appearance, cut off at once all the parts affected. The effects will
be visible in the wood and inner bark, far below the external apparent
injury. Remove the whole injured part, or it will poison the rest of the
tree. When this frozen sap is extensive, it poisons and destroys the
whole tree; when slight, the tree often wholly recovers. If a spot of
black, shrivelled bark appears, shave it off, deep enough to remove the
affected parts, and cover the wound with grafting-wax. Remove all
affected limbs. These are the only remedies. But the practice of
pruning both roots and branches will prove a certain preventive. A tree
growing in grass, where it grows more slowly, and matures earlier in the
season, will escape this blight; while one growing in very rich garden
soil, and continuing to grow until cold weather, will suffer severely.
The effects on orchards, in different soils and localities everywhere,
confirm this theory. A little care then will prevent this evil, which
has sometimes been so great as to discourage attempts at raising pears.
In some localities, some of the finer varieties of pears, as the
virgalieu, are ruined by cracking on the trees before ripening.
Applications of ashes, salt, charcoal, iron-filings, and clay on light
lands, will remedy this evil.
_Distances apart._--All fruit-trees had better occupy as little ground
as is consistent with a healthy vigorous growth. They are manured and
well cultivated, at a much less expense. The trees protect each other
against inclement weather. The fruit is more easily harvested. And it is
a great saving of land, as nothing else can be profitably grown in an
orchard of large fruit-trees. The two kinds of pear-trees, dwarf and
standard, may be planted together closely and be profitable for early
and abundant bearing. The plan given on the next page of a pear-orchard,
recommended in Cole's Fruit Book, is the best we have seen.
In the plan the trees on pear-stocks, designed for standards, occupy the
large black spots where the lines intersect. They are thirty-three feet
apart. The small spots indicate the position of dwarf-trees on quince
stocks. Of these there are three on each square rod. An acre then would
have forty standard trees, and four hundred and eighty dwarfs. The
latter will come into early bearing, and be profitable, long before the
former will produce any fruit. This will induce and repay thorough
cultivation. They should be headed in, and finally removed, as the
standards need more room. One acre carefully cultivated in this way,
will afford an income sufficient for the support of a small family.
[Illustration: Plan of a Pear-Orchard.]
_Gathering and Preserving._--Most fruits are better when allowed fully
to ripen on the tree. But with pears, the reverse is true; most of them
need to be ripened in the house, and some of them, as much as possible,
excluded from the light. Gather when matured, and when a few of the
wormy full-grown ones begin to fall, but while they adhere somewhat
firmly to the tree. Barrel or box them tight, or put them in drawers in
a cool dry place. About the time for them to become soft, put them in a
room, with a temperature comfortable for a sitting-room, and you will
soon have them in their greatest perfection. They do better in a warm
room, wrapped in paper or cotton. A few only ripen well on the trees.
Those ripened in the house keep much longer and better.
_Varieties._--The London Horticultural Society have proved seven hundred
varieties, from different parts of the world, in their experimental
garden. Cole speaks of eight hundred and Elliott of twelve hundred
varieties. There are now probably more than three thousand growing in
this country. Many seedlings, not known beyond the neighborhood where
they originated, may be among our very best. From six to ten varieties
are all that need be cultivated. We present the following list, advising
cultivators to select five or six to suit their own tastes and
circumstances, and cultivate no more. We do not give the usual
descriptions of the varieties selected. The mass of cultivators, for
whom this work is specially intended, will never learn and test the
descriptions. They will depend upon their nursery-man, and bud and graft
from those they have tasted.
We give their names and some of their synonyms, their adaptation to
quince or pear stocks, their manner of growth, and time of maturity.
These will enable the culturist to select whatever best suits his taste;
adapted to quince or pear stocks; for the table or kitchen; for summer,
fall, or winter use, and for home or the market.
BELLE LUCRATIVE.--_Fondante d' Automne, Seigneur d' Esperin._ Tree of
moderate growth, but a great bearer. A fine variety, on quince or pear,
better perhaps on the pear stock. Season, last of September.
BEURRÉ EASTER with fifteen synonyms that few would ever read. Best on
quince. Requires a warm soil and considerable care in ripening, when it
proves one of the best. Its season--from January to May--makes it very
desirable. Large, yellowish-green, with russet spots.
[Illustration: Bartlett.]
BARTLETT.--_William's, William's Bon Chretien, Poire Guilliaume_. Tree,
a vigorous grower, and a regular, early, good bearer, of long, handsome,
perfectly-formed fruit; on the quince or pear stock. Time, August and
September.
[Illustration: Beurré Diel.]
BEURRÉ DIEL.--_Diel_, _Diel's Butterbirne_, _Dorothee Royale_, _Grosse
Dorothee_, _Beurré Royale_, _Des Trois Tours_, _De Melon_, _Melon de
Kops_, _Beurré Magnifique_, _Beurré Incomparable_. Grows well on quince
or pear, but perhaps does best on quince. Large, beautiful, luscious
fruit. Season, October to last of November.
[Illustration: White Doyenne.]
WHITE DOYENNE.--_Virgalieu._ Tree vigorous and hardy on pear or quince.
Everywhere esteemed as one of the very best. Needs care in supplying
proper manure and clay on light soils, to prevent the fruit from
cracking. September to November. If we could have but one we should
choose this.
COLUMBIA.--_Columbian Virgalieu._ Native of New York, bearing
abundantly, a uniformly smooth, fair, large fruit. Color, fine golden
yellow, dotted with gray. Season, December and January.
[Illustration: Flemish Beauty.]
FLEMISH BEAUTY.--_Belle de Flanders, &c._ This is a large, beautiful,
and delicious pear. One of the finest in its season, but does not last
long. Ripens last of September. Very fine on the quince, and is
excellent on the rich prairie-lands of the West. Deserves increased
attention.
BEURRÉ D'AREMBERG.--_Duc d'Aremberg, and eight other synonyms._ Tree
very hardy, does well on the pear stock, and bears early, annually, and
abundantly. A very fine foreign variety. The fruit hangs on the tree
well, and may be ripened at will from December to February, by placing
in a warm room, when you would ripen them.
BUFFUM.--A native of Rhode Island, and very successful wherever grown. A
great bearer of handsome fruit, though not of the best quality. It is,
however, an excellent orchard pear. Fruit, medium size, ripening in
September.
LOUISE BONNE OF JERSEY.--_William the Fourth_, and three other useless
foreign synonyms. Not surpassed, on the quince. Tree very vigorous,
producing a great abundance of large fruit. Season, October.
MADELEINE.--_Magdalen_, _Citron des Carmes_. This bears an abundance of
small but delicious fruit. Is valuable also on account of its
season--the last half of July. Good on pear or quince. Must be checked
in its growth, on very rich land, or it will be subject to the frozen
sap-blight.
ONONDAGA.--American origin. Equally good on pear or quince. Large,
hardy, and very productive tree. The fruit is very large, fine golden
yellow when ripe. Excellent for market. Season, October and November.
POUND PEAR.--_Winter Belle_, and twelve other synonyms, which are
unimportant. This is the great winter-pear for cooking. The tree is a
very vigorous grower and great bearer. A very profitable orchard
variety. December to March.
PRINCE'S ST. GERMAIN.--_New St. Germain_, _Brown's St. Germain_. Hardy
and productive. Good keeper, ripening as easily and as well as an apple.
December to March.
[Illustration: Seckel.]
SECKEL.--There are a number of synonyms, but it is always known by this
name. Tree is small, but a good and regular bearer of small excellent
fruit. Time in warm climates, September and October.
STEVEN'S GENESEE.--_Stephen's Genesee_, _Guernsey_. Desirable for all
orchards and gardens, on quince or pear. Fine grower and very
productive. Fruit large and excellent. Elliott says "even the wind-falls
are very fine."
VICAR OF WAKEFIELD.--Eight synonyms, but it will hardly be mistaken by
nursery-men. Does well on quince. It is thrifty and very productive of
fruit of second quality. Yet it is generally profitable. November to
January.
WINTER NELLIS.--Its six foreign synonyms are of no consequence. This is
the best of all winter-pears, grown on quince or pear. Exceedingly well
adapted to the rich western prairies. An early and great bearer.
November to January 15.
[Illustration: Gray Doyenne.]
GRAY DOYENNE.--A superior October pear. Tree hardy and productive on
both pear or quince. Partakes much of the excellence of the White
Doyenne.
From these you can select five or six just adapted to your wishes. The
diversity of views, of the merits of different varieties of pears,
arises mainly from the influence of location, soil, and culture. The
established known varieties, may be grown in great perfection anywhere,
with suitable care. At the West they _must be root-pruned_ and
_headed-in_ until they are ten years old, after which they will be hardy
and productive. If allowed to grow as fast as they will incline to, on
alluvial soils, when they are exposed to severe winters, they will
disappoint growers. With care they will be sure and profitable.
PEPPERS.
The red peppers, cultivated in this country, are used for pickling, for
pepper-sauce, as a condiment for food, and as a domestic medicine.
_Varieties_--are named principally from their shape. The _large
squash-pepper_ is best for green pickles, on account of its size and
tenderness. The _Cayenne_, a small, long variety, much resembling the
original from which it is named, is very pungent, used mostly for
pepper-sauce. Grind, not very fine, any of the varieties, and they are
useful on any food of a cold nature and not easily digestible. They are
all good for medicinal purposes. The capsicum needs a dry, warm soil,
with exposure to the sun. Plants should stand two feet apart each way;
as they are slow growers, they should be started in an early hotbed.
Many will ripen during summer, and may be gathered. In the fall, when
frost comes, the vines will be covered with blossoms and with peppers of
all sizes. Fall-grown green ones, strung on a thread, and hung in a
warm, dry room, will ripen finely. They are very hardy, and may be
transplanted without injury. Hen-manure is best for them.
PEPPERGRASS.
This is a variety of cress, of quick growth, used as lettuce. On a rich,
finely-pulverized soil, sow the seeds in drills, fifteen inches apart,
and cover very lightly. Sow thick and water in dry weather. For use, cut
the tops while they are very tender. A second crop will grow, but
inferior to the first. The water-cress, growing spontaneously by rills
and springs, is a kind of wild peppergrass, and is by some persons more
esteemed than the garden variety. We prefer early lettuce to cresses or
peppergrass, and see no reason for their cultivation, but their rapid
growth.
PLOWING.
This is one of the most important matters in soil-culture. When, how,
and how much, shall we plow? are the three questions involving the
whole. When should plowing be done? As it respects wet or dry, plow
sandy or gravelly land whenever you are ready. It will neither be hard
when dry, nor injured by being plowed when very wet. Good loams may be
plowed at all times except when excessively wet. Clays can only be
worked profitably when neither excessively wet or dry. Plowing land in a
warm rain is almost equal to a coat of manure. Plowing in a light snow
in the spring will injure it the whole season. We have noticed a marked
difference in corn growing but a rod apart, on land where snow was
plowed in, and the other plowed two or three days later, after the snow
was gone; this difference was noticeable in the rows throughout the
entire field. Spring or fall plowing is a question that has been much
discussed. Sod-land is better plowed in the fall. The action of winter
rains and frosts on the turf is beneficial. The same is true of land
trenched deep, where much of the hard, poor subsoil is brought to the
surface: it is benefited by winter exposure. Other cultivated fields are
injured by fall-plowing, unless it be very early. All stubble-land is
much benefited by being plowed as soon as the grain is taken off. The
weeds and stubble, plowed under, will be decomposed by the warm weather
and rains, and benefit the soil almost as much as an ordinary coat of
manure. Plowed late, such action does not take place, and the surface is
injured by winter-exposure: hence, do all the _early_ fall-plowing
possible, but plow nothing _late_ in the fall but sod-land.
How shall we plow? All land should be subsoiled, except that having a
light, porous subsoil; one deep plowing on such land is sufficient.
Subsoiling is done by using two teams at once--one with a common plow,
running deep, and the other with a subsoil-plow with no mould-board, and
which will, consequently, stir and disintegrate the earth to the depth
at which it runs, without throwing it to the surface. The next
surface-furrow will cover up this loosened subsoil. In this way, land
may be plowed eighteen inches deep, to the great benefit of any crop
grown on it. If the surface be well manured, this method of plowing will
place the manure between the first furrow and the subsoil, and increase
its value. Such plowing is very valuable on land for young fruit-trees.
There is another method, which we denominate double-plowing, which is
more beneficial than ordinary subsoiling: it is performed by two common
plows, one following in the furrow of the other; the first furrow need
not be very deep--let the furrow in the bottom of the first be as deep
as possible, and thrown out upon the surface; the next furrow will throw
the surface and manure into the bottom of the deep furrow; the next
furrow will cover this surface-soil and manure very deep, and, as manure
always works up, it will impregnate the whole. This, for
garden-vegetables, berries, nurseries, or young orchards, is the best
form of plowing that we have ever tried. It may be done with one team,
by simply changing the gauge of the clevis every time round, gauging it
light for the first furrow, and deep for the second. We once prepared a
plat in this way with one team, on which cabbages made a remarkable
growth, even in a dry season. Still a farther improvement would be a
light coat of fine manure on the surface. All furrows, in every
description of plowing, should be near enough together to move the
whole, leaving no hard places between them. The usual "cut and cover"
system, to get over a large area in a day, is miserable economy. The
more evenly and flatly land can be turned over in plowing, the better it
will be; it retards the growth of weeds, and secures a better action
upon substances plowed under. An exception to deep plowing is in
breaking up the original prairies of the West: they have to be broken
with plows kept sharp as a knife, and not more than two inches deep. The
grass then dies and the sod rots. But plowed deep, the grass comes up
through the turf, and will prove troublesome for two or three years. It
must also be broken at a certain season of the year, to insure success.
It may be profitably done for two months after the grass gets a good
start in the spring.
_How much_ is it best to plow land? Once double-plowed, or thoroughly
subsoiled, and well turned over, is better than more. Land once plowed
so as to disintegrate the whole to the depth of the furrow, will produce
more, and require less care, than the same would do if cross-plowed once
or twice. Excessive plowing is a positive injury. All land should be
broken up once in three or four years, and not kept longer than that
under the plow at one time. Some farmers keep land perpetually in grass,
refusing to have a plow touch it on any condition. They see wrong
tillage produce barrenness. But by this practice they are great losers;
they never get over one half the hay or pasturage that could be obtained
by frequent tillage and manuring, and a rotation of crops.
PLUM.
This is one of our best fruits, but suffers more from enemies than any
other.
_Propagation_ is by seeds or layers, budding or grafting. Seeds from
trees not exposed to mixture with other varieties in the blossom, will
produce the same; hence, this is the best method of propagating a given
variety, standing alone. But, for most situations, budding is preferable
to any other method. This should be performed earlier than on the peach.
The plum matures earlier, and hence should be budded about the last of
July, or first of August. Bud on the north side of the tree to avoid
the hot sun; and tie more tightly than in budding other trees. Bud
plum-trees the second year from the seed. Grafting should be resorted to
only when buds have failed, and there is a prospect that the trees will
be too large for budding another season. The common wild plums make good
stocks, if grafted at the ground. Thoroughly mulch all newly-grafted
plum-trees. Root-grafting will succeed, but should never be practised.
In all grafting of plums, put the graft in at the surface of the ground,
and cover with sawdust or mould, leaving but one bud on the graft
exposed.
_Soil._--All soils are good for the plum, provided they be thoroughly
drained, and properly fertilized.
Hard soils are recommended as being almost proof against the curculio.
That a soil affording a rather hard, smooth surface, will afford less
burrows for curculio, and consequently lessen their ravages, is no doubt
true. But it is not a perfect remedy, and, on other accounts, such a
soil is no better. A good firm loam is best. Plums will do well also on
light land, but are more exposed to injury from the curculio.
_Transplanting._--The plum being perfectly hardy, we recommend
transplanting in autumn. Shorten in the top, cut off considerable of the
tap-root, and the ends of the long roots, transplant well, and mulch so
thoroughly as to prevent too strong action of the frost on the roots,
and they will start early and do well. Twelve feet apart for small
varieties, and twenty feet for larger growers, are the distances usually
recommended. We think a rod apart each way will do well for all
varieties.
_Pruning._--Once started in a regular growth, in such a shape as you
desire, no further pruning will be necessary but occasionally
heading-in a too luxuriant shoot, and removing diseased and cross limbs.
On rich Western lands, and in warm Southern climes, young plum-trees
must be root-pruned and headed-in, or they will be unfruitful and
unhealthy. Root-pruning should be done in August, in the following
manner. In case of a tree ten feet high, take a sharp spade, and in a
circle around the tree, two feet from the trunk (making the circle four
feet in diameter), cut off all the roots within reach. In smaller trees,
make the circle smaller, and in larger ones, larger. At the same time,
shorten in the current year's growth, by cutting off one half the length
of all the principal shoots; this will give vigor, symmetry, and
fruitfulness, and prove a valuable preventive of disease. Plum-trees
should always have good, clean cultivation.
_Manures_ from the stable and slaughter-house, with wood-ashes, lime,
and plenty of salt, are the best for the plum. The following analysis,
by Richardson, of the fruit of the plum, will aid the culturist in his
selection of manures:--
Potash 59.21
Soda .54
Lime 10.04
Magnesia 5.46
Sulphuric acid 3.83
Silicic acid 2.36
Phosphoric acid 12.26
Phosphate of iron 6.04
Hence, as wood-ashes contains much potash, and as this is the largest
ingredient in the plum, it must be the best application to the soil for
this fruit. Bones, dissolved in sulphuric acid, would also be very
valuable. Bones, bonedust, salt, wood-ashes, and barnyard manure, with a
little lime, will be all that will be necessary.
_Diseases._--In most northern latitudes, the black wart, or knot, is
fatal to many plum-trees. It is less prevalent at the South: its origin
is not known. Many theories respecting it are put forth by different
cultivators; they are unsatisfactory, and their enumeration here would
be useless. It may be either the result of general ill health in the
tree, from budding on suckers and unhealthy stocks, and a want of proper
elements in the soil, or of improper circulation of sap, caused by the
roots absorbing more than the leaves can digest. In the latter case,
root-pruning and heading-in would be an effectual preventive. In the
former, supply suitable manures, and give good cultivation. In every
case, remove at once all affected parts, and wash the wounds and whole
tree, and drench the soil under it, with copperas-water--one ounce of
copperas to two gallons of water. This is stated to be a complete
remedy.
