i #» Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924089421071 5-,- J f/j:/ltLJ ,:|r/#/^/4^ _„ . V SOIL CULTURE: CONTAINING A COMPREHENSIVE VIEW OF AGRICULTURE, HORTICULTURE, POMOLOGY, DOMESTIC ANIMALS, RURAL ECONOMY, AND AGRICULTURAL LITERATURE. J. H. WALDEN, A. M. ILLUSTRATED BY NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS. NEW YORK: PUBLISHED BY B. F. CHAPPELL & CO. 1858. Entered, according to Act of CongresB, in the year 1857, By J. H. WALDEN, in the Clerk'a Office of the District Court of the United States, in and for the Northfirn District of Illinois. (8^ SAVAGB &, MOCB.EA., STEKKUTYPEH', C. A. AJuVORD, 1'rintkr, 13 Chambers Street, N Y. j^^ j5 Vandewater Street, N. V. TO THE PRACTICAL CULTIVATORS OF THE SOIL, €^t €rnB Inris nf tjiB ^mu, THIS VOLUME IS DEEICATED, 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 tha cultivation of the soil. The result has been the acquisition of more knowledge on the sub- jects 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 origi- nality, as to the discovery of facts and principles, in but few cases. During ten years of preparatory study 6 PREFATORY NOTE TO THE READER. for this work, he has sought the rewards of industry, in sifting out the certain and the useful from the hypo- thetical 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 dispar- age the merits of other works, but to encourage and extend their perusal. We can not too strongly recom- mend 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 fol- lowed, 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. PREFATORY NOTE TO THE READER. 7 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 au- thor 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. Suf&ce it to say, the author has carefully studied all the works mentioned in this volume, and availed him- self of a great variety of verbal suggestions, by scien- tific 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 Yoek, Jamiary 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 Kambo Apple 41 Rome Beauty 42 Westfield Seek-no-further 43 Northern Spy 44 Eoxbury 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 Cni-veline Cow 148 The Bicorn Cow 149 The Demijohn Cow 150 The Square Escutcheon Cowl 51 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 PAGE Hedge-Pruning (4 engravings). 238 Ground Plan of Farm Buildings.252 Ground Plan of Piggery 253 Ground Plan of Country Resi- dence, Farm Buildings, Fruit Gai'den, and Grounds 254 Laying out Curves Illustrated. 255 Ground Plan of Farra-House. .255 Summer-House 256 Laborer's Cottage 257 Ground Plan of Laborer's Cot- tage 257 Italian "Farm-House 7258 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 Beurre 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 385 Shepherdia, or Buffalo Berry. .390 Strawberry Blossoms 397 Fan Training (Four Illustra- tions) 417, 418 Horizontal Training (Two Il- lustrations) 419 Conical Training (Four Illus- trations) 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 wintei'S. 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 suit- V) SOIL CULTURE. able 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 acclima- tion, 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 allu- vial 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, trans- planted from perpetual summer, it successfully endures a temperature of thirty-five degrees below zero. This prince of fruits will yet be successfully grown even be- yond the northern limits of Minnesota. Many vegeta- bles may also be grown in very diflerent 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 pre- ALMONDS, 11 ferred for the peach. Their cultivation and propaga- tion 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 cli- mates. Other varieties are named, but are of no con- sequence 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 com- merce. They will grow equally well in this country ; but labor is so cheap in Europe, that American culti- vators can not compete with it in the almond market. But every one owning land should cultivate a few as a family luxury. 12 SOIL CULTURE. 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 Englaiid, 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 de- licious 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 nutri- tive and medicinal qualities. As a gentle laxative, they are invaluable for children, who should always be al- lowed 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 con- sumption, 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 sufii- APPLES. 13 ciently nutritious for a valuable article of diet. There is no other fruit or vegetable in general use that con- tains such a proportion of nutriment. It has been ascertained in Germany, by a long course of experi- ments, 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 eco- nomical 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 vari- ety 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 at- tention 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, there- 14 SOIL CULTURE. fore, is complete wittout 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. Eough hillsides and broken lands, un- suitable for general cultivation, may be made very val- uable in orchards. It must be enriched, if not origi- nally so, and kept cleaii 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 ob- serves 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 sup- plied 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. Potash .... Soda .... Chloride of solium Sulphate of lime . Phosphate of peroxyde I QgQ ^^qq ^^^^^ of iron .... 5 Sap-wood. Henrt-wood. Bark of trunk. 16.19 6.620 4.930 8.11 7.935 3.285 0.42 0.210 0.540 0.05 0.526 0.637 APPLES. Phosphate of lime . 17.50 5.210 2.425 Phosphate of magnesia 0.20 0.190 Carbonic acid . . . 29.10 36.2'75 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 15 100.65 104.535 111.450 This ta,ble will indicate the application of plenty of ■wood-ashes and charcoal ; lime in hair, bones, horn- shaviDgs, old plaster, common lime, and a little com- mon salt. Lime and ashes, or dissolved potash, are in- dispensable on an old orchard ; they will improve the fruit one half, both in quantity and quality. Propagation. — This is done mainly by seeds, bud- ding 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 div|rsity of opinion. It is certainly a means of most rapidly multiplying a given variety, and is therefore profitable to the nursery- man. For ourselves, we should prefer trees grafted 16 SOIL CULTUEE. just aljove, 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 vari- eties. We consider this far from beiug 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 stand- ing 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 pur- poses of acclimation. But it is so seldom we have a good bearing apple-tree so far removed from others as not to be aff'ected 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-croj^iggrew 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-graft- ing after the first year's growth The pomice from the APPLES. 17 cider-iiiill 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 culti- vator and hoe to pass close by them, and thus save two thirds of the cost of cultivation. The question of keep- ing 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 sliglitest 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 graft- ing, tie them up in bunches, and pack in tight boxes of moist sand or saw-dust. Transplanting. — This is fully treated elsewhere in this work. We give under each fruit only what is pe- culiar 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 suffi- ciently 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 bei||^de larger than for any other tree, because its roots are wide-speading, like its branches. ■ The earth should be thrown out to the depth of twenty inches, and four or five feet square, 18 SOIL CULTUEE. 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 bot- tom 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 de- caying 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 de- feats 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 iMtoemoved 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 APPLES. 19 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 pre- serves a regularity of moisture that almost insures the life of the tree. Priming. — The tops should be kept open and ex- posed to the sun, the cross limbs cut out, and every- thing 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 with- out 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 pas^jfcpund under its branches. ^m Distance apart. — In a full-grown orchard, that is designed to cover the ground, the trees should be two 20 SOIL CULTURE. rods (thirty-tliree 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 or- chards, 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 sea- son, 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 no||B|aring seasons, and you will find some orchards and 'Pfoe 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 APPLES. 21 is a matter of mere habit, in all except what is deter- mined 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 pas- tured, with fowls, calves, or sheep. Swine are recom- mended, as they will eat all the apples that fall prema- turely, and with them the worms that made them fall. But we have often seen hogs, by their rooting and rub- bing, 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 "in- fested 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 per- formed, 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^e 15th of August, with a ley of wood-ashes or dissolva^^fcash. Apple- trees will bear it strong enough t^B^some of the finest cherries. We add another vwy effectual wash. Let cultivators qhoose between the two. Into two gal- 22 SOIL CULTURE. Ions of water put two quarts of soft-soap and one fourth pound of sulphui". If you add tobacco-juice, or any other very oiFensive 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 sea- sons. 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. a The young worm. J Thiffiill-grown worm, c The same mngnifled. d C'lconp. e ChryeallB. / Perfect insect, ^ The same magnified. A i Passage of the vvui-iii in the fruit, j Worm in the fruit, ft Place of egress. APPLES, 23 -Ba/rkrlouse. — 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 sup- posed 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, ap- plied by a rag tied to the end of a stick. The opera- tor 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 tliM^ ^is can be done effectually by placing a smal^^^pd'of ashes or lime around each tree early in thcT^Jpg.Ji On nursery-trees their attacks* may be prevented by 24 SOIL CULTURE. Borer. Eggs. Beetle. ■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 eveiy season. Caterpillars are the product of a miller of a reddish- brown color, measuring about an inch and a half .when flying. They deposite 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 hab- its 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 dif&cult to reach them all. They may also be rubbed off with a brush or swab on the end of a pole, and burned. The prin- ciple is tO" getdM^off, web and all, and destroy them. This can alway^^Bpfectually done, if attended to early in the seas(fe, aSWarly in the morning. If any have been missed, and come out in insects to deposite more APPLES. 26 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. Caterpillar Eggs. Cankei-worm Moths, Mnio 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 col- ored 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, water- proof glue. The eggs hatch from Ma^st to June 1st, according to the latitude and season^Ha come out an ash-colored worm with a yellow stripe". "'■ They are very voracious, sometimes entirely stripping an orchard of 2 26 SOIL CULTUEE. its foliage. At the end of about four weeks they de- scend 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 al- lowed 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 pre- viously 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 re- main till the last of May. But the first, the process of killing then^^ far the, best. Gatherin^T^ 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 APPLES. 27 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, saw- dust, &c., this is, on the whole, the best and cheapest. Wrapping the apples in paper before putting them into the b3,rrels, 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 descrip- tion of fruits is "not of the least use to one out of ten thousand cultivators. The best pomo^psts 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 28 SOIL CULTURE. 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 culti- vator of thirty years' experience, aud he could not identify it. This is a fair view of the condition of the nomenclature of fruits. The London experimental gar- dens are doing much to systemize it, and the most sci- entific growers are congratulating . them on their suc- cess. 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 modifica- tion of varieties by stocks, manures, climates, and loca- tion, 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 de- scription of the general (Jualities 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. Hewk, 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 APPLES. 29 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 vari- eties 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 dififerent 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 qual- ities 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 Pear- Cogswell. main. Peck's Pleasant. Garden Royal. Wagener. Jefferis. Rhode IslanA Greening. Porter. King of Tompkins County. Jersey Sweet. Swaar. Large Yellow Bough. Baldwin. 30 SOIL CULTURE. Graven stein. Maiden's Blush. Autumn Sweet Bough. Pall Pippin. Mother. Smokehouse. Rambo. Esopus Spitzenburg. Lady Apple. Ladies' Sweet. Red Canada. Newtown Pippin. Boston Russet. Northern Spy. Wine Sap. APPLES FOR THE NORTH. Red Astrachan. Early Sweet Bough. Saps of Wine or Bell's Early. Golden Sweet. William's Favorite. Porter. Dutchess of Oldenburgh. Keswick Codlin. Hawthornden. Gravenstein. Mother. Tolman Sweet. Pameuse. Pomme Gris. Canada Reinette. Yellow Bellflower. Golden Ball. St. Lawrence. Jewett's Fine Red. Rhode Island Greening. Baldwin. Winthrop Greening. Danvers Winter-Sweet. Ribstono Pippin. Roxberry Russet. APPLES FOR THE WESTERN STATES, Made up from the contributions of twenty different cultivators, from five Western states. Domine. Swaar. Westfield Seek-no-further. Pear- Broadwell. Vandevere of New York, or Newtown Spitzenburg. Early Harvest. Carolina Red June. Red Astrachaij. American Summer main. Sweet June. APPLES. 81 Large Sweet Bough. Summer Queen. Maiden's Blush. Keswick Codlin. Pall Wine. Rambo. Belmont. Fall Pippin. Pameuse. Jonathan. Tolman Sweet. Ortly, or White Bellflower. Yellow Bellflower. White Pippin. American Golden Russet. Herfordshire Pearmain. White Pearmain. Wine Sap. Rawle's Janet. Red Canada. Willow Twig. APPLES FOR THE SOUTH AKD SOUTHWEST. Early Harvest. Carolina Juice. Red Astrachan. Gravenstein. American Summer Pear- main. Julian. Mangum. Fall Pippin. Maiden's Blush. Summer Rose. Porter. Rambo. Large Early Bough. Fall Queen, or Ladies' Fa- vorite. Oconee Greening. Nickajack. Maverack's Sweet. Batchelor or King. Buff. Shockley. Ben Davis. Hall. Mallecarle. Horse. . Bonum. Large Striped Pearmain. Rawle's Janet. Disharoon. Meigs. CuUasaga. Camack's Sweet. Some varieties are included in all these lists, show- ing that the best cultivators regard some of our finest 32 SOIL CULTUKE. apples as adapted to all parts of the country. A care- ful comparison of Hooper's lists, as recommended by the best Western cultivators, whose names are there mentioned, mil show that they name the same best va- rieties, with a few additions. We have carefully examined the varieties recom- mended 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 negd be cultivated for profit. The best six might be still bet- ter. Yet, in your localities, you will find good ones not named in the books, and new ones will be con- stantly rising. Downing adds that " Newtown Pippin does not suc- ceed generally at the West, yet in some locations they are very fine. R]iode 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 cli- mate, 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 graft- ing 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. APPLES. 83 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 lati- tude. 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 con- tracted 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 cul- tivated, 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 con- stant prolific bearer. Fruit large, skin yellowish, shaded and striped with crimson, and sprinkled with lightish dots. Yellowish flesh, fine subacid flavor. Tender, crisp, and juicy. Season, November to April. 2* 34 SOIL CULTURE. Bau)WW.— Synonyms— La.te Baldwin, Woodpecker, Pecker, Steele's Red Winter. Stands at the head of all apples, in the Boston mar- ket. Fruit large and handsome. Tree hardy, and an abundant bearer. It is of the family of Esopus Spitz- enburg. Yellowish white flesh, crisp and beautiful flavor, from a mingling of the acid and saccharine. Season, from November to March. On some rich west- ern soils, it is disposed to bitter rot, which may be easily prevented, by application to the soil of lime and potash. Canada 'R^'d.— Synonyms — Old Nonsuch, Richfield Nonsuch, Steele's Red Winter. An old fruit in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Tree APPLES. 35 not a great grower, but a profuse bearer. Good ia Ohio, Michigan, and other Western states. Retains its fine flavor to the last. January to May. Bellplower. — Synonyms — Yellow Bellflower, Lady Washington, Yellow Belle-fleur. 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. 