_Defoliation_ of seedlings and bearing trees often occurs in July and
August. Land well supplied with the manures recommended, especially
wood-ashes, salt, and the copperas-water, has not been known to produce
trees that drop their leaves.
_Decay of the Fruit_ is another serious evil. Professor Kirtland and
others suppose it to be a species of fungus. Poverty of soil, and wet
weather, may be the cause. If the season be unusually wet, thin the
fruit, so that no two plums shall touch each other. Keep the soil
properly manured, and spread charcoal or straw under the tree, and you
will generally be able to preserve your fruit.
_The Curculio_ is the great enemy of the plum, and frequently of all
smooth-skinned fruits, as the grape, nectarine, &c.
[Illustration: (1) Curculio, in the beetle-form, life-size. (2) Its
assumed form when disturbed or shaken from the tree. (3) Larva, or worm,
as found in the fallen fruit. (4) Pupa, or chrysalis state, in which it
lives in the ground.]
Many remedies are proposed: making pavements, or keeping the ground hard
and smooth, under the trees; pasturing swine and keeping fowls in the
plum-orchard; syringing the whole tops of the trees four or five times
with lime and salt water, or lime and sulphur-water--the proportions are
not material, provided it be not excessively strong. It is recommended
to apply with a garden-syringe. But, as few cultivators will have that
instrument, they may sprinkle the mixture on the trees in any way most
convenient. Salt, worked into the soil under plum-trees, is said to
destroy this insect in its pupa state. At any rate, the salt is a good
manure for the plum-tree. We know a remedy for the ravages of the
curculio, unfailing in all seasons and localities--that is, to kill
them: spread a cloth under the tree, and with a mallet having a head,
covered with India-rubber or cloth that it may not injure the bark,
strike the body and large limbs sudden blows, which will so jar them as
to cause the insects to fall upon the cloth, and you can then burn them.
Do this five or six times in the season, commencing when the fruit
begins to set, and continuing till it becomes nearly full-grown. This is
best done in the cool of the morning, while the insects are still; their
habits of fear and quiet, when there is a noise about, are greatly in
favor of their destruction by this method. This is somewhat laborious,
but is a sure remedy, and will pay well in all plum-orchards, large or
small. After two or three years of this treatment, there will be few or
none of those insects left.
_Uses_ of the plum are various. The fine varieties, well ripened, are a
good dessert-fruit; for sweetmeats and tarts they are much esteemed;
they are one of the better and more wholesome dried fruits. The foreign
ones are called prunes, and are an article of commerce. With a little
care, we can raise much better prunes than the imported. Like all
fruits, they are better for quick drying by artificial heat. The French
prunes, the process of drying which is minutely described by Downing in
his fruit-book, are no better than our best varieties, quickly dried by
artificial heat in a dry house, or moderately-heated oven. All dried
fruit is much better for having become perfectly ripe before picking. It
is a great mistake to suppose unripe fruit will be good dried.
[Illustration: Lawrence's Favorite.]
_Varieties_ are numerous, and many of them ought to be forgotten, as is
the case with all other fruits. We give a small list, containing all the
good qualities of the whole:--
_Bleecker's Gage._--A hardy tree and sure bearer. Time, August.
[Illustration: Imperial Gage.]
[Illustration: Egg.]
_Imperial Gage._--This is an American variety. It is of a lightish-green
color, and excellent flavor. Season, July at the South, and September at
the North.
_Egg._--The above cut represents one of the egg-plums, of excellent
quality in all respects. There are many of this name.
_Lawrence's Favorite._--This is a fine plum, of the gage family. It was
raised from the seed of the green gage; its qualities are seldom
surpassed.
_Washington._--This is a very good plum for high latitudes. At the South
it is too dry.
[Illustration: Green Gage.]
[Illustration: Jefferson.]
_Green Gage._--With fifteen synonyms. Excellent.
_Jefferson._--One of the very best. Time, last of August.
_Denniston's Purple, or Red._--Vigorous grower and very productive.
Time, August 20.
_Madison._--A hardy, productive, and excellent October plum.
The foregoing varieties, with the little black damson-plum, so hardy and
productive, and so much esteemed for preserving, will answer all needful
purposes. You will find long lists in the fruit-books. Some of them are
the above varieties, under different names. Procure four or five of the
best you can find in your vicinity, and cultivate them, and you will
need no others.
[Illustration: Washington.]
POMEGRANATE.
This is one of the most delicious and beautiful of all the
dessert-fruits. Native in China, and much cultivated in Southern Europe.
It will do quite well as far north as the Ohio river. Trained as an
espalier, with protection of straw or mats, it will do tolerably well
throughout the Middle states. The fruit is about as large as an ordinary
apple, and has a tough, orange-colored skin, with a beautiful red cheek.
The tree is of low growth. Blossoms are highly ornamental, as is also
the fruit, during all the season. It is cultivated as the orange.
There are several varieties: the _sweet-fruited_, the _sub-acid_, and
the _wild_ or _acid-fruited_. The first is the best, and the second the
one most cultivated in this country; the latter yields a very pleasant
acid, making an excellent sirup. Pomegranates should be extensively
cultivated at the South, and form an important article of commerce for
Northern cities.
POTATO.
This is far the most valuable of all esculent roots; supposed to be a
native of South America. It is called the Irish potato, because it was
grown extensively first in Ireland. It was first planted on the estate
of Sir Walter Raleigh in 1602. It was introduced into England in 1694.
It has been represented as having been introduced into England from
Virginia as early as 1586, but attracted no attention, and for two
centuries formed no considerable part of British agriculture. It has
become naturalized in all temperate regions, and in many locations in
high latitudes. In tropical climates, it flourishes on the mountains, at
an elevation sufficient to secure a cool atmosphere. Cool moist regions,
as Ireland and the northern parts of the United States, are most
favorable for potatoes. In warm climates the potato grows less
luxuriantly, yields much less, and is liable to be ruined by a second
growth. In the latitude of southern Ohio, a severe drought, while the
tubers are small, followed by considerable rain, causes the young
potatoes to sprout, and send up fresh shoots, and often make a very
luxuriant growth of tops, to the complete ruin of the tubers. This is
called second growth. In cooler climates this second growth simply makes
prongs on the tubers, thus injuring the appearance and quality, but
increasing the crop. The only preventive is watering regularly in a dry
time. This can be done advantageously in a garden, and on a small scale.
In field culture, when second growth occurs, dig your potatoes at once,
if they are large enough to be of much use. If not they will all be
lost.
_Propagation_ is by annually planting the tubers. No mixture of sorts
ever takes place from planting different varieties together. This can
only be done in the blossoms, and will consequently appear in young
seedlings. To raise good potatoes, always plant ripe seed, and the
largest and best, and leave them whole. Selecting small potatoes for
seed, and cutting them up, and planting mere eyes and pearings as some
do, has done much to injure the health, quality, and quantity of yield
of the potato. Selecting the poorest for seed, will run out anything we
grow in the soil. _New varieties_ have been multiplying within the past
few years from seed. Some gentlemen are raising varieties by thousands.
Not more than one out of a thousand prove truly valuable. The quality of
a new variety can not be established earlier than the fifth year. Many
that promised well at first proved worthless.
To raise from seed, gather the balls after they have matured, hang them
in a dry place till they become quite soft, when separate the seeds and
dry them as others, and plant as early as the temperature of the soil
favors vegetation. Chance varieties from seed of balls left to decay in
the fall, as tomatoes, are recorded. Probably our present best varieties
had such an origin. Raising new varieties requires much care and
patience. Keep each one separate, plant only the best, and then you
must wait four or five years to determine whether, out of a thousand,
you have one good variety.
_Varieties._--These are numerous. Those best adapted to one locality,
are often inferior in another. That excellent potato, the Carter, so
firm in New England and western New York, is ill-shapen and inferior in
many localities in Illinois. The Neshannock or common Mercer produces a
larger yield in Illinois than in the Eastern states, but of a slightly
inferior quality. Most seeds do better transported from a colder to a
warmer climate, but with the potato the reverse is true. The best
potatoes of Ireland are usually inferior in the warmer latitudes of this
country. In ordering potatoes for seed it is better to describe the
quality than to order by the name. We omit any list, of even the best
varieties. They are known by different names, and are not equally good
in all localities. And all varieties are scattered over the whole
country, very soon, by dealers, and through the agency of agricultural
societies and periodicals. Different varieties should be kept separate,
as they look better for market, and no two will cook in precisely the
same time.
_Plant the large potatoes and plant them whole._ From a small eye or a
small potato to the largest they will vegetate equally well. And in a
wet, cool season, the small seed will produce nearly as good a crop as
the large. But the large seed matures earlier, and in a dry season
produces a much larger crop. The moisture in a large potato decaying in
the hill, is of great use to the growing plants, in a dry season. It is
also generally conceded that potatoes growing from cut seed are more
liable to be affected by the rot.
_Quantity of seed per acre._--The practices of farmers vary from five
to twenty bushels. It takes a less number of bushels per acre when the
seed is cut. The quantity is also affected by the size of the seed, the
larger the potatoes the more will it take to seed an acre.
Plentiful, but not excessive, seeding is best. It is a universal fact
that you can never get something for nothing. Hence light seeding will
bring a light yield. We think it best to put one good-sized potato in a
place and make the rows three feet apart each way. We think they yield
better than at any other distances or in any other way. We have often
tried drills, and found them more trouble, with no greater yield. The
soil should be disintegrated to the depth of sixteen inches and the
potatoes planted four inches deep, and cultivated with subsoil plow, and
other suitable tools, in a manner to leave the surface nearly flat.
Hilling up potatoes never does any good. We advise always to harrow the
crop, as soon as they begin to appear through the soil.
_Soil._--Any good rich garden soil is good for this crop, provided it be
well drained. Potatoes like moisture, but are ruined by having water
stand in the soil. New land and newly broken-up old pastures are best.
_Manures._--All the usual fertilizers are good for potatoes, but
especially ashes and plaster. The application above all others, for
potatoes, is potash. Dissolve it in water, making it quite weak, and
saturate your other manures with it, and the effect will always be
marked. The tops contain a great deal of potash, and should always be
plowed in and decay in the soil where they grow, otherwise they will
rapidly exhaust the land. It is supposed that nothing will do more to
restore the former vigor and health of the potato than a liberal
application of potash in the soil in which they grow. The crop will be
much increased in a dry season by manuring in the hill, dropping the
potato first and putting the manure on the top of it.
_Gathering and Preserving._--The usual hand-digging with hoe or
potato-fork are well known, and do well when the crop is not large. But
for those who grow potatoes for market, it is better to employ the plow
in digging. Modern inventions for this purpose can everywhere be found
in the agricultural warehouses. Potatoes are well preserved in a good
cool cellar, in boxes or barrels; and are better for being covered with
moist sand. The usual method of burying them outdoor is effectual and
safe, if they be covered beyond the reach of frost, and have a small
airhole at the apex, filled with straw.
_The Potato Disease._--This is altogether atmospherical. A new piece of
land was cleared for potatoes. In the middle was a close muck, on a
coarse, gravelly subsoil. In the lowest place a ditch was dug, to carry
off the superabundance of water; from that ditch the coarse gravel was
thrown out on one side, and suffered to remain at considerable depth.
Only two or three rods distant, on one side the plat extended over a
knoll of loose sand. Potatoes were planted, from the same seed, at the
same time, and in the same manner, on these three kinds of land, side by
side. They were all tended alike, needing little hoeing or care, the
land being new. The rot prevailed badly that season. On digging the
potatoes, it was found that in the coarse gravel, where the air could
circulate almost as freely as in a pile of stove-wood, all the potatoes
were rotten: on the muck, which was unlike a peat-bog, very fine and
tight, almost impervious to the atmosphere, they were nearly all sound;
on the sand, which was quite open, but tighter than the gravel, part
were decayed and the rest sound. Their condition was graduated entirely
by the condition of the soil. It is an apparent objection to this
theory, that when the rot prevails, the best potatoes are raised on
light, sandy soils. It is said that they are open to the action of air.
To this it is replied, that whether they rot or not, in sandy soils,
depends on the kind of sand. On some sand they rot very badly, on others
hardly at all. Sandy soils differ very materially: some are almost pure
silex; while others are filled with a fine dust, and, although
apparently loose, are much more nearly impervious to the air than
heavier soils; on the former, nearly all will decay, and on the latter,
most will be preserved.
Look at the immense potato crops near Rochester, N. Y., on sandy land.
We have personally examined it, and find it to be filled with dust, that
excludes the air, and saves the potato from rot. Why, then, is a heavy
clay useless for potatoes? Is not clay a very tight soil? Unbroken it
is; but, when plowed, it is always left in larger particles than other
land--it is but seldom pulverized. The spaces between the particles are
all open to the free action of the air; hence, instead of being close,
it is one of the most open of all our soils. This confirms the theory.
The influence of manuring land is still another confirmation. We are
directed not to manure our land for potatoes when the disease prevails.
It is said we can raise no sound potatoes on rich land when the rot is
abroad. This is an error. The richness of the soil does not promote the
disease; but if any kind of manure be applied that, from its bulk and
coarseness, keeps the soil open to the air, the potatoes will rot. But
fertilize to the highest extent, in any way that does not make the soil
too open, and let in the air, and the crop will be greatly increased
with perfect safety. Thus, this theory, like every truth, perfectly fits
in all its bearings.
There is, then, no perfect remedy for the disease but in the power of
Him who can purify the atmosphere. Numerous remedies and preventives
have been recommended, by those who suppose they have tried them with
success. But in other localities and soils, all their remedies have
failed, as will all others that will yet be discovered. A careful
examination of the texture of the soils, upon the principles here
indicated, and a repetition of their experiments, will show the
discoverers that their success depended upon their soils, while others
failed in using the same remedies on other soils. The practical uses of
this theory are obvious. When the disease is abroad, we should select
soil that excludes, as much as possible, the atmosphere, and plant
_deep_; on all land not liable to have water stand on the subsoil. Do
not be deceived into the belief that all sandy land will bear good
potatoes, in the seasons when the disease prevails. The worst rot we
ever had was in 1855, on very sandy land. This year (1857) we have
witnessed the worst rot in open sand and gravel. Add to this, great care
in preserving the health of the tubers. Plant very early, only whole
potatoes, and of mature growth, thoroughly ripe; apply a little salt and
lime, plaster rather plentifully, and potash, or plenty of
wood-ashes--and you will succeed in the worst of seasons.
PRESERVING FRUITS, &c.
The essentials in preserving fruits, berries, and vegetables, during the
whole year, are, a total exclusion from atmospheric action, and, in some
vegetables, a strong action of heat. We have a variety of patent cans,
and several processes are recommended. The patent cans serve a good
purpose, but, for general use, are inferior to those ordinarily made by
the tinman. The patent articles are only good for one year, and are used
with greater difficulty by the unskilful. The ordinary tin cans, made in
the form of a cylinder, with an orifice in the top large enough to admit
whatever you would preserve, will last ten years, with careful usage,
and they are so simple that no mistakes need be made. It is usually
recommended to solder on the cover, which is simply a square piece of
tin large enough to cover the orifice. Soldering may be best for those
cans that are to be transported a long distance, but it is troublesome,
and is entirely unnecessary for domestic use. A little sealing-wax,
which any apothecary can make at a cheap rate, laid on the top of the
can when hot, will melt, and the cover placed upon it will adhere and
cause it to be air-tight. All articles that do not part with their aroma
by being cooked, may be perfectly preserved in such cans, by putting
them in when boiling, seasoned to your taste, and putting on the covers
at once. The cans should be full, and set in a cool place, and the
articles will remain in a perfect state for a year. The finest articles
of fruit, as peaches and strawberries, may be preserved so as to retain
all their peculiar aroma, by putting them into such cans, filled with a
sirup of pure sugar, and placing the cans so filled in a kettle of
water, and raising it to a boiling heat, and then putting on the cover
as above; the heat expels the air, and the cover and wax keep it out.
Stone jugs are used for the same purposes, but are not sufficiently
tight to keep out the air, unless well painted after having become cold.
Wide-mouthed glass bottles are excellent. But, in using glass or stone
ware, the corks must be put in and tied at the commencement, leaving a
small aperture for the escape of steam, and the process of raising the
water to a boiling heat must be gradual, requiring three or four hours,
or the bottles will be broken by sudden expansion. Make the corks
air-tight by covering with sealing-wax on taking from the boiling water.
Some vegetables, as peas, beans, cauliflowers, &c., need considerable
boiling, in order to perfect preservation. Tin cans may stand in the
water and boil an hour or two, if you choose, and then be sealed. The
bottles should be corked tight, have the cork tied in, and then be
immersed and boil for an hour: take them out, and dip the cork and mouth
of the bottles in sealing-wax, and all will be safe.
By one of these processes, exclusion of the atmosphere and thorough
boiling, we may preserve any fruit or vegetable, so as to have an
abundance, nearly as good as the fresh in its season, the whole year,
and that at a trifling expense. All fruits and vegetables may also be
preserved by drying. By being properly dried, the original aroma can be
mostly retained. The essentials in properly drying are artificial heat
and free circulation of the air about the drying articles. Fruit dried
in the sun is not nearly so fine as that dried by artificial heat. An
oven from which bread has just been taken is suitable for this purpose;
but a dry-house is better. A tight room, with a stove in the bottom, and
the fruit in shallow drawers, put in from the outside, serves a good
purpose. Construct the room so as to give a draft, the heated air
passing out at the top, and the process of drying will be greatly
facilitated, and the more rapid the process, without cooking the fruit,
the better will be its quality. This process is applicable to all kinds
of vegetables. Roots, as beets, carrots, parsnips, or potatoes, should
be sliced before drying. The object in drying the latter articles would
be to afford the luxury of good vegetables for armies and ships' crews,
in distant regions, and in climates where they are not grown. Milk can
be condensed and preserved for a long time, and, being greatly reduced
in quantity, it is easily transported. It is not generally known in the
country that Mr. Gail Borden, of New York, has invented a method of
condensing milk, fresh from the cow, so that it will perfectly retain
all its excellences, including the cream, and by being sealed up in tin
cans, as above, may be kept for many months. The milk and the process of
condensation have been scientifically examined by the New York Academy
of Medicine, and pronounced perfect, and of great value to the world. We
have used the condensed milk, which was more than a month old; it had
been kept in a tin can without sealing and without ice, but in a cool
place. It was sweet and good, differing in no respect from fresh milk
from the cow, except that the heat employed in condensing it gave it the
taste of boiled milk. If kept in a warm place, and exposed to the
atmosphere, it may sour nearly as soon as other milk: but it may be
sealed up and kept cool so as to be good for a long time. The
condensation is accomplished by simple evaporation of the watery part,
in pans in vacuo. No substance whatever is put into the milk. Four
gallons of fresh milk are condensed into one. When wanted for use, the
quantity desired is put into twice the quantity of water, which makes
good cream for coffee; or one part to four of water makes good new milk;
and one part to five or six makes a better milk than that usually sold
in cities. Steamers now lay in a supply for a voyage to Liverpool and
return, and on arrival in New York, the milk is as good as when taken on
board. The advantages will be numerous. Such milk will be among regular
supplies for armies and navies, and for all shipping to distant
countries. All cities and villages may have pure, cheap milk, as the
condensation will render transportation so cheap that milk can be sent
from any part of the country where it is most plenty and cheapest. The
process is patented, but will be granted to others at reasonable rates,
by Borden & Co.; and eventually it will become general, when farmers can
condense and lay by, in the season when it is abundant, milk for use in
the winter, when cows are dry. This will make milk abundant at all
seasons of the year, and plenty wherever we choose to carry it. It will
also save the lives of thousands of children, in cities, that are fed on
unwholesome milk or poisonous mixtures. There is no temptation to
adulterate such milk, for the process of condensation is cheaper than
any mixture that could be passed.
Preserving hams is effectually done by either of the following methods.
After well curing and smoking, sew them up in a bag of cotton cloth,
fitting closely, and dip them into a tub of lime-whitewash, nearly as
thick as cream, and hang up in a cool room. This is a good method,
though they will sometimes mould. The other process, and the one we most
recommend, is to put well cured and smoked hams in a cask, or box, with
very fine charcoal; put in a layer of charcoal, and then one of hams;
cover with another layer of coal and then of hams, and so on, until the
cask is full, or all your hams are deposited. No mould will appear, and
no insect will touch them. This method is perfect.
Another process, involving the same principles as the preceding, is to
wrap the hams in muslin, and bury them in salt. The muslin keeps the
salt from striking in, and the salt prevents mould and insects.
PUMPKIN.
There are some five or six varieties in cultivation. Loudon says six,
and Russell's catalogue has five. The number is increasing, and names
becoming uncertain. Certain varieties are called pumpkins by some, and
squashes by others. The large yellow Connecticut, or Yankee pumpkin, is
best for all uses. The large cheese pumpkin is good at the South and
West. The mammoth that has weighed as high as two hundred and thirty
pounds, is a squash, more ornamental than useful. The seven years'
pumpkin is a great keeper. It has doubtless been kept through several
years without decay. Pumpkins will grow on any good rich soil, but best
on new land, and in a wet season. Do best alone, but will grow well
among corn and better with potatoes. A good crop of pumpkins can seldom
be raised, two years in succession, on the same land. Care in saving
seed is very important. The spot on the end that was originally covered
by the blossom, varies much in dimensions, on pumpkins of the same size.
Seeds from those having small blossom-marks, bear very few, and from
those having large ones, produce abundantly.
They are good fall and winter feed for most animals. They will cause
hogs to grow rapidly, if boiled with roots, and mixed with a little
grain. Fed raw to milch cows and fattening cattle, they are valuable.
Learn a horse to eat them raw, and if his work be not too hard, he will
fatten on them. They may be preserved in a dry cellar, in a warm room as
sweet potatoes, or in a mow of hay or straw, that will not freeze
through. But for family use they are better stewed green, and dried.
QUINCE.
This fruit, with its uses, for drying, cooking, marmalades, flavors to
tarts and pies made of other fruits, and for preserving as a sweetmeat,
is well known and highly esteemed.
The quince is rather a shrub than a tree. It should be set ten feet
apart each way, in deep, rich soil. It needs little pruning, except
removing dead or cross branches, and cutting off and burning at once,
twigs affected with the insect-blight, as mentioned under pears. The
soil should be manured every year, by working-in a top-dressing of fine
manure, including a little salt.
_Propagation_--is by seeds, buds, or cuttings. Budding does very well.
Seedlings are not always true to the varieties. Cuttings, put out early
and a little in the shade, nearly all take. This is the best and easiest
method of propagation.
There are several varieties; the _apple-shaped_, _pear-shaped_, and the
_Portugal_, are the principal.
The apple-shaped, or orange quince (and perhaps the large-fruited may be
the same) is, on the whole, the best of all. Early, a great bearer, and
excellent for all uses. The pear-shaped is smaller, harder, and later.
It may be kept longer in a green state, and therefore be carried much
farther. The only reason for cultivating it would be its lateness and
its keeping qualities. The Portugal quince is the finest fruit of all,
but is such a shy bearer as to be unprofitable. The _Rea quince_ is a
seedling raised by Mr. Joseph Rea, of Greene county, New York, and is
pronounced by Downing "an acquisition." The fruit is very handsome, and
one third larger than the common apple or orange quince. The tree is
thrifty, hardy, and productive. It is a valuable modification of the
apple-shaped or orange quince, superior to the original. Such varieties
may be multiplied and improved, by new seedlings and high cultivation.
RABBITS.
To prevent rabbits and mice from girdling fruit-trees in winter, is very
important to fruit-growers. The meadow-mouse is very destructive to
young trees, under cover of snow. Rabbits will girdle trees after the
green foliage on which they delight to feed is gone. Take four quarts of
fresh-slaked lime, the same quantity of fresh cows' dung, two quarts of
salt, and a handful of flour of sulphur; mix all together, with just
enough water to bring it to the consistency of thick paint. At the
commencement of cold weather, paint the trunks of the trees two feet
high with this mixture, and not a tree will suffer from rabbits or
mice. Treading own the snow does good, but it is very troublesome, and
not a perfect remedy. Experience has never known the foregoing wash to
fail.
RADISH.
This is a well-known root, eaten only raw, and when young and tender. A
rich sandy soil is best. Like most turnips, the roots are more tender
and perfect when grown in rather cool weather; hence, those grown in
early spring are better than a summer growth. They do well in an early
hotbed.
The _Scarlet_ and _White Turnip-rooted_ are fine for early use. They are
always small, but fair, and very early.
The _Scarlet Short-top_ comes next, and is a very fine variety. These
may be had through the whole season, by sowing at proper intervals;
hence, others are unnecessary. Other good varieties are the _Summer_, or
_Long White Naples_; _Long Salmon_, a large, gray radish, not generally
described in the books (a splendid variety in southern Ohio); and the
_Black Spanish_ for fall and winter use. This grows large like a turnip,
and is preserved in the same way. The best method of guarding against
worms is to take equal quantities of fresh horse-manure and
buckwheat-bran, and mix and spade them into the bed. Active fermentation
follows, and toadstools will grow up within forty-eight hours, when you
should spade up the bed again and sow the seed; they will grow very
quickly, be very tender, and entirely free from worms.
Radish-seed is sown with slow-vegetating seeds, as carrots, beets,
parsnips, &c. The radishes mark the rows, so that they may be cleared of
weeds, and the ground stirred before the plants would otherwise be
discernible, and also shade the germinating seeds and the young plants
from destruction from a hot sun. The radishes may be pulled out when the
main crop needs the ground and sun. For this purpose the scarlet
short-top variety is used, because the long root loosens the soil in
pulling; and as the crown stands so much above the surface, they may be
crushed down with a small roller, and thus destroyed without the labor
of pulling. Sowing radish-seed among root-crops, and cultivating early
with a root-cleaner, an acre of roots can be raised with about the same
labor as an acre of corn.
RASPBERRY.
The common black raspberry we have noticed elsewhere as one of the most
profitable in cultivation. The other varieties, worthy of general
cultivation, are the Franconia, the Fastollf, the red, and the white or
yellow Antwerp. Any good garden-soil is suitable for raspberries. It
should be worked deep, and have decayed wood and leaves mixed with
barnyard manure and wood-ashes. In all but very cold latitudes,
raspberries should be planted where they may be a little shaded. None of
the finer old varieties produce a good crop of fruit without
winter-protection. The canes may live without it, but will bear but
little fruit. The best method of protection is to bend down the canes at
the beginning of winter, before the ground freezes, and cover them
lightly, with the soil around them. They should first have some
well-rotted manure put around the canes. Stools should be four feet
apart, and have about five or six canes in a stool. Cut away the rest.
The best of all manures for raspberries is said to be spent tan-bark.
Put it around in the fall to the depth of two inches; work it into the
soil in the spring, and put around fresh tan-bark, to the same depth.
The varieties for general cultivation are few. The common black is one
of the best. The common wild American red, native in all the Middle and
Eastern states, is greatly improved by cultivation. As it is perfectly
hardy, and a great and early bearer, it should have a place in every
collection. The Franconia is a fine fruit, and, among those generally
cultivated, occupies the first place. The yellow Antwerp is
fine-flavored and good-sized, but too soft for a general market-berry.
The same is true of the Fastollf. The red Antwerp is good, but quite
inferior to the new red Antwerp, or Hudson River Antwerp. The Ohio
Evergreen is a new variety, hardy, prolific, and a long bearer, fine
fruit in considerable quantities having been picked on the 1st of
November. On this account, it should be in every garden. There are two
kinds of red raspberries brought to notice by Mr. Lewis P. Allen, of
Black Rock, N. Y., that deserve extensive cultivation, if they warrant
his recommendation. Mr. Allen says he has cultivated them for a number
of years, and, with no winter protection, they have borne a large crop
of excellent fruit every year, pronounced by dealers in Buffalo market
superior to any other variety. Should these varieties prove equally good
elsewhere, they deserve a place in every garden in the land.
RHUBARB.
There are several varieties of rhubarb now in cultivation.
_The Victoria, Mammoth, and Scotch Hybrid_, all of which (if they be
really distinct) are fine and large, under proper culture. There is much
of the old inferior kind, which generally affords only small short
leaves, and which is of no value, compared with the large varieties. The
method of growing is very simple, and yet the value of the plant depends
mainly on right cultivation.
Propagation is by seeds, or by dividing the roots. By seed is
preferable. The idea that the largest kinds will not produce seed is
incorrect. We raised four or five quarts of seed from a single plant of
the largest variety, in one season. Young plants are suitable for
transplanting after the first year's growth. They should be set three
feet apart each way. The soil should be thoroughly enriched and trenched
two feet deep, with plenty of well-rotted manure in the bottom, and
mixed in all the soil. Plant the crowns two or three inches below the
surface to allow stirring the ground in the spring, without injury.
After this they will only want enriching with well-rotted manure in
rather liberal quantities, worked in with a fork in the fall or spring.
Covering up with manure in the fall is good. Those who raise the largest
leaves, lay bare the crowns in spring, and with a sharp knife, remove
all the smaller crown-buds. The leaves will be greatly reduced in
number, but increased in size. We have often seen a single stem of a
leaf that weighed a full pound.
The roots live many years. We know a single root, in St. Lawrence
county, N. Y., from which we ate pies and tarts twenty-two years ago,
and which is now so vigorous as to yield more than a supply for two
families through the season. The only care it has ever had, has been
liberal supplies of well-rotted manure. The seed stocks have generally
been broken off. They should always be, unless you wish to raise seed,
then save one or two of the strongest. New crowns come out on the sides,
from year to year, until each plant will cover a considerable space. The
one mentioned, as being twenty-two years old, has never been moved
during the whole time. It is not the giant kind, but the leaves are
large and long. Rhubarb has a better flavor and requires much less
sugar, by blanching. This is best done by placing an old barrel, without
a bottom, over the hill as it begins to grow. The leaves will grow long,
with white tender stems. Use it when the leaves are half or full grown,
as you please.
RICE.
This, in its value to the world as an article of food, is next to Indian
corn. It is the main article of diet for one third of the human race. It
is produced only in certain parts of the world, and its cultivation is
so simple and easy, and so much a department of agriculture by itself,
that we omit directions for growing it. The ravages of the rice-weevil,
so destructive to rice lying in bulk, are prevented by the application
of common salt, at the rate of half a pound to the bushel.
ROCKS.
We frequently find, on some of our best land, large boulders, very hard,
and too large to be removed, with any team we can command, and which
would be in the way, in any place to which we might remove them. The
best way to get rid of them, when it can be afforded, is to burn or
blast them into pieces small enough to be easily handled. When this can
not be afforded, the best method is to make an excavation by the side of
them, deep enough to let them sink below the reach of the plow, and
allow them to fall in, being careful not to get caught by them.
ROLLER.
This is quite as indispensable to good farming and gardening as any
other tool. It serves a great variety of useful purposes. The first is
to pulverize soils. No man can get a full crop on a soil not made fine
on the surface, however rich that soil may be. It is often the case that
land needs rolling two or three times before the last harrowing and
sowing the seed. Another purpose is, on all light soils, to place the
soil close around the seeds after they have been covered. When this is
not done, seeds will vegetate very unevenly, and, in dry weather, some
of them not at all. Another advantage of rolling a field-crop is the
greater facility and economy with which it can be harvested. It makes a
level, smooth surface, sinking small stones out of the way of the scythe
or reaper. Rolling makes grass-seed catch, when sown with a spring-crop.
All beds of small seeds--as onions, beets, carrots, parsnips,
&c.--should be rolled after planting. It will so smooth the surface,
that hoeing and cultivating can be done without injury to the plants.
The rows are also much more easily seen while the plants are young. Any
crop will grow better and larger by not being too much exposed to the
action of the atmosphere on its roots. When the soil is coarse, part of
the seeds and roots are greatly exposed to the action of the atmosphere,
and this exposure is very irregular. The roller so crushes the lumps and
fills up the openings in the soil as to cause the atmosphere to act
regularly on the whole crop. Few farmers stop to think that the pressure
of the atmosphere on their soils is fifteen pounds' weight on every
square inch, and that, hence, the air must penetrate to a considerable
depth into the soil; and where the soil is coarse, the air enters too
freely, and acts too powerfully for the good of the plants. Rollers are
made of wood, iron, or freestone. For most purposes, wood is best. A log
made true and even, or, better, narrow plank nailed on cylindrical ends,
are the usual forms. From eighteen inches to three feet in diameter is
the better size. Iron or stone rollers, in sections, are best for
pulverizing soil disposed to cake from being annually overflowed with
water, or from other causes.
ROOT CROPS.
It is important that American farmers learn to attach much greater
importance to the culture of roots. The potato is the best of all roots
for feeding; but, as the yield has become so light in most localities,
and the demand for it for human food has so greatly increased, it will
no longer be grown extensively as food for animals. Farmers must,
therefore, turn their attention to beets, carrots, and parsnips.
Reasonable tillage will produce one thousand bushels to the acre of
beets and carrots, and two hundred more of parsnips. These roots, raw or
cooked, are valuable for all domestic animals. A horse will do better on
part oats and part carrots, or beets, than upon clear oats. For milch
cows, young stock, and fattening cattle, and for sheep and fowls, they
are highly valuable. With the facilities now enjoyed, they may be raised
at a cheap rate. Plant scarlet short-top radish-seed in the rows, to
shade the vegetating seed and young plants, and to mark the rows, to
facilitate clearing and stirring the ground, while the plants are very
young, and using the most approved root-cleaners, and the same amount of
food can not be grown at the same price in any other crops.
SAFFRON.
This is a well-known medicinal herb, as easily grown as a bean or
sunflower. It is principally used in eruptive diseases, to induce
moisture of the skin and keep the eruption out. Sow in any good soil, in
rows eighteen inches apart, and keep clean of weeds. When in full bloom,
the flowers are gathered and dried.
SAGE.
This is a hardy garden-herb, easily grown. Its value for medicinal and
culinary purposes is well known. It is propagated by seeds, or by
dividing the roots. With suitable protection in winter, roots will live
for a number of years, bearing seed after the first.
_Varieties_ are, the _red_, the _broad-leaved_, the _green_, and the
_small-leaved green_. The red is most used for culinary purposes, and
the broad-leaved is most medicinal. All the varieties may be used for
the same purposes. Any garden-soil, not decidedly wet, is suitable for
sage. Raise new plants once in three or four years. Plants may be
renovated, by certain culture and care, but it is better to grow new
ones. Cut the leaves two or three times in the season, and dry quickly,
and put away in paper bags; or, better, pulverize and cork up in glass
bottles. This is the best method of preserving all herbs for domestic
use.
SALSIFY, OR VEGETABLE OYSTER.
This is a hardy biennial vegetable, resembling a small parsnip, and as
easily grown. When properly cooked, its flavor resembles the oyster,
whence its name. Sow and cultivate as parsnips or carrots. It is
suitable for use from November to May. It is better for being allowed to
remain in the ground until wanted for use, though it may be well kept,
in moist sand in the cellar. Care is necessary in saving seed as it
shells and blows away like thistle seed, as soon as ripe. It must be
sown quite thick, on account of its proneness not to vegetate. It should
be more extensively cultivated.
SCRAPING LAND.
This is a process needed only on land that has not been under
cultivation long enough to become level. All new land has many knolls of
greater or less size. As soon as the roots are out sufficiently to allow
it, the knolls should be plowed and leveled with a common scraper. Most
farmers neglect it as injurious to the soil, and too expensive. But when
we consider that rough land never gets well plowed, and that the gradual
wearing away of the knolls will continue their unproductiveness for a
number of years, it will be seen that the cheapest way is to plow and
scrape the land level at once, and thoroughly manure the places from
which the soil has been scraped.
SEEDS.