36 SOIL CULTURE. Early Harvest. — Synonyms — Early French Rein- ette, Prince's Harvest, July Pippin, Yellow Harvest, Large White Juneating, Tart Bough. The best early apple. Bright straw color. Subacid, white, tender, juicy, and crisp. Equally good for cook- ing 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. APPLES. 87 Esopus Spitzenbueg. — Synonym — True Spitzenburg. Large, fine flavored, lively red fruit. It is every- where 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 yel- lowish, 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. 38 SOIL CULTURE. Rhode Island Greening. — Synonyms — Burliagton Greening, Jersey Greening, Hampshire Greening. 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 'R.tjssky:.-^ 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 APPLES. 39 fruit is spiall, 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. A noble fruit, unsurpassed by any other autumn apple. Very large, equally adapted to table and kitchen. Pine 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. 40 SOIL CULTURE. Newtown Pippin. — Synonyms — Green Newtown Pip- pin, Green Winter Pippin, American Newtown Pippin, Petersburg Pippin. This is put down as the first of all apples. It com- mands 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 eat- ing from December to May. ' The yellow pippin, is another variety nearly as good. PoETER. — A Massachusetts fruit, very fair ; a very great bearer. Is a favorite in Boston. Deserves gen- eral cultivation. September and into October. Smokehouse. — Synonyms — Mill Creek Vandevore, English Vandevere. An old variety from Pennsylvania, where the original APPLES. 41 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. This is a great fall apple. Medium size, flat, yellow- ish 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 Decem- ber. Canada Rbinette. — 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. 42 SOIL CULTURE. Rome Beauty. — Synonyms — Roman Beauty, Gillett's Seedling. 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. APPLES. 43 Westfield Seek-no-furthbr. — Synonyms — Seek-no- [ further, Red Winter Pearmain, Connecticut Seek-no- further. 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, Trav- ers', 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 es- 44 SOIL CULTURE. teemed. This is most successfully grown in the colder parts of the United States and Canada. Fruit medium, deep yello-w, firm, crisp ; flavor sharp aromatic. No- vember to April. ^ Northern Spy. — This is a new American variety, with no synonyms. It originated near Rochester; N. Y. 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 excel- lent condition. A fair bearer of beautiful fruit. Sub- acid with a peculiar freshness of flavor. Dark stripes of, purplish red in the sun, but a greenish pale yellow iii the shade. High culture and an open top for admission of the sun, affects the fruit more favorably than any other. APPLES. 45 RoxBUBT Russet. — Synonyms — Boston Russet, Put- nam Russet. An excellent fruit, and prodigious bearer. Medium size, flesh greenish white, rather juicy, and subacid. Good in January, and onfe of,,|>l;^e best in market in June. There are other^russets of Jatger size, but much in- ferior. This should be in every collection. It is not first in richness and' -flavoif, but it is superior to most in productiveness, and is one of the best keepers. Large Yellow Bough. — Anonyms — Early Sweet Bough, Sweet Harvest, Bough. No harvest-apple equals this, except the Early Har- vest. Excellent for the dessert, but rather sweet for pies and sauce. Fruit- above medium. Tree a moder- ate grower, but a profuse beftrer. Flesh white and very tender. Very swfet ari4 sprightly. July and August. Should have a'place, i^ven in a small collec- tion. 46 SOIL CULTURE. SwAAR. — One of the best American fruits. Its name in Dutch, where it originated on the Hudson River, means heavy. Fruit is large, and when fully ripe, of a dead gold color, dotted with many brown specks. Flesh yellow- ish, fine grained, and tender. Flavor aromatic and ex- ceedingly 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 weU on a variety of soils. Very fine in the West. YeUow flesh, very firm, and high flavored. November to May. Deservedly, a very popular orchard variety: APPLES. 47 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, some- times a brilliant red cheek. Rapid growing tree, with a fine spreading head, bearing most abundantly. Au- gust and October. 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 green- ish -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. 48 SOIL CULTUEE. 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 lit- tle 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 cat- alogue of the most popular varieties of apples, recom- mended 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, In- diana, Illinois. Rhode Island Greening. — Michigan, Iowa, Ohio, Missouri, Illinois. Swaar. — Ohio, Illinois, Michigan. Esopus Spitzenhurg. — Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio. Earli/ Harvest. — Virginia, Ohio, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Iowa. Sweet Boug-h.— Illinois, Virginia, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio. APPLES. 49 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. Route's Janet. — Iowa, Virginia, Illinois. Lady Apple. — Ohio, Missouri. For the value of these varieties, in the states men- tioned, you have the authority, of the best pomologioal societies. The several states are mentioned so fre- 3 60 SOIL CULTURE. quently, 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, be- . cause 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, ma- nured as the peach and plum. The best varieties pro- duce 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 per- sist 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 frilit, 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. Va/rieties are quite numerous, a few of which only APEICOT. 61 deserve cultivation. Any of the niae following varie- ties are good : — Bbown's Early. — Yellow, with red cheek. A very productive, great grower. Newhall's Bably. — Bright-orange color, with deep- red cheek. A good cling-stone variety, every way worthy of cultivation. MooRPARK. — Yellow, with ruddy cheek. An enor- mous bearer, though of slow growth. It is a free-stone variety of English origin, and needing a little protec- tion in our colder latitudes. Dubois' Early GtOLdbn. — 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. EoMAN. — 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 blos- som. Eaten plain, before thoroughly ripe, they are not healthy ; otherwise, harmless and delicious. Every garden should have half a dozen. 62 ' SOIL CULTURE. AKTICHOKB. 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 ojily 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 inwin- ter, to protect from severest cold. Too much warmth, however, is more injurious than frost. ASHES. 53 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, prop- erly made, will last four or five years. To save seed, beijd 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 Ameri- can 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. Pew articles about a hxjuse or farm should he 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 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. 64 SOIL CULTURE. 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, trans- planting 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. Pill with ma- nure 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 remem- bered 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 ASPARAGUS. 55 fof each row ; put an inch of rich mould in the bottom ; set the plants on the mould, with the roots spread nat- urally, with the ends pointing a little downward. Be very particular about the position of the roots. Pill 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. (Jutting 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 regu- larly 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, afibrding 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 56 SOIL CULTORB. 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 m a tight, dry drawer, until needed for use. BAEBBRRY. 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, pic- kles, &c. Preserves made of equal parts (Of barberry and sweet apples, or outer- •"iXv- 4/vP^^* °^ ^^^ water-melons, are very supe- '•H ^*^ rior. It is also one of the best shrubs for Barberries. nCdge. The bark has much of the tannin principle, and with BARLEY. 57 the wood, is used for coloring yellow. Shrub, blos- soms, and fruit, are quite ornamental, forming a beau- tiful 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. BAELEY. 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 a,cre, 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 har- vested. It is controverted whether the six-rowed vari- ety yields the largest crop to the acre. If the weather 68 SOIL CtJLTUEE. 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 scat- tered 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 cafe 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 farm- ers 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 profit- able agricultural products. BARNS. 59 BARNS. A BAEN 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 de- signed 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 cen- tre 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 sufiBcient 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, sur- rounded 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 accommo- date. Let the mangers be around next the cellar, for 60 SOIL CULTURE. convenience of feeding. Such a barn would be more convenient for a dairy of one hundred cows, or for win- ter-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. Pale beans are troublesome to raise, and are only grown on account of excellence of quality, and to have suc- cessive gatherings from the same vines. Pale 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 de- signed 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. BEANS. 61 But plant at the same time of the com, 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 thor- oughly 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 indispensa,ble. 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 draw- ing in, keep the rack under them covered with blankets to save those that shell. 02 SOIL CULTURE. 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. BEANS. 63 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 orna- ment on account of its great profusion of scarlet blos- soms continuing until frost, is a very productive vari- ety ; pods very large and very succulent, making an excellent string-bean ; a rich variety when dry, but ob- jectionable on account of their dark color. The Red and the White Cranberries, Dutch Oaseknife, 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 bot- tom-up on the hotbed, and covered with fine mould ; plant four beans on each sod ; when frost is gone, re- move 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 set- ting poles, or drive a stake down first, and set poles very deep, or they will blow down and destroy the beans. 64 SOIL CULTURE. 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 hun- dred 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 be- fore 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, Qninby, 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 BEES AND BEEHIVES. 65 those 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 of&ces of each ; their mechani- cal skill in cgnstructing 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 sover- eignty 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 hi^es by a swift motion of 'their wings, causing the buzzing noise they make in a summer even- ing ; their method of repairing broken comb, and build- ing fortifications, before their entrances, at certain times, to keep out the sphinx — all these curious mat- ters 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 fol- low, 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 66 SOIL CULTURE. 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 oooMng-ranges and stoves. We have carefully considered the principle in it 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 vol- umes 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 fol- lowing : — ' * 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 difBcult 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 BEES AND BEEHIVES. 67 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. Bet- ter 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 68 SOIL CULTUBE. around, on the places of intersection, to guard against enemies ; the two lower sections only allowed to con- tain 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, trans- lated 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 colo- nies. 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, Ac, is usually ridiculed ; but we believe it to be useful, and that on philosophic principles. The object to be se- cured 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, con- fusion 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 BEES AND BEEHIVES. 69 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 de- stroyed. The following cuts of the three classes of bees will enable one to distinguish the queen. Working Bc(?. : Clueen. Drone. 70 SOIL CULTURE. 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 bot- tom, 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 chan- ging 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 BEES AND BEEHIVES. 7l 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 wasteftil tax upon the time and strength of loaded bees, to make them trav- el through the. whole length of the hive, into boxes on the top. Place boxes as near as possible to their en- trp,nce 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 diffi- cult matters in bee-culture. Two evils are to be guarded against, dampness and suffocation. Excessive damp- ness, sometimes causes frost about the entratSoe 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, 72 SOIL CULTURE. 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 dfiring 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 them- selves, 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 some- thing 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 ex- cludes the light, and renders the bees inactive. Gil- BEES AND BEEHIVES. 73 uiore's patent bee-house, is a great improvement on tMs 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-pre- pared food, as given above. But the great question in bee-culture is, How to pre- vent the depredation of the wax-moth? To this sub- ject, much study has been given, and respecting it many theories have been advanced. The following sugges- tions 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 efiectual. 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 4 74 SOIL CULTURE. 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. Bet- ter 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. 6. 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. Mil- lers 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 betteron every BEES AND BEEHIVES. 75 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 pos- sible 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 won- derful 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 fan- ning 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 sus- tained 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 76 SOIL CULTtfRE. 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 getieral adoption of this principle, whatever hives are used, would be a new era in the science of bee-culture. No beehive should ever be ex- posed to the direct rays of the sun in a beehouse. A hive standing alone, with a free circulation of 5 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 sea- sons 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 unir form 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 BEETS. 77 rain and sunshine, may be the property of all. The design of this volume is to enable the poor and the un- learned to enjoy these things in abundance, with only that amount of care and labor necessary to give them a zest. BEETS. Op this excellent root there are quite a number of varieties. Mangel-Wurtzel yields most for field-cul- ture, and is the great beet for feeding to domestic ani- mals ; 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. 78 SOIL CULTURE. and they will attain the size and age at wliich 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 en- dure 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 plant- ing, 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 plant- ing 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 mubh 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 BEETS. 79 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 th'e 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 an- other 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 out- door 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 care- lessness, 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 tliis country. No one who keeps domestic animals or fowls should fail to raise a beetcrop ; it is one of the surest crops grown ; it is never destroyed by insects, and drought affects it but very little. On good soil. 80 SOIL CULTURE. beets produce an enormous weight to the acre. The lower leaves may be stripped off twice during the sea- son, 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 estab- lished, now, that four pounds of beet equal in nourish- ment 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 BENE PLANT. 