The best of everything should be saved for seed. Peas, beans, corn,
tomatoes, &c., should not be gathered promiscuously, finally preserving
the last that matures, for seed. Leave some of the finest and earliest
stocks, and from them save seed, not from the first or the last that
matures, but from the earliest that grows large and fair. Save
tomato-seed from those that grow largest, but near the root. Gather all
seeds as soon as mature, as remaining exposed to the weather is
unfavorable to vegetation. Dry in a warm place in the shade, but not too
near a stove or fire. Keep in paper bags, hung in a dry airy place,
beyond the reach of mice.
Trying the quality of seeds is important, as it may save loss and
disappointment, from sowing seeds that will not vegetate. A little
cotton wool or moss in a tumbler containing a little water, and placed
in a warm room, will afford a good means of testing seeds. Seeds placed
on that wool, will vegetate sooner than they would do in the soil. But a
more speedy, and generally sure method, is by putting a few seeds on the
top of a hot stove. If they are good they will crack like corn in
parching; otherwise they will burn without noise, and with very little
motion. The improvement or declension of fruits, grains, and vegetables,
depend very materially upon the manner of gathering and preserving
seeds. Gather promiscuously and late, and keep without care, and rapid
declension will be the result. Gather the earliest and best, and plant
only the very best of that saved, and constant improvement will be
secured.
SHEEP.
These are the most profitable of all domestic animals. The original cost
is trifling, and the expense of raising and keeping is so light, and the
sale of meat, tallow, hide, and wool, is so ready, that sheep-growing is
always profitable. So important has this always been considered, that in
all ages of the world, there have been shepherds, whose sole business it
has been to tend their flocks. Were the flesh of sheep and lambs more
extensively substituted for that of swine, in this country, it would be
equally healthy and economical. American farmers do not attach to
sheep-growing half the importance it deserves. We recommend a thorough
study of the subject, in the use of the facilities afforded by the
writings of practical men. We can only give the outlines of the subject
in a work like this. A theory has been scientifically established by
Peter A. Brown LL. D. of Philadelphia, in which it is shown that all
sheep are divided into two species, Hair-bearing and Wool-bearing. These
species crossed, produce sheep that bear both wool and hair, as the two
never change. The hair makes blankets that will not shrink. The wool is
good for making fulled cloth. Blankets made from the fleeces of sheep
that are the product of the cross of these two species, will shrink in
some places and not in others, just as the hair or wool prevails. It is
also true that the hair-bearing sheep delight in low, moist situations
and sea-breezes, while the wool-bearing sheep does best on high, airy,
and dry land. These fleeces all pass as wool, but the microscope shows a
marked and permanent difference, and one can easily learn to distinguish
it at once, by the touch and with the naked eye. This is thrown out here
to induce a thorough examination of the whole subject. There are three
staples of wool, short, three inches long, middling, five inches, and
long, eight inches. Varieties of sheep are numerous. We shall only
mention a few. The question of the best breeds has been warmly
controverted. We have no disposition to try to settle it. The question
of the best variety must depend upon locality and design. If the wool is
the object, then the Vermont Merino for the North, and the pure Saxony
for the South, are evidently the best. If located near large cities,
where the flesh is the main object, then the large-bodied, long-wooled
breeds are much preferable. Among those much esteemed we note the
following:--
The _Cotswold_ mature young, and the flesh will vary in weight from
fifteen to thirty pounds per quarter. The _New Leicester_ is less hardy
than the Cotswold, but heavier, weighing from twenty-four to thirty-six
pounds per quarter. The _Teeswater sheep_, improved by a cross with the
Leicester, is considered valuable. The _Bampton_ is one of the very best
grown in England. Fat ewes average twenty pounds per quarter, and
wethers from thirty to thirty-five pounds. The _Sussex_, _Hampshire,
and Shropshire_ varieties of the Down sheep, are all highly esteemed.
The _Leicester_ are very valuable. An ordinary fleece weighs from three
to five pounds. Mr. Joseph Beers of New Jersey had one that sheared
thirteen pounds at one time, and the live weight of the sheep was 378
pounds.
There are _French_, _Silesian_, and _Spanish Merinoes_, much esteemed in
Vermont and elsewhere. The average weight of a flock of ewes of French
merinoes after shearing was 103 pounds. Their fleeces averaged twelve
pounds and eight ounces. The fleece of one buck of the same flock
weighed twenty pounds and twelve ounces.
[Illustration: The French Merino Ram.]
The _Silesian Merinoes_ are smaller, but produce beautiful fleeces. In a
flock of nineteen ewes, the average weight of fleece was seven pounds
and ten ounces, and that of the buck weighed ten and a half pounds.
A large flock of _Spanish Merinoes_ yielded an average of a little over
five pounds of well-washed wool. All these varieties are valuable for
wool. The wool of the pure Saxony sheep, however, is best.
The _Tartar sheep_, called also Shanghae and Broadtail, is a
recently-imported breed, of great promise for mutton. Their fleece is a
fine silky hair, making fine blankets that will not shrink, but not good
for fulled cloths. The ewes are remarkably prolific, producing sometimes
five lambs at a time, and often twice a year. One ewe bore seven lambs
in one year, all living and being healthy. The flesh is of the highest
quality. This may stand at the head of all our sheep as a market animal.
The cross of this with our common sheep has proved fine. They need to be
further tested in this country. A new kind of sheep has also been
imported from Africa, within a few years; a variety unknown to
naturalists, but having some points in common with the Tartar sheep.
_Diseases of Sheep._--There are several that have been very troublesome,
but which experience has enabled us to cure. _Scours_ is often very
injurious. A little common soot from the chimney, or pulverized
charcoal, is a sure remedy. Mix it with water, not so thick as to make
it difficult to swallow, and give a teaspoonful every two hours, and
relief will soon be experienced.
_Water in the head_ is a disease caused by long exposure to wet and
cold. This is prevented by a small blanket on the back of the sheep. The
wool on the backs of sheep will be seen to be often parted, exposing the
skin. Water falling on the back will penetrate the wool and run down,
and wet and chill the whole body. A small cotton blanket, fifteen inches
wide, and long enough to reach from the neck to the tail, fastened to
its place by tying to the wool, and painted on the outside, will cause
all the water to run off, saving the health of the sheep, and causing
him to require less food. In the cold, wet season, every sheep should
have such a blanket; they would cost three or four cents each, and be
worth many times their cost in the saving of feed for the animals. The
more comfortable an animal is, the less food will he require. Applying
tar above the noses of sheep at shearing, that they may be compelled to
smell it and eat a little for a long time, is considered favorable to
their general health, and a preventive of rot.
The foot-rot, in cattle, sheep, and hogs, is a prevalent disease. Boys
walking the path, barefoot, where such diseased animals frequently pass,
may contract the disease. This is always cured by washing in blue
vitriol. Most cases are cured by one application, and the most confirmed
by two or three. Make a narrow passage, where only one animal can pass
at once. Put in a trough twelve feet long, twelve inches wide, and as
many deep. Put in that fifty pounds of blue vitriol and fill with water,
throwing a little straw over the top. Cause the diseased animals to pass
through that, and they will be cured. This is thought to be an
invariable remedy. If sheep do not appear healthy on lowland pasture,
give them small quantities of fine charcoal and salt, and they will be
as healthy as on the hills. A little salt for sheep is useful during the
whole year. The health of sheep is injured more in fall than at any
other season; they are very apt to be neglected at the beginning of
winter. They grow poor rapidly when their green feed first fails; a
little hay and grain and a few roots then will keep them up, prevent
disease, and make it less expensive to keep them through the winter.
Feed in racks or troughs, when they can not get their food under foot,
and as far as practicable, under shelter, and in a warm place. It is
much cheaper, and keeps the sheep much more healthy. They should have
fresh water, where they can drink, two or three times a day. Salt, mixed
with wood-ashes and pulverized charcoal, should also be constantly
within their reach. A few beets, carrots, or parsnips, are always
valuable. Some green feed is very essential for ewes, for some time
before the yeaning season. Corn is good for fattening sheep; but, for
increasing the wool, it is not half as valuable as beans. Good
bean-straw is better than hay. Corn-fodder is excellent. The product of
one and a half acres of land, sowed with corn, will winter, in fine
condition, one hundred sheep--the corn sowed the 20th of June, and cut
up after it has begun to lose its weight slightly, and shocked up
closely, bound round the top with straw, and then allowed to stand till
wanted for feeding. To have healthy sheep, do not use a ram under two,
or over six or seven years old, and raise no lambs from unhealthy ewes
or rams. The expense of keeping sheep, as all other animals, is much
less when they are kept warm. Much feed is wasted in keeping up animal
heat, which would be saved by warm quarters.
Sheep-manure is better than any other, except that of fowls. No other
parts with its qualities by exposure so slowly. Some farmers save all
labor of carting and spreading sheep-manure, by having movable wire
fences, and putting their sheep on one acre for a few days, and then
removing to another. One hundred sheep may thus be made to manure an
acre of land in ten days, better than any ordinary dressing of other
manure. We should prefer carefully collecting and saving it under cover,
mixed with muck or loam, and apply where and when we choose. Keeping a
suitable number of sheep on a farm is very important in keeping up the
farm. A farm devoted to grain or vegetables, without a suitable number
of animals, usually runs down.
The time when lambs should be allowed to come is important. We much
prefer letting them come when they please, if we have warm quarters, and
can take a little extra care of them. This will give a larger growth,
and furnish large lambs for market, at a season of the year when they
are most desired, and bring the greatest price. For those who will not
take the necessary pains, let them come when the weather has become warm
and grass plenty. Sometimes a ewe loses her lamb, and you wish her to
raise one of another ewe's, that has two. To make a ewe own another's
lamb, take off the skin of her dead lamb, and bind it on to the other
lamb, and she will smell it and own the lamb; after which the skin may
be removed.
Sheep-culture is a subject to which farmers should give increased
attention, until the average weight of sheep in the United States shall
become one third greater than at present, and until there shall be ten
sheep to one of all we have at present.
SHEPHERDIA OR BUFFALO BERRY.
[Illustration]
This is an ornamental shrub, growing from six to fifteen feet high,
bearing a roundish red fruit, much esteemed for preserves. Trees are of
two kinds, male and female, one bearing staminate and the other
pistillate flowers. Hence no fruit can be grown without setting out the
trees in pairs from six to fifteen feet apart. If you set out only two,
and they chance to be of the same kind, you will get no fruit.
SOILS.
The nature and management of soils must be measurably understood by any
one who would be a thorough cultivator. The productive power of a soil
depends much upon the character of the subsoil. A gravelly subsoil is,
on the whole, the best. A thin soil lying on a cold clay subsoil--the
hardpan of the East, and the crowfish clay of the West--however rich it
may be, will be unproductive; while the same soil, on a gravelly
subsoil, would produce abundantly. The best soils, for all purposes, are
the brown or hazel-colored. Plowed in wet weather, they do not make
mortar, and in dry weather they will not break in clods. Dark-mixed and
russet moulds are considered the next best. The worst are the dark-gray
or ash-colored. The deep-black alluvial soils of the Western prairies
are an exception to all other soils, possessing, under proper treatment,
great powers of production. Soils do not, to any considerable extent,
afford food for plants. A willow-tree has been known to gain one hundred
and fifty pounds' weight, without exhausting more than two or three
ounces of the soil, and even that might have been wasted in drying and
weighing.
In our article on manures, we have shown that it is the texture of
soils, and their power to control moisture and heat, that renders them
productive: hence, no soil can be poor that is stirred deep and kept in
a friable condition, without being too open and porous; and no soil can
be good that is hard and not retentive of moisture, without having water
stand upon it. Hence, the great secret of successful farming, is, such a
mixture of the soils, and of fertilizers with the soil, as shall keep it
friable and moist, and such thorough drainage as will prevent water from
standing so as to become stagnant, and to unduly chill the roots of
growing plants. Nature has provided, near at hand, all that is essential
to productiveness; all that is necessary is to properly mix them. We do
not believe that there is an acre of land now under cultivation in the
United States, in a latitude where corn will grow, on which we can not
raise a hundred bushels of shelled Indian corn, without applying
anything but what may be raised out of that soil, and procured in the
shape of manure by animals in consuming that product. The poorest farm
in America may be brought up to a state of great fertility, without
applying one dollar's worth of any foreign substance. Plow _deep_, turn
under all the green substances possible, and feed out the products on
the farm and apply the manure, and mix opposite soils, that may be found
in different localities. Three years will secure great productiveness,
and the same course will increase its value, from year to year, without
cost. Three things only are essential to convert poor land into the
best; deep and thorough stirring and pulverization, suitable draining,
and thorough mixture of soils of different qualities, and the
incorporation of such animal and vegetable substances as can be produced
on the land itself. We would not declare against foreign manures, but
insist that the necessary ingredients are found, or may be manufactured
near at hand. The philosophy of deep plowing and thorough pulverization
is obvious. A fine soil will retain and appropriate moisture in an
eminent degree, on the principle of capillary attraction, or as a sponge
or a piece of loaf sugar will take up water. There is also room for
excess of water to sink away from the surface, and return again when
needed. It also affords room for the roots of plants. Such a soil also
receives moisture from the atmosphere. The atmosphere also contains much
water, and more in the heat of summer than at any other time. The air
also, with a constant pressure of fifteen pounds to the square inch,
enters to a considerable depth into the soil, and the deeper it is
stirred, and the more thoroughly it is pulverized, the more it will
enter. In coming in contact with the cool moisture below, it is
condensed and waters the soil, on the principle that a pitcher of cold
water in a warm room has large drops of water on the outside; that water
is a mere condensation of moisture in the atmosphere. The cool subsoil
acts in the same way upon the atmosphere at night. A deeply
disintegrated soil, also, seldom washes by rain. Shallow-plowed and
coarse land sends off the water after a slight rain, while deep-plowed
and thoroughly pulverized land retains it. The philosophy of manures
involves the same principles. All the fertilizers act upon soils in such
a manner as to render them fine, and open an immense surface to the
action of the atmosphere, and form large reservoirs for moisture through
their innumerable fine pores. Draining is to carry off an excess of
water that would stand on an unfavorable subsoil. That water, on
undrained land, causes two evils; it stagnates and renders plants
unhealthy, and it is too cool, rendering land what we call cold. Thus,
the deeper you plow land, and the finer you make it, the warmer it will
be, and the more perfectly it will control moisture. Mixing soils by
subsoiling, trenching, and deep plowing, and by carting on foreign
substances, is wholly on this principle. Sand that drifts about with the
wind is too light to retain moisture, and needs clay carted on. By this
means the poorest white sand has often been converted into the most
productive soil. Definite rules for this mixture of soils can not be
safely given. The rules must differ in different localities and
circumstances; it must, therefore, be determined by experiment.
Analyzing soils is sometimes of use, but usually has too much importance
attached. We do not advise farmers to study it. Let them try
applications and mixtures, at first on a small scale: they will soon
learn what is best on their farms, and may then proceed without loss.
Some lands are of such a character that the carting on, and suitably
mixing, the substances in which they are deficient, may cost as much as
it did to clear the land of its original forest; but it will pay well
for a long series of years. So well are we persuaded of the utility and
correctness of these brief hints, that, in selecting a farm, we should
regard the location more than the quality of the soil. The latter we
could mend easily; while we should find it difficult to move our farm to
a more favorable location. Poor land near a city or large town, or on
some great thoroughfare, we should much prefer to good land far removed
from market, or in an unpleasant location.
SPINAGE, OR SPINACH.
Both these names are correct; the former is the general one among
Americans. This plant is used in soups, but more generally boiled alone
and served as greens. In the spring of the year, this is one of the most
wholesome vegetables. By sowing at different times, we may have it at
any season of the year, but it is more tender and succulent in the
spring. The male and female flowers are produced on separate plants. The
male blossoms are in long, terminal spikes, and the female in clusters,
close at the stalk, on each joint.
_Varieties_--The two best are the _broad_, or _summer_, and the
_prickly_, or _fall_. There are three others--the _English Patience
Dock_, the _Holland_, or _Lamb's Quarter_, and the _New Zealand_. The
first two are sufficient. Sow in August and September for winter and
spring use, and in spring for summer. Sow in rich soil, in drills
eighteen inches apart. Thin to three inches in the row, and when large
enough for use, remove every other one, leaving them six inches apart.
To raise seed, have male plants at convenient distances, say one in two
or three feet. When they have done blossoming, remove the male plants,
giving all the room to the others, for perfecting the seed. Success
depends upon very rich soil and plenty of moisture.
SQUASH.
There are several varieties of both summer and winter squashes. All the
summer varieties have a hard shell, when matured. They are usually eaten
entire, outside, seeds and all, while young and tender, from one quarter
to almost full grown. They are also used as a fall and winter squash,
rejecting the shell and that portion of the inside which contains the
seeds. The _Summer Crookneck_, and _Summer Scolloped_, both _white_ and
_yellow_, are the principal summer squashes. The finest is the _White
Scolloped_. The best winter varieties are the _Acorn_, _Valparaiso_,
_Winter Crookneck_, and _Vegetable Marrow_ or _Sweet Potato squash_. The
latter is the best known.
Cultivate as melons, but leave only two plants in a hill. They do best
on new land. Varieties should be grown far apart, and far removed from
pumpkins, as they mix very easily, and at a great distance. Bugs eat
them worse than any other garden vegetable. The only sure remedy is the
box covered with gauze or glass. As they are great runners, they do
better with their ends clipped off. Used as a vegetable for the table,
and in the same manner as pumpkins, for pies.
STRAWBERRY.
None of our small fruits are more esteemed, or more easily raised, and
yet none more frequently fails. Failures always result from
carelessness, or the want of a little knowledge of the best methods of
cultivation. We omit much that might be said of the history and uses of
the strawberry, and confine ourselves to a few brief directions, which,
if strictly followed, will render every cultivator uniformly successful.
No one need ever fail of growing a good crop of strawberries. In 1857,
we saw plats of strawberries in Illinois, in the cultivation of which
much money had been expended, and which were remarkably promising when
in blossom, but which did not yield the cultivators five dollars' worth
of fruit. In the language of the proprietors, "they blasted."
Strawberries never blast; but, for the want of fertilizers at suitable
distances, they may not fill. There are but three causes of
failure--want of fertilizers, excessive drought, and allowing the vines
to become too thick. Of most of our best varieties, the blossoms are of
two kinds--pistillate and staminate, or male and female--and they are
essential to each other. The pistillate plants bear the fruit, and the
staminates are the fertilizers, without which the pistillates will be
fruitless. There are three kinds of blossom--pistillate, staminate, and
perfect, as seen in the cut.
[Illustration: 1. Perfect blossom. 2. Staminate blossom. 3. Pistillate
blossom.]
The first (1) is perfect; that is, has both the stamens and pistils well
developed: this will produce a fair crop of fruit, without the presence
of any other variety. The second (2) has the stamens large, while the
pistils (the apparently small green strawberry in the centre) are not
sufficiently developed to produce fruit: such plants seldom bear more
than a few imperfectly-formed berries. The third (3) has pistils in
abundance, but is destitute of stamens, and hence, will not bear alone.
The two latter are to be placed near each other, to render them
productive; they may be readily distinguished when in blossom. It is
always safe to cultivate the hermaphrodite plants; that is, those
producing perfect blossoms; but the pistillates and staminates, in due
proportions, produce the largest crops, and finer fruit.
_Soil._--Much has been said against high fertilization with animal
manures, and in favor of vegetable mould only. We feel entirely
satisfied that the largest crops of strawberries are grown on land
highly manured with common barnyard manure. To plant and manure a
strawberry-bed, begin on one side, and dig a trench eighteen inches deep
(from two to three feet is much better) and as wide; put six inches of
common manure in the bottom; dig another trench as deep, and place the
soil upon the manure in the first trench; fill the last with manure as
the first, and so on over the whole plat. Manure the surface lightly
with very fine manure and wood-ashes.
_Transplanting_ is usually better in the month of August. If done at
that season, and it be not too dry, the plants will get such a growth
the same season as to produce quite a good crop of fruit the next
season. Planted as early in the spring as it will do to stir the soil,
they are more sure to grow and yield a very few berries the first
season, and very abundantly the next. If you would cultivate in hills,
put them two feet apart each way; if otherwise, two feet one way, and
one foot the other. Cut off the roots to two or three inches in length,
and remove all the dead leaves; dip them in mud, which is a great means
of causing them to grow; and set them in fine mould, the crown one inch
below the level of the soil around, and leave it in a slight basin, and
water it, unless the weather be damp. Many plants are lost from not
being set low enough to escape drought. The basin will hold water, and
nearly every plant will grow; excessive water will destroy them. Set out
three or four rows of pistillate plants, and then one of the staminates,
or fertilizers. Some set them out in beds and allow them to cover the
whole ground, and cultivate by spading up the bed in alternate sections
of eighteen inches or two feet each year, turning under, in the spring,
that portion that bore fruit the previous season--which has long been
recommended by good authority. This was the lamented Downing's method.
We think rows preferable for this reason. The young plants formed by the
runners are less vigorous after the first; hence, the tendency is to
deterioration by this mode of culture. And this method does not afford
so good an opportunity for stirring the soil around the plants as
planting in rows; this stirring the soil is a great means of protecting
from drought, and securing the most vigorous growth. Deep subsoiling
between the rows early in the spring, or after fruiting, is valuable;
hence, we always advise to cultivate in hills two feet apart each way,
and renew them after they have borne two, or at most three crops.
Hermaphrodites are best for cultivation in beds. Many strawberry-beds do
well the first year of their bearing, but are almost useless afterward.
The cultivator says they all run to vines. In such cases, they overlook
the fact that the staminate plants grow altogether the fastest, because
their strength goes to support foliage in the absence of fruit, while
bearing vines require much of their strength to mature the fruit; hence,
if they are allowed to run together the second, or at most the third
year, the fertilizers will monopolize the ground and prevent fruiting.
This is the greatest cause of failure of a crop, next to a want of both
kinds of plants. This is the origin of fears of having land too rich. It
is said it all runs to vines without fruit; this is because the wrong
vines have intruded--the staminates have overcome the pistillates. We
reject the whole theory of the luxuriance of the vines preventing the
production of fruit. The larger the vines the more fruit, provided only
the vines are bearers, and not too thick: hence this invariable
rule--_always have fertilizers within five feet, and never allow the two
kinds to run together._ Manures should be applied in August, well spaded
in. Applying in the spring to increase the crop for that season, is like
feeding chickens in the morning to fatten them for dinner--it is too
late. Fertilizing in August is a good preparation for a large crop for
the next season. Strawberry-vines, in all freezing climates, should be
covered, late in the fall, with forest-leaves or straw, to protect from
the severity of winter, and enrich the land by what can be dug into the
soil in spring. Rotten wood, fine chips, sawdust, &c., are all good for
a fall top-dressing. After well hoeing and weeding in spring, until
blossom-buds appear, just before the blossoms open, cover the bed
thoroughly with spent tanbark, sawdust, or fine straw. This will keep
down weeds, preserve moisture in the soil, enrich the ground, and
protect the fruit from injury by rains, and in part from worms and
insects. This should never be omitted.
_Varieties_ are numerous, and, from the ease with which they are raised
from seed, will rapidly increase; it is so frequent to have blossoms
fertilized by pollen from several different varieties. Some of the most
marked varieties are known in different parts of the country by very
different names; hence, we advise cultivators to select the best in
their locality. Every valuable variety is soon scattered over the
country. The following are good:--
_Burr's New Pine._--Originated at Columbus, Ohio, in 1856. Hardy,
vigorous, and quite productive; very early; tender for market, but
superior for a private garden.
_Western Queen._--Originated at Cleveland, Ohio, by Professor J. P.
Kirtland, 1849. Very hardy and productive; larger than the Hudson or the
Willey; good for market; bears carriage well.
_Longworth's Prolific._--Origin, Cincinnati, 1848. Regular, sure, full
bearer of large, delicious fruit; good for market; an independent
bearer.
_M'Avoy's Superior._--Cincinnati, 1848. Received one-hundred-dollar
prize from the Cincinnati Horticultural Society in 1851. Exceedingly
large; hardy; female or pistillate flowers; needs fertilizers, and then
is one of the best ever grown; rather tender for carriage, though it is
extensively sold in Western markets.
_Jenney's Seedling._--Valuable for ripening late; fruit large and
regular; very productive, 3,200 quarts having been gathered from three
quarters of an acre.
_Hovey's Seedling._--Elliott puts it in his second class; but we can not
avoid the conviction that it is one of the best that ever has been
raised. It is pistillate, but with fertilizers it yields immense crops,
of very fine large fruit. Boston Pine is one of the best fertilizers for
the Hovey Seedling.
_Hudson Bay._--A hardy and late variety, highly esteemed.
_Pyramidal Chilian._--Hermaphrodite, highly valued.
_Crimson Cone._--An old variety, quite early, and something of a
favorite in Eastern markets.
_Peabody's New Hautbois._--Originated in Columbus, Georgia, by Charles
A. Peabody. Said to bear more degrees of heat and cold than any other
variety. Very vigorous, fruit of the largest size, very many of the
berries measuring seven inches in circumference. Flesh firm, sweet, and
of a delicious pine-apple flavor. Rich, deep crimson. It may be seen in
full size in the patent office report on agriculture for 1856. If this
new fruit sustains its recommendations, it will prove the best of all
strawberries.
Downing describes over one hundred varieties. We repeat our
recommendation to select the best you can find near home. The following
rules will insure success:
1. Make the ground very rich.
2. Put fertilizers within five feet of each other, and never allow
different kinds to run together.
3. Cover the ground two inches deep with tan-bark, sawdust, or fine
straw, just before the blossoms open; tan-bark is best.
4. Never allow the vines to become very thick, but thin them out.
5. Water every day from the appearance of the blossoms until done
gathering the fruit; this increases the crop largely, and, at the South,
has continued the vines in bearing until November. Daily watering will
prolong the bearing season greatly in all climates, and greatly increase
the crop.
6. Protect in winter by a slight covering of forest-leaves, coarse
straw, or cornstalks.
7. To get a late crop, keep the vines covered deep with straw. You can
retard their maturity two weeks, and daily watering will prolong it for
weeks.
8. Apply, twice in the fall and once in the spring, a solution of
potash, one pound in two pails of water, or two pounds in a barrel of
water in which stable-manure has been soaked.
9. The best general applications to the soil, in preparing the bed, are
lime, charcoal, and wood-ashes--one part of lime to two of ashes and
three of charcoal. The application of wood-ashes will render less
dissolved potash necessary.
These nine rules, strictly observed, will render every cultivator
successful in all climates and localities.
SUGAR.
There have, until recently, been but two general sources of our supply
of sugar--the sugar-cane of the South, and the sugar-maple of the North.
Beet-sugar will not be extensively manufactured in this country. We now
have added the Sorgho, or Chinese sugar-cane, and the Imphee, or African
sugar-cane, adapted to the North and the South, flourishing wherever
Indian corn will grow, and raised as easily and surely, and much in the
same way. Of the methods of making sugar from the old sugar-cane of the
South, we need give no account. It is not an article of general domestic
manufacture. It is made on a large scale on plantations, and is in
itself simple, and easily learned by the few who become sugar-planters.
The process of manufacturing sugar from the maple-tree is very simple
and everywhere known. It is to be regretted that our sugar-maples are
being so extensively destroyed, and that those we pretend to keep for
sugar-orchards are so unmercifully hacked up, in the process of
extracting the sap. To so tap the trees as to do them the least possible
injury, is a matter of much importance. Whether it should be done by
boring and plugging up with green maple-wood after the season is over,
or be done by cutting a small gash with an axe and leaving open, has
been a disputed point. Many prefer the axe, and think the tree will be
less blackened in the wood, and will last longer, provided it be
judiciously performed. Cut a small, smooth gash; one year tap the tree
low, and another high, and on alternate sides; scatter the wounds, made
from year to year, as much as possible. Another process of tapping is
now most popular with all who have tried it. Bore into the tree half an
inch, with a bit not larger than an inch, slanting slightly up, that
standing sap or water may not blacken the wood. Make the spout out of
hoop-iron one and a fourth inches wide; cut the iron, with a cold
chisel, into pieces four inches long; grind one end sharp; lay the
pieces over a semicircular groove in a stick of hard wood, and place an
iron rod on it lengthwise over the groove--slight blows with a hammer
will bend it. These can be driven into the bark, below the hole made by
the bit. They need not extend to the wood, and hence make no wound at
all. If the wound dries before the season is over, deepen it a little by
boring again, or by taking out a small piece with a gouge. This process
will injure the trees less than any other. The spouts will be cheaper
than wooden ones, and may last twenty years. Always hang buckets on
wrought nails, that may be drawn out. Buckets made of tin, to hold three
or four gallons, need cost only about twenty-five cents each, and, with
good care, may last twenty years. A crook in the wire of the rim will
make a good place to hang upon the nail. A hole bored in the ear of
other buckets will answer the same purpose. In all windy situations, the
bucket must be near the end of the spout, or much will be lost by being
blown over by the wind. Great care to keep all vessels used, clean and
sweet, and not burn the sugar in finishing it, will enable any one to
succeed in making good maple-sugar. The various forms in which it is put
up, and the manner of draining, are familiar to all makers. It is only
necessary to add, that there are few small farms on which the
sugar-maple will grow, where there might not be raised two or three
hundred maples, within fifteen or twenty years, that would add greatly
to the beauty, comfort, and value of the farm. On the highway as
shade-trees, or on the side of lots, they would be very ornamental and
profitable, without doing injury. We can not too strongly recommend
raising sugar-maples. Always cultivate trees that will bear fruit, yield
sugar, or be good for timber.
Sorgho, or Chinese sugar-cane, is raised much as Indian corn--only, it
will bear some ten or twelve stalks in a hill, instead of three or four.
In all parts of our continent, it produces enormous crops of stalks. The
trials thus far indicate, that the quantity of saccharine matter it
contains is not quite equal to that of the common sugar-cane; but, with
the necessary facilities for manufacturing, it makes quite as good sugar
and as fine sirups as the other cane. Suitable machinery, that need not
be expensive, owned by a neighborhood of farmers, may enable all
Northern men, where other cane will not grow, to make their own sugar
cheaper than to buy. But it will be made probably by large
establishments as other sugar. We give no method of making it. The
subject is so new, that every method of manufacture finds its way into
all the newspapers, and what might appear the best to-day would be
quite antiquated to-morrow. We have seen as fine sugars and sirups, of
all the different grades, made from this new cane, as any others we have
ever tasted. The question is settled that imphee and sorgho will make
good sugar in abundance. A few years will place such sugars among the
great staple products of the country.
SUMMER-SAVORY.
This is a hardy annual, raised from seed on any good soil, with no care
but keeping free from weeds. The seed is small, and may not vegetate
well in dry, warm weather, without a little shade or regular watering.
Its use for culinary and medicinal purposes is well known. Gather and
dry when nearly ripe. Keep in paper bags, or pulverize and put in glass
bottles. For the benefit of persons who keep those sprightly pets called
fleas, we mention the fact that dry summer-savory leaves, put in the
straw beds, will expel those insects.
SUNFLOWER.
This large, hardy, annual plant would be considered very beautiful, were
it not so common. Three quarts of clear, beautiful oil are expressed
from a bushel of the seed, in the same way as linseed-oil. The seed, in
small quantities, is good for fowls. It may be grown with less labor
than corn.
SWEET POTATO.
This is a Southern plant, but is now being acclimated in Northern
latitudes. Good sweet potatoes are now grown in the colder parts of
Vermont, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. There are many varieties, and they
are increasing by seedlings. Not long since, they were said to bear no
seed; but recently, in different parts of the country, seeds have been
found, and new varieties grown from them. Certain varieties are best in
different localities. They will always find their way through growers of
plants. The process of growing is simple, but must be carefully followed
to insure success. Plant the seed potatoes in a moderate hotbed, at the
time when grass begins to start freely. Keep well watered, and do not
allow them to get too warm. An hour's over-heating will cause them all
to decay. The heat, when it begins to rise too high, is at once checked
by a thorough drenching with cold water: if too low, the heat is raised
by a tight cover, in a warm sun, and by watering with warm water. Water
them every day after they are up. The sprouts, when six inches high, are
pulled off from the potato, and set out as cabbage-plants; this should
be done as soon as all danger of frost has ceased. The same potatoes
will sprout as many times as they are pulled off.
Sweet potatoes need much sun and warmth; they are, therefore, planted on
round hills, or, better, on ridges, which may be principally thrown up
with a plow, and made from a foot to eighteen inches high. Set the
plants in the top, about fifteen inches or two feet apart; keep clear of
weeds, making the hill or ridge a little larger by each hoeing. The
tops, being long running vines, will soon cover the ground. They produce
better tubers for throwing the vines, in a twist, up over the top of the
rows. They will take root at each joint of vine, when undisturbed, which
roots will draw from the main tuber. These roots would be as good and
large as any, if they had time: hence, at the South, one half of the
crop is grown from sets, from cuttings of the ends of the early-planted
vines. At the North, where seasons are short, these joints must be
prevented--by throwing up, as above, or loosening--from taking root. The
tubers will need all the strength; the plant and tuber are tender, and a
little frost will kill the vines and cause the potatoes to decay. They
may be kept for use until January by packing, when dug in a warm day, in
the soil in which they grew;--kept through winter, packed in straw or
chaff, in boxes that will contain about two or three bushels each, and
kept in a room with a fire: the room should be at a temperature of from
forty to sixty degrees; fifty-five is best, though seventy will not
destroy them; more or less will cause them to decay. The boxes may be
placed one upon another, but should be left open, that their moisture
may evaporate. Dry sand (kiln-dried), sifted over and close among them,
will preserve them. Free circulation of air is indispensable. It is
usually cheapest to buy the plants of those who make a business of
raising them. They are very hardy--may be transported one thousand miles
and do just as well. To transplant with perfect safety in a dry time,
after the plant has been put in its place, pour in a pint of water, and
cover it with a little dry soil to prevent baking--and not one out of
fifty will perish.
These few brief directions will enable any one to be successful wherever
corn will grow. A new variety has just been brought into Alabama from
Peru, that is pronounced superior to all others; a prodigious bearer,
even on poor sandy land, and far more hardy than other varieties, the
root retaining its excellence as it came out of the ground till the
following May.
SWINE.
Hogs are evil in their propensities, mischievous and filthy in their
habits, and yet profitable to the farmer. Every farmer should keep a few
in proportion to the refuse grain and various slops that his
establishment may afford. Buying hogs and then purchasing grain on which
to fatten them in the usual way is the poorest economy. Such pork is
often made to cost from twelve to twenty cents per pound.
There are many breeds of swine highly recommended. Some of the varieties
of the Chinese are the most prolific and have the greatest tendency to
fattening of any known. They have formed the basis of the great
improvements in the breeds in Great Britain. Farmers will be able to
select the best breed from their own knowledge and observation, better
than from any directions we can give them. Every new variety will be
introduced by dealers, and farmers must be cautious how they accept
their representations.
_Age of Swine for Pork._--It is most profitable and least troublesome,
to keep over winter, no swine but breeding sows, to have pigs early in
spring, to kill in autumn. Of any of the good breeds, they can be made
to weigh from 300 to 350 pounds, by the proper time for killing. The
practice of keeping swine till eighteen or twenty-four months old, and
only fattening them late in the fall and beginning of winter, is very
unprofitable. It is best to give pigs about what they will eat, from the
time of beginning to feed them until they are slaughtered. This is in
every way most economical. It secures fattening in the hot weather in
summer, when pork can be made faster and cheaper than at any other time.
Many farmers begin to fatten their pork, after the season in which it
can most rapidly and cheaply be done.
Hogs having been kept poor, on being fed freely for fattening, become
cloyed, and much time is lost, while those that always have had what
they would eat, of good wholesome food, always have a good appetite for
as much as they need, and not root over and injure more.
_Food for Swine._--They do better shut up in a pen, but where they can
get access to the ground. All edible roots are good and all the grains.
But grain should be ground or soaked. It pays well to cook all food for
swine. Boiled potatoes, carrots, beets, and parsnips, are all good.