81 of their meadows, at a great saving of expense, pro- ducing 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 propor- tion 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 through- out the North as a medicinal herb. A Virginia gentleman gave Thorburn & Son, seed- dealers of New York, the following account of its vir- tues : 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 in- crease the quantity of leaves. We recommend to all families to raise it, and try its virtues, under the advice of their family physicians. 4* y"2 SOIL CULTURE. 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 reck- lessness 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 stand- ing still are useless, as the birds often build nests in the pockets. BLACKBERRY. 83 BLACKBERRY. This berry grows wild, in great abundance, in many parts of the country. It has been so plentiful, espe- cially 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 ; excel- lent 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. 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 roumd, and not nearly so sweet. High-Imeh Hlnt-kherry, 84 SOIL CULTURE. The best cultivated varieties aie — The Doechestee — Introduced from Massachusetts, and a vigorous, large, regular bearer. Lawton, or New Eochelle. — 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 pro- ductions 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 mel- low soil, and where the sun will not shine on them be- tween eight and five o'clock in hot weather. In trans- planting, 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 star ble 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 appa- rently good bearer, of perfect fruit — a variety called vihite blackberry. The fruit was greenish and pleasant to the taste. BONES. 85 BLACK RASPBBRRy. 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. Cul- tivated with little animal manure, but plenty of saw- dust, 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 withput 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 8G SOIL CULTUEE. 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 vegetar bles 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 de- sirable in this country. Cultivate as cabbage. In por- tions 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 profu- sion of delicious sprouts. This would be a valuable addition to many of our kitchen gardens. BROCOOLL This may be regarded as a late flowering species of cauliflower. It should be planted and treated as cab- BROOM CORN. 87 bage, and fine heads -will be formed, in the middle states, in October : at the South much earlier, accord- ing 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 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 88 SOIL CULTURE. 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, hav- ing two hundred wrought nails with their points pro- jecting. 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 manufficture 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, gen- erally, 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 com is up, is beneficial to the crop. BUCKTHORN. 89 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 theyare 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. 90 SOIL qULTURE. BUCKWHEAT. This will grow well on almost any soil ; even that too poor for most other crops will yield very good buck- wheat — 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 quan- tities of honey, much inferior to that made of white clo- ver ; 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 erup- tive diseases. The India buckwheat is more produc- tive, 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. BUODING. 91 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. Budding small trees should usually be performed very near the ground, and on a smooth place. Any sharp pocket-knife vrill do ; but a regular budding knife, now for sale in most hardware-stores, is preferable. Cut through the bai"k 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. Selecta vig- orous 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 : 92 SOIL CULTURE. 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 contigu- ous to it. If the bud slip be too long, after it is sufB- ciently pressed down, cut off the top so as to make a good fit with the bark above the cut (6 in cut). The lower end of the bud will have raised the split bark a little more to make room for itself, and thus yill 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 conve- nient 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 saw- dust, 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 BUDDING. 93 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 tegetables for market, &c. Matting that comes around Eussia 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 loos- ened 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, re- move 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,/). 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 rea- 94 SOIL CULTURE. sonable 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 loth 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 dif- ficulty 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 destroy- ing noxious shrubs, is by grubbing them up with a mat- tock. 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 plas- ter to promote the growth of grass, will sometimes quite effectually destroy them. Larger trees, as the sweet locust, that are troublesome on account of sprQut- BUTTER. 95 ing out from the roots, when cut down, are effectually killed by girdling two feet from the ground, and allow- ing to stand one year. The tree, roots, and all, are sure to die. BUTTER. Raising the cream, churning, working, and preserv- ing, 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 per- fectly 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, con- taining 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 difi&cult 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 96 SOIL CULTURE. 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 direc- tions, 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 un- pleasant 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' stioyAA. be performed with great care. Ex- periments 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 in- ferior, while it dries up the cows. There are probably millions of cows now in the United States that are indif- ferent 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, BUTTER. 97 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. Leav- ing a teacupful, or oven 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. Chwming. — 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 5 98 SOIL CULTURE. 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 con- struct 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 mar- rowy richness than any other, first let the calves draw half or two thirds of the milk, and then take the re- mainder. This makes the finest butter in the world. Preserving Butter depends upon the treatment im- mediately after churning. Success depends upon get- ting 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 su- BUTTER. 99 periority 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 there- fore 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 fiirst 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 rea- son always is, putting in the salt immediately on churn- ing, 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 recom- mend washing as preferable ; it has the following ad- vantages: 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 100 SOIL CULTURE. 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, ezpel- ling the milk in the shortest time, and working the but- ter the least, lead us to prefer using water, by one hun- dred 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. Eepeat 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 difl&culty in keeping butter grows out of fail- ure 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 essen- tials of good butter making : — BUTTER. 101 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 un- pleasant 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. Eemember 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 work- ing 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 sufiBciently 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. 102 SOIL CULTURE. 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 mar- ket 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 Drumheadj or Large Flat Dutch, are the best for winter and spring use. There are many varieties under these names, so that culti- vators often get disappointed in purchasing seeds. It CABBAGE. 103 is now difficult to describe cabbages intelligibly. Ev- ery 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 acquaint- ed. Of this Tariety (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 Cueled Savoy, when well grown, is a good variety. The Imperial, the Russian, Large Scotch for feed- ing, 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 noth- ing 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 ma- nure, and plow with two teams in the same furrow, one 104 SOIL CtTLTUEB. 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-plowiag is better m 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 CABBAGE. 105 moisture. Manure from the blacksmith-shop, contain- ing hoof-parings, &c., is very good. If the manure be too dry, pour in -vrater 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 fur- ther watering will be necessary, and not one out of twen- ty-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 dan- ger 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 suc- ceeded 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 bo 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. 5* 106 SOIL CULTURE. 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 auy 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 weath- er : if it be so wet as to render the soil muddy by stir- ring, 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 oif all the earth from the seed-bed that ad- heres to it. Put the plant in its place at once, and the soil in which it is to grow takes hold of the roots read- ily, and neai'ly 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, thruvst 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 CABBAGES. 107 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 Inethod 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 mel- low 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 gairden with anything else of tlie 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. 108 SOIL CULTURE. CALVES. The best method of raising calves is of much impor- tance. It controls the value and beauty of grown cat- tle. 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 recom- mended. 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 mar- ket 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, " Any- thing worth doing at all, is worth doing well" is no- where 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 lin- seed-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 suflEicient : — 1. Sef&om 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. CALVES. 109 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. Peed 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 quan- tity 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. 110 SOIL CULTURE. ho 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 dif- ficult to regulate it as you please, and more difficult to feid 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, mi?ed with plenty of hay and pure water, and always from a month old give salt twice a week. 7. If calves are inclined to pm-ge 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 win- ter, calves should be shut up in a warm dry place. Keep them curried clean. The cold and wet of the first winter are very injuri- ous. 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, CANS. Ill 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 befcJre they are twenty days old. It will then be only slightly injurious. CANS. These are much used for preserving fruits and vege- tables. 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 sim- ple. 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 gradu- ally 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 heat- ing 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 112 SOIL CULTURE. 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 drug- gist'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 ordi- nary 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 culti- vated 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, exceed- CAULIFLOWER. 113 ing but a little that of ordinary field-crops. Sow as early as conTenient, as the longer time they have, the larger will be the product. They grow until hard frosts, whenever you may sow them. There are seve- ral varieties, but the Long Orange is the only one that ■ it is ever best to grow ; it is richer than the white, arid 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 sev- eral 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. 114 SOIL CULTURE. 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 beauti- fully 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 when- ever you please, and it will be as fresh as in the fall. This is better than the methods of keeping in the cel- lar ; it is more certain, and keeps the celery in perfect condition. CHEESE. 115 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 ma- kers. But we give the following more general out- lines, leaving our readers to learn all further details as recommended above. Eennet, 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 ordi- nary plain method is quite sufficient — which is, to fteep 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 be- tween the curd and the hoop, and put it in the press. After a few hours take it out, wash the cloth and put it 116 SOIL CULTURE. 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 salt- ing cheese ; the moisture in it at this stage will cause it to absorb just about as much salt as will be agree- able. Eeturn 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 win- dows of the cheese-room should be shut ; if cool, they should be opeh 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. CHEESE. 117 Skippers. — Some persons are very fond of skippery cheese. But few, however, like meat and milk to- gether, 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 moist- ure 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 bul^ ter, 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 put- ting 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 differ- ence, 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 chcese-pressers there is a great variety : each maker will select the one 118 SOIL CULTUBE. 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 suc- cession 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 ornar mental tree, making a beautiful shade, besides the lux- ury 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 dis- tricts, 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 con- CHERRY. 119 tinent. 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 follow- ing August, or on the last of July, bud them near the ground. The stocks are to be headed back the follow- ing spring, and the bud will make five or six feet of growth the same season. The cherry-tree seldom needs 120 SOIL CULTUEE. pruning, further than to pinch ofif 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. Whal^ ever pruning yon must do, do it in the hottest summer weather, and the wounds will dry and prevent the exudation of gum. Trees are generally trained hori- zontally. Some, however, are trained as espaliers against walls, and in fan shape. When once the form is perfected (as given under Training), nothing is neces- sary 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 efibrt to enable our. read- ers 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. 7. Flesh-color'dBigarreau. 2. Black Eagle. 8. Elton. 3. Early White Heart. 9. Belle de Choisy. 4. Downton. 10. May Duke. 5. Downer's Late. 11. Kentish. 6. Manning's Mottled. 12. Knight's Early Black. CHERRY. 121 The National Convention ofl'ruit-growers recommend the following as the best for the whole country: — 1. May Duke. 5. Knight's Early Black. 2. Black Tartarean. 6. Downer. 3. Black Eagle. 7. Elton. 4. Bigarreau. 8. Downton. "We recommend the following as all that "Heed be cultivated; for profit. They are adapted alike to the field and , the garden. We omit the synonyms, and give only ithe predominant color. The figures in the cuts refer to our numbers in the list : — Name. Color. Time, 1. Eockport 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 whiqh are hardly distinguishablje from our list. We recommend to all cultivators to pro- cure the best in their localities, imder the advice of th^ 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 G 122 SOIL CULTURE. Cherries— Natural Size and Shape. (See page 121.) CHEERY. 123 and others for New England and Canada ; Hooker and other great fruit-growers of Southern Ohio, &c., FENCES. 179 FENCES. These are matters of great importance to the farmers of tlie 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 at- tention duriag 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. 180 SOIL CULTUKB. Of the various styles of picket, and other fancy fences for front yards, &c., it is more the province of the archi- tect 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 deci- dedly 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 con- sidered expensive. But as the farmer may prepare his posts and rails in winter, and it will require no atten- tion to keep it up, and is very durable and perfectly effectual against cattle, it is an economical fence. For hedges, see that article. FIGS. 181 FENNEL. This is a hardy perennial plant of Southern Europe, and belongs to both the culinary aud the medicinal de- partments. 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. PIGS. This fruit is native in the warmer parts of Asia: hence, the cold winters of the Mid- dle, 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 pro- tected either in cellars, green- houses, or the open air, and uncovered or planted out in the beginning of warm weath- er. Frequent removals and 182 SOIL COLTURE. 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. iSouth of Virginia, the fig is hardy, and may be culti- vated 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 freez- ing, which would require' only a small outlay. Men of moderate means might thus have oranges, lemons, figs, (fee, 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 de- scribed 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 givei 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, PIGS. 183 Lemon Pig ; 9, White Genoa, White Italian ; 10, Ne- rii ; 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 intro- duced 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 excel- lent. 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. iVem. T— Said tobeithe 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 re- moval 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 sufi&cient 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 184 SOIL CULTURE. strong a growth, as it is somewhat apt to do. The remedy is rooi-prwning . Cut off, on the^ first of No- vember, 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 ex- tensively practised in France. Compost, containing a pretty liberal proportion of lime, is the best manure for the fig. PISH. The cultivation of fish is attracting much attention in this country and in Europe. The study and experi- ments of scientific and practical men have established important facts upon this subject. Pish may be suc- cessfully cultivated wherever water can be conveniently obtained. The creeks, ponds, and small rivers of our land may be well stocked with fish. Pish 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 author- ities, 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 Ms land, or what stocks on his farm. PISH. 185 ' 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 occu- pancy of fish of different ages, and for different species of fish. Pish of difierent ages are much inclined to destroy each other for food ; and hence, in order to multiply them most rapidly, they should be kept in sep- arate ponds until considerably grown, when they will take care of themselves.. A spring sending forth a riv- ulet of clear water, and not subject to overflow in fresh- ets, is the best location. Clear, cool water is essential to the trout, while some other fish will do well ia 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 con- nected with flumes made of plank. If the space they must occupy be small, make the flumes zigzag, to in- crease 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 di- rected), 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 186 SOIL CULTDEE. 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 be- fore 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 depos- ited. 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 spawn- ing. 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 PISH. 187 gently with the other hand, gradually moving it down- ward, 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 piore 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 pref- erable. The old fish can be returned to tj^e water, and may live many years and produce thousands of fish. These fish, carefully treated and fed, will beconie so tame as to eat out of your hand, like the "Naiad Queen" of Professors Ackley and Garlicky of Cleve- land, Ohio. Among all the hatching apparatus we have seen described, we regard that of the above pro- fessors 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 188 SOIL CULTURE. 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 boxeawere 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 destruc- tive 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 pre- venting impurities in spring-water, that will be always effectual : just around on the upper side of the spripg 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 per- fect. This great care is only necessary for trout. All other fish worthy of cultivation, will only need spawn- ing-beds on the margin of their pond. A convenient hatching apparatus is a number of wicker-baskets, fine enough ilot to allow the eggs to pass through, set in a flume of clear running water. The method of Gehen and Eemy, the great fish-cul- tivators 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- FISH. 189 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 col- lege 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 hatch- ing trough a few inches lower, into which water grad- ually 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 poud until a year old. 190 SOIL CULTURE. 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 difierent 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 prin- ciples can hq carried out in small streams, by construct- ing gates to keep sections separate, and by formiing 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 i 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 cov- ering 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 ordi- nary 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 pu^e than is demanded for the trout. ■ .'. White Bass. — Not so large as the black bass. Sel- dom weighs more than two pounds. One of the best for food. Thrives well in small ponds. Requires the same FISH. 191 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 sev- eral 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 aiid 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 beau- tiful 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 ar- tificial ponds. Treat like all the preceding ; or allowed to take its own course in the pond, it will increase rap- idly. .;,; J T'lV Sim-Fish. — Rarely weighs more than half a pound, but, is a gobd pan-fish. 'This- and' the grass bass and yellow perch may be put together in the same poiid. Eels. — May be cultivated with great success in almost any water. But we are so prejudiced against them, 192 SOIL CTJLTUKE. 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 imme- diate 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. Pish are so certainly and easily raised, that the prac- tice of cultivating them should be universally adopted. Transporting fish alive is somewhat hazardous, espe- cially 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 in- crease the quantity, and improve the quality. In noth- ing else is it more important. In Ireland, the great flax- growing country of the world, they always sow foreign FLOWERS. 193 seed when it can be procured. American seed is pre- ferred, 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, how- ever, as with all seeds, is to change from colder to wanner 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. PLOWEES. Eloeicultueb is an employment appropriate to all classes, ages, and conditions. No yard connected with a dwelling is complete without a flower-bed. The cultiva- tion of flowers is eminently promotive of health, refine- ment of manners, and good taste. Constant familiarity with the most exquisite beauties of nature must refine 9 194 SOIL CULTUKE. the feelings and produce gentleness of spirit. Associa- tion with flowers should be a part of every child's edu- cation. Their cultivation is suitable for children and young ladies in all the walks of life. House-plants, and bouquets in sick-rooms, are inju- rious ; 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 ear- nestly 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 prac- ticable. Avoid, as much as possible, planting in the shade. Soil — Should be a deep, rich mould, neither too wet uor too dry, and should be enriched with a little com- post, every year. Sowing the Seeds is a most important matter in cul- tivating flowers. Many fail to come up, solely on ac- count 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 FLOWERS. 195 small stakes to indicate their location ; you can then stir the ground freely without destroying them. Flow- ers 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 water- ing 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 divis- ions 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, with- out 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 consider- able 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, Fera- ria tigrida, crocus, narcissus, and jonquils. Flowering- Shrubs. — The following is a select small 196 SOIL CULTURE. list : Eoses, as large a variety as you please, out of the hundreds known ; flowering almond, Indigo shrub, wa- hoo or fire-shrub, the mountain-ash, althea, snow-ball, lilac, fringe-tree, snow-drop, double-flowering peach, Siberian crab, the smoke-tree, or French tree, or Veni- tian 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 amaranthj China and German astors — the latter are very beautiful — Canterbury bell, carnation pinks (great variety), chry- santhemum (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, pe- ony, sweet pea, pinks, sweet-williams, annual China pink, polyanthus (a great beauty), hyacinth bean, scar- let-runner bean, poppy, portalucca, nasturtium, mari- golds (especially the large double French, and the vel- vet 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 extrava- gant notions about the profits of hens shall have passed FOWLS. 197 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 ani- mal food and boiled vegetables^ and they will lay more than in summer. They will lay all winter without be- ing 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 per- sons 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 ^ickens 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 cheap- est and most profitable food, and keep from five hun- dred to a thousand fowls, and a reasonable though not 198 SOIL CULTURE. 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 clieap 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 arti- ficial jiests 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 anc^ scattered, or steeped and sprinkled about the premises occupied by hens, will pro- tect them from small vermin. Never give them any- thing 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 FOWLS. 199 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 meat 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 exor- bitant 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 quan- tity of grain to make a certain amount of flesh. Large fowls give us nmch 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 Ma- layas, and the Shanghaes. Half-bloods, by crossing w;ith the common fowl, are better for this country than either of the above, pure. Fowls are generally im- proved 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, 200 SOIL CULTURE. and preparing all fowls for market, will be treated under the head of " Poultry." Geese will also be con- sidered 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 coun- try. 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 mar- ket, 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 PEUITPULNESS. 201 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. Inducififf 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 pres- ent 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 branch- es 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 pro- duce fruit in abundance on nineteen twentieths of barren or poor-bearing fruit-trees. 9* 202 SOIL CULTURE. 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 chil- dien, is gardening. The iBower, 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 warm- est exposure is good for early vegetables, and the cooler and more sliady 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 con- dition. In warm climates, the incorporation of the sand with the clay is effected by frequent plowing and rains. On sand and gravel draw plenty oi' 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 ex- GARDEN. 203 cessive drought or unusual rains. The water will not stand ou 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 arti- cles 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 eleva- tion. 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 de- pends 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-de- 204 SOIL CULTURE. partment in the rear of tlie 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 cen- tre each way, with a place in the end, opposite the en- trance, 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 mid- dle, at least four inches above the siirface 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 — GEB8B. 205 GARLIC. This is a hardy perennial plant, from the south of Europe, and has been in cultivation, as a garden vege- table, 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 impor- tant 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 culti- vate it will pursue the same course as in raising onions from sets. This will always be successful. GATHERING FRUITS. Tffls 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 varie- ties, for want of a correct knowledge of the best meth- ods of gathering, preserving, and ripening the fruit.- Complete directions will be found under each fruit. GEESE. Farmers usually are opposed to keeping geese, be- lieving 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. 206 SOIL CULTURE. 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 an- nually, giving an account of new varieties. The last catalogue of the London Horticultural Society mentions one hundred and forty-nine varieties, as worthy of cul- tivation. A few only should receive attention among .us. Gooseberries delight in cOol and rather moist situ- ations. They do not flourish so naturally south of Philadelphia ; though they grow well in all the moun- tainous regions, and may produce fair fruit in many cool, moist situations. Deep mulching is very bene- ficial ; it preserves the moisture, and protects from ex- cessive 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 ex- pected each year, for five or six years, when new bushes should take the place of old ones. Propagate by cut- GOOSEBERRY. 207 tings 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. Va- rieties 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. HoughtovUs 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; ex- cellent. 5. Collier's Jolly Angler — is a good green goose- berry ; fruit large, excellent, and late. 6. Early Green Hairy. — Very early; rather small; prolific. 7. BuerdsiWs Duckwing — is a good, late, yellow gooseberry ; large fruit, and a fine-growing bush. 208 SOIL CULTURE. 8. Prophet's Rockwood. — Very large fruit of ex- cellent 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, Tay- lor's Bright Venus, Tally Ho, Sheba Queen. Green. — Pitmaston G-reen 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 va- rieties are less important than in most fruits, provided only you get the large varieties of English gooseberry. Proper cultivation will insure success. Whoever cul- tivates, 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 GRAFTING. 209 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 prac- tised on small trees, while grafting may be performed on trees of any size. Outting- 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 210 SOIL CULTURE. 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 iajurious. 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. \ \ Cleft-Grafting. Tongue-Grafting. Cleft- Grafting- is performed in most cases, when scions are grafted upon stocks much larger than them- selves. It is too well known to need particular de- scription. Tools should be sharp, and it should be per- formed 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 GRAFTING. 211 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 gen- erally used in root-grafting. The question of root-graft- ing 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 impos- sible 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 import- ant 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 tal- low, 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. 212 SOIL CULTURE. 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 na- tives 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 ex- cellent 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 fer- mented 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 GRAPES. 213 are generally possessed by prominent liquor dealers ; — and the practice of those secret arts is terribly danger- ous to the community. Antecedent to this chemical manufacture of poisonous liquors, such a disease as de- lirium 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 hydro- phobia. 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 ac- cessible 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 sea- son. 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 drain- 214 SOIL CULTUEE. age. A northern exposure is preferable for all varie- ties 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 be- tween 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, GRAPES. 215 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 al- ways 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 sub- soil plowing, highly manured and cultivated the pre- vious season in a root-crop, is the best for a vineyard. The trenches for the rows should be spaded twenty 216 BOIL CULTUEE. inches deep, and a part of the surface-soil put iu 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, arid is a good preventive of mildew^ In many instances it is said to have doubled the crop. Common animal-ma- nures are good for young vines, and in preparing the soil, but are rather too stimulating for bearing vines, often injuriag the fruit. Ashes and cinders from the smith's forge, wood-ashes, charcoal, soapsuds, bones and bonedust, lime, and forest and grape leaves and trim- mings, 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 wider Glass. — By this means the fine foreign varieties may be brought to perfection in our high latitudes. With most of the beet 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, GRAPIS. 