Ground feed should be mixed with cooked vegetables. The disposition that
swine have to root deep in the ground, indicates the want of something,
not found in sufficient quantities in their ordinary food. Numerous
experiments show that that deficiency is abundantly supplied by having
charcoal within their reach. The stories of fattening pork wholly on
charcoal, which we find in the books, we do not credit. But that small
quantities of it are uniformly healthy for swine, is an established
fact. The question of sour food has many respectable advocates.
Cultivators and writers take different sides of the question, based as
they say upon their carefully-tried and noted experiments, one affirming
that fermented food is superior, and others that it has done his hogs
positive injury. This discrepancy grows out of not carefully
distinguishing the different kinds of fermentation, the sweet, the
vinous, the acid, and the putrid. The first makes excellent food, the
second will do quite well, the third is injurious, and the last
absolutely poisonous. As it requires much care and observation to get
this right, and mistakes are easy, it is best to take the sure method,
give them food in a natural state, ground, and either cooked or fed raw.
Either will make good pork at a reasonable cost, but cooked food is
preferable.
Sows are prevented from destroying their young by quiet, plenty of food,
and little animal food, and but a very little straw in a dry pen, or
washing the pig's backs with a strong decoction of aloes.
TOBACCO.
This is a plant abhorred by everything but man and the tobacco-worm. Its
use for chewing and snuffing is happily becoming more and more offensive
to refined society, and we hope it may, after a long struggle, go out of
use. For those who will cultivate it as an article of commerce, the
following brief directions are sufficient. Burn over a small bed, on
which sow the seed early in March. When the leaves are as large as a
quarter of a dollar, transplant them in deep, rich soil, or on new land,
in rows three feet apart each way, or four feet one way and two the
other. Tend as cabbage. It is necessary, twice in the season, to
destroy, by hand, the large green worms that feed on this plant. When
the plants are from two and a half to three and a half feet high,
according to the richness of the soil on which they grow, pick out the
head or blossom-buds, except in the few plants you would have go to
seed. Pinch off also the suckers, or shoots behind the leaves, as they
come out. When the leaves are full grown and begin to ripen, which is
known by the small, dusky spots appearing on the leaves, cut up the
stalks and lay them down singly to wilt; when they are thoroughly
wilted, lay them together, that they may sweat for forty-eight hours,
then hang them up in a tolerably tight room to dry--hang across poles,
one on each side. A sharp stick put through the but of the stalks and
laid over the pole, leaving one stalk on each side, is a very good
method. When it becomes well dried, pick off the leaves, and tie the
stems together in small bunches, and pack away in hogsheads or boxes, in
a dry place.
We recommend to every agriculturist to cultivate a little tobacco--not
for himself or others to chew, snuff, or smoke, but to use in destroying
insects. A strong decoction, used in washing animals, will destroy lice
on horses and cattle, and ticks on sheep. Tobacco-water applied to
plants, or trees, will effectually destroy all insects with which they
may be infested. Boil tobacco-stems or stalks, or the refuse-tobacco of
the cigar-makers, until you make a strong decoction, and apply with a
syringe, or in any other way, and it will prove more effectual than
anything else known. Tobacco-stems, stalks, or leaves, laid around
peach-trees in the month of May, will protect them from the attacks of
the borer. This is also a good manure for peach-trees.
TOMATO.
This vegetable is well known, and has recently come to be generally
esteemed. It can always be grown without failure, and more easily and at
one fourth of the cost of potatoes. Its use for cooking, eating raw,
and pickling in various forms, is known to all. There are several
varieties. The best of all is the large red--not the largest, but the
smooth ones: although smaller, they contain more, and are much more
conveniently used, than the very large rough or scolloped variety. The
large yellow are less liable to decay on the vines, and have less of the
tomato taste. The small plum-tomato, both red and yellow, and the pear
or bell-shaped, are good for preserving as a common sweetmeat, and for
pickling whole. They should be started in early hotbed--in February in
the Middle States--and transplanted after frosts are over, in rows eight
feet apart each way. That distance will leave none too much room for
letting in the sun and for the convenience of picking. They will mature
on the poorest land; but the amount of the crop is graduated altogether
by the richness of the soil, and the care given them. They will produce
frequently a bushel to a vine, lying on the ground. But they ripen
better, and as the vines are not injured by picking the early ones, they
will produce more, by being trained up. A few sticks to hold them up at
first, and let them break down over them later, is of no use. Train
them, and tie up all the principal bunches, and they will be greatly
benefited thereby. Tied to slats, or any board fence, in a kind of
fan-training form, they do very well. In all cities and villages, enough
for a large family can be grown on twenty-five feet of board-fence,
exposed to the southern or eastern sun, and not occupy the ground a
single foot from the fence. Drive in nails, and tie up the branches as
they grow. Removing some of the branches and leaves, and letting in the
sun, or placing the fruit on a shingle or stone, hastens its ripening.
TOOLS.
It is no part of our design to go into any general description of
agricultural implements. There are constant changes and improvements,
and they are introduced at once to the whole country by the inventors or
dealers. We also wish to avoid all participation in the controversies
respecting the merits of various new inventions. We have several forms
of cultivators, horse-hoes, subsoil-plows, drills, seed-sowers,
land-diggers, and drainers, various formed plows, root-cleaners,
corn-planters, &c., &c. These possess different degrees of merit; all
have their day, and will be superseded by others, in the general
advancement that marks the science of soil-culture. We strongly
recommend the use of the best tools, especially subsoil-plows,
seed-planters, and root-cleaners. Always have a tool-house, as much as
you do a kitchen. Use the best tools; never lay them down but in their
proper place; and always clean them before putting them away. Keep all
the wood-work of tools well painted, and the iron and steel in a
condition, by the application of oil and otherwise, to prevent rust.
Good tools facilitate and cheapen cultivation, and increase the yield of
crops, Money paid out for such tools is well expended.
TRAINING.
This is a matter that has received much attention from all
fruit-growers. The influence of different modes of training and pruning
is very great on the bearing qualities of trees. The peculiarities
demanded by the various fruit-trees, vines, and bushes, are given under
these articles respectively. We give here only some general principles.
The health, beauty, and profit, of most fruit-trees depend upon
judicious pruning and training. The following are the general objects:--
1. To secure regular growth and prevent deformities, and thus promote
the health of trees.
2. To secure a sufficient number of fruit-bearing shoots, and in right
locations, and to throw sufficient sap into those shoots to enable them
to mature the fruit. With a certain amount of pruning, you may double
the quantity of fruit, or destroy half that the trees would have
produced if not trained at all. One half of the fruit of any orchard
depends upon correct pruning. It also has a great influence upon the
quality of fruit. The cherry is almost the only fruit-tree that throws
out nearly the right number of branches, and in the right places. It
needs a very little direction while young, and afterward only the
removal of decaying branches. The quince needs considerable trimming at
first; but, the head once formed, it will need very little
after-pruning. Next comes the plum, needing, perhaps, a little more
pruning than the cherry or quince, but much less than the other fruits.
The plum is apt to throw out strong branches, in some directions, quite
out of proportion with the rest of the top. Such need shortening in, to
distribute the sap equally through the tree, and thus produce a
symmetrical form. This is all the trimming necessary. The roots of a
plum-tree are usually stronger than the top, and absorb more than the
leaves can digest; hence some of its diseases. The natural remedy would
be root-pruning, and leaving the top in its natural state, except
shortening-in the disproportioned branches. Removing much of the top of
a plum-tree would ordinarily prove injurious. The apple needs
considerable pruning, but not of the spurs and side-twigs which bear the
fruit, but of limbs that grow too thick, and of disproportioned
luxuriance. (See under Apple.) So the pear must be often slightly pruned
to check the too vigorous growth and encourage the too tardy. The peach
must be so pruned as to prevent the long bare poles so often seen, and
to secure annually the growth of a large number of shoots for next
year's bearing, and to check the flow of the sap by cutting off the ends
of the growing young shoots, so as to cause the formation on each, of a
few vigorous fruit-buds. Peach-trees, so pruned, will be healthy and do
well for fifty years, and produce a larger number of better peaches than
will grow on trees left in the usual way. By a system of pruning that
will equalize the growth and strength, the bearing will be general on
all the branches of the tree. This will make the fruit more abundant and
of better quality. The following six principles--first stated by M.
Dubreuil, of France, and since presented to the American people in
Barry's "Fruit-Garden," and still later in Elliott's "Fruit-Book"--will
guide any attentive cultivator into the correct method of pruning and
training:--
1. The vigor of a tree, subject to pruning, depends, in a great measure,
upon the equal distribution of sap in all its branches.
2. The sap acts with greater force, and produces more vigorous growth on
a branch pruned short than on one pruned long.
3. The sap, tending always to the extremities, causes the terminal
shoots to push with more vigor than the laterals.
4. The more the sap is obstructed in its circulation, the more likely it
will be to produce fruit-buds.
5. The leaves serve to prepare the sap for the nourishment of the tree,
and to aid in the formation of fruit-buds. Therefore, trees deprived of
their foliage are liable to perish, and they are injured in proportion
to their defoliation.
6. When the buds of any shoot or branch do not develop before the age of
two years, they can only be forced into activity by very close pruning;
and this will often fail, especially in the peach.
Observe the foregoing, and never cut large limbs from any tree, except
in grafting an old tree (and then only graft a part of the top in one
year, especially in the pear), and of old, neglected peach-trees, to
renew the top, and any careful cultivator can raise an orchard of
healthy, beautiful, and profitable trees. There are different forms of
training that have gone the rounds of the fruit-books, that are nearly
all more fanciful than useful. There are four forms of fan-training, and
several of horizontal and conical. The following only are useful:--
_Fan-Training._--A tree but one year from the graft, or bud, is planted
and headed down to within four buds of the ground, the buds so situated
as to throw out two shoots on each side (see fan-training, first stage).
[Illustration: Fan-training, 1st stage.]
[Illustration: Fan-training, 2d stage.]
[Illustration: Fan-training, 3d stage.]
[Illustration: Fan-training, Complete.]
The following season, the two upper shoots are to be cut back to three
buds, so as throw out one leading shoot, and one shoot on each side. The
two lower shoots are to be cut back to two buds, so as to throw out one
leading shoot, and one shoot on the upper side. In this second stage,
you will have a tree with five leading shoots on each side (see cut,
fan-training, 2d stage). These shoots form the future tree, and should
neither be shortened in, nor allowed to bear fruit this year.
Each shoot should now be allowed to produce three shoots, one leading
one, and two others on the upper side, one near the bottom, and the
other half way up the stem. All others should be pinched off when they
first appear. At the end of the third year you will have the appearance
in the cut (Fan-training, third stage). After this it may bear fruit,
but not too much, as a young tree so trained, is disposed to
over-bearing. These shoots, except the leading ones, should be shortened
back; but to what length depends upon the vigor of the tree. This is to
be continued and extended as the grower may choose, always preventing
the top from becoming too dense, and the shoot too long for a proper
flow of sap, and maturity of fruit-buds. A good form, though slightly
irregular, is seen in the cut (Fan-training, complete). Such trees
trained against walls, or better, on trellis-work, are beautiful and
very productive.
[Illustration: Horizontal Training, first stage.]
_Horizontal Training_ is another form contributing to fruitfulness, by
regulating the flow of the sap. This is done by preserving an upright
leader with lateral shoots at regular distances. To secure this, such
shoots as you wish to train must be tied in a horizontal position, and
all others pinched off on first appearance.
[Illustration: Horizontal Training, fourth year.]
The process is simple and easy, continued as long as you please. Head in
the shoots of these lateral branches to two or three buds and they will
bear abundantly. As the growth increases, remove all that are not in the
right places, and train all you spare, as before. In the fourth year,
you will have trees of the appearance in the cut (Horizontal Training,
fourth year).
_Conical Training._--The Quenouille (pronounced _kenoole_) of the
French, is the best of all forms of training, especially for the pear.
To produce conical standards, plant young trees four or five feet high,
and after the first year's growth, head back the top, and cut in the
side branches, as in the cut (Progressive stages of conical training).
[Illustration: Progressive stages of Conical Training.]
[Illustration: Conical Training complete.]
The next season several tiers of side branches will shoot out. The
lowest should be left about eighteen inches from the ground, and by
pinching off a part, others may be made to grow, at such distances as
you may desire. At the end of the second year, the leader is headed back
to increase the growth of the side shoots. The laterals will constantly
increase, and you must save only a sufficient number. The third or
fourth year, the lateral branches may be bent down and tied to stakes.
The branches must be tied down from year to year, and the top so
shortened in as to prevent too vigorous growth, and throw the sap into
the laterals. This may be continued until the tree will exhibit the
appearance in the cut (conical training complete). When the tree has
become thoroughly formed it will retain its shape without keeping the
branches tied. The fan and horizontal training are valuable for fruits
that need winter protection, and they are also very ornamental, and
enable us to cultivate much fruit on a small place. All these forms of
training increase largely the productiveness of fruit-trees. It is
recommended for all small gardens and yards, and will pay in growing
fruit for market.
TRANSPLANTING.
Trees should be transplanted in spring in cold climates, and in autumn
in warm regions. The top should be lessened about as much as the roots
have been by removal. Cutting off so large a part of the top as we often
see is greatly injurious. Trees frequently lose one or two years'
growth, by being excessively trimmed when transplanted. The leaves are
the lungs of the tree, and how can it grow if they are mostly removed?
All injured roots should be cut off smoothly on the lower side, slant
out from the tree, and just above the point of injury. Places for the
trees should be prepared as given under the different fruits and the
trees set firmly in them an inch lower than they stood in the nursery.
The great point is to get the fine mould very close around all the
roots, leaving them in the most natural position. Trees dipped in a
bucket of soil or clay and water, thick enough to form a coat like
paint, just at the time of transplanting, are said to be less liable to
die. Every transplanted tree should have a stake, and be thoroughly
mulched. Trees properly transplanted will grow much faster, and bear a
year or two earlier, than those that have been carelessly set out. For
further remarks on this important matter, see under the different
fruits.
TURNIP.
This is one of the great root crops of England, and to considerable
extent in this country, for feeding purposes. We think it should be
displaced, mostly, by beets, carrots, and parsnips. They are more
nutritious, as easily raised, and more conveniently fed. The Rutabaga is
a productive variety, and possesses a good deal of nutriment. The
essentials in raising good turnips of most varieties, are very rich
soil, worked deep, and finely pulverized. They should stand in rows two
feet apart, and one foot apart in the rows. They may be mainly tended
with a small cultivator or root-cleaner.
English turnips are extensively grown as a second crop on wheat stubble,
&c. The soil is highly enriched and the seed sown in rows to allow
cultivation. The best method, however, is to turn over old greensward
say June 1, and yard cattle or sheep on it till July 10, and then harrow
thoroughly, and sow the seed broadcast. The yield will usually be large,
and they will need very little weeding. If it is not convenient to yard
cattle on the turnip-ground, apply fifteen double wagon loads of fine
manure with a few bushels of lime to the acre, and the crop will be
large. The usual time of sowing turnips is from the 10th to the 25th of
July. We think the yield is larger when sown by the middle of June. The
only way to get good early turnips is to sow them very early. The flat,
or common field turnip, is easily grown on new land, or on any rich soil
tolerably free from weeds and not infested with worms.
WHEAT.
This is the most highly esteemed of all grains, and has more enemies,
and is more affected in its growth by the weather, than any other. It
has engaged more attention in the study and writings of agriculturists
than all other cereals. The outlines only of the results of the vast
field of investigation and experiment on wheat-growing can be presented
here. There are doubts respecting the origin of wheat. The more general
and probable theory is, that it is the product of the cultivation, for a
series of years, of a species of grass called Ægilops. This is
indigenous on the shores of the Mediterranean, in those countries which,
from time immemorial, have been the sources of our wheat. No one has
ever found wild wheat in any country; it would be as strange as a wild
cabbage or turnip. But the practical question is, How can wheat be most
surely and profitably grown? The first requisite is a suitable soil. A
clay or limestone soil is usually considered best, as there is much lime
in wheat-bran. Such soil is better than light sand, or some of the
poorer loams. But the large yields of wheat on the Western prairies, and
on the rich alluvial soils of California river-bottoms, shows that the
best of wheat may grow on other than clay lands. The truth of the matter
respecting soils for wheat, is, that any soil good for corn, potatoes,
or a garden, may, with proper tillage, produce the best of wheat.
Experience in England, and in all the old countries on the continent of
Europe, shows us that old land may be made to yield as large crops of
wheat as the virgin soil of the New World. The production of wheat at
suitable intervals, for a century, on the same land, need not lessen its
power to produce good wheat in large quantities. Wheat is a plant
demanding a rich soil, worked deep, and not too wet: these three things
will produce a good crop on any land. We say to all farmers, raise wheat
on any land that you can afford to prepare. First, if your land has not
a dry subsoil, underdrain it thoroughly: water standing in the soil, and
becoming cold or stagnant, is very injurious to wheat. Drainage is
hardly more essential to any other crop than this. Next, plow deep.