217 the finest varieties may be perfected, and others for- warded, 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 Toots in winter by a cov- ering 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 west- ern 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 ques- tion of preference depends upon the location of the vines, the space they may occupy, and the taste of thg 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 10 218 SOIL CULTTIRE. slats of wood or wire across these, a foot apart, com- mencing a foot above the ground. Set vines eight feet apart ; let the vines be composed of two branches, com- ing out near the ground : these can be formed by cut- ting 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 renew- ing, 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 emi- nently promotes fruitfulness. Many complain that their vines, though liberally pruned, do not bear well. The difficulty may be that the new wood is principally re- moved, while the old is left to throw out strong-grow-, ing 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. Prrniiriff — is the most important part of successful ' grape-culture. Mistakes on this subject are very inju- rious. Let vines grow in their own way, and you will have much wood and foliage, and very little, poor fruit. GRAPES. 219 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 amal- gamates 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 de- stroys 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 pre- vent bleeding. Necessary summer-pruning is of much importance. Eemove 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 220 SOIL CULTURE. 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 pre- vious 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 quan- tities 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 sea- son ; 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 remain? have the benefit of all the sap. Reduction of Fruit. — The grape is disposed to ex- cessive bearing, which weakens the vine, and injures the quality of the fruit. Liberal pruning in autumn GBAPE8. 221 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 vfne 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 quick- lime, 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 rem- edy — 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 snufi", 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 wilLlong remain in good condition. In shallow boxes, six inches deep, put a sheet of wad- 222 SOIL CULTUEE. ding, 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 clus- ters, 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 meth- ods. A very cool situation, without freezing, is essen- tial 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 coun- try. They succeed very imperfectly, even in the South- ern 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 clus- ters. It requires only solar heat to bring it to perfec- tion. GBAPES. 223 Native Grapes. — Of these we now have a large num- ber, 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 pro- duce more than ten bushels, in a single year. The Isabella Grape. 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 cul- tivated at the North. The York Madeira is similar to the Isabella, smaller and a few days earlier. 224 SOIL CULTURE. The Rebecca Grape. GKAPE8. 225 The Delaware Grape, The Delaware is a small brown gjape, excellent and hardy. Ripens quite as early as the Isabella. Best outdoor grape, in many localities. 10* 226 BOIL OULTUEE. The Canadim Chief.— One of the very best grapes for Canada. Camby's August. — Yery 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. T7ie 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 affect- ed by the rot, an evil incident to the heat and humid- ity 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 per- fectly. 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. 227 GRASSES. There is a great number of varieties, adapted to cuk tivation 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 culti- vated 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 precedin§^ but more productive and more nutritious. It is one of the five or six kinds usually sown together in English pas- tures ; 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 Philadel- phia it is supplanting timothy. It is earlier, and there- fore 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 ia this country. Two bushels of seed are sown on an acre. 228 SOIL CULTURE. 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 ear- liest 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 oge 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 vari- ety — biennial, but resows itself several years in suc- cession, on good, clean land. Its yield of hay and seed is abundant. Needs a deep, dry soil, and stands a GRASSES. 229 drought better than any other grass. To plow in as a fertilizer, or for soiling cattle, it is valuable, wherever it will flourish. 10. SairirFoin. — 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 'Englmxd, Meadow Cats' -tail, and in New England, Herd's-grass. This is the most val- uable 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 noi 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 abun- dantly, and may be cut at any time, from July to last of September. The hay is better for cattle than tim- othy. 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 fox- 230 SOIL CaLTUEE. tail; pastures through the Reason, white clover, cock's- foot, meadow foxtail, red clover, and timothy; for low-' laad 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 fertil- izers, red clover and white clover, for soiling cattle, tall oat-grass and lucern. Time of sowing grass-seed is important. Some pre- fer 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, ex- cept when followed by a very wet season. Sow timor thy 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. EoU the land in spring on which you have sown grass-seed in the last of win- ter ; 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, re- member that grass-seed not sown so as to form good roots, before the frosts of winter or the drought of sum- mer, 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. 231 GREENHOUSE. Greenhouses vary as much in style and cost as dwellings. The simplest is any tight enclosure, cov- ered 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 trans- planted to out-door hotbeds, and finally to the vegeta- ble 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'^urpose ; 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. 232 SOIL CULTUEE. GYPSUM, OR PLASTER OP PARIS. The fertilizing properties of tHs; article were discov- ered by a German laborer in a quarry, who obserTed 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 w»fc, 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 efi'ect 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 imme- diately plowed in, it acts powerfully. Plants of large leaves feel its influence much more than those with small ones, hente 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 HABROWING. 233 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 aftet- first hoeing; small quantities aue best; — it will ten times repaiy 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 for- mer 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. HAEROWIN&. The very liberal use of the harrow is one: of the prin- cipal 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 vege- tate 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 ex- 234 SOIL CULTURE. pose 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 effeats of it during the whole season. Harrow land the first time the same way it i^as plowed. The form of a harrow is of no importa.nGe, 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, pul- verizing 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. Faemees differ in their modes of making and preserv- ing hay. The following directions for timothy and clover, are applicable to all grasses suitable for hay, as HAY. 235 they are all divided into two classes, broad-leaved, and the fine-leaved, or grasses proper. The principles in- volved in these directions may be considered compara- tively well settled, and they are sufficient for all pur- poses. 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 236 SOIL CULTURE. 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 damj) or too green. HEDGE. The question of fencing in this country, so much of which is pi-airie, and in other parts of which there is such a wanton waste of timber, gives great' importance to successful hedging. The same pla,nts are not equally good for hedge in all parts of the country. There are but few plants suitable for hedges in our climate. The Osa^e 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 north- ern Illinois, where unusually cold winters destroy vast quantities of young plants, and kill the tops of iliuch old hedge. It is still insisted that it will succeed ; but we consider it too uncertain, and consequently tod expensive, for general fencing in such climates. The roots and lower parts of the plants may be preserved; HEDGE. 237 however, by setting them out for a hedge oa level ground, instead of ridges as usual, and plowing a fur- row 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 thor- oughly, 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 culti- vated for live fence in this country, being subject to borers, as destructive as in fruit-trees. The Virginia Thorn — is equally uncertain. The Butk Thorn — after fifteen years' trial, in New England, bids fair to answer every purpose for Ameri- can 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. There are plants well adapted to hedge at the South, which are too tender for the North. In White's Gar- dening for the South, we have the following given as hedge-shrubs, adapted to that region : Osage Orange, 238 SOIL CULTURE. Pyracaath, 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. Shearing down young hedges. Properly-trimmed hedge (end view) . Biidly-trimmed hedge (end view). Neglected hedge (aide view). HEMP. 239 Shear off the first year's growth (a) within three inches of the ground (&). 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 agri- culture. 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 incon- sistent 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, distin- 240 BOIL CULTURE. guished 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, ^tev 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 vegeta- tion 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 onc^ and crowd them in their labor. Cut- ting 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 pos- sible, is the better method. The plants axe spread even on the ground and cured ; bound up in conveni- ent 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 lor 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-rot- HOEING. 241 ting — 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 ordei", 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 succes- sive 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, pota^ toes, and vines, and whatever has a rough stalk, are much injured by stirring the ground about them while 11 242 SOIL CULTURE. they ai-e 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 deiflands 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, grow- ing 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 six- teen cords of manure to the acre, if your soil be of ordi- nary 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 run- ning 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 HOPS. 243 ■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 sum- mer, that they do not blow down from the poles. They must be picked as soon as they are ripe, and before frbsts. The best pickihg-bos 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. Ouring is the most important matter in hop-growing. 244 SOIL CULTURE. Hops would all be of one quality, and bring the first price, if equally well cured. The following descrip- tion (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 con- venient 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, tro 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 damp- HOPS. 245 ness 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 Eussia-hemp bags are best. Extensive hop-growers build houses over the kiln, that they may be able to use them in wet weath- er. In this case, keep the doors open as much as pos- sible without letting in the rain. Dried without suflB- cient 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 conve- nience of storing and bagging the hops when dry ; in this case, tight partitions should separate the store- rooms 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 destruc- tion by worms, and this does not ; our system also pro- duces hops equal to new land. 240 SOIL CULTURE. 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 miich 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 stand- ard of excellence. It has now become the custom for intelligent gentlemen in rural districts, in all enlight- ened countries, to give much attention to the improve- ment 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 de- pends 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 treat- ment. 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 crowd- HORSE. 247 ing 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 ex- posure 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 par- ticular 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 mix- ture 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, pulver- ized and put in his grain. If a horse has the heaves. 248 SOIL CULTURE. give him no hay or oats; corn, ground or soaked, should be his only grain, and green corn-fodder in sum- mer, 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. HOTBEDS. 249 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 effectaally 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 fol- lowing directions for constructing and managing hot- beds will enable every one to be successful. Nail boards on pieces of scantling placed in the inside cor- ners, 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. Pill 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, 11" 250 SOIL CULTUEE. to carry ofif 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, an§ 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. Yines, beets, tomatoes, cabbages, peppers, egg-plants, celery, beans, corn, and potatoes, may be obtained much earlier by thi^ means. Those that are injured most by transplant- ing should be planted in -the hotbed, on inverted sodsj or grass turfs, six inches square, which can be removed with the growing plants on theim, without seriously dis- HOUSES. 251 turbing 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 occa- sional 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, espe- cially in all the newer parts of the country. Our read- ing 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 mechajnic 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, afford- ing ample shelter for all kinds of vehicles, connected by a covered way with the horse-stables and barn-floor. 262 SOIL CULTURE. Range of F«rin-Bui]dinga. A lean-to is built on the north side of the wagon- honse, 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 out- door. 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 HOUSES. 253 rear. The dimensions and rel- ative size of apartments can be determined from the plan. The other buildings sufficiently explain themselves in the cut. With this range of buildings, let a farmer do his own thrash- ing, with a small horse-power, and thrash a part at a time du- oround-pian of piggery. ring 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 build- ings given opposite, their distance from the house, and all the parts of a complete residence, with all the com- forts 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 ; ex- cept 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 mulch- ing. 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 accu- 254 SOIL CULTURE. Country Residence, Farm Buildings, Gruunde, mid Fruit-Gfirdtins. rately 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 HOUSES. 255 Laying out Curves. 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. The following cuts show the plan of the house: F 'J. L«4- mcnai KxlB uvms lexrr il : PARLOR 17X1? J^ First floor. Chambers. 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 256 SOIL CULTURE. outside stone wall a foot thick. The windows should be double and well iitted, 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 sum- mer. 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 bot- tom, 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 de- scribed in the following part of this article, where your men will live and board themselves, which is alwajs the best and cheapest way. An open view from the house in the country residence extends to the summer-house (6) on the right. This is one of the neatest cheap summer-houses that can be made. The follow- i^ ^ \ ing directions for making it may ' V -f be useful. Set eight cedar posts, ^^ J / six inches in diameter, in the « 1* ■" *''*'- ground, in a circle ; saw them -—_„_« — „ — qQ even at the top, and con- sammer-huuae. ^^^^ -thcm by plauk uailcd 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, HOUSES. 267 and, covered with vines of some kind, it will be orna- mental. ^4 ' ^ Lnborer'a Cottage. This form of a cheap house is convenient and pleas- ant. 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 lum- ber 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 hav- ing blinds, it may cost three hundred and fit ty dollars. The plan of the house sufficient- ly explains itself. ^'™ "' Laborer's Cottage. The next cut illustrates a, neat country-house, for a family who think more of neatness, comfort, and intel- lectual pursuits, than of mere ornament, and may serve the purpose of a farmhouse, or the residence of a retired KITCHEN 12X.12 1 PR INCIPAL BEB 1 ROONl BBOM a.'-K, tllMI 258 SOIL CULTPRE. Italian Farmhouse. 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. Flan of Itnlian Farm House, The plan is intelligible without explanation. Built in a plain way, the four large rooms not larger than fifteen by seventeen, and ted 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. INARCHING. 258 HYBRIDS. Although this subject has received far too little at- tention, 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 pol- len 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 pro- duce one good melon. How far watermelons and musk- melons, or squashes with melons, will hybridize, is un- certain. By planting nutmeg muskmelons with the com- mon roughskinned variety, we have produced a kind about half way between them, that was of great excel- lence. Two kinds of cabbage or turnip seed should never be raised in the same garden. Cabbage and tur- nip seed raised near together is valueless. In straw- berries, different plants are essential to each other, the quality of the fruit being determined by the plant fer- tilized, 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 togeth- 260 SOIL CULTURE. er, 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 difacult 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 iuarching 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 gen- eral remedy is to wash trees or plants with a strong decoction of some offensive herb, or with whale-oil soap- suds. Tobacco is very useful for this purpose. IRRIGATION. 261 IRON PILINGS. 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 gar- dens by hand or with a garden-pump, will often pay better than any other expenditure on the land. Em- ploying a man, in a dry season, to spend his whole time in watering five acres of garden, of berries and vegeta- bles, 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 neces- sary caution not to water irregularly, and only occasion- 262 SOIL GUJUTUEE. ally, in a dry season. Better not commence than to leave off, or neglect it i 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 in- vented. 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,'f6ur notch- es 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 pf sheet lead, tin, or zinc, cut wide at one end, and written on with a sharp awl, and nar- row at the other end, to be bent around a limb, will answer a .pretty good purpose. Any soft wood, made smooth, and a littlcf white paint applied, and written on with a good pencil j 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 LANDSCAPE GARDENS. 263 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 ex- pense. Trees planted, weeds destroyed, grass culti- vated, and paths made, according to the most approved rules of carelessness, would secure this object. "With a wealthy man, the omisision 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, with- out thepossession 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 aiid 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 264 SOIL CULTURE. 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 cor- rect 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 up- per 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. LAYING IN TREES. 265 This is important in any tree or shrub (like the snow- ball), 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 de- structive 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 pre- served 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 vege- tation, 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. 12 366 SOIL CULTURE. 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 trans- planted very deep, so as to obtain a long white neck. The ends of the roots are to be cut off when trans- planted, 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 antici- pate 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 LETTUCE. 267 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 let- tuce,, and the brown. The ice-head has a very thick and tender leaf, continuing to be excellent up to midsum- mer, 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. Let- tuce 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. 268 SOIL CULTUEK. LICORICB- 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 vege- tables may be grown among the plants the first year ; afterward keep clear of weeds, and manure every au- tumn. 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 com- merce. The low price of labor in Southern Europe enables them to supply the demand cheaper than can be afforded in this country. LIMB. 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 culti- vation. 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. LIME — LOCATION. " 269 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." LIMB. A FRUIT resembling the lemon, growing in the same climate, but of smaller size. It is used for the same pur- poses 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 sum- mits 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 270 SOIL CULTURE. late frosts. "We have seen them all frozeu through in one night, and turned blacli the next day, in the month of May, after they had grown to the size of marrow- fat-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 farm- ers 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 for- ests 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 hayd 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 MANURES. 271 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 aflPord 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. Fortu- nate 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 fos- sil 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. 272 SOIL CULTURE. 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 ani- mals. In decaying, these substances all pass through a process of fermentation. Left exposed without suit- able 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 re- moving these substances and regulating their fermenta- tion, 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 small- est 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 fol- lowing 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 out- door, let them be fed in a yard, lowest in the centre, that the liquids and washings may run into the centre. MANUEES. 273 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 sew- ers 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 quanti- ties 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 12* 274 SOIL CULTURE. make manure enough, in five or six months, to increase a crop sufSciently 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 hogpfen, 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 occasio6r ally a load of loam, muck, or clay — and six loads of manure to each hog may be made, that will prove fai* better than any stable manure ; it has been known to produce fifty bushels of corn to thei acre, when stable- manure produced but forty bushels. Old wood, brush, and chips, should never be allowed to remain on un- cultivated, 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 : henee, all wood, too old to be of value for any other purpose, •should be put in heapsycovered up till decomposed, and then applied ;t0i the soil, as other manures. For pota- toes or- vines, but especially melons, it is preferable to MANURES. 275- auy 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 ani- mals, 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 disap- probation. 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 Mcmures is a subject that has been much discussed, and respecting which, intelligent agri- culturists differ materially. Some apply them exten- sively as a top-dressing for grass lands. This does much good, but probably one half of their virtues is 276 SOIL CULTDEE. lost by washing rains, and by eTaporation. 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 hayiag 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 thor- oughly, 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 consider- ably, the hay crop of the following season. It is a uni- versal rule not to allow manure to lie long on the sur- face 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 bet- . MANURES. 277 ter 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. 27H SOIL CDLTURE.. afford any considerable food for plants. Vegetation receives its growth mainly from water and from the atmosphere. Facts in support of this theory are abun- dant. 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 per- forated 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 thor- ougly, 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 yeit most of that manure may still he found in the soil. Hence it can only fesed plants in a very lim- ited 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 laud by its side, but which has not been manured, is dried up. Hard coarse soils dry up very quickly, ^hile soft, mellow, and friable ones will endure a long drought. The gases and moisture generated by the decomposition of manures produce this mellow state. MANURES. 279 Hence the necessity of having that decomposition take place under the soil, or of plowing in the ma.nure. 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 fria- ble, 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 de- posite 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 lin- den, 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 tol- 280 SOIL CULTURE. erably well. But such plains always produce an enor- mous growth of pine timber, hardly equ"alled in the num- ber 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 hab- its 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. A.nd it being a light, porous, sandy soil, it does not retain moisture enough to promote their growth. But who- ever 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 pro- ductiveness 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 tex- ture of the soil, and hence does not increase its capacity MANURES. 281 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 pro- ductive. 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 valu- able. 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 pro- duce 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 ex- plains the benefit of mulching trees, plants, or vegeta- bles. 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 sur- face as to prevent rapid evaporation. In such cases, it is the more abundant moisture that secures the greater growth. 282 SOIL CULTURE. 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 im- portance 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 univer- sal fertilizers. Marl proper contains nearly equal pro- portions 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 MKLONS. 28B will at once be observed: this effect is produced by acid upon lime. MARJORUM. Theee 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, aro- matic flavor to soups, stews, and dressings. The cul- tivation 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 yarieties 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 South- ern states is well adapted to raising melons ; much bet- ter 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 al- ways 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 284 SOIL CULTURE. 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 luxu- riantly 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 estab- lished, never leave more than two or three in a hill. The product will be greatly^increased in number an^ 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 pro- duce 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 sprin- kle offensive articles around them. These will not always be efi'ectual. We have recommended elsewhere to fence each hill, as the most efi'ectual 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 MELONS. 285 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 mel- ons, 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 put- ting 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 diy again during the season. A little judicious watering will give you a great crop in the most severe drought. 286 SOIL CULTURE. Varieties of the Musk-melon. — These are numerous^ and the nomenclature uncertain. The London Horti- cultural 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 nut- meg ; yellow-fleshed, as the cantelope, or long yellow ; and Persian melon. The last is the finest of all, but ig 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 Garden- ing 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. D owning' 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, Mountaiv- Sweet, Apple-seeded, and lee-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 MILLET. 287 a fiae little melon, called the oraBge-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 nut- meg, 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 irreg- ularity of its ripening, and its extreme liability to shell, when dry. It must be cut as soon as the seed begins 288 SOIL CULTUEE. 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. Prom one to three pecks of seed to the acre are sown broad- cast. 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 fod- der is recommended. MINT. . This genus of plants comprises twenty-four species. Those usually cultivated in gardens are three. Pepper- mint, Spearmint, and Pennyroyal mint. All mints are propagated by the same methods. Parting the roots, offset young plants, and cuttings from the stalks. Spear- mint 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. MULCHING. 289 MULBERRY. There are three varieties cultivated in this coimtry. We place them in the order of their qualities : — 1. The Johnson. — A new variety, thus described by Kirtland : " Fruit very large ; oblong cylindric ; black- ish, 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. Eruit large and de- licious ; tree low and spreading. Easily cultivated on almost any soil. Propagated by seeds, layers, cuttings, or roots. 8. Tlie Red Mulberry. — A native of this country. Fruit small and pleasant, but inferior to the two pre- ceding. 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 reason- able 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. 13 290 SOIL CULTURE. Plant gooseberries or currants, and mulcli 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 b^ene- fited 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 Aee 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. MUSHROOMS. 291 In a more advanced stage, the gills become of a choc- olate 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 dis- agreeable 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 h^at will be such as to allow yon 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 some- times 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 produc- tion will be plentiful for a number of weeks. 292 SOIL CULTURE. 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 pre- fer 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. NECTARINE. 293 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 ber- ries are nearly equal to capers for that purpose. It grows well on any good garden soil ; bears more ber- ries 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 necta- rines 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 Ihe skin, being entirely smooth and beauti- ful, like woxuork. 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 cling- stone, with quite a number in each class. We give only a few of those most esteemed. 294 SOIL CULTURE. 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 mar- bled reddish cheek ; flesh whitish, inclining to green ; very fine ; a great bearer of rather large fruit. Tiiaie, 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, ma- turing the last of August. The Early Violet — is an old French variety, every- where esteemed ; it has sixteen synonyms ; fruit high- flavored. Time, last of August. ,^ Newington. — A good clingstone ; an English vari- ety that has long been cultivated ; it has many syno- nyms ; 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 fol- lowing selection of choice, hardy nectarines for a small garden, is from Downing : — Early Violet, Blruge, Hardwicke Seedling, Hunt's Tawny, Boston, Roman, and New White. NEW FRUITS. 295 NEW FRUITS. That these are constantly appearing, is a matter of common observation ; but the manner of their produc- tion 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 va- riety of fruit ; let those seedlings stand without graft- ing, until they bear. Take the first fruit from the best of those seedlings, and plant it and produce other seed- lings, 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 inter- ruptions by the crosses that will necessarily occur be- tween 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 vari- eties of fruit arise from cross-fertilization in the bios- 296 SOIL CULTURE. soms of different kinds, and that the improvement of the qualities of any given variety is the result of culti- vation. 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 arti- ficially, 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 prac- tice. We know that all our choice fruits have come from those not fit for use. It is not improved cultiva- tion of the old, barely, but the production of new varij eties. 