Subsoiling, on most lands, is very important to wheat. Manure highly,
and put the manure between the soil and the subsoil: this attracts the
roots deep into the soil, which is the greatest protection against
winter-killing, and the effects of excessive drought. Render the surface
of the soil as fine as possible. A finely-pulverized soil is as
essential for wheat as for onions. Coarse lumpy soils are so open to the
action of the atmosphere as to render the growth unequal, and cause the
roots of the plant to grow too near the surface, for dry weather or the
cold of winter. Always apply lime to wheat-lands, unless it be a
limestone soil--not too much at once, but a few bushels to the acre
annually. On no other crop do wood-ashes and dissolved potash, applied
in the coarse manures, pay so well as on wheat. Sowing the seed is next
in importance. The three questions in sowing are the manner, the depth,
and the quantity. Shall it be drilled or sowed broadcast? Broadcast
sowing requires more seed, and is liable to be less evenly covered;
hence, we should prefer drilling. The depth of the seed is to be
determined by the texture of the soil. Careful experiments have shown,
that on clay land there is no perceptible difference in the growth of
the plants, at any of the stages, in seed sown at any depth, from a
slight covering to three or four inches. At a greater depth, it comes up
less regularly, and in every way is in a worse condition. But on a light
soil, it is, no doubt, best to plant it from four to six inches deep. On
very loose soils, as muck land and alluvial soils, the roots of the
plants grow too near the surface, and are exposed to being thrown out by
winter frosts, and destroyed. The remedy is deep sowing and thorough
rolling. The quantity of seed now more generally sown is from five pecks
to two bushels per acre. Rich land will not bear so much seed as the
poorer. It will grow so thick as to render the straw tender, and expose
it to lodge and ruin the crop. Wheat tillers, or thickens up at the
bottom, making many stalks from a single seed, quite as much as any
other grain; hence, we believe that if it be sown at a proper time on
very rich land, three pecks to the acre would be better than more. Such
sowing would make more vigorous plants, with much stronger roots, which
would withstand cold and unfavorable weather better than any other. We
should still more strongly recommend another form of sowing, practised
by some European cultivators with great success: it is, to drill in
wheat, in rows two feet apart, and give it a spring cultivation; this
gives great strength to the plants, destroys the weeds, promotes rapid
growth by stirring the soil, and favors tillering, so that the rows will
meet, and give a great growth. We doubt not this will yet be extensively
adopted in this country. All wheat-land had better be rolled after
sowing, and light lands, with a very heavy roller. Light sandy land,
having a little clay mixed in as recommended under soils, well manured,
the seed planted six inches deep, and the whole rolled with a heavy
roller, will bear great crops of wheat.
As it respects fall or spring wheat, no positive directions can be
given, adapted to all climates. In many localities it is of little use
to sow winter wheat, as it is very uncertain. In other localities winter
wheat almost always succeeds best. This question then must be determined
by circumstances. The time of sowing winter wheat varies in different
climates, according as it may be exposed to depredations of worms and
insects in the fall. Farmers are not liable to mistake in this matter.
Spring wheat, in all climates, should be sowed very early. It is hardly
possible in all the Middle and Northern states to prepare the ground in
spring, and get in wheat in suitable season.
The yield of a crop of spring wheat, depends materially upon the growth
in the cool and moist weather of spring, when it spreads and its roots
get a strong hold before the hot weather, that hurries up the stalks
and ears to maturity. Hence plow in the fall, and harrow in the wheat,
as early as possible, in the spring.
_The varieties_ of wheat are numerous and uncertain. In the state of
Maine, an intelligent cultivator, in 1856, recommended Java wheat as
having a very stiff straw, and producing a very heavy yield. The
Mediterranean wheat is also a favorite variety. Club wheat has also had
a great run, and is now very popular at the West. But of varieties no
one can be confident. We notice in the discussions of the best
agriculturists of England and Scotland, that they have doubts of the
proper names of some of the best varieties. In a certain rich part of
Illinois we know an unusually popular wheat, sold at high prices for
seed, under the name of _mud club_, as being much better than the
ordinary club. We happened to learn that it was nothing but common club
wheat, sown on rather low ground, where it happened to grow very fair
that season. It is only occasionally that such tricks are successfully
played, but it is true that many varieties are the result of extra good
or chance cultivation. The celebrated Chidham wheat, named from a place
where it was successfully grown, was also called Hedge wheat, because a
head found growing in a hedge was supposed to be the origin of it. Now
it is not probable that that head was the only one of the kind in all
the country, and it would by no means be identified in all localities.
And as all wheat is the result of the cultivation of the Ægilops or some
other wild grass, it shows us that varieties may be produced by
cultivation. Great importance is therefore to be attached to frequently
changing seed; especially bringing it from colder into warmer climates,
and changing from one soil to a very different one. Thus seed raised on
hard hills is highly valuable for alluvial soils. Thus the efforts to
introduce so many new varieties from the dominions of the sultan, will
prove of vast advantage to wheat culture in America. So let us be
constantly importing the best from Great Britain and the British
provinces and from California, and all the extremes of our own country.
Such wheats are worth more for seeds than others, but any extravagant
prices for seed wheat, under the idea of almost miraculous powers of
production, are unwise.
It would be useless to go into a more extended notice of varieties, as
some do best in certain localities, and all are rapidly spread through
the dealers, and by the influence of agricultural periodicals. The best
time to harvest wheat is when the straw below the head has turned
yellow, and the grain is so far out of the milk as not to be easily
mashed between the fingers, but before it has become hard. The grain is
heavier and of better quality, and wastes far less in harvesting, than
when allowed to ripen and dry standing in the field. Drying in good
shocks is far better than drying before cut. Some have gone to extremes
in early cutting, and harvested their wheat while in the milk, and
suffered serious loss in its weight. We sometimes have rain in harvest,
which causes all the wheat in a large region to grow before getting it
dry enough to house. A remedy is, to go right on and cut your wheat,
rain or shine, and put it up, without binding, in large cocks of from
three to five bushels, packing together as close as possible, however
wet, and cover the centre with a bundle of wheat to shed rain. It will
dry out without growing; and, although the straw will be somewhat
mouldy, the grain will be perfectly good, even when it has been so wet
as to make the top of the shocks perfectly green with grown wheat. This
process is of great value in a wet season. To prepare seed-wheat for
sowing, soak it for a day or two in very strong brine; skim off all that
rises; remove the grain from the brine, and while wet, sift on
fresh-slaked lime until it slightly coats the whole grain; put on a
little plaster to render the sowing more pleasant to the hand. Wheat
will lie in this condition for days without injury. So prepared, it will
exhibit a marked superiority in the growing crop.
_Enemies_ of wheat are numerous, and various remedies are proposed. The
wire-worm is sometimes very destructive. Wheat planted with a drill,
with a heavy cast-iron roller behind each tooth, will not suffer by
them; they will only work in the mellow ground between the drills. Drive
over a field of wheat exposed to injury from wire-worms with a common
ox-cart, and you will notice a marked difference; wherever the
cartwheel passed over, the wheat remains unharmed by the wire-worm,
while on either side much of it will be destroyed. But the wheat-midge,
or weevil, is the great enemy, rendering the cultivation of wheat in
some localities useless. One precaution is, to get the wheat forward so
early and fast as to have it out of the way before they destroy it. This
is often done by early sowing, high fertilization, and warm land.
Sometimes wheat is too late for them, and then a good crop is secured.
But this can only be relied on in cool, moist climates. Our hot, dry
seasons are not suitable for wheat, late enough to be out of the way of
the weevil. The great remedy for this enemy is his destruction. Burning
the chaff at thrashing is useless for this purpose. The worm has
entered the ground to remain for the winter, before the wheat is
harvested. We know of but one way to kill the weevil, and that is, by
insect lamps or torches in the field in the evening. The flies are
inactive until evening, when, from dusk till eight or nine o'clock, they
deposite their eggs in the blossoms and chaff of the wheat. Now, it is
ascertained that this fly, like many other insects, will fly several
rods to a light. Twenty-five torches at equal distances, in a ten-acre
lot of wheat, would be near enough. Nearly all the flies in a field
would fly to them in half an hour. These need be lighted only on
pleasant evenings, as weevils will not work in wind or rain, and they
only commit their depredations during the time the wheat is in blossom.
Let twenty-five racks, or holders of some kind, be put up on ten acres
of wheat, and have pitch-pine put in them and ignited, after the manner
of night fishermen, and let this be done a few nights, during the
blossoming season of wheat, and the fly will be destroyed and the crop
saved, in the worst weevil-season that ever occurred. In the absence of
pitch-pine, some other light can be devised--as, balls of rags dipped in
turpentine and sulphur, as in a torchlight procession. Something can be
devised that will burn brilliantly for an hour: this will not cost fifty
cents an acre, during the weevil-season, and will prove almost a perfect
remedy.
Rust in wheat is only avoided by getting your wheat to maturity before
the rust strikes it. If it is nearly mature, and the rust strikes it,
cut it and shock it up in the shortest time possible.
Wheat is a great subject in agriculture, on which many volumes have been
written, and on which it is customary to write long articles. We trust
the recapitulation of what we have said, in the following brief rules,
is more valuable to the practical wheat-culturist than any large volume
could be. Analyses of wheat-bran and straw, the philosophy of rust in
wheat, the length, size, and color of the weevil, and the great
diversity of opinions on wheat-growing, are not what practical men
regard. The one question is, How can I grow wheat surely and profitably?
The following rules answer this important question, rendering failure
unnecessary:--
1. Make your soil very rich, putting the manure as deep as convenient.
Apply lime, wood-ashes, and potash, the latter dissolved and applied to
your coarse manure.
2. Under-drain thoroughly all wheat-land, except that on a dry subsoil.
3. Plow deep and subsoil all wheat-lands, except those on a gravelly or
sandy bottom.
4. Plant wheat from two to six inches deep, according to the texture of
the soil--deepest on the lightest soil. Roll after sowing, and roll
light lands with a heavy roller.
5. Always get your wheat in early, and in a finely-pulverized soil, and
be careful not to seed too heavy.
6. Sow seed that has not long been grown in your vicinity, and steep it
two days, before sowing, in a brine, with as much salt as the water will
dissolve, sifting fine, fresh lime over the wet grain, after removing it
from the brine; put on, also, plaster-of-Paris or wood-ashes.
7. Harvest wheat before the straw becomes dry, or the grain hard.
8. Destroy weevil by lights in the field, on the pleasant evenings
during the blossoming season.
WHORTLEBERRY.
Of this excellent berry there are several varieties, distinguished by
the height of the bushes, or by the color of the fruit. The main
divisions are, the _Swamp_ and the _Plain Whortleberries_. The swamp
variety has been transferred to gardens, in Michigan, and has proved
valuable. The shrub attains considerable size, producing fruit more
surely and regularly than in its wild state, and of an improved quality
and larger size. It may be grown as well as currants all over the
country. The small plain variety is usually found on sandy plains, and
is a great bearer of fruit everywhere highly prized. It may be
transferred to all our gardens, by making a bed of sand six inches or a
foot deep, or it may be so acclimated as to grow well in any good garden
soil, and become a universal luxury. We recommend it as a standing fruit
for all gardens.
WILLOW.
The cultivation of willow for osier-work is pursued to some extent in
this country, and might be greatly increased. At one fourth the present
prices, it would pay as well as any other branch of agriculture. Some
varieties will grow on land of little value for other purposes, and all
on any good land. Willows will take care of themselves after the second
or third year. The more usual method of planting is of slips, ten inches
long, set in mellow ground about eight inches deep, in straight rows
four or six feet apart, and one foot apart in the rows--except the green
willow, which is put two feet apart in the row. They should be kept
clear of weeds for the first two years. The osiers are to be cut when
the bark will peel somewhat easily, and may be put through a machine for
the purpose, invented by J. Colby, of Jonesville, Vermont, at the rate
of two tons per day, removing all the bark, without injuring the wood.
Different opinions prevail respecting the varieties most profitable for
cultivation; they vary in different localities. The manufacture of
willow-ware will increase with the increased production of osiers, and
the consequent reduction of their cost.
WINE.
We have elsewhere stated that our only hope for pure wine in this
country is in domestic manufacture. We shall here give two recipes that
will insure better articles than are now offered under the name of
imported wines.
_Currant Wine._--This, as usually manufactured, is a mere cordial,
rather than a wine. The following recipe gathered from the _Working
Farmer_, is all that need be desired, on making wine from currants,
cherries, and most berries, that are not too sweet. Take clean ripe
currants and pass them between two rollers, or in some other way, crush
them, put them in a strong bag, and under a screw or weight, and the
juice will be easily expressed. To each quart of this juice, add three
pounds of _double-refined_ loaf sugar (no other sugar will do) and water
enough to make a gallon. Or in a cask that will hold thirty gallons, put
thirty quarts of the juice, ninety pounds of the sugar, and fill to the
bung with water. Put in the bung and roll the cask until you can not
hear the sugar moving on the inside of the barrel, when it will all be
dissolved. Next day roll it again, and place it in a cellar of very even
temperature, and leave the bung out to allow fermentation. This will
commence in two or three days and continue for a few weeks. Its presence
may be known by a slight noise like that of soda water, which may be
heard by placing the ear at the bung hole. When this ceases drive the
bung tight and let it stand six months, when the wine may be drawn off
and bottled, and will be perfectly clear and not too sweet. No alcohol
should be added. Putting in brandies or other spirituous liquors
prevents the fermentation of wine, leaving the mixture a mere cordial.
The use of any but double-refined sugar is always injurious, and yet
many will persist in using it, because it is cheaper. The reason for
discarding, for wine-making, all but double-refined sugar, may be easily
understood. Common sugar contains one half of one per cent. of gum, that
becomes fetid on being dissolved in water. The quantity of this gum in
the sugar, for a barrel of wine, is considerable--enough to give a bad
flavor to the wine. This is avoided by using double-refined sugar, which
contains no gum. This recipe is equally good for cherry wine.
The following recipe for making _Elderberry Wine_, produces an article
that the best judges in New York and elsewhere have pronounced equal to
any imported wine. Its excellence has made quite a market for
elderberries in New York. These berries are so easily grown, and the
wine so excellent, that their growth will be encouraged throughout the
country. It is not only an exceedingly palatable wine, but is better
for the sick, than any other known.
To every quart of the berries, put a quart of water and boil for half an
hour. Bruise them from the skin and strain, and to every gallon of the
juice add three pounds of _double-refined_ sugar and one quarter of an
ounce of cream of tartar and boil for half an hour. Take a clean cask
and put in it one pound of raisins to every three gallons of the wine,
and a slice of toasted bread covered over with good yeast. When the wine
has become quite cool, put it into the cask, and place it in a room of
even temperature to ferment. When the fermentation has fully ceased, put
the bung in tight. No brandy or alcohol of any kind will be necessary.
Any one following this recipe _exactly_, will be surprised at the
excellence of the wine that will be the result.
Of _Grape Wines_, there are several varieties, whose peculiarities are
determined mainly by the process of manufacturing. A full treatment of
the subject would require a volume. The following brief directions will
insure success in making the most desirable grape wines:
1. Let the grapes become thoroughly ripe before gathering, to increase
their saccharine qualities and make a stronger wine. All fruits make
much better wine for being fully ripe. Cut the bunches with a sharp
knife and move carefully to avoid bruising. Spread them in a dry shade
to evaporate excessive moisture.
2. Assort the grapes before using, removing all decayed, green, or
broken ones, using only perfect berries.
3. Mash the grapes with a beater in a tub, or by passing them through a
cider-mill. "_Treading the wine vat_" was the ancient method of mashing
the grapes, not now practised except in some parts of Europe.
4. To make light wines put them at once into press, as apple pomace in a
cider-press.
5. To make higher-colored wines let the pomace stand from four to
twenty-four hours before pressing. They will be dark in proportion to
the length of time the pomace stands.
6. To make wines resembling the Austere wines of France and Spain, let
the pomace stand until the first fermentation is over, called
"fermenting in the skin."
7. The "must" or grape-juice is to be put into casks, the larger the
better, but only one pressing should be put into one cask. Put in a
cellar of even temperature, not lower than fifty nor higher than
sixty-five degrees of Fahrenheit, and where there is plenty of air.
Prepare the cask by burning in it a strip of paper or muslin, dipped in
melted sulphur, and suspended by a wire across the bung-hole.
Fermentation commences very soon and will be completed within a few days
or weeks according to the temperature. Its completion is marked by the
cessation of the escape of gas. No sugar, brandy, or any other
substance, should be added to the grape-juice to make good wine. They
are all adulterations. The wine having settled after this fermentation,
may be racked off into clean casks, prepared as before. A second
fermentation will take place in the spring. It should not be bottled
until after this second fermentation, as its expansion will break the
glass. While in the casks they should always be kept full, being
occasionally filled from a small cask, kept for the purpose. When this
fermentation ceases, bottle and cork tight, and lay the bottles on their
sides, in a cool cellar. The wine will improve with age.
Sometimes it remains on the lees without racking and is drawn off and
bottled. Frequently the wine does not become wholly clear and needs
fining. Various substances are used for this purpose, as fish-glue,
charcoal, starch, rice, milk, &c. The best of these substances is
charcoal, or the white of eggs and milk. Add by degrees according to the
foulness of the wine. An ounce of charcoal to a barrel of wine is an
ordinary quantity; or a pint of milk with the white of four eggs--more
or less according to the state of the wine.
_Rhine Wine_ of Germany may be made as follows:--
Take good Catawba or Isabella grapes, and pound or grind them so as to
crush every seed and leave them in that state for twenty-four hours.
Fumigate the cask by burning strips of muslin dipped in sulphur as in
the preceding recipe. Strain or press out the juice into the cask
filling it and keeping it _entirely full_, that impurities may run out
of the bung, during fermentation. In the spring prepare another cask in
the same way and rack it off into that. When a year old bottle it and it
is fit for use.
Sweeter wines than any of the above are made by adding sugar to the must
before fermentation. It should be _double-refined_ sugar, and still it
is an adulteration.
WOODLANDS.
One of the greatest errors of American farmers is their neglect to
cultivate groves of trees for woodlands, in all suitable places. Our
primeval forests have been wantonly destroyed, and the country is not
yet old enough to feel the full force of neglecting to replenish them,
by new groves, in suitable localities. On the points of hills, rough
stony places, sides of steep hills, ravines that can not be cultivated,
and by the side of all the highways of the land, trees should be
cultivated: in some places fruit-trees, but in most places forest-trees.
The advantages would be manifold; they would afford shade for cattle,
groves for birds, which would destroy the worms; they would break off
the cold winds from crops, cattle, fruit-orchards, and dwellings; would
greatly enrich the soil by their annual foliage, afford abundance of
fuel at the cheapest rates, give much good timber, provide for fine
maple-sugar, and be the greatest ornaments of the rural districts. Only
think of the comfort and beauty of fifty miles square, in which not a
street could be found which had not trees on each side, not more than
twelve feet apart. When such trees should become twenty years old, the
pedestrian or the carriage could move all day in the shade, listening to
the music of the birds, and inhaling the aroma of the foliage or
flowers. To every owner or occupant of the soil we say, plant trees.
POULTRY.
Fattening and preparing poultry for the market are important items in
rural economy. Plenty of sweet food and pure water given at regular
times, and the fowls not allowed to wander, are the requisites of
successful fattening. The best feed for fattening fowls is oat-meal.
Next to this is corn-meal. Three things are essential in food for
fattening animals, flesh-forming, fat-forming, and heat-producing
substances. Of all the grains ordinarily fed, oat-meal contains these in
the best proportions, and next to this comes yellow Indian corn meal.
Fat is good, but must be given in a hard form as in mutton or beef
suet. Rice boiled in sweet milk, fed for a day or two before killing
fowls is said to render the flesh of a white delicate color.
At least one third of the value of poultry in the market depends upon
properly preparing and transporting it.
1. Do not feed fowls at all for twenty-four hours before killing them.
2. Kill by cutting the jugular vein with a sharp pen-knife, just under
the sides of the head, and hang them up to bleed.
3. Pick carefully and very clean, without tearing the skin, and without
scalding. Singe slightly if need be. Dip in hot water for three or four
seconds and in cold water half a minute.
4. Do not open the breast at all, but remove the entrails from the hind
opening, leaving the gizzard in its place. Put no water in but wipe out
the blood with a dry cloth. Leaving the entrails in is injurious,
tending to sour the meat and taint it with their flavor.
5. Do not allow your poultry to freeze by any means. For transporting to
a distant market, pack in shallow boxes never containing over three
hundred pounds each and in clean straw without chaff or dust, and in
such a manner that no two fowls will touch each other.
6. Geese and ducks look better with the heads cut off. But all fowls
having their heads removed must have the skin drawn down and tightly
tied over the end of the neck bone. This will preserve them well and
give a good appearance.
To preserve fowls for a long time in a perfectly sweet condition for
family use, fill them half full or more with pulverized charcoal, which
will act as an absorbent and prevent every particle of taint.
AGRICULTURAL PERIODICALS.
The following list of Agricultural Periodicals embraces all that have
come to our knowledge. In a subsequent edition we shall endeavor to
render the list more complete, and give the special design of each, with
the frequency of publication, form, price, editor's and publisher's
names, etc.
NAME OF PAPER. PLACE OF PUBLICATION.
American Farmers' Magazine _New York City._
American Farmer _Baltimore, Md._
Alabama Planter _Mobile, Ala._
American Agriculturist _New York City._
Canadian Agriculturist _Toronto, C. W._
Cultivator _Albany, N. Y._
Cotton Planter _Montgomery, Ala._
Cultivator _Columbus, Ohio._
Cultivator _Boston, Mass._
California Farmer _San Francisco, Cal._
Country Gentleman _Albany, N. Y._
Farmer and Planter _Pendleton, S. C._
Granite Farmer _Manchester, N. H._
Genesee Farmer _Rochester, N. Y._
Horticulturist _Albany, N. Y._
Homestead _Hartford, Ct._
Journal of Agriculture _Chicago, Ill._
Maine Farmer _Augusta, Me._
Michigan Farmer _Detroit, Mich._
Magazine of Horticulture _Boston, Mass._
Massachusetts Ploughman _Boston, Mass._
New England Farmer _Boston, Mass._
New Jersey Farmer _Trenton, N. J._
North Carolina Planter _Raleigh, N. C._
Ohio Valley Farmer _Cincinnati, Ohio._
Ohio Farmer _Cleveland, Ohio._
Prairie Farmer _Chicago, Ill._
Rural New Yorker _Rochester, N. Y._
Rural Southerner _Ellicott's Mills, Md._
Rural American _Utica, N. Y._
Southern Planter _Richmond, Va._
Southern Cultivator _Augusta, Ga._
Southern Homestead _Nashville, Tenn._
Valley Farmer _St. Louis, Mo._
Vermont Stock Journal _Middlebury, Vt._
Wisconsin Farmer _Madison, Wisc._
Working Farmer _New York City._
INDEX.
Acclimation; 9
Agricultural Periodicals, List of; 440
Almonds; 10
Animals, Rules for feeding; 178
Apples; 12
Apple-Tree Wood, Analysis of; 14
Apple-Worm, Remedy for; 22
Apricot; 50
Artichoke; 52
Ashes; 53
Asparagus; 54
Atmosphere, Important Auxiliary in the Growth of Plants; 278
Balm; 56
Barberry; 56
Barley; 57
Barns; 59
Bean, Coffee; 130
Beans; 60
Bees and Beehives; 64
Beets; 77
Bene Plant; 81
Berries, Preservation of; 367
Birds useful in destroying Insects; 82
Blackberry; 83
Black Currant; 165
Black Raspberry; 85
Board Fences; 179
Bones, their Value as a Fertilizer; 85, 275
Borden's Milk Condensation; 369
Borecale; 86
Borer, Preventive and Remedy for; 23
Breck's Book of Flowers; 195
Breeding in, Deteriorating Effects of; 142
Broccoli; 86
Broom-Corn; 87
Brussels Sprouts; 89
Buckthorn; 89
Buckwheat; 90
Budding; 91
Buffalo Berry; 390
Bulbous Flowering Roots; 195
Bushes, Eradication of Noxious; 94
Butter; 95
Butter Dairy; 167
Butter-Making, Essential Rules for; 100
Butternuts; 102
Cabbage; 102
Calves; 108
Canker-Worm, Remedy for; 25
Cans; 111, 367
Carrots; 112
Caterpillars, how destroyed; 24
Cauliflower; 113
Celery; 114
Charcoal; 125
Cheese; 115
Cheese-House; 167
Cherries; 118
Chestnuts; 125
Chickens; 197-199
Churn, Best Form of; 98
Churning, Brief Rules for; 97
Cider; 126
Citron; 127
Cleft-Grafting; 210
Clover; 128, 235
Coffee Bean; 130
Colts, Milk from the Dairy Excellent food for; 248
Conical Training; 420
Corn; 131
Corn, Broom; 87
Cottage, Economical Plan of a Laborer's; 257
Cotton; 134
Cotton Plant, Analysis of; 139
Country Residence, Plan of; 255
Cows; 140
Cranberry; 156
Cucumber; 161
Curculio on Plum-Trees, Unfailing Remedy for; 355
Currants; 164
Currants, Black; 165
Currant Wine, Recipe for making; 433
Dairy; 167
Declension of Fruits, Cause of and Remedy for; 168
Dill; 169
Downing's List of Gooseberries; 208
Drains; 170
Ducks; 172
Dwarfing Fruit-Trees, Process of; 173
Early Fruits and Vegetables, how produced; 174
Eastern States, Varieties of Apples adapted to; 20
Eastwood's Work on Cranberry Culture; 156
Egg Plant; 175
Eggs, how to test and preserve them; 176
Elderberry; 176
Elderberry Wine, a Recipe for Making; 434
Endive; 177
Fan Training of Trees; 417
Farm-Buildings; 251
Feeding Animals; 178
Fences; 179
Fennel; 181
Figs; 181
Fish; 184
Flax; 192
Flowering Shrubs; 195
Flowers; 193
Foot-Paths, Circular, how laid out; 254
Foot-Rot in Animals, Remedy for; 388
Forest Trees; 437
Fowls; 196
Fruit; 200
Fruits, Declension of; 168
Fruits, Early, how produced; 174
Fruits, Preservation of; 367
Fruits, Manner of Gathering; 205
Fruit-Trees, Location of; 269
Fruit-Trees, how to induce Productiveness in; 201
Garden; 202
Garlic; 205
Gathering Fruits; 205
Geese; 205
Gooseberry; 206
Grafting; 208
Grafting-Wax, how made; 211
Grapes; 212
Grape-Wine, Method of making; 435
Grasses; 227
Greenhouse; 231
Guano, Care requisite in the Application of; 277
Guenon's Treatise on the Milking Qualities of Cows; 142
Gypsum; 232, 247
Hams, Preservation of; 370
Harrowing; 233
Hay, making and preserving of; 234
Hedge; 236
Hedge-Pruning; 238
Hedges, Shrubs suitable for the Formation of; 57, 89, 236-238
Hemp; 239
Hens; 196
Herbaceous Flowers; 196
Hive, Proper Construction of; 74
Hoeing; 241
Hogs; 409
Hogstye, Plan of; 252
Hogstye, Manure from the; 274
Hops; 242
Hops, Method of curing; 244
Horizontal Training; 419
Horse; 246
Horseradish; 249
Hotbeds; 249
Hothouse; 231
Houses; 251
Hybrids; 259
Inarching; 259
Insects; 260
Iron-Filings, Beneficial to Pear-Trees 261
Irrigation; 261
Italian Farmhouse, Plan of; 228
Kale; 86
Labels for Fruit-Trees; 202
Laborer's Cottage, Plan of; 257
Landscape Gardens; 263
Lawton Blackberry; 84
Layering; 264
Laying in Trees; 265
Leeks; 266
Lemon; 266
Lettuce; 267
Licorice; 268
Lime, Value of as a Fertilizer; 268
Limes; 269
Liquid Manures, Value of; 273
Location; 269
Locust-Trees; 270
Manures; 271
Maple-Trees, Best Method of tapping; 404
Marjorum; 283
Marl; 282
Melons; 283
Mice, Protection of Fruit-Trees from in Winter; 373
Milk, Condensation and Preservation of; 369
Milking Qualities of Cows, Infallible Marks of; 142-155
Milking, Rules for; 96, 155
Milk, Value of for Horses; 248
Millet; 287
Mint; 288
Moisture, Retention of, leading Benefit of Manure; 277
Mulberry; 289
Mulching; 289
Mushrooms; 290
Muskmelons; 283
Mustard; 292
Nasturtium; 293
Nectarine; 293
New Fruits; 295
New Rochelle (Lawton) Blackberry 84
Northern States, Varieties of Apples suitable for; 30
Nursery; 296
Nuts; 300
Oaks; 301
Oats; 303
Okra; 304
Olives; 304
Onions; 305
Oranges; 308
Orchards; 309
Orchards, Favorable Locations for; 269
Osage Orange; 236
Oxen; 311
Parsley; 312
Parsnips; 313
Pastures; 315
Peas; 316
Peach;; 319
Pear;; 332
Pear-Orchard, Plan of; 337
Pennyroyal Mint; 288
Peppers; 347
Peppergrass; 348
Peppermint; 288
Picket Fences; 180
Piggery, Plan of; 252
Plaster of Paris; 232
Plowing; 348
Plum; 351
Plum, Analysis of; 353
Pomegranate; 359
Potato; 360
Potato-Rot, Cause of and Remedy for; 364
Potato, Sweet; 406
Poultry; 438
Preserving Fruits and Vegetables 367
Protection of Trees for Transplanting 265, 300
Prunes, Domestic; 356
Pruning and Training; 414
Pruning Peach-Trees; 323
Pumpkin; 371
Quince; 372
Rabbits, a Protection of Fruit-Trees from in Winter; 373
Radish; 374
Rail Fences; 180
Raspberry; 375
Raspberry, Black; 85
Rennet, how prepared; 115
Rhubarb; 377
Rice; 378
Rocks, Methods of removing; 379
Rollers; 379
Root Crops; 380
Root-Pruning, Method of; 353
Saffron; 381
Sage; 381
Salsify or Vegetable Oyster; 382
Scraping Land; 382
Seeds; 383
Shade-Trees; 437
Sheep; 384
Sheep-Manure, Value of; 389
Shepherdia, or Buffalo Berry; 390
Skippers in Cheese; 117
Soils; 391
Sorgho, or Chinese Sugarcane; 405
South, Apples adapted to the Climate of the; 31
Spearmint; 288
Spinage or Spinach; 394
Squash; 395
Stable; 59
Stilton Cheese, Method of Making; 117
Strawberry; 396
Subsoil Plowing; 349
Succory; 177
Sugar; 403
Summer-House, Plan of; 256
Summer Savory; 406
Sunflower; 406
Sweet Potato; 406
Swine; 409
Tobacco; 411
Tomato; 412
Tongue-Grafting; 211
Tools; 414
Training and Pruning; 414
Transplanting; 421
Turnip; 422
Van Mon's Theory of the Production of New Fruits; 295
Vegetables, Early; 174
Vegetable Oyster; 382
Vineyards; 213, 216
Wagon-House; 251
Walls, Stone; 179
Watering Gardens in Dry Seasons, Benefits of; 261
Watermelons; 283
Wax-Moth, Protection against; 73
Weevil, or Wheat Midge, Remedy for; 430
Western States, Varieties of Apples suitable for the; 30, 48
Wheat; 423
White Blackberry; 84
Whortleberry; 432
Willow; 432
Wine; 433
Wines, Adulteration of Imported; 212
Winter Lettuce; 177
Wood-Ashes, Value of as a Manure; 53
Woodlands; 437
Woolly Aphis, Remedy for; 23
* * * * *
AGRICULTURAL BOOKS,
PUBLISHED BY
A. O. MOORE,
(LATE C. M. SAXTON & CO.)
140 FULTON STREET, NEW YORK,
_And sent by mail to any part of the United States on receipt of the
price._
1 American Farmers' Encyclopedia. A work of great value $4 00
2 Dadd's Modern Horse Doctor 1 00
3 Dadd's Anatomy and Physiology of the Horse 2 00
4 Do. do. do. do. colored plates 4 00
5 Dadd's American Cattle Doctor 1 00
6 The Stable Book 1 00
7 The Horse's Foot, and how to keep it sound; paper 25 cts., cloth 50
8 Bridgeman's Gardener's Assistant 1 50
9 Bridgeman's Florist's Guide, half cloth 50 cts., cloth 60
10 Bridgeman's Gardener's Instructor, half cloth 50 cts., cloth 60
11 Bridgeman's Fruit Cultivator, half cloth 50 cts., cloth 60
12 Field's Hand-Book of Pear Culture 60
13 Cole's American Fruit Book 50
14 Cole's American Veterinarian 50
15 Buist's American Flower Garden Directory 1 25
16 Buist's Family Kitchen Gardener 75
17 Browne's American Bird Fancier; paper 25 cts., cloth 50
18 Dana's Muck Manual, cloth 1 00
19 Dana's Prize Essay on Manures 25
20 Stockhardt's Chemical Field Lectures 1 00
21 Norton's Scientific and Practical Agriculture 60
22 Johnston's Catechism of Agricultural Chemistry (for Schools) 25
23 Johnston's Elements of Agricultural Chemistry and Geology 1 00
24 Johnston's Lectures on Agricultural Chemistry and Geology 1 25
25 Downing's Landscape Gardening 3 50
26 Fessenden's Complete Farmer and Gardener 1 25
27 Fessenden's American Kitchen Gardener 50
28 Nash's Progressive Farmer 60
29 Richardson's Domestic Fowls 25
30 Richardson on the Horse 25
31 Richardson on the Hog 25
32 Richardson on the Pests of the Farm 25
33 Richardson on the Hive and Honey Bee 25
34 Milburn and Stevens on the Cow and Dairy Husbandry 25
35 Skinner's Elements of Agriculture 25
36 Topham's Chemistry Made Easy 25
37 Breck's Book of Flowers 1 00
38 Leuchar's Hot Houses and Green Houses 1 25
39 Chinese Sugar Cane and Sugar Making 25
40 Turner's Cotton Planter's Manual 1 00
41 Allen on the Culture of the Grape 1 00
42 Allen's Diseases of Domestic Animals 75
43 Allen's American Farm Book 1 00
44 Allen's Rural Architecture 1 25
45 Pardee on the Strawberry 60
46 Peddar's Farmer's Land Measurer 50
47 Phelp's Bee-keeper's Chart 25
48 Guenon's Treatise on Milch Cows; paper 38 cts., cloth 60
49 Domestic and Ornamental Poultry, plain $1.00, colored plates 2 00
50 Randall's Sheep Husbandry 1 25
51 Youatt, Randall, and Skinner's Shepherd's Own Book 2 00
52 Youatt on the Breed and Management of Sheep 75
53 Youatt on the Horse 1 25
54 Youatt, Martin, and Stevens, on Cattle 1 25
55 Youatt and Martin on the Hog 75
56 Barry's Fruit Garden 1 25
57 Munn's Practical Land Drainer 50
58 Stephens' Book of the Farm, complete, 450 illustrations 4 00
59 The American Architect, or Plans for Country Dwellings 6 00
60 Thaer, Shaw, and Johnson's Principles of Agriculture 2 00
61 Smith's Landscape Gardening, Parks, and Pleasure Grounds 1 25
62 Weeks on the Bee: paper 25 cts., cloth 50
63 Wilson on Cultivation of Flax 25
64 Miner's American Bee-keeper's Manual 1 00
65 Quinby's Mysteries of Bee-keeping 1 00
66 Cottage and Farm Bee-keeper 50
67 Elliott's American Fruit Grower's Guide 1 25
68 The American Florist's Guide 75
69 Hyde on the Chinese Sugar Cane, paper 25
70 Every Lady her own Flower Gardener; paper 25 cts., cloth 50
71 The Rose Culturist; paper 25 cts., cloth 50
72 History of Morgan Horses 1 00
73 Moore's Rural Hand Books, 4 vols. 5 00
74 Rabbit Fancier; paper 25 cts., cloth 50
75 Reemelin's Vine-Dresser's Manual 50
76 Neill's Fruit, Flower, and Vegetable Gardener's Companion 1 00
77 Browne's American Poultry Yard 1 00
78 Browne's Field Book of Manures 1 25
79 Hooper's Dog and Gun 50
80 Skilful Housewife; paper 25 cts., cloth 50
81 Chorlton's Grape Grower's Guide 60
82 Sorgho and Imphee, Sugar Plants 1 00
83 White's Gardening for the South 1 25
84 Eastwood on the Cranberry 50
85 Persoz on the Culture of the Vine 25
86 Boussingault's Rural Economy 1 25
87 Thompson's Food of Animals; paper 50 cts., cloth 75
88 Richardson on Dogs; paper 25 cts., cloth 50
89 Liebig's Familiar Letters to Farmers 50
90 Cobbett's American Gardener 50
91 Waring's Elements of Agriculture 75
92 Blake's Farmer at Home 1 25
93 Rural Essays 3 00
94 Fish Culture 1 00
95 Flint on Grasses 1 25
96 Warder's Hedges and Evergreens 1 00
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