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. NURSEEY. Op 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 NURSERY. 297 may be considered reliable, and, as far as they go, are applicable to all nurseries. Location. — This is the first point demanding atten- tion. 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 perfec- tion. 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 allu- vium. 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- 13* 298 SOIL CULTURE. 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 cul- tivated 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. Buck- wheat is good to precede a nurse.ry ; 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 drain- ing 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 NURSERY. 299 quite as early as the weeds, and much labor may be saved in tending. Method of Planting . — Plant with a drill tha t 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 thor- oughly 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 ofi' 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 or- chard, being nearly destitute of fibrous roots. But large tr^es, even of bearing size, when transplanted in 300 SOIL CULTURE. the orchard, do quite as well as small ones, provided they have been several times transplanted in the nur- sery. 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 cloui^ 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. Moke 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 OAKS. 301 we can not afford to raise them as an article of com- merce. 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 orna- mental purposes, it is better to cultivate trees that will bear good nuts. The varieties of nut-bearing trees, interspersed with evergreens, make a beautiful appear- ance. 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 302 SOIL CULTURE. of oaks ought to be planted within the next five years. A crop of white oa^, 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 for- tune, 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 dui-ing 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 tg four feet in the rows ; afterward, only remove as ap- pears absolutely necessary. Ti'im 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 pos- sible 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 ofi'. 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. Be- side this, we have large areas of rough land, that will not soon be brought into cultivation for other purposes. OATS. 303 Pine 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 suc- cessful 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 sev- eral varieties. The genuine Siberian oats are tall, heavy, dark-colored side-oatsj 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 situ- ations 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 304 SOIL CULTURE. 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. OKEA. 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 coun- ONIONS. 805 tries. 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 cul- tivated, with the orange and lemon, all over the coun- try. 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 use- less for any other purpose. Calcareous soils are most fa- vorable to their growth. They are propagated by suck- ers, 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. Op 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 bet- ter than any other. 3. The Silver-skin. — The handsomest variety, ex- cellent for pickling, brings the highest price of all, but 306 SOIL CULTURE. is not quite so good a keeper as the red or yellow, and does not yield as well. 4. The While Portugal. — A larger white onion, often taken for the true silver-skin. It is a good vari- ety. 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 con- sists 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. Tlie Hill or Potato Onion. — Of these there are several kinds, most of which are unworthy of cultiva- tion. 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 sea- son, 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 ONIONS. SOT 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 pro- duce 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 difl&culty of getting the seed up : this is obvi- ated 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. Mulch- ing the whole bed, as soon as the plants are large enough, is in the highest degree beneficial, both in pro- moting 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 roo1>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 plow- ing, thorough pulverizing, early sowing, and frequent hoeings, will insure success. Our system of double. 308 SOIL CULTURE. 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 Flor- ida, and all along the gulf of Mexico. It wiU 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 per- fectly hardy, as far north as Philadelphia. And by a thorough system of acclimation, and a little winter pro- tection, 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 Flor- ida. 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 ORCHARDS. 809 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 men- tioned 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 Chiaa. 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, oc- cupied by trees for the purpose of bearing fruit. The mara directions for orchard culture, are given under the respective fruits. Any soil good for vegetables or grains, is suitable for orchards. Any land where ex- cessive 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 east- 310 SOIL CULTURE. ern 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. Bubsoiling ground for an orchard, is of great import- ance. 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. Manv/res 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. Pru- ning, destroying insects, and all other matters bearing on successful fruit growing, are treated under the sev- eral fruits. OXEN. 311 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 ju- diciously 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 train- ing, 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, back- ward. 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 gen- tleness. We have known vicious horses whipped se- verely, 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. 312 SOIL CULTURE. 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 an- noyance 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 qu»tity. Curry them often and thoroughly. It improv^ their looks, health, and temper, and attaches them to their owner. PAESLEY. This is a hardy biennial, highly prized as a gar- nish, 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 (sin- gle, very hardy, and fine-flavored), the Hamburgh (large-rooted, used as an edible root). The double- PAESNIPS. 813 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 cut- ting 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 cov- ered 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 circum- ference ; 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 in- cluded in the French varieties. We cultivate only the 14 314 SOIL CULTURE. 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 rad- ish-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 destroy- ing 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. Eows 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. 315 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. Pas- turing 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 con- taining clover, materially increases their growth. A little lime, plaster, and common salt, sown on any pas- ture, 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 con- taining 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 316 SOIL CULTURE. wet, in the spring ; the tread of the creatures will de- stroy 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. Pas- turing 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 ; evapora- tion 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 ani- mals. 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 PEAS. 317 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 cov- ered 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 con- siderable growth in the fall, and protect by covering with straw during cold weather. The only known remedy for the bugs that are so com- mon 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 318 SOIL CULTURE. 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 ob- tain, 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" men- tions Landreth's Extra Early, Prince Albert, Cedo- NuUi, Fairbank's Champion, Knight's tall Marrow, and New Mammoth. Whoever wishes a greater vari- ety 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. JBut very late peas, in our dry climate, amount to but little, without almost daily watering. PEACH. 319 PEACH. This native of Persia is one of tlie 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 prevail- ing opinion is, that planting the seeds is not a certain method of propagating a given variety ; hence the gen- eral 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 repro- ducing 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 or- chard, 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- 320 SOIL CDLTORE. tree is often called thrifty when its growth is very lux- uriant, but tender and unhealthy, perishing in the fol- lowing winter. A moderate, steady, hardy growth is most profitable. The following directions, though brief, are complete : — Raising Seedlingx. — 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 ger- minate, 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 fi-ost. 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 sis 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 PEACH. 321 in northern latitudes subject to hard frosts, and in au- tumn in -warmer climates. Soil and Location. — All intelligent fruit-growers are aware that these exei-t 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 varie- ties 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 cul- tivators 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 char- coal, 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 ma- nured with these articles, will produce great crops of peaches. For the location of peach-orchards, see our general remarks on " Location of PruiWrees." But we would repeat here the direction to choose a north- ern exposure, in climates subject to late frosts. Eleva- tions are always favorable, as are also the shores of all bodies of water. In our remarks on location, we have 322 SOIL CULTURE. 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 Prance, they grow large quantities for market by train- ing 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 pos- sible, 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, af- ter 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. PEACH. 626 This will induce the formation of a full, large head. A low, full-branching head is always best on a peach-tree. Prvm/ing 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 conse- quently 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 324 30IL CULTURE. 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 devel- oping fruit-buds, instead of promoting the growth of an undue quantity of young and tender wood, to be de- stroyed 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 pru- ning shears, with wooden handles, of a length suited to the height of the tree. • Neglected Peaeh-Tree, Properly-trimmed Peach-Tree. But a work to precede this annual shorteniag-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 with- in 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, care- fully 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, PEACH. 325 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.^ Eepeat 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 bet- ter 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 trim- ming 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 826 SOIL CDLTUKE. 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. Imagi- nation 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 atmo- sphere. 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 im- pregnation from the pollen, through the agency of winds or bees ; by the migration of small insects ; or by planl^ ing 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 sup- ply 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 foimd 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- PEACH. 327 water : the tree will start anew and do well. TMs 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, head- ing-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 caus- ing 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 oae, 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 ex- posed : hence, the only remedy is the best protection you can give, by location, &o. Mildew is a minute fungus growing on the ends of ten- der 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 o-i^ SOIL CULTUBE. 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 fre- quently girdle the tree ; as they grow larger, they per- forate 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 prac- tical 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 of- fensive 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 excel- lent 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 PEACH. 329 general wherever the cold wind strikes the tree, while- this OBly affects a few leaves occasionally, and those sur- rounded by healthy leaves. The remedy is to syringe them with offensive mixtures, as tobacco-juice, or sprin- kle them when wet with fine, air-slaked lime. Varieties. — Their name is legion, and they are rap- idly 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 hp describes thirty-onei varieties, with ninety-eight synonyms. His second class is for amateur cultivators, and includes sixty-nine varieties, with eighty-four syn- onyms. His third class, which he says are unworthy of further cultivation, describes fifty-four varieties, with seventy-seven synonyms. Cole gives sixty-five varie- ties, 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 syn- onyms. 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 330 SOIL CULTURE. 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 /or 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 ; uni- formly productive, though not nearly so good a bearer as Crawford's Early. Ripens last of September and in October. Fair quality, and always handsome ; free- stone ; excellent for market. 3. Columbia. — Origin, New Jersey. It is a thor- oughly-tested variety, raised and described by Mr. Cox, who wrote one of the earliest and best American fruii^ books. Fine specimens were exhibited in 1856, grown in Covington, Ky. Excellent in all parts of the United States. Freestone. , 4. George the Fowrth. — 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 Au- PEACH. 331 gust 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. Yery 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, v^hen you can obtain the genuine. Time, August. 7. Honest John. — A large, beautiful, delicious, free- stone 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 des- sert 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 pro- fitable for market on account of its great size. 14. Heath Cling. — Yery 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. 382 SOIL CULTURE. 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 pre- ferred. 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. Tlie spring is the best time for planting, as the PEAR. 333 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 quan- tities, 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 bel^ ter to cart two or three loads of suitable soil for each tree on such land. The practice of budding or graft- ing on apple-stocks, on crab-apples, and on the mount- ain-ash, should be utterly discarded. . For producing early fruit, quince-stocks and root-pruning are recom- mended. Setting out pear-trees properly is of very great im- portance. 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 di- rections, 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 bear- ing, symmetry in the form of their heads may be pro- 334 SOIL CULTURE. moted 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 Tigorous 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, depos- ited 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 de- posite its eggs, preparatory to new depredations. The remedy is to cut off the shoots affected at once, and burn them. The insecfrblight 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 PEAK. 335 destroy all tlie insects. But very soon after the ap- pearance of the blight they leave the limb ; hence a lit- tle 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 dif- ficulty. Its nature and origin are now pretty well set- tled. 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, de- posites 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 ten- der bark and growing wood. This sudden freezing poi- sons 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 au- tumn. 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 por- tion of the top. Another effect of this fall-freezing of 3i56 SOIL CULTURE. 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, Vere arrested by sudden freezing. If the sum- mer is favorable, and the wood matures well before cold weather, the blight will not appear. This is of the ut- most 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 fa.vorable 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 remov- ing 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 he visible in the wood and inner bark, far below the external ap- parent 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. PEAE. 33T These are the only remedies. But the practice of pru- ning both roots and branches will prove a certain pre- ventive. 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 se- verely. 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 prof- itable 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 15 338 SOIL CULTURE. 1 • 1 • • ^- i 1 • <» • e » « • 9 • • 9 • • 1 • • • • • « • • m • • • • • • • e • • * i ■ < _J i 9 « > » « • . • a < 1 • • Plan of a Pear-Orchard. 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 sufiScient for the support of a small family. 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 ri- pened in the house, and some of them, as much as pos- sible, 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 comforta- ble 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. PEAR. 339 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 grow- ing in this country. Many seedlings, not known beyond the neighborhood where they originated, may be among our very best. Prom 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 de- scriptions. 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 Luceative. — Fondcmte d'Automne, Seignev/r d'Esperin. Tree of moderate growth, but a great bear- er. A fine variety, on quince or pear, better perhaps, on the pear stock, Season, last of September. Beueee 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. 340 SOIL CULTURE. Bnrtlett. Baetlett. — William's, William'' s Bon Chretien, Poire Ouilliaum-e. Tree, a vigorous grower, and a reg- ular, early, good bearer, of long, handsome, perfectly- formed fruit; on the quince or pear stock. Time, August and September. PEAR. S41 Beurre Diel. " Beuere Diel. — Diel, Diel's Butterbirne, Dorothee Royale, Grosse Dorothee, Beurre Royale, Des Trois Tows, De Melon, Melon de Kops, Beurre Magnifique, Bewrre Incomparable. Grows well on quince or pear, but perhaps does best on quince. Large, beautiful, lus- cious fruit. Season, October to last of November. 342 SOIL CULTURK. White Doyenne. White Dotenne. — Virgalieu. Tree vigorous and hardy on pear or quince. Bverywliere esteemed as one of the very best. Needs care in supplying proper ma- nure 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. PEAR. 848 Flemish Beauty. - Flemish Beauty. — Belle de Flanders, Sfc. This is a large, beautiful, and delicious pear. Oae 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 in- creased attention. Beuree d'A-REMBEeg. — Due d^Aremberg, and eight other synonyms. Tree very hardy, does well on the pear stock, and bears early, annually, and abundantly. 344 SOIL CULTURE. A very fiae 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 Ehode Island, and very suc- cessful 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 op 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 val-^ uable 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. Equalbr good on pear or quince. Large, hardy, and ver/^^ productive tree. The fruit is very large, fine golden yellow when ripe. Excellent for market. Season, October and No- vember. Pound Peak. — Winter Bile, and twelve other syno- nyms, 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. PEAK. S45 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 iine." ViCAE OP "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. Novem- ber 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 bear- er. November to January 15. 15* U6 SOIL CULTURE. Gray Doyenne, GrEAT DoTENNE. — A Superior October pear. Tree hardy and productive on both pear or quince. Partakes much of the excellence of the White Doyenne. Prom 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 influ- ence of location, soil, and culture. The established known varieties, may be grown in great perfection any- where, with suitable care. At the West they must be PEPPERS. 347 root'pnmed and headedrin until they are ten years old, after which they will be hardy and productive. If al- lowed to grow as fast as they will incline to, on alluvi- al soils, when they are exposed to severe winters, they will disappoint growers. With care they will be sure and profitable. PBPPEKS. 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 varie- ties, and they are useful on any food of a cold nature and not easily digestible. They are all good for me- dicinal 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 blossnms and with peppers of all sizes. Pall-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. 348 SOIL CULTUEE. PBPPBRGRASS. This is a vaiiety 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, grow- ing 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-cul- ture. When, how, and how much, shall w;e j)low ? 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 veiy 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 m.arked difference in corn growing but a rod apart, on land where snow was plowed in, and the other plowed two or ihree days later, after the snow was gone ; this PLOWING. 349 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 al- most 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-boardj 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 350 SOIL CULTURE. 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 gar- den-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 sea- son. Still a further 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 plaqgs 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 plow- ing, 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 yeai^. It must also be broken at a certain season of the year, to insure success. It may PLUM. 351 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 disin- tegrate the whole to the depth of the furrow, will pro- duce 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 bar- renness. '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 graft- ing. 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, bud- ding 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 352 SOIL CULTURE. 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 rathec hard, smooth surface, will afford less burrows for cur- culio, 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. Trcmsplanting. — 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 recom- mended. We think a rod apart each way will do well for all varieties. Prtming'.-^ Once started in a regular growth, in such a shape as you desire, no further pruning will be neces- PLUM. E63 sary but occasionally heading-in a too luxuriant shoot, and removing diseased and cross limbs. On rich West- ern lands, and in warm Southern climes, young plum- trees must be root-pruned and headed-in, or they will be unfruitful and unhealthy. Eoot-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 pre- ventive 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 selec- tion of manures: — Potash . . . . 59.21 Sulphuric acid . 3.83 Soda . . . . 64 Silicic acid . . 2.36 Tiime . . . . 10.04 Phosphoric acid . 12.26 Md,gnesia . . . 5.46 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 valu- able. Bones, bonedust, salt, wood-ashes, and barnyard manure, with a little lime, will be all that will be necessary. 364 SOIL CULTURE. Diseases. — In most northern latitude^, 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 culti- vators ; 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 suit- able 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 itj^ with copperas-water — one ounce of copperas to two gal- lons of water. This is stated to be a complete remedy. Defoliation of seedlings and bearing trees often oc- curs 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. Profes- sor Kirtland and others suppose it to be a species of fungus. Poverty of soil, and wet weather, may bfe 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 Cwrculio is the great enemy of the plum, and frequently of all smooth-skinned fruits, as the grape, nectarine, &c. PLUM. '655 (1) Cui'culio, in the beetle-form, life-size. (2) Its assumed form when disturbed or shaken irom the tree. (3) Larva, or worm, as found in the fallen fruit. (41) 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 ma- nure 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 356 SOIL CULTURE. there is a noise about, are greatly in favor of their de- struction by this method. This is somewhat laborious, but is a sure remedy, and will pay well in all plum-or- chards, 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 Tarious. 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^ried fruit is much better for having become perfectly ripe before picking. It is a great mistake to suppose unripe fruit will be good dried. Varieties are numerous, and many of them ought to Lawrence's Favorite. PLUM. 357 Imperial Gage. 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. 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 "^age family. It was raised from the seed of the green gage ; its qualities are seldom surpassed. 358 SOIL CULTURE. Green Gage. Jefferson. Washington. — This is a very good. plum for high latitudes. At the South it is too dry. Green Gage. — With fifteen synonyms. Excellent. Jefferson. — One of the very best. Time, last of August. Demtiston's Purple, or Red. — Vigorous grower and very productive. Time, August 20. Madison. — A hardy, productive, and excellent Oc- tober 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 tve of the best you can find in your vicinity, and cultivate them, and you will need no others. POMEGRANATE. 359 Washington, POMEGRANATE. This is one of the most delicious -and beautiful of all the dessert-fruits. Native in China, and much culti- vated 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-col- ored 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 sweelrfruited, the: mb-acid, and the wild or acid-fruited. The first is the 360 SOIL CULTUEE. 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 exten- sively 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 iirst in Ireland. It was first planted on the estate of Sir Walter Raleigh in 1602. It was introduced into Eng* land 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 be- come 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 Ire- land and the northern parts of the United States, are most favorable for potatoes. In warm climates the po- tato grows less luxuriantly, yields much less, and is liar ble 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 POTATO. 361 on the tubers, thus injuring the appearance and quality, but increasing the crop. The only preventive is water- ing regularly in a dry time. This can be done advan- tageously 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 blos- soms, 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 plant- ing 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. Proba- bly our present best varieties had such an origin. Rais- ing new varieties requires much care and patience. Keep each one separate, plant only the best, and then 16 862 SOIL CULTURE. 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 ex- cellent 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 Mer- cer produces a larger yield in Illinois than in the East- ern states, but of a slightly inferior quality. Most seeds do better transported from a colder to a warmer cli- mate, 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 period- icals. 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 gener- ally 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 POTATO. 363 vary from five to twenty bushels. It takes a less num- ber 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 suita,ble 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 moisl> ure, 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 po- tatoes, but especially ashes and plaster. The applica- tion 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 864 SOIL' CULTUEB. application of potash in tlie 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 put- ing the manure on the top of it. Gathering and Preserving . — The usual hand-digging with hoe or potkto-fork are well known, and do well when the crop is not large. But for those who grow potatoes for niarket, it is better to employ the plow in digging. Modern inventions for this purpose can every- where be found in the agricultural warehouses. Potar toes 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 atmo- spherical. A new piece of land was cleared for potar toes. 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 man- ner, 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 sea- son. 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 POTATO. . 365 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 de- cayed and the rest sound. Their condition was gradu- ated entirely by the condition of the soil. It is an apparent objection to this theory, that when the rot pre- vails, 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 ^ecay, and on the latter, most will be preserved. I Look at the immense potato crops near Rochester, •N. Y., on sandy land. We have per^sonally 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 9.ial]rays left in larger particles than other land — it is but seldom pulverized. The spaces between the par- ticles are all open to the free action of the air ; hence, ins]tead of being close, it is one of the most open of all oui; soils. This confirms the theory. jThe influence of manuring land is still another con- firination. 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 ma- 366 SOIL CULTURE. nure 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 recom- mended, 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 tex- ture 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 po- tatoes, and of mature growth, thoroughly ripe ; apply a little salt and lime, plaster rather plentifully, and pot- ash, or plenty of wood-ashes — and you will succeed in the worst of seasons. PRKSKBVING PKUITS, AC. 36T PRESEEVING FRUITS, &c. The essentials in preserving fruits, berries, and vege- tables, during the wbole 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 pre- serve, 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 youc 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 368 SOIL CULTURE. 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 suffi- ciently 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 U trifling expense. All fruits and vegetables may also be preserved by drying. By being properly dried, the original aroma can be mostly retained. The essen- tials in properly drying are artificial heat and free cir- culation 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 PRESERVING PKUITS, 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 man- ufacture. 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 ma- ple-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 404 SOIL CULTDEE. the season is over, or be done by cutting a small gasli 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, pi-o- vided it be judiciously performed. Cut a small, smooth gash ; one year tap the treeJow, and another high, and on alternate sides ; scatter the wounds, made from year to year, as much as possible. Another process of tap- ping 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 semicircu- lar 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 SUGAE. 405 be lost by being blowu 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 prof- itable, 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 sac- charine matter it contains is not quite equal to that of the common sugar-cane ; but, with the necessary facili- ties 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 manufatfture finds its way into all the newspapers, and what might appear the best to-day would be quite 406 SOIL CULTURE. 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 water- ing. 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 accli- luited in Northern latitudes. Good sweet potatoes are SWEET POTATO. 407 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 differ- ent 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 m the top, about fifteen inches or two feet apairt; 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 408 SOIL CtJLTUKE. 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 loosen- ing — 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 de- cay. They may be kept for use until January by pack- ing, 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 SWINE. 409 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 pro- lific and have the grea.test tendency to fattening of any known. They have formed the basis of the great im- provements 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 di- rections 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 slaugh- 18 410 SOIL CULTUEE. tered. This is in every way most economical. It se- cures 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 suificient quantities in their or- dinary food. Numerous experiments show that that deficiency is abundantly supplied by having charcoal within tlieir 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. Culti- vators 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 supe-^ rior, and others that it has done his hogs positive injury. This discrepancy grows out of not carefully distinguish-; ing the different kinds of fermentation, the sweet, the vinous, the acid, and the putrid.: The first makes ex- TOBACCO. 411 cellent food, the second will do quite well, the third is injurious, and the last absolutely poisonous. As it re- quires 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 animnl 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 snufBng 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 cab- bage. 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 412 SOIL CULTURE. 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 thor- oughly 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 to- bacco-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 TOMATO. 413 pickling in rarious